Middle School Program Lets Parents Be Kids Again

By Tanjua Damon

Calling all middle school parents. A special evening has been planned for you at Newtown Middle School, entitled “Overcoming the Hurdles in the Olympics of Education.”

On Wednesday, November 15, from 7 am to 7 pm in the Newtown Middle School Library, parents of middle school students can experience a day in the life of their children.

Do you ever have those days when your teenager comes home emotionally wrung out and physically exhausted? Does your child snap at you when you ask “how was your day?” Do you wonder just what goes on in middle school?

If your answer is yes, this interactive evening of fun and information about middle school aged children should prove very informative.

Kate MacKinney is helping to coordinate the effort with other middle school staff members – Susan Connelly, Gladys Pisani, and Barbara Reilly – in hopes of providing parents with information that will guide them in understanding their middle school children.

“Parents will be going through education Olympics,” Ms MacKinney said. “They will see what it is like to make it through the day as a middle school student.”

Children in middle school are dealing with a variety of issues, according to Ms Reilly. Sometimes those issues can be like the end of the world for a child.

“What we think is small really impacts a middle school student,” she said.

Some of the things parents will learn about will include drug abuse, eating right, sleep habits, hygiene, homework difficulties, and bullying.

“We are touching on things that are tough to deal with,” Ms Connelly said. “The parents can become the child for a day.”

Children attend school from 9 am to 3:30 pm, Ms MacKinney said. The hope is for educators and parents to work together more to help the children each day.

On Wednesday, November 15, from 7 to 8 pm parents can again be the kids during the “Overcoming the Hurdles in the Olympics of Education.”