a matter of principal
a matter of principal Anita Qonja takes the reins at Loon Lake By Crystal Kassab Jabiro Ms. Qonja’s Tips for Parents Anita Qonja poses with student Ava Gordon. Anita Qonja never dreamed of being a principal. She taught for the past 10 years at Walled Lake’s Pleasant Lake Elementary in West Bloomfield and immersed herself in many leadership roles. When talking about her ideal position, colleagues told her it sounded like she could handle the responsibilities of a principal. At the end of this past school year, Qonja interviewed for the principal position at Loon Lake Elementary in Commerce, a school in the Walled Lake district. Superintendent Kenneth Gutman was impressed and thought she could bring a much-needed intelligence and different perspective to administration. “She has had an outstanding teaching career and has such a passion for children, we knew she was the one,” said Gutman, who has been superintendent since December. After graduating from Bishop Foley High School in Madison Heights, Qonja studied at Oakland University and got her B.S. in Elementary Education/Mathematics in 2000. She taught third through fifth grades at Pleasant Lake since 2001. The past decade has brought a wealth of experience for Qonja, and she has served in many capacities, from the North Central Accreditation (NCA) Committee to Building Leadership to District English/ Language Arts Committee. In the meantime, she obtained a Master of Arts in Teaching Reading and Language Arts in 2004 as well as a Reading Specialist Endorsement. She is currently working on a second master’s in Educational Leadership to fulfill the certification requirements for a Michigan principal. “I took any opportunity because I enjoyed it. I was always concerned about school improvement,” said Qonja, 33. “I am very proud to be a part of this district. It shaped the kind of teacher I am.” Walled Lake’s population of Chaldean students has increased in the past decade with newly constructed homes and a desire to be close to St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Church in West Bloomfield. While there are many Chaldean-American teachers all over Metro Detroit, very few have gone on to administrative levels. Qonja is quite possibly the first Chaldean principal in Michigan – maybe even the United States. “She was hired because she was the best for the job, first and foremost,” said Gutman. “The fact that she may be the first Chaldean principal ever is a bonus.” SAAB OF TROY AND LAKESIDE INTRODUCES 60 DAY BUY BACK GUARANTEE! SEE DEALER FOR FULL DISCLOSURE AND DETAILS 2011 9-5 Turbo 4 Sedan Read, read, read! Start when your child is a baby. Your child’s brain develops to about 80 percent of the adult size by the age of 4. The prime “window of opportunity” is birth to ages 4 or 5, so capitalizing on these years is essential. Read to your child to model fluency (smooth, accurate reading). Read non-fiction text to help promote the development of academic language and vocabulary. Talk, talk, talk! Adults tend to use short, quick phrases with children. Remember, when you speak you are not only modeling grammatically correct English, but you have the opportunity to develop your child’s word usage and vocabulary. So be deliberate, give details and use “big words.” Get involved, encourage participation and communicate! Attend curriculum nights and parent-teacher conferences, and make an effort to be visible. Districts and schools utilize many tools to help you stay in the know. Use email to communicate with your child’s teacher(s), use the online parent access to check in on your child’s grades and progress, and visit school websites. Finally, volunteer! Whether in your child’s classroom, at field day or bingo night … not only will the school be grateful, but your child will be proud. Take part in school events! 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laws of distraction Technology often diverts children’s attention By Crystal Kassab Jabiro The advent of technology is taking kids’ learning to both positive and negative levels. Some classrooms have SMARTboards instead of chalkboards and are allowing Kindles instead of actual paperback novels. Teachers are even using Facebook and Twitter to post homework assignments, and some podcast or Youtube their lectures. They are doing what they can to keep their students’ attention spans intact, but it is hard to compete with i-Pods and Angry Birds. Because there are so many constant technological advances, young people need continuous motivation. It’s all about instant gratification; they have everything at their hands in a tiny cell phone. It has become increasingly difficult for teachers to hold kids’ attention because they are so enamored of what i-Tune they are going to download next or what their friends are posting on Facebook. Understandably, children these days are tech-savvy — and they should be in order to compete in a global society — but it is imperative that parents monitor their activity and limit their use. Social networking, apps, texting and even i-Pods can be a distraction to learning when used excessively and inappropriately. It can also produce undesired issues for pre-teens and teenagers. That is why Monica Danou is very protective of her daughter. Taylor, 12, has friends who have Facebook accounts and cell phones, but her mother thinks those are unnecessary. Taylor is never unsupervised and has had very limited exposure to social networking and technological gadgets. “We’re trying to keep her as young as possible,” said Danou, who also has two younger sons. “I feel the longer we keep them young, the less they want. But everybody’s situation is different.” Danou monitors Taylor’s e-mail account and said she would check her texts if she ever got her a cell phone. But for now, she and her husband want their oldest child to just be a kid without digital disruption. It is not uncommon for children to be easily distracted without technology too. All schools have their own policies about the use of electronic devices, but parents — and teachers — need to uphold these rules. Since brain-based learning has proven that music helps kids concentrate in mathematics, teachers may allow students to listen to their i-Pods when independently working on math assignments. Music is also an escape for troubled kids who actually find comfort in school. So while the school rule may state “no electronic devices,” some teachers allow it anyway. Nonetheless, its use needs to be limited because it can cause the opposite effect — dysfunction without it. The Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project cites that 64 percent of cell-owning teens aged 12-17 text during class even if the school has banned cell phones, and the same percentage applies to parents who look at the content of their children’s phones. Half of texting teens ages 12-17 send about 1,500 texts a month! But not having access to social networking or a cell phone at school is a disturbance in itself. Kids are so used to it that they cannot focus in class and misbehave as a result. Wilkinson Middle School in Madison Heights paid to put in a block to Facebook because the distractions were getting out of hand. Just like other schools, children 5 Ways to Set Limits • The legal age for Facebook is 13. If your kids are younger than 18, require that they ask your permission before opening an account. Ask why they want an account and discuss Internet dangers. Think about their maturity level and routinely check into their Facebook page to see what kinds of statuses and comments they are making and pictures they are posting. • If you feel that your elementary and middle school-aged kids need a cell phone for the security it brings you, put parental controls on it, buy prepaid cards, and only give it to them when necessary, like if you separate at the mall or amusement park. Contact your carrier for a family plan that might be more cost-effective. • High school is different. Teens often have after-school activities and work obligations, but you need to have serious conversations about texting and driving, sexting, pix messaging and live chat. Limit their minutes, texts and web time. Make them responsible. • Computers, laptops, i-Pods and cell phones should not be in their bedrooms. Have a “charging station” somewhere in the kitchen or family room. This way, your children can sleep at a decent time and you can have access to checking their history. • Have a cut-off cell phone and computer time, as well as other rules. For example, the cell phone should be shut off at 9 p.m. and no texting during dinner. bring their cyber-dramas to the classroom. Clarys Jamil, who taught Science and ESL at Wilkinson for several years, believes that Facebook and text messaging can cause problems if they are used inappropriately. She successfully used Facebook for enrichment, updates and classroom help, but she knows kids use it for other reasons. It is not only Facebook or cell phones that can be distracting, but the overall effect it has on children’s abilities. Jamil notices that kids will shorthand in their essays as if they are typing a text message. Many do not even know how to navigate through a library because they can Google everything instead. In some ways, technology is having a negative effect on their skills. “It’s so much harder now to keep students interested than it was seven years ago,” said Jamil, 34. “The kids are so used to these media that they need constant stimuli.” SEPTEMBER 2011 CHALDEAN NEWS 39
