This week’s best tips, resources and events for Sonoma ?students, parents and teachers…
Good news for students at or headed to a UC campus next year. In-state undergraduates at the University of California won’t face tuition increases for the next two years, thanks to a deal struck between Gov. Jerry Brown and UC president Janet Napolitano. Out-of-state students will likely face a 5-percent tuition increase next year. tinyurl.com/kx96cfg
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Teen Power personal safety workshops are a great way for children to learn how to prevent, manage and leave potentially unsafe situations with people. The next class being offered locally is for ages 13 to 17 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 30 at Sonoma Taekwondo. kidpower.org.
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I have been reading about the book “The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous and Smart about Money” by Ron Leiber. He suggests the following:
• Don’t pay children to do chores. Adults don’t get paid to help around the house and neither should children. Take away privileges when they don’t do their chores, not their allowance.
• Do, however, give children money on a regular basis and use allowances as a teaching tool. Give kids the chance to spend foolishly and to feel regret, and a sense of accomplishment when they save.
• Do toasts around the dinner table. Have everyone raise a glass to something or someone awesome.
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Don’t miss the screening of the documentary “Far From Home” at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 1 at the Sebastiani Theater. The screening was organized by Creekside High School teacher Walt Williams who saw the film at the Sonoma International Film Festival and created an entire curriculum unit about it for his students. I also saw the film and loved the (true) story of a young Ugandan boy who comes to American and falls in love with snowboarding. Despite some truly moving setbacks, he is determined to represent his country as a snowboarder in the Olympics and to realize his dream of becoming a doctor. The movie is free for all Sonoma Valley students, as well as all mentors and mentees.
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There seems to be a lot of new teen drivers on the road. The DMV proposes a great (optional) Parent-Teen Driving Contract on the dmv.ca.gov website. The contract includes both teen responsibilities – “I will not let anyone else use the vehicle entrusted to me.” As well as parent responsibilities – “I will serve as a good role model when operating a vehicle.” It also gives parents a place to spell out who is responsible for what aspects of vehicle upkeep. The only thing it lacks, that I have seen on others contracts, is specific repercussions for breaking the contract.
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EdSmart has ranked the top community colleges in California based on graduation and transfer rates. Napa Valley College was the only local college to make the top 15 list. NVC has a graduation and transfer rate of 48 percent and a first year retention rate of 88.7 percent. The college has 8,996 students and costs $14,120 to $18,920 to attend full time. California overall ranks 20th in the nation in community college graduation and transfer rates. edsmart.org/top-community-colleges-california/
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Just in time for summer beach reading, Sonoma Valley Library is having one of its popular book sales beginning at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27 and running through 3:30 pm on Saturday, May 30. All children get a free book and all educators may take as many books as they like on Saturday. svfol.org. The library seeks donations for its book sales, particularly of children’s books, as many are distributed each month to the schools and to FISH. You can drop donations anytime to the shed behind the library.
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“One book one school” reading selections are all the rage right now. The entire Justin-Siena High School community will be reading “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon this summer. Set in contemporary London, the book is the fictional account of 15-year-old mathematical genius who also has Aspeger’s syndrome who sets out to find the killer of a neighbor’s dog.
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There are some great reading instruction (fluency, speed reading and comprehension) programs being offered for children of all ages courtesy of Santa Rosa Junior College’s Institute of Reading Development. The program is arranged by age, from pre-K through college students. Most courses are five weeks long and are held at the SRJC Petaluma campus. Some meet weekdays and some on Sundays, most for two hours. For more information or to register, visit scu.readingprograms.org/
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Speaking of reading, high schoolers struggling to analyze themes in literature might benefit from LitCharts. This site, from the founder of Spark Notes, aims to make more than 200 great works of literature, from “Anna Karenina” to “1984,” more accessible through its interactive data visualizations which visually track themes, symbols and plots in a story. litcharts.com
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