Gloria Molina Visits Bishop Conaty-Loretto

October 10, 2007, during our Hispanic Heritage Month activities, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina came to school to speak to the student body about her experiences as a Latina political leader. Ms. Molina shared her story with the students. She spoke of how she, the daughter of immigrants and the eldest of ten children, overcame many hardships to go to college, form grass-root efforts to give a political voice to the Mexican-Americans in East Los Angeles, especially Mexican-American women, and become the first Latina to have been elected to the California State Legislature, Los Angeles City Council, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She shared how she was a shy girl who found her voice in serving others. Her message was very meaningful to the students, because like Ms. Molina, they, too, are daugthers of immigrants. She left a lasting impression of the importance of hard work, risk-taking, and standing up for what is right. She showed the students that it is possible to succeed in life if they persevere. We thank Ms Molina for taking time out of her busy schedule to share a morning with us.

Does your daughter get enough sleep each night?

I ask this because many times when I taught in the classroom I caught students complaining about being sleepy and dosing off, and most mornings I notice students arriving to school dragging their feet, half asleep. When I asked the girls what time they went to bed the previous night, they tell me 1:00 AM or 2:00 AM, and occasionally 3:00 AM! When I ask them why so late, they tell me that they were surfing the Internet or instant messaging their friends on-line. It has never been because of homework.

Research shows that teenagers (and most adults) need 8 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Less than seven hours negatively impacts students’ success in school. Bishop Conaty-Loretto starts at 8:10 AM (and 7:15 AM for Zero Period classes). That means to get to school on time most students have to get up at least 6:00 AM or 6:30 AM. (If students have to take the bus, they have to get up much earlier.) If student had gone to bed well after midnight, they have had no more than six hours of sleep.

How can parents help their teenagers get enough sleep? Monitor their use of the computer and get them to go to bed by 10:00 PM.

MSNBC ran an article yesterday on this topic. Check it out at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20476346/.
Here’s an article from the Boston Globe about the importance of teen sleep: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2005/06/21/teenagers_need_help_to_form_better_sleep_habits/.