Filipino-American Association of Iowa Christmas Party

Just a heads up on an upcoming local event that is celebrating some of our local diversity. There is a phone number at the bottom where you can call to get more information. Have a great weekend!

"Dear FAAI members and future members,

Everyone is invited and bring your crowd. Please open the attachment.

Filipino-American Association of Iowa

Invites you to its

Annual Christmas Party

Saturday, December 4, 2010, 5:00 p.m. – ??? p.m.

Corinthian Baptist Church (Fellowship hall)
814 School Street, Des Moines, IA 50309

Members: FREE

Future member: $10.00 (family)

$5.00 (single –18 yr & up)

Mr & Mrs Santa Claus will be present to hand a gift to your child

Parents, you need to bring a gift with your child’s name on it.

Adults - please bring a gift ($10.00 worth) for gift exchange

POTLUCK - main dish and a 2 ltr bottle soda will be much appreciated

Questions - please call Ruben Rullan @ 515-278-8212"

Des Moines Police Explorer Program Opportunity

Parents and students.....heads up for a great opportunity! The Des Moines Police Department has a program called "Des Moines Police Explorers". I am in contact with a leader of this group and he will be coming to Carlisle to speak to interested students in early December. Students need to be age 14-19 and be able to attend meetings 2 Tuesdays a month. Students who participate will get a lot of hands on experience with things police do. They even get to do some ride-a-longs with police who are on duty! This is a great opportunity for any student interested in law enforcement. Please call or email me if you think your child might like this program (some students have already expressed interest, but I wanted to put it in my blog to see if others had interest as well).

Six Things Not to Post on Your Facebook Account

Although geared more for adults, I still wanted to post a link to some great advice. Each of the six items could relate to young people and young people might be the least understanding of these rules and make the most mistakes, so I think they could use this information. However, all the parents, adults, and even I could use this information. I love the reasons they give on why not to post these six things...makes sense and is kind of scary. Anyway, click on the link and see how many of these you do. I have to admit...I do some of these!

Six Things You Should Never Reveal on Facebook by Kathy Kristof

Khan Academy Can Help With Homework

I have mentioned this to many educators and I know some of our teachers have used this website before, but I thought it might be good to provide parents with the link and information in case they wanted to use it or wanted their kids to use it. So....what is "it"?

"It" is the Khan Academy website where a teacher records very simple forms of teaching on thousands of topics. Everything from adding single digit numbers to advanced calculus is on this site with more getting added all the time. It began as a way for the creator of the site to teach a relative who lived far away and he posted his lessons online through Youtube. Then, he realized that other people were viewing his videos and learning too. It has exploded from there to be a free online "teacher" of countless basic school subject lessons. The company is a non-profit company and the videos are watched in classrooms, homes, and villages across the world. So, how could you use it? Need to help your child on their math homework but lost on what they are doing? Search the topic in the Khan Academy and re-learn the problem on your own time and impress your child by teaching them how to do it!! Or, watch the video with your child and learn together! I have attached the website to click on below, but I also put a video so you can learn just exactly what the Khan Academy is. Please visit and use this amazing site!

Khan Academy

Watch this short 3 minute video to learn more and prepare to be amazed!

Rising Cost of College

College should be an option for everyone and anyone! I tell that to my students all the time. Money should not be an obstacle as there are always scholarships, grants, and loans. But, I also realize that college is getting more and more expensive every year. This link is not meant to freak you out, but to prepare you for the future costs of college for your children. Take a look at some of the startling numbers.....

Click here to see the costs of college (thank you to Mint.com for the info and Hack Education for the blogpost alerting me about this infographic)

Go Online WITH Your Kids Sometimes!

I liked this video as it was simple and short and made me think. Now, your kids are not driving your car, but they are driving on the Internet Superhighway....are you a passenger or did you just wish them luck? Just like driving, you might have to train them for several years before they are ready. Once they are ready, you might have to test them. If they pass the test, you might have to ride "shotgun" with them for awhile. And finally, you might have to let them drive the Internet on their own and hope they remember all of your tips, hope they are responsible and mature about this right of theirs, and hope they come back safely when they are done. As a counselor, I see "wrecks" all the time on the Internet with our students and I worry we as adults don't do enough to train them. Partly because we didn't grow up with the Internet, but also partly because we just don't have time. I am starting to realize that I (and we) need to make time. The Internet is a large and strange place without many rules, but can be a great tool as long as we are taught how to use it correctly and responsibly. Something to think about as you watch this short video.....

FDA Calls Some Alcoholic Energy Drinks Unsafe!

Great news!! The FDA is putting a stop to the worst of the alcoholic energy drinks and the makers of these drinks are complying with the FDA's request. As I type, the worst of these drinks including Four Loko are no longer being produced or sold in their current potentially-deadly form. Click here to read more about this story on CNN.com.

If you are wondering what these drinks are, please click through other blog entries of mine until you see some pictures of these deadly energy drinks. They look just like your typical energy drinks and many can be bought right locally. In some cases, Warren County store clerks have sold them to minors thinking the request for ID the machine asks for is just because it is an energy drink. They push some buttons to make it go away and sell the drink to minors! So why are these drinks so bad? They combine a large amount of caffeine and a large amount of alcohol into one can. How much into one can? Well, about 3 pops and 4 beers!! So now when a human body wants to save itself terrible damage or death and shut down and pass out to avoid consuming more alcohol, the energy in these drinks keep people awake and drinking more. Way more than their body can handle and this leads to blackouts, comas, lasting bodily injuries, or even death.

Not all drinks are being changed and the drinks aren't really being banned, so education of young people is still needed. Not to mention that a person of age can still legally mix energy drinks with alcohol on their own or even order a mixed drink at a bar, but in these cases, the caffeine and alcohol content is usually far less. But even in these cases, the danger is present. The one good thing to come from these new drinks and the public uproar is the people are talking and many are learning of the true dangers that can occur when stimulants like caffeine are mixed with depressants like alcohol. I for one hope the conversation and education continues....along with the FDA making sure the products marketed to young people are not the same products that are being designed to hurt or kill them.