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18 stouffville suntribune thursday sept 2 2004 classroom early birds get november break by mitchell brown staff writer all in all morgan green has had a pretty good summer when she wasnt volun teering as a tutor or hanging out with friends she spent time portaging through algonquin provincial park and getting up close and per sonal with a moose while all that sounds like fun she cant deny its nice to get back to school yeah because then i get to see all my friends and stuff the grade 9 keswick high school student said summer in case you havent heard is almost over even more so for stu dents at keswick high and markviile secondary school in markham while most students across the region return to classes next week students at those two facilities returned this week in exchange for a weeklong break in november for returning students who started coming back tuesday its a chance to get the administrative stuff out of the way before hitting the books for incoming grade 9 stu dents such as ms green it was a chance to find home rooms and get oriented before the older students arrive i think shes ready her invest in canadas best john paulino investment representative 34 civic ave unit 101 stouffville bus 905 6409559 18886313348 fax 9056409916 wwwedwardjonescom member cipf edward jones serving individual investors mother barb wood said i think the kids after the summer get kind of bored so theyre ready to come back a week early they say atten dance really drops off around november and december so coming back a week early i think its a great idea the early opening that keswick high first tried last september and markviile secondary is implementing this year for the first time is just one of the ways in which parents and teachers are try ing to ease those dreaded backtoschool jitters most students feel a mix ture of sadness and excite ment just before the new school year but students in those transitional years who are leaving elementary school behind are more often at risk for increased levels of anxiety according to glenn dipasquale chief psycholo gist for the york region district school board it doesnt help they hear all those rumours from older kids about how terrible high school is he said older kids like to scare the younger kids but the fact is staff photosusie kockerscheidt keswick high school grade 9 students front left morgan green megan robertson sasha clements back left courtney de mambey erin burford bethany stephens and brittany howard discuss schedules during lunch monday we all survived it regardless of what grade theyre entering its normal for some children to feel anxiety about the upcoming year he said while that is usually bal anced by the excitement of seeing old friends again he suggests concerned parents watch for any changes to the childs sleeping or eating habits i think parents should be careful they dont feed into the situation he said attitude is everything and when a child starts to show dread about going back to school that will get the par ents worried and the kids can sense that the only advice for parents is try to stay excited stay positive and draw the child back to the fun that advice also works for parents of students about to enrol in college or university angela spiers said the aurorabased con sultant and guidance coun sellor for edvice consulting said the elimination of oag in high school means students are arriving on campus at a younger age which can lead to stress for those who may not feel prepared for the change i think parents are strug gling with stress as well which is normal because everyone in the family is going through the transition she said adding more and more schools are inviting par ents to frosh week activities as for the students them selves she said making con nections is key most schools have orien tation events open houses and peer mentoring pro grams designed to help incoming students find their footing and she recommends students take advantage of whatever is available dont let your dreams go up in smoke quitting saves mon than your life calculate how at cancerca jsmokershelpline cauawan cancer sckctv 1 877 5135333 ttemeqqtbiw1oyoubiomxfmwciottlietorwnatstasrift to be a carrier for the economist or tribune call 905 2948244 cexy theatres of uxbridge call 852roxy 7699 for shows times vvvidxvt heatrescom junior a hockey weve got hockey tonight 730pm vs st mikes buzzers exhibition hockey regular season opens sept 16th stouffville arena annual hockey swap sat sepfc 11j call for info boyds forsports 9056406657