DES MOINES, IA (09/19/2011)(readMedia)-- Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) members around the state have used ISEA's student-designed stickers to celebrate student achievement and good work for over 26 years. Now in its 27th year, the popular Design-a-Decal program helps give statewide recognition to budding art students when their winning designs are printed on stickers and teachers use them to give positive feedback to their students. With encouraging messages like "Sweet Job" and "You Rule," the stickers get used on anything from homework assignments, to papers and projects-anything that can get stuck!

Students competed in three, grade-level categories: elementary (K-5); junior high/middle school (6-8); and high school (9-12). The 24 winning designs are printed in full color on sheets of one-inch square stickers and each design is featured twice.

"The Design-a-Decal contest is one of our longest-standing programs because it's so much fun for the students. The art teachers who administer the program are very enthusiastic and the students who submit designs love to participate, so it's a win-win for everyone. It's a wonderful way to encourage creativity and the end result are stickers teachers can use on homework and other assignments to encourage more great work," said Chris Bern, president of the ISEA.

The students who created the designs used on the decal sheets receive two plaques from the ISEA-one they can keep and one to be displayed at their school.

(A listing with names of the schools, supervising art teacher, and students whose designs were selected for use on the decal sheets is attached. Also attached is a sheet of the winning decals.)

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The fifth grade class at Rivermont Collegiate is discovering it's more fun to design and create a robot than it is to play with one - and having the hardest fun they've ever had!  Rivermont's fifth graders have formed 2 teams to participate in the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) robotics program!  Team Masterminds and Team Technical Difficulties are applying real-world math and science concepts to design, build, program, and test a fully autonomous robot capable of completing pre-assigned missions!  Teams will be competing at the FLL Regional Qualifier at the Putnam Museum on Saturday, December 10th.  Top performing teams at this local tournament will be invited to state and international tournaments.

FIRST LEGO League is a robotics program for children ages 9-16 designed to get children excited about science and technology, while teaching them valuable employment and life skills.  FIRST LEGO League 2011 features 19,800 teams from over 50 countries competing in 560 Qualifying Tournaments, which will be followed by 117 Championship Tournaments, 3 Open Championships, and 1 World Festival.  Teams, composed of up to ten children with at least one adult coach, program an autonomous robot using the Lego Mindstorms set to score points on a thematic playing surface.  Teams also create an innovative solution to a problem, which is different every year and based on a real-world scientific topic.  This year's "problem" - also referred to as the Challenge - is titled "Food Factor - Keeping Food Safe" and challenges teams to identify points of contamination our food encounters and develop an innovative solution.

Rivermont fifth graders and their families and volunteer coaches have made a big commitment to this ambitious challenge, with scheduled weekly robotics practice and assignments, as well as a presentation to families in December before the regional competition at the Putnam.  In addition, the class is tracking lessons and progress, including photos and a blog, at www.RivermontRobotics.com - follow their exciting progress!

For additional information on the FIRST LEGO League, visit www.FirstLegoLeague.org.

Rivermont Collegiate, located in Bettendorf, is the Quad Cities' only private, independent, nonsectarian college prep school for students in preschool through 12th grade.

 

For additional information on Rivermont Collegiate, contact Cindy Murray at (563) 359-1366 ext. 302 or murray@rvmt.org and visit us on the web at www.rvmt.org!

by Senator Tom Harkin

September marks the first full month of the new school year in Iowa, which means that around the state, kids are putting books in their bags, teachers are sketching out lesson plans and administrators are walking the halls, all excited for the school year ahead.

As I prepare for the start of fall here in Washington D.C., I would personally like to welcome back to school all the students in Iowa, from those headed to their very first day to the students attending our great colleges and universities. Education is essential to our state and Iowans know and value the importance our education system gives to our children.

September is also a time to remember that even as we grow older, learning never stops. And a valuable resource to continue learning is the Library of Congress, where tools are available to teachers, students and their families online at www.loc.gov.

The Library of Congress posts historical pictures, documents and many other resources for of all students, young and old. Pieces from the Civil War, works of art from the American Revolution, personal histories of those who experienced the Civil Rights Movement, along with maps, photographs and historical artifacts, are part of over 19 million primary sources available online. And the information is completely free of charge.

The Library also has a page dedicated to teachers. At www.loc.gov/teachers, educators can access tutorials, webcasts, interactive activities and standard-based lesson plans based on grade level. In short, the Library of Congress has put together a great resource for students and faculty and I highly recommend taking a look at the website.

As Iowans start a new school year, I wish all of the administrators, students and teachers good luck and a successful year ahead.

A PDF version of the column is available by clicking here.

Most adults recall a time when summer meant endless hours of outdoor play (and the start of school the confinement of a classroom) - but most American children today spend the majority of summer indoors.  Studies show the average American child between the ages of 8 and 18 spends nearly eight hours per day, year round, indoors with televisions, computers, and video games.  The costs of this "indoor childhood" run the gamut from health problems to a reduced ability to relate to peers and adults and inability to concentrate.  Solutions to this trend are fairly simple, such as including unstructured time outdoors in a child's daily routine, as well as more outdoor education in schools.  The National Wildlife Federation campaign, Be Out There, aims to ensure that every child gets a daily "Green Hour" - 60 minutes of exposure to active outdoor play and/or nature.  Studies show academic performance in science, math, English, and social studies, as well as a sense of responsibility to their surroundings, increase when students have hands-on experiences with nature.  In addition, exposure to natural settings has shown to reduce symptoms of ADHD, anxiety, and depression in children.  Be Out There provides practical tools for families and schools to make being outdoors a fun, automatic part of everyday life and return to America's children what they don't even know they've lost: their connection to the natural world!

At Rivermont Collegiate, education goes well beyond the classroom!  Rivermont students are provided a solid foundation in quantitative knowledge and written expression, while also completing a series of requirements that challenge biases, encourage personal expression, promote tolerance, and help students discover courage and inspiration.  Rivermont is excited to announce the addition of a formal Outdoor Education Program to the Upper School for the 2011-12 school year!  Students in grades 9-12 will be traveling to Camp Manito-wish in upper Wisconsin this September, experiencing a week of supervised physical challenges and varied living conditions, while learning to work with each other in overcoming physical, mental, and emotional obstacles.  The Outdoor Education Program at Rivermont is designed to challenge students to grow in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with one another.  Furthermore, thanks to the generosity of individuals, groups, and foundations, Rivermont is able to offer this inaugural program at no additional charge to students!

Rivermont Collegiate, located in Bettendorf, is the Quad Cities' only private, independent, multicultural college preparatory school for students in preschool through twelfth grade.  What are you waiting for?  Explore what Rivermont has to offer!  Drop in for Open Tours on Tuesday, September 6^th from 8:30-10:00 a.m. No appointment necessary!  This casual event gives families the opportunity to tour campus and explore our philosophy and programs.

Rivermont Collegiate is located at 1821 Sunset Drive, directly off 18^th Street behind K&K Hardware in Bettendorf.  Visit us online at www.rvmt.org!  For additional information on Rivermont Collegiate or Tuesday's Open Tours, contact Cindy Murray at (563) 359-1366 ext. 302 or murray@rvmt.org.

For additional information on the National Wildlife Federation's Be Out There and Green Hour campaigns, visit www.greenhour.org.  For additional information on Camp Manito-wish, visit www.manito-wish.org.

 

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