The Preteen Post, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health




	PreteenAlliance.org Gets a New Look If you haven't already, visit the recently redesigned Preteen Alliance website. The new look features a "what's new" section on the home page, which highlights Alliance activities and news about preteens. The site also includes re-caps of recent Alliance events, and links to research, resources, and expert columns on topics ranging from stress to mentoring to the transition to middle school. http://www.preteenalliance.org "Follow" Us on Twitter and "Friend" Us on Facebook The Foundation is “tweeting” about children’s health issues, and kidsdata.org is “tweeting” about children’s health data, including offering a fact of the day about children in California. Follow our tweets, and tell us what your organization is doing. Also, if you use Facebook, we encourage you to join our foundation's newly created group, Let's Make Kids a Priority, and let others know what you are doing to ensure that our society addresses the needs of children. Find Us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lpfch and http://www.twitter.com/kidsdata Find Us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=61519484166

	Brief: The Importance of Preparing Middle School Students for the 9th Grade Transition Research indicates that students who are unprepared to handle the transition from middle school to high school are more likely to disengage from school, which in turn may lead to dropping out and a host of related problems. This brief, part of a series by Public/Private Ventures, presents an overview of issues surrounding the 9th grade transition: why it is so important; why many middle school students find it so difficult; traits related to a successful transition; and what schools can do to ease difficulties with the transition. http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publication.asp?section_id=23&search_id=0&publication_id=269 Straight from the Source: Preteen Survey Data Now Available on Kidsdata.org Self-reported data from 5th and 7th graders (as well as 9th and 11th graders) from the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) now are available on kidsdata.org, the result of a new partnership between the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health and WestEd, which administers the CHKS for the California Department of Education.. More CHKS data will be added in coming months. To view all current CHKS data, visit http://www.kidsdata.org/chks/. Did you know... About 46% of 7th grade girls and 40% of 7th grade boys in California report high levels of "school connectedness," which includes being treated fairly, feeling close to people, feeling happy, feeling part of, and feeling safe at school. Within 30 days of the survey, about 95% of 7th graders in California had not smoked at least one cigarette. Statewide, slightly more than one in four (28%) 5th graders report having alcohol at least once in their lifetime.

	Support Group for Siblings of Children with Disabilities Parents Helping Parents, Sibshops Support Groups, and the El Camino YMCA co-sponsor this event to bring together siblings of children with special needs for group discussions, activities, and the opportunity to learn more about their siblings' disabilities. Sunday, April 5, in Mountain View. http://www.kidscal.org/event/204101 Education Forum: Supporting Emotionally Healthy Asian American Youth This seminar, offered by Asian Americans for Community Involvement and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, will focus on the pressures facing Asian American youth and the cultural divide between young Asian women and their parents. A panel of professionals also will offer information about local resources. Thursday, April 16, in Palo Alto. http://www.kidscal.org/event/205353 Dads of Daughters: The Joys and Challenges of Raising Teen Girls This Lucile Packard Children's Hospital seminar aims to help fathers learn how to support and maintain a positive father-daughter relationship through the preteen and adolescent years. Thursday, April 30, in Palo Alto. http://www.kidscal.org/event/205260 Find more events focused on preteens on kidscal.org: http://www.kidscal.org Add your events to kidscal.org: http://www.lpfch.org/cgi-bin/calendar/admin.cgi If you have information about preteen events or activities for the next newsletter, please send it to preteens@lpfch.org.

	The Preteen Alliance promotes the emotional and behavioral health of preteens by using information to raise public awareness and inform regional action. The Alliance has more than 1,600 members and anyone is welcome to join. For more information, see http://www.preteenalliance.org/about.html. Also on preteenalliance.org: Research About Preteens: Find recent research commissioned by the foundation regarding preteens, as well as links to other relevant research. Resources and Services: Preteenalliance.org's resources page links to websites and services on topics affecting preteens. Data on Preteens: Find preteen-specific facts on bullying, gang involvement, stress, weight, and other topics – all from kidsdata.org’s database of local children’s facts. If you have questions about The Alliance or want to include information in the next edition of The Preteen Post, reply to this e-mail or call us at (650) 724-5778. Sign up for this newsletter and other e-mail newsletters about children's health. View past issues of this newsletter. Forward this e-mail to a friend or colleague!