Listen to “Amy Pollack Authors Coming of Age book” on Spreaker.

“Pollack’s titular hero shines; she’s likable and relatable, an even blend of relatable worries and drama-queen moments….  An endearing, plucky girl endures and overcomes in this absorbing quick read.”
–Kirkus Reviews

Ever since she was in fourth grade – back in 1960 – Amy Meislin Pollack was writing and telling stories about a character named Jelly Bean. She never stopped telling those stories, sharing them with her students over a teaching career that spanned 40+ years. She shared them with her three children when they were younger – and then with her seven grandchildren. Now her stories have been made available to everyone with the recent publishing of two coming-of-age books intended for middle-graders, The Adventures of Jelly Bean and The Further Adventures of Jelly Bean.

“My books touch upon topics of friendship, popularity, death, race, drugs, alcohol, feeling neglected, family issues, and the types of things many kids today are confronting as they look to find their way in an ever-changing world,” says Pollack.

The Adventures of Jelly Bean and The Further Adventures of Jelly Bean are the stories of a fourth-grader who faces challenges that just about all children her age can recognize.  Her parents don’t approve of her favorite friend in the whole world. She has trouble getting along with the brother who is closest in age to her.  The uncle she loves so much is about to marry the most awful woman she could ever imagine, and the girl who used to be her best friend has turned on her. Jelly Bean faces these and other stumbling blocks, including: the difficulties in achieving and maintaining popularity and how important having certain friends should be to her; difficulties inherent in relationships with various friends and family members; and learning how to make decisions on her own.  In these first two books of my middle-grade series, Jelly Bean comes to understand that much of life is trial and error, and that the only constant in life is that it is always changing.

Pollack is available to discuss the following:

Why coming-of-age stories are always needed for children.

What parents can do when they have strong disagreements with their children.

Why some kids need help making friends and dealing with issues of popularity.

The dialogues she hopes to see people launch into as a result of her books.

Solid generational advice that still holds true for our youth confronting challenges.

What parents need to know about raising healthy and successful kids today.

How grandparents and parents can help kids navigate the problems of growing up today.

Why a retired teacher of four decades and a grandma of seven recently took to publishing her middle-grade fiction after developing the story 60 years ago.

About The Adventures of Jelly Bean:

What if the start to your day was falling into the toilet, which caused you to miss your carpool, that in turn caused you to get to school late, that ultimately caused you to miss getting one of the decent parts in the upcoming Thanksgiving play? That is exactly what happens to fourth-grader Jelly. Bean on the day we first meet her. Things only go downhill from there and no one at home seems to have much time for her. Except Roger-Over, her beloved dog.

About The Further Adventures of Jelly Bean:

Jelly Bean in the continuation of her adventures as she seeks solutions to the challenges that confronted her in book 1. Michael, her oldest brother, has dropped out of school and joined the Marines, which usurps much of her parents’ attention. Kylie, the new girl in school, faces a medical emergency. And Jelly Bean is still forbidden from going to her best friend’s house.

She has to decide how to deal with these dilemmas and more. Along the way she learns about love, death, pain, relationships, the difference between right and wrong and the value of friendship. See the world through the eyes of this forthright fourth-grader as she discovers two truths about life – that it is always complicated, and always changing.

5-Star Amazon Reviews:

“Understanding a young girl’s feelings, capturing her mind’s world in a fun, loving way. This debut novel will win the hearts of school children because they will relate, feel heard and laugh along the way.”  *****

“I am so glad I was with my grandchildren (11 & 12 years old, boy and girl) when they both read the book! They had planned on sharing the book by reading one chapter then letting the other read one…but they had such trouble giving up the book!! Each chapter simply made them want to continue on!” *****

“Bought this for my 12-year-old granddaughter. She read it easily, and had a good time following the stories. Beautiful, fun illustrations.” *****

The post Coming-Of-Age Book Series By A Retired Teacher & Grandparent Helps Middle-Graders Navigate The Challenges Of Growing Up appeared first on Good News!.

The post Supporting each other as we grieve for Israel appeared first on Good News!.

Videos & Podcasts – American Friends of Rabin Medical Center,
Annual Celebration of NY Real Estate & Finance
Spice of Life Middle Eastern Culinary Journey & Wine Tasting
Benefiting Emergency Medical Care to Save Lives at Israel’s Rabin Medical Center

Crosby Street Hotel, SOHO, NYC
Thursday, June 14, 2018
6:00 pm

*VIP Event (6:00 pm-6:30 pm): In Search of Israeli Cuisine with film director Roger Sherman; Signed cookbooks by Jennifer Abadi and Louisa Shafia

Donations may be used for AFRMC’s general charitable purposes, including direct and indirect operating expenses. AFRMC is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our federal tax ID number is 52-1903777.

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Listen to “Cristal Glangchai, Whats keeping girls out of STEM? Why?” on Spreaker.

Girls at a very young age are curious about science and math—about 74% of kindergarten girls want to go into STEM—but by the time they reach middle school, only 15-20% remain interested.

Scientist, author, and professor Cristal Glangchai, PhD, attributes this to the way educators, parents, and the media talk to girls about pursuing STEM careers. She argues that a key part of raising strong, confident young women is giving them the tools of entrepreneurship to engage in STEM.

Glangchai’s new book, VentureGirls: Raising Girls to be Tomorrow’s Leaders (HarperCollins; May 2018) explains what has kept young girls out of STEM fields, as well as the practical applications of STEM learning, and how we can address the gender imbalance therein.

Dr. Glangchai offers a unique solution based on her own experience as an engineer and entrepreneur as well as the founder of VentureLab, a nonprofit that empowers kids, especially girls, with an entrepreneurial mind-set. VentureGirls.

Dr. Glangchai can discuss or write about the following:

• Women and STEM: How, as of now, women make up only 29% of the science and engineering workforce. Dr. Glangchai can share her fundamentals for empowering young girls in STEM.

• How STEM Education Impacts Entrepreneurship: Dr. Glangchai explains how science teaches kids about failure, and why learning to embrace failure is the key to entrepreneurial success.

• Creating Young Entrepreneurs: 65% of kids will have jobs that we cannot even imagine today. How parents can and should encourage kids as young as 5 years old to embrace their innovativeness and entrepreneurial mindset.

Publishers Weekly recently called VentureGirls a “game-changing guide to empowering young women.” The author has been featured on the TODAY Show, NPR, Wall Street Journal, TEDx, and much more.

#stem #girls #girl #lady #ladies #women #woman #keeping #keep #science #math #kindergarten #want #middle #school #curious #cristal #glangchai #educators #parents #media #talk #pursuing #careers #key #part #raising #strong #confident #giving #tools #entrepreneurship #engage #venture #lab #venturelab #venturegirls #empower #nonprofit #imbalance #gender #learning #embrace

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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS:
• LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0 is a hands-on, elementary science solution that develops science practices in the classroom through a robot-based learning system.
• Correlated to standards-based projects, the solution engages and motivates students to solve real-world science problems by working with engineering, technology and coding through the LEGO® brick,
classroom-friendly software and 40+ hours of hands-on projects.
• LEGO Education WeDo 2.0 strengthens students’ understanding and develops competencies across key science topics including physical sciences, life sciences, earth and space sciences and engineering.

CES – LAS VEGAS – NEWS RELEASE – January 5, 2016 – Today, LEGO® Education announced LEGO Education WeDo 2.0, a hands-on science solution designed for elementary classrooms using a robot-based learning system. The unique solution combines the LEGO® brick, classroom-friendly software and engaging, standards-based projects to teach elementary students essential science practices and skills . With WeDo 2.0, students explore, create and share their scientific discoveries as they build, program and modify projects. Through a series of collaborative challenges, they deeply engage with science, engineering, technology, and coding, sparking a love for experimentation and investigation. Teachers receive support through training, curriculum and built -in assessment. The result – a resource that builds students’ confidence to ask questions, define problems, and design their own solutions by putting scientific discovery in their hands.

Featuring curriculum that contains 40+ hours of lessons and activities built on key science standards for 2nd-4th grades, WeDo 2.0 enables students to engage with the science practices and engineering habits of mind by testing multiple designs through eight guided and eight open-ended projects. For example, in the “Drop and Rescue” project, students are challenged to design a device to reduce the impacts on humans, animals and the environment after an area has been damaged by a weather-related hazard. Students can prototype solutions to a challenge where there is no single right answer helping teach creativity and problem-solving skills. This also enables educators to tailor lessons to meet all students’ needs, no matter their abilities.

“Teachers know that science and technology skills are crucial for today’s elementary school students, but providing engaging projects that mean something in the real world is a challenge,” said Jeffrey Marlow, a Geobiologist at Harvard University and founder of The Mars Academy education and development program. “WeDo 2.0 offers projects that let students discover the surface of Mars with a model rover, or explore the Amazon rainforest thro ugh frog metamorphosis. These science lessons do more than just teach students facts to memorize – they represent an immersive experience that instills a deeper understanding of the scientific method and evidence -based reasoning. Not only are these skills central to science- and technology-based fields but providing a platform for our students to spark that one idea that could change the world is something they can build on for the rest of their lives.”

The wireless platform includes a Bluetooth low-energy Smarthub element; an electronic based building brick that is part of the LEGO Power Functions (LPF); a new technology platform for LEGO Education; one motor; one tilt and one motion sensor. The WeDo 2.0 Core software is an essential and easy-to-use component that is colorful, age- appropriate and has a drag-n-drop interface that is graphical in nature. It also contains a documentation tool that enables students to document their problem solving process and provides an assessment opportunity for teachers.

LEGO Education WeDo 2.0 is available today on iPad, Android, PC, and Macs. Chrome Book support will be available in the second half of 2016. A Scratch interface for WeDo 2.0 (both web-based and stand-alone) will be available for Macs in February 2016 and for PC/Windows in June 2016. For information on how to implement

LEGO WeDo 2.0 in your school, or how to transition to WeDo 2.0 from WeDo, visit www.LEGOeducation.us/WeDo

About LEGO® Educati on:
LEGO® Education offers playful learning experiences and teaching solutions based on the LEGO® system of bricks,
curriculum-relevant material, and physical and digital resources to preschool, elementary, middle school, and after school. In partnership with educators for more than 35 years, we support teaching in an inspiring, engaging, and effective way. Our educational solutions, which range from humanities to science, enable every student to succeed by encouraging them to become active, collaborative learners, build skills for future challenges, and establish a positive mind-set toward learning.

LEGO and the LEGO logo are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2016 The LEGO Group.

The post LEGO® Education Brings Science to Life for Elementary Students with WeDo 2.0 appeared first on Good News!.

The idea to create the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood [PHF] came from our profound need to carry the message of Philippe’s life. Those of us who knew him, know that his time on earth was different than for most of us. And all of us, adults and children, all learnt something from this little boy, who seemed to be wiser than most. His loving and compassionate spirit was so magically contagious, that we decided it needed to live on no matter what. His life may have been short, but it was meaningful, and PHF will carry his message of hope, smiles and compassion wherever the Foundation takes us.

The PHF aims to make less fortunate children of the world happier, and to regain the desire to live and mature into good people. As misery sweeps through children’s lives in all kinds of ways, we want to help make a difference. We don’t naively believe we will eradicate human misery all by ourselves… but we do believe that even one person fighting for children can change another’s life, and that one organization could help thousands more.

And so we set on to develop projects and programs that will make a real, tangible impact, one smile at a time. We will focus on what makes children happy, without any kind of discrimination. We also want to bring awareness to children’s situation, in Lebanon and around the world, especially with other children. Some of our programs will involve children directly, so that a fortunate child can help a less fortunate child, with love and compassion. Teaching children how to care for those who are less fortunate will contribute to making them more responsible and caring adults, another lesson we learned from Philippe.

• The Board of Directors of the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood set a series of principles to abide by in taking any decision related to PHF’s work.
• Live up to Philippe’s standards, and be inspired by his life.
• Focus on making children happy, today, one smile at a time.
• Strive to be different and innovative.
• Focus on making a real/tangible impact.
• Strive to teach children to also be happy from within.
• Actively involve fortunate children in making less fortunate children happy.
• Help children with no discrimination whatsoever of their race, religion, nationality or political affiliations.
• Maximize the use of funds for the benefit of those in need.

A child is a child, no matter where he is from, where he is born, and where he lives. At PHF, we believe it is our responsibility, as citizens of the world, to reach out beyond frontiers and across borders. PHF was established in Lebanon on 13 April 2010 to cover the activities of the Foundation throughout the Middle East; in order to fulfill our international objectives, we are currently working on establishing the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood in the United States of America and in Africa, both of which will become a reality before the end of 2011.

• Teddy-Georges Hatem, Founder and President

  Teddy-Georges Hatem is Philippe’s father. He is Founder and President of the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood. He is also the Chairman, Chief-Executive-Officer and Founder of CDS, a leading management consulting firm active in the Middle-East region since 1994. With more than 20 years of management consulting experience, his work has covered a wide variety of industries in the private sector as well as for non-profit organizations. Prior to establishing CDS, Mr. Hatem worked…
  Read more

• Carol Nader, Vice President

  “It is unthinkable to watch human misery unfold, and not react. Every one of us, to his/her own scale, should give back a little of what he receives. This is what I based my children’s education on. Try and make the world a better place.”   Carol Nader is Philippe’s mother. She is Treasurer and member of the Board of Directors of the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood. Prior to Philippe’s death, Ms. Nader spent nine years teaching sewing in prisons…
  Read more

• Me Fady Ziade, Secretary

  Me Fady Ziade is the Secretary General of the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood. He is also Founder and Managing Director of the Fady Ziadé Law Firm for more than 30 years and member of the Beirut Bar since 1969.   Fady Ziadé Law Firm has established a solid reputation for offering a full range of quality legal services and cooperates with prominent law firms in Europe, the USA and the Middle East. The firm is favored by major and mid-sized clients from Lebanon…
  Read more

Website: http://www.forahappychildhood.org/index.php

The post Teddy-Georges Hatem appeared first on Good News!.

The PHF aims to make less fortunate children of the world happier, and to regain the desire to live and mature into good people. As misery sweeps through children’s lives in all kinds of ways, we want to help make a difference. We don’t naively believe we will eradicate human misery all by ourselves… but we do believe that even one person fighting for children can change another’s life, and that one organization could help thousands more.

And so we set on to develop projects and programs that will make a real, tangible impact, one smile at a time. We will focus on what makes children happy, without any kind of discrimination. We also want to bring awareness to children’s situation, in Lebanon and around the world, especially with other children. Some of our programs will involve children directly, so that a fortunate child can help a less fortunate child, with love and compassion. Teaching children how to care for those who are less fortunate will contribute to making them more responsible and caring adults, another lesson we learned from Philippe.

• The Board of Directors of the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood set a series of principles to abide by in taking any decision related to PHF’s work.
• Live up to Philippe’s standards, and be inspired by his life.
• Focus on making children happy, today, one smile at a time.
• Strive to be different and innovative.
• Focus on making a real/tangible impact.
• Strive to teach children to also be happy from within.
• Actively involve fortunate children in making less fortunate children happy.
• Help children with no discrimination whatsoever of their race, religion, nationality or political affiliations.
• Maximize the use of funds for the benefit of those in need.

A child is a child, no matter where he is from, where he is born, and where he lives. At PHF, we believe it is our responsibility, as citizens of the world, to reach out beyond frontiers and across borders. PHF was established in Lebanon on 13 April 2010 to cover the activities of the Foundation throughout the Middle East; in order to fulfill our international objectives, we are currently working on establishing the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood in the United States of America and in Africa, both of which will become a reality before the end of 2011.

• Teddy-Georges Hatem, Founder and President

  Teddy-Georges Hatem is Philippe’s father. He is Founder and President of the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood. He is also the Chairman, Chief-Executive-Officer and Founder of CDS, a leading management consulting firm active in the Middle-East region since 1994. With more than 20 years of management consulting experience, his work has covered a wide variety of industries in the private sector as well as for non-profit organizations. Prior to establishing CDS, Mr. Hatem worked…
  Read more

• Carol Nader, Vice President

  “It is unthinkable to watch human misery unfold, and not react. Every one of us, to his/her own scale, should give back a little of what he receives. This is what I based my children’s education on. Try and make the world a better place.”   Carol Nader is Philippe’s mother. She is Treasurer and member of the Board of Directors of the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood. Prior to Philippe’s death, Ms. Nader spent nine years teaching sewing in prisons…
  Read more

• Me Fady Ziade, Secretary

  Me Fady Ziade is the Secretary General of the Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood. He is also Founder and Managing Director of the Fady Ziadé Law Firm for more than 30 years and member of the Beirut Bar since 1969.   Fady Ziadé Law Firm has established a solid reputation for offering a full range of quality legal services and cooperates with prominent law firms in Europe, the USA and the Middle East. The firm is favored by major and mid-sized clients from Lebanon…
  Read more

Website: http://www.forahappychildhood.org/index.php

The post Philippe Hatem Foundation for a Happy Childhood appeared first on Good News!.

8TH GRADERS AT ELVERSON’S TWIN VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL TO MEET “HER”

About 80 eighth-grade students at the Twin Valley Middle School, 770 Clymer Hill Road in Elverson, Chester County, have been talking and studying about her beauty, performance and European flair for several months.

Four teachers at Twin Valley, Rachel Smith, Jon Regino, Donna Kertis and Jennifer George, have been incorporating her unique qualities into their language arts, algebra and science classes as the focus of their studies and curriculum programs.

On May 4, they’ll finally get to see her in person when she comes to the school to meet her admirers. The boys and girls will greet the subject of their studies – the all-new, $229,000 (base price) McLaren MP4-12C supercar, the retail automobile that was designed using knowledge and technological breakthroughs gained from nearly five decades of McLaren participation in Formula One racing.

“This project started because of a fundamental belief that I hold that education must be real, relevant and rigorous. Once I told the youngsters that I saw the MP4-12C, I realized how easy it would be to teach using the car as a curricular guide,” said Smith, a language arts teacher, who has been using the McLaren as a topic in her class work since February. “While many of the students love cars and know much about them, none have ever seen a McLaren, and they’re very excited to experience it in person.

“In science class, the students talked about the scientific method and its relationship to the company’s design of this perfect car; in math class, they’ve discussed the drag speed coefficient and perfect mathematical equations the car must offer; and in language arts, they’ve read and written persuasively, informatively and in narrative about this innovative automobile. They’ve been learning and now they’ll get a chance to meet the supercar that inspired it all,” “Smith said.

http://www.mclarenautomotive.com/uk/default.aspx

The excitement will start at Twin Valley Middle School when Chad Sierer, Sales Manager of McLaren Philadelphia, 1631 West Chester Pike, West Chester, one of only nine McLaren dealerships in the United States, drives up to the school on May 4. Sierer’s arrival will be signaled by the distinctive growl of the MP4-12C’s 3.8-liter, V8 twin turbo engine that produces 592 horsepower and 445 lb-ft. of torque at 3,000 rpm.

“We are extremely pleased that our extraordinary automobile was selected to be a learning tool for the young people at Twin Valley Middle School,” said Robert DiStanislao, President of McLaren Philadelphia. “I applaud the teachers at Twin Valley for their creative lesson planning techniques that make learning fun and relevant for their students. I look forward to seeing what their study project has produced.”

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http://phoenixville.patch.com/blog_posts/8th-graders-at-elversons-twin-valley-middle-school-to-meet-her

notesfromahappyteacher.org  Rachels Blog

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