Parents urged to keep sick kids home

From the CBC website:

In the face of a possible wave of H1N1 flu cases this fall, public health and education officials are encouraging parents and teachers to help stem the potential spread by keeping or sending students with flu-like symptoms home.

But should vigilance surrounding the pandemic virus mean having kids hunker down at the first sign of the sniffles? Not necessarily, says Saskatchewan's deputy chief medical health officer. Dr. Saqib Shahab said since September is a common time for dust allergies, individuals may experience a lot of sneezing, coughing and sore throat but no fever.

Click here to read the full article.

HMSCPA AGM

Our first meeting of the year is on Wednesday, September 9 at 6:30pm in the Haultain library. This will be the first meeting since Sept 2006 without our McKenzie Towne guests as they now have their own Council and PA organizations. On behalf of the Council we wish them nothing but the best and hope for them the smoothest transitions possible. They will be going through a couple this school year. I would also like to thank the parents from MT who were engaged in the volunteer community surrounding our school. It was a pleasure to work with all of you. And a special thank you to Sherri M. for being a thorough and exemplary Treasurer for our PA.

This meeting is our AGM and we'll be discussing the future of our school. As I'm sure you all know by now the CBE has decided that our area has too many schools and not enough students to fill them. So one of three schools will be shut down after this school year. The CBE has a department that deals with these issues called Community Engagement and Operational Planning (CEOPS). The process for decision was touched on a bit last year during our meetings and will be discussed again on Wednesday. The first step begins on Monday September 14th with a meeting between the three schools and CEOPS to discuss the proposal that the CBE has come up with. Mr. Barkley, myself, and Nick will be in attendance representing Haultain. There will be three more meetings after that with escalating attendance by the community. I will have a full report after the first meeting so that you will be up to date.

There have been many rumours circulating around the community concerning the CBE's plans. Some are absurd, some are just unlikely and some sound too good to be true - all of them can be harmful. The simple fact is that the CBE has not released any information regarding their proposed plans and won't until the 14th. Please be patient with speculation until the CBE releases their information. Stay tuned to this blog and your email for up to date info on the process and the proposals.

The AGM will also be an opportunity to vote on the positions of; Chair, Vice-Chair and Community Representative for the Council; and Treasurer, Fundraiser for the Association. The proposed budget for the next two school years will also be presented to the floor for acceptance. Please plan to attend.

What age is old enough for the walk to school?

From the National Post

On Wednesday morning, Sarah and Thomas Brisson will get on their bikes and pedal their way to the start of a new school year. It will take about 15 minutes, about the same time it would take their mom to drive them in rush-hour traffic.

The exercise will get their blood pumping, the fresh air will clear their heads and they'll arrive wide-awake for the first class, unlike when she used to drive them, says their mom, Denise Brisson.

But like a lot of parents, she's leery about letting them make the trip on their own. There's a scary intersection they have to cross where morning commuters seem more focused on merging than on the kids in the crosswalk.

Sarah, 11, is keen to go without adult supervision, and when Brisson was Thomas's age, eight, she walked to school on her own.

Parents are more protective these days because of their perception that the world isn't as safe as it used to be, says registered school psychologist Bev Baker-Hofmann. But there's a fine line between being protective and being overprotective, she adds.

It's important to help kids begin to assert their independence, and letting them make the trip to school is one way to do that, she says. But when are they ready?

Click here to read more.

You can't get away from your kids

Corinne Maier, National Post
Saturday, Aug 29, 2009

In a newly released book, French writer Corinne Maier offers reasons not to have children. The following excerpt offers Maier's take on dealing with childcare.

So what do you do with children? Everybody adores them, but nobody really wants them around. Spend years in the house looking after kids? You must know that this is death by boredom. Unlike in Scandinavia, there is no structure in most countries to encourage the merdeuf to take the kids with her to a restaurant or the movies. So she lives a monastic life, measured out in diapers, baths and bottles.

Click here to read more.

Alberta parents highest spenders on back-to-school shopping

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald

Alberta parents are among the highest spenders when it comes to back-to-school shopping.

A Scotiabank study says Albertans with children in preschool through Grade 12 are planning to spend an average of $338 to get their children ready for school. Alberta’s household spending intentions were behind Quebec ($399) but higher than the national average of $310.

However, Alberta leads the country in the amount parents expect to spend throughout the year on school-related incidentals from field trips to pizza lunches. Albertans anticipate spending $471 with the Canadian average at $406.

“Spending by Canadian households on school-related goods and services typically is more stable than other discretionary purchases in both good and not so good times,” said Aaron Gampel, Scotiabank’s deputy chief economist. “Although cost-conscious Canadian families will look to stretch their purchasing power, allocating hard-earned spending dollars on education takes on added importance during these challenging times.”

Read the full story here.

Your kids' healthy lunches need not put others at risk

It wasn't that long ago that harried parents would send their kids off to school with lunch boxes filled with a peanut butter and jam sandwich or two, an apple, a juice box and maybe a couple of cookies.

Times have changed. And not always for the better.

While greater awareness of food allergies has cut into the proliferation of peanuts and nut-based products in schools, there are a host of foods that can cause serious — even life-threatening issues for some children.

On Sept. 30, 2003, doctors at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa removed 13-year-old Sabrina Shannon from life support. A day earlier she suffered anaphylactic shock after eating french fries in her high school cafeteria.

Click here to read the full posting.

10 ways to talk to kids about H1N1 without scaring them

By Joanne Chianello,
Canwest News Service

Educate your children about flu preventionAs kids flood back to school, you may be tempted to sit them down and give them a good talking to about H1N1.

Resist. Haranguing your kids to obsessively wash their hands or to shun schoolmates with a slight cough will only freak them out -- and will likely not help them avoid swine flu.

Read the full article here.