First Day in School for Students, Parents and Teachers

First Day in School for Students, Parents and Teachers

 

Its your child's first day of school and you've been waiting with bated breath for this moment where your child can start learning along with kids their age, but what's that weird feeling you keep having? Is it anxiety, fear or worry about how your child will manage all by them out in the big bad world? Well here's our list of things parents need to know about the first day of school and how to deal with the situations.

 

What to teach your kids –

 

Independence- Your kids need to know how to handle the basics well when they get to school. Children should learn to dress and undress by the time they are in Kindergarten. Being able to use the restroom without any assistance is also an important thing to learn for kids.

 

Names - Children should be able to write their first and last names along with their home address and phone number. This simple activity can be made more fun once your kid gets the hang of things by asking him or her to write out other siblings' names.

 

Communicate - The best way to prepare your kids for their first day of school is to talk to them about it. Ask them about what they are looking forward to doing in their classes and tell them what to expect from their teachers and classmates. This way you address the children's worries and concerns and deal with them.

 

Organise - Teach your kids how to organise so that they will have an easier time at school. This can be done in simple ways by teaching them to put away their toys after playing or asking them to fold their clothes and place them in their cupboards after you are done washing them.

 

Stay busy - After having your kids at home during their summer break, it may be hard for you to deal with them not being at home all the time. This is where you get a chance to relax and indulge in your hobbies or take up new ones.

 

Volunteer - If being away from your child is a problem for you, maybe you should make the best of the situation and try and volunteer at your child's school. This way you can do something productive with your time and also help in your child's and other children's development.

 

Meet the teachers - One of the best ways to feel more comfortable about your child going to school is to get to know the teachers. This way you get to know that your kids are in good hands and will feel more relaxed about sending them to school. Building a rapport with the teachers will also allow you to know how your child is doing and what you can do to help them.

 

Students

 

The first day of school can be harrowing to any kid, no matter what their age is. Here we share a few tips on how you can get better accustomed to moving to a new school and meeting new people.

Tips for the first day of school -

 

Get good sleep the day before

 

Have a healthy and filling breakfast

 

Make sure you have everything you need for the first day

 

Smile

 

Introduce yourself to the teacher and your classmates

 

Participate in any activities that the teacher has planned for the day

 

Get to know some of your classmates that have similar hobbies and remember their names

 

Find out what the daily activities are for your class

 

Be on time for class and other activities

 

What to expect -

Primary School -

 

A friendly atmosphere where a student can learn

 

A set of rules on how to behave in the classroom

 

Lots of fresh and friendly faces who are as nervous as you are

 

Interesting teachers who will help you settle into the classroom

 

Lots of kids screaming and crying

 

Middle School -

 

Expect lots of new subjects and classes

 

With age comes more work, so expect to have more homework

 

You'll have to carry more books for all your classes

 

Don't worry about being the most popular kid in your class

 

You'll have to take lots of small quizzes and exams

 

Secondary School -

 

Lots of students and teachers as compared to middle school

 

Some of your old classmates and friends will be there with you

 

Watch out for seniors who might try to taunt you

 

Many exams, pop quizzes and tests

 

Expect to have lots of notes and homework every day

 

 

Teachers

 

Getting back to school is a nervous time for the students, their parents and also for the teachers. On this page we tell you, the teacher, what to look out for on your first day at school after the long break.

 

Lots of excited and eager students - They might take some time to open up but most students will be very happy to be amongst children their same age that they can play and interact with.

 

Emotional parents - If parents are dropping off their kids to school then make sure you are ready to deal with them being emotional. Lots of parents have a hard time separating from their child especially after spending the long summers with them.

 

Excited parents - These parents are in the same group as the emotional ones but they show their emotions in a different way. Be prepared for a barrage of questions from these parents about what activities you have planned and what your teaching plan is for the day, quarter and the whole year!

 

Stage fright - Don't be frightened of leading the students who are under your tutelage. Make sure that you don't get too friendly with your students. The students will try and test where you draw the line on their actions and behaviour in class. Be firm with them till they have developed healthy respect for you.

 

Have a plan - Make sure you have a plan for the first day of school, if you don't have a plan, then the students will set it for you and it will set the precedent for the year ahead. Having a schedule for the day will allow you to set timelines for the activities of the day and will help the students get used to the class routine.

 

 

Using sari to filter water can protect against cholera

Using sari to filter water can protect against cholera

 

Sari cloth is a simple, sustainable protector from cholera, a study conducted in Bangladesh has revealed.

Using the sari to filter household water protects not only the household from cholera, but reduces the incidence of disease in neighbouring households that do not filter.

Rita Colwell of the University of Maryland, College Park, a researcher on the study, said: "A simple method for filtering pond and river water to reduce the incidence of cholera, field tested in Matlab, Bangladesh, proved effective in reducing the incidence of cholera by 48 per cent. This follow-up study conducted 5 years later showed that 31 per cent of the village women continued to filter water for their households, with both an expected and an unexpected benefit."

In 2003, Colwell and her colleagues reported the results of a field study that demonstrated by simply teaching village women responsible for collecting water to filter the water through folded cotton sari cloth, they could reduce the incidence of cholera in that group by nearly half.

Though the results were promising at the time of the research, there was concern that the practice of sari water filtration would not be sustained in later years.

Five years later they conducted the follow-up study to determine whether sari water filtration continued to be practiced by the same population of participants and, if it were, whether there would continue to be a beneficial effect of reduced incidence of cholera.

Over 7,000 village women collecting water daily for their households in Bangladesh were selected from the same population used in the previous study.

Survey data showed that 31 per cent continued to filter their water, of which 60 per cent used a sari.
Furthermore, they found that of the control group (the one that did not receive any education or training in the first study) 26 per cent of households now filter their water.

Colwell said: "This is a clear indication of both compliance with instructions and the sustainability of the method, but it also shows the need for continuing education in the appropriate use and benefits of simple filtration."

The researchers also looked at the incidence of cholera in households during the 5-year follow-up period.
While not statistically significant, they found the incidence of hospitalisations for cholera during that period reduced by 25 per cent.

Colwell said: "With the lower rate of filtration in this follow-up study, it is not surprising that the observed reduction in disease rate was not as high as the 48 per cent observed in the original trial, suggesting that active reinforcement would have been effective in ensuring higher protection."

 

They also found an indirect benefit.

Households that did not filter their water but were located in neighbourhoods where water filtration was regularly practiced by others also had a lower incidence of cholera.

Colwell said: "Results of the study showed that the practice of filtration not only was accepted and sustained by the villagers but also benefited those who filtered their water, as well as neighbors not filtering water for household use, in reducing the incidence of cholera."

The results of the study have appear in the inaugural issue of mBio, the first online, open-access journal published by the American Society for Microbiology.

 

Bottled water 'not safe for drinking'

Bottled water ‘not safe for drinking’

 

A new study has found high level of bacteria in bottled water in Canada.

The Montreal study showed that heterotrophic bacteria counts, in more than 70 per cent of bottled water samples, exceed the recommended limits specified by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP).

Researchers from Ccrest laboratories report their results today at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.

"Despite having the cleanest tap water a large number of urban Canadians are switching over to bottled water for their daily hydration requirements. Unsurprisingly, the consumer assumes that since bottled water carries a price tag, it is purer and safer than most tap water," says Sonish Azam, a researcher on the study.

Regulatory bodies such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Health Canada have not set a limit for the heterotrophic bacteria counts in bottled drinking water.

However, according to the USP not more than 500 colony forming units (cfu) per milliliter should be present in drinking water.

The study was initiated in response to a Ccrest employee’s complaint of fowl taste and sickness after consumption of bottled water at the company.

Azam and her colleagues randomly purchased several brands of bottled water from a local marketplace and subjected them to microbiological analysis.

They discovered more than 70 per cent of famous brands tested did not meet the USP specifications for drinking water.

"Heterotrophic bacteria counts in some of the bottles were found to be in revolting figures of one hundred times more than the permitted limit," said Azam. In comparison the average microbial count for different tap water samples was 170 cfu/mL.

Azam stressed that these bacteria most likely do not cause disease and they have not confirmed the presence of disease-causing bacteria, but the high levels of bacteria in bottled water could pose a risk for vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, infants, immunocompromised patients and the elderly.

"Bottled water is not expected to be free from microorganisms but the cfu observed in this study is surprisingly very high. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to establish a limit for the heterotrophic bacteria count as well as to identify the nature of microorganisms present in the bottled water," said Azam