December 14, 2012 - El Carmelo PTA

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER BY THE EL CARMELO PTAMAKE MONEY FOR EL CARMELO... AT NO COST TO YOU!!!Do you shop online?Then, you can raise money for ElCarmelo... and it won’t cost you acent! Here are 2 ways:1. Before you shop atAmazon, simply use thelink http://www.tinyurl.com/ElCarmeloAmazon. Youcan shop as usual after using this initial link. A!your account settings wi! stay the same, and the site wi!look the same. Bookmark this link now!The Amazon School Rewards Program donatesbetween 2 and 15% of your purchase price to the ElCarmelo PTA.DECEMBER’S DEVELOPMENTAL ASSET OF THE MONTH:FAMILY LIFE PROVIDES HIGH LEVELS OF LOVE AND SUPPORT.Family support refers to theways that parents, siblings, andextended family show love,encouragement, and comfortto each other. Families are thecornerstone of the social support system for youth.The 2011 survey of Palo Alto youth reveals thatwhile younger youth generally experience and areaware of family support, teenagers do so much lessoften: 89% of PAUSD elementary school students,84% of our middle school students, and 66% ofour high school students reported this asset, basedon their responses to the following statements:I get along well with my parents.My parents give me help and supportwhen I need it.My parents often tell me they love me.Because adolescents require greater autonomyand independence than younger children, effectivefamily support for older youth takes a differentform than in earlier years; however, their need fortheir families is still strong. Adults are challengedto find a balance between giving youth the love andsupport they need to navigate their adolescenceand the independence they need to develop asindividuals.The following discussion topics can be used toopen a dialogue with young people about the waysthat they experience family support:2. Sign up once for eScrip athttp://www.tinyurl.com/ElCarmeloeScrip and enter "ElCarmelo PTA" as the group name, click search, andclick on the found El Carmelo PTA group. Thenfollow the steps to sign up. Once signed up, everytime you shop at a store that you registered (e.g.,your Safeway club card or such), the store willdonate a percentage of your purchase price to theEl Carmelo PTA. Also, visit the eScrip OnlineMall (http://www.tinyurl.com/ElCarmeloOnlineMall) and shop with over 700merchant partners.If you have any questions, contact Grit Denkerat grit.denker@sri.com or (650) 269-1034.✓Does your family provide support in a way that’smeaningful and easy for you to recognize? Why orwhy not?✓Do you and your parents treat each other with thesame kindness and dignity that you’d expect fromyour friends?✓Does your family do things together on a regularbasis? Are there any activities that you’d like toshare (or be willing to share) with your family?Winter break provides families with a chance tospend more time together. We hope you enjoyyour time together and let them know you love andsupport them. For some resources and activities totry together, visit: http://www.projectcornerstone.org/pdfs/December_FamilySupport_ResourceKit.pdf.To get involved in the Palo Alto DevelopmentalAssets Initiative of Project Safety Net, email:devassetspaloalto@gmail.com.What are “Developmental Assets”?They are the positive values, relationships, skills andexperiences that help children and teens thrive. Youngpeople with high asset levels are most likely to makehealthy choices, while those with lower asset levelsare more likely to get involved with negative or riskybehaviors like violence, trouble in school, drug andalcohol use and more. (Search Institute created thedevelopmental assets framework. For moreinformation, visit www.search-institute.org.)CARMELETTER ● DECEMBER 14, 2012 ● ISSUE 13! PAGE 7