February 14: Valentine’s Day
Each year, we give and receive cards on Valentine’s Day and see the heart-shaped boxes of candy in stores, but where did these traditions come from? Who was Saint Valentine and why do we devote a day to him?
January is a time of opportunity, especially for students. It’s not only the start of a new year, but also the start of the second half of the school year. As students begin the academic year’s second half, those who may have had challenges in getting good grades during the first two quarters, have the time and the opportunity to end the school year on a high note.
It’s common to think that the days get shorter in the winter, but the opposite is true. The shortest day of the year is the first day of winter, after which the days get progressively longer.
On the third Thursday of every November, smokers around the nation come together to take part in the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout. This event challenges smokers to quit using tobacco products and provides them with resources to stay away. Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the world, which is why the Great American Smokeout remains an important event.
If you’re a parent, you have a tough job. You always try to do the right thing for your kids, but sometimes outside forces stack the deck against you. Here’s an example: You want your kids to eat a healthy diet so that they grow up to have long, illness-free, productive lives; however, the food industry is working diligently to undermine your efforts. It’s difficult to combat the food industry. They have enormous resources which you, as a parent, probably don’t have, but knowing their tactics is a good place to start.Â
Ask most kids, “When does one year end and another begin?,” and they’ll probably tell you that the year begins in July or August, ends in May, with a chunk of summer between the end of one year and the beginning of the next. Kids are way more aware of the school year than they are the calendar year.
Your child may never admit this to you, but by the time summer vacation ends, many students are bored and anxious to get back to school. What seemed like so much fun back in May, has evolved into long days with kids not knowing quite what to do with themselves.
We’re lucky we live in an incredible state like Arizona. To prove it, go outside in January and, while lounging in the 75-degree temperature, check the weather in New York and Chicago.
Every subject in school is important. Whether it’s math, science, history, social studies, or English, the knowledge students gain in elementary school will be referenced and used the rest of their lives. However, of all the important subjects just mentioned, only one is a crucial component of them all: English.Â
Summer’s Coming!
It’s May, which means that kindergarten and 8th grade graduation ceremonies are coming up, and every student will be making the transition from school to summer break.
At the end of each school year, there’s always concern on the part of parents and teachers that students will be victimized by brain drain over summer break. It’s no myth. Over the two to three months students are on summer break, they experience an overall learning loss of one month and it takes the first six weeks of school for kids to relearn old material.
Parents may remember, back when they were kids, schools had real classes—math, science, history—and fun classes—art and music. Parents may also remember they perhaps didn’t take art or music very seriously, looking at it more like a break from the demands of serious academics than an actual learning experience.
