Start Your Day
We place high value on athletics and activities. To complement our rigorous academic programs, we would like all of our or 7th and 8th grade students to participate in some activity or athletic program. Participation in athletics and activities teaches teamwork, develops character, and provides a sense of responsibility to achieve a common goal. Every young person will need these qualities for success in the real world.
How to Start the Day the Right Way
Morning is undoubtedly everyone’s least favorite part of the day. After all, the bed is warm and comfortable, that stupid alarm clock makes a dreadful sound, the eyes do not easily adjust to light, and the body’s melatonin levels, the hormone that controls the human circadian rhythm, take some time to drop down.
Mornings are especially difficult for teenagers and children who need more sleep than most people. According to kidshealth.org, school-age children and pre-teens need 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night, while teenagers need 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep each night (All about Sleep).
MAKE SURE WE MONITER SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY IN THE EVENINGS AND NIGHTIME.
Here are some tips to start the day right for you and your kids:
Set a consistent bedtime for each of your children. Sure, it’s easier to set a general bedtime for the household, but if you have children of different ages, each one will need to go to bed at a different time. For example, if your eight-year-old needs to wake up at 7 a.m. his bedtime should be between 7 and 9 p.m. If your fifteen-year-old wakes up at 6:30 a.m. his bedtime should be between 9 and 10 p.m. You should be going to bed after your children because adults naturally need less sleep. This will allow you time to prepare for the next morning i.e., making lunches, planning breakfast, gathering/organizing school bags, picking out clothes, etc. (Tip: Set a bedtime for yourself too. It’s easier to get your kids out of bed in the morning when you have a good night’s rest.)
Hydration: We as a nation are dehydrated by drinking all the fad drinks that are out there. Cokes, tea, and sport drinks are filled with acidic carbonation and sugar, therefore, by drinking them we are dehydrating our bodies even more. The human body is made primarily of water, so when we starve our bodies of the only nutritious drink, we essentially are destroying our own bodies. When we do not have adequate amounts of water for our brain or organs, the body begins pulling the moisture from elsewhere in the body, increasing the chances for problems.
Facts about hydration:
1) Water can be attained by eating certain fruits or vegetables with high water contents. (Low fat milk 90% water, Lettuce 96%, oatmeal 84%)
2) Your body will not survive without an efficient amount of water. Water is the solvent for biochemical reactions. (3 days max can a person live without water?)
3) You need water for digestion. Water is required to moisten food (saliva) digest food (gastric secretions) transports nutrients to cells (blood) discards waste (urine) and it dissipates heat (sweat). Water is a major component of your muscles and organs. A male’s body is made up of 60% water and the female body is made up of 50% water.
4) Your body parts have different water contents. Water constantly moves through your cells. About 4-10% get replaced everyday with “fresh” water. If you do not consume water you are already way behind. For example blood is 93% water, muscle is about 73% water, and body fat is 10%.
5) Your body produces 8-16 ounces a day. This occurs in everyday people not athletes. Athletes can produce that amount in 2-3 hours. In other words the more active you are the more water intake you need.
6) An increased concentration of particles in your blood triggers the sensation of thirst. The body often mistakes thirst for hunger, therefore, we tend to eat when we are just thirsty. This causes you to retain fat, rather than flushing toxins and fat from your body it is stored.
7) Body water absorbs heat from your muscles and sweat dissipates the heat. The evaporation of 36 oz of water through sweat burns 580 calories. Sweat keeps you from overheating.
8) When you sweat you lose water from inside and outside of your cells. Without adequate water your cells begin to dry out. You will notice this with a headache or your skin will become dried out and wrinkly.
9) Dehydration will hinder athletic performance. Athletes who lose 2% of their body weight lose their mental edge and their ability to optimally perform in hot weather. Yet during cold weather losing 3% will cause a lack of performance. A 5% loss create more pressure on your organs to function properly. A 10% loss in body weight is LIFE THREATENING!
10) Water can assist in constipation and urinary tract infections. Theories also suggest increased water intake will improve weight loss and improve skin tone.
11) If you do not know the amount of water you should consume monitor your urine. If your urine is dark and has an odor you are dehydrated. Urine should be somewhat clear and odorless depending on the previous meal you have consumed. If you urinate only once or not at all in a normal work day from 8am to 3pm, you are extremely dehydrated.
Establish quiet hours before bedtime. This will help calm the children and bring a peaceful atmosphere into the home. It will also help if your children have different bedtimes because you won’t have to worry about your other children waking an early sleeper.
Remove all electronics from the bedroom. Do not let your child go to sleep with the television on, and ask them to leave their cell phones and other PDAs in the living area. According to Jeanie Lerche Davis, author of “Good Sleep: Can It Still Be Simple?”, your body goes through four 90-minute stages throughout the night, and if your body goes through a couple of cycles each night, then you have had a good night’s sleep (Good Sleep). Electronics can disrupt a person’s sleep cycle and may never allow him to reach all four stages of sleep leaving him groggy and grumpy in the mornings causing multiple issues when arriving at school.
Wake up at least 30 minutes before your children. This time should be viewed as “alone” time for you, or you and your spouse, to prepare for the day. (Tip: You can use this time catching up on the news, preparing breakfast, making lunches, signing those endless school forms, or you can use this time to fulfill your physical, emotional, or spiritual needs such as practicing some yoga moves or simple stretching, writing in your journal or catching up on a friend’s blog, or reading the scriptures or performing other types of religious or spiritual practices.)
Always, always eat breakfast! And if you can, eat it together. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it can also become something your children look forward to when waking up. Of course, not everyone has time to make a gourmet breakfast each morning, but as long as you are putting something healthy and filling your kid’s stomachs each morning then you’re golden. (Tip: An apple gives more energy to a person than a cup of coffee because it contains a sugar that releases slowly over time instead of as a quick jolt that is followed by a crash.
Accountability: Every administrator, parent, coach, and student, have responsibilities that culminate to produce the best version of ourselves. We at RMS feel the more involved we are in our children’s lives the more productive and more rewarding a child’s life will be. Their success starts with the adults in every situations from school to home. We need to conduct ourselves as such.
Manners/Expectations: RMS expects that every student, parent/guardian, and coaches will conduct themselves in an appropriate manner at all times because they are a reflection of the school. Any person who derails the culture of RMS athletics will be subject to consequences.
Coaches are expected to communicate with their athlete’s parents about referrals or any issues their child may be exhibiting. Coaches will always treat each and every student athlete or parent in a professional manner.
Parents/Guardians are expected to be involved and support their student athletes in a positive manner. Parents are allowed to help coach their athlete, however, not during school sponsored activities where there is a desired coach for that activity or sport. Parents may coach but on their own time. It is expected that parents support their children and encourage them, however, the encouragement does not need to come at the cost of others. We always need to be considerate of the people involved. In other words put yourself in their shoes for a moment and think before you speak or complain.
(Ex. refs, coaches or fellow athletes)
Student Athletes are expected to exhibit excellence in everyday living from school to home. Athletes are expected to do the right thing when nobody is watching but remember somebody is always watching.
Referral Policy: Any student athlete participating in school sponsored athletics or activities will abide by the RMS Athletic Code of Conduct.
- If a student receives a referral during their desired sport or activity the said student will not be allowed to travel with their club or team. For home games they may be seated with their team, however, in school uniform. ( No street clothes)
Communication: Communication makes the world go round. We at RMS will communicate with parents and guardians when issues arise whether they are positive or negative. We believe it is a two way street, therefore, we ask parents/guardians to do the same. We understand emergencies arise, however, please inform your child’s coaches or a leave brief message with the school secretary.
Each Coach will be using BAND (An app that allows coaches to communicate through text and reminds every parent of upcoming events, game cancellations or changes about practice times.)
Parents or Guardians will be able to see scores of previous games as well as schedules and important reminders on our website www.rmsbraves.org