Learning Resource Center

subtitle: The best $2/year I spend on education.

One of my favorite support centers remains NJ Dept. of Ed's Learning Resource Center. My children (*) and I have logged hours and hours at the LRC. I have used many of their machines, their work area and their professional library. I have borrowed board games, books, manipulatives and curriculum resources, and cut hundreds of pieces on their Eillison Dies. I know no less expensive place to laminate things.

There are 4 LRC offices: North (East Orange), north satellite (Morris Plains), central (Dayton) and south (Sewell). Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5 pm.

New evening hours starting 9/2/08: Morris Plains, Tuesday until 6 pm; Dayton Wednesday until 6pm; East Orange, Thursday until 6 pm. (They follow the state schedule and do close for snow storms. I am not liable for any schedule changes. Late August to early September and spring break the centers are often packed with teachers, but many other times there is more work space than you could need. If you arrive on the day of a conference, the parking lot may be packed -- but there may still be work space; it will depend on the conference they are running.)

* - it is not a children's center at all. If you do not have children who can sit and self-entertain and handle time without food or drinks perhaps you can coop, or trade time with another parent so that you can go on your own.

"Kids" these days: 2012 graduates

Beloit College has posted their annual list about the "average" incoming freshman for Fall 2008. Most of them were born in 1990; Jim Henson, Sammie Davis, Jr. and Stevie Ray Vaughan have always been dead; and Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.

For the complete list, visit:
http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2012.php

Enjoy!

Went to a Garden Party...

Sunday, August 24
Exhibit Opening "Who's Minding the Store?" & Member's Garden Party
1-4 PM
At Acorn Hall
The opening of “Who’s Minding the Store?” will take place at the Society’s annual Garden Party and feature a “Pie Contest” and “Home-grown Tomato Competition.” A raffle will include a gift certificate to a local food business and food-related merchandise. "Who's Minding the Store?" is a traveling exhibit from the Jewish Historical Society of Metrowest. A reconstructed store from Morris County’s earlier days, the exhibit will demonstrate how people once shopped for food and other essentials. The exhibit will be augmented with agricultural, dining, and food merchandising artifacts from the collection of the Morris County Historical Society.

Homemade Dessert Pies Contest & Jersey Tomatoes Contest
Entry forms are now available on-line and at Acorn Hall on the day of the event.

Entrants for the various contests should bring their pies and tomatoes, with competed application forms, to Acorn Hall, 68 Morris Avenue, Morristown, between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. Pies should be accompanied by their recipe.

Judging begins at 2:00 p.m., beginning with any cream pies. No refrigeration is available.

Pies will not be returned.

MCHS members are welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy on the lawn of Acorn Hall. Tea and dessert will be served.

Follow this link for contest rules and entry form.

No Child Left Inside

“No Child Left Inside,” the theme of Earth Science Week 2008 (October 12 - 18) will encourage young people to learn about the geosciences by getting away from the television, off the computer, and out of doors.

Objectives

• To engage students in discovering the Earth sciences.
• To remind people that Earth science is all around us.
• To encourage Earth stewardship through understanding.
• To motivate geoscientists to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about the Earth."[1]

Earth Science Week 2008 will encourage young people to learn about the geosciences by getting away from the television, off the computer, and out of doors.

Click for their Resource list.

I have not looked at their educators guide to "Journey to the Center of the Earth" ... yet.

AGI hosts Earth Science Week in cooperation with sponsors as a service to the public and the geoscience community. Each year, local groups, educators, and interested individuals organize celebratory events. Earth Science Week offers opportunities to discover the Earth sciences and engage in responsible stewardship of the Earth. The program is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, the National Park Service, the AAPG Foundation, and other geoscience groups.

http://www.earthsciweek.org/

[1] Copied straight from their site.

State Theatre, New Brunswick, 2009

State Theatre of NJ in New Brunswick has school-time performances for students from pre-K through high school with "keynote" study guides expected for many, if not all performances.

Trips organized. I can't get seats next to ours, but maybe you'll come on the same days?

• Iliad, Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 10:30am, 10:30 curtain. $12/seat. Plan to be at the lobby by 10:10.
• Mayhem Poets, Tuesday, December 09, 2008, 10:00am, $8/seat. Plan to be in the lobby at 9:40.
• Drumline Live, Friday, February 20, 2009 at 10:30. $22/seat. Plan to be at the lobby by 10:10.

Their 2009 performances for School schedule also includes more than :

• Sleeping Beauty -- On Ice;
• Mayhem Poets (one of the shows is already sold out!)
  
• Nutcracker;
• STREB Extreme Action, $9/seat;
• Shakespeare's King Henry V, April 23, 2009, grades 7 - 12, $12;
• Bing, Bang, Boom - percussion for Grades K - 5, $8/seat, and
• shows for the youngest crowd, like "Goodnight Moon" & "Bob The Builder".

Click here to download the Programs for Schools order form.

If you want to organize something and need a place to list it, let me know. Some of these shows show end up in the Field Trip List too.

Math contest for middle and high school student

Round 1 problems of Year 20 (2008-09) of the USA Mathematical Talent Search are now available at www.usamts.org. The postmark deadline for solutions is October 14, 2008.

Please read carefully the following important information:

If you have participated in the USAMTS in the past, you will notice a number of changes this year. In particular, solutions may be submitted by web upload or by mail; emailed or faxed solutions will no longer be accepted. Please carefully read all of the Year 20 changes on www.usamts.org.

If you have not already registered online for Year 20, please do so at www.usamts.org. If you participated in a previous year, all you will have to do to register for Year 20 is log in to www.usamts.org (using the same username/password as you did in the past)--the first time you log in this year, you will be asked to verify that your information (address, email, grade, etc.) is still current, and make any necessary changes.

All USAMTS participants must fill out and sign an Entry/Permission form, available on www.usamts.org. (You must do this even if you participated in a previous year.) This can be submitted by mail along with your first set of solutions, or separately by mail or fax anytime before the Round 1 entry deadline of October 14.

We hope you enjoy the problems, and we look forward to your participation on the USAMTS this year.

Best regards,

--Dave Patrick
Director, USA Mathematical Talent Search
usamts@usamts.org

America By Food

Key Ingredients: America By Food is a traveling Smithsonian exhibit that stirs the senses and has something for the whole family. Trace how immigration and technology have changed eating habits throughout 500 years of American history. Explore the culinary and agricultural traditions of New Jersey. From the Pinelands bogs where Elizabeth White cultivated the commercial blueberry to the Newark factory where M&Ms were invented to the nonalcoholic grape juice created in Vineland by Thomas Bramwell Welch, New Jersey has a rich and vibrant heritage of food innovation, tradition, and production. For more information about the exhibit and the programs that will be running in New Jersey, visit the official NJ Key Ingredients page at http://www.njch.org/keyingredients!

The Smithsonian’s traveling exhibit, Key Ingredients: America By Food, shows how regional traditions and international influences have shaped American cooking. The six host sites in New Jersey will hold Jersey-specific events and show Jersey photos, including a Good Humor truck in Morristown; picking blueberries in Woodbine; and duck hunters displaying their bounty in Tuckerton.

January 31, 2009-3/15/2009: New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ (Thanks Mary!)

last updated: Jan. 30, 2009.

Organized "ILIAD", 11/18/08

Payment was due in August. If you come the same day, maybe we'll see you?

Iliad, Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 10:30am, at the State Theatre, New Brunswick,
$12/seat.
10:30 curtain. Plan to be at the lobby by 10:10.
Admission: Lobby doors open one hour prior to the announced time of each performance. Theater doors open at least 15 minutes prior to curtain. Latecomers are seated at the discretion of the management.

Iliad, presented by Aquila Theatre Company.
Program Length: 90 minutes.
Recommended For Students in Grades: 6-12,

Described by The New York Times as “a performance of staggering power,” Aquila Theatre Company’s staging of Homer’s Iliad creates a “stunning, stirring, and memorable” theatrical experience. The action-packed production tells the essential parts of Homer’s Trojan War epic through superb acting, dynamic movement, and original music. Inspired by Stanley Lombardo’s acclaimed English translation, the production transposes the visual setting to World War II to emphasize the timeless relevance of “the greatest story ever told.”

If there is a study guide, it is not expected until 1 month before the performance.
Those who paid will have seats confirmed. I have not worked with the State Theatre before & I have no idea whether they will let me "add on" later.

Going "green"?

A Girl Scout working on her Silver Award collected multiple useful websites, all aiming to help people live "greener" lives. You can see them from her website: cleangreenworld.info.

Berrie Center, Ramapo College 2008 Schooltime Performances

2008 - 2009 Schedule
Berrie Center, Ramapo College, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ 07430
Call 201-684-7202 to reserve seats. Last year they also took reservations/payment for lunch for "on show time shows"!

Study guides are provided two weeks prior to performances.
I assume there are more, but they are not easy to find on their website. No liability is accepted for any typos. Price not yet known.

• October 14, Tuesday, American Place Theatre Literature to Life series, The Things They Carried, 2 p.m.
• October 17, Friday, Schooltime Performance: World of Robots, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
• December 3, Wednesday, Schooltime Performance: Mathemagic, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

Box Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 12-8 p.m. • Saturday and Sunday, 12-5 p.m.

Did the Dig - West Africa, October 2008

Up to 24 lucky students will be digging in Tewksbury, NJ with Archaeological Perspectives October 14 - 17, 2008 and learning about Western African Culture (along the Niger River in Mali). They will "do adult stuff in a kid way" with professional archaeologist turned educator "Big Dog" Purcell starting at 10 a.m. each day. 6 & 7 year olds stop at 1 p.m., but older campers stay until ~4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Everyone should plan to stay for a potluck(?) lunch on Friday when we all see their museum exhibits and go home around 2/2:30?.

Visit his website to read more about Camp Activities. Note: The homeschool camps are Tuesday to Friday, with digging on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and an exhibit and themed pot-luck on Friday. For my comments on a previous experience with him, see Do the Dig: Middle Kingdom China.

Registration is ~$170 for full day and $120 for half day. Non-refundable deposits of $25 deposits per child are being accepted for Tweksbury. For that dig signup form and more details, see the TALENT website (Tewksbury Area League for Encouraging and Nurturing Talent).

Expect a post to appear about Mali food & potluck ideas - closer to the dates.

Dodge Poetry Festival

Historic Waterloo Village in Stanhope, New Jersey will be re-opened especially for the audiences of up to 20,000 expected for the 12th biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, which will run from Thursday, September 25 through Sunday, September 28, 2008.

An essential component of each Festival is a series of special programs for high school students and for teachers at all levels, elementary through college. More than 4,500 students and 2,000 teachers from throughout the country participate in conversations and readings designed specifically for them during the first two days of the Festival.