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Middle Years

APPR – What does it mean for your child?

September 16, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

New York’s new teacher evaluation system has gotten a great deal of press and caused much anxiety for public school educators in the state, and emotions are likely to ratchet up another notch as parents are able to view their child’s teacher’s scores sometime this fall. The Annual Professional Performance Review – or APPR – […]

Safety first in shifting social media scene

September 16, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

Police in the upstate New York town of Gloversville last week arrested a man who they say harassed and made threats to a high school girl through the social media site Snapchat. The man allegedly sent indecent photos of himself to the girl and threatened to “go Columbine” – a reference to the 1999 mass […]

Solving the healthy lunch conundrum

September 16, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

My 11-year-old nephew loves salmon, relishes broccoli, devours salad and would gladly dig into strip steak for dinner. His favorite meal is pasta with clams. My soon-to-be-9-year-old son, on the other hand, has a very limited repertoire. To say he is picky is an understatement. When my brother and his family visited this summer, I […]

Making fitness fun is just a click away

August 23, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

When my daughters first acquired their cell phones several years ago, their thumbs got so much “exercise,” I envisioned them winning thumb-wrestling contests. Thankfully, their activity levels even then surpassed the physical demands of texting. But as technology has evolved – and their interest in fitness has increased – they have found ways to use […]

Beware the down side of social media

August 23, 2013 | Posted in: High School, Middle Years

Social media can be important for networking both personally and professionally. It’s a great tool for keeping up with old friends, connecting with people in your field and communicating long distance. But even with strong privacy settings, you can’t be sure who can find out information about you. When not used wisely, social media can […]

Preparing for the first day of school is about more than buying supplies

August 23, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

The first day of school is less than two weeks away, and we are not ready. We have not yet bought our pencils, notebooks, erasers, markers and box of tissues. We haven’t even thought about the first day of school outfit (which seems to be less of an issue for my fourth grade son than […]

Making the case for a summer unplugged

July 18, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

It occurred to me the other day that the speed in which we live really changes our perspective on the world around us. We were in the car, and I wanted to point out to my kids the neighborhood where I delivered papers as a boy. The houses rolled by too fast to share the […]

Family fun in a New York state of mind

Family fun in a New York state of mind

July 18, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

A planned trip to the Bronx Zoo was derailed when car problems made us decide we should not venture far from home one recent Sunday. The 8-year-old in our house was crestfallen, until we came up with Plan B: Adirondack Animal Land in Gloversville. My son claims he has never been to a zoo; we […]

Agricultural fairs offer educational opportunities

July 18, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

State agricultural fairs conjure up images of farm exhibits and animals, cotton candy, midway rides and games of chance. With so much to see and do, it’s a great way to spend fun family time during the summer. It’s also an awesome opportunity to share an educational experience with your children. We depend on agriculture […]

Letterboxing is outdoor, treasure-hunt adventure

July 18, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

If your kids like exploring, hiking, hide-n-seek, mysteries, riddles and crafts, they just might love letterboxing. And so might you. Letterboxing is basically a treasure hunt for letterboxes – small containers holding a logbook and a unique, usually hand-carved rubber stamp. Letterboxes are hidden almost everywhere, and seekers follow a set of clues to find […]