April 15, 2007

ParentInfo, April 15, 2007

Last Updated on Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 5:01 AM

In this issue:

*CATS testing tips

*TV Turnoff Week

*National Global and Youth Service Day

*Earth Day Kentucky

*Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

*Summer Opportunities for Students

CATS testing tips

Kentucky Core Content Tests (KCCT) for students in grades 3-8 and grades 10-11 begin April 23 and run through May 4. As a reminder, please try to avoid taking your children out of school during this time unless you know for sure they will not be testing. The tests are part of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS).

Here are some ways you can help your child be successful through testing time:

Make sure they get enough sleep the night before the test. Children who are tired are less able to pay attention or to handle the demands of a test.
Make sure your kids eat breakfast. A well-rounded meal to start the day will give them the brainpower they need.
Make sure your kids are on time. Getting to school late starts the day with anxiety that kids don’t need especially during testing.
Encourage your kids. A good, positive attitude can make a big difference.

As for taking the actual test, here are some hints to pass along:

Try to stay relaxed; if you start to feel nervous take a few deep breaths to relax.
Read the directions carefully. Take time to understand what is wanted. Always read the whole question and don't make assumptions about what the question might be.
Look over the whole test to see the numbers and types of questions so you can pace yourself.
On multiple-choice questions, eliminate answers you know aren't right. Read all the choices before choosing your answer.
If you don’t know the answer to a question, skip it and come back later. If you’re still stuck, make an educated guess.
Write legibly. If the graders can't read what you wrote, they'll most likely mark it wrong.
When you are finished, if you have time left look over your test, make sure that you have answered all the questions, only change an answer if you misread or misinterpreted the question because the first answer that you put is usually the correct one.
Watch out for careless mistakes and proofread your open response questions.

Finally stress the importance of trying your hardest on the tests, but don’t pressure your student. You could end up causing stress. If your child has a bad day testing, try to stay positive and encourage her for the next day.

Test scores will be available in the fall.

TV Turnoff Week

Did you know, according to the 2006 Neilson report, the average American watches 4 hours and 35 minutes of television every day? Or that the average child in the U.S. will spend more time in front of the television (1,023 hours) than in school this year (900 hours)? Do you have any idea how much time you and your family spend watching TV? Chances are if you tracked it, the time spent would be more than you think.

During the week of April 23-29, thousands of families, schools, libraries and community organizations will join together in a coordinated effort to turn off their TV sets for seven days. It’s called TV-Turnoff Week. The event is sponsored by more than 70 national organizations including the American Medical Association, National Education Association and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

We encourage you to give life without TV a try. While it will be challenging and require energy and commitment, it CAN be done (tips and alternatives for achieving a TV–free week are available online).

According to the experts, the results will be worth it: your kids will be LESS bored, less prone to tantrums and more engaged. Adults will talk more to each other and their kids, they will get more exercise, and they will spend more time reading. All things that are good for individuals, good for families and good for education!

National Global and Youth Service Day

As a way to gear up for life without television for a week, why not encourage your kids to volunteer? National Global and Youth Service day events are scheduled in several Kentucky communities April 20-22.

National Global and Youth Service Day is designed to:

mobilize youth as leaders to identify and address the needs of their communities through service and learning
support youth on a lifelong path of service and civic engagement
educate the public, media and policymakers about the year-round contributions of young people as community leaders.

If there isn’t a project scheduled in your community, or if your kids are interested in starting their own youth service projects, they can go online for a list of project ideas.

Earth Day Kentucky

Earth Day Kentucky is Sunday April 22. The day is designed to make us all more aware of our environment and what we can do to preserve it.

The Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet offers a list of tips and ideas for taking action in your home, yard, community, business and on the farm to “stay green” and to reduce waste.

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

“Revolutionizing the Workplace” is the 2007 theme for the annual Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day. Nationally, Thursday April 26 is the day designated to take your daughters and sons to work. But since that falls in the middle of the CATS testing window, Kentucky parents are urged to delay taking their kids to work until after May 4.

Take Our Daughters And Sons To WorkDay is intended to let kids:

connect their school work with the real world
share their vision, turning it into tomorrow’s reality
figure out how their future work, home and community lives fit together
explore a variety of job options and learn the types of things they like to do
learn about the work their parents, mentors and/or other relatives conduct and its importance to the workplace
learn about the workplace—how it functions and its goals, mission, products and services
discover there are limitless opportunities available to them
build their self-esteem
understand the importance of sharing power and possibility and that through working together they can build a more equitable world

An online activity planner is available for making the most of your child’s visit to your workplace.

Summer Opportunities for Students

There are lots of great educational opportunities for students this summer. In the event your kids aren’t already booked up for the summer, here are a few:

Future Educators Summer Camps
Middle and high school students who are interested in becoming teachers can attend one of nine 2007 Future Educators Association (FEA) Summer Camps scheduled in June at universities across the state this summer. Students will participate in activities related to academic areas and will lean what it takes to become a teacher in that field. Camp participants also will be encouraged to engage in activities that help them to become more familiar with a university campus and more confident about entering college life.

There are no fees for participants to attend the camps, which are funded through grants provided by the Kentucky Department of Education’s Division of Educator Quality and Diversity. Registration information is available online

African American Student Conference
The 20^th Annual Academically Proficient African American High School Junior and Senior Conference will take place June 8-9 at the University of Louisville’s Belknap Campus. The conference is designed to assist rising juniors and seniors in successfully moving from high school to postsecondary education.

Several pre-conference activities are planned for June 8, with conference workshops beginning June 9. A career/college fair featuring Kentucky colleges and universities will be held in conjunction with the conference.

Goddard Space Center Intern Program

The deadline is quickly approaching for the 2007 Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) High School Intern Program (HIP). The six-week program engages students who will be high school juniors or seniors in the fall in ‘real-time’ applications of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in a research-focused work world.

Successful applicants will learn more about space exploration in general and GSFC-specific areas of earth science, space science, engineering and technology.

Interested students must submit an application form by April 25 and meet eligibility criteria. Student interns receive a stipend of $1,800.

More information and application forms are available at:

www.education.gsfc.nasa.gov/files/HIPApplication07.pdf

Science and Engineering Summer Program
April 30 is the deadline for applying for a science and engineering summer program at Kentucky State University.

The program will run from June 10-29 and is open to rising juniors and seniors. The program is designed to increase the number of minorities pursuing careers in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. Applicants must have an overall math/science GPA of 3.0 or better and an ACT score of 20 or better.

Selected students will receive a stipend of $750 in addition to on-campus room and board. For more information or an application form, see your school counselor or contact Dr. Kazi Javed at (502) 597-6722 or by email Kazi.Javed@kysu.edu.

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Web links appearing in this edition:

TV Turnoff Week

http://www.tvturnoff.org/action.htm

http://www.tvturnoff.org/101.htm

National Global and Youth Service Day

http://www.ysa.org/nysd/local_celeb/nysd_localceleb_parent.cfm?state_id=ky#maptop