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To our HTS family,
On behalf of our amazing team of teachers and staff, I am excited to welcome our Huskies back for another great school year at HTS!
As an educator and parent, I understand that going back to school can be both exciting and anxiety-inducing. Supporting the social-emotional growth of our students is central to our mission at HTS, so I have compiled a few simple tips to ease your child’s transition into the new school year.
Here are five ways to relieve back-to-school stress and create a supportive and structured environment at home that will set you and your child up for success this year.
1. Reduce anxiety by visiting the school before the first day.
Seeing the classroom and campus before the first day of school eases students’ anxieties by helping them know what to expect. We offer a meet and greet before school starts so that parents and students can meet their new teachers and explore their classroom.
Additional ways to help students who are experiencing high levels of anxiety include reading social stories, role-playing, and teaching self-advocacy by encouraging your child to express their needs and preferences.
2. Build stability by practicing healthy routines.
Routines reduce stress. At HTS, one of the most important things we do at the beginning of every school year is establish routines in the classroom. These routines provide a stable framework for our learners and allow them to use their mental energy to learn new skills. Parents can greatly help their child’s success by establishing healthy routines and habits at home, too:
- Set up consistent before and after school routines to help your child feel secure and prepared.
- Help your child get enough sleep, physical activity, and nutrition.
- Practice morning routines before the first day of school.
3. Encourage independence through tools and planners.
At school, we love to use visual schedules and checklists to encourage independence and support students in building routines, and these are great tools to use at home too. Creating checklists, visual schedules for daily tasks helps children stay organized and reduces the stress parents often feel in trying to keep them on task.
For older students, I’ve found that a planner can be very helpful in keeping track of assignments, important dates, and other reminders. If a physical planner isn’t as beneficial for your child, there are plenty of digital tools available for helping students stay organized. Take some time to explore your options or ask your child’s new teacher for ideas.
4. Nurture academic success by creating study spaces.
Having a quiet, organized study space at home sets students up for success in their homework and projects. It also removes some of the unnecessary stress parents can feel when trying to help their children with schoolwork. Taking time to set this space up at the beginning of the year is worth every moment as the year goes on!
5. Support your child by getting involved.
Over our 20-plus years of practicing life-changing inclusive education, we have discovered that a collaborative approach between teachers and parents is essential. We invite parents to actively communicate and connect with us about their child’s progress, and here are a few easy ways to do that:
- Download the Bloomz app, where our teachers and staff regularly communicate about classroom progress an school activities.
- Volunteer as a room parent. Room parents stay in touch with teachers about creative ways to support the classroom. They help coordinate room events.
- Come to Back to School Night on September 19 and get to know your child’s teacher.
- Join our parent volunteer committees and help plan our fundraisers and special events.
We look forward to seeing you on the first day of school—Monday, August 26th at 9am! Go HTS Huskies!
– Gail Ewell
Founder and Executive Director
Read more
- Our annual holiday fundraising campaign takes place on December 3rd, 2024