Monthly Archives: February 2012

Leap Year Day

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A Leap Year happens once every four years. To make the calendar year about the same as the solar year (the time it takes for the sun to pass the vernal equinox twice), leap years were added. It occurs every year that can be divided evenly by four, unless those years mark the even hundreds, such as 1500.

Find out if any of your students were born on a leap year or if they know someone who was. Ask them to figure the student’s or acquaintance’s age in leap years. Now, have students look through the newspaper archives for news that occurred in leap years, then have them make a poster of Leap Year News.  Information is from KRP’s Ultimate Holiday Activity Guide distributed by the NIE Institute.

For more information on Leap Year visit: http://www.factmonster.com/spot/leapyear1.html

Also check out the story “Those born, wed on Leap Day feel special, not slighted”  http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/352502/

 

Electing the President

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Here is a great resource called Electing the President: a Guide to the Election Process from the NIE Institute.

The U.S. presidential election is the biggest event in American politics. It’s an exciting and complicated process that begins immediately after the preceding election and doesn’t end until the voters have their say. What happens during this extended campaign is a quest not just for votes, but also for political contributions, favorable media coverage, Internet attention, endorsements, and all the other makings of a winning candidacy for the highest elected office in America. Key events along the way include the primaries and caucuses, the party conventions, and the debates—not to mention all the speeches, polls, and focus groups, plus the barrage of radio and television commercials imploring you to vote this way or that. It’s easy to be overwhelmed. And that’s why the League of Women Voters produced this 15-page supplement.

Download the 15-page guide by clicking on the following link:  http://legacy.grandforksherald.com/pdfs/Electing%20The%20President.pdf

Note: if you are going to print this pdf, adjust your print setting to fit on page. The pdf is bigger than 8.5 x 11 (normal print size.)

 

Valentine’s Day Activity for the Classroom

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Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love and caring for other people. Newspapers often contain special features and advertisements that focus on Valentine’s Day. Even the comic strips in your newspaper will probably contain several references to Valentine’s Day, since comic strips often reflect current events or real life situations.

Spend several minutes reading each of the comic strips in your Valentine’s Day edition of the newspaper. As you read, place a checkmark by each comic strip that in some way refers to Valentine’s Day.

On a piece of paper, explain the Valentine’s Day connections you found in four of the comic strips. Write the title of the comic strip then explain what happened in the comic strip that had to do with Valentine’s Day.

Information is from the NIE Guide, A Plan for All Seasons, written by Ann West and distributed by the NIE Institute.

BullyBust “For Good” Video Contest

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The National School Climate Center’s nationwide BullyBust campaign and the blockbuster Broadway show, WICKED, are thrilled to announce the 2012 For Good Video Contest!

This is your chance to show how you are taking a stand against bullying and creating a community of positive upstanders! Share how youth and adults are working together at your school to help take a stand against bullying…for good.

In WICKED, Elphaba learns how to stand up for what is right. She defies gravity by overcoming the difficult challenges she faces and not letting the harassment and negativity of others bring her down.

Create a For Good/Upstander-themed video, showing how you and your school are being upstanders – people who stand up to bullying and become part of the solution to end harmful harassment, teasing, and violence in our nation’s schools.

Share your upstander message with the most creative, upbeat and positive video, and your school could be a winner! Get started now – Submission deadline is March 16th.

Grand Prize: The winning school will receive a $500.00 grant from BullyBust to support the continuation of their Upstander Alliance efforts, a special visit from select cast members of WICKED and much more!

Check out the  For Good contest homepage for contest rules and guidelines. Learn how to submit your Upstander video and view examples of other videos to get your project started. Click here for a very special message from Elphaba herself!  

BullyBust and WICKED want to wish everyone the best of luck and thank you all for your continued support!

Has it been a year already?

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Happy Anniversary to the GFPS Career and Character Education’s 4myfuture blog!  4myfuture will celebrate their one year blogging anniversary on Feb. 10.

4myfuture is a blog devoted to the Career and Character Education for all students  – elementary school, middle school, high school, and post secondary. The authors are staff of the Career Education and Character Education departments of the Grand Forks Public Schools. You’ll find information on job shadowing,  career fairs, Helping Hands program, Junior Achievement, study skills, job interview tips for teens and many more topics included in Career and Character Education.  4myfuture.com is a great resource, especially if you have students in Grand Forks Public Schools. 

They have had a lot of interesting and informative posts the past year. Be sure to check out the archives.

Click on the following link to visit 4myfuture:  http://4myfuture.areavoices.com