By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Creek View Elementary School parents got tips ranging from bullying and the dangers of secondhand smoke to the school’s improvement program and good homework practices during the CVES Parenting Day on Oct. 16.

In addition to welcoming parents into the school’s classroom throughout the day, school leaders also held several sessions in the school’s library designed to educate parents on a variety of topics.

CVES Principal Charissa Cole said the school held a Parenting Day last year, but this year marked the first time for the parent-focused seminars.

“They love it. Most of the parents here have been here the whole time,” Cole said as she looked at the group of about 20 parents gathered in the library about an hour after the event began. “Just to have that home-school connection is important. We want to give them tips and resources they can use at home.”

The morning seminars started off with CVES Assistant Principal Holly Alverson, who gave parents tips on helping their children complete their homework each night, particularly with reading and writing.

School Assistant Principal Mandy Wesson then reviewed the recently enacted CVES continuous improvement program, which lays out guidelines for English language, reading and math.

Jan Corbett from Family Connection and Janet Hill from the Alabama Department of Public Health provided advice for parents to prevent their children from making bad decisions as teenagers, and harped on the importance of keeping children away from secondhand smoke.

School counselors Gabbi Glassco and Kari Wilson went over the book “The Leader in Me,” which lays out the seven habits of happy kids, and explained what kids should do if they are ever the victim of bullying.

“A child is bullied in the classroom every 25 minutes. A lot of times, that will happen when an adult or teacher is not around. It is important for kids to tell an adult if this is going on,” Wilson said.

Wilson said bullying is “repetitive and meant to harm or humiliate” a student, and said differences in opinion, accidental or isolated incidents are not considered bullying.

“We teach them that if someone comes in and says something mean to them one time, give them a chance to apologize,” Wilson said. “We talk with the kids who are doing the bullying too. We want to stop it and let them know there are consequences for their actions, but as counselors, we want to find out why it’s happening in the first place.”