Paly PTSA New families Welcome Gathering this Thursday 4pm here at the Paly Courtyard by the main entrance of the “Tower.” Drop your new student(s) off at 4pm for their orientation and Pizza dinner and informally get to know other families and chat with our new Principal Adam Paulson and his right hand Carolyn Benfield.  We will have cool beverages and light snacks at this informal and relaxed gathering.

Looking forward to a wonderful 2018-19. Your Paly PTSA President Elizabeth Olson, EVP Melinda Zschietzschmann and the Paly PTSA 2018-19 Board.

Paly PTSA wishes everyone a great start to the school year!

First 2018-19 PTSA General Assembly Meeting and Principal Coffee TBA

PTSA:  Parent, Teacher, Student Association.

100% of your PTSA donation stays at Paly!  Thank you for the financial support  and most importantly, thank you for your time volunteering!

Uptous:  The PTSA Electronic Family Directory,  Parent Network Communication and Event Volunteer Sign Ups are on uptous.  If you are not able to sign in, please direct your questions to PalyPTSACommunications@gmail.com.

PalyLink:  This is PTSA electronic news, free and open to all families.

PTSA General Assembly Meetings:   The dates/times for the 2018/2019 school year will be posted on the paly.net google calendar.  All welcome to participate.

Bike and Traffic Safety:  Be safe, encourage your teen to wear a helmet, its the law and please do not foget to lock your bike!

Back to School Packets and Paly 101 information found under Back to School tab to the left.

Parent Ed:  The PTSA Parent Ed team is developing a list of events for the 2018/2019 school year and will be sharing this soon.

New Family Buddy:   If you and your family are new to the school district, you can sign up and have a buddy family. This is a free volunteer program offered through the Paly PTSA. We are a group of parent volunteers that can be additional resources for you while you and your teen get acclimated to the new environment. If interested, please email sophie@apr.com and have the subject line ‘buddy family’. Please include your name, your child’s name and grade, a day time phone number to reach you. Someone will be in touch.

Message from Challenge Success:

Top Ten Back-to-School Tips to Help Your Child Thrive

With kids back in school, these practical tips are helpful reminders for ways to build resilience, share your values, and support the overall health and well-being of your children.

1)  Ask your child: “How was your day? Learn anything interesting? Get to spend time with friends?” instead of “How did you do on the math test?”

2)  Resist the urge to correct the errors in your child’s homework. It’s your child’s work, not yours.

3)  Work done with integrity is more important than an A. Pressure to achieve only high grades can make students resort to cheating.

4)  Make time for PDF: playtime, downtime, family time. Research shows PDF is critical for overall well-being.

5)  Create a technology-free environment during mealtimes. Every adult and child can benefit from a break from constant interruptions and distractions.

6)  Collaborate with your child’s teachers. Assume best intentions and work together to solve problems.

7)  Fight the temptation to bring your child’s forgotten homework to school. Kids gain resilience by learning from small failures.

8)  An extra hour of sleep is more valuable than an extra hour of studying. Research shows sleep deprivation can be associated with depression and anxiety.

9) When your child wants to talk with you, stop what you are doing and engage. Does “I hate school” really mean something else: “I am being bullied” or “I don’t fit in?”

10) Help your child develop his or her interests and strengths. Discover what your child really loves to do outside of school, not what you think a college admissions officer would like to see on an application.

For more information:  http://www.challengesuccess.org/parents/