South Brunswick Parent Academy Presents Middle School Success Workshop

On Thursday, Oct. 6, the South Brunswick Parent Academy will present its next workshop entitled, “Helping Your Child Navigate the Road to Middle School Success.”

 In addition, to its interactive format, the workshop will feature the video, “Life at the Crossroads,” highlighting middle school students’ changes and transitions.

This unique and informative workshop will address the transitions our children experience during their middle school years; changes which have many parents wondering who the ‘alien’ is in their child’s bedroom. 

Join other parents and learn not only how to identify and understand the stranger, but strategies and techniques to make these inevitable (and normal!) transitions more manageable for the entire family.  This interactive workshop will address the roadblocks to success that often pop up during the middle school years, from minor distractions to more serious risky behaviors that your child may encounter and will offer sound strategies and advice for identifying and dealing with them effectively.

Attendees will also enjoy the presentation of “Life at the Crossroads,” a video recently filmed at the middle school, which features our middle school students discussing this time in their lives, as only they can!

In addition, to further supplement and enhance the information which will be discussed at this and other SBPA workshops, the Parent Academy has added companion reading recommendations and the introduction of a parenting blog to its course curriculum.

The companion book suggested for this workshop is, Yes, Your Teen Is Crazy! Loving Your Teen Without Losing Your Mind, by Michael J. Bradley. As an added bonus to attendees, the SBPA will be giving away copies of Bradley’s book to ten lucky registrants. 

The SBPA blog, which can be found at blogs.sbschools.org/sbpa is intended to provide a useful vehicle for sharing information both in the planning stages of workshops and as a forum for continued discussion after the workshops: adding another helpful piece to “the puzzle of parenting.”

The Oct. 6th program will run from 7-8:30 p.m. and will be held at Crossroads North Middle School.  As with all SBPA workshops, childcare will be provided. 

Interested parties can register online by visiting the District's Web site, www.sbschools.org and clicking the South Brunswick Parent Academy icon or by emailing sbpa@sbparents.org. 

If you are emailing your registration, be sure to include your name, telephone number, email address, your child’s grade and the ages of any children that may require childcare (please note, childcare is not available for children under the age of 3).

South Brunswick Parent Academy is a partnership between EPIC (Every Person Influences Children), the South Brunswick School District and South Brunswick Municipal Alliance Against Substance Abuse and is funded in part by a grant from the NJ Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. 

The Academy is founded on the concept of “Solving the Puzzle of Parenting…One Piece at a Time.”  The Academy offers a range of topics from EPIC workshops to District workshops that focus on curriculum, technology, character education and safe and caring schools. 

All remaining SBPA workshops will run from 7-8:30 p.m. and will take place in the cafeteria of Crossroads North Middle School, 635 Georges Road and childcare will be made available (unless otherwise noted). For additional information, contact SBPA Director, Christine Mariano at christine.mariano@sbschools.org.

Remaining workshops are as follows:

Date

Title

Brief Description

11/16/11

Spotlight on Reading:  Learning to Read; Reading to Learn

Informative look into District’s reading curriculum

12/1/11

The Minds of Boys: Strategies for Academic Success – Redux!

Information and strategies for maximizing male learning, based on brain-based research

1/31/12

Sugar & Spice and Not Everything Nice? Understanding & Raising Successful Daughters

Information and strategies to help navigate a delicate balance among their daughters’ physical, social, emotional and academic needs and wants

2/13/12

The Minds of Boys: Strategies for Academic Success – Part II

A more in-depth discussion of the current information and strategies for maximizing male learning and raising successful sons

12/2/12

Teen Driving Safety Presentation by Division of Highway Traffic Safety Director (at SBHS)

Program providing an overview of driving risks teens face and the tools and resources available to keep them safe

3/19/12

Continuing the South Brunswick Cultural Conversations

A forum for discussion of cultural changes in South Brunswick, encouraging a enhanced sense of community and shared values