PAR Course and Arbor Trail Update

The FGWS Arbor Trail PAR and Golf Course is well under way. Thanks to a lot of people, the trees are getting planted, the PAR Course is coming together, and the track and field project is coming along. The whole track and field project has been supported by so many people in the community and beyond-Public Health, Shasta County, Tobacco Grant, Education First Foundation, Redding Rancheria, Dave Britton Memorial Fund, Community events, donations, and more... The work party to plant the 60 or so trees and set the 38 post necessary for the PAR course will be Saturday morning at 7:30. See ya then.

Breakfast for All

Numerous studies have demonstrated that students who eat breakfast at school show significant improvement in achievement test scores, punctuality, attendance, and classroom behavior.

The Civil War Came Alive for FGWS

The Civil War re-enactment was great. Students went to different stations that taught different aspects of the war. There's a slideshow at this site.

Teaching languages to young children may improve math, reading test scores.

Teacher Magazine (11/7, Manzo) reported, "Thousands of" Glastonbury (Connecticut) Public School District's "students have built proficiency in" languages ranging from Spanish to Mandarin Chinese, beginning as early as second grade. The language program "is now viewed as a model for meeting the demand for graduates with language skills and an understanding of other countries and cultures." At a time when many schools are "beefing up instruction in mathematics, reading, and to a lesser extent, science, to meet the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind Act," many schools are reluctant to add language classes for young children. But advocates believe that foreign language skills are rapidly growing vital in a globalized economy, and that students learn languages more easily in elementary school than in later years. "Several research studies since the 1990s have concluded that elementary pupils learning a foreign language performed better on standardized tests in math and reading than their peers who were not in such classes."

From the Open Bell email, an affiliate of USAToday