News Photos

Electricity problems �Albania

http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2005/11/08/feature-02

Electricity restrictions deepened on Sunday , Nov 6

Tirana is facing power cuts that last the entire day. [Gent Shkullaku]

Electricity restrictions deepened on Sunday (6 November) as the Albanian Electro-energetic Corporation (KESH) extended a mandatory blackout for both urban and rural areas.

Independence Day-Cambodia

Cambodian children wave flags during Independence Day celebrations in Phnom Penh Wednesday Nov. 9, 2005. Cambodia today celebrates independence from France in 1953. (AP Photo/Andy Eames)

Feeding Ducks-China

A man and a child feed doves in a scenic spot in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu province, November 8, 2005. The fight against bird flu is serious, said Chinese Agriculture Minister Du Qinglin on Tuesday. He also demanded the agricultural departments take all measures to prevent the spread of bird flu, Xinhua reported. CHINA

Reuters - Nov 08 6:59 AM

Shichi-go-san-Japan

A boy in a kimono and a little girl are escorted by their parents during their visit to a Tokyo shrine on Culture Day national holiday, Thursday. The rite called "Shichi-Go-San," or "Seven-Five-Three," that falls on Nov. 15 traditionally, is marked by Japanese families by visiting shrines to offer prayer for the healthy growth of girls at age three and seven and of boys at three and five. Nowadays many families practice the rite on the weekends or national holidays before or after Nov. 15 because the date is not a national holiday

Breakfast among the ruins-Kashmir

Kashmiri children take breakfast at a makeshift tent camp in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, about 130km (81 miles) north of Islamabad, November 8, 2005.

Reuters - Nov 08 4:41 AM

Princess Leonor is born- Spain

Princess Leonor, as she sleeps during her first presentation to the media in Madrid, on Monday. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Spanish royal couple show off new baby daughter

Associated Press

MADRID, Spain � Newborn Princess Leonor � second in line to Spain's throne � made her public debut Monday, drawing cheers as Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia showed her off to a crowd outside a Madrid hospital.

Princess Leonor, born a week ago, wore a white outfit and was wrapped in a white blanket as she slept through her first presentation to a gaggle of news outlets.

"She is very calm," said Princess Letizia, a former TV anchorwoman.

"She eats really well and sleeps all the time," said Prince Felipe.

Leonor's birth has added urgency to a debate on reforming Spain's constitution to eliminate a pro-male bias in the royal succession.

As it stands now, she is second in line to the throne, after her father. But if her parents have a son, he will be second in line.

Seeing Prince Charles-USA

Children yell out as Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, leave the Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California November 7, 2005. The royal couple is on an 8-day tour to the United States for the first time since their marriage. REUTERS/Kimberly White

Adults Helping Kids

Celebrating culture, unique child care option- USA and Europe

By William Fouts | Staff writer

FISHERS � Au pairs and host families from Carmel, Fishers, Indianapolis, New Castle, Noblesville and Zionsville gathered at Roy G. Holland Memorial Park in Fishers to share some food, fun and culture.

Au pairs Justyna Merta of Poland, Michaela Holotova of the Czech Republic and Maria Vargova of Slovakia help themselves to some refreshments at Roy G. Holland Memorial Park in Fishers. Photo by William Fouts

Nicole Daly, child care coordinator for Cultural Care Au Pair said the event celebrates International Education Week and allows au pairs and their host families to learn more about the au program.

�It gives the families an opportunity to meet the other families in the program and the other au pairs and just build a network,� Daly said.

Cultural Au Pair matches young women ages 18 to 26 with families in the U.S. seeking nannies for their children. About 70 families in Central Indiana are hosting au pairs this year from Europe, South America, Scandinavia and Africa.

Cindy Wirth and her family are first-time hosts. The Wirths are very happy with their au pair Anna Neyhoff of Germany. She said having an au pair to help care for their four small children is a comforting alternative to traditional daycare.

�Anna is our first au pair, and it's been wonderful,� Wirth said. �We're real lucky with Anna. She's trying to teach the kids German.�

The au pairs sign up for a one-year commitment with an option to extend for an additional year. Daly said about 45 percent of women do choose to extend their visits.

Entertainment

13 days of glory turn kid-friendly �Texas, USA

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-alamo_1108gl.ART.State.Edition2.17cb5e42.html

CHILDREN'S THEATER REVIEW: Musical tells Alamo story through child's eyes

08:19 AM CST on Tuesday, November 8, 2005

By NANCY CHURNIN / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH � It's not easy to explain to kids why the quixotic story of fewer than 200 men fighting a doomed battle against thousands should be honored.

But every year, Texas teachers do just that when they talk to their students about the Alamo, explaining how the heroic battle and sacrifice of those who died in a small San Antonio church in 1836 inspired Texans to fight and ultimately win their independence from Mexico.

Those teachers evidently appreciate what Casa Ma�ana Children's Playhouse is trying to do with its world-premiere musical, The Alamo � the school performances are virtually sold out. The kids won't be disappointed, either. While still a work in progress, it goes down a lot easier without the graphic violence and language of the far more expensive PG-13 Disney movie.

Casa company member Brad M. Jackson, who wrote the book and lyrics to Sean McWilliams' spirited score (and performs as Almeron Dickinson), finds a kid-friendly focus by choosing Enrique Esparza, a child who survived the Alamo, as his narrator. He begins with Enrique as a grown man (Rob Hood) looking back with the opening song, "Remember."

Then he segues into the past, with young Enrique (Ty Taylor, who alternates with Oliver Archibald) at the Alamo with his parents, Gregorio and Ana (Greg Dulcie and Amanda Doskocil), long before anyone realized that they would be fighting a losing battle with few reinforcements.

The framework of the tale is effective, as Enrique meets and befriends some of the legendary names among the combatants: James Bowie, William Barrett Travis and Davy Crockett, who gives Enrique his famous coonskin cap. But it probably works better for kids prepped by their teachers to know the historical characters and what happened to them.

Set and costume designers Mark Walker and LaLonnie Lehman do a fine job creating the look and flavor of the old frontier, complete with cannons. But modern screens that project maps of the battle or brief background information about the characters would be helpful for those of us who need things spelled out more.

Even more critical, Mr. Jackson makes us care about Enrique, but fails to take the audience's affection to the next level by showing why Enrique's memories of this time are so important to him, to those who fought afterward and to us so many years later.

The choice of making a musical out of such a tragedy is risky but pays off with songs such as the rousing "Ready for the Fight," which is helped by the strong-voiced ensemble.

Also welcome is how the story shows Latinos and Anglos fighting together for their independence, with many Mexican-born families in the painful situation of having family members on opposite sides.

As the show ended Saturday morning, a few children lingered before heading out to the lobby to get their programs signed by the actors. "What happened to the little boy?" a little girl wondered aloud.

That's the kind of question that, if answered, could lead to a more powerful version of an already promising show.

E-mail [email protected]

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=257265&rel_no=1

'Zathura' Is a Game You'll Want To Play - Worldwide

This 'Jumanjiesque' kid adventure is terrific fun

Brian Orndorf (briano)

ⓒ2005 Columbia

Two quarrelsome brothers, Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and Danny (Jonah Bobo), are forced to spend time together when their father (Tim Robbins) leaves them at home to retrieve documents from work. Finding an old tin game called "Zathura" in the basement, the boys begin to play, quickly learning that this game is nothing like they've encountered before.

Accidentally sending their home into outer space, freezing their older sister (Kristen Stewart), facing evil aliens (a giant lizard race called the Zorgons) and robots, and meeting a hungry astronaut (Dax Shepard) along the way, Walter and Danny frantically race to finish the game before their father returns home, or at least what's left of their home.

With "Zathura," director Jon Favreau ("Elf") earns his title as king of family movies. I haven't seen a filmmaker in recent years take the care and muster the courage to give the younger set cinematic experiences that they deserve in quite the fashion Favreau has. This is amazing, considering Favreau kicked off his directorial career with the profoundly adult and hilariously obscene wannabe-mobster comedy, "Made."

It's complicated to describe "Zathura," since the material is a semi-sequel-but-not-really companion piece to the 1995 blockbuster "Jumanji." Both films were born in the mind of author Chris Van Allsburg ("The Polar Express"), and they share a devilish sense of adventure, yet the films couldn't be further apart in scope.

The delightful "Jumanji" was a daylight thrill ride, utilizing state-of-the-art special effects (looking quaint these days) to richly achieve its jungle-themed chaos. "Zathura" is much smaller in ambition, taking place almost entirely in one house. It presents a massive challenge to Favreau and his production team to come up with resourceful ways to maintain the gaming suspense and whiplash pace of a film that almost never steps outside the front door.

"Zathura" is aimed squarely at 10 year-old boys with its bevy of robots, lizard monsters, and heroic astronauts. It plays to the sensibilities and daydreams of the nose-picking crowd marvelously, and Favreau doesn't miss a beat exploring this material for all the gee-whiz moments. This "notsequel" sticks closely to the formula that made "Jumanji" such a hit: arrange the characters and the message arc early, and then let hell break loose.

Opening with a living room meteor shower, "Zathura" takes off at breakneck speed, only decelerating when actor Dax Shepard (thankfully playing it straight for once) is introduced as the disoriented astronaut. Bringing in adults is typically the wet blanket for any kid film. Favreau never clouds the effortlessness of the picture, and his strict story ethic (keeping it simple) brings out a stronger sense of adventure from the material, instead of allowing the rusty wheels of labored family film formula to grind the film to a halt.

"Elf" enjoyed resuscitating dead special effect techniques, and "Zathura" finds Favreau continuing to buck the trend by keeping the usage of CGI to a bare minimum. A tale set in the heavens, there's a million opportunities to blind the crowds with the latest in technological advances, yet Favreau opts to cool down on the computer work, and allow time for rubber suits and wires. Which isn't to say there's a lack of incredibly detailed outer space shots and assorted solar system mayhem, but in the crucial conflict moments, Favreau retreats to the real and delights in physical thrills instead of candied ones.

"Zathura" also finds magic in its leads. Child actors Josh Hutcherson and Jonah Bobo create authentic chemistry as the two warring brothers forced to fight for their lives and home together. Favreau keeps the actors away from obligatory cuteness, and he pulls out some strong work. Playing incredibly physical parts, the boys rarely break character as they dodge debris and fight Zorgons, trading some good barbs along the way, courtesy of the screenplay by David Koepp and John Kamps (which also finds time for a hilarious "Thirteen" reference).

"Zathura" has pure adventure, a heart that doesn't force itself, and visuals that will fuel the dreams of children everywhere for years to come. I hope that Jon Favreau doesn't find his family film years merely a necessary stepping-stone to a larger directing career. If "Zathura" is any indication, he seems to be one of the only filmmakers around who understands that obnoxious and crude are not always mandatory elements in a children's film.

Festivals

Kids' Charity Tosses Guy Into Bonfire-Moscow, Russia

By Alastair Gee

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/11/09/015.html
Wednesday, November 9, 2005. Page 8.
Special to The Moscow Times

Fireworks lit up the sky, guests drank mulled wine and munched on hot dogs, and a straw man burned on a bonfire.

The Action for Russia's Children charity brought one of the most quirky of British celebrations, Bonfire Night, to town on Saturday to raise funds for its projects.

The night commemorates a plot by 13 conspirators to blow up Parliament, and King James I with it, on Nov. 5, 1605. It takes its other name, Guy Fawkes Night, from one of the plotters, whose effigy -- the "guy" -- is placed atop bonfires to remember the plot's defeat.

Yury Samoligo / For MT

Shona McGrahan, who baked gingerbread men for the charity event, throwing an effigy of Guy Fawkes into the fire.

Saturday was the 400th anniversary of the failed attack.

A large bonfire was built on a lakeside beach at Rosinka, a gated community west of Moscow, and a small crowd stood in a tight circle around it for warmth, as glowing embers floated in the air above them. Children in gloves and woolly hats played with slabs of ice from the partially frozen lake, and pop music blared from a stereo placed near two crowded food stalls.

People stood in lines leading up to the stalls, nibbling on gingerbread men handed by ARC assistants as they waited for hot dogs, soft drinks and mulled wine donated for the event. The cookies were baked by Shona McGrahan, a member of ARC's management committee.

"It's very pleasant. It's colder than the event last year, but that makes it nicer," said Simon Webster, a Rosinka resident from Britain, as he waited for a hot dog. ARC held a Bonfire Night last year as well.

The guy was unceremoniously dropped onto the bonfire at 5:30 p.m. An hour later, a throng of people clustered along wooden railings surrounding the lake to watch fireworks explode overhead. Appreciative "oohs" and "aahs" filled the chilly night air.

Susie Latta, a member of ARC's management committee, said the bonfire raised about $5,000 for ARC, a British-registered organization that supports 11 projects in Moscow, including a therapy center that helps children with severe learning disabilities and a fund that assists impoverished single-parent families.

While Saturday's attendees knew that the bonfire was for charity, some in the international crowd were unaware of the historical event it commemorated.

Thomas Gaskin, 11, originally from Britain, was able to reel off the names of all 13 conspirators: Thomas Bates, Robert Catesby, Sir Everard Digby, Guy Fawkes, John Grant, Robert Keyes, Thomas Percy, Ambrose Rookwood, Francis Tresham, Robert Wintour, Thomas Wintour, Jack Wright and Kit Wright.

But Katja Klebingat, also 11, from Germany, was less certain about the night's significance.

"I don't know what it is. I'm just here because everyone else is. But it's really fun," she said.

Tim Waits, a British oil worker, took a more irreverent view. "I don't know whether we're celebrating the fact that the plotters were found out or that someone tried to kill the king in the first place," Waits said, grinning.

Susie Latta can be contacted by telephone at 956-7463 or e-mail at [email protected]. More information about Action for Russia's Children can be found at www.actionarc.com

� Copyright 2005 The Moscow Times. All rights reserved.

Kids Change People�s lives

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE420051108075555&Page=4&Title=Features+-+People+%26+Lifestyle&Topic=0

Karate kids roped in for veggie campaign- India

Tuesday November 8 2005 18:17 IST

                        PTI

                        NEW DELHI: In efforts to wean the young away from meat-laced diets, global animal rights group PETA has roped in karate kids to get "a kick out of vegetarianism".

The latest go-vegetarian campaign is all set for a children's day launch on November 14, late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday. It features students of the gojukai karat-do class in Mumbai and hopes to take the battle of convincing people to opt for a vegetarian diet to the classroom.

"There's just no stopping the power of peas. Vegetarian children get the nutrients they need and cut chances of contracting diseases," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals campaigns coordinator Sneha Singh said on Tuesday.

The children, "some frowning in concentration, others putting all their strength into kicking imaginary teachers" are seen in the advertisement, shot by Alan Abraham who has done many PETA campaigns.

Animals bred for slaughter "suffer pain-filled lives and untimely deaths" while a vegetarian diet was safer as the concentration of pesticides and other chemicals was 14 times higher in meat than in vegetables, she said. Plant-based diets were also rich in carbohydrates and fibre, "unlike meat and eggs, which are full of cholesterol and fat".

The list of famous vegetarians include Indians like cricketer Anil Kumble, Bollywood actress Mahima Choudhary and international superstars like ex-Beatles Sir Paul Mc Cartney, Hollywood actress Pamela Anderson and pop-rock vocalist Bryan Adams.

Poor kids in Kerala spin a success story �Kerala, India

Indo-Asian News Service

Thiruvananthapuram, November 9, 2005

Advertisement

They are children of the poorest of the poor. But in Kerala, they have a lot to look forward to.

Close on the heels of a successful movement that encompassed poor women, thousands of 'Balasabhas' (children's societies) have sprouted all over the state to provide a better life to their children.

It is the success of the women self-help groups, or the Kudumbashree movement which seeks to eradicate poverty through community action, that has spurred the formation of Balasabhas. The kids are aged between 10 and 16 years of age.

The government-backed Kudumbashree movement has 158,831 neighbourhood groups, comprising mostly women from the lower strata of society.

"When the women started meeting once a week, the children used to come with their mothers. We felt we have to use them and their potential and we formed the Balasabhas," Kudumbashree executive director T.K. Jose told IANS.

"There are 24,651 Balasabhas with 434,086 children. Each Balasabha provides a new rhythm and harmony to children and enlightens their lives. The ultimate aim is to emancipate the kids from the vicious circle of poverty," he said.

Vinod Nair, consultant to the programme, said that Balasabhas provided an ideal atmosphere for informal learning and to develop their hidden talent.

"Normally at every weekly meeting of these children they sing songs, enact small skits, do mimicry and even hold quiz programmes.

"Just like their mothers who began a thrift programme by saving money every week, these children also started pooling their pocket money from as low as one rupee to five rupees a week. Some children do part-time work in small units run by their mothers and get paid," said Nair

While the women's self-help groups have collected Rs.5.37 billion by pooling members' resources, the Balasabhas have a corpus of Rs.3.59 million - thanks to weekly savings by the kids.

The Balasabhas are divided into southern, central and northern regions. Every December, at three different centres, there is a get-together of these children.

The children clearly enjoy these gatherings.

"I really enjoyed the last such meeting when a member of the central region stayed for three days at my home," said Sreejith, a Class 8 student from Neyattinkara on the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram.

--Indo-Asian News Service

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1288704,curpg-2.cms

Raring to read?- India

SHILPA VAIDYA

The Times of India Online

[ Tuesday, November 08, 2005 09:13:43 pmTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

In the era of television and virtual reality games, do children dig out something from the good ol' book chest?

Every year, November 8 is celebrated as Young Reader's Day to promote reading and literature appreciation among children. Bringing children closer to books in the age of utterances like 'books are boring' or 'I'll catch the movie instead' can be a Herculean task.

With the Harry Potter series, the scenario has changed a little, but sadly the young reader of is only focussed on limited genres. But most book critics today feel that many popular children's classics of the yesteryears go unread by a huge percentage of the young crowd.

According to Nilima Sinha, President of The Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children, "It is the elite child who is exposed to the Internet and television, and influenced by his peer group.

The other section of the Indian population, especially children from smaller towns and villages, who also aspire to learn English, may not identify with literature from the West. It is this vast section that relates better to books set within its own culture and milieu."

...

Today, most children not only shy away from reading suggested classics but also limit themselves to a few popular books, which they even read over and over again.

Like twelve-year-old city pre-teen Nimesh who likes to read only the Batman Comics and Harry Potter, "I have read all of them except for the last one in the series about three times. I don't think any other book can capture my interest like these two."

However there are some others like ten-year-old Pavitra Rao, to whom the Potter series is not the only brain food. "I was introduced to bedtime stories by mom," she says. Pavitra has today read apart from the Potter series, a number of Enid Blyton's, Roald Dahl's and Mark Twain's classics.

"My favourite books so far have been Anna Sewell's The Black Beauty and Blyton's Malory Towers series," she adds. According to Asif Hussain, owner of a bookstore that was actually started in 1929 for on children, "Parents who are well read encourage their children to read classics.

Harry Potter may be the latest craze but Enid Blyton, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew always sell. These are evergreen." Sadly there are many youngsters who are perfectly capable of reading but choose not to do so.

This sort of reluctance is often shown either by those children who have not yet found a book to suit their interest or by those who have not yet received the right encouragement by their parents.

If it is the latter then Young Reader's Day should be the perfect occasion for the parents as well to introduce children to books that will appeal to both.

[email protected]

http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=8931&CatID=7

WARNING: Mini maestros at work!- New Delhi, India

Rituparna Som

Tuesday, November 08, 2005� 19:57 IST

Not all art galleries echo with shrill yells of �Miss, is Shah Rukh Khan going to be here?� But today Gallery Chemould will. Forty kids between the ages of five and twelve will be exhibiting their canvases and metal sculptures at �Dreammakers�, and if their past efforts in the last two years are any indication of their reception, rest assured they will all be sold out within a few minutes of their opening.

Purnima Sampat with her class of Dreammakers

Purnima Sampat�s art classes are almost legendary and her philanthropic exhibitions are on their way to being so. �I�ve been teaching art for twenty years,� she explains with a smile. And in the past three years, she�s held exhibitions of the works of her students, donating the proceeds to various charities. This year it�s the Tata Memorial Hospital and the Make-a-Wish foundation�s turn.

A motley collection of the participants has gathered at her home/studio where Rhea Doshi (12), Shreya Kothari (12), Jeevika Bhatia (12), Mallika Gupta (12), Maitreyi Gupta (12) and Krishna Vakharia (almost 8) are busy trying to figure out names for their works. Keeping to tradition, young Jeevika�s already fixed her buyer: Herself. �There was a lady from USA who pleaded with her so much last year. But she just refused to let go of her paintings,� laughs Purnima.

The canvasses feature the kids� visual expression of their spontaneous emotions. �I encourage them to be as free as they can. But after a certain age, they start getting very conscious of themselves and their thoughts,� she elaborates. The older kids are in fact a little influenced by masters like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, drawing on their abstract and vivid forms of colour. 50-60 kgs of junk metal has also been transformed into pets, flowers in vases and a few odds and ends that only a metallic sculpture can render artistic. �Mine is a nerd�; �Mine is Germie the giraffe�; �Olly the owl�; �Sun satellite!� The cacophony is as expressive as their works.

The exhibition that opens today will go on till November 12 and will also showcase canvas bags painted by the children. They�ve called themselves �Dreammakers�, convinced in their belief that the world will be a better place because they�re helping out in their little way to make some dreams come true.

Kids Helping Kids

http://english.eastday.com/eastday/englishedition/features/userobject1ai1624027.html

Bring hearts closer, bring peace closer � Palestine, Israel

8/11/2005 15:02

Twelve-year-old Israeli girl Samah Gadban lay on bed at Schneider Children's Medical Center in the Israeli town of Petah Tikvah Monday afternoon, her mother sitting by her bed holding her hand. Samah got a new heart yesterday, a heart once belonged to a Palestinian boy.
At the same age of Samah, Ahmed al-Khatib was fatally shot during clashes in the west Bank city of Jenin last Thursday, when Israeli troops mistook the toy gun he carried for a real rifle.
Ahmed was transferred from a Palestinian hospital to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. He died of his wound only after 48 hours, leaving the parents with unbearable agony.
Soon after they heard the news of Ahmed's death, the parents made a surprising decision: to donate his organs to sick people, " no matter Israelis or Arabs".
A few hours later, Ahmed's heart, liver, kidneys and lungs were sent to many hospitals with the help of the national transplant center. Besides the heart, the boy's liver was given to a six- month-old baby and a 56-year-old woman; his lungs were given to a 14-year-old girl; and his kidneys were given to a five-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl.
The transplant surgeries proceeded as quickly as possible and the life of Ahmed continued in six Israelis. The father of the heart receiver, Riad Gadban, told Israel Radio that when the hospital phoned him Saturday evening, he did not know anything about Ahmed.
"I only knew that the doctors said they had a heart." Riad said the family had waited for the heart for five years.
Riad heard Ahmed's story while his daughter was in surgery. "I don't know what to say. It is such a gesture of love...I would like (Ahmed's parents) to think that my daughter is their daughter. "
When asked why to donate organs, Jamal al-Khatib, father of the boy, said "I had an older brother who suffered from kidney failure and there were no transplants available. When the doctor told me that my boy was clinically dead, I remembered my brother."
"I don't mind seeing the organs in an Israeli or a Palestinian. In our religion, God allows us to give organs to another person and it doesn't matter who the person is," he told Israeli channel Two TV.
Dr. Tzvi Ben-Ishai, the deputy director of Rambam hospital, said the uncle of Ahmed, who lives in an Israeli Arab village, is a member of a nongovernmental organization that seeks to improve the understanding and dialogue between Israelis and Arabs. It was he who help the desperate parents make such a difficult and great decision.
Ben-Ishai added that the boy's parents decided to donate his organs "to bring hearts closer and bring peace closer."
When leaving the hospital, Jamal al-Khatib expressed his only wish: to meet the recipients of his son's organs to ensure that they were healthy. "The most important thing is that I see the person who received the organs, to see him alive." said the father.

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/v-printerfriendly/story/11453990p-12195539c.html

Global harmony �California, USA

Sunnyside High School choir raises voices � and funds � to promote global harmony.

By Erin Kennedy / The Fresno Bee

(Updated Tuesday, November 8, 2005, 5:35 AM)

Sunnyside High School's Cantus Vocem chamber choir drones a steady buzzing note as four soloists step to the front of the stage and begin stretching their lips and the drone through different vowel sounds. A subtle, melodic whistle slides up and down over the hum and then all fades slowly into silence.

It sounds magical. But director Bob Bullwinkel shakes his head and quietly chastises the 32 teens for their lack of focus on the Australian aboriginal song: "Talk to me about what's going on. Are you guys tired?"

He gets shrugs and a few sheepish nods.

These days between classes and their nightly practices, Sunnyside's chamber choir is cramming in carwashes and fundraiser pasta dinners, writing letters to community groups begging for donations, talking on local radio programs, and madly singing any place they can get a paying gig.

The group needs to raise $80,000 by March for a two-week trip to Europe. Sister Cities officials in Muenster, Germany, and Verona, Italy, asked the choir to be part of their 2006 tour. The Sunnyside group is also one of 100 choirs invited to perform at the ninth annual International Choir Festival in Riva del Garda, Italy, in April.

After taking top honors in 2002-03 Las Vegas Heritage Choir Festival, the Sunnyside's Cantus Vocem got international notice, and the next year the choir went to the Royal London International Music Festival.

Even now with such a reputation and awards lining the choir room's walls, Sunnyside's teens are starry-eyed at the thought of Europe. For many it will be their first time on an airplane or out of the state.

"This is a once-in-a lifetime experience," says Marya Caples, 16. "I'm excited but also a little nervous. ... I can't wait to sing in Notre Dame. I can just imagine how we're going to sound."

Robin Jugao, 17, student president of the choir, said he remembers the awe he felt stepping off the plane in London two years ago and realizing nearly everything he saw had some historical or cultural significance.

But what touched him most were the two tearful ladies who thanked the choir after they did an impromptu practice in the Southfork cathedral.

Stacy Betts, 17, one of four returning choir members who was with Robin on the London trip, nodded at the memory. "We were actually making a difference. I never imagined my music would do that."

That's the kind of reception Bullwinkel hopes for again with this Europe tour.

"It's not a pleasure trip," he says. "It's really about the Sister Cities' mission: 'To promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation, one individual, one community at a time.'"

Bullwinkel says his students are a rainbow choir that represents the rich cultural and racial diversity of the city.

"I want to show people how this can really work," he says. "I might sound naive to some. But our kids take voice lessons all summer, and learn three different show repertoires, and write letters, and work their tails off raising money. And that's not worth it, if all we're going to do is have fun. We could go to Disneyland instead for a lot cheaper."

Bullwinkel's hoping the Fresno teens will have their horizons broadened and that they will in turn burst the misperceptions and prejudices many Europeans have about Americans. "These are people who need to hear what we sing about."

During the March 31-April 15 trip, the choir will be performing a concert themed "It Takes a Village" which features pieces from around the world in various languages.

They'll also do the song and dance medley of No. 1 hits from the last 40 years titled "Only in America!" that they've been doing to raise funds here.

Nearly every day in December is already booked with performances at malls, holiday parties and community meetings.

On the 15th, the choir has four gigs between noon and 8:15 p.m.

But Bullwinkel is still nervous about raising the remaining $50,000 the students need for the trip.

"It's a mixed blessing," Bullwinkel says. "It gets us out into the community, but this is such a challenge physically, mentally and spiritually."

Schooling

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-11/01/content_3714214.htm

Chinese pupils to try US science textbooks �China

www.chinaview.cn 2005-11-01 16:29:20

BEIJING, Nov. 1 -- Students at ten Chinese primary schools will begin to use US-published science and technology textbooks for the first time from Autumn 2006, according to Ningbo-based Kingboo newspaper.

The newspaper reported on Tuesday that the Cixi Experiment Primary School in China's southern coastal city of Ningbo will adopt the American science and technology textbooks for its first grade pupils.

The newspaper quoted sources at the Beijing International Seminar on Science Education in Primary Schools as saying the school will be the first of ten primary schools in China that will use the textbooks for children as a trial next year.

The US-published Science and Technology for Children (the STC) textbooks are designed for pupils from Grades 1-6, covering life science, earth science, material science and technological design.

STC is the result of a joint effort by some of the leaders in the fields of education and science at the Smithsonian Institute and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The National Science Resources Center, which is cosponsored by the Smithsonian and the NAS, began developing STC in 1988; the curriculum was completed in 1997.

Each STC unit is based on a 4-stage learning cycle that is grounded in research on how children learn. The 4 steps in this cycle are:

Focus�First, students focus on what they know about a topic and what they would like to learn about it. In other words, learning begins with the student's existing knowledge and experience.

Explore�Next, students explore a scientific concept or phenomenon by completing a sequence of activities. Classroom explorations are usually done in groups of 2 or 4 children.

Reflect�To reinforce learning, students reflect on their findings, record them in their science journals, and discuss them with their classmates.

Apply�Finally, students apply their new learning to real-life situations and to other areas of the curriculum.

At present, the China National Institute for Educational Research has begun its translation and localization process.

The institute will also provide teacher training programs for the first ten schools from Beijing, Tianjing, Wuhan, and others.

But education experts have stressed that at this stage it is just a pilot project, and the real results will depend on whether the new system can be adapted for Chinese students.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051108/NEWS01/511080337/1007

Homeschoolers travel the world

By Erin Elaine Mosely

Montgomery Advertiser

November 8, 2005

PRATTVILLE -- On one plate, Hannah Fata had rice from China, grilled pita bread with feta cucumber salsa from Egypt, streusel, meat and cheese from Germany, and pico de gallo from Guatemala.

"The waffle with powder on it tasted like a donut," said 8-year-old Hannah. "The rice tasted like rice from Chinese restaurants. I'm still sampling the rest."

Robyn Clement, left, her son Drew Preston Clement, 4, and Naomi Klinner, 6, look at items about Guatemala displayed during Monday's Geography Fair, sponsored by the Fellowship of Home Educators, at Heritage Baptist Church in Prattville. Students displayed their work and sampled native foods.

-- Lloyd Gallman

Students crossed the globe Monday night at the Fellowship of Homeschool Educators' third annual Geography Fair, which was held at Heritage Baptist Church. Students researched 14 different countries and presented their research to fellow homeschoolers at the fair. Students carried passports that were stamped as they visited each country.

Paula Tidwell, 11, brought more than a poster board about Romania. She brought Claudia Chirita, a Romanian living here while her husband studies at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base. Chirita prepared two authentic dishes, a soup and saramale -- a cabbage roll filled with meat and rice.

"It's a beautiful country," Chirita said. "The people are very kind. We are really open."

Paula learned some interesting facts while studying Romania.

"I heard about Dracula, but I didn't know that started in Transylvania, which is in Romania," she said. "They have a lot of castles in Romania and they're really pretty."

Chirita's soup won over a few Americans.

"I liked the soup from Romania," said Sarah Headrick, 9. "It reminded me of clam chowder. Now that I think about it, it really reminded me of clam chowder!"

Sarah took passersby on a trip through ancient and modern Egypt.

"The sphinx was buried in sand because it was made in a pit and sand blew in," she said. "Most of the stone covering the pyramids were removed to build Cairo, the capital. Over 90 percent of Egypt's people live along the Nile river."

"How do you know all that?" asked Hannah.

"I've been studying!" Sarah said.

Stephen Brasel, 13, researched Latvia but learned a lot about other countries at the fair.

"Quite frankly, Canada, that country has a lot of outdoorsmen," he said. "They focus on nature, wild animals like bears and outdoors skills such as camping. As a homeschooler, I'm very proud the little kids learned how to do research and present projects. They came up with great facts."

For many students, researching their country was more than a project. Some students had personal connections with their countries.

Sammy and A.J. Searle's mother's family is from Germany, Rachel and Hannah Fata's parents recently adopted a Guatemalan toddler, and Katherine and Julia Goodrich's grandparents live in Japan.

Katherine said it's neat to see the effort other students put into their work.

"We wrote our names in Japanese," said Julia. "A woman came over and wrote our names perfectly and we tried our best to copy it."

Sammy enjoyed learning whether or not Germans actually wore lederhosen, traditional German wear. "They only wear it in the southern region," she said. "And only older people wear it."

No boarding school blues-Canada

Bouts of homesickness is perhaps the most common complaint expressed by students about life at Stanstead College, one of three English-language boarding schools in Quebec

RENE BRUEMMER

The Gazette

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

CREDIT: GORDON BECK, THE GAZETTE

Tobias Michael, 16, of Germany; Min Jee, 18, of South Korea; and Sean Ingutia, 16, of Ottawa; enjoy a snack in the lunch room. They're among the 205 students at Stanstead College.

Imagine going to a high school that you never left. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week on campus, home only for holidays and summer break. No parents, no house and very, very little television.

This is life for the 150 students who live full time at Stanstead College in the Eastern Townships, a 90-minute drive east of Montreal. One of only three English boarding schools in Quebec, it is a throwback to another era, where teachers, staff and friends become a surrogate family and the campus a home away from home.

The other English boarding schools are Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, also in the Eastern Townships, and Sedbergh School in Montebello. There are also 26 French-language boarding schools in the province.

When asked why parents send their kids to live at his school, Stanstead College headmaster Michael Wolfe cites a good education and a desire for "structure" as the main motivation.

Parents will be happy to know their children are getting structure in spades.

The day starts with breakfast in the cafeteria, followed by general assembly at 8:10 a.m. Classes run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., followed by sports activities (mandatory for all students) till 5:30.

Dinner is at 6 p.m., followed by free time until study period begins at 7:30 p.m. and goes till 9:30 p.m. During study time, students must sit at their desks in their rooms or in study hall. No talking, no listening to music (even with earphones) and no studying in bed, except for honour-roll students who have special privileges.

Doors to the bedrooms, which students share with a roommate, must be left open so house directors can check.

The rooms are small, bright and sparsely decorated, with comfortable single beds, simple wooden desks and a bathroom shared between two rooms.

Students live in boys' and girls' dorms, with separate houses for younger and older grades. Lights out is at around 11 p.m. There's more free time on weekends, apart from sports obligations and organized activities.

Which is all nice and fine for the parents, but how do the students feel about the structured life?

Other than some grumbling about early lights out, most seem to love it.

"I was looking for a school with a good set of rules," to help academically, said Tobias Michael, 16, who came to Stanstead this year from Germany to perfect his English-language skills.

"Here, everything is organized - there are good sports programs, there is fun time and study time."

And despite a rigid schedule and close supervision, living away from home forces a young person to become independent quickly, students said.

"You grow up a lot," said 18-year-old Grade 12 student Min Jee of South Korea, who came to Stanstead to help her get into the university of her choice, one of the school's main selling points.

"You think you're at home, but you're not, and if you need something, you have to figure it out yourself."

"You can't just run to your mommy or daddy for help" said Ana Quintero, 15, from Mexico City.

She came to Stanstead last year to experience a new culture and improve her English, and liked it so much she decided to stay another year.

Originally considering England, her mother convinced her to come to Canada because of its diverse population, mirrored in Stanstead's student body, which has 86 students from countries other than Canada or the U.S.

"There are a lot of people from everywhere here, and there's no racism against them," Ana said. "You can be anything, and you learn so much about the world from living with them."

Most of the school's international students come to Stanstead for an "experiential" year, headmaster Wolfe said. Their parents want them to learn by living abroad, improve their English and, in some cases, trade life in a congested, polluted and perhaps dangerous urban setting for the peaceful surroundings of the village of Stanstead, population 1,082. Often they end up staying longer.

Contrary to the past, when boarding schools were often seen as dumping grounds for the discipline-challenged offspring of affluent parents, "small class sizes, individual attention and the sense that their children won't get lost in the shuffle," are the main reasons parents opt for boarding school today, Wolfe said.

Sean Ingutia, 16, of Ottawa, came to Stanstead from a public school in Ottawa that had 1,000 students. While homesickness was a problem - he goes home once a month - he has grown to like the individual attention.

"There are just a lot more opportunities here," he said.

The average class size at Stanstead is 12. Each week, students meet one-on-one with a teacher or staff member who has been assigned as their personal adviser to make sure things are going smoothly.

Asked what the graduation rate at Stanstead is, Wolfe is visibly taken aback by the question.

"It's 100 per cent," he said, give or take the rare student who decides to leave. Less than 70 per cent of Quebec high school students graduate on time.

Along with more individual attention comes strong bonds forged by the intense experience of living away from home that often make for lifelong friendships, Wolfe said.

While many students cite occasional bouts of homesickness as the hardest aspect of boarding school life, most say they're too busy to think about it much.

"I did (get homesick sometimes), but I'm used to being here," Ana said. "These are my two homes - Mexico City and Stanstead."

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?ItemID=11691&cat=8

UN launches �school in box� in PaK-Pakistan

ZEESHAN HAIDER

Muzaffarabad, Nov 9: The United Nations launched a �school in a box� project to help restart classes in earthquake-devastated Pakistan, where thousands of children died when their schools were destroyed last month.
The government says 73,276 people died in the October. 8 quake here and adjoining North West Frontier Province. The UN Children�s Fund says about half the victims were children.
UNICEF estimates 17,000 were killed when hundreds of schools collapsed when the disaster struck during morning classes.
The project which was launched yesterday, plans to distribute 2,000 boxes in the earthquake zone containing slates, pencils, chalk, coloured pencils and notebooks to help efforts to restart classes.
At least 10,000 schools were damaged or destroyed in the quake, UNICEF said.
Each box can accommodate 40 students for about three months, said UNICEF�s Claudia Hudspeth at a ceremony in which she handed one over to the headmistress of a government school here.
The Narol Government High School is one of only 10 in Muzaffarabad that have restarted classes since the disaster.
They are being held in tents in the ruins of the school building.
�It was one of the best schools of Muzaffarabad,� said new headmistress Khalida Khaliq, who was appointed last week after her predecessor was killed in the earthquake.
Eighty-four children and two teachers died when the school collapsed. Khaliq said more than 100 children had returned to the school since it reopened last week.
Children sat in the new tent classroom separated by grade.
Yesterday, they had only one lesson: �Write something about the earthquake. We were studying in school when the earthquake stuck on October. 8,� Naila Siddiqe, nine-year-old fourth grade pupil, wrote in a notebook provided by UNICEF.
One of Naila�s sisters was badly injured in the disaster, her back broken when the school collapsed. She is being treated in a hospital in Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
�I do come to school, but I am scared there may be another hit,� Naila said shyly while covering her face with her hands.
Local government officials say up to 600 teachers were killed in the earthquake across PaK.

Sports

http://www.budapestsun.com/full_story.asp?ArticleId=%7B0A0795DD55764131A7D567092D88A1AF%7D&From=Sport

October 20, 2005 - Volume XIII, Issue 42

A dream of uniting the youth in soccer in Hungary

By Susanne Zolcer

HUNGARIAN-American-Brazilian G�bor Becht is helping to bring young soccer players from all over the world together, through co-organizing the Youth Football Festival Hungary with a Hungarian colleague.

"We have the same vision, of rebuilding Hungarian football and to bring kids from abroad closer to Hungarian youngsters in order to learn from each other," Becht told The Budapest Sun.

The festival was held in 2005 for the first time in Kaposv�r, Hungary, and bought 110 teams and 2,000 players together.

Now Becht hopes to bring teams from Oregon, where he currently lives, and from his home in Brazil to Hungary for the next tournament.

"Youth soccer is very big and popular in Portland," explained Becht.

"Although there are many interested teams, unfortunately there is no funding."

The cross-cultural specialist was born in Turkey, emigrated to Brazil, where he grew up, but enrolled in an American school.

"I like to utilize my international background, and since I have always been heavily involved with football, I would like to bring as many youth football teams together as possible from all over the world," explained Becht. The football fan and his Hungarian organizer are currently working on the second festival to be held in Hungary again.

Strange news!

http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/2238/2005-11-5/[email protected]

Controversy over Child Named "D"� -China

2005-11-5 9:42:12����� CRIENGLISH.com

The keen interest that foreigners sometimes take in Chinese names and their meanings could become even stronger if present trends continue. As society diversifies and individual freedom increases, Chinese parents are racking their brains to give what is often their only child a unique name, sometimes a strange one.

In Dengfeng city, some 700 kilometers south of Beijing, home to the Shaolin Temple famous for Kungfu, a father decided to name his newborn son "Hu D" -- Hu is the surname and the English letter D was the newborn's given name.

The father, Hu Yu (not his real name), said he named his son Hu D, hoping his son would have a desire to create and innovate as he grew up. The name "Hu D" was chosen before the child was born, and would have been used regardless of gender, said the father.

It was difficult, however, for the father to get this strange name recognized. The hospital where the baby was born refused to issue a medical certificate for the baby. The local police station said it would not register the name.

The father was at a loss to understand. "I gave my son this name in the hope that he would be able to create and innovate when he grew up. Moreover, this name is out of the ordinary and easy to remember and write down," said Hu, citing the name "Ah Q" to explain the rationale behind Hu D.

Ah Q was the character portrayed by Lu Xun (1881-1963), one of the most influential writers in China in the 20th century, in his famous short story, "The True Story of Ah Q".

The hospital insisted the name was not suitable for a birth certificate. Dr. Li, in charge of the hospital, said his hospital had consulted local public security authorities responsible for newborn registrations. "We think it is better to name newborns with simplified Chinese characters instead of rare and strange characters," said Li.

A woman at the Public Security Department of central China's Henan Province, where Dengfeng is located, told Xinhua that China's Public Security Ministry forbade Chinese from using English names when registering their residence and other information. "If it is an English name, it should be replaced with the proper Chinese equivalent," she said.

A staff member with the Zhengzhou Public Security Department, in the provincial capital, said the computer system used for name registration would not recognize an English name.

After running into so many snags, "Hu D"'s father had no choice but to change his son's name into one with two Chinese characters -- Hu Di. However, he said he would not give up on the original name of Hu D. "When I find out laws and regulations to support the original name, I will apply to have it revised," he said.

While the name caused trouble for the father, it also triggered debate in society.

A Zhengzhou-based middle school teacher, speaking anonymously, said the name looked more like a flubdub than a creation.

"There are over 40,000 Chinese characters, with attractive shapes and pronunciation. Why give a name that consists of an English letter? If I had to call out his name someday, I would be wondering whether I was reading Chinese pinyin or spelling out English phrases," he said.

Other people took sides with the father. Chen Guangtao, a Zhengzhou-based lawyer, said there was no specific prescription in any law or regulation in China on whether it was legal to process a baby's birth certificate and carry out registration procedures using the name Hu D.

"Giving a name is a question of personal right and freedom. If the name doesn't violate principles or humiliate people, it could be used," said Chen.

However, he suggested that from a practical point of view, it was better not to use rare Chinese characters or English words for names lest they cause unexpected trouble in daily life in the future.

(Source: Xinhua)

Technology

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/25/kid_phone/

Dutch introduce phones for kids �Holland

By Jan Libbenga (feedback at theregister.co.uk)

Published Tuesday 25th October 2005 08:27 GMT

Two Dutch telcos - KPN and Scarlet - have introduced mobile phones specially made for young children.

On Wednesday, national carrier KPN will unveil a kid phone - iKids - with a built in GPS receiver, which remains working even when the phone isn't activated. Parents can select three 'safety zones', areas where their children are allowed to play. If they wonder off to another area, parents receive an SMS message. They can also look up the child's whereabouts on a virtual map. If one pre-defined number isn't answered, the phone will try the next one.

Scarlet, which launched its Buddy Bear (http://www.buddybear.nl/) on October 15, targets 4 to 9 year olds. Kids can receive calls from all over the world, but they can only phone and SMS to four pre-defined numbers. The � 129 handset can also be used as a baby phone. Parents receive a warning SMS when the battery gets low.

The idea of a phone for kids is not entirely new. In the US, a company called Fireflymobile (http://www.fireflymobile.com/phone/) already sells a four button mobile phone, shaped to fit a kid's hand and capable of making pre-defined calls.

A survey in Germany shows that 6 per cent of 6 to 9 year-olds about already own a mobile phone.

Not everyone seems to like the idea of children babbling away for hours to grandpa or grandma. Earlier this year, scientists in the US warned (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=598044) that parents should think twice before giving in to a kid's demands for a cell phone, because of the potential long-term health risks. In the UK, the National Radiological Protection Board advised that parents should not give mobile phones to children age 8 or younger. As a result of these warnings, Dutch electronics retail chain BCC last year pulled the Foony phone from its shelves.�

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