Need Volunteers for 2 Biztown Opportunities!!!

Parents, I am need of some volunteers for upcoming Biztown events. But you won't just be volunteering, you will be actively participating and likely having a great time while doing it. Here are the details:

Mock Interviewers needed! First off, before students ever get jobs and long before they go to JA Biztown, they must interview. This is where I need some parents. I need about 15 parent volunteers who are willing to come in for an hour in the morning or for hour around lunchtime and interview 5 or 6 students. I will have the questions and materials all ready for you and the rating scale you can use to rate the students' performances, you just have to show up and visit with the students. It is a great experience and one that the students are nervous about but they realize how great this opportunity is because it will put them a step above their competition when it comes to their real interviews later in life. Here are the times I need volunteers (email me if interested)

8:00-9:00 a.m. on Jan 31st, Feb. 1st

12:10-1:10 p.m. on Jan 31st, Feb. 1st

9:00-9:45 a.m. on Feb. 2nd

10:30-11:15 on Feb. 2nd

JA Biztown Experience Volunteers: Alright, this is the big one and it is first come, first serve. We need 28 parent volunteers to help with our experience days, 14 go each day. You would go on the same day as your child, but work in a different business/store. Your duties would require you to be with us from 8:30-2:00, so you may have to take a half day from work or a full day. You would work in a store with about 5-8 other students who would look to you for information on what their store is supposed to produce. You would know what the store produces because you would attend a 1-hour tutorial session at the JA Biztown site just a week before our trip. So, all in all, we are asking for about 7 hours of total time from you, but the memories of this field trip experience will last a lifetime. Parents really, really have a good time on this trip and enjoy seeing the kids be "adults" for the day, especially their own child. Again, please email or call me if interested. Oh, by the way....the dates of the field trip are April 7th and 8th, 2011.

I will be sending these opportunities through email and through the school weekly update email. Please contact me as soon as possible so that I can start organizing all of this. Thank you and I look forward to working with you!

I Have a Plan About to Begin for 8th Grade

As the first semester ends and the next semester begins, it is good to remind everyone that this is the last semester of classes your 8th grader will ever have before they enter high school....a huge step. Our goal at Carlisle is to try to prepare your children as best as possible. And we will do this using the state of Iowa website called "I Have A Plan Iowa". Using this website, we will meet the state requirement of having every 8th grader having a 4-year high school plan and a plan to graduate. Here is a rough outline of this process:

First half of January: Register for www.ihaveaplaniowa.org, take some interest and career surveys, choose possible careers and colleges

Second half of January: Meet with high school counselors, plan 9th grade classes, high school classes

First half of February: Attend required orientation night with parent in order to hear from HS counselors, meet advisor, and jointly plan 4 years of high school classes

Second half of February: Fill out online 4-year plan, register for 9th grade classes using the computer, finish I Have A Plan by having parents sign off on overall plan.

It will be a busy time and a time where I will keep you posted on the many things we are doing and how we are doing it. Keep watching this blog and your email accounts. If you have questions/concerns (many parents always do when it comes to this process), please email or call...I'll be glad to help.

Amanda the Panda Can Help in Times of Loss or Grief

I recently received the following email from the local Amanda the Panda group. I highly recommend this organization if you, and especially your children, are in need of support and education in the area of grief and loss. If you have recently had a death in the family and have kids, even teenagers, please consider Amanda the Panda as a resource. Note that they have an 8-week session starting in the next 10 days and it is all free. Please contact me or Amanda the Panda directly if you have questions or would like to register.

From Amanda the Panda:

"Greetings from Amanda the Panda Grief Center,

Our next 8-week session of peer grief support groups will meet every Monday at 5:45 pm starting January 17th at our grief center (see address below). Any of your students who have experienced the death of a family member or friend may attend free of charge. We will serve a hot meal and then the children will break into small groups by grade levels. Teens, young adults, and adults will also meet separately at the same time, and child care is provided for preschoolers and younger. This enables the entire family to attend. We will wrap up each night by 7:30 pm. Following our 8-week session, participants will be offered a weekend grief camp as well as several “fun days” that provide reunions for all the families throughout the year.

Please encourage your student’s guardians to contact me through our website, email, or simply call the number listed below to find out how to register. In order to keep the peer groups at a comfortable size, we limit registration. Please let any interested families know that they should sign up by January 14th.

You may have seen information on channel 13 (WHO) last Saturday that incorrectly stated that Amanda the Panda offers grief counseling. Just to clarify, we offer peer support as well as grief education. Our goal is connect children, teens and adults with a group of peers that share a similar experience and can encourage each other. The atmosphere is relaxed and informal. We focus on sharing, memorializing the deceased, and learning ways of coping. Of course all the children are given permission to play and have fun. They look forward to “hanging out” with other kids who truly understand what it is like to adjust to the death of a loved one.

Thank you for referring families in our community to Amanda the Panda.

Cindy Meek

Program Coordinator

1000 - 73rd Street, Suite 12

Windsor Heights, IA 50324

515.223.4847 - phone

515.223.4782 - fax

cindy@amandathepanda.org

www.amandathepanda.org

Great Video That Shows Failure can Lead to Success!

So many students worry about failure and I always try to remind them that failure is actually a good thing. It shows we tried and that we likely tried for something that stretched our talents. But no matter how much I talk, some students just believe that failure means they will never accomplish anything. Well, this video might make them rethink that idea....

Getting Technology for Your Teen This Christmas? Great Idea....if Educational Uses are Involved!

Last year, student's most requested item for Christmas (based on their bell ringer response) was an Ipod Touch. Even I wanted one and I did get one last March. I wasn't sure what I would do with it as I was still learning how to text and use my new phone, but I had some help. No, not just from my students, but from my 5-year old! Jack, and even Abby (3 years-old) love playing with my IPod as I have downloaded many free "apps", most of them educational games and tutorials. And the kids still love them! The point of all this is that you can buy your children cool technology for Christmas or their birthdays, but it does not have to be just a fun toy. It can be a learning tool. Here is just one example of an article I found on the internet about using an IPod Touch as a learning tool.

But it doesn't have to just be an IPod Touch. It could be the new IPad. My wife has one of these through her work and my 3 and 5-year old have used this too. From watching Sprout videos, playing PBSkids games, or learning their ABCs and "sight" words, they have no problem with the technology. In fact, they usually learn the game just by playing around with it. Jack has taught me how to do some things. And most if not all of these Apps are FREE! Even something as simple as the live web cams from zoos around the world that I downloaded (for free!) brings up all sorts of conversations and discussions with my kids.

But, you are likely saying "But I have teens....they don't play PBSKids games and they know their letters already!". You are right....at least I hope you are. But that isn't the point. The point is that these items aren't just for Facebooking, texting, tweeting, etc., but if you are purchasing it for them and they are living under your roof, you can make sure some educational purposes are happening too. When I grew up, we had a computer, but no Nintendo (original 8-bit system...I'm old!) or Sega because they had "no educational purpose" according to my mother. Nowadays, most of these devices even the Wii and the XBox have educational purposes. My son learned basic math on a Brain game on our Wii system. So, these cool technology items are what you make of them. My plea with parents everywhere is to consider "forcing" your child to use some of the educational items available on these systems. Who knows.....they might just have fun and learn at the same time!

By the way, here is a great site for family friendly apps. Most are for young children, but I am sure some will work for teens as well: Mom's With Apps

Also, I highly recommend the Kindle App. It's free and you can download TONS of free books to it!

This Picture is Really Worth a Thousand Words!

Maybe the best and easiest graphic I have come across when it comes to what students (and adults) post online. I am going to print this out and put it in our computer labs and outside my office. At home, you might consider printing it out and putting it near the family computer, near any other computer workspace, or maybe even in your child's room....on their wall (right next to the Justin Bieber poster?!). Lots of good stuff in the picture, so I will stop typing and let you look at the picture again

Students!! You Can Write About Something You Love (Technology) and Win Money!!

Students, I know you love technology and do not always love to write! I have the perfect thing for you: A 100-word or less essay contest about why technology is so great. One winner in each grade will get $500 and the runner-up will get $100. Now, I am sure many students across the country are entering, but what if, just what if, one of our students won the $500 award the the title of "Best Essay". Give it a shot...you never know!

Click here for rules and contest website.

Testing a Poll Site, But Would Love Your Response!

I am testing out a poll/quiz site for staff and for future use, but I did make an interesting poll where I would like to hear your feedback. I may use this poll site more and may even post polls for my students to do when we are in the computer lab sometime. For now, give this poll a try and I will try to use the results to guide my future blog posting. Have a great week!

Best Presentation of the Year: Anti-Smoking Powerpoint

The winner of this year's best presentation of the year just happened to be an anti-smoking powerpoint that had some very interesting facts and figures. It likely will only take a few minutes to view, but the material you learn could stick with you for a very long time. Take a look at the powerpoint that I embedded below...

SMOKE - The Convenient Truth

View more presentations from Empowered Presentations, Honolulu, HI.

Facebook Guide for Parents

Parents (and maybe students): Do you want to learn all about Facebook and how it can be safely used? Do you want to know what your teenager is getting into? Well, the link I am providing gives you a 32-page "book" to read. It is titled "A Parent's Guide to Facebook" and is pretty thorough. I have read bits and pieces and found it pretty helpful. Facebook or any social network is a tool, and a great tool at that. It can be great for education and great for socializing and is fast becoming a necessary way for young people to stay connected and feel connected. However, social networks can be very damaging and dangerous if used incorrectly. So, please take a look at this short book all about Facebook and safety while using it.

A Parent's Guide to Facebook (click link to read the 32-page book)

Excellent, but Long, Article from NY Times on Parents and Cyberbullying

Sorry for the length of this article, but it is SO GOOD! It is geared for parents and written for parents and some of the stories are so sad and hard to believe, but they are stories that happen every day. And children and teens today are truly a different culture than their parents or adults who care for them (teachers, employers, relatives, etc.). They are even a different culture than when we were teenagers. You see, they are growing up as members of the Age of Technology Culture. Technology is different, communication is different, and bullying and harassing is different. If you have a moment this week, please read this article and see what conversations it brings up in your home, in your family, and in any others you come into contact with.

"As Bullies Go Digital, Parents Play Catch-Up"

8th Graders to Research Charities Soon!

Another heads-up to students and parents. Check back in a week or two to see what charities our 8th graders researched using CharityNavigator.org or the BetterBusinessBureau charity review site. Whether it be for tax reasons, the Holiday season, or just out of the goodness of your heart, the last 2 months of the year are the biggest charitable months of the year. But, just giving your money to a charity is not enough....we need to know if the charity is a good charity and will do good things with our money. So, our 8th graders will choose a charity and research it using one of the sites listed above. As soon as their computer lab research is done, I will post some of the best charities and some of the worst. Stay tuned....