Safety Tips for Extreme Summer Heat

During the extreme heat conditions of summer months, it becomes advisable to take precautions to protect your family from heat related illnesses. The American Red Cross offers tips for your safety during the extreme heat wave. They stress to never leave a child or pet inside a vehicle on a hot day. The temperatures inside vehicles can reach 120 degrees even with the windows open for fresh air. This heat can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke, both very serious conditions for children or pets.

Symptoms of heat exhaustion include: cool, moist, pale or flushed skin, heavy sweating, headache, nausea and dizziness. Medical attention is needed immediately. Move the affected person to a cooler area, loosen tight clothing, and apply moist towels to help regulate the body temperature. You can also fan the person and offer water to drink. Call 911 if the person is unconscious.

If someone is experiencing heat cramps in their legs or abdomen, move to a cooler place and stretch the muscles. Also drink fluids that will restore the electrolytes, like Gatorade or Powerade drinks.

The American Red Cross offers tips to help avoid any of the heat related illnesses that are associated with exposure to extreme heat conditions.

• Stay hydrated and drink plenty of fluids

• Avoid extreme temperature changes

• Wear loose-fitting clothing.

• Stay indoors with air conditioning during the hottest peak of the day

• Use the “buddy-system” when working in excessive heat and take frequent breaks

• Check on animals frequently and make sure they have plenty of water and shade

• If you don’t have air conditioning in your home, open windows and circulate the air by using fans. Cover windows to keep direct sunlight out.

• A cool bath or shower can help to cool you down faster than air conditioning.

The summer month can be a fun filled time for your family but heat related accidents can spoil your time together. Take extra precautions with your children and pets and be prepared for the extreme hot days of summer.

The Role of the School Principal - Keys to Being an Effective Leader

The role of the principal covers many different areas including leadership, teacher evaluation, student discipline, and several others. Being an effective principal is hard work and is time consuming. A good principal is balanced within all their roles and works hard to ensure that that they are doing what they feel is best for all constituents involved.

A school principal is the primary leader in a school building. A good leader always leads by example. A principal should be positive, enthusiastic, have their hand in the day to day activities of the school, and listen to what their constituents are saying. An effective leader is available to teachers, staff members, parents, students, and community members.  Good leaders stays calm in difficult situations, thinks before they act, and puts the needs of the school before themselves. An effective leader steps up to fill in holes as needed, even if it isn’t a part of their daily routine.

7 Keys to Being an Effective Principal:

1.       Student Discipline - The first step of having effective student discipline is to make sure that your teachers know what you are expecting when it comes to student discipline.

2.       Teacher Evaluation - A good evaluator always lets their teachers know what their expectations are and then offers suggestions for improvement if those expectations are not being met.

3.       Develop, Implement and Evaluate Programs - A principal should always be looking for ways to improve the student experience at school. Developing effective programs that cover a variety of areas is one way to ensure this.

4.       Review Policies and Procedures - A principal should review, remove, rewrite, or write policies and procedures every year as needed. Having an effective student handbook can improve the quality of education your students receive.

5.       Schedule Setting - It is probably best to create the schedule without trying to accommodate anyone. In addition, be prepared to make adjustments to your schedules once the year begins. You need to be flexible because there are times that there are conflicts you did not foresee that need to be changed.

6.       Hiring New Teachers - A vital part of any school administrator’s job is to hire teachers and staff that are going to do their job correctly. Hiring the wrong person can cause you huge headaches down the line, while hiring the right person makes your job all the more easier.

7.       Parent and Community Relations - Having good relations with parents and community members can benefit you in a variety of areas. If you have built trusting relationships with a parent whose child has a discipline issue, then it makes it easier to deal with the situation if the parent supports the school and your decision. The same holds true with the community. Building relationships with individuals and businesses in the community can help your school out tremendously. Benefits include donations, personal time, and overall positive support for your school. It is a vital part of any principal’s job to nurture their relationships with parents and community members.

Celebrate the 4th of July - Make the Holiday a Learning Experience for Your Child!

With the 4th of July fast approaching, many families are planning for a day filled with activities that included: baseball, picnics, swimming, camping, fireworks, and other family friendly events. In preparation for our Nations’ Birthday, here are a few ideas to use with your young children that will get them into the holiday mode and share with them the importance of celebrating our nations’ birthday.


Patriotic Crafts

Maybe your child would like to make patriotic decorations for the home. Gather materials that are red, white, and blue: tissue paper, sheets of construction paper, colored markers and paints, ribbons, and scraps of material or gift wrapping paper. You will also need safety scissors, glue, and a clean work space on the floor or table.

You may even have some patriotic music playing in the background, like: Yankee Doodle, America the Beautiful, America, My Country Tis of Thee, just to name a few.

1. Patriotic Wreath: use a paper plate and cut out the center part, leaving the ring for the wreath. Select red, white, and blue tissue paper and form balls by squeezing the paper in your hand. Arrange the paper balls in a colorful pattern around the ring and glue into place. Add a bow at the top and hang the wreath on a door or window. Your child can make more than one and place them throughout the house for decorations.

2. Sponge Paint American Flag: begin with a white sheet of construction paper. Place water color paint into small bowls. Use a kitchen sponge and cut into three pieces. Show your child a real American Flag and discuss the color pattern of red, white, and blue. Place each sponge piece into the colored paint bowl and paint the strips and blue box on the white paper. After the blue dries a little, use the sponge to dip into the white paint to form the stars.

3. Red, White, and Blue Collage: using old magazine pictures make a patriotic collage. Start with a sheet of construction paper and randomly spread the colorful pictures all over the paper. Then glue the pictures onto the sheet to display a patriotic collection of red, white, and blue pictures. Make a wall handing that your child will be proud to display.

4. Star Rice Crispy Treats: follow the directions on the Rice Crispy box for making the treats but add red and blue candies (M&Ms or jelly beans). Instead of cutting the treats into squares, use a star shaped cookie cutter to place the treats on a platter. This will be a true patriotic treat for the family.

Celebrating the 4th of July with friends and family is a wonderful time to show appreciation to our Armed Forces for the many sacrifices they have endured to insure that we have liberty and freedoms in the United States of America. Happy 4th of July!