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 sympa...

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, o...

Earlier this year, I talked to English classes and welcomed them to the 2017-2018 school year. We discussed classes, lockers, social life at the Junior High, confidentiality, and many other things. During that talk, I shared some exciting news! I am getting married!  As a result, I will be out of the office from September 21st to September 26th. If you need immediate assistance while I am away, please contact Taylor Gerhardt or John Watkins at 419-884-2112. When I return I will be Mrs. Law! So do not be surprised when you see a different name on the door, or "Law" written on passes. I will still be here! Have a great week and I will be back September 27th!

  Let's get organized! The time to get organized is NOW! Yes, I realize that we are still in the early part of the year, but trust me, it is better to start off organized and just maintain it rather than to let things get completely out of control and then work on cleaning everything up in order to find that *one* item that you needed. For some students, being organized comes easier than it does to others and the reality is that one system of staying organized doesn't always work for everyone else so you really need to think about what does or does not work for you. Sometimes the best way to figure out an organization strategy that will work for you is to stop and reflect back on what has NOT worked for you in the past. For example, if you are a person who always tries to keep things in binders, but then ends up with the little pocket areas in the front and the back of the binder stuffed to the breaking point then this system of organization really...

It is the last day of school!!! While many of us are planning our summers, thinking about vacations and all of the projects that need to be done, one of our Lexington families has something much different on their minds. The Percy family experienced a house fire earlier this week. Everyone is safe, but the family is in need of our support.   Please help if you can, and share their story! https://www.gofundme.com/deeprocopio