Education Newswatch October 2004

In Brief
Scholastic 2004 Election Resources
Scholastic News (a classroom magazine for students in grades 1-6), Junior Scholastic® (grades 6-8), Scholastic News Online (www.scholastic.com/news) and The New York Times UPFRONT® (grades 9-12) are covering the race to the White House in order to help spark an early interest in politics among today's young students and to educate America's future voters on the electoral process. These publications will continue to offer the latest news on the election through the inauguration of the next President on January 20, 2005. In addition to breaking news articles, teachers and students will find fun, interactive activities, quizzes, maps and photographs that encourage learning about and discussing the candidates, the campaign process and important issues facing the country.

In order to culminate lessons on the electoral process, students can "vote" for the President at Scholastic News Online and through mail-in ballots found in the magazines. In the past, Scholastic readers have consistently picked the winning candidate in every mock election but one – students chose Richard Nixon over John F. Kennedy in 1960.

National School Golf Program Joins The First Tee
The First Tee announced that the National School Golf Program (NSGP) has officially become an initiative of The First Tee.

The NSGP was created to introduce elementary school children to the basics in golf skills, etiquette and play. The focus is to bring the benefits and values inherent in the game of golf to kids across America. The NSGP trains educators to introduce the basics in golf skills to kids in their yearly program. The curriculum is based on national physical education standards and emphasizes character education through an introduction to The First Tee's Nine Core Values.

During the 2003-2004 school year, the NSGP was successfully piloted in 130 elementary schools in eight communities, reaching more than 50,000 kids. In 2004-2005, NSGP will be implemented in more than 300 schools across the country, with a plan to expand the program in the years to follow.

For more information, please visit www.nationalschoolgolf.com/Club/Scripts/Home/home.asp

EcoPhones Fundraiser
The EcoPhones Drive is a cellular phone fundraising and recycling program that pays organizations $3 for each used digital phone they turn in. EcoPhones provides a free marketing kit to help launch community phone drives.

EcoPhones has helped thousands of organizations achieve their fundraising goals and protect the air and water from potentially harmful cellular waste. Once you've collected a full box of cell phones, EcoPhones will pick them up, free, and your school will receive payment within 60 days. For more information about this program, go to www.ecophones.com

Got 2B Safe
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Honeywell are partnering in the area of child safety. In association with Weekly Reader, NCMEC has created a program called "Got 2B Safe" to help students learn specific behaviors that can increase their personal safety.

Teaching personal safety skills to our children has never been more important. Kids often lack the skills and judgement to practice effective personal safety. But in a trusting environment, with engaging materials, kids can be taught what they need to know about how to protect themselves against abduction and exploitation. The Got 2B Safe program, typically introduced at the third grade level, reinforces four key rules: Check First, Go with a Friend, It's My Body and Tell a Trusted Adult.

For free downloadable materials, visit http://www.honeywell.com/sites/hhs/got2bsafe/ Additional personal safety materials from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children are available at www.missingkids.com

National Sleep Foundation Launches "Sleep for Kids" Website
Children who want to learn about sleep and healthy sleep habits now have a new Internet resource just for them from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), the nation's foremost sleep awareness organization. The website, www.SleepforKids.org, will help kids ages seven and up explore the importance of sleep and share important information about a child's sleep habits and sleep problems.

The website includes educational games and activities, as well as a downloadable copy of NSF's new Sleep Diary designed especially for kids. The site also features a page for parents and teachers where they can access more detailed information on children's sleep habits and problems and the possible connections between sleep problems and other health issues such as obesity and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Additional suggestions for teachers about how to teach students about sleep can be found in the activity guide book for the Time to Sleep with P.J. Bear booklet which can be downloaded free from www.SleepforKids.org

Brother's Special Back-to-School Promotion
Brother has announced a special promotion for educators in K-12 and higher education institutions for the beginning of the 2004-05 school year. For Brother products sold and shipped between June 15 and October 15, 2004, Brother is offering education customers the opportunity to receive one free unit for every 10 purchased of the same model. This special Back-to-School promotion offers the education community the opportunity to refresh, expand and upgrade printing, copying, faxing and scanning equipment inventory at significant savings.

For a list of the equipment models for which this promotion is available and additional promotional details, visit www.education.brother.com or ask your Brother Education Representative.

Box Tops for Education
The Box Tops for Education program offers three ways for schools to earn cash through everyday activities such as buying groceries, shopping online and making purchases with a credit card. When parents and community members clip box tops from General Mills products, schools can get 10 cents per box top. Schools can also earn up to 10 percent of each qualifying purchase made online at the Box Tops Marketplace. Box Tops also offers a Visa card that returns one percent of each purchase back to your school. Each program can generate up to $20,000 per year per school, for a maximum of $60,000 per year. Each participating school must designate a school coordinator to be enrolled in the program. For more details go to www.boxtops4education.com