Mrs. Law's Lexington Junior High Blog

Test Taking Skills! Student often tell me that tests cause them anxiety, cause them stress, or that they are poor test takers. Did you know that you can actually get better at tests? The act of taking a test is a skill that you can develop!  Here are a few tips: Don't study with friends if it raises your anxiety. Do study with friends if it lowers your anxiety. Makes sense, right? The most important tip: AVOID CRAMMING! If you are prone to test anxiety, last minute studying is almost guaranteed to make you feel anxious. Start studying for a test far enough in advance (perhaps a few days before the test!) to avoid this. Better yet, study a little bit each day. Know when to stop studying! An extra half hour is not worth it if you are tired and unfocused. Know when to stop and get some sleep instead of trying to cram a few extra test points into your brain. Rest is important too! Read for mastery rather than memory: think about and try to understand what you read a

Did you know that, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, 20% of youth between the ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition and 8% of youth have an anxiety disorder?  What is even scarier to me is that according to the same data reports, nearly 50% of youth between ages 8 – 15 didn’t receive any mental health services in the last year. If you stop to really reflect on that, it would be unheard of for people to be ill with a physical illness and not receive any health care.  So that brings us to the question of why people aren’t getting the help they need.  “Many people feel embarrassed or ashamed of symptoms because our society places illogical taboos on mental health issues over physical conditions,” said clinical psychologist Nikki Massey-Hastings, PsyD. This can be seen even in the school setting.  When someone walks back into school with a cast or brace after breaking a bone, other students will rush up to offer sympathy and support.  W

Junior High is the perfect time to try something new! We have many different sports and clubs, with something for everyone:) Winter sports coming soon:  (Students need a yearly physical and completed paperwork to participate in any athletics). Wrestling Girls Basketball Boys Basketball Swimming Clubs already in progress: Breakfast Club  Every Thursday BEFORE school, in the gym. No need to sign up, just show up whenever you can!   Clubs starting soon: CACY (A community service organization) - First meeting will be this Thursday during lunches! Academic Challenge - Try-outs start next week! Power of the Pen Spelling Bee Math Counts Listen to announcements for more information!

The first grading period is officially over! It is amazing how fast the year goes by. For many of you, it probably feels like it just started. At the elementary level grading periods were 9 weeks long. Starting in Junior High, they are only 6 weeks long! This can be both a positive and a negative, depending on how you look at it.  On the positive side, you have more grades to average together for your final. Also, you have more fresh starts! Every six weeks you get to start over! This is often a source of hope for those of you who struggle with your grades. Each six weeks brings a new opportunity to set and achieve your academic goals.  On the other hand, six weeks is not a lot of time! For this reason, it is VERY IMPORTANT to start each new grading period as best as you possibly can. It is much easier to maintain your grades, than it is to dig yourself out of a hole from the first week!  There are many things that can get in the way of good grades. Distraction, organization, f