Virtual Teacher Newsletter No. 36 2001 - Save One Starfish
THE FREE ONLINE FORTNIGHTLY IT TEACHERS' NEWSLETTER
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CONTENTS
1. Welcome
2. Dealing with Tragedy/US Disaster Sites
4. New Printables - "Time" and "The Fable of the School People"
5. Technical Stuff - Search Engines for Pictures
6. Web Site Focus - Gifted and Talented and Children with Special Needs
7. Drama Theatre Sports
8. Great Sites
9. Readers' Requests/Comments
10 Next Issue
11. Code of 'Netizens'
12. Tips
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1. WELCOME EVERYONE. The events of the last couple of
weeks have been amazing; there are no words to really describe
it. Many teachers have to deal with the repercussions within their
own classrooms; many questions have been raised on how to
help Islamic children particularly. Often prejudice and bias are
brought from home and it's the same old story of victimisation and
bullying. Although this crisis brings certain groups into the spotlight
it is an ongoing concern in all schools. Children shouldn't be involved
in the conflicts of adults for any reason. There needs to be
an active policy of zero tolerance to bullying, for any reason,
in all schools. Children with problems related to bullying need
to be heard, and to be taken seriously.
I have recently been concerned about reports from some
parents involved in independent private schools, where
bullying and victimisation are handled 'politically', and
allowed to perpetuate because school procedures and policies
in this area are inadequate. In some cases it seems that schools
do not want to 'upset' parents, and therefore will not do what it
takes to solve these problems. The great pity here is that it is
that ALL children suffer if adequate steps are not taken to solve
these problems, and as teachers in any system, private or
public, this is unforgivable. Teachers and schools who do not
provide children with the life skills required to eliminate bullying
and victimisation fail in their duty of care to those children.
Petty, mean spirited attitudes have no place in the world of the
future and they have no place in the classrooms of today.
If just one child is affected by victimisation it is one too many -
I read a wonderful poem a while ago, the line I love is: -
"It made a difference for that one." For the full text click here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~jolhid/saveonestarfish/poem.html
Have a peaceful weekend.
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2. MIND CANDY
All that is gold does not glitter
Not all those that wander are lost
~~J. R. Tolkien~~
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"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You know that your name is safe in their mouth"_Billy age 4
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"You shouldn't say "I love your" unless you mean it. But if you
mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget" Jessica age 8
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Here are a few quotes from a book I am currently reading.
Lots of great mathematical ideas, conjectures and
theories that can be incorporated into lessons with students.
WONDERS OF NUMBER by Clifford A Pickover
Oxford University Press 2001 New York
Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier
- Charles Kettering
If we wish to make a new world we have the material ready.
The first one, too, was made in chaos.
Robert Qullen, OMNI magazine
No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.
Isaac Newton.
A mathematician is someone who can take a cup of coffee
and turn it into a theorem. Paul Erdos
The real voyage of discovery is not in seeking new
landscapes but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust
If we wish to understand the nature of the Universe
we have an inner hidden advantage: we are ourselves
little portions of the universe and so carry the answer within us.
Jacques Boivin, The Heart Single Field Theory.

The Universe is a great book which cannot be read
until one first learns to comprehend the language and
become familiar with the characters in which it is composed.
It is written in the language of mathematics. Galileo, Opere II Saggiatore
You teach best what you most need to learn. Richard Bach, Illusions
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3. DEALING WITH TRAGEDY
In the aftermath of the events in the US, many Australian
children will be dealing with loss, or grief or fear.
Here are some sites that may provide ideas for handling
this in the classroom.
"How to Give/Receive Help"
http://www.gananda.org/library/mshslibrary/special.htm
Links for Dealing with Tragedy
http://members.home.net/hmslibrary/coping.html
To learn more about the KidsShareHope group, please visit
http://www.globalschoolnet.org
Education World - Helping Children Cope
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr369.shtml
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SITES on the US Disaster.
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/
Mike Moore's homepage - series of messages during the disaster.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Info on Noam Chomsky
http://www.talene.net/chomsky.htm
Noam Chomsky - comment on situation
http://www.counterpunch.org/chomskybomb.html
Food for thought from Afghanistan
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/afghan.doc
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4. NEW PRINTABLES
I have mentioned both these printables before, however
it seems timely to mention them again. The first may
provide a good starting point for discussions on
bullying and victimisation.
Time - excerpt from the Musical
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/time.html
The second may also help.
The Fable of the School People
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/fable.html
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5. TECHNICAL STUFF
Here are some engines to help find pictures on the Internet
http://www.ditto.com/
http://www.kodak.com/
http://www.webshots.com/homepage.html
http://images.google.com/
http://www.bigbenpublishing.com.au/
http://dgl.microsoft.com/mgo1en/eula.asp
http://www.pictureaustralia.org/servlet/pa
http://au.altavista.com/
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6. WEBSITE FOCUS
Gifted Talented and Children with Special Need Websites
OZ-GIFTED PARENT SUPPORT NETWORK
http://www.nswagtc.org/ozgifted
QUEENSLAND GIFTED & TALENTED ASSOCIATION
http://www.bit.net.au/~qagtcinc/
NSW G&T ORG LINKS
http://www.nswagtc.org.au/info/links.html
Hoagies Gifted Education site
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/investigations.htm
Like quizzes?? We invite you to join us online at our quiz page-
http://www.justriddlesandmore.com/quiz.html
The Great Enigma Challenge has lots of puzzles &
problems a great challenge page
http://members.tripod.com/~hasic/enigm003.htm
Save One Starfish - ADHD
http://home.earthlink.net/~jolhid/saveonestarfish/
A group of school nurses have created this website about ADHD (Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), understanding the diagnosis and medical
treatment of the disorder, and alternative methods of dealing with the
symptoms of ADHD. Sources of information are cited clearly and links for
parents and teachers are included.
Children with disabilities, Hearing, Vision
http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/combine2.html
Special Ed Sites (lots of links)
http://www.ozkidz.gil.com.au/SpecialEducation/
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7. DRAMA is a fantastic release for many children. It can build
confidence in a non-threatening way. Theatre sports can be great
fun for both audiences and participants. When I visited Sydney
Girls High School recently, the level of expertise exhibited by the
girls performing impressed me. The theatre sports demonstration
was particularly enjoyable for both the audience and the performers.
Here are some sites to help you get started.
Theatre Sports and Games
http://www.creativedrama.com/theatre.htm
http://www.accessone.com/%7eup/playbook/
http://www.atmosphere.be/culture/ots/
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8. GREAT SITES
MATHS
Excellent Site particularly the art and Symmetry sections
http://www.schools.ash.org.au/stkierans-manly/Classes/Yr6/6B/6B.htm
I've had a few responses to my request, including one concerning a site
being created now (no URL yet) and a great site from the USA (of course,
measurement and money don't apply) http://www.aaamath.com/index.html
Other sites:
http://www.allmath.com/
http://www.aplusmath.com/
http://math.usask.ca/readin/menu.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/megamaths/
(requires Shockwave)
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Chinese Visual and Performing Arts
http://cyberfair.gsn.org/rgs99/
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Linda Zugai NSW State Manager Edsoft http://www.edsoft.com.au
sent the following pages:-
Harry Potter pages
http://edleston.primaryresources.co.uk/projects/harry/harry.htm
Flash Workshop
http://edleston.primaryresources.co.uk/projects/flashworkshop/workshop.htm
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9. READERS COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Cathy,
Love reading the newsletter, you're doing a great job.
My name is Adam Wright and I teach at Thornbury
Primary School, Victoria.
I have sent for the passwords for the program
http://www.learning.com/EasyTech/1,1481,9,00.html
and I have found it to be very informative. The staff
are very interested in using it to develop their IT
understanding and the student lessons are very
detailed. They also have the opportunity to print off
a certificate each time they complete a lesson. The
American accent tends to get a little bit annoying
though.
Hope that you found this information relevant and
thanks again for the great teaching ideas that come
from subscribing to your newsletter.
Regards,
Adam Wright
Grade 2/3 teacher
Thornbury Primary School.
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Cathy
I belong to a listserv run by a Canadian teacher, Pete McKay.
It is a good complement to yours. He is looking for Australian
teachers to join. Do you mind recommending him in your virtual
letter newsletter? Teachers can subscribe from his site:
http://www.theteacherlist.ca/
Look forward to the next instalment of Virtual Teacher.
Daphne
I had trouble accessing this site this site - will keep trying -
let me know what you think.
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Greetings !
Our Internet Programs have been updated recently to align
the Antarctica program with the NSW HSIE syllabus and the
Forces of Nature program with the latest Science Syllabus
outcomes. The other three programs are very well suited to
Enrichment for Gifted students. All programs contain thirty
thinking skill activities based on Bloom's Taxonomy and an
email component is included.More details and dates are on
the website. Each program is affordably priced at only $11 per week.
Vivianne Byrnes
Internet Programs for Kids
http://www.worldclassprograms.com.au
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Dear Cathy,
I just came across your website for the first time. It's awesome. I teach
computer to K-8 in a Catholic School in Massachusetts. I love your
sign....Please do not.....................
Just wanted to say thank you for some great ideas and some
cute laughs too!
Mary Jo Donofrio
Thanks Mary Its great to get the feedback, maybe you have some
good laughs you could send along too.
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Dear Ms. Brown,
Please consider these educational websites for your great
sites in your newsletter:
http://www.the-solar-system.net
- The Solar System in Pictures
This website has pictures and picture-quizzes about all the
planets in the solar system.
http://www.the-planet-jupiter.com
- The planet Jupiter in Pictures
This website has pictures and picture-quizzes about the planet
Jupiter, its rings and its moons.
The picture quizzes make these websites ideal for educational use.
Thank you.
Alwyn Botha
Thanks Alwyn great sites love the quizzes.
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10. NEXT ISSUE - VT will look at Study skills - exams are looming,
do you have any great sites or ideas - send them in. The next issue
of VT will be out on October 19th. A few weeks break for the holidays.
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11. Code of the 'Netizens'
This Newsletter is not free, despite the misleading advertising
above. The Fee is now due. Each week you must help one
colleague on the Internet who has less knowledge than you.
Help that person even if you have to visit their classroom or
do a little research and get back to them. Trust me, this will
help a lot of people get their computer classrooms running better.
OK I'm trusting you!!!
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12. TIPS
1. Double click on highlighted URLS to open in browser.
2. Send in your Questions, Questions will be published with
Answers, send in your Answers, if you have expertise to share.
3. Nominate a brilliant site for review and inclusion in this
newsletter.
4. Nominate a fantastic school site for review and inclusion in
this newsletter.
5. Make contact with other schools using fantastic programs.
6. Prepare and innovative article for this newsletter.
7. Tell 2 colleagues about this newsletter.
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The opinions expressed here are purely those of the editor,
Cathy Brown. All other small print clauses apply. Such as:
Use at your own risk. Nothing in life is guaranteed. If it doesn't
work for you send me an email.
Editor: cathy brown mailto:cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
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