POUGHKEEPSIE – Children played games, got temporary tattoos and jumped around in bounce houses while parents learned about programs, services and resources available to them during Saturday’s second annual Bridge 2 Poughkeepsie event. Designed to introduce families new to Poughkeepsie or just the district to all that is offered directly by the district or through its many community partners, the event featured two bounce houses, a DJ, tattoo artist, bubble table and tables from 28 community-based organizations and several from the district. There was also food, popcorn and refreshments. Dylan Alonzo, who is entering pre-kindergarden, tosses a ring at…
Author: catfish
For a movie about baseball-playing ghosts, Field of Dreams can be very realistic. In a scene about midway through, protagonist Ray Kinsella and his wife Annie, played by Kevin Costner and Amy Madigan, respectively, attend a PTA meeting in their small Iowa town. A concerned citizen is attempting to remove a book by Terence Mann (the stand-in for J.D. Salinger played by James Earl Jones) because she characterizes it as “smut.” In real life in 2022, all over the United States, parents and activists are raising book challenges, which are formal requests to libraries to remove or relocate books. Several…
MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of BBB National Programs has found Firefly Games, owner and operator of the LOL Surprise! Room Makeover app, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and CARU’s Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Advertising and for Children’s Online Privacy Protection. Firefly Games agreed to correct the violations. The LOL Surprise! Room Makeover app, featuring LOL Surprise! dolls and characters licensed by MGA Entertainment, came to CARU’s attention through its routine monitoring of child-directed content. Given the app’s child-directed subject matter of LOL Surprise! dolls, intended for ages four and…
MARY: FRAMINGHAM IS HARDLY UNIQUE, BUT THEY WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE HIRING FOR A MULTITUDE OF PHYSICIANS, TEACHERS AND SUPPORT STAFF. THE DISTRICT SAYS THE PANDEMIC TOOK A TOLL ON TEACHERS. SOME DECIDED TO RETHINK THEIR CAREERS AND LEFT THE PROFESSION. FRAMINGHAM WILL START THEIR SCHOOL YOUR TOMORROW WITH A DEFICIT. >> FOR TOMORROW, I NEED 45 TEACHERS IN ALL DIFFERENT AREAS, AND IT IS MORE FOR THE SPECIALIZED SUBJECTS LIKE SPECIAL EDUCATION, GUIDANCE COUNSELORS, NURSES. IT’S BEEN A CHALLENGE. MARY: TEACHERS UNION RULES PROHIBIT LARGE CLASS SIZES AND ELIMINATING CLASSES, SO FRAMINGHAM IS USING UNLICENSED CAMPUS…
GRAND HAVEN. (WOOD) — The Loutit District Library in Grand Haven is hosting a Banned Books month in September promoting works that have been challenged or outright banned over the last 100 years. Librarian Chelsea McCoy says she was inspired to put the exhibit together after the millage renewal for Patmos Library in Jamestown Township failed in August because some voters disapproved that books dealing with LGBTQ issues were available. The Patmos Library has since raised several thousand dollars via a community-led GoFundMe account, including a $50,000 donation from popular romance author Nora Roberts. Patmos library working to get millage…
Ahead of his Tombolo Books’ celebration, author Rob Sanders talked about his latest release “Blood Brothers” and the Florida Humanities award for his book “Stitch by Stitch.” “It was just one of those things that spurred the government and others into action.” Author Rob Sanders is talking about the Aids Memorial Quilt.He wrote about the person behind it in his children’s book “Stitch by Stitch” – Cleve Jones. “Cleve is one of those heroes of my community that kids don’t know about,” said Sanders.The quilt raised awareness about the AIDS epidemic, its marginalized victims and the desperate need for funding…
Amazon Fire Tablets are perfect for a lot of things. Whether it’s watching movies or being productive on your device, one thing that kids love most about using a tablet is playing games. The Amazon Appstore has a lot of great options, but there are also plenty of not-so-great choices. These are the best kids games for Amazon Fire HD tablets, whether for a Fire HD 7, the Fire HD 10 Kids Pro, or other Fire HD tablet, — there’s lots of fun to be had.MinecraftMinecraft is one of the world’s most popular games today, even after its official release in…
When Rodney Owens and Destun Thomas walked into LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in July, they restarted a Memphis football tradition hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic.Owens, a senior safety, had previously done LeBonheur’s weekly game show with patients last summer. But now, he and Thomas, a freshman receiver, were the first players since 2019 to present prizes in person to patients. It made a difference seeing faces instead of screens.“It feels like things are getting back to normal,” Owens said. “It makes it more genuine, and you can actually feel the impact that you’re making within the community.”The Tigers hosting the game…
Lee Laws, 89, passed away peacefully in her own home on August 9th, 2022 with her family at her side.Born in Oklahoma City on October 21, 1932, Lee Laws graduated from Texas Tech with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She later received a Master of Education degree from Southwest Texas State University ( Texas State University) with Counseling Certification.Lee Laws had a very successful career with Austin ISD, eventually becoming the AISD Director of Federal Programs with added legislative lobbyist responsibilities on both the state and federal levels. She touched many lives as an educator and was devoted to the…
Garfield County’s Latino advocacy committee wants to see more Spanish-speaking dispatchers hired in the county to assist Latino residents who call 911. Recently, the county’s Latino Community Committee met with the county Emergency Communications Authority Board to learn more about the operation and to offer some suggestions. “We want to build trust with the organizations we work with and help them come up with some better approaches and find solutions,” said Crystal Mariscal, a New Castle Town Council member and community organizer who co-founded the Latino Community Committee in 2021 with the blessing of the Garfield County commissioners. Emergency communications…