Smarter Studying

London, May 6 : Thousands of children and their families in Berkshire are hoping to enter record books by building what is thought to be the tallest tower ever made from Lego bricks.Many people descended on Legoland Windsor on May 5 to help build the tower, designed to look like a longboat mast, to celebrate the theme park's new Land Of The Vikings attraction.Per Knudsen, the attempt's chief engineer, supervised the building of the 100ft (30m) tower, which contains nearly half a million Lego bricks.The tower was built to mark 50 years .... More »

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They mock me. Sure, they don't know they are doing it. They sunbathe on HUB lawn. They make a mid-day bar stop at Café 210, drinking Long Island iced-teas, a gentle breeze in their hair, warm sun on their skin, careless, worry-free.As I run from presentation to presentation, pull all-nighters in the computer lab and hand in unstapled, unedited term papers freckled with typos and unfit to be used as a scrap to spit out gum, I can't help but be a little jealous. Though I'd like to trade in my suit and heals for their flip-flops and .... More »

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JOHOR BAHARU, April 22 (Bernama) -- A primary school in Kota Tinggi, about 60km from here, was asked to close for two days from today after more than 100 pupils and teachers experienced itchiness and rashes on their hands and bodies. According to students of Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar, the itchiness was believed to stem from a kind of worm. School staff and personnel from the district Health Department were seen spraying disinfectant to kill the worms that were believed to come from trees and undergrowth behind the school. However, no .... More »

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Praise dirt and hail a recycling superhero in a lush crop of kid books for Earth Day.Along with familiar characters like Little Critter and important ones like Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai, MySpace makes its first foray into offline publishing with a branded how-to book for teens to mark the occasion, on April 22.* Michael Recycle (Worthwhile Publishing, $15.99, ages 3-8) by Ellie Bethel and illustrated by Alexandra Colombo.In the whimsical town of Abberdoo-Rimey, the ''garbage was left to grow rotten and grimey.'' Until a fre .... More »

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A trio of local pitchers had stellar performances Thursday evening and helped lead their respective teams to victory.Triad junior Morgan Ryan threw a perfect game as the Lady Cardinal softball team blanked Mechanicsburg, 4-0.Bobby Stiles hurled a no-hitter as Fairbanks' baseball team clubbed Ridgemont 10-0 in five innings.Ame Blankenship scattered three hits and struck out 11 during Jonathan Alder's 6-1 softball triumph over London. Triad-MechanicsburgRyan fanned nine batters as the Indians could not get a runner on base.In doing so, .... More »

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National Poetry Month is a great time to introduce children to this fun genre of reading.Poetry, called the "music of the soul" by Voltaire, can also be music to kids' ears if it's funny, interesting and poignant. Teachers love to present poetry to their students because it is a great tool for literacy and learning. And who among us doesn't remember, back in the day, memorizing a poem and standing up in front of class to recite it? The art form gets the spotlight in April, which was adopted as National Poetry Month by the Academy of A .... More »

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A Brisbane researcher has found that playground antics are more than just child's play.Queensland University of Technology PhD education researcher Charlotte Cobb-Moore spent a month as a fly-on-the-wall of a class of children aged between four and six.She was surprised by the sophistication of the children's interactions with no adult intervention.Ms Cobb-Moore said she recorded three main interaction strategies - justification, playing mother and pretence."Pretence" typically involved children playing pretend, either to include or p .... More »

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Baldwin County Schools' students won't head to school earlier and get out later after Board of Education members voted to postpone discussion of longer school days.In a 4-1 vote, school board members refused to consider lengthening the school day on the grounds that the system already is undergoing significant change."I wouldn't want a new superintendent coming in with a new bell schedule and then [want to change it back because he didn't like it]," Harold Simmons, District 2, said. "I got several calls today about the bell schedule, .... More »

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Boosters of St. Joseph School will have to dig up more than $40,000 a day to keep the doors open for the future. Bishop Francis Xavier DiLorenzo of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond told the school community Thursday they must raise $1 million by April 28 or the school will be shuttered. "For St. Joseph School to continue into the next year and beyond will require more than a Band-Aid approach that a small amount of additional revenue can provide," DiLorenzo said in a statement Friday following a meeting with St. Joseph Parish administ .... More »

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With spring here and the need to cancel school due to inclement weather presumably past, area school districts are setting dates for makeup days.By state law districts can cancel classes up to five days without the need to make up days missed. All area districts missed no less than nine days during the late fall and winter months.Classes were canceled nine days in the East Muskingum Local School District, requiring four makeup days. One day has been made up to date, leaving a balance of three days. May 22 was originally the last day o .... More »

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Five country schools will be opening their doors for tours on Saturday when the Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools host their Annual Open House.On Sunday, a benefit barbecue dinner will be served at the American Legion Hall.The Annual Gillespie County Historic Country Schools Open House will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.Featured during the open house on Saturday will be the Willow City, Rheingold, Cave Creek and Nebgen Schools along with the Junction School that is a part of the Lyndon B. Johnson National His .... More »

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As April -- poetry month -- arrives, the United States is still at war in Iraq, with American casualties exceeding 4,000 troops.Poets might be best at expressing the emotions that people feel during war. In America at War (McElderry Books, $21.99,84 pages, age 8 and older), editor Lee Bennett Hopkins has selected more than 50 poems and paintings to illustrate eight wars in which the United States has been involved. The poems, some presented in full and others in excerpts, provide a range of emotions from sorrow to anger, hope and desp .... More »

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Principals argue the 6 1/2 -hour day is just too shortAnne Arundel County schools will extend their day by 10 minutes in response to principals' concerns that the current 6 1/2 -hour day does not provide adequate time for classes and other activities.Starting this fall, the additional minutes will be tacked on to the end of the day to prevent the higher busing costs that would have accompanied earlier start times.Principals will have the freedom to use the extra time in whatever way they would like - whether it's adding to core subjec .... More »

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Sen. John McCain tried to connect with voters on a personal level Tuesday by visiting his high school and sharing memories of what he called some of his happiest years.The presumptive Republican presidential nominee reflected upon his friendship with William Ravenel, an English teacher who McCain says enriched his life "beyond measure."McCain is on the second day of his Service to America tour, a multistate bus journey of places that he says played a key role in shaping his views and values.Speaking from his alma mater in Alexandria, .... More »

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The simple premise has worked for 13 years: collect new books and put them in the hands of children from families unable to buy them.Books for Kids is celebrating its 14th year with a monthlong drive starting today to round up books and distribute them to needy youngsters."We have a goal of collecting 70,000 books," said Cindy Sterner, promotions and public affairs manager for The Buffalo News.Last year, Books for Kids distributed 100,388 books to children."We've gotten over 1.4 million books into the hands of children," said Geraldin .... More »

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