Ring-a-ling-ling

What’s that noise? Is that the school bell I hear? Why, yes, I believe it is. Teachers and students around Cincinnati are heading back to the classroom. Kids will be sharing stories of their summer vacation trips, sharing details about their new clothes or haircuts, and sharing their excitement about new teachers and classmates.

However, everything they share is not good. When kids are in prolonged close contact like they are in the classroom, germs and bacteria are shared too. They breathe the same air, touch the same chairs and desks, eat their lunches at the same cafeteria tables and use the same restrooms. Colds and viruses begin making the rounds.

In collaboration with Cincinnati Public Schools, CET taped a series of professional development videos featuring local health officials, health care professionals and public health sanitarians whose goals are to help ensure safe and healthy school environments. In these videos, they share important information that will help administrators, teachers and parents help kids minimize the spread of germs and bacteria while at school.

Visit our Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools webpage to learn more.

- Diane

Reading Rainbow coming to the end of its long run

When CET changes its kids programming line-up for Fall, one mainstay of PBS Kids programming will be noticeably missing. I’m referring to Reading Rainbow. It’s sad, but true - the end of watching Reading Rainbow on PBS with your kids is official: the rights expire on August 28, 2009. You’ll no longer be able to tune into Reading Rainbow on CET or any of the other local public television stations after this date. For more information and details check out an article at Current.org, the public media news website.

There is no official word yet on the status of the Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest, but the Current.org article gives the most up to date information available. What do you think? Will you be sad about the absence of Reading Rainbow on TV? Would you be crushed if the contest fell by the wayside as well?

For the time being, you can watch episodes of Reading Rainbow on CET Kids (Time Warner Cable channel 931) weekdays at 10am, 2pm, 6pm, and 10pm and on Saturdays at 6am. Tape these episodes while you can!

-Amanda

Another Tool in the Toolkit

Are you looking for a fun and effective way to teach your students about fractals? Maybe you would like to help them better understand the tough economic times our world is going through now by learning more about the Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression? Or you might be interested in leading them in an exploration of the arts as a universal language that belongs to all mankind?

No matter what subject you teach, what age range of students you work with, or where you teach, PBS Teachers brings you a multitude of multimedia teaching tools that will help you reach all the learners in your classroom. Video, audio, interactive online activities, discussion starters and cross-curricular standards-based lesson plans are available at no cost. You can search for PBS programs by title and then find the related educators’ materials or you can search by subject area and then find PBS programs that help you teach the concept.

As you approach a new school year, check out PBS Teachers and find some new tools for your toolkit.

- Diane