January 2026 Newsletter
Poly Drive Polar Bears
January is a time for making changes
A new calendar year and a return to school after break make this month a natural time for a fresh start. If your child's school year has not been going as well as you had hoped, a reset now can help your student get back on track.
Make this time to:
- Swap bad habits for good ones. Breaking a habit is hard. It's much easier to put a different one in place. If your child usually plays video games to relax, encourage reading for 20 minutes instead. Let your child choose what to read.
- Show family support. If your child needs to give studying more time and effort, make study time quiet work time for the whole family.
- Focus on organization. Look for a new 2026 calendar your child would enjoy. Help your student use it to keep track of home and school responsibilities.
- Celebrate improvements. Help your child see the link between new habits and results.
~The Parent Institute
Frequent reading can boost your child's thinking skills and more!
Elementary schoolers' brains are still developing. And research shows that reading for pleasure in these years can affect this development in positive ways. One study found that kids who read often for fun had stronger cognitive skills and better mental health.
To help your child establish a pleasure reading habit:
- Build reading into daily routines. At breakfast, encourage your child to read a fun book while you read the news. If your child gets stuck while doing schoolwork, suggest taking a short break to read.
- Ask relatives, family friends or neighbors who enjoy reading to recommend books they enjoyed at your child's age. A personal connection can be a powerful motivator.
- Create a comfy reading nook at home. Ask your child to help you. Include a basket of books, pillows, stuffed animals and a light.
- Take reading material everywhere you go, and read with your child. To add intertest, have your child pick a book that relates to your destination. For example, you might read a book about a visit to the dentist while waiting for a dental appointment.
Source: "Reading for pleasure in early childhood linked to better cognitive performance and mental well-being in adolescence," University of Cambridge.
Are you prioritizing school attendance?
Academic success starts with regular attendance. Are your enforcing the importance of school and taking steps to ensure your child doesn't miss out on learning time? Answer yes or no to the questions below:
- Do you teach your child that education matters and school is not to be skipped?
- Do you help your child develop sleep, exercise and nutrition habits that support health and learning?
- Do you veto weak excuses for missing school? Not wanting to get out of bed isn't a valid reason to be late.
- Do you adjust bedtime and wake time if your child has trouble getting up and ready on time?
- Do you ask the school for help finding solutions to attendance obstacles?
How well are you doing?
More yes answers mean you are supporting strong attendance. For each no, try that idea.
"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence."
- Abigail Adams
January Calendar:
1 - No School / Holiday
2 - No School / Holiday
5 - School Starts Again
7 - Early Release **1 hour early**
14 - Early Release **1 hour early**
19 - No School / PIR Day
21 - Early Release **1 hour early**
28 - Early Release **1 hour early**
Stress the value of honesty
Even when children know the difference between honesty and lying, telling the truth isn't always easy for them. To encourage honesty:
- Discuss it. Lying destroys trust. No one believes what a liar says - even when it's true.
- Ask questions that prompt truth-telling. Why did you do this? not Did you do this?
- Praise your child for telling the truth in difficult situations.
~The Parent Institute
Graduate Profile - Social/Emotional Well-Being
🔷Understand, manage, and express emotions effectively.
🔷Form, maintain, and navigate relationships with others.
🔷Develop a sense of belonging, emotional stability, and mental security.
Key Components:
Decision-Making:
🔷Making responsible and self-aware choices that respect others.
Balance and Stability:
🔷Adapting and navigating emotional challenges with resilience.
People-Skills:
🔷Managing emotions and social interactions effectively in daily life. Understanding another person's emotions related to their experiences and perspectives.
Delaying makes it worse
If your child puts off doing disliked tasks, recommend doing them first, instead. Explain that putting difficult things off just makes them seem harder. "Until that job is finished, it is just going to weigh on your mind." Then, help your child focus on how great it will feel when the task is completed.
~The Parent Institute
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