April Newsletter-Your Child’s Inner Voice

View this email in your browser NEWSLETTER April 2019 WHAT'S INSIDE: THE POWER OF PARENTING SCHOOL CHOICE LEGISLATIVE UPDATES NEWS & EVENTS POWER2TEACH THE POWER OF PARENTING: The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice. -Peggy O'Mara What's the first thing our children hear from us in the morning? Do they feel greeted with cheer and optimism, or do they feel hurried along to get to school on time?   When our children get home from school do we tell them we missed them, or do we chastise them for getting dirty at recess?    What's the last thing our children hear from us at the end of the day?  If we forget to praise our children for the good we see them do, we may find that the only feedback they get from us is when something needs to be fixed. Children and adolescents interpret this kind of feedback as something is wrong with them. They then internalize these negative labels and begin to see themselves as "not good enough."    None of is a perfect parent. Sometimes we might get upset or yell. Sometimes we are going to be rushed, and sometimes we are going to let our frustration show. But, according to Affective Neuroscientist, Jaak Panksepp, there is a way to make up for the times when we're not on our best parenting behavior. Panksepp says there are 3 key times during the day that have the biggest impact on children and if we can have positive interactions during these times, it will have a substantial impact on their emotional well-being. The 9 most important minutes of a child's day are: the first 3 minutes of their day-right after they wake up the 3 minutes after they come home from daycare or school the last 3 minutes of the day–right before they go to bed. Having meaningful conversations with our children during these times and giving specific praise not only helps our children feel loved, but it also lays the foundation for what they think about themselves. "Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become." - Brooke Hampton Thank you Earl Plastic Surgery for sponsoring this message. Back to Top SCHOOL CHOICE   Open Enrollment CCSD:   CCSD's open enrollment is April 15, 2019 – July 24, 2019, for the 2019-2020 school year. CCSD schools with available seats will allow parents/guardians of students who do not reside in these attendance zones to apply for enrollment. Parents must provide their own transportation for their children if children are accepted into another school through open enrollment.   For more information on CCSD's open enrollment, click here. Introduction to Homeschooling Workshop:   New to homeschooling, thinking about it, or just need some encouragement? Come to this informal gathering, Elissa Wahl from Nevada Homeschool Network will be on hand to answer all of your homeschooling questions.   Monday, April 15th from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.  Click here for more information. Back to Top LEGISLATIVE UPDATES BILLS WE SUPPORT: Senate Bill 351 (SB351) seeks to maintain existing funding for the Opportunity Scholarship. This bill proposes to make the $20 million in scholarship funding permanent so that all students currently utilizing the Opportunity Scholarship can continue to do so. The bill also opens up the program to special needs families.   Senate Bill 403 (SB403) protects students' data from 3rd parties. BILLS WE OPPOSE: Assembly Bill 430 (AB430) allows the Division of Child and Family Services to establish a family home visiting system by governmental entities to visit homes of children during early childhood. These visits will look for, collect, and report on "Information concerning outcomes relating to prenatal, maternal, infant and child health, occurrences of child abuse and neglect, family economic security, childhood development and school readiness." (lines 42 - 45 of AB430) Visits will be based off of "Any...risk factor identified by the Division." (line 29 of AB430) This gives the State unprecedented license to monitor a family with no due process and no evidence of a crime or neglect against a child. Assembly Bill 458 (AB458) stops the growth of tax credits to the Opportunity Scholarship School Choice Program. It's currently allowed to grow by 110% each year. This Bill would keep the figure flat, which will not cover all of the students currently utilizing the program. Assembly Bill 462 (AB462) ​This bill prevents any new public charter schools from opening and denies families access to a public charter school education. Assembly Bill (AB295) Mandates Statewide Comprehensive Sexuality Education Curriculum. Allows sexuality education to be taught in other subjects like English and Math, and could start as early as kindergarten  Eliminates local control of curriculum and content Parents lose Opt-in (paper permission slips) Allows outside entities like Planned Parenthood to teach and market their services to children   Click here to view our presentation on how bad this bill really is. It outlines what would be taught in schools and actual graphic, explicit and suggestive curriculum being taught in California schools as a result of comprehensive sexuality education being passed in the state. For more information on the status of these bills and what you can do about them, visit https://www.power2parent.org/state-legislation.html   Want to get involved? Host a cottage meeting! Email us at info@power2parent.org.  Please make your voice heard by clicking here to record your opinion regarding each of these bills on the Nevada State Legislative website. Help us fight these bills! Click here to donate. Stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter and Facebook page. We will keep you informed on potential legislation that affects you and your ability to parent. Back to Top NEWS & EVENTS CCSD Sex Education Advisory Committee: The Clark County School District is forming a Sex Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) to review potential sex-ed curriculum and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees, who will then vote on what curriculum will be used. The Committee is meant to be a reflection of the community and will be comprised of 5 parent representatives, 1 medical or nursing professional, 1 counselor, 1 religious leader, 1 teacher, 1 male student, and 1 female student.  If you are interested in serving on the committee, more information can be found here. All applications must be submitted by 4:00 pm on Friday, April 26th. Public School Board of Trustee Meetings:   Are you concerned about what is happening in your child's school? You have an elected Trustee to represent your voice in the school district. This includes procedural and financial decisions. These Trustees meet regularly and these meetings are open to the public for you to attend and voice your opinion. You can listen in online and email in a statement and express concerns! This is your chance to make your voice heard. Visit your local school district's website to see the Board of Trustee Meeting Calendar. The CCSD Trustee Meetings for April will be held April 11th and April 25th at 5:00pm and can be viewed here.   The Washoe County School District Trustee Meetings can be found here. FAMILY FUN DAY APRIL 17TH 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm Family Fun Day at SeaQuest! In partnership with the Mrs. Nevada-America program and Power2Parent, SeaQuest will be hosting a family event on April 17th from 3:00-6:00 pm at 3528 S. Maryland Pkwy. Las Vegas, NV 89169. Mrs. Nevada-America 2018, Yelena Anter, and the 2019 Mrs. Nevada America contestants will be there with their families to celebrate the importance of family engagement. SeaQuest will have special animals and exhibits open and on display and the Mrs. Nevada-America sisterhood will be throughout to take pictures with your family. Come dressed as a prince or princess for half off admission! Thank you SeaQuest for helping us celebrate the importance of family! Back to Top POWER2TEACH Congratulations Julie Lokken-Ruchmeyer!    Julie is this month's Power2Teach winner of a $50 Amazon gift card and will be entered into our end of year $500 grand prize. Julie was nominated by her colleague, Lila Allen, who had this to say about her: "Julie Lokken-Ruchmeyer is an amazing teacher who is passionate about teaching. She works hard to get to know each student's interests so she can teach them at their level and reach them emotionally as well. Julie motivates & inspires other educators on a daily basis! She definitely deserves recognition for her teaching and effort to reach ALL learners!"   Julie teaches 1st grade at Tony Alamo Elementary School Elementary School. She has been a teacher in Clark County for over 25 years! Do you have a teacher who has gone the extra mile for your child, or who has had an amazing influence on students in the State of Nevada? Each month we will choose one teacher in Nevada who will be highlighted in our monthly P2P Newsletter and who will then be in the running to win our Grand Prize of  $500 to use for the next school year! We love our Nevada teachers and we're excited to show our support in a big way!  Good Luck! Nominate a Teacher here: https://bit.ly/2B0rizB Back to Top DONATE NOW We exist to inform, organize, and mobilize community members for the protection of fundamental parental rights. Sign Up! Text Message Updates Now Available! Copyright © 2019 Power2Parent, All rights reserved. POWER2PARENT.ORG   Our mailing address is: POWER2PARENT P.O. BOX 10030 W CHARLESTON BLVD LAS VEGAS, NV 89135 email us at info@power2parent.org Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.