Online Scholarship

Teenager Study Abroad: New Vocabulary and Fun Activities

Alison C. Neese — Sat, 12 May 2012 21:40:38 +0000

Que pasa! It is the end of my second week in Quito, and it has been quite an experience so far. I´m learning a lot of Spanish. In class this week, with my new teacher (we switch teachers every week) we did irregular verbs and I leaned a bunch more vocabulary. For the first two hours of class we did worksheets and practiced the irregular verbs. Then for the beginning of the second half of class we did activities or games using the irregular verbs and vocab for practice. For the last hour of class we would have group discussion in Spanish. These were very helpful because I could use the vocab I learned and incorporate it into the discussions.

Another reason this week was pretty fun was because of the activities I did with the teen program. One of my favorites was the cooking we did. We made these potato pancake things. Read more…

Students learn forensic science thanks to education program

Caleb Mort — Sat, 12 May 2012 19:15:42 +0000

Students in Donna were immersed into the world of crime scene investigating Wednesday.

The Engaging Communities for College Readiness (ENCORE) Program was at Veterans Middle School giving students the opportunity to learn more about forensic science.

ENCORE administrators and school leaders said this type of program is extremely beneficial for their students.

“It is a college and career readiness program designed to motivate students and inspire them to pursue different pathways.” said ENCORE Camp Director Dan Garcia.

The program is intended to spark an interest in students to pursue higher education and future career goals.

“I think it’s a great way to raise awareness about college education and also to raise interest,” said Principal Martin Escobedo. “So

ELTons 2012 – Blog by Luke Meddings

Abigail Angles — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:49:30 +0000

TeachingEnglish ELTons 2012 – Blog by Luke Meddings

Starting on the 16th May, Luke Meddings, 2010 ELTons winner and co-author of ‘Teaching Unplugged: Dogme in English Language Teaching’, will be blogging all about the ELTons in the run up to the awards and beyond. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in central London on 23 May 2012, with this year’s guest presenter Scott Thornbury. Follow Luke’s blog at:

The ELTons, sponsored by Cambridge ESOL and now in their 10th year, are the only international awards that recognise and celebrate innovation in English language teaching (ELT).

The ceremony will be live-streamed on 23rd May on the British Council website

EVSC: Building a future

Alison C. Neese — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:30:30 +0000

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Open house at this year’s Public Education Foundation house

WHERE: 2107 Bremmerton Drive, in the Ellington Ridge subdivision off Oak Hill Road

WHEN: Noon to 2 p.m. May 20

EXTRA: The home also will be on this year’s Parade of Homes tour.

The Ellington Ridge subdivision off Oak Hill Road has been one of Evansville’s most hands-on classrooms this year.

High school students from across the region are bused there nearly every day from the Southern Indiana Career & Technical Center to tackle a job most adults could not do — build a house.

Drywall, roofing, flooring, paint, electrical work, landscaping — nearly all tasks except for plumbing — are handled by students. About

Two students from Enid inducted into history honor society

Caleb Mort — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:40:57 +0000

Two Northwestern Oklahoma State University students have been inducted into Phi Alpha Theta, the only honor society for history students in the United States. Both Tanner Schantz, junior, and Sarah Owens, senior, from Enid take history courses via ITV from Northwestern-Enid.

The purpose of Phi Alpha Theta is to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas.

Dr. Roger Hardaway, professor of history, assisted by Dr. Eric Schmaltz, associate professor of history, conducted the induction ceremony on April 30. Hardaway has been the adviser to Northwestern’s Phi Alpha Theta chapter since 2004.

Hardaway explained that membership is open to only a few students each year. “Members do not have to be history majors,” Hardaway said. “But

Special ceremony honors CK’s Native Americans who are graduating

Abigail Angles — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:50:17 +0000

SILVERDALE — Graduation advice comes aplenty at this time of year, but for a small group of students, one message Monday night was very clear.

“Remember to be proud of who you are,” said David Boxley of Kingston, a Tsimshian carver originally from Metlakatla, Alaska. “That’s the first step.”

Boxley spoke to a gathering of Central Kitsap School District students, all of Native American descent, who will graduate this year.

The small ceremony was the sixth such celebration organized in Central Kitsap, inspired by similar ceremonies at schools elsewhere, such as North Kitsap and South Kitsap, said Kathleen Payne, Indian Education liaison for Central Kitsap.

Boxley also performed with Tsimishian and Git Hoan Dancers. Joe Price and Port Gamble S’Klallam Family Singers offered an eagle song and a happy song. T

The Problem with Dual Enrollment Classes

Alison C. Neese — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:53:42 +0000

Dual enrollment classes, where students take college classes while still in high school, are often considered great options. And for some students they can be a good choice. But, there is a real downside to these classes as well.

So what is the problem? Students often take college classes instead of available AP classes at their high schools. The problem with that is that many of these college courses are being taken at local community colleges. Now community college classes can be just fine. How

Q&A with Henry Mancini author John Caps

Abigail Angles — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:11:10 +0000

Q: How did Henry Mancini break into film scoring?

Caps: At first, Mancini came into the film industry indirectly, passively. What he really wanted to do was become an arranger/orchestrator for Big Bands. This was in the 1940s. His ear was glued to the radio broadcasts of his favorite bands like Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman. After military service, he was able to land a job with the Tex Beneke band as pianist/arranger. He even married the band singer, Ginny OConnor. Shes the one who brought him to Hollywood then where she had been living. There, he found work providing music for Hollywood nightclub acts and soon for radio drama. Then it was only a short hop to scoring for movies. He joined the music staff at Universal Studios and worked on an assembly line scoring their cheap quickie-flicks B westerns, monster movies, suburban comedies, even teen musicals. In that fac

School employees protest outside BISD office

Caleb Mort — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 23:45:19 +0000

Protesters gathered outside the Brownsville ISD Administration Building Tuesday.

Employees of the district are upset over their hours getting slashed.

About 100 of them didn’t show up to work at all Tuesday.

All they want is to protect their livelihood.

12 year BISD bus driver Sergio Guerrero spoke on behalf of his colleagues over a cutback in hours which he says just won’t cut it.

“As you can see nobody is being aggressive or violent,” Guerrero said during the protest.

About 200 drivers and bus monitors met Tuesday, protesting what they say was a notice from the district alerting employees their work week was downgraded from 40 hours or more, to 32 hours.

“When we get back to work they were telling us to punch in at later time and they want you to be hurrying during the route and punch out as early as you can to cut your hours down,” said Guerrero.

Protesters were told by the district they could address their concerns individually but declined.

“It’s the whole department.

Division of Nursing to hold Family Health Fair April 5 at Northwestern-Enid

Caleb Mort — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:44:06 +0000

On Thursday, April 5, the Division of Nursing at Northwestern Oklahoma State University will play host to a Health Fair. This event is from 3-7 p.m. in the Northwestern-Enid Commons Area and is free and open to the public.

Junior nursing students are planning the health fair and have worked to gather booths with information pertaining to car seat safety, women’s heart health, dental hygiene, diet and exercise for children, contraception education, self-breast exams and cervical cancer, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) education, breastfeeding education, vitamin supplements and prenatal health and stress management.

From 3-5:30 p.m., individuals are welcome to visit information booths. At 5:30 p.m., Nancye Turner, lactation consultant with Integris Bass Baptist Health Center, will discuss breastfeeding. Following Turner’s discussion, Dr. Kee

Ten Ways Parents of College Students Can Use the College Website

Alison C. Neese — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:22:59 +0000

When your son or daughter was in the midst of the search process for college, chances are that he or she (and possibly you) spent countless hours poring over college websites. College websites have become an extremely important admissions tool. Many students who visit colleges say that they were drawn to a particular college because of its website. Admissions professionals work hard to make their sites not only informative, but also appealing and representative of the institution.

Once your child heads to college, you should begin to look at the college’s website differently. As a parent of a college student, you’re no longer looking at a website to evaluate the institution, but using it to gather information, and to have a sense of the place where your child will be spending significant time during the coming years. Use this tool to it fullest advantage. Spend time browsing the site, look beyond the “For Parents” section. Enter the site through the “Current Students” portal as well as the “For Parents” area.

The following are ten suggestions for parents on how to look at the college website to gather the most information:

Look at the pictures.

Spend some time browsing the website to look at the pictures of the students. This will give you a sense of the students at the college and the activities in which they are engaged. Yes, colleges do put their “best foot forward” on the sites, but you will certainly get a feel for the institution. Who knows, you may even spot your own son or daughter!

Explore the college catalogue.

Many colleges now post their college catalogue on line. (Some institutions now only post their catalogue on line.) The college catalogue has almost all of the important information a student needs to know. In addition to course descriptions and major requirements, the catalogue will tell you college policies, procedures, deadlines, special programs, contact information, graduation requirements, and much, much more. Remember, the more you know, the more you can direct your student toward important information.

Check out the “For Parents” section.

Although you may not want to limit yourself to looking at the “For Parents” section of the website, don’t overlook it. In addition to Parent or Family Weekend information and local hotel and/or restaurant information, you may learn about orientations, e-mail sign-ups, parent associations, even local parent groups in your area. Definitely take advantage of information available here. It is one way in which the college can reach out to you as a parent.

Check the Calendar.

One of the advantages of an on-line calendar, is that it doesn’t go out of date once it is printed. Most colleges work hard to keep their on-line calendar

Easter Teaching Ideas and Resources

Caleb Mort — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:14:06 +0000

Easter is approaching and many schools are taking part in Easter activities before their break. If youre planning some Easter lessons, dont forget to look at the

There are almost 100 free lesson ideas, downloadable resources, printable display materials, videos, photos, games, apps, places, jokes and links all with an Easter focus.

NK school closure committee unlikely to make a recommendation by deadline

Abigail Angles — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 06:02:48 +0000

That was the consensus Monday night of the group of 30 members, which has been meeting twice a month since February with the goal of making a recommendation to the board by mid-April. That timeline would have allowed the board to have the recommendation and make a decision on closing a school ahead of May 15, when the district is required by state law to notify teachers affected by layoffs.

It’s not clear whether that means that schools have escaped closure for the 2012-2013 school year.

North Kitsap School Board President Kathleen Dassel said the board hasn’t discussed going ahead on a school closure decision without a recommendation from the committee.

“But everybody on the board has different ideas on the closure timeline,” she said.

Some board members want a recommendation on closing a school this spring, she said.

Costa Rica Study Abroad: Tips for Traveling to Samara Beach

Alison C. Neese — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:01:03 +0000

By AmeriSpanista Julie, who just returned from a long-anticipated trip here.

Sámara Beach, or “Playa Sámara”, is a small beach town in South Guanacaste, Costa Rica that has lots to offer the student craving Costa Rica study abroad. While it is not a “resort town” by any means, the town offers plenty of opportunities to explore and practice Spanish, not to mention restaurants/”sodas”, shops, nightlife and even a couple homespun galleries and animal refuges.

1. Dont be an “Ugly American”!Costa Rican people, or “Ticos”, are famously friendly and open people. Keep in mind that you are visiting their home, and that amenities are more modest here compared to American standards. Costa Rica tends to be pretty clean and laid back, in fact its motto is “Pura vida!” or, loosely translated, “Live life to the fullest!”. R Read more…

Report: US makes modest gains in graduation rate

Caleb Mort — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 03:16:40 +0000

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — The last straw for 17-year-old Alton Burke was a note left on his door. The high school dropout picked up the phone and re-enrolled at South Hagerstown High.

Burke missed roughly 200 days of class, but Heather Dixon, the student intervention specialist who left the note, never gave up on him.

Aggressive efforts to prevent students such as Burke from dropping out contributed to a modest 3.5 percentage point increase nationally in the high school graduation rate from 2001 to 2009, according to research presented Monday at the Grad Nation summit in Washington. The event was organized by the children’s advocacy group America’s Promise Alliance founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The graduation rate was 75 percent in 2009, meaning 1 in 4 students fails to get a diploma in four years, researchers found. T