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Magazines Honored OC, Inland Empire Family win writing, design awards OC Family Magazine and its sister publication, Inland Empire Family Magazine, won 13 writing and design awards last month during the annual Parenting Publications of America convention in Atlanta, Ga. The national organization PPA represents more than 150 regional family magazines throughout the United States and in Canada and Australia. Each year, the convention wraps up with an awards night honoring the best work of the year. Judges from the University of Missouri School of Journalism made the selections. This year, OC Family Magazine won nine awards; Inland Empire Family Magazine four. A breakdown in design awards: For Front Cover: Stock Photo/Glossy in the over 55,000-circulation category, Art Director Cheryl Fujioki earned a Gold for OC Family's "Childhood's End." Fujioki also won a Bronze in the same category, 30,000-54,999-circulation, for Inland Empire Family's "Land of Giants" cover. For Table of Contents, Fujioki earned Silver for OC Family. For Calendar of Events, which is called DaybyDay in the magazines, Graphic Designer Marc Davila earned a Silver award for each for the two magazines. In Feature Layout/Black&White, Fujioki won a Bronze for OC Family for the annual holiday story, "Tim." A breakdown of writing awards: For Column: Editor's Note, OC Family Executive Editor Craig Reem won a Bronze for "Hand Out." The magazine also earned a Silver for its Family News section in the Briefs/Short Stuff category. Associate Editor Sandy Bennett and Inland Empire Family Magazine Senior Writer Michael J. Medley won a Bronze for Calendar of Events. For Child Development & Parenting Issues, OC Family's Michele Piazzoni won a Bronze for her Early Years column, "First Words." OC Family contributor Genevieve Anton earned a Silver for Personal Essay, "Back to Normal." Several contributors, headed by Michael J. Medley, won Gold for the Profile category in Inland Empire Family Magazine's annual "10 Shining Students." They were: Nancy Sidoruk, Ruth Planey, Sherri Gomez, Lynda Glusli-Parra, Cynthia Pringle and Katherine Noble-Goodman For News Feature, OC Family contributors headed by Greg Blake Miller earned a Silver for "Childhood's End." Also contributing were Steve Smith, Ruth Planey, Sandy Bennett, Steve Thomas, Michael Medley and Craig Reem. SAT Exams Stress-free tips for teens The SAT Exams are just around the corner, with the next round of tests to be given April 5, May 3 and June 7. To assist students, Sylvan Learning Center, with programs in Orange County and the Inland Empire, offers these "Stress Free" tips: • Skip an answer. If you are unsure of an answer, skip the question and go back if time permits. • Trust yourself. Rely on your instincts on the easy questions and never leave an easy question blank. • Read, read, read. Read the questions and answers critically. • Eliminate answers. Use the process of elimination. If you spend time working on a problem and eliminate two answers, you should make an educated guess. • Stop and check. After every few questions stop and check to make sure the question number on the answer sheet corresponds with the question being answered in the question booklet. • Share your time. Don't spend too much time on any single question. • Focus on the questions and answers. Your job is to focus on the contents of the test, not the frequency of the answered letters. • Rushing only hurts you. Work at a good pace and rely on yourself to keep track of the time remaining for each section. • Enter the exam with confidence. Know the instructions for each section before you enter the exam room - don't waste time reading the instructions the day of the exam. • End each section by reviewing. Revisit the questions that you either circled or marked with a question mark. Getting Started...with Michele Piazzoni A study from the University of London reports that newborn infants who wake too often to feed are at increased risk of disrupted night sleep in the months ahead. (Specifically, this refers to infants who fed more than 11 times in a 24-hour period.) However, the researchers also found that simple behavioral techniques employed by parents made a big difference. Parents should try to set a schedule that will be familiar to their babies. • If your 1-year-old is watching television, you may be surprised to discover that he's learning something from it. According to a recent study by a Tufts University psychologist, children as young as 12 months old are influenced by what they see and hear on television. In her study, Donna L. Mumme, assistant professor of psychology, found that these babies are able to draw implications for their own actions by observing televised emotional reactions of another person toward a particular object, such as a ball. When an actress reacted with neutral or positive responses (in terms of her tone of voice and facial expressions), infants presented with the same objects played happily. However, after watching the actress respond negatively to a target object, infants avoided that object and chose to play with the other one instead. • According to a recent issue of Pediatrics, many newborns in California are leaving the hospital too early and not receiving timely follow-up visits. Nearly half of the infants included in the study were discharged after just one night in the hospital for a vaginal birth or three nights following a cesarean delivery. Because common complications like jaundice, poor feeding habits and some birth defects aren't detectable right away, it is recommended that newborns return for a follow-up visit between day three and day five of life. Reading Tips Home activities to fuel young minds Reading plays an important role in a child's education and contributes enormously to his success later in life. It may be surprising for some parents to learn just how much your child already knows about reading and how much he can learn at home. Research shows there are certain skill areas that are necessary for reading success. Here are five tips. • Motivation: Reading is fun. Reading to your child on a regular basis is the best way to prove to her just how much fun reading can be. Set aside a specific time of day for reading together. • Language development: Listening and speaking skills are important for beginning readers. Encourage your child to ask questions and remind her to listen carefully to the answers. Take the time to listen to your child's questions and answers and explain your requests and instructions even outside of reading time. • Familiarity with letters: The alphabet song is a great place for children to start learning the names of letters. You also can call attention to letter names and shapes in the print that surrounds your family. For example, point to and name the M on a milk carton. • Phonemic awareness: Before a child can learn to read, he must understand that words are made up of sounds. This important concept is called phonemic awareness. The easiest, best and most fun way to get children to think about sound is to introduce them to rhyme: "Can you think of a word that rhymes with spot?" • Phonics: Children learn to read English by learning the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. A great place to start to learn phonics is with your child's name. - By John J. Pikulski, professor of education at the University of Delaware and senior author of "Houghton Mifflin Reading: The Nation's Choice." Class Size As school districts plan cuts, should they? Numerous school districts in Orange County, the Inland Empire and elsewhere statewide this month will make decisions on whether to discard class-size reduction. The popular program, supported mostly by state money, keeps enrollment at 20 students per classroom from kindergarten through third grade. However, like most state efforts, local districts have to supplement the extra cost, and this ranges from $500,000 per grade to more than $700,000. Should the program be shelved? EdSource, the well-regarded nonprofit California group that researches K-12 education, late last year came out with a report card on how well class-size reduction helps in student achievement. When enacted in July 1996, California's elementary grades had the highest class size in the country, averaging 29 students. While intellectually it would seem that a classroom with 20 students will perform better than one with 29, research supporting this theory is inconclusive to date, according to EdSource. Why aren't students in reduced-size classes outperforming students who were tested in the larger class settings? Some rationale may be a decline in teacher qualifications in K-3. Smaller class sizes have resulted in more classes and therefore, the need for more teachers. However, supply has not kept up with demand. Many still work without full teacher credentials. Teachers also report that while students get more individual attention, and there are fewer behavioral problems, "similar amounts of time" and "similar amounts of curriculum" are taught as in the past, when classrooms were larger. EdSource points out that reduced classroom size is a tremendous hit among parents and teachers. Should these programs be ended or reduced - for example, do away with it only at the third-grade level - the outcry may be enormous. FAMILY NEWS BITES WEEKENDS AT THE OCEAN INSTITUTE Good news for jellyfish lovers! The Ocean Institute in Dana Point will open its learning centers every Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., featuring guided tours, interactive storytelling, feeding sessions and other opportunities to learn with institute staff members. Passes cost $5/adult and $3/child (5-12 years), with a maximum family charge of $20. Reservations not required. For more details, call 949.496.2274, Ext. 413. HONORS FOR DIABETES RESEARCH Dick and Mary Allen of Newport Beach were honored last month by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for their generous personal and financial contributions to the cause at the 2003 Dream Gala. Allen is chairman of the board at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. Their 4-year-old granddaughter, Hannah, has type 1 diabetes. For more information about the foundation and how you can help, call 949.553.0363 or access the website at www.jdrf.org. KUMON MATH CHALLENGE This year, the Kumon Math Challenge will take place Sunday, July 13 at various testing sites throughout North America. Students who rise to the Math Challenge could win up to $1,000 in scholarship prize money. Kumon Math and Reading Centers offer after-school programs for more than 3 million students all over the world, preschool to high school. Information about the Math Challenge: 201.928.0444, Ext. 359. IRVINE BARCLAY RECEIVES GRANT The Irvine Barclay Theater has received a $20,000 grant from Wells Fargo Bank for ArtsReach, a student outreach and education program that includes lectures, masters classes, theater tours, ticket scholarships and creative writing contests. More than 18,000 students have participated in Barclay's ArtsReach program since it was first developed in 1996. Information: 949.854,4607 or www.thebarclay.org. GIRL SCOUTS KNIT FOR THE NEEDY The Girl Scout Council of Orange County is joining forces with the Binky Patrol to sew, knit, quilt and crochet more than 1,500 handmade blankets for children and teens who are ill, abused, in foster care or experiencing other traumas. It's part of the council's "Caring Hearts, Helping Hands Project," assisting one community service organization every year. Blanket or "binky" donations are welcome through April 26. For details and drop-off locations:949.499.BINK. PROGRAMMING CLASSES OFFERED Cosmic Thinkers recently opened in Laguna Beach. The learning enrichment center offers several programming classes for children and teens and an ongoing programming club for 10- to 15-year-olds. Information: 949.766.5855 or www.CosmicThinkers.com. - Reported and compiled by OC Family Magazine staff |
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