Category Archives: Kid’s News
Bake, Baby, Bake!
From Cranston Councilman-Elect Steve Stycos (Congratulations, Steve! I am proud to have worked for your campaign!), some advice for the season and news of upcoming events:
BAKE, BABY, BAKE
The Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market will have plenty of good food left this Saturday, Saturday November 13 and at our big final Thanksgiving market Saturday November 20.
It’s getting cold, so it is a good time to bake and keep your kitchen warm too. Barden Orchards has several varieties of apples for pies or crisps. The Xiongs have potatoes, carrots and greens. Zephyr Farm has eggs, onions and squash for frittatas. Bob Fratantuono has green house tomatoes. Bernie Bieder has honey.
The recently concluded political campaign was loaded with talk about supporting small business, but the best way to help small businesses is to buy local. Many other Rhode Island markets close at Halloween, but we stay open for another three weeks of growing and buying local.
UPCOMING HALL LIBRARY EVENTS
Saturday November 6th, 10 AM-12 PM: Read to a Dog. Children in grades 1 and up are invited to read to Abby, a certified therapy dog. Space is limited. Call Megan at the Hall Library to register for a time slot.
Sunday November 7th, 2 PM: The “Jazz in the Hall” series concludes with a newly formed band from the Edgewood area. The Philtones play everything from the American Songbook to bebop classics. The band is made up of Phil Mullen, sax; Phil Plant, guitar, Bob Asprinio, bass; and Rick Couto, on the drums. The audience will enjoy their enthusiastic and professional style.
Wednesday November 17th, 6:30 PM: Reading in the Hall. The library book discussion group will discuss This I believe: the personal philosophies of remarkable men and women edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman. Based on the National Public Radio series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty essayists from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins the book’s title.
See you Saturday at the market.
I especially like the library event for kids to read to Abby, the certified therapy dog! Sounds like fun!
Energy Independence Day in RI — July 11
It’s fun, outdoors, educational and has food and music — what could be better? Energy Independence Day in Rhode Island is just 10 Days away! More information is available at the event website.
Chipotle Chips in For Better School Lunches
One of the better food places to locate in Cranston of late is the Chipotle in Garden City. So imagine my delight when I heard that they are sponsoring a campaign to give $50,000 to a fund to improve the quality of school lunches. From a blog called Love and Trash:
“We don’t like junk. Not in our inboxes and not in our food.” – that’s the campaign slogan. Participation is simple: when you get a junk email, you forward it to nojunk@chipotlejunk.com. For every 100,000 emails they receive, they’ll give $10,000 to The Lunch Box to advocate and educate for better school food. Their top limit: $50,000.
Sounds good to me. I would LOVE to see the quality of school lunches improve — there is so much long-term value in feeding our children well.
Educate Yourself to Protect Your Body: Personal Care Products May Contain Toxins
Since 2004 the Environmental Working Group (EWG) launched Skin Deep, an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products. The aim was to fill in where companies and the government leave off: companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish, and our government doesn’t require companies to test products for safety before they’re sold.
EWG’s scientists built Skin Deep to be a one-of-a-kind resource. Take your shampoo or your child’s lip gloss or moisturizer and read more about the danger here: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/. Our epidermis is the largest body organ and approximately 60% of what we put on our bodies is absorbing these toxic ingredients. Those who know me know that I am committed to researching and sharing information about potentially harmful facts. We all are trying to attain a healthy lifestyle and yet, we daily sabotage our bodies (through hair, hygiene, and skincare products) with carcinogens so monstrous they are literally harming our future abilities to procreate, fight off cancers and the like.
It is sickening that the Personal Care Industry is undermining our abilities to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Cancer has become a common affliction or fatality and will further continue to rise. Science reflects that toxins sit in the fatty cells of our bodies (i.e., breasts). Water, food, air, materials and personal care products all have toxins and this is completely unacceptable when you do the math and see how a combination has violated the EPA and FDA acceptable toxin limits.
I plan to update the blog with information to aid you in making better choices. In doing so, I am hopeful to you will see the damage that is being done and make a lifestyle change. For now, here are some facts to ponder.
U.S. President Barack Obama started to take action and recognizing that toxic chemicals exist in most of our skin care products and are penetrating our skin and causing cancer and reproductive problems. He stated that he wants to change the current laws in order for the government to start properly assessing the chemicals that go in our products and not allow any that have risk associated with them, and he’s not meaning tweaking ~ rather, a complete overhaul.
Currently 1,100 toxic ingredients which are banned in Europe but we allow them here. I have studied toxins for years and I am sick to death of what has only been available to my children.
Cancer is amongst us, therefore you must ask yourself… can we really be sure of the toxins we have been absorbing through our skin, and that they have no inpact on our other means of ingestion such as food, air and vaccines/medicines? Work with me and let us remove one of the straws from the camels back, and alter the equation to a lesser number.
December 1, 2009 in Barrington, Rhode Island ~ 15 year old Ava Anderson teamed up with her mother, Kim Anderson and they launched a first of its kind “Ava Anderson Non-Toxic” product line (http://www.avaandersonnontoxic.com/). Ava read this article last year (http://www.ewg.org/reports/teens) and was driven to find an answer as to the toxic potions available and make them truly “free” of such harmful ingredients. Recently, Ava was asked to go before Congress and testify, and further plead for the Cosmetic Industry to change in support of President Obama suggested legislation in September 2009. For now, I would just like the opportunity to inform people as I feel “Knowledge is power, and Power is Knowledge”, and our children depend on us to make wise choices. I pledge to you that this is about a toxic message, which you need to unravel. Please take one minute to look at some of your products.
Be well, Suzanne Arena
Livestream of Obama’s Speech to School Children
UPDATE: Video of the President’s speech to school children is available here. I thought it was an incredible speech, and I agree with Nancy that students who got to see it live were fortunate to participate in an event that probably made them feel more connected to the President and his amazing life story. This was also the most social-work-friendly Presidential speech I have ever heard. Between inspiring stories of foster children succeeding academically, to very personal messages of the difficulties of education, to reminders to wash your hands, and a pre-speech reminder to kids about not putting anything bad on Facebook — this national pep talk had it all!
ORIGINAL POST: The White House is providing live stream of the President’s speech to school children here.
You can also watch the President’s speech to children live at 12 noon here.
If you are on Facebook, you can also watch the video and participate in the Facebook discussion of it here.
Ascension Receives $11,000 Grant for Children’s Music Program
In the good news department, Church of the Ascension (interview with Rector of Ascension Greg Lisby) in Cranston will be receiving $11,000 from the Episcopal Diocese to start a children’s music program.
This is wonderful news. Speaking personally, it has been a tremendous joy to watch my older daughter develop her musical skills as a member of the St. Cecilia choir at St. Luke’s in East Greenwich. There are 54 choristers in the choir at St. Luke’s and they have done some wonderful singing this year, both in church and in the production of their Cantata, “The Rock Slinger and His Greatest Hit.” The children are also instructed in music theory following the Royal School of Church Music curriculum.
Ascension is hoping to begin a program modeled on the successful program at St. Luke’s. Stay tuned for updates and announcements as we invite the community to participate in and benefit from this program. For those parents in Cranston who feel like they want their children to have more education in music than they get in public school, the program starting at Ascension may be the place to come.
On a side note, Church of Ascension has become a Goodsearch charity. Click on this link to start Goodsearching to benefit Church of the Ascension.
E-News from Church of the Ascension
I started an interview with the pastor of my church, Fr. Greg Lisby, and then, in the midst of the interview, his laptop (with all his labor-intensive answers to my questions, as well as many of his sermons and many other precious things) was stolen. So we are in the process of re-interviewing.
I drove by the Lutheran church in Frankenmuth, Michigan many times over the past several days (we were visiting family there) and the marquee said, “Pray to God daily — he has answers!” Hopefully he can supply some answers for Greg to make it easy for him to redo the interview — and may God bless that poor soul who stole the laptop. And may the laptop turn up soon at a pawn shop, unerased.
In lieu of a full interview with Fr. Lisby, I am currently providing a small excerpt from the E-News with Church of the Ascension, which highlights Evensong, the performance of the diocesan youth choir at St. Luke’s this Sunday at 5 pm:
Youth Choir Festival Evensong
Please join with children of Church of the Ascension who will be singing in the Diocesan Youth Choir on Sunday, April 26th @ 5PM, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Greenwich, RI.
The combined choirs from around the diocese all use the Royal School of Church Music Program that our parish has applied for a grant to start this Fall.
See you there! Also, you may be interested in learning about how to start a music program at your own church. If so:
If you are interested in learning more about this program, you are invited on Saturday, April 25th @ 11AM (St. Luke’s, East Greenwich) to learn more about this exciting program. The national director of the Royal Music program, Dr. Cynthia DeDakis, will present information on how parishes can start this wonderful music program for children in their parishes.
PS. While we await the interview, here is a picture of Fr. Greg with his younger soon-to-be fully adopted daughter, Miriam.
Help a Child’s Dream Live On
Every so often, I find a story that really touches me in the news. One that isn’t full of violence, destruction or hatred. Although the story of Matthew McIntyr’s wish to help adopted children, like himself, is not the one that his family would have necessarily written since Matthew passed away at age 9 last June; they are doing all they can to make his wish of helping other children in need of adoption a reality.
The McIntyre family of Cranston adopted Matthew, a former resident of Boys Town in Portsmouth, RI, in 2003. He had been abused as a small child and through Boys Town he became a member of the McIntyre family. After he passed away in June 2008, his family established the Matthew McIntyre Memorial Fund to assist children like him who are placed at Boys Town and hope to make the transition to a family of their own.
The Fund’s first event will be held Friday, February 27 at 6:30pm at the West Valley Inn and the money raised at the dinner will assist Boys Town to provide the opportunity for children to experience recreational, educational and other activities that fall outside of the Portsmouth facility’s budget.
For more information about the Fund or to reserve tickets for Friday’s dinner, please visit www.MatthewMcIntyreMemorial.com or contact Denise or Paul McIntyre at 828-0001.
Edutopia: New Media’s Potential to Improve Education
(Cross-posted from my private practice site.)
Edutopia has a fantastic June issue with a focus on using new media in education. In particular, they have a video about Albano Berberi, a blind high school student who uses assistive technology to do things like computer programming, video-game playing, and composing musical scores that he then performs on violin. Here is a link to the video.
Another interesting short article, “Wii Love Learning,” discusses the use of the Nintendo Wii in an Indiana elementary school. The educational potential of the Wii is just beginning to be recognized. Expect more uses for this versatile high tech game platform in the future.
But also, remember to unplug! The need for exercise in our culture — real live running around and engaging in activities that stretch and build muscle, raise your heart rate, your pulse, and all the rest, are just as important as ever. As this article indicates, while there is evidence that many things can enhance cognitive functioning, the one thing with the strongest research base indicating positive brain functioning enhancement is exercise.
Also, the need for face-to-face communication and relationships is still essential. The experience of having a conversation with someone when you can look into their eyes is still something we all need, and no amount of social utility networks and blog surfing can replace this.
