NEWSBITES FOR KIDZ� APRIL 18 2004

 

HEADLINES

 

 

EDITORIAL

Unmasking today�s silent heroes - Philippines

ENTERTAINMENT / BUSINESS

Chalk Media and YTV to co-produce kids reality game show with interactive

web component - Canada

No kidding! TV Channels Coming to India

KIDS PLAY FOR PEACE

Batting for peace and fielding for harmony

Choices for children increase and improve: Sesame Street

HEALTH / FOOD BUSINESS

Sugar rush - UK

GETTING GLOBAL

Pupils learn about Japan from native - MT, USA

KIDS AND ANIMALS� /� �EDUCATION

Furry reading friends - New York State, USA

EDUCATION

Mathematics: Most hated subject by pupils� - Nigeria

SCIENCE

Astronaut Looking Forward to Returning to Earth, But Not to Gravity: Earth and Space

CELEBRATIONS

Egg-ceptional Fun Rain doesn't stop children from attending annual egg roll at the White House -

Washington D.C., USA

LIFESTYLE

Four days in cyber space : China

CONTESTS

National Geographic Bee Announces State Winners : USA

SHORTBITES

Parvaz (the take off) : Afghanistan

 

HEADLINES

News for Kidz  Site Map Earlier NewsBites

 

 

 

 

 

EDITORIAL

 

 

http://www.mb.com.ph/SCAU200404066642.html

 

Unmasking today�s silent heroes - Philippines

By AMYLINE QUIEN CHING, The Manila Bulletin Online

 

 

They may not have shed blood for the country but their perspiration quenched the thirst of the very people

who have fought for the freedom of the country and those who are continuing to do so. They may not be

beatified for the miracles that they perform everyday, but in the eyes of the children, whose lives they have

changed for the better, they are earth angels.

 

Nothing could probably be nobler than the profession that lives and breathes to enrich the minds and souls

of people. And if there is anyone who so richly deserves to be called hero, it is these teachers, who slaved

the whole day, dedicating their whole lives in building a future not only for the children, not only for the

community but for the whole country.

 

Cognizant of the significant role that teachers play in our society, MMPI's Me Magazine launched the

�Inspiring Teachers Awards.�

 

��These people are the unsung heroes of the country. They have done so much and yet, they are the least

recognized and the least affirmed. I think that it's about time that their efforts are rewarded,� says its

editor-in-chief Cathy Babao-Guballa.

 

�Of the countless number of letters that were sent, the editorial team chose five teachers that have not only

taught the basics of their subject matter but also the basics in life. Some of them were nominated by their

students while others were nominated by their co-worker and even their superior.�

 

DISCOVERING

THE POTENTIALS WITHIN

��There are no dumb students. All children have their own set of intelligence. The task of the teacher is to

discover these potentials and develop them.�

 

�Grade five student Rochelle Sy-Ramos may be young but her age has not blinded her from the qualities

that make her teacher, Marilyn Laureno, �the greatest teacher she ever had.� In the words of a child, she

wrote, �Mrs. Laureno is a god-loving, kind, industrious and patient teacher. She is a role model for me and

someday, I want to be like her.�

 

�Going beyond the lessons in the textbooks, Marilyn teaches her students to appreciate and nurture their

talents and special abilities. A subscriber of the theory, multiple intelligence or �different smarts,� she

frequently reminds her students that they have their own �smart,� be it word smart, body smart, picture

smart, number smart, or people smart and that they should not despair if they can't do what others can do.

 

�Though the subject may not be part of the public elementary school curriculum, she feels that there are a

lot more things that she could share with her young students. Being an effective teacher, for her, does not

necessarily mean having students with the highest grades. Apart from their academics, they must also be

able to apply the things that she has taught them in solving problems in their everyday lives.

 

�Her innovative approach and willingness to go the extra-mile has earned her the respect and admiration of

her peers and superiors. �She is such a dedicated teacher. All her students really learn from her because

she makes sure that no one is left behind in their lessons,� Star Elementary School principal Ernesto

Mirabal.

 

�And for all her efforts, all she wants as her reward is the knowledge that her students have learned from

her. �Just hearing them say that they got it, that they understood the lesson, is more than enough for me to

live by,� she reveals.

 

TURNING ROCKS INTO PRECIOUS STONES

��In essence, teachers are like gem cutters, they see through our rough fa�ade and patiently bring out our

vast potentials, turning rocks into precious gems.�

 

�On the surface, Ma. Cristina Pargas Bawagan epitomizes the teacher stereotype, eye-glasses, serious

demeanor, looks that could kill if you haven't done your readings and assignments and yet� upon a close

look, she is but a person who have chosen to dedicate her life in teaching students� and learning from

them too.

 

��What really amazed me is her willingness to accept criticisms and change herself for the better. When she

found out that some of her students did not like her teaching style, she asked her students to list down

their complaints on a piece of paper. She then read each one, considered their observations and changed

herself accordingly. I found it really inspiring for she is woman enough to accept our criticisms,� relates

third year student Kirsten Anne Lopez of Philippine Science High School.

 

�Ma'am Buwagan or just plain Tina, as she wants to be called, divulges that the greatest reward that

teaching has ever given her is the realization that she was able to make a dent in her student's life, not only

academically but also psychologically and emotionally. There is, according to her, a feeling of fulfillment

and joy in seeing them grow before your eyes, developing self-confidence and building dreams and hopes

for the future.

 

�"Most students do not really remember the subject that you teach. What they would remember are the

times that you have encouraged them to be more than they thought they could be," she discloses.

 

A LIGHT THAT SHINES BRIGHTER

�Storms, floods are no match to the iron-clad dedication of Filipino teacher Araceli Cruz to her students in

Malabon National High School. Dawn would find her already in her classroom, preparing for her lecture.

She would painstakingly pore over her presentation, her visual aids, checking over the minutest details.

�This determination and will to do her best was the one that has delivered her from the clutches of

ignorance. Unlike those who had the luxury of studying in the best schools, she worked hard to finance her

studies. After finishing elementary, she stopped for a while to help her parents raise money. She eventually

went back to school, working in the school canteen part-time. It was only after so many years that she

finally realized her dream to become a teacher.

�Araceli believes that poverty should not stop people from dreaming, from believing that they can make

something of themselves. Through hard work and patience, they too, can achieve something that they

never thought they could do.

 

A SECOND MOTHER

�There is more to school than textbook lessons and classroom lectures. This was what Gianello Cero

discovered through his chemistry teacher Laura de Guzman in La Salle Greenhills.

 

�"More than a teacher, she has become a friend and a mother. It might be so clich�d but she has become

that. We really learned a lot from her and not just on chemical formulas," says Gelo.

 

 

�That one time that they have accompanied their teacher to one of her weekly volunteer activities has

turned into two and then three until they realized that they were hooked.

 

�"Not everything can be learned from the classroom. Sometimes, there are even more lessons that you can

learn from these volunteer work, from then people that you encounter than in class. Not only do you learn,

but you are also able to help them, share a part of yourself with them. I guess that is one of the things that I

like about her. Being a student, for her, is not only brainwork, one should also go out and experience what

the real world is all about," he continues.

 

�According to de Guzman, a teacher's role in a child's life is crucial because teachers are one of the

primary influences in their formative years, where they develop their character and their puberty stage,

where they develop their identity. "Teachers are really second mothers especially to the students who do

not enjoy an open relationship with their parents or those who have parents that are always absent," she

maintains.

 

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

�To be a good teacher is not that difficult if one truly loves the profession and is willing to devote his or her

entire self to the betterment of others. Marilou Cancio Goloya is one teacher who has committed her life to

helping visually-impaired pupils in Sta Ana Elementary School. And though it may be twice as difficult as

handling perhaps a normal class, the rewards are immeasurable. "It is a challenge to teach the

handicapped. It is hard� yes but what joy you would feel to see them starting to progress when before

they cannot do anything on their own," she shares.

�"For her to handle eight blind pupils is actually more than what is required of her as that is more than the

prescribed number per class. Still, with her dedication and her natural love for her pupils, she is able to

manage the class effectively," states DepEd-NCR Education Supervisor Dr. Elvira Rocal.

�A lady of innovations and great thirst for knowledge, she utilizes different teaching styles and attends

seminars to learn more. Believing that education should be a continuous process, she sees to it that she

upgrades her competencies in teaching the blind every time she finds an opportunity.

 

�"One should not rest on one's laurels. Education does not stop the minute you walk out of the classroom.

Learn from everything that you see, from everything that you encounter. That is the only way for you to

develop as a person," she advises.

 

�Having no medals of valor or sculpted images inside the church does not make them any less of a hero,

any less of a saint than those who line up the pages of history books or the insides of the places of

worships.

 

�Each word of encouragement, each pat in the back may seem small but to the students, whose lives they

have touched, its impact immeasurable.

 

__________________________________________________________

 

ENTERTAINMENT / BUSINESS

 

SOURCE: http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/April2004/07/c9254.html

 

Chalk Media and YTV to co-produce kids reality game show with interactive

web component - Canada

��� TORONTO, April 7 /CNW/ - Chalk Media Corp. ("Chalk Media") today

announces the acceptance of a conditional offer from YTV to co-produce Spy

Academy, a kids' reality game television show with an interactive web

component.

��� YTV and Chalk Media plan to co-produce thirteen episodes of the

half-hour reality game show to air across Canada starting in September, 2004. Spy Academy is friendly, competitive and entertaining and gives "tweens", ages

9-12, an opportunity to actively participate in the type of show they love

To watch. The show will also include interactive web components that will allow kids to participate online at home during the show.

��� Spy Academy allows Chalk Media to further diversify its brand by

targeting this young audience. Mike Agerbo, Chalk Media founder and Chief

Creative Officer, is excited to be partnering with YTV, "The new show

Combines the popularity of reality television with the excitement of kids' game

shows.

We're very enthusiastic about the interactivity that is integrated directly

into the show. Kids at home can participate with the on-air contestants and

have the opportunity to win prizes. Even if they don't get picked to be in

the television show, any child in Canada can still participate with their

regular home PC and internet connection."

��� "We are looking forward to working with Chalk Media on this new project.

We think kids will welcome this new game show concept. It's a reality

Program that uses all the latest gadgets, with an interactive section that will

provide the YTV audience with the full experience," said Bonita Siegel,

Director Original Productions, Corus Children's Television.

��� Chalk Media believes that interactivity will be a new direction for the

television shows of the future and that this appeal will be high with kids.

Consumer Research Canada reports that 1/3 of kids that are 13 and under have

a television in their bedrooms, and 1/3 of those also have a computer in their

bedrooms. While adults tend to see T.V. as a 'sit-back' experience, kids are

media multi-taskers - they are watching T.V., surfing the internet, instant

messaging their friends and talking on the phone all at the same time.

___________________________________

 

 

HEADLINES

 

SOURCE:

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2004/04/05/stories/2004040500170400.htm

 

No kidding! TV Channels Coming to India

Nithya Subramanian

 

At least three new channels for kids are eyeing the Indian market place and

are likely to go on air in the next few months.

 

If you are worried that television is turning your little ones into couch

potatoes, then brace yourself for some more news. At least three new

channels for kids are eyeing the Indian marketplace and are likely to go on

air in the forthcoming months.

 

While Turner International launched sister channel POGO exclusively for

India, the Star Group is working on a channel similar to Fox Kids. Sony

Entertainment Television has announced that it would bring in Animax later

this year and the Walt Disney Company is also in talks with distributors for

its Disney Channel.

 

Advertising industry officials say that this is a segment that is set to

witness growth. Sandip Tarkas, President, MPG India, part of Havas

Advertising, says, "Currently, Cartoon Network has been dominating the

children's space, while Viacom Inc's Nickelodeon, which is the leader

internationally, has not done very well in India. Other channels air

children's programming on specific time-bands, such as Fox Kids on Star Plus

or Cartoon Network on Zee, and these have done well. There is an opportunity

in that segment."

 

HEADLINES

 

According to the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

(FICCI)-Ernst & Young Entertainment Report, the total television market in

2003 was an estimated Rs 12,900 crore, with advertising revenues about Rs

4,200 crore. Of this, children's and infotainment channels have just two per

cent share. Media planners say that the kids' market is estimated to be much

larger because a lot of advertisements targeted towards children are aired

on general entertainment channels. "Hence there is potential akin to sports

or news channels," they add.

 

The advertising industry officials point out that both the news and sports

channels have witnessed tremendous growth. "The biggest gainer has been the

sports genre whose share increased from 3 per cent in 2002 to 13 per cent in

2003," says the report.

 

Action is also hotting up among niche segments. Apart from the 100-odd

existing channels, more are likely to go on air soon. The Times Group is

aggressively eyeing the television space with the proposed launch of several

channels in the general entertainment, business, lifestyle and spiritual

genres. The company has been going on a hiring spree and has recruited

professionals who have previously worked in advertising agencies as well as

broadcasting companies such as Zee and Sony.

 

The industry buzz is that Zee has also been scouting for niche channels, and

that Animal Planet from the Discovery-BBC joint venture may be re-launched

under a new global strategy.

 

HEADLINES

 

_____________________________________________

 

KIDS PLAY FOR PEACE

 

http://www.hindu.com/lf/2004/04/02/stories/2004040200240200.htm

 

Batting for peace and fielding for harmony

 

This group of 26 young cricketers has been practising very hard. And when

they cross the border, they promise to win. But it is not the scoreboard

they are concerned with. Instead, these young enthusiasts will be batting

for peace and fielding for harmony.

 

Conceived by Leapfrog and supported by ActionAid India, a group of 20 street

children and six children journalists plan to cross the border and play with

their counterparts, using the platform of cricket to spread the message of

peace. "But, there will be no Indian and Pakistani teams. There will be

children who will play with each other. This will encourage true team spirit

and interaction,'' clarified Pooja Singh, a student of Delhi's Queen Mary

School, during a press conference on Thursday.

 

The 20 underprivileged children have been drawn from Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan, Anhad, Chetna and Jamghat and belong to Gujarat, Bihar, Rajasthan and Delhi. The children's media unit is from Delhi's Ramjas School, Pusa Road; Delhi Public School, Mathura Road; and Kerala School, Canning Lane.

 

HEADLINES

 

Two "child reporters'' will also stay on in Delhi and act as city reporters.

"We will be writing about the matches and our experiences in Pakistan. We

will send these back to the city reporters who will try and get them

published in mainstream papers here,'' says a participant.

 

To prepare them for the trip, peace and harmony workshops were organised for

the children. "We encouraged them to use all possible media like skits,

songs, posters, comic writing. Apart from this, workshops were conducted by

Nandita Das, Kuldip Nayar, George Abraham and Harsh Mander. Concepts such as identity, positive experiences, peace and conflict were discussed. But we

just introduced the concepts and let the children decide how to interpret

them,'' says Saumya Sen of Leapfrog.

 

Apart from other positives, a major success is the solidarity that has been

forged among the children. "I have really enjoyed this opportunity to

interact with these children who spend their life on the streets. It has

changed my perception of street children. Now, I look at them differently

and understand their concerns much better,'' says Nishit of Delhi Public

School who is part of the children's media group.

 

However, there is still a slight snag in the plans as the visas for Pakistan

have not come through yet. "We were planning to leave on April 2 but it has

been delayed because the visas are yet to come through. Most likely, there

would be delay of about four to five days. This means that the matches would

also be delayed by three to four days,'' says Saumya.

 

By Anjali Malhotra

 

 

� Copyright 2000 - 2003 The Hindu

 

HEADLINES

 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1080988335160282.xml

 

Choices for children increase and improve: Sesame Street

 

04/04/04

 

Mark Dawidziak

Plain Dealer Television Critic

 

 

Big Bird took flight at a time when the skies weren't all that sunny in the

kid-TV world. There wasn't a great deal of original programming for children when "Sesame Street" premiered in 1969, and quality ce tainly wasn't a

word being ap plied to most of what was there.

 

"It was pretty much a vast wasteland for kids in 1969," says Bob McGrath, a

regular on "Sesame Street" since the PBS series premiered. "Be sides

Captain Kangaroo,' Mr. Rogers' and some things Shari Lewis tried, there

wasn't a whole lot on. And much of what was being marketed to kids then, and

even into the '70s and '80s, was mindless or violent."

 

HEADLINES

 

But the landscape has changed over the last 35 years for the good. In terms

of quality and quantity, concerned parents now have more choices than ever

before.

 

"I don't think you can quite call it a golden age for children's

television," says Christy Glaubke, the principal associate for the Children

and Media Program at Children Now. "Some hindsight is necessary to determine

that. But it's unquestionably true that there are more quality choices than

at any time in television history."

 

Glaubke credits three programmers with leading the quality charge for kids:

PBS, with the likes of "Sesame Street," "Between the Lions" and "Clifford

the Big Red Dog"; Nickelodeon with "Dora the Explorer," "Blue's Clues" and

"Rugrats"; and the Disney Channel with "Bear in the Big Blue House," "Out of

the Box" and "Rolie Polie Olie."

 

"Even when you get to things for older kids on Nickelodeon," Glaubke says,

"shows like Sponge Bob SquarePants' and Hey, Arnold!' they tend to be very

smart and clever. They're more about being entertaining than being

educational, but you find wonderfully positive messages and a great deal of

diversity in shows like The Wild Thornberries' and Hey, Arnold!' "

 

Diversity is an area where there has been the most progress since "Sesame

Street" debuted with an integrated cast.

 

HEADLINES

 

"I think Sesame Street' gets the credit for that," Glaubke says. "You've had

several generations growing up, just accepting that we live in a diverse

world. We've almost got to the point with children's programming where it's

a given. There's going to be diversity, not just in terms of race, but in

terms of backgrounds, cultures, beliefs and experiences."

 

"Sesame Street" also pioneered the use of research to develop programming

for children, and that has had an enormous impact.

 

"Yes, kids' programming is better," says Marjorie Kaplan, the executive vice

president in charge of the Discovery Networks' Discovery Kids series. "And

probably that's due, in part, to one of the things that I think is the

biggest change, which is that producers and networks listen to kids and

constantly talk to kids. . . . When I started in the kids' television

business, advertisers knew more about children, by and large, than networks

and production executives did. And that's not true anymore."

 

Cable, though, also gets much of the credit for the quality boom of the last

decade.

 

"It's now all kids, all the time," says Deborah Forte, president of

Scholastic Entertainment, which produces "Clifford the Big Red Dog." "Ten

years ago, 24/7 kids' networks didn't exist, and certainly there was no

proliferation of kids' networks, so to speak. A decade ago, Nickelodeon was

really in its early stages."

 

Tom Lynch, a writer-producer whose credits include "The Secret World of Alex

Mack" and "Romeo!" believes that the other big change is economic: "It's a

great business to be in. Right now, in all media, in all of television, the

children's business is the only one that can travel across the platforms . .

. movies, television, video games, DVD. You know, it's a huge, huge

business."

 

Yet there is a dark side to all that growth. Glaubke is uncomfortable with

the amount of marketing and merchandising that goes hand in hand with

children's programming, even on PBS.

 

"That's the downside," she says. "The commercialization can get pretty

fierce. It has become a necessary evil because it funds so much good

programming in a capitalistic society, but it is one of the things we're

concerned about. We worry about the future when you have completely

interactive digital television. What will the marketing and merchandising be

like?"

 

HEADLINES

 

Violence also remains an issue, particularly with some of the shows aimed at

kids on the WB and Fox lineups.

 

"The quality can improve in children's programming," says Lewis Bernstein,

executive producer of "Sesame Street." "But I think the answer has to be

that, overall, the state of children's television is better, with many more

choices and many more shows conscious of diversity and of being educational.

I'm sorry there isn't more, but, yes, you have to say it's better."

 

When Children's Television Workshop co-founder Joan Ganz Cooney set out to

make "Sesame Street" a reality in 1969, McGrath says, "She was hoping that

one of the long-term results would be more and more choices for kids, and

there certainly are now: Dora the Explorer,' Between the Lions,' Clifford

the Big Red Dog.' Those are quality shows, and that's what Joan Cooney

wanted."

__________________________________

 

SOURCE:

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1080988214160280.xml

 

 

 

HEADLINES

 

HEALTH / FOOD BUSINESS

 

SOURCE: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=506654

 

����� Sugar rush - UK

 

����� In two decades, child obesity has doubled. In the past year, �25m of

TV food adverts were aimed at children. Is there a link? Depends who you

ask, says Caroline Stacey

 

����� 03 April 2004

 

 

����� "Frosted Shreddies." My daughter is reading aloud to me from the

Beano. I should be pleased her reading is coming along, but it's not quite

what I had in mind. She's dictating over the phone as if to an imbecile (a

tone familiar, I hope, to other parents), the name of the breakfast cereal

she wants me to buy on the way home from work. Helpfully for the readers of

the Beano, who we can probably assume are mostly under 12, there is a

full-page advert from the cereal's manufacturer, Nestl�, on the page

opposite Dennis the Menace.

 

����� There's a law against pester power. Adverts aimed at children must not

explicitly encourage the little pests to nag you into buying something. You

think an ad in a kid's mag, for food that appeals mainly to children but is

bought by parents, counts as encouragement? It doesn't. According to the

Advertising Standards Authority (which monitors all non-TV adverts),

objecting to a product, and who it appeals to, is not a reason for objecting

to an advertisement. And it's not in the ASA's remit to consider where they

are placed.

 

����� "Frosted" is a euphemism for a Bob the Builder-style truckload of

sugar. These little brown waffles of malty cereal are so encrusted with

sugar they're almost white. It's the second ingredient, after wholegrain

wheat and rice. Each 100g has 366 calories and 36.3g of sugar. My children

are quite capable of eating 150g at a sitting. That's more than 500

calories, a third of the total a six-year-old girl should have a day.

 

����� Cereals like Frosted Shreddies and Sugar Puffs (glistening with a

whopping 49 per cent sugar content), confectionary, savoury snacks, soft

drinks and fast foods are the types of grub constantly wheedling their way

into children's hearts and minds via lovable characters and catchy jingles.

A whopping 90 per cent of food advertised in the gaps between children's TV

programmes is high in at least one of the unhealthy trinity: sugar, salt and

fat.

 

HEADLINES

 

����� There is no legal definition of "high-fat", but experts accept that

more than 20 per cent is a lot, and that more than 10 per cent sugar is

high. As for salt, which contributes to high blood pressure and heart

disease, more than 0.5g of sodium (that's the salt to watch out for) per

100g is not good, and processed foods are one of the main sources of it. One

third of a packet of Walkers crisps, so successfully advertised by the

ex-footballer and sports TV presenter Gary Lineker, is made up entirely of

fat, and sodium content is 0.7g per 100g. Nestl�, which produces Cookie

Crisps, KitKat, Aero, Munch Bunch Squeezy and Herta Dinky Dogs, is one of

the top-spending food advertisers, along with Cadbury, Coca-Cola,

McDonald's, Heinz and Pepsi (which owns Walkers and Quaker). Many have stars

such as Lineker and Justin Timberlake on their side.

 

����� The term junk is generally applied to energy-dense, low-nutrient

foods. Weight for weight, fat contains twice the number of calories as

protein or carbohydrate, so you don't need to eat as much to start gaining

weight. And the nation's increasing weight is getting out of hand. Half the

adults in Britain are overweight, one in five is obese. As they put it on

Radio 4's Today programme recently, "a tidal wave of obesity is heading

towards us". The reality is a public health catastrophe. Stars like Britney

Spears (a Pepsi-promoter) should be worried. How long is it before someone

points a fat finger at her and says, "Britney made me drink it"?

 

����� When those adults spared regular contact with children come across a

breaded turkey dinosaur (28 per cent turkey), they are horrified by what

seem like caricatures masquerading as food. Nothing surprises the

food-battle-weary parent, but we have strategies for keeping contact with

enemy products at a minimum. Eventually we hope our progeny will lose

interest in them. But for the sake of research I sacrificed the children in

a sortie to the supermarket.

 

����� I dragged my two, 6 and 7, and another, 9, to Sainsbury's to help me

identify the foods that tempt them. They were to show me the products they

want, explain why, and how they knew about them. Then be told they couldn't

have them. This may be good for their health, but it's not an activity

recommended in childcare manuals. Worse, it was Health Week at school and

they were in the middle of a full and inspiring programme about nutrition

and exercise. One child had arrived at school in tears because he was

worried he wouldn't be allowed to eat the white-bread sandwich, chocolate

and crisps his mother had packed for lunch, but the message had been getting

through. Until we got to Sainsbury's.

 

HEADLINES

 

����� Once past the sweets and fags at the entrance, the rack of Finding

Nemo videos primed them for yet more Nemo merchandising to come. But before

that there was brand-free fruit and vegetables to get through. No danger of

pester power there.

 

����� "I like Cheestrings, but the ads are rubbish." Does that show they're

impervious to advertising? Perhaps now the agency's creative team will be

sacked and a new one brought in to rethink the strategy. In the yoghurt

aisle my guinea pigs were drawn to the cartons of Cadbury's Buttons and

Flake mingling with the fruit flavours as if they had a similar nutritional

virtue. And Nestl�'s Nemo-covered fromage frais (nearly 16 per cent sugar).

We compromised on Muller Corner's vanilla choco balls flavour, sweetened

with fructose and dextrose, and with no sugar content given. (This was

Health Week remember - it goes down in their food diary as yoghurt.) Their

eyes lit up at the California-style Sunny D (15 per cent juice) on the other

side of the aisle. However often they've been told it isn't orange juice

like its neighbours, how do you convince them when its presented as one of

the chilled fruit juice gang.

 

����� "This is the yummy section," my son said, approaching the cheesey

snacky things he so longs to have a lunchbox to fill with. "I know these, I

love that. I really like these pizza-making things," his friend said of

Dairylea Lunchable Stack 'Em, Yummy Ham version (1g of sodium per 110g),

which the child constructs by stacking slices of pizza-flavoured cheese and

processed ham on a biscuit. Nearby were Kellogg's new screamin' fruit

Squidgers, a f crushed fruit snack. Ninety per cent fruit and fruit juice -

not bad. "Fruit Winders are just as good, but I haven't seen the Fruit

Winder advert lately, they only do one for Screamers," they said

knowledgeably. "But it's all scrummy stuff here - Fruit Shoots, Panda."

 

����� In the cereal section, even the packed-lunch-resistant parent is

vulnerable. Every packet is emblazoned with temptation. There's a scene in

Tony Parson's novel Man and Boy where the child is puzzled when his newly

single dad offers him the sugary cereal, the one saved for holidays, instead

of the no-fun everyday breakfast his mum usually gives him. It rings bells

with every parent who has had to negotiate a deal: the sweetest cereals are

allowed for "special" occasions, like Saturdays. On our research safari,

nobody bothers with the Shredded Wheat or Weetabix, it's straight to

"Weetos, yeah!" These are 36 per cent sugar, and the kids want the "toon

popper" (plastic toy) inside. And it's "Frosties Chocolate, yeah" as well.

That's 41 per cent sugar. But the one they really, really want is Nestl�'s

Cookie Crisp (40.8g of sugar per 100g). Here's why: "There's this guy,

right. He has bouncy things on his shoes and jumps to a block of flats and

there's these children eating Cookie Crisps and he says, 'Can I have some of

yours?' Everyone puts their bowls out the window and it rains Cookie Crisps

down from the sky into the kids' bowls."

 

����� Academics, consumer campaigners and health organisations are in no

doubt that adverts contribute to the obesity epidemic. Obesity rates in

children have doubled in the past 20 years. One in six children aged six to

15 is obese, as are 9 per cent of two to four years olds. Successive reports

(from, to pick a few, the International Obesity Task Force, National Audit

Office, Food Standards Agency, and Royal College of Paediatricians) in the

past few months have reiterated the scale of the problem. Sitting tight and

doing very little is not an option - that's partly what made us fat in the

first place. Children should take more exercise, parents should exercise

more control, all sides agree. But something else is keeping everyone on

their toes: debating whether advertising junk food to children should be

banned.

 

����� "Children are being targeted systematically," says Neville Rigby,

director of policy and public affairs at the International Obesity Task

Force. He makes comparisons between the junk food business and the tobacco

industry of the past: "Unless we address the diet side of it no amount of

jogging will compensate for the junk food." The proportion of fat in the

average UK diet has increased. It used to account for 20 per cent of the

calories we eat. Now that's up to nearly 40 per cent.

 

����� These organisations want children steered away from the foods and way

of life that can make them overweight, develop diabetes and die early as

adults. Banning adverts for unhealthy food aimed at children is one of their

priorities. Not surprisingly, advertisers and food manufacturers beg to

differ. The British Retail Consortium which represents the supermarkets and

other shops, insists "an attack on food advertising misses the real cause of

childhood obesity". Promoting these foods isn't what causes obesity, goes

the advertisers and food manufacturers' line. Education, family environment

and lifestyle matter more.

 

����� The Department of Health is investigating the link between food

promotion to children and obesity. Ofcom is reviewing the codes which govern

food advertising to children and should report by the middle of the year.

Last month the Food Standards Agency, guardian of the nation's food safety,

threw its hat into the ring with an action plan for improving children's

diets, partly by changing the ways food is promoted to them.

 

����� This issue is hotter than the fattiest, saltiest, deep-fried slice of

potato. In one corner is Scooby Doo, Thomas the Tank Engine and a host of

other characters from children's TV, licensed to appear on children's foods,

along with food industry giants and advertising magicians. On the other are,

well, almost everyone else you'd expect to care about your health. Sustain,

an alliance of health and consumer campaigns, led the most recent appeal to

the Government. Another hundred groups (among them the British Dental

Association, British Heart Foundation, Centre for Food Policy, Child Growth

Foundation, Child Poverty Action Group, Children's Society, Co-operative

Group, Consumers' Association, Food Commission, Guild of Food Writers,

National Children's Bureau, National Union of Teachers and Unison) backed it

and joined a worldwide appeal to the World Health Organisation to

incorporate the marketing ban into its global anti-obesity initiative.

 

����� And then, in between the two camps, we have Tessa Jowell, Secretary of

State for Culture, Media and Sport, who recently made clear she wouldn't

give in to demands for a ban on the ads that make unhealthy children's food

seem so tempting.

 

����� After sifting through all available research on the subject, last

autumn's Food Standards Agency review, titled "Does Food Promotion Influence

Children?", came to the conclusion that advertising does affect what

children eat. Entirely predictable? Not if you believe the advertising and

food and drink industries. "They don't see themselves as part of the

problem," says Debra Shipley, Labour MP for Stourbridge, who has campaigned

in Parliament on this issue. "It's not just that these products exist, it's

that the manufacturers are doing everything within their power to make

children want them - and persuade their parents to buy them. We have got to

stop brainwashing tiny children, on TV and in schools with vending machines

and sponsorship activities."

 

����� For once, instead of clearing up the remains of their nutritious tea,

I watched TV with the kids. In under an hour, we saw commercials for

Frosties, McDonald's Happy Meals, Hubba Bubbba 5 chewing gum and Kinder

Surprise. The cartoon was sponsored by Coco Pops Crunchers. Research by the

Food Commission, a watchdog group, showed that of all the cereals advertised

in children's TV viewing time, 89 per cent were for high-sugar children's

cereals. The advertising and food-manufacturing lobby claims that without

ads for children, the choice and quality of their TV programmes and channels

would reduce. How impoverished their lives would be.

 

����� The sums spent promoting confectionary are gobsmacking. Last year,

�25m was spent on food advertising aimed at children and shown on the

channels, and at the times, they watch. On terrestrial TV, there might be up

to 10 adverts an hour for food high in fat, sugar and salt. Reading the

Grocer, a trade magazine, for tantalising snippets about what advertisers

are up to, I learn that the new Cadbury's Giant Fingers (20g each) hope to

capture a significant slice of the lunchbox market and take on KitKat. The

TV ads start in April, as part of a �4m package, including sponsorship of

the Channel 5 Family Movie on Saturdays.

 

����� With less than half our children eating school dinners, lunchboxes are

important, as are the foods targeted at them. These include processed

products with more sodium than a child's daily allowance (Dairylea Dunkers

Salt 'n' Vinegar Twist have 0.9g of sodium per 100g - remember: 0.5g is

considered a lot) and sugary cereal bars. A survey which prized open the

plastic lids of primary school children's lunchboxes found that 71 per cent

included a bag of crisps, 60 per cent a biscuit or chocolate bar, and less

than half had a piece of fruit. Nine out of 10 contained food too high in

saturated fat, salt and sugar. Many children are eating twice the

recommended amount of sugar. Add in breakfast cereals and their sugar intake

soars.

 

����� And what of the children (like mine) whose entreaties have been

stonewalled, despite their pleas that everyone else at school has blue Slush

Puppies after swimming? Do they feel hard done by? Take a guess. We can't

manipulate what they want to eat but - at home, at least - we can determine

what our children do eat. Which is why we shop alone, if we can.

 

����� The standard defence of advertising is that it introduces consumers to

new foods. There are 30,000 food products out there, says voice of the

industry, the Food and Drink Federation. How dull it would be without them

all. We'd be depriving children, taking their sweets away from them. The

young cannot be sheltered from marketing and advertising, the most visible

and entertaining aspects of commercial activity. "Children enjoy and

remember advertisements, but this does not necessarily mean that they have

an impact on their behaviour," says its defiant manifesto. "Food advertising

does not dictate overall diet and health," states the Food Advertising Unit,

set up by the Advertising Authority, an industry body.

 

����� And then there's Dr Jason Halford, a bio-psychologist and expert in

"human ingestive behaviour" at the University of Liverpool, who says

commercials aimed at children may actually stimulate them eat to more. He

showed children - both the obese and lean - food adverts, and then made the

same foods available immediately afterwards. Many of them - irrespective of

their size - ate more than they did when they hadn't been shown the adverts.

But as Dr Halford, points out, in most homes the high-fat and sugary foods

like crisps and biscuits are as easy to get hold of as the healthier snacks,

and will seem more attractive to appetites just whetted by TV ads.

 

����� It'll take a lot of investment and imagination to redress the balance.

Who will put a persuasive case for a crunchy carrot and unsalted rice cake

as the first thing a child wants to nibble after school? Tessa Jowell has

urged advertisers to do just that. But the spokeswoman for the Food and

Drink Federation explains that "advertising is used for brands to

differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace." Any volunteers for

some creative advocacy for broccoli? "It would need to be a branded cabbage

to be promoted," she admits. And what the industry does is add value -

produce food they can charge more for. Of course, there wouldn't be adverts

if the food wasn't invented. Oh, but then there's the argument that the food

industry's role is to provide choice for consumers. So, what'll it be for

lunch then? Dairylea Dunkers Jumbo Munch or an Attack-a-Snak Cheestring

Chicken Wrap?

 

____________________________________

 

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/04/13/build/local/40-japan-elementary.inc

 

GETTING GLOBAL

 

Pupils learn about Japan from native - MT, USA

By DIANE COCHRAN Of The Gazette Staff

 

April 13 2004

 

Students at Alkali Creek Elementary School had oodles of questions for Toshiaki Kogame, a visitor from

Japan, but Allison Gardner posed the best question of all.

 

"Do you eat fish with their heads on?" the fourth grader asked during an assembly Monday afternoon.

 

After a moment of stunned silence, the gymnasium erupted into giggles. While Kogame conferred with fourth grade teacher Nancy McManus, his American host, students waited eagerly for the answer. Finally, Kogame's face lit up.

japan

�

"Yes," he announced triumphantly. "We have fish with the head, and the tail is on."

 

Kogame, 24, spent about 30 minutes Monday talking with fourth, fifth and sixth graders at Alkali Creek

School about Japanese culture. He is visiting McManus, who lived with his family in Japan last winter.

 

McManus traveled to Tokyo and Zentsuji, Kagawa, in November and December participating in the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. She was one of three Montana teachers chosen for the trip, which she described as an exchange program for educators.

 

"We have so much to learn from one another," McManus said. "The primary focus of the program is to create peace between the two countries."

 

She said the relationship she developed with Kogame and his family is a perfect example of what the program aims to achieve. Because of the bond she formed with Kogame, he decided to travel to the United States to stay with McManus' family for eight days.

 

During her three weeks in Japan, McManus observed primary and secondary schools as well as a university. She said she was awed by the Japanese education system.

 

"I went over with the thought that things were going to be very strict, the children were going to march around, and things were going to be very quiet," she said. "I was very wrong."

 

She described Japanese students as happy children who often tell jokes. But they have much more responsibility than do their American counterparts, McManus said.

 

"The children are responsible for the school inside and out," she said.

 

Before class, students clean up the school grounds. They cook and serve their own lunches - using vegetables grown in school gardens - and at the end of the day, they clean up the building.

 

"You don't see janitors in Japan," she said.

 

Classes span the entire day - from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. - and many students also attend private "cram" schools in the evenings and on Saturdays, McManus said.

 

"There is truly no child left behind in Japan," she said. "A child's education is truly the mind, body and spirit."

 

During Monday's assembly, Kogame taught Alkali Creek students to count to 10 in Japanese and signed autographs using Japanese characters.

 

Students wanted to know if he plays sports (soccer and volleyball), if there are beaches in Japan (yes) and what video games he owns (every kind). One student bewildered Kogame by asking if Japanese bathrooms are made of gold and cost $200 to use (no).

 

Kogame experienced his first Easter celebration on Sunday, which included an egg hunt and potluck dinner as well as a visit from the Easter bunny.

 

"I've never seen such kind of activity before," Kogame said. "I didn't know what the Easter bunny was, but I learned the Easter bunny is some kind of Santa Claus."

 

Copyright � The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

 

___________________________________

 

 

KIDS AND ANIMALS� /� �EDUCATION

 

Furry reading friends - New York State, USA

 

In a novel twist to raise reading skills, program uses dogs to help pupils

By PAUL WESTMOORE

News Niagara Bureau

4/11/2004�

�

PENDLETON - The dogged pursuit of learning looks a little different in a Pendleton elementary school.

Since October, about 55 first- and second-graders who have been struggling with reading have improved their skills by reading stories one-on-one to registered therapy dogs.

 

furryfriend

HARRY SCULL JR./Buffalo News

Volunteer Jackie Newman assists second-grader Celeste Murphy with her reading. Her assigned dog is Maverick, a golden retriever.

The "Reading With Rover" program is the only one of its kind in Western New York and possibly the only one in the country that's set in a school, said Roberta Wyner, principal at Anthony L. Fricano Primary

School.

 

And while it started off as an experiment, she said it has proven to be an effective tool in helping children read. Every participant's reading skills have been brought up to grade level over the past six months by reading 30 minutes a week to dogs.

 

furryfriend

HARRY SCULL JR./Buffalo News

Second-grader Dillon Olear reads to Ice, his therapy dog, at Anthony L. Fricano Primary School in Pendleton.

"This is amazing," Wyner said. "When you can get a child who does not read well or doesn't like to read to look forward to reading - that right there, as far as I'm concerned, is a major step in the right direction. They just can't wait to read. That's amazing and wonderful."

 

Dillon Olear certainly thinks so. He sits on the floor with Ice, an Italian hunting dog, hovering over his shoulder, reading "The Three Bears."

 

"It's fun," the 7-year-old Dillon said. "I like doing it a lot. It helps me."

 

Dillon then continued reading to Ice while the dog's owner, Becky Iannone, helped him sound out the difficult words.

 

Celeste Murphy said she was having trouble with reading and is doing much better since she started reading to her pal Maverick, a 75-pound Golden Retriever.

 

"I like doing it," the 8-year-old said. "I like to come to school when it's my turn to read to Maverick."

 

Maverick is owned by Jackie Newman, who founded the program with Wyner, recruits volunteers and coordinates it.

 

Newman said she and Wyner came up with the idea for Reading With Rover a couple of years ago after hearing about a similar program that Therapy Dogs International was running in cooperation with a library - not a school - in Colorado.

 

Iannone is the Western New York representative for Therapy Dogs International. She is authorized to test dogs before they can be registered and insured to work with children, senior citizens, the disabled and other people in need of "emotional support."

 

To work with children, Iannone said, the dogs must have the right temperment and be able to withstand a lot without reacting. She said Maverick and Ice, for example, love to be with kids and never bark, are never aggressive and don't play rough while they are working.

 

Wyner said the program has been successful for a number of reasons.

 

"The advantage is the child gets to practice reading in an environment that's totally comfortable and secure with the dog next to them. Sometimes the child pets the dog while reading to it. Sometimes the dog puts its head on the child's lap. Sometimes the child rests on the dog," she said.

 

"It's just a very nonthreatening situation where they don't have to feel embarrassed if they don't read a word correctly like they might in front of their classmates. It helps them relax and focus on their reading," she said.

 

Add a dog's unconditional love into the mix, and you have a winning plan, Iannone said.

 

"It provides the emotional support the kids need," she said. "The dogs don't correct them. They don't say,

"You have to do this and be perfect at it.' They're just there to be read to."

 

And because almost every pupil in the school wants to read to the dogs, it offers the kids who participate an element of status, boosting their self-confidence, making them better students and drawing other children to them whom they otherwise might not have become friends with, Wyner said.

 

Wyner said the school's kindergarten teachers would like their pupils to participate. Teachers and pupils at Starpoint Intermediate School are interested. She said she has had numerous inquiries from other school districts about the program.

 

And while most of the kids in the program are there for reading help, Newman said, it is flexible enough that, if a child has special problems, teachers will give Wyner the heads-up on a situation, and they'll admit the child into the program.

 

Iannone said she had one pupil who was upset because his cat died.

 

"He came in and just talked to Ice the whole time about his cat dying. It was perfect," she said.

 

Maverick has one girl who came in initially and just sat in a chair in the corner, Newman said.

 

"She didn't want to interact with the dog. She didn't want to read. She didn't want to touch," Newman said.

She was very very shy. "Now she is to the point where she comes in, she's on the floor with the dog, she's planning ahead, she's picking out a book, she's conferring with the librarian.

 

"When it was time for her turn to leave the program (because she was doing so well), she actually broke down crying. We re-evaluated and ended up continuing her because she had come so far and had broken out of her shell," Newman said.

 

The kids aren't the only ones who benefit.

 

"Maverick doesn't like to leave school," Newman said. "I've physically had to carry him to get him to leave because he likes the kids so much. He will lie down on the floor so flat even his lips are flush to the floor.

And I have to pick him up dead weight and carry him to the car. He weighs 75 pounds.

 

"That's become the big joke. Did you get him out of school without carrying him?"

 

�

______________________________________________

 

http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/features/fe408042004.html

 

EDUCATION

 

Mathematics: Most hated subject by pupils� - Nigeria

�

By� Emmanuel Edukugho, Vanguard

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

�

 

Vanguard conducted a survey among students to find out their reaction on mathematics. The investigation

revealed the rationale, objective or otherwise. Whether mathematics be made compulsory, how feasible is

the methodology of teaching, the subject in schools, approach, the role and attitude of teachers, what kind

of interest shown by students on the subject, conduciveness of the environment, availability of

instructional materials, what can be done to generate interest and overcome the proverbial, traditional fear

often times from the first day in school.

 

�I have always been intrigued by numbers right from my primary school days. But as I went further, going

into secondary, I started to come to grips with maths. I want to learn more about the logic of number

because I hope to be an engineer.

 

For me, maths is not difficult as some of my classmates used to say, unless you don�t have interest. I used

to tell them to have interest and you will understand the subject. Everything is about interest� � Paul�

Eyituoyo, a student of Lagos state government secondary school.

 

Another student from the same school, Pauline Erewa believe the subject is difficult.

 

�Arithmetic is the subject I hate most. Even when I try to be attentive, yet I still cannot understand it. I am

now encouraged by a friend who told me I can master it.

 

I used to think that mathematics won�t be of any use to me when I grow up, so there is no point in learning

the subject. I have come to realise that math will be useful in many ways. I am now trying to work harder

and harder and not give it up.�

Miss Kome Ejeta of Ajagbadi high school told Vanguard that mathematics is boring to learn.

 

�Our teachers can use so much time to treat a topic which is boring to many of us. At times, fear is created

in our minds. One thing I know now is that when I practise it daily, I will be alright. I want to overcome that

fear when I write WASC.�

 

Miss Mercy Otsemaye, a level 300 law student of University of Lagos, frowned at the idea of making maths

a compulsory subject.

�Not all courses need mathematics, but now, if you want to study law, arts, mass comm, one is required to

have a credit in it. I remember when I was in secondary school, a phobia was created that maths is very

difficult and almost impossible to pass. My experience was hard. I had to take extra lesson at home

especially for maths before I could get a credit in WAEC.�

 

Mercy believed maths is not a terror - subject as many people think.

�Let students take it easy. About 50% of the blame for failure should go to the students because they don�t

want to work hard.

�One can approach your peers who are good in it and they can help you out. Parents should buy the

necessary text books required and encourage their children to attend extra lesson.�

 

Attention was drawn to the need for a good teacher/student relationship in the mastery of the subject.

Pupils should have the patience to listen and possess individual determination.

Vanguard survey showed that students don�t get close enough to their maths teachers. Some pupils are

slow, while others are fast in learning.

 

One student said: �I don�t pass maths, not that I don�t like it. There can be better ways of teaching it. Let

government provide materials for effective teaching in schools and libraries. Teachers should use

dramatic style and not making it magical. They need to tell the pupils to believe in themselves. Teaching

ought to be more practical, and less of theory.�

 

Some students interviewed expressed mixed feelings. While there are those who regard mathematics as a

problem, others said it�s not a problem.

 

To those who have interest, it is very easy to learn.

On the other hand, those without interest find it difficult to learn. Yet the beauty of mathematics lies in the

ability to solve problems which is the very soul of the subject.

Exercises in mathematics involve problem-solving which is not found commonly in other subjects. A lot of

calculation necessary in accounting is there.

 

A student observed in the course of this report that even as a worker, one still needs some knowledge of

maths.

 

�If for instance, one wants to collect his/her salary, and told that 25% has been added, you have to calculate

the percentage increase and make sure you are not cheated,� he said.

 

According to him, even the petty trader, the market women, need to understand addition and subtraction,

plus and minus of numbers for proper accounting at the end of the day.

 

__________________________________________--

http://www.eham.net/articles/8139

 

SCIENCE

 

Astronaut Looking Forward to Returning to Earth, But Not to Gravity: Earth and Space

 

from The ARRL Letter, Vol 23, No 15

Website: http://www.arrl.org/ on April 10, 2004

 

 

Astronaut Looking Forward to Returning to Earth, But Not to Gravity:

Astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC, told a group of students in France April 1 that he's looking forward to

returning to Earth at the end of the month. But he was not especially enthusiastic about the prospect of

having to reacclimate himself to Earth's gravitational pull. Foale made the comment during an Amateur

Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school group contact with youngsters at two schools in

Saint Mard, France. Speaking via NA1SS aboard the space outpost, Foale--who's the ISS Expedition 8

commander and NASA ISS science officer--said coming back to Earth is difficult for the first two or three

days.

 

"It feels like I am carrying suitcases all the time," he said. "My body hurts and all the muscles hurt in my

body as if I've had influenza." Foale has been living in zero gravity conditions for the past five months.

 

Participating in the contact were students at the College George Brassens of Saint Mard and the Ecole

Jacques Prevert, both located some 28 miles northeast of Paris. Teacher Jocelyn Raffray, F5CAR, posed

the questions students prepared.

 

Foale also told the pupils that the ISS does sometimes get struck by small meteorite particles. "We can see

one or two small holes in the large, large solar arrays that generate our electricity aboard the International

Space Station," Foale explained. "We also have one or two small little pits or marks on the windows of the

Service Module in the Russian Segment."

 

Youngsters at an Arizona elementary school that focuses on the theme of flight also enjoyed chatting with

Foale on April 5. The contact with KA7SKY at Sonoran Sky Elementary School

http://epage.pvusd.k12.az.us/sonoransky/ in Scottsdale marked the final school group contact for the

Expedition 8 crew. The school has been following the ISS mission and daily events. As a part of Sonoran

Sky's standard curriculum, third graders learn about space exploration beginning with the Apollo missions

through the building of the ISS, and sixth graders attend Astrocamp every year.

 

Among other things, Foale told the Arizona students that being launched from Earth is a surprise and a

shock. "The Soyuz provides a smoother ride as compared to the shuttle," he said, "but you are pressed

down in your chair."

 

During the approximately 10-minute contact, teacher Carrie Cunningham, N7NFX, handled control operator

duties at the kindergarten through sixth-grade school of some 500 students. The contact was broadcast

live through the school as reporters from three TV stations and two newspapers looked on.

 

Another youngster at Sonoran Sky wanted to know what Foale liked best about being an astronaut.

 

"I think the best thing about being an astronaut is that you're taking part in an adventure--a human

adventure," Foale replied. On the plus side of being in space, he said in response to another question, is

that he gets to do something very few other people get to do. On the minus side, he noted, is "being away

from my family and missing my children."

 

Foale won't be in space too much longer now. The Expedition 9 crew of Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, and Gennady

Padalka, RN3DT, will launch from Kazakhstan April 19 aboard a Soyuz vehicle to relieve Foale and

crewmate Sasha Kaleri, U8MIR. Accompanying Fincke and Padalka will be European Space Agency

astronaut Andr� Kuipers of the Netherlands, who is scheduled to handle two ARISS contacts with school

groups in his home country during his week or so aboard the ISS.

 

Foale, Kaleri and Kuipers will return to Earth at the end of the month aboard the Soyuz vehicle now

attached to the ISS. Fincke and Padalka will spend approximately six months aboard the ISS. Regular

school group contacts will resume sometime in late May.

 

ARISS http://www.rac.ca/ariss/ is an international educational outreach program with US participation by

ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

________________________________________________________

 

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArt

icle&cid=1031774839240&path=!nationworld&s=1037645509161

 

CELEBRATIONS

 

Egg-ceptional Fun Rain doesn't stop children from attending annual egg roll at the White House -

Washington D.C., USA

 

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

 

 

WASHINGTON

 

Undaunted by the rain, hundreds of children scampered around the South Lawn of the White House

yesterday, hugging stuffed bunnies and rolling colored eggs across the soggy grass in an annual ritual

that dates to the late 1870s when Rutherford B. Hayes was president.

 

Shielded from a steady drizzle by a large black umbrella, Education Secretary Rod Paige started this year's

egg roll, standing in for President Bush, who was at his Texas ranch.

 

 

eggroll

Local area children roll their eggs at the annual Easter Egg roll at the White House, Monday, April 12, 2004.

Undaunted by the rain, hundreds of children scampered around the South Lawn of the White House

Monday, hugging stuffed bunnies and rolling colored eggs across the soggy grass in an annual ritual that

dates to the late 1870s when Rutherford B. Hayes was president. (Ron Edmonds / AP Photo)

 

Paige later read The Bunny who Found Easter. The book, written by Charlotte Zolotow, is about a lonely

bunny who embarks on a long journey to find a companion. The tale ends when he finds his mate and has

a family and realizes that Easter is not a place, but a "time when everything lovely begins once again."

 

About 7,200 eggs were dyed in pastel colors for the egg-roll races in which children used spoons to try to

push eggs through the wet grass faster than other racers in adjoining lanes. Another 4,000 colored eggs

were available for children to color in a "Be an Easter Artist" on the South Lawn.

 

The annual Easter egg roll was back to being open to the public this year. Last year, it was closed to the

public and limited to about 12,000 people - soldiers involved in the Iraq war and their children.

 

The White House egg roll has been a tradition since the mid-19th century. The celebration took place on the

Capitol grounds until 1878, when it was moved to the White House by Lucy Hayes, the wife of President

Rutherford Hayes.

 

_______________________________________________

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/14/content_1418325.htm

 

LIFESTYLE

 

Four days in cyber space : China

�

www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-14

 

��� BEIJING, April 14, (Xinhuanet) -- A 16-year-old boy in shanghai has been rescued from an Internet cafe

where he spent more than four days playing computer games and chatting online.

 

china

The Internet gradually grow into an indispensable part in daily life of China's younger generation in

nowadays.� (File photo)

�

The boy, surnamed Xie, left home with 200 yuan (US$24) last Thursday and went to a Net cafe on downtown

Changhua Road in Shanghai.

 

��� His mother went to the cafe on Monday afternoon and tried to persuade him to give up playing

computers, but Xie refused to go home and climbed up to the roof of the cafe.

 

��� Exhausted and cold in the rain, the boy fainted as rescuers reached him and was taken to nearby

Changzheng Hospital.

 

��� Doctors said that he was suffering only exhaustion.

 

��� Yesterday, when Shanghai Daily visited Xie's home on downtown Yongjia Road, both the boy and his

mother were reluctant to talk about the issue.

 

��� "The most important thing is my son came back home safely. I don't want to say anything more," said

Xie's mother surnamed Su.

 

��� Xie had spent all his money in the Net cafe and was trying to borrow money from the cafe boss, when he

was spotted by a neighbor who later reported the boy's whereabouts to his mother.

 

��� Internet cafes are forbidden to open after midnight and no one under 18 is allowed to enter, according to

a regulation issued by the State Council last November.

 

��� Proprietors violating the rule can be fined from 5,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan. People found breaking the

rule three times can have their business license revoked.

 

��� But officials said students are still frequently found playing in local Net cafes, or even staying overnight

like Xie.

 

��� "Both the society and family, as well as Internet addicts' schools, are to be blamed for such incidents,"

said Zhang Youde, a sociologist at Shanghai University.

 

��� Only when the community and school authorities take more effective measures, can students be

prevented from breaking the rule.

 

��� Families should also care more, rather than spoiling their children, Zhang said.

 

(Shanghai Daily)

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2004/04/stategeobee.html

 

CONTESTS

 

National Geographic Bee Announces State Winners : USA

 

Reported by Jennifer Vernon and Josh Wentz and written by Sarah Ives

National Geographic Kids News

 

On April 2 thousands of U.S. students competed in the National Geographic Bee state-level competitions.

Winners will advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C.

 

Students have been competing in the National Geographic Bee for 16 years. The Bee is the second largest

academic competition in the United States. Only the National Spelling Bee has more participants.

 

Students in fourth through eighth grade from about 16,000 schools nationwide compete for the top prize�a

$25,000 college scholarship.

 

But according to Mary Lee Elden, director of the Bee, there's more to the contest than winning.

 

 

bee

First-place District of Columbia winner Benjamin Horkley (center) will be competing at the National

Geographic Bee national competition on May 25 and 26. News anchor James Adams (second from right)

moderated the District competition. Ryan O'Toole (left), took third place, and Alec Cooper (right) won

second.

Photograph by Cathy Healy

 

"It's not that they're spending their whole lives studying geography to win the Bee," Elden said. "And we

don't encourage that. ... It's mainly to encourage knowledge of the world around you, not to win the

contest."

 

The competition begins with a school-level test. The school winners then take a written exam and send it

back to National Geographic for scoring. Then, the top hundred students in each state compete at the state

level.

 

One winner from each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Pacific

Territories, and the overseas U.S. Department of Defense schools will come to Washington, D.C., for the

national competition on May 25 and 26. See a list of state-level winners.

 

According to Elden, the students deserve all the recognition they get: "It is important to showcase these

students and their knowledge of the world. Trophies, prizes, and scholarships are given for football,

soccer, basketball, et cetera. Why not geographic knowledge?"

 

 

 

 

SHORTBITES

SOURCE:� http://www.ainaworld.org/

Parvaz (the take off) : Afghanistan

 

Parvaz (the take off) is a monthly magazine for the Afghan children aged from 7 to 12 or more, in Dari and Pashto supported by achette Fondation and published in Kabul. Six Afghan journalists and illustrators and a consulting committee composed of children have realized the first issue. The magazine gathers educative, well-laid and interactive contents and will be� distributed in selected schools and through A�NA's distribution network at about 2500 copies.

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