The First College Midterm Exam - How to Support Your Son/Daughter

When your son/daughter calls home informing you that they have a midterm exam coming up, how do you react?

1) Do you feel confident that your son/daughter will prepare adequately?
2) Do you hold it together until you get off the telephone and start to cry, afraid for your child?
3) Do you rush to New London and book a hotel room to help your son/daughter study every night?

Hopefully you picked choice number 1. If choices 2 and 3 sound familiar, you might want to read the article, 10 Suggestions For College Parents to Help Students Through the Stress of Midterm Exams. Thames Academy students have 1 midterm exam in the fall semester and it does not carry significant weight in their overall course grade. However, we think it is important to expose students to what a "typical college exam" looks like. We discuss test preparation strategies, how to obtain and review class notes, and strategies for test preparation based on a student's individual learning style.

Your son/daughter's first midterm exam experience will be a positive one with your support from home!

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Healthy Lifestyle: Improving Your Body Image

Maintaining a positive self-image is something that young children, teenagers and adults struggle with alike. Students with learning disabilities, particularly, may have difficulty maintaining a positive self-image due to a lack of confidence, poor social skills or fear of failure in academic and social settings.

                                                
First year college students may have trouble forming friendships and may appear to be quiet, withdrawn and socially anxious. Other students may have an overinflated view of  themselves and have trouble accurately assessing their academic strengths and weaknesses. Body image is a tricky concept that can be even trickier to discuss with your son/daughter.

The link below provides a brief slideshow of language about body image that parents may find helpful. The next time your teenager is home for a visit, parents may want to discuss the idea of body image - knowing that this topic may lead to other important conversations about friendships, interpersonal relationships and self-esteem. If you haven't already asked how your college student views him/herself, I encourage you to do it. You just may be surprised by the answer you hear!

CLICK HERE to view an informative presentation developed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about body image.

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Video: Self-advocacy tips for students with LD

Watch best-selling author, Andrea Davis Pinkney, describe why it is so important for young adults to develop self-advocacy skills. She also speaks poignantly to parents about her experience with her own children's learning disabilities and the how she was able to cope and hind support for herself. See the video here...

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Frontline Video: "Inside the Teenage Brain..."

If you read the title to this blog post, weren't scared away, and decided to keep reading.....then you are a brave parent! Frontline, an informative television show for over 30 seasons on PBS, has a host of wonderful resources for parents based on their new film, "Inside the Teenage Brain: What's going on in there? How science may help to explain the mysteries of the teen years."

You can view the full film online by clicking on the top caption and browse around the other topics which include:

-From Zzzs to Aaas, Does a good night's sleep lead to better memory and grades?
-Do Your Teens Seem Like Aliens? Advice, online suggestions and resources for parents
-The Teen Brain is a Work in Progress, An interactive illustration of the brain helps explain recent research

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My son/daughter is sick....what do I do?

When your son/daughter isn't feeling well and they are away from home, it's probably as hard for them as it is for you! Not being able to take their temperature, make chicken soup or accurately gauge if this is a cold, flu virus or something more can be very hard for parents who have children away from home for the first time. But don't worry - there are lots of resources and people available to help your son/daughter.

Here are a few suggestions for when you get the text...."Mom, I'm not feeling well."

1 - First and foremost, assume that your son/daughter WILL get sick at least once during their academic year at college. Students who have roommates and are without mom or dad reminding them to wash their hands are notorious for spreading germs...and quickly! Thames faculty and staff know that as soon as the first student shows signs of sniffling and sneezing we bring out our PSPK (Personal Sickness Prevention Kit)....Airborne and Purell!

2 - Please don't overreact. Students develop a runny nose and may call home to inform you that they have the flu. Always ask about their symptoms and then make an informed decision using your mom or dad instincts.

3 - Encourage your son/daughter to go to the Heath & Wellness Office. This office is located in the Yarnall Athletic Center (gym building off of Dibiasi Drive). If your son/daughter is too sick to walk there, they can call Campus Safety who will drive to Thames Academy and pick up your student to bring them to Health & Wellness. The nurse practitioner is on duty weekdays from 9am-5pm and, if necessary, a physician will see students on campus on an as needed basis. If your son/daughter is sick in the evening hours, help them judge if their condition is mild enough to wait until the morning. In extreme cases, students may choose to be admitted to the Emergency Room at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital (one mile from campus on Montauk Ave).

4 - Please notify your student's academic advisor that he/she is not feeling well. The advisor can relay this information to instructors and residence life staff. Although, if your son/daughter has a roommate he/she will usually tell Thames staff and all of the other students that your son/daughter is not feeling well long before we receive an email from you. News of a student illness, similar to germs, spread very quickly in our building.

5 - Encourage your son/daughter, when feeling better, to contact his/her instructors and obtain any assignments or class notes that he/she may have missed. It is important for your son/daughter to realize that sick days in college are not free passes to avoid responsibility. As surprising as it may sound, some students believe the world stops when they do not feel well. Please reassure them that they will be fine in just a few hours (or days) and you are proud of them for taking care of themselves away from home!

Give yourself a pat on the back too for surviving your son/daughter's illness away from home!

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How to Stay Connected While Your Son/Daughter is Away at College

It can be a difficult balancing act for parents and caregivers when deciding how much and how often to communicate with their new college students. How do you "let go" of your child while still giving them love and support during their transition year at Thames? Here are some suggestions and tips for staying in touch while allowing your son or daughter to maintain their independence:

1) Communicate via e‐mail or text message. It's inexpensive and allows the student to communicate with you as his or her schedule allows. Please don’t call or text during class time. Your son or daughter will choose your phone call over the teacher’s lesson – trust us, it happens a lot.  

2) Write letters and send cards – from you or extended family members and friends. Many students look forward to the mail delivery every day, even though they don't always have the time to write or call in response. You may want to send a text to let them know to expect something in the mail and tot check their mailbox.

3) Send small care packages with items such as treats (or 'rarely-seen-in-a-college-dorm' healthy food), magazines, etc.

4) Visit your child on Family Weekend.  Meet his/her friends. Let your student set the tone for how the weekend is spent.  

5) Allow yourself to be a "shoulder to cry on". When your child calls or writes, listen and don't be judgmental. Please suggest that they seek out their Thames advisor for help. Often their are two sides to every story and the Thames advisor can help put the situation or worry into the bigger picture.

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Article: Letting Your Child Make Mistakes

Thames Academy is a program for students in many different places on their educational journey. We hope that each student's journey is full of forward steps and great successes. However, sometimes students need a safe place to try new things, an academic and residential transitional year, to make mistakes or as we call them, 'teachable moments.'

The article, How Parents Can Help College Students Value Their Mistakes, has excellent suggestions for parents to help their son/daughter turn missteps into learning opportunities.

Check out some of the tips below. If you like these suggestions, click here to read more!

• Don’t jump in to rescue your student.  Let him make the mistake – even though you may see it coming.  Remember that this can be a positive experience.
• Help your student evaluate the experience.  Making a mistake can be helpful if it means that your next decision will be different.  What has he learned from this experience?  What will he do differently next time?
• Help your student remember that learning is a process of constantly making and correcting mistakes, and that she has done it all of her life.  How did she learn to walk, to ride a bike, to add 2+2?

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Cracking the Code on Teen Netspeak

 The website, ParentFurther.com has a great resource for parents called, Cracking the Code on Teen Netspeak. This downloadable pdf lets you in on the "code" of text language and other abbreviations that you might find on popular websites.

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"Mom, I Want To Come Home!"

Do you feel your stomach tighten up as soon as you read the text message from your son/daughter...."Mom, I'm homesick!" If so, you are not alone.

Mom I Want to Come Home is a helpful article published in 2011 in the Huffington Post and written by Brian Harke, Ed.D, Dean of Students at University of Southern California.

The article explains common times during a semester when students sound the alert and call home with feelings of homesickness. The author also offers 6 suggestions for how parents can respond to these panicked phone calls/emails including my personal favorite, Don't Try to Fix It (at least for 24 hours).

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Committee & Activities Fair - TONIGHT!

Please encourage your son/daughter to visit the Committee & Activities Fair tonight in Moorings dorm!! It will be held from 7:00pm -9:00pm. All students are required to attend and check-in. They do not need to stay for all two hours.

There will be tables and flyers which represent the committees students can join at Thames Academy. Students are required to join one committee, but they can join more than one if they want!!

We tell the students - If you don't see something that interests you, why not think about starting your own committee?? We had great meeting today and discussed some of their interests, hobbies and passions. Students already have ideas to start committees such as Accapella Group, Martial Arts, Zumba, Swimming, Cartooning and Script writing!

See you TONIGHT (Wednesday) at 7:00pm - 9:00pm!

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Move-in Day: Right Around the Corner

We are so excited to welcome you to Thames Academy in just 24-48 hours!!

When you move in, you will be given a folder bursting with important information! This folder is given to each family - with both student and parent information inside.

Some of the information in the folder you  have already received during April Accepted Students Day and some of it will be new to you. But it is all important!

Here is a sneak peek at what is inside:

Student & Parent Orientation schedule
List of nearby banks
List of nearby shopping centers, stores
Technology information sheet
School supplies list
Executive functioning supplies list
Thames Parent Blog postcard
Information on the Navigate program

We can't wait to meet you! Drive/fly safely!

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Parent Facebook Group....just for Thames Academy Parents!

In addition to our Thames Parent Blog, we have just added another resource for parents......a Facebook Closed Group for parents of the incoming class of 2017 Thames students! 

Beginning this year, each class of parents will have a Closed Group on Facebook where parents can ask questions, share resources, and connect with each other. Parents might use this Group to ask questions such as:

-When day do classes begin?
-I am picking my son up from Thames this weekend. I live in Westchester. Would anyone like me to bring their son/daughter home too?
-Does anyone know the phone number for Health & Wellness Office on campus?

To find us on Facebook, search for "Thames Academy Parents" and request to join the group. A Thames staff member moderates the group and will approve you if you are a parent of an incoming student. It's that easy! 


We understand that not all parents feel comfortable using Facebook. This will be a closed group which means that the posts are private and only members who are approved to join can post and comment.

Other parent resources that Thames Academy provides are:

-Monthly Parent Workshops (on campus)
-Parent Bookshelf (books on parenting/LD resources to borrow, read at your leisure, free!)
-Thames Parent Blog (updated daily with new, interesting articles)

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Thames Parent Programming: Free Parent Bookshelf!!!

Thames Academy understands the challenges and joys involved in parenting. We also know that parenting a son/daughter with a disability adds an additional layer of advocacy, emotion and responsibility to a parent's job. Thames Academy believes it is important to support parents and caregivers of our students and so we have created many ways to connect with you and offer you support.

-*NEW* Parent Bookshelf - Our newest parent resource is a collection of books for parents which are available to take, borrow and read at your leisure. The books are on a variety of topics and multiple copies are available for you to read for free!

     A few of the titles on our Parent Bookshelf include:


           

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