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Game Plan: Adapting Strategies for Every Season
Even in a shifting pandemic environment, the Seasons of TransitionTM cycle continues for military-connected students. When a new situation means a new game plan, the strategies in Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers are still effective for healthy transitions. Here are some ways to adapt key…
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Start Early for a Strong Student-Advocacy Team
The Season of Arriving is a crucial time for military-connected students. As school transitions are happening alongside pandemic conditions, students and parents are facing the possibility of an academic year that is either partially or completely online–at a new and unfamiliar school. No matter what kind of classes are planned…
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Teacher Tips: Warm Welcome for Students Arriving Midyear
Being the new kid is difficult anytime. For military-connected students arriving midyear, when the academic year is in progress, the challenge is even greater. By the time they arrive at their new school, class routines are set, seats are assigned, and friends are made. No matter when they occur in…
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Proactive Communication for Students in Every Season
By Amanda Trimillos In meet-the-teacher sessions at new schools with my children, time and time again I heard teachers use the term “proactive communication.” Teachers offer parents several ways to communicate – email addresses, phone numbers, and notation areas in student agendas. They emphasize the importance of proactive communication with…
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Back to School Advice: Look for the New Kid
Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman for Scary Mommy — “Look for the new kid.” A common saying I tell my children as I help zip up their backpacks, arrange their clothes and tie their shoes preparing for the first day of school. It’s a simple saying, but one that can change the trajectory…
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Five Ways Military Kids Clubs Help Students and Schools
A military kids club is a school organization especially for military-connected students. A military kids club helps military kids plug in quickly at a new school and community during the Season of Arriving, providing a venue for meeting other students with similar military-life experiences. “Although they come from different branches…
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Buddy Programs Connect Students in the Season of Arriving
When students enter a new school, they have many questions. One of the most pressing is often: Who will sit with me at lunch? Making friends and feeling welcome is an important part of a student’s healthy integration into a new community and home. Buddy and sponsor programs are often…
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Bringing a Student’s Military Life into Classroom Learning
By Amanda Trimillos As teachers welcome military students into a classroom, they may also welcome the students’ military life into classroom learning with planned and purposeful lessons. A mobile lifestyle gives military-connected students unique knowledge of the world. They may have lived in and visited many locations, experiencing a variety…
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Midyear Moves: Transitions When School is in Full Swing
By Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman Moves for military families are usually associated with spring and summer months, a natural break in the school calendar. However, almost half of military transitions are midyear moves, often during the winter holidays. No matter what time of year a military-connected student changes schools, the Seasons of TransitionTM cycle…
