The color Indigo arrives from space
This luggage will never be a burden
When a wish is granted
The babies who stopped the bullies
The bell tolls for the school
A shoebox with a difference
The First Dog
Not another alphabet!
Hush! Keep this a secret- answers to math texts
The Secret Santa
Now parents need SKILLS for kids’ backpacks
Share news- be the news
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Alien-ated YouthBy Dylan Otto Krider
http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2002-12-19/feature.html/1/index.html
Dec 19, 2002 ©2002 New Times, Inc.
They're the next step in human evolution. But they're just like everybody else.
At first glance, they look like perfectly ordinary first-graders scribbling feverishly on the blackboard, but there is something striking about the boy's deep blue eyes that suggests a maturity well beyond his years. Jake's in advanced classes and already reading at a third-grade level. Jan is the quiet one, but has a presence that immediately draws attention. Her predilection is toward art, though at the moment she is choosing to write math equations on the board, erasing them as soon as she's completed each of her computations.
Jake's mother is a teacher at this Baytown-area school, and worries that he may be ostracized by his peers if word ever gets out about his special gifts. "He questions everything because he wants to know," she says as her son draws a picture of a lollipop tree. "The questions he asks are not even age-appropriate."
These children tend to know things without ever being taught or told. They go by many names, such as Star Kids, Indigos or Crystalline Children. Whatever they're called, believers say this group of prodigies started appearing about 30 years ago and may now make up as much as 90 percent of the population under ten. They also exhibit strange side effects, like a higher resistance to pollutants but an increased sensitivity to sugar and food additives. These are babies born with an inherent knowledge of art, language and spirituality, possessing an impressive wealth of wisdom. Some will even go so far as to say these kids are not only prime candidates for the gifted and talented program, but the next step in human evolution.
Parents and those who study these children have been asking themselves why here? Why now? Theories about their origins range widely. The one thing all these groups do agree on is that the kids are out there, and they're coming to teach us a lesson.
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http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news-9/104022660617370.xml
Gifts carry kids' loving care By Sally York
Wednesday, December 18, 2002 Lake Fenton - About 120 foster children soon will receive a piece of luggage they can call their own.
Students at Torrey Hill Middle School painted and decorated the suitcases, delivering 26 of them Tuesday to Fenton social worker Nancy Stockham.
The students are calling the project Love Luggage, and for many of them, collecting, painting and delivering the suitcases has been a labor of love.
"I wanted to help the children," said Abrie Jabiro, 11, a sixth-grader. "All some of them have to carry their stuff around in is a garbage bag. They don't have anything of their own. But now they will."
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http://www.stockhouse.com/news/news.asp?tick=BA&newsid=1445480
Boeing Brightens Holidays for Make-A-Wish Children
SEAL BEACH, Calif., Dec 18, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
In the spirit of the holiday season, Boeing will also present local Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Inland Empire, Los Angeles and Orange County chapters with 150 grandstand tickets for the children and their families.
These children who have life-threatening illnesses will enjoy a New Year's breakfast celebration with their families and will see "their" work of art take-off down Colorado Boulevard before a global audience estimated in the hundreds of millions.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2586851.stm
Moms, babies in class help fight bullying
More schools introducing empathy program by Janet Steffenhagen
Vancouver Sun
CANADA, Wednesday, December 18, 2002- A unique program that brings mothers and infants into elementary schools to teach students about empathy is growing and backed by new research that shows it promotes caring classrooms, said Alva Jenson, B.C. coordinator and trainer for Roots of Empathy.
The majority of the 18 pupils taught at the site will start next term at Ysgol Bro Ingli in nearby Newport. The Roots of Empathy program, which began in Toronto in 1996, arranges for mothers and babies from the school community to visit classrooms once a month throughout the year. Students are encouraged to observe the babies' development, interact with them and become familiar with their needs. As they understand how others feel, they are less likely to bully one another.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2586647.stm
Final bell rings for rural school
WALES, Wednesday, 18 December, 2002, A Pembrokeshire school, where children have been taught for more than 130 years, closed on Friday despite a vigorous campaign to secure its future.
The closure of the Welsh-medium school in Dinas is part of the local authority's policy to improve education in the area.
The majority of the 18 pupils taught at the site will start next term at Ysgol Bro Ingli in nearby Newport.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2586851.stm
Shoebox presents shipped abroad
WALES, Wednesday, 18 December, 2002-Ten thousand shoeboxes packed with children's Christmas presents began a four day journey to Bosnia on Wednesday.
The boxes had been donated by people living in south Wales as part of Operation Christmas Child, whose UK base is in Wrexham.
When the lorry arrives in Bosnia, the gifts will be distributed to children in orphanages and hospitals.
"These children are so happy when they get a box like this because it is usually the only present they have at Christmas.
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http://www.sunspot.net/news/sns-othernews-bushdogriot-lat,0,1651420.story?coll=bal%2Dfeatures%2Dspecials
Bushes' dog creates 'near riot’-Los Angeles Times
USA, December 18, 2002- President Bush helped read a Christmas classic to third-graders in a lighthearted ceremony disrupted by a "near riot" of schoolchildren frightened by his black Scottish terrier.
Bush exchanged jokes with the nearly 60 children gathered in the Roosevelt Room as First Lady Laura Bush read from "The Night Before Christmas."
Many of the children were startled when the dog, Barney, entered. "He's pretty ferocious-looking when you first look at him," Bush said, saying the surprise "created a near riot."
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http://cgi.wn.com/?action=display&article=17429854&template=worldnews/search.txt&index=recent
Seattle Father And Son's New Alphabet Discovery Helps Parents, Kids And Teachers Communicate Better Worldwide
USA,SEATTLE, WA, Wed 18 Dec 2002 -- (INTERNET WIRE) In his book about "The New Alphabet," David Edgin explains how by carefully listening to his infant son Jomy learn to talk back in 1980, he accidentally discovered that the modern English alphabet developed from the sounds that all human babies naturally make. His new Ebook took over 20 years to complete and uses more than 100 colorful illustrations, plus programmed learning and a creative "Alphabet Workbook" to help parents, kids and teachers (including the deaf and hard of hearing) around the world learn how our English alphabet letters and words were originally created from those natural sounds. ESL [English as a Second Language] and EFL [English as a Foreign Language] readers will be excited to find that the "Word Creation" basics they learn about in English also work in other languages.
At the website, parents, kids, and teachers worldwide can learn to say the natural sounds and see a new and better way to understand our letters, our words, and penmanship, free online; plus download a free Ebook version of the website and Art Gallery in a user friendly browser. You can download a free for 30 day copy of "The New Alphabet" (The First Book in History to Clearly Explain How Children Naturally Communicate) to review by clicking www.newalphabet.com/1.htm
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http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/4774936.htm
Teachers divided on math Web siteBY JULIE MAH The Wichita (Kan.)
USA, Thu, Dec. 19, 2002-EagleMath teachers at Goddard High School have misgivings about a homework help Web site that allows children to see the answers to math problems. It hasn't raised as much concern among other educators in the area, though, and a founder of the Web site says he has received little negative response. The Web site has Goddard math teachers uneasy enough to include a warning in a recent school newsletter that the site, www.hotmath.org, includes problems from the school's Algebra 1, Algebra 2, geometry and calculus textbooks. Dale Hart, chairman of Goddard High's math department, said his main concern is that students can't learn by just seeing the answers.” It doesn't really teach them how to do it," he said. "We want them to show us what they're doing."
The site, created by college and high school instructors in northern California, allows a student to select his or her textbook, page and problem number, then be taken through a step-by-step tutorial on how to solve the problem.
The tutorial offers hints, asks questions, and shows graphs and figures before providing the answer.
Chuck Grant, co-founder and president of the 2-year-old Web site, said he has received overwhelmingly positive e-mails about it from students, teachers and parents.
Hart said that just because a student has the right answer doesn't mean he knows how he arrived at it.
"I still make my kids show their work," he said. "If the answer's right, it doesn't matter. The thought process is probably more important than the actual answer."
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http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/4774883.htm
In the shadow of fear, jolly elf forks over some cheer
By MATT STEARNS
The Kansas City Star
USA, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. Thu, Dec. 19, 2002 - Miguel Rodriguez gladly accepted a gift of $100.
Close to broke and cold to the bone, Minister Harry lingered by the grocery store's checkout counter Thursday morning, clutching a shrink-wrapped brownie, waiting as long as he could before paying his last quarter.
Stay inside, stay warm, Harry thought. A white-bearded, heavyset stranger approached. Gently pressed a $100 bill into Harry's hand.
"Merry Christmas," the stranger said quietly. "Don't lose it."
The Washington area, jolted by the random terror of 10 deadly sniper shootings earlier this fall, received surprises of a far more pleasant type this week from a mystery man whose reputation is well-known to Kansas Citians: the man who calls himself Secret Santa.
The wealthy Jackson County businessman has for years dispensed money -- always anonymously, usually in $100 increments -- in the Kansas City area to those in need.
Recently, he's gone national. Last year, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Secret Santa journeyed to New York with his Christmas cash. Because the families of the snipers' victims were aided by a community fund, Secret Santa decided to focus on others -- the everyday people who lived in fear while the shootings stretched on, day after day.
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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/hsn/20021219/hl_hsn/parents_ignore_heft_and_contents_of_kids__backpacks
Parents Ignore Heft and Contents of Kids' Backpacks By Nancy Deutsch
HealthScoutNews Reporter
THURSDAY, Dec. 19 -- If you know of a child who appears to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders, you may need to look no further than her backpack to help relieve some of the burden.
Many youngsters carry a surprisingly hefty physical load on those tiny backs and shoulders, researchers say. And not only do very few parents actually know the weight of their child's backpack, but few ever look at the contents, Texas researchers report in a new study.
Aside from suggesting that parents look in their child's backpack and remove unnecessary items, Lane's group has developed an acronym to help students remember some rules about carrying a backpack properly. It's called SKILLS, and it goes thusly:
S stands for Selecting the right backpack that is full-sized with adequate back padding and wide straps;
K is to Know the limit of the weight that should be carried, and that the recommendation is that it be less than 10 to 15 percent of the child's weight;
I is to Inspect what is inside the bag and make sure only necessary items are there and packed properly;
L represents Lifting the backpack correctly by bending knees and facing the backpack when lifting it;
L is so students will Learn to adjust the straps on the back and check that the backpack rests on the back, as it should, and not below the waist;
And S is a reminder to Search for updates about safe backpack carrying from a family doctor or on the Internet.
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