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the final bell Looking aheadandto avoid spring fever
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is an opportunity to do their best. Encourage set aside your kids to try their best, continue to prioritize time to complete homework, and about school attendance. Your positive attitude time for school (even when it’s sunny and almost strong. vacation!) can help your children finish
Focus on school
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he school year might be winding down, but this is one of the most treacherous times of the year when it comes to stuof the dent attendance and focus. The advent winter nicer weather, plus the stress of intensive that combine to produce a sort of “spring fever” and hits kids of every age, making them restless when inattentive. This is also the time of year starting attendance numbers plummet as well, June. from April and worsening on through and With spring in full swing, many students of the families begin to think about the end the only school year. High school seniors aren’t “end-ofones who experience “senioritis” or the school the-school-year-blues.” Even elementary dial back students can begin to shut down and year. their efforts towards the end of the school the It’s important to help children finish responsiraise to is goal school year strong. The to work ble learners who don’t quit and are able hard despite distractions. how School administrators are well aware of kids the annual epidemic of spring fever impacts teachers in the classroom. Toward this end, savvy incenextra with motivated students their keep tives, including engaging projects. Many teachers also instigate periodic “brain breaks,” when everyone takes a five-minute in some break to get up and stretch, or engage many spontaneous, fun activity. Likewise, during schools schedule incentivizing activities and the last few weeks to keep kids interested motivated. of For parents, this can be a frustrating time child’s the year. You’re sympathetic about your keeping restlessness; but also concerned about for final grades up, especially when it’s time exams. The good news is, with a bit of extra atten-
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proactive tion and creative thinking, you can be last in helping your child during these difficult easily be weeks of school. These tips, which can can help implemented into your daily routine, until the your child stay motivated and focused bell rings for summer vacation. Create a list of mile markers or Find out about upcoming school projects marker assignments, and transfer them to a mile This will list, charting progress along the way. without encourage your child to stick to the task track procrastinating, and will also help you keep to conof your child’s progress without having comis project the When stantly ask questions. child. pleted, plan a satisfying reward for your De-clutter work/study spaces Creating a peaceful, clutter-free work/study toward space for your child can go a long way your relieving unnecessary stress. Encourage cleaning, child to join in with a bit of early spring last so that you’ll both be prepared for those weeks of school.
Stick to the routine be When it’s warm and light outside, it can it’s super more difficult to enforce bedtime, but to get a important to help your child continue school good night’s rest through the end of the and year. Stick to your child’s regular bedtime and atcontinue to make time for homework home reading. responsidevelop to child your Encourage that bility and perseverance by maintaining until the good learners do what they need to do summer job is done. Sunny days and a looming learnvacation can’t stop motivated and eager will ers! Maintaining your school-year schedule help reinforce these beliefs.
Reasonable and reachable goals motiGoals are a great way to keep students a school vated and on-task towards the end of Gear check or two small time year. Help your children select one After months of hard work and lots of end of the level] goals to accomplish before the spent in the classroom, many [elementary be challenging supplies. school year. The goals should some ideas students are left with less-than-ideal have but reachable. For younger students crayons and erasers have longer no Pencils a level in reading, do your include things like moving up having a been worn down to nubs. It’s hard to memorizing their multiplication facts, tools. etc. days, best work when you don’t have the right best certain number of positive behavior Support your children put forth their steps to take stock of Work with your kids to determine effort up through the last day, by taking and encourage pencil, to work towards their goals their school supplies. A freshly sharpened can practice at home. a glue stick or two, and a new box of crayons By creating a low-stress, supportive home child to make a world of difference. environment and encouraging your be can you off, slacking without keep studying Lead by example during to proactive in combating spring fever Kids learn by example, and are quick With your help, talking those last two months of school. adopt our attitude. If your child hears you of seeing just how you your child will have the satisfaction about how you wish it was summer, or the school year on is likely to how rewarding it is to finish summer can’t wait for school to be over, he/she top. And you’ll both be ready for the adopt that mindset. Avoid speaking negatively season. your of about school, homework, etc. in front put forth child. It will be harder for your child to as the don’t Above photo: It’s way too easy to let things slide from down his best effort if he thinks you don’t care, weather gets nicer and kids are feeling worn like school, etc. months of study already completed. We like to tell our kids that every assignment
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HERALD
From the community. For the community.
We help Nassau residen ts
Camp and School Inside
Vol. 25 No. 17
Scout Pack 192 donates food Page 11
Finding his voice in L.A., Kennedy H.S. grad remembers his roots By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Courtesy Jennifer Sharkey Krauss
Bellmore native welcomes players old and new to Pickleball Plus Few may know that pickleball, a sport that resembles tennis, is the fastest growing sport in America, according to the USA Pickleball Association. But at Pickleball Plus, a new facility managed by Bellmore native Dory Levinter, the popularity of the sport is evident: In just five months, the facility has attracted over 4,000 members.
Hablamos Español
Matty Marz makes music
Across Bellmore and Merrick, families gathered to celebrate Easter over the weekend. Leading up to Sunday, several egg hunts and bunny meets took place, some for charity, as residents donated money or goods for a cause. At one celebration in North Bellmore, brothers Eddie, Joe and Jack Krauss met the Easter Bunny. More photos, Page 3.
jvallone@liherald.com
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Levinter, a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School, has long been involved in the tennis industry. She’s now a resident of Merrick, and her children, Dylan and Ryan, attend Sanford H. Calhoun High School and Merrick Avenue Middle School. When Levinter was in high school, her father was a PAL soccer coach, and when she asked if there was a PAL tennis program, she was told that none existed. “Literally, at 16, I called up the
[United States Tennis Association], and said, ‘I want to start a tennis program,’ and they sent down a box of equipment,” she recalled. Levinter and her friends began teaching tennis at Wellington C. Mepham High School, and the Bellmore-Merrick PAL tennis program became the first of its kind on Long Island. “I just do these things because I just Continued on page 9
Music has always been a part of Matty Marz’s life. Since he was young, it has been the Merrick native’s dream to find success in the music industry — and now, at 25, he is living in Los Angeles, and said he feels closer than ever to breaking through and making a name for himself in one of most competitive creative scenes in the world. A John F. Kennedy High School graduate, Marz — whose legal name is Matthew Zeltmann — has always had a love for music, and Matty throughout his youth he was part of various choir classes and the drama program at Kennedy. After high school, he attended Nassau Community College, where he studied recording arts and, he told the Herald, quickly reached the limits of the program. “I was like, ‘OK, well, I guess I’ll go and do my own thing,’” he recounted. “I’ve just kind of been, you know, hustling and
bouncing around ever since.” Living in Los Angeles since last September, Marz is part of the Los Angeles Academy for Artists and Music Production, which is managed by a Norwegian production team called Stargate, composed of Tor Hermansen and Mikkel Erickson. “They’ve being in the industry for several decades now,” Marz said of the pair. “They’ve done ‘Diamonds,’ by Rihanna — ‘Firework,’ by Katy Perry. I’ve been fortunate enough to be handselected from across the world to be part of this program.” According to its website, laampmusic.com, the academy Marz is a collaborative program for artists, songwriters and producers in contemporary popular music. Stargate handpicked 45 musicians to be part of the program. “It’s marketed kind of as a school, but it is very much not a school,” Marz explained. “We’re being immersed in the industry, and we’re writing songs that hopefully will get pitched and Continued on page 20