Contest Opportunity: Warning--Fashion Risk!

Teach the world about the safety issues of wearing high heels--the shoes we love to hate. For contest rules and submission guidelines for your 90-second video, click here.

This Week's Big News is the Blizzard!

Mayor De Blasio says its likely to be the biggest storm ever to hit NYC

...And 2 for Business and Technology:
Apps for Messaging
A New Set of Goggles, This Time by Microsoft

This Week's Latest News

Tonight, Tues, 1/20 is President Obama's State of the Union Address, his annual assessment of the condition of our country, and his proposals for going forward. It'll be broadcasted on all the major networks, and begins at 9 PM.

And, here are 2 articles that provoke thought and discussion:

• The Dwarf Planets Pluto and Ceres
• A Selfie of Miss Israel and Miss Lebanon, Enemy Nations, Taken at the Miss Universe Pageant

The Latest in the News

Huge Crowds Gather in Paris, Including 40 World Leaders, in Response to the Terrorist Attack on the Satiric Magazine Charlie Hebdo

Jeb Bush: a Possible Republican Presidential Candidate?

Teens and Warnings About Indoor Tanning

All Students! Remember to check your Grade Page for current HW assignments 

Middle School Student Council Elections: October 6

• Grade 8 Take Note:
• SPEECHES are due on Monday Sept. 30
• Campaigning: Thursday, Friday, Monday, Oct. 2-3-6
• Good Luck!!

Looking forward to meeting and greeting parents at Open School Night!

• Monday, September 22
• 7 PM

• Students--encourage moms and dads to come!
• Parents--come say hello, and attend your daughter's classes

Welcome Back!

Its great to see everyone back in school, looking so well, and rested, and ready to go! We've all begun the year by studying the 5 Themes of Geography ...MR H/ELP... Going forward, Fifth Grade will focus on the Western Hemisphere, with primary emphasis on the broad sweep of American history. Sixth Grade will spend the year in the Eastern Hemisphere, learning about the origins of civilization, exploring the ancient world through to the modern. Seventh and Eighth Grades are rooted in American history: over the course of the 2 final years of elementary school, we delve more deeply into the events that have shaped our country, from its original peoples through to the present day. So --- Let's Go!

Recently, I subscribed to 2 newsletters, both easily googled, that parents may find both interesting and useful. The first is Mike Allen's news round-up from Politico: handy, capsulized versions of the day's news stories; and Annie Murphy Paul's Brilliant Report, which focuses on current brain research, including 'best learning practices.'

And finally, to inaugurate this academic year's weekly "Current News" links, 2 compelling articles from the NY Times about education:

Bill Gates and 'Big History'

The Benefits of Failure