Looking For Fun Activities For Vacation?

                      December School Vacation Week 

Not sure what to do with the kids during December vacation break? Audubon is the solution! Join in winter fun for all ages. Special programs and activities are available each day and are free with admission. Registration is not required. Nature crafts will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. each day, as well as a Nature Story at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 pm and an animal interview at 11:00 am. Special programs for children are also available each day at 1:30 p.m: December 27: Time to Sleep Nature Story and Puppet Show - This fun and interactive story about animal hibernation will come alive through an interactive puppet show. After the show stick around to explore some cool animal biofacts with our educator. December 28: Animals in Winter Tales and Trails - Learn how animals survive the winter through a fun and interactive nature story, then venture outside to see what truly happens in the winter wonderland. December 29: Fossil Foray - Play paleontologist as you sift out hidden fossils and treasures… Town/City (RI): Bristol. Categories: Creatures, Ecology/Natural History, Nature ~ Outdoors. Organized by: Audubon Society of RI. Group Homepage: http://www.asri.org. Intended Audience: General, Adults, Children, College/University, Families, Teens, Visitors/Tourists. ASRI Age Range: All ages. Member Fee: Free with Admission. Non-Member Fee: Free with Admission. Course Number: n/a. Calendar By: http://www.whatgrowsonri.com. Friday, December 28, 2012, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Audubon Environmental Education Center, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI.

Making Art Together: CityArts Celebrates Collaboration
Ongoing Exhibition: December 4, 2012 – January 14, 2013
Artists’ Reception: December 19, 2012 from 5pm – 7pm
Location: 25 Dorrance Street, 2nd Floor, Providence, RI 02903
Hours: Open to the public during City Hall business hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm; on the first and third Wednesday of every month, hours are extended until 7:00 p.m.
website: www.providenceri.com/ArtCultureTourism
Directions: For driving directions to City Hall, visit: http://www.providenceri.com/directions;  view bus routes to City Hall visit: http://www.providenceri.com/transit-providence.
Parking: Locate downtown parking at: http://parkdowntownprovidence.com/. Free parking will be available for the December 19 artists’ reception in the Greene Street parking lot behind the Joseph Doorley Municipal Building (444 Westminster Street).

http://kidoinfo.com/ri/

BUILD. LEARN. CREATE. HAVE FUN WITH KIDS WORKSHOPS!

• FREE hands-on workshops designed for children ages 5 - 12 offered the 1st Saturday of
  every month at all The Home Depot stores between 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Workshops teach children do-it-yourself skills, tool safety and instill a sense of pride
  and accomplishment.
• All kids get to keep their craft and receive a FREE Kids Workshop Apron, commemorative
  pin and certificate of achievement.

Botanical Center at Roger Williams Park
providenceri.com/botanical-center
At the Botanical Center, visitors can relax by a waterfall, enjoy the wonderful fragrance of flowers from around the world, take a child on a scavenger hunt or bring a camera or sketch pad. Admission: Adults: $3, Children 6-12: $1, Children under 6: Free

Try a Winter Sport

Ice skating, skiing, sledding and snow tubing are great ways to enjoy sports in the winter. Of course, these depend on the weather and how close you live to winter recreation areas. Probably the easiest and cheapest to try out is ice skating, since many cities have indoor rinks or seasonal outdoor skating areas especially around the holidays.

Try an Indoor Sport

Roller skating, swimming, basketball, ping pong and pool are a few indoor activities to try over your holiday break. If there’s a roller rink nearby, then it’s easy enough to find a place to skate. And some kid-friendly restaurants and arcades have ping pong and pool tables. However, it could be tricky—but not impossible-- to find places for indoor swimming and basketball unless you belong to a sports club. Some health clubs and YMCAs will sell day passes or trial memberships.

Kidoinfo.com

The December/January school break starts at the end of this week.  Looking for some family activities to do over vacation?  

Kidoinfo is Rhode Island’s guide to family fun, creative ideas, resources and local events. With fresh ideas everyday, we keep you in the know with DIY projects, kid-tested recipes, after-school activities, camps, story times and so much more. From new parents to grandparents, babies to tweens, we have something for everyone.
 

Quarter Two Progress Reports

Western Hills Middle School Progress Reports came out today, December 19^th.  How are you doing this quarter? 

If you are having difficulty in any of your subjects try some of these strategies:

• ·         Talk with the teacher about your grades

• ·         If extra help after school is offered take advantage of it

• ·         Take time to organize your planner and write assignments down in each class

• ·         Log into the Aspen system to see if you have any missing assignments

Use your vacation wisely to catch up on any work you may be missing.

Interested In Improving Your Grades?

                              Take Ten 

“Take Ten” is a daily, ten-minute routine that improves the two most important keys to improving grades: organization and learning. It works by using the first ten minutes of daily homework to organize papers and review notes:

-Two minutes to clean out the book bag and organize papers in folders or a binder.

-Eight minutes to review all notes and handouts that were distributed throughout the day.

This daily review transfers new information from short-term to long-term memory and dramatically reduces study time for tests. It also helps the brain process homework more efficiently, which means homework can be done faster.

http://studyskills.com/students/study-tips/from-failing-to-4-0/ - Source

Dirty Locker? Clean it up!

If you team is planning a locker clean-out before vacation take full advantage of the time:

Take out everything you have in your locker. Organize these things into three piles:

1. Everything you are keeping in your locker
2. A trash pile
3. A pile for things that you want to take home or have to turn in

Throw the trash pile away, and take care of the things you want to take home or turn in. Then sort the items you want to keep in your locker into groups again. Books, clothes, hygiene products, jewelry, and any other groups that you think are necessary.

Go through your locker every few weeks and purge of any old work, clutter and items to take home. This will prevent a build up of clutter and make it easier to find things. You can also take a few minutes every week to tidy up.

 
 A few more ideas are available on this site: http://www.wikihow.com/Organize-Your-Locker

2nd Quarter Progress Reports

      
       Are you up to date on all your assignments?


Progress reports will be distributed next Wednesday, December 19th.

If you are missing any assignments or tests (due to illness, etc.), it's advisable to check with your teachers and complete all assignments to be able to get credit for your work.  If necessary you may want to arrange a time after school to get extra help or to make up any tests. 

Your school counselor in guidance can help you with organizational skills, time management and study skills. 

Beating Homework and Study Fatigue

After a long day at school it is expected to be a little tired.  It is difficult for a "fried brain" to absorbs information.

• Break up your homework time into chunks. 
• Take regular breaks. Set a timer; take a 5- to 10-minute break for each hour you study. 
• Get up, stretch, and move around. 
• Do physical exercises during study breaks. It will help relieve tension and make you feel awake. Walk around a bit, stretch, do jumping jacks, or jog in place.

Believe it or not dehydration could be causing you to feel exhausted when studying.  Drink water and eat fruit: water will refresh your system, and an apple provides the same effect as an energy drink.

Fifteen great motivation tips here: http://www.wikihow.com/Find-Motivation-to-Do-Homework

Do You Wait Until The Last Minute To Do Assignments?

Tips for Overcoming Procrastination:


Turn off the music before you sit down to study. Many students claim they can concentrate while listening to music, but research disagrees.

Put the dog or cat outside. You know you can’t resist them when they wander in and want to play!

Bring a snack or drink to your desk before you start. That way you won’t be tempted to walk away.

Turn off your instant message tool. Concentrate on the mission at hand if you have to research online. Don’t get distracted by email or instant messages.

Turn off the TV and the phone. If you really want to make the most of homework time, you can sacrifice these two for an hour or so!

(Found at www.homeworktips.about.com)

Do You Fall Asleep While Studying?

Become Alarmed!

If you tend to fall asleep while studying, set an alarm. You can purchase an inexpensive travel clock or wristwatch equipped with an alarm and have it nearby while you study. Or you can set your cell phone to beep or vibrate in intervals to potentially wake you up. The alarm should be loud enough to wake you but quiet enough not to disturb those around you. If possible, set the alarm to go off every fifteen minutes. If you can’t set it to go off regularly, set it for a specific time (such as a half hour after you’ve begun studying) and continue to reset it each time it goes off.

(Found at www.netplaces.com)

Teens and Sleep

The following are some interesting statistics about sleeping and how it effects your performance etc. in school:

Hours (among all students ages 11 to 17):

* 20% get the recommended nine hours per night.

* 45% sleep less than eight hours on school nights.

Consequences:
This can result in falling asleep in school or while doing homework.  Some students miss school because they oversleep.

School Performance:
* Adolescents who get insufficient amounts of sleep are more likely than their peers to get lower grades.

* 80% who get an optimal amount of sleep say they're achieving A's and B's in school.

Warning Signs of Sleep Deprivation:

* Do you have trouble waking for school?

* Get sleepy or tired during the day?

* Fall asleep while doing homework?

* Sleep two or more hours later on weekend mornings?

* Behave differently after a good night's sleep?

* Rely on a caffeinated drink to wake up?  Have more than two caffeinated drinks per day?

* Routinely nap for more than 45 minutes?

Sleep Tips For Teens:

* Go to sleep and get up at the same time every day allowing for nine or more hours per night.

* Have a relaxing bedtime routine such as reading for fun or taking a bath or shower.

* Keep the bedroom comfortable, dark, cool and quiet.

* Get into bright light as soon as possible in the morning, but avoid it in the evening.

* Remove TV's and other distractions from the bedroom and limit use before bedtime..

* Avoid caffeine after lunchtime.


(Taken from an article by Felice J. Freyer in the Providence Journal, 3/28/06)

Relaxation Techniques

If you find yourself getting anxious about an upcoming test or class presentation, one or more of the following relaxation techniques may be helpful:

1)  Deep breathing - Slowly take several deep breaths (in through your nose, out through your mouth) to enable you to calm yourself down.

2)  Counting (forwards or backwards)  -  Can be done with your eyes open or closed.  You can also combine this technique with the deep breathing technique above.

3)  Visualization  -  (Before a test):  Imagine yourself doing something that is relaxing for you or imagine yourself in a place that is relaxing/enjoyable (laying on the beach, listening to the waves, feeling the sun beating down on you, etc.).  (Before a presentation):  You can try the previous visualization technique or imagine yourself actually giving the presentation successfully.  (It also helps to practice in front of someone you feel comfortable with and/or actually going to the room before your presentation and visualizing yourself giving the presentation.)

4)  Self talk  -  Giving yourself a pep talk before the test.  Telling yourself that you are ready for the test and will do well because you studied/prepared and are confident that you know the material (similar to what a coach does with his/her team before a game).

Good luck!

Tackling Test Questions!

At the start of the test:  Read the entire test when you first sit down.  Sometimes one question will give you a hint to the answer of another question.  If the test requires you to use formulas or other things you had to memorize jot them down on the back of a test or a piece of scrap paper right at the beginning.  This way you can refer to it throughout the time allotted.

Multiple choice: Read all the answers before marking your choice. Remember, your first instinct is usually best-so don't change your answers unless you're sure.

True/false: Look for words such as never, always, all and none. They're usually in false answer. Words like may or often are generally found in true answers.

Essay: Read essay questions at least twice. Then, make a list of important thoughts, or key points, about questions before writing your essay. Read through the finished essay to be sure you've included all your key points. Check spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Test Preparation Tip #3

Quiz Yourself

One of the best ways to make sure you are prepared for an upcoming test is to make and take a test of your own creation.  Take some blank sheets of paper and write down a list of keywords or questions.  Make sure you leave space underneath each one.  Then, pretend you are taking the test on the actual exam day.  Write down as much as you can on each question.  When you are finished take a short break and then return to review your answers.

Use your mock test as an additional study guide now that it is complete.

Now that you know the material let’s conquer any anxiety you may have while taking a test.  Let's tackle the actual test questions tomorrow.

Test Preparation Tip #2

Make study cards

We all know how effective flash cards are for vocabulary words but have you tried using them in your other subjects?  Write a word or idea on the front of a card and writer the definition or important information on the back.  For example, on the front “What are the three main vegetation zones in Africa?” and on the back “rain forest, Savannah, and desert”

Brainstorm how you could use flash cards in Math or in Social Studies.

Tune in tomorrow for Tip number 3