October

Review progress toward goals. Need help, students? If you do, get it early. If your study buddy can’t help you, ask for help from your teacher, someone who’s smarter than you are in the subject, or a tutor. Just get help. Don’t put it off.

Parents, monitor those long-range assignments, and make sure your student is working on them. Put up a big calendar where everyone can see it. Mark the due dates. X-off each day in a countdown to the Science Fair project or the English book report, or the social studies term paper on Tutankhamen.

Interim reports come out around this time. Students, review your progress with your parents. Parents, despite what your kids tell you, report card grades are rarely a surprise for them. They shouldn’t be a surprise to you either. Review grades regularly. You don’t need to make this an “Inquisition,” just show that you’re interested and that your interest will be continuous - all year.

November

Prepare for exams. Semester’s coming to an end. Students, are you ready for finals? Long-range projects completed? Parents, have a “backpack pop quiz.” Check out what’s in there. You may be surprised. Homework assignments never turned in? Last week’s tuna sandwich? Unsigned permission slip for tomorrow’s field trip to the museum?

Have any questions for teachers you’ve been putting off asking? Do it now.

December

Students, get your assignments done before the holidays. There’s nothing worse than having schoolwork hanging over your head during a holiday. If it’s unavoidable, have a plan about getting it done with the least amount of hassle. Don’t put it off to the last day.

Parents and students, spend as much time as you can together. Talk about non-school stuff, family history, family members you haven’t seen in a while. Take pictures; send them to friends and family with short notes. Build memories. Everyone read the same book and then spend some time talking about it.

Now that you have a plan for the first half of the school year, I’ll cover January, February and March in a few weeks...