Successful parent meetings

This week, Engjaskóli hosted a series of successful, well-attended parent meetings that focused on student safety, welfare and prosperity.
Dagbjört Þorsteinsdóttir, project manager for parent cooperation at SFS, along with Ragnar Harðarson and Trausti Jónsson from East Center, visited the school and delivered an engaging and helpful presentation for parents.
In their presentation, Ragnar and Trausti emphasized how important it is for parents to delay their children's access to social media for as long as possible.
If a child gets parental permission for social media, parents need to monitor what apps or communication tools their children use on smartphones and in computer games.
They strongly encouraged parents to actively participate in their children's digital lives.
They also stressed the importance of having conversations with children about social media and apps, and getting to know these platforms. Parents should regularly review phones together with their children. Remember that what children see is not the same as what parents see.
"The world is open to children, but we can't forget that the world also has access to them," they said, reminding parents that communication apps and computer games can open doors to unwanted influences without proper monitoring.
They also discussed so-called "hot spots" in the neighborhood — places where unwanted interactions between children and teenagers can happen.
The presenters encouraged parents to stay alert about these locations and discuss how best to respond. The presentation also heavily emphasized parent cooperation — talking together, sharing common rules, exchanging information and supporting each other. "Cooperation is the best prevention," all the speakers said, emphasizing that when parents stand together, their children's safety increases.
They also encouraged people to contact them if any questions come up or if they want advice or a consultation.
 

Dagbjört Þorsteindóttir, project manager for parent cooperation at SFS, discussed the importance of good cooperation between homes and schools, noting that both domestic and international research shows that strong partnerships between schools and families make a significant difference, as does cooperation among parent groups. This type of cooperation has positive effects on children's well-being and classroom atmosphere, and serves as a key tool for prevention.
In the coming weeks, Dagbjört will meet with parents in all grade levels at Engjaskóli to work with them on creating prosperity agreements. Through these agreements, parents establish shared standards and rules that they follow to promote their children's welfare.”
The agreement will be posted in the classroom with signatures from all parents and guardians as a symbol of shared responsibility and support for children's prosperity.
Parents can expect mail from the school with meeting schedules, and it is essential that all parents and guardians attend.
We thank everyone who attended and participated actively, as the home-school partnership is the key to successful school operations.