Prepare Your Family for the Winter Season!

Greater Vancouver is known for is unpredictable weather, but this year we have been hearing many predictions that it may be one of our coldest winters in 20 years [1]. Winter is one of the favourite seasons for kids – playing around in the snow and enjoying all the holiday festivities! However, for parents it may be quite the challenge without key preparations.

Stay Warm:

Playing in around in the snow and going out into the cold weather means dressing up your children appropriately. This will keep them warm and they will be less likely to get sick. Here is a video for some tips on clothing layering essentials:

It is also important to prepare your home and vehicles for possible winter storms. Planning ahead will allow you to comfortable and safely carry on during the winter season. Here are some tips to help get winter-ready and fun safe! [2]

Home:

• Shovel the snow on your driveway and sidewalk for fellow neighbours to walk safely
• Keep children safe; don’t let them play in roadside snow piles
• Have your furnace inspected
• Shut off outside water before snow arrives
• Assess the trees on your property and trim dead branches to reduce the danger of them falling on power lines or your house during a storm
• Have a flashlight, electric lantern, and extra batteries in the house
• Consider an alternative safe heating system

Vehicles:

Colder temperatures demand a lot of your vehicle and it is important to get you and your family around safely. Visit a qualified technician to ensure your vehicle is in good working condition, and when it snows – drive when necessary and only with good winter tires. Here are some items to keep in you car in the case of an emergency:

• Jumper cables
• Shovel
• Traction pads or chains
• Ice scraper
• Flare
• Blanket, warm gloves and boots
• First aid kit
• Flashlight
• Cell phone

For more information on emergency preparedness, please visit these websites:

Provincial Emergency Program

Port Coquitlam Winter Safety

Fortis BC

I wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday!

Cheers,

Krystal :)

References:

[1] The Vancouver Sun (2011). BC winter forecast to be coldest on record. Retrieved from http://www.vancouversun.com/winter+forecast+coldest+record/5530689/story.html

[2] Port Coquitlam (2010). Prepare for winter. Retrieved from http://www.portcoquitlam.ca/City_Hall/City_Departments/Fire___Emergency_Services/Emergency_Preparedness/Prepare_For_Winter.htm

Bike Safety

Why Ride your Bike

Cycling to school is a great way to keep kids active and incorporating exercise into daily life has several health benefits. Some of these health benefits include stress reduction and increased energy levels, two important elements for a learning environment. Cycling is practical and cost effective because you can avoid traffic and you don’t have to pay for gas.

Bike Check

Before you let your kids ride their bikes, make sure the bike is safe to ride. Check that the wheels are in good working condition and that tire pressure is correct. Also check that the brakes are in good working condition. It is also helpful to keep your bike indoors to prevent rusting and weathering. Other things to inspect on the bike include lights and reflectors, pedals, the bike seat, chain sprocket and gears.

Helmet safety and importance

A helmet should be worn at all times while riding a bike. Even if a child is using training wheels they can still fall and hit their head. In BC, it is a mandatory to wear a bicycle helmet. 80% of all
bicycle related deaths are caused by head injuries and 85% of serious head injuries can be prevented by wearing a bicycle helmet. It is not only important to wear your helmet but wearing it properly is even more important. A helmet should sit level and firmly on your head. It should not be tilted in any direction. The straps on the sides of the helmet in the shape of a “Y” clip underneath the chin making sure that the strap is tight. It is one thing to fall off your bike and skin your knees or break a bone which can cause some temporary damage, but injuries
to your head can lead to permanent injury or even death. WEAR A HELMET!

General Bike Safety Tips

-wear comfortable clothing and reflectors
-wear closed toed shoes
-wear elbow pads and knee pads for extra protection
-ride in a group
-use hand signals
-ride on the shoulder of the road
-shoulder check when making turns
-WALK your bike across the street do not RIDE it across the street
-follow all traffic laws
-bike must have a bell or horn
-your bike must have at least one break system
-make eye contact with drivers of approaching vehicles
-do not listen to your ipod or talk on the phone while riding your bike

Hand Signals

In order for motor vehicles to know what your next move will be you need to use some basic hand signals. With your left hand you can signal a right hand turn, left hand turn and stop. Eye contact with motor vehicles is very important and look both ways several times before crossing the street.

Further Information

http://www.bikesense.bc.ca/

http://www.lexleeskids.org/category/bike-safety

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dStGTWZlZHY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vd7_3Kp3h8

By: Megan Durrant

References

Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.bikesense.bc.ca/

Lexlee’s Kids, Inc. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.lexleeskids.org/category/bike-safety

Unity is Strength

- Taiwan students break mass violin-playing record

Fall 2011, there were 4,645 Taiwanese students, coming from 172 elementary and junior high schools playing the violin to set a new Guinness World Record for mass violin-playing. I was amazed by this event because I often hear people telling me how difficult it is to do good or how costly it would be. This event has clearly demonstrated that if there is a will, there is a way.

In Taiwan, music education or any extra curriculum activities have been privileges for the rich because there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Many elementary students cannot afford the lunch program that schools offer which cost approximately $ 20 per month. It may not seem like a big number but to many households, it is a huge burden because the starting salary of an average clerk is around $800, and many households have lower income than that. These students are able to learn a musical instrument because the local government, schools and teachers sacrificed their own time to provide these students with the opportunity. It just comes to show that wealth does not always determine the outcome of our life. This programme was successful because a lot of people in the community put in the effort to support it. Much like Central, where amazing things are happening every day, all it requires us to do is put in the effort to build that environment for the children.

By: Steven Su

Music in the Classroom

Hello readers!

My name is Keenan Federico and I have been working alongside Cathy Hoang, teaching music to Central Elementary school students every Wednesday since the beginning of September 2011. I have been paired up with Cathy because of my previous experience playing music; during my late teens I played bass in a touring musical act titled, Lights Below. Although my music skills are not traditional by any means, Cathy and I have effectively excited the children’s interest in music through interactions with my own personal guitar and bass as well with the use of more traditional instruments such as the glockenspiel and the bongo drums.

As you may or may not know, this is the first year that music has been offered at Central Elementary, and I must say that the kids are naturals! Children of all age groups are participating and becoming engaged with the musical experience. The younger students are focusing on movement based activities, such as acting out the way that a sound makes them feel. The younger grades are also training their ears to decipher what instruments are being played and what “mood” do the instruments set. The older grades are very much enjoying the action based music listening activities where they follow along to music and act out scenes and scenarios. Although the majority of these students have not participated in a music class before, all of them are picking it up flawlessly and very little recap is needed to remind them of the activities. Also, many students walk in to class requesting to do activities they partook in the week prior; suggesting that music class is something they look forward to experiencing!

All grades are learning memorization and rhythm patterns as well. Cathy has been assessing their skills in this department and there have been some interesting results. Some children are obviously more inclined than others to participate, however most are showing very promising qualities. Singing, pitch-matching, and rhythm keeping are all skills that these students are learning and they seem to personally want to get better at, and they seem to show imporvements every class.

In the near future, a dance instructor will be incorporated into music class and teach the children how to “get there groove on”. Although I will not be there to see this first-hand, I know that the children will enjoy this (they love interacting with the music).

If parents of children from Central Elementary would like to speak with me personally regarding the music program, I would love to chat (kfederic@sfu.ca).

Thanks for taking the time to read the blog.

Keenan.

Enjoy the great Oliver Sacks as he attempts to understand why some people cannot decipher music at all, while other respond to even the slightest nuance.

CYBERBULLYING: A New Type of Bullying?

Are cyberbullies the new type of bullies?

According to i-SAFE [1] bullying is no longer about the strong picking on the weak in the schoolyard. With the rapidly growing and easy use of technology, students now have access to instant messaging (text messaging or online), e-mails, chat rooms, and websites such as Facebook and Twitter to humiliate a peer. Statistics have shown that 21% of kids have received mean or threatening e-mails or other messages but what is more shocking is that 53% of kids have admitted having said something mean or hurtful to another person online and more than 1 in 3 have done it more than once. Cyberbullying can be seen as worse than regular physical and verbal bullying at school. This is because cyber bullying does not end at school, it can stick with the child 24 hours a day. In many cases kids often change roles, going from victim to bully and back again [2]. Cyberbullying is usually not a one time communication incidence, it is usually an ongoing process over time [2]. In some instances this has gotten to the extreme where children have committed suicide [2].

Why kids cyberbully:

• Motivated by anger, revenge or frustration
• Entertainment due to boredom
• Technology is available to them
• For laughs or to get a reaction
• To torment others and ego
• To remind others of their own social standing
• Think they are righting wrongs and standing up for others

Everyone's motive are different, there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to cyberbullying. Motives, nature of cybercommunications, demographic and profile of a cyberbully usually differ from their offline counterpart. Which means that anyone can be a cyberbully because the stereotypes are not there.

How to prevent cyberbullying:

• Educate kids about the consequences (losing their accounts)
• Teaching them to respect others
• Keep personal information private
• Take a stand against bullying of all kinds
• Teach kids to not stand silently while others are being bullied
• Have the parents be the one trusted place kids can go to talk about bullying
• Step away from the computer or cellphone
• Avoid the overuse of social media

STOP! BLOCK! and TELL!

STOP! - Don't do anything. Take 5 minutes to calm down.

BLOCK! - Block the cyberbully or limit all communications to those on your friend list.

TELL! - Tell a trusted adult, you don't have to face this alone.

DON'T BE THE PROBLEM, BE THE SOLUTION!

Information and Help:

• http://www.antibullying.net/
• http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
• http://www.isafe.org/channels/sub.php?ch=op&sub_id=media_cyber_bullying
• http://kidshelpphone.ca/Teens/InfoBooth/Bullying.aspx?gclid=CLOu0vzHvqwCFawaQgodDn5Hnw
• You can call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868

By: Jaime Yen

References:

[1] i-SAFE. (2009). iSAFE The Leader in e-Safety Education. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://www.isafe.org/channels/sub.php?ch=op&sub_id=media_cyber_bullying

[2]STOP Cyberbullying. (2011). STOP Cyberbullying. Retrieved November 16, 2011, from http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html

Healthy Cookie Recipe! (Seriously)

Cookies. We all love 'em. Whether you're a child or an adult, cookies are a part of everyone's diet as a tasty snack or dessert. Unfortunately, they're not the healthiest. In today's society especially, we hear warning after warning of the skyrocketing statistics regarding diabetes, heart disease, and other cardiovascular ailments afflicting younger and younger populations. Everyday in the news, we hear more about our kids with conditions like Type II Diabetes - something that only older adults used to get. Being constantly bombarded by this depressing news can take the fun out of eating delectable treats like cookies. It's sad, really. Now every time we reach for them, many of us (moreso adults than kids) may find ourselves swamped with cautionary voices in our head alarming us of the high sugar/fat/carbohydrate content that could eventually lead to our doom.

Thankfully, I have a tasty, easy cookie recipe that uses no sugar, flour, or butter!
Before I give you the recipe, though, I must share with you how much more important this recipe is than a diabetes preventive. For all those parents and guardians out there, cooking and baking with your children can be a great family bonding time. Baking cookies, for example, can be a fun activity where children can participate in some delicious hands-on learning. They can acquire many skills that can be transferred to other areas of learning. For example, by following a recipe, kids can learn how to read and follow directions correctly. Mathematics can be learned by measuring out all the ingredients. Furthermore, by baking with a family member, kids can partition the work accordingly and learn how to work as a team. Best of all, it's a great way for families to interact and share fun moments - something that always contributes positively to everyone's emotional well-being. :)

Now, for the recipe!

Ingredients:

- 3 ripened bananas (They must be ripe as they are softer & sweeter :) )
- 3 cups cooking oats
- 1/3 cup non-sweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup raisins (I know not everyone likes raisins so you can substitute this with other dried fruit, nuts, or semi-sweetened chocolate chips)
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
(Makes ~22)

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Peel & mash the bananas to a pulp. With a food processor, grind down 1 cup of the oats until they are the consistency of flour. Add that & the rest of the ingredients to the bananas & mix well with a spoon.

3. Use a large spoon & drop the batter on a parchment lined pan. Gently press the top of each cookie to flatten them a little.

4. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Remove & cool on racks.

Enjoy!



References:

http://www.bodyrock.tv/2011/06/20/banana-oatmeal-cookies-recipe/