NEW AND NOTEWORTHY P-8 educational apps recommendations

Fairmont’s own Technology Enhanced Curriculum Specialist, Dr. Rebecca Osborne, recently recommended several educational apps for enhancing a child’s learning experience. She also listed apps for helping students (and parents) stay organized and enable parents to monitor a child’s iPad use.

Academic apps and games play a major role in 21st century learning. The term “gamification” is used in educational circles to refer to electronic game platforms designed to help students learn and practice academic subjects. 

With access to laptops, tablets and smartphones in the classroom and at home, teachers, students and families are integrating more digital tools into the learning process. The results include a significant increase in student motivation along with greater levels of engagement with teachers, other students and parents.

Academic Apps and Games:
Brainpop Jr - Elementary
Writing Wizard and Cursive Writing Wizard - P-2nd
Lobster Diver - Numberline Math app for 3-8
Tellagami and PuppetPals - Animation apps for all grade levels
Bill Nye the Science Guy - Elementary and JH science videos and virtual experiments

Getting Organized:
Evernote:Taking notes, tracking recipes and so much more (www.evernote.com for more info)
Gmail: Get your Gmail accounts on your iPad, real-time notifications, multiple account support and search across your entire inbox
Sunrise: Calendar with a variety of great features, including weather, directions and more.
Any.Do: Easy-to-use to-do list app

iPad Monitoring:

PeekTab - Monitor usage, pictures taken, etc.  (a bit pricey)

TimeLock: Limit usage of the iPad

Parents can also see purchases made in the App Store using these instructions.

Contributed by Doug Fleischli

SNACKTIME healthy eating during Halloween

Your children can still enjoy Halloween without splurging on mounds of chocolate and sugary snacks. With imagination and a bit of effort, creating spooky treats with your children can be fun and contribute nutritional value.  

Here are a few creative and creepy Halloween Treats that will bring laughter to your whole family. 

Spider Deviled Eggs-Make deviled eggs and fill as usual but decorate as spiders by using a black olive, black beet or cooked purple potato to create the "body" of the spider.  Use the same food to create the "legs" by slicing the olive, beet or potato into four tiny strips on each side.

Spider Web Cheese Pizza-Make individual pizzas from mini-pitas or English muffin halves. Spread tomato sauce on the bottom and slice cheese into strips to create a "web." Use a black olive to create the body and legs of a "spider."

Severed Hot Dog fingers-Cut flour tortillas into strips and wrap a mini-hot dog (cocktail) in each. Dab the top with ketchup and place a slivered almond on top to create the finger nail. Serve with a bowl of red ketchup.

Festive Edible Pumpkin-Carefully peel a small orange and top with a celery stem to make it look just like a pumpkin.

Halloween Stuffed Peppers-Stuff orange peppers and bake as usual but cut out the eyes, nose and mouth to look like a pumpkin. 

Eyeball Platter #1-Spread peanut, almond, hazelnut spread or soy butter on a round cracker. Top with a slice of banana for the "eye" and place a raisin for the "pupil" in the center. Sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon to create a "bloodshot" effect.

Eyeball Platter #2-Slice hard boiled eggs with an egg slicer and place on round or oval crackers. Top with a piece of an olive for the "eye ball" and sprinkle with paprika for the "bloodshot" look.

Gelatin Jiggles-Use pre-formed Halloween molds and fill with colored gelatin.

Cookie Cutter Sandwiches-Use Halloween cookie cutter shapes to transform regular sandwiches into seasonal surprises.

Decorating food as a fun, seasonal treat is a creative way to get kids to sample a new food. Try some of these homemade Halloween recipes for your children or create your own!

Submitted by Leslie Kay-Getzinger, MS RD
Regional Dietitian for Nutrition Management Services Company

Image from Kid's Halloween 

FAIRMONT FIVE fun, non-spooky Halloween costume ideas

FROZEN Princess Anna

Toothless Dragon

What will you be for Halloween?

Halloween is a fun time to indulge in your playful imagination with your children. Here are some ideas to inspire your fun Halloween creativity side while steering away from the serious spooky look. 

1.     No-sew shark costume

2.       Easy fairy costume

3.       FROZEN Princess Anna   

4.       Toothless Dragon

5.       Easy Bat Wings

 Contributed by Doug Fleischli

Images from Truffles & Rain Boots and Tried & True

FRIDAY FOLDER october 10

Highlights of the week:

Students at the Historic Anaheim Campus having fun making Fall crafts!

For exciting news and updates from the campuses, check the weekly newsletters below:

Weekly Newsletters:

Anaheim Hills Campus 

Historic Anaheim Campus 

North Tustin Campus 

October Lunch Menus:

Anaheim Hills (2nd - 8th Grade)

Anaheim Hills (P - 1st Grade)

Historic Anaheim Preschool

Historic Anaheim Campus 

North Tustin Campus 

Contributed by Neha, Fairmont Private Schools

CHALK TALK why it’s cool being on a middle school debate team

North Tustin Debate Team with Debate Coach Ben Hughes
at the OC Debate League Championship, May 2014 

Strong friendships, refined public speaking, exceptional problem-solving and effective research strategies are a few of the many benefits, which result from participating in competitive middle school debate teams. As members of a debate team, students can pursue excellent opportunities to sharpen a host of life skills that extend well beyond high school and college.

Fairmont has a proven track record of helping students harness these distinctive qualities and achieve significant accomplishments. Last year, Fairmont students finished among the top 32 debate teams in the nation and achieved notable success in major Orange County Debate League Competitions.

Students with polished debate-related skills are destined to stand above the crowd. Mastering disciplines such as research/analysis of data, the articulation of theories and the persuasion of complex subjects give students a firm foundation of confidence to take on the world. These skills are valuable for obtaining scholarships, entering a highly respected college, and later on, fulfilling career advancement goals.

Along with these highly respected attributes, students also enjoy making new friends, traveling to debate tournaments and building a lifetime of good memories. Participating on a Fairmont Debate Team offers many rewarding experiences. For more information, please contact Middle School Debate Coach Ben Hughes (Fairmont North Tustin Campus) at bhughes@fairmontschools.com.

Contributed by Doug Fleischli, Fairmont Private Schools 

FRIDAY FOLDER october 3

Highlights of the week:

Color Fun Run 2014

The 2nd Annual Color Fun Run was a colorful success! The Parent Association's biggest fundraiser of the year always provides the kids a fun and exciting time.
 

Students began the day with stark white Color Run shirts and by the end of the day, they had colorful reminders of their laps around the track. After the running concluded, the students were treated to a Kona Ice snow cone to cool off! 

For more exciting news from the campuses, check the weekly newsletters below:

Weekly Newsletters:

Anaheim Hills Campus 

Historic Anaheim Campus 

North Tustin Campus 

October Lunch Menus:

Anaheim Hills (2nd - 8th Grade)

Anaheim Hills (P - 1st Grade)

Historic Anaheim Preschool

Historic Anaheim Campus 

North Tustin Campus 

Contributed by Neha, Fairmont Private Schools

FAIRMONT FIVE warming up for sports

During the busy school schedule, it’s sometimes hard to remember setting aside adequate time for effectively preparing your child for a game. Whether it’s soccer, football, tennis, softball or swimming, gearing up your child mentally and physically will help your child perform well and thoroughly enjoy the sport.

Here are five tips that will help your child get ready for athletic activities:

• Develop a consistent pre-game routine for your child. Help your son or daughter understand that playing in an organized sport involves more than showing up and playing. It’s about having fun, being on a team, practicing good sportsmanship and staying fit.
• Limit eating before a game. Serve foods high in protein such as oatmeal, eggs, nuts, banana or an energy bar three hours before a game and avoid sweets. Young athletes should not eat during the hour leading to a game. Keep your child well hydrated, drinking plenty of water the day before a game. Your child then needs to moderate water intake right before a game to prevent becoming sluggish with too many fluids. Please note there is no better substitute than good old H20.
• A good attitude for the game rests on a child’s self-esteem and encouragement. Give your child positive reinforcement and take time to listen to his/her concerns. The game is about fun and building confidence, as well as developing character.
• A good night of sleep not only helps learning, it is also essential for making quick moves on the playing field. Experts point out that a child needs eight to eleven hours of sleep each night to become fully rested. For many children, particularly on Friday nights, getting a full night sleep is not a priority. Encourage your child that sleep is important for maintaining peak performance and a healthy attitude. Taking a shower and reading a book is far more effective in helping a child relax compared to watching television or playing video games. 
• Warming up and stretching before practices and games helps reduce injuries such as muscle tears and sprains. Find out what types of warmups and stretching are used in the sport your child is playing in. Encourage making it a habit to always warmup and stretch before any physical activity to gain flexibility, blood flow to muscles, joint range and motion.
  
  
  Contributed by Doug Fleischli, Fairmont Private Schools
  Image Credit: Children's Directory.