Parent Resources
The following is a list of resources for parents. Check back often as the list changes often.
Coping with Natural Disasters:
Helping children feel safe
LINK
Moms like Me
Register and meet with other Moms from your area.
LINK
Scholarship Season Begins for Oregon Students: One application for more than 400 Scholarship Programs
The Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) has announced the opening of its scholarship application season. The state agency administers more than 400 private scholarship programs and public grant programs to help students finance their college education. Searching and applying for these scholarships is free, according to Vicki Merkel, Scholarship and Access Program Director at OSAC. Students can search and apply online for all 400 scholarships using OSAC’s electronic application known as the eApp, available at www.GetCollegeFunds.org.
To help students apply online OSAC produced the 2010-11 Oregon Scholarship eApp Workbook and sent copies to all Oregon high schools, colleges, libraries, and employment offices. The workbook and a detailed scholarship catalog are also available online. The workbook also includes a worksheet that mirrors the eApp and is designed to help students prepare information before entering their data online. It helps minimize errors that can lead to applications being rejected and provides an efficient way to transfer information and a list of scholarships to the online application. Last year 99% of students applied online however students without internet access can request a paper application by contacting OSAC at 800-452-8807.
The Chalkboard Project http://www.chalkboardproject.org
Launched in 2004, the Chalkboard Project is a non-profit, non-partisan organization working to unite Oregonians to make our K-12 public schools among the nation’s best. We aim to help create a more informed and engaged public that understands and addresses the tough choices and trade-offs required to build strong schools.
Chalkboard is the first initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon, a collaboration of six of Oregon’s leading foundations
Reading for All http://www.reading4all.com/index.asp
The Marion County Children & Families Commission promotes “Reading for All” as a method to support student success, a necessary component for lifelong success. When all students learn to read and see the adults around them reading, they will be more likely to develop the kind of critical thinking that will help them to stay in school, succeed in life, and contribute positively to the community.
The Hands Project
To educate each person in every community about their moral and legal right to live free of abuse and violence. The Hands & Words Are Not For Hurting Project is an effective tool and a key piece in the puzzle of abuse and violence prevention education.
Enrichment Academy Scholarships
To apply for a scholarship, click here.
Get smart about Kids and Media!
Cyberbullying. Social Networking. Cell Phones. Video Gaming. Now more than ever, kids are consuing and creating media 24/7.
Go to www.commonsensemedia.org to get free information about how to help you raise smart, responsible kids.
Oregon Department of Education Names
Oregon Teacher of the Year
West Salem High School's Michael Lampert, a Physics teacher, was designated 2008-09 Teacher of the Year by the Oregon Department of Education. Lampert recommends the following websites:
First Lego Robotics www.usfirst.org
ExploraVision Awards www.exploravision.org
Oregon Academic Decathlon www.orad.us
Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams http://web.mit.edu/inventeams
Earth Watch Institute www.earthwatch.org
High Five Challenge www.high-five.com
National Ocean Sciences Bowl www.oceanleadership.org/link/nosb
BPA Science Bowl www.bpa.gov/corporate/education/sciencebowl/
Murdock Trust Charitable Grants www.murdock-trust.org
Toyota TAPESTRY Grants www.nsta.org/pd/tapestry/
Science in Africa www.armadaproject.org
Science in Antarctica http://tea.armadaproject.org
Poetry Out Loud
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation present Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, in partnership with the Oregon Arts Commission. Schools are invited to adopt the 2008 - 2009 Poetry Out Loud curriculum, present school-wide contests, and advance to the state competition on Saturday, March 14, 2009 in Salem. Oregon’s state champion will advance to the National Finals, April 26-28, 2009 in Washington, DC. Oregon’s 2008 Champion, Sophia Soberon from Brookings-Harbor High, won second place at the national contest, which included a $10,000 scholarship.
An Oregon Poetry Out Loud curriculum guide will be available online by mid-September at www.oregonartscommission.org. The national Poetry Out Loud website offers details of the contest and suggestions of how to incorporate poetry into the classroom: www.poetryoutloud.org. Deadline for school registration has been extended to November 26.
To register, or for more information, contact Deb Vaughn, arts education coordinator, Oregon Arts Commission at deborah.vaughn@state.or.us or 503-986-0085.
A Call for Writing-November 21 Deadline
VSA arts www.vsarts.org, an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is accepting short works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for publication in an online literary journal on the theme "At Second Glance." Entries must reach VSA arts on or before Friday, November 21, 2008. The call is open to students with disabilities and students who have connections to people with disabilities. Students must be between the ages of 11 and 18 years. Submissions must relate to the theme "At Second Glance." Prompts are available at the website, including the following: Describe how a second opportunity to experience a sound, smell, sight, event, or personal interaction led you to change your perception or opinion. Writing may be submitted in any language. A total of two entries per student are allowed: one fiction or nonfiction piece and one poem. See www.VSAarts.org for complete guidelines and entry / publishing information. The call for writing is a tool to encourage educators to explore creative writing in their classrooms and learning environments. It is an opportunity to draw out the expressive minds of students of all abilities through the written word, while also addressing education standards in reading and writing. Writing guides are available online at www.vsarts.org under Resources for Educators and Parents.
Rubber Band Contest
The Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS), The Akron Global Polymer Academy, and The University of Akron are hosting the first-ever Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors to encourage students in grades 5-8 to demonstrate their creativity and ingenuity by creating an invention that incorporates the use of rubber bands. Young Inventors must be students in grades 5 to 8 for the school year 2008-2009, and original inventions must incorporate the use of rubber bands. Deadline for all contest entries is November 14, 2008.
"Education is our greatest opportunity to give an irrevocable gift to the next generation."
— Ernie Fletcher
Try to Learn Something New Every Day.
