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Teachers, EKGs, happiness, Harvard, camp, exercise

Education Roundup

This is Teacher Appreciation Week (May 7 to 11). Take a moment to thank a teacher for playing such an important role in your child’s life and future.

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The Sonoma Valley Education Foundation is bringing back its Salute to Education on Friday, May 11, at 7 p.m. at Andrews Hall at the Sonoma Community Center. The foundation will honor teachers in each of the four primary programs it funds: exploratory science, school gardens, Teacher Support Network and visual thinking strategies for art. There is also a special reception for retiring teachers beforehand at 5 p.m. RSVP to 935-9566 or tina@svgreatschools.org.

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Roughly 75 to 100 teenagers die in the U.S. every year during athletic events from undiagnosed heart problems.  While at the pediatrician recently, I saw a flyer that Sonoma Valley Hospital is offering a free EKG (electrocardiogram) exam to student athletes, ages 15 to 21 on Saturday, May 19, Tuesday, May 29, and Wednesday, May 30.  This painless test can detect about half the markers that can lead to sudden cardiac death.  This is an amazing offer. Call 935-5050 to make an appointment.

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A report released this week finds that for every $1 California invests in students who go to college, it will receive a net return on investment of $4.50. Returns for college graduates were double those who went but dropped out before completing a degree. The report examined the state’s spending on its university system and how much graduates end up contributing back to the state budget. (collegecampaign.org)

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As you debate the merits of various camp options or the merits of summer camp in general, there is a terrific article I recommend called “Putting Camp in the Childhood Equation” which you can read at: tinyurl.com/7zgvwwu. The thesis of the article is that unstructured play at camp is valuable to today’s kids and the camp counselor-child relationship can provide a very positive role model for your children.

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Congratulations to the Sonoma Valley High School Madrigals and Concert Choir for their recent success at the California Music Educators Association Festival at Sonoma State.  Madrigals unanimously received ratings of excellent from the judges and Concert Choir received ratings of superior, the highest rating a judge can give, from each of the judges. 

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Sonoma Valley High School senior Samantha Kyleand is staging a parent and staff ’70s dance to benefit the school district on Saturday, May 12, at Golton Hall on the Sonoma High campus from 7 to 11 p.m.  There will be a daycare area for children ages 4-and-over who are potty-trained. Tickets are $10 each at the door. In the children’s area, there will be movies, games and snacks as well as trained babysitters.

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Do you know of a high school sophomore or junior who would like to be an intern at the middle school summer school and earn $500?  Students are expected to be positive role models for younger students, have good communication skills and serve as academic tutors in the classroom.  Summer school is daily from Thursday, June 7 to Friday, July 13  Resumes are due to the College & Career Center at the high school today.

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The St. Francis Solano School robotics team recently competed at the International RoboGames held at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. The students participated in four events: TubePush, Sumo, Bowling and LineFollow. Team members include eighth-graders Ryan Abshear, Graziano Albano-Dito, Nick Branscum, Will Biersch, Drew Harder, Griffin Hilliard, Conor McCarthy, Devin Muller, Gustavo Sanchez, Nicholas Vides, Kaehlan Walsh and Hanna Zavala. They came very close to medaling and look forward to their next tournament in May.

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I am fascinated by research on happiness because providing our kids the best possible education is only half the battle. So who is happiest? Hawaiians (says a recent Gallup poll); biotech workers (says careerbliss.com); 70-year-olds (that is when happiness peaks according to Stanford); people who enjoy creative pastimes (says the London School of economics); and people who earn $75,000 a year (above that has no discernible effect on happiness according to Princeton economists).

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Altimira horticulture students deliver freshly picked bouquets to the Sonoma Unified School District office each week. If you are interested in getting fresh flowers from the Altimira garden for only $5 a week, call the main office at 935-6020 for more details.

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The first book sale back in our new and improved public library will be Wednesday through Saturday, May 16 through 19. The members-only sale runs from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 16, and then is open to the public from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.  Books, books on tape, DVDs and CDs are all $1 to $2.

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On Wednesday, May 16, 5 percent of all sales at Whole Foods Market in Sonoma will benefit Sonoma Valley Teen Services. Funds raised will sustain the Center’s Skills for Life programs.  Stop in to shop 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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On Thursday, May 17, Hanna Boys Center and the Mentoring Alliance will host a Community Forum from 6:30 to 8 p.m., led by Dr. Donna Beegle, author of, “An Action Approach to Educating Students Who Live in the Crisis of Poverty.” Come at 6 p.m. if you would like a tour of the new Legacy Center at Hanna.

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The Sonoma Valley Woman’s Club will host a Flea Market on Saturday, May 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at its property at 574 First St. E., to benefit its scholarship fund and our local elementary school libraries.

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Harvard University announced last week that it is joining MIT in offering free online courses – and that the two institutions will together spend $60 million on a project that will grant certificates of completion to those who finish a Harvard or MIT course online.

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According to the April 22 New York Times Magazine, recent studies have shown that exercising increases cognitive flexibility and gives your brain a better chance of resisting physical shrinkage.  In fact, exercise does more to bolster thinking than thinking does. Tests on mice found that mice that exercised had far greater cognitive ability than mice that did not.

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There was a terrific and funny essay in the Wall Street Journal recently about what advice commencement speakers would really give if they were being completely honest (tinyurl.com/7pugwf9). For example, No. 4: “Marry someone smarter than you,” and No. 2, “Some of your worst days lie ahead of you.” If you have a child in high school or college, or just out of college, you and they might enjoy the perspective.

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Double Decker Lanes in Rohnert Park, and Napa Bowl, are both offering kids two free games a day all summer long ($500 value). Register at kidsbowlfree.com/doubledecker.

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Sonoma Academy in Santa Rosa is hosting a free panel of admissions officials from leading colleges who will share advice and answer questions in a forum on Thursday, May 17 at 7 p.m. Universities represented include Sonoma State, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Santa Clara and University of Southern California. The program is recommended for sophomores, juniors and their parents and open to all. For more information, call 545-1770.

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In honor of Autism Awareness Month, the website “Technology in (Spl)Education” has launched a free “Apps for Autism” page at techinspecialed.com.

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The Encyclopedia Britannica has announced that it will no longer print sets of encyclopedias and focus entirely on its online offerings. The end of an era.

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Is your child doing something cool, unusual and not expensive this summer that other parents might want to know about? Send me a note and let me know.