Daily Le Courrier (Dallas I.S.- PTO Blog)

THINKING ABOUT EDUCATION 

05:30 PM CST on Monday, February 19, 2007

klively@dallasnews.com   American education is a little like the fashion industry. If you hang on to a concept long enough, it eventually comes back into style.

That’s happening now with national education standards.

A report released last week by a Washington think tank recommends that Congress consider several changes to the No Child Left Behind Act when it debates renewal this year. One proposal is for national standards.

Standards aren’t exotic. They’re a basic fixture of education….more

Complete Schedule of Events 
Honorary Chairperson Dr. Elba Garcia

view COMPLETE SCHEDULE details for all events

Dr. Elba Garcia announces International DFW Month, a series of 20+ events that showcase an exciting cultural experience that makes up the diverse and unique population of the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. International DFW Month begins March 6 with the Hall of Fame Awards and Opening Reception and closes on April 8 with the Global Sacred Music Celebration. The series of global events that is produced by DFW International Community Alliance, a network of 1,600 international community organizations.

Dr. Elba Garcia, Honorary chair of International DFW Month and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Dallas, says “International DFW Month celebrates the energy of North Texans whose are roots in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America. This yearly celebration brings together the diverse population of the DFW area to explore and preserve the cultural traditions held nostalgically in our hearts. ”

Tuesday, February 27th
6:00 -9:00 p.m.
Cooper Aerobics Center

Mark your calendars! Parents are invited to attend an informative seminar on February 27th at 6:00 p.m. at the Cooper Aerobics Center that will cover the differences between the American and French educational systems and how DIS uses the best of both to the ad-vantage of its students. The event will be presented by DIS staff and outside speakers and will cover a general presentation on the two systems, examples of the two, the structure of the system at DIS, explanations of the French and the Interna-tional Baccalaureate diplomas and information on entering American universities. The presen-tation will be followed by a question and an-swer session. Babysitting will be provided on the DIS campus during the event.

For more information contact Tracy Kozah at tkozah@dallasinternationalschool.org. RSVP to this email if you plan
on attending this informative session
on the education at DIS.
Childcare will be provided.
RSVP to this email.

Please submit any suggestions you have
for the 2007 -2008 DIS country of the year,
along with the reasons for this choice, to
tkozah@dallasinternationalschool.org by
Friday, March 2nd. The teachers and
staff will vote from the top five received
and the winning country will be announced
at the “A Passage to India” Gala on March 31st.

Don’t forget to donate any items for this sale on March 3rd.
Items can be placed in the box in the reception. Or outside
of the door of the POD in the parking lot. Contact
Teri Benavides if you have a large item to donate.
tmbenavides@sbcglobal.net 

From the Gala Chairs:
As we mentioned last week, many people are working hard on all aspects of the Gala. The Decorations committee is no exception. Working with our theme of A Passage to India, Tammy Cotton Hartnett and the rest of the Decorations team have created a vision for the event that will amaze everyone! Using popular Indian shares of fuschia, orange and gold metallic as accent colors against a dramatic black backdrop, the team is planning to transform the World Trade Center into Dallas’ version of a hip Indian nightclub. Be prepared for your own passage to India. You won’t want to miss it! Also, don’t forget tickets will go on sale March 5th. From March 5th to 9th we will be selling tickets in the DIS lobby during morning and afternoon carpool.
 Buy your tickets before March 15th to receive the 10% discount.

- Beth, Marilyn & Liza

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Hot Lunch Raffle
Want a year of free hot lunches at DIS? Buy some raffle tickets -the more you buy, the better your chances of winning! Tickets are $25 each, and only 150 will be sold. The winning ticket will be! pulled at the Gala. Contact Diana Warnecke at Warnecke@sbcglobal.net to arrange for your purchase. Or stop by the school store during operating hours.

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Program Ads
Have your business advertisement (or your personal advertisement) appear in the Gala Program! Advertisers are able to promote their businesses in the event program at a nominal cost and reach over 400 prospective customers.  This is a legitimate business expense. It may also be considered a philanthropic contribution. Program Ad Forms can be accessed here.
· Complete the Ad Form and send it electronically to JennifW@gmail.com and leave it in the reception area at school in the envelope for Program Ads, along with your payment.
· Payment and ad must be received by March 7, 2007 to appear in the Gala Program.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Woods at jennifw@gmail.com  
 
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Auction Donations
We’re still looking for auction items. Contact Frankie Branham if you have something to donate e-mail fbranham@tx.rr.com. Remember that if you buy it for the auction, you can take a tax deduction for the amount you spent!

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WEEKLY TRIVIA QUESTION
A Pass! age To India” - Trivia Contest:  Question #2 had Trin ette Robichaux finding first that Kipling’s Mowgli trapped the Tiger Shere Khan in a ravine to get him trampled by a buffalo stampede.
 
Here is question #3:
The first person to e-mail Philippe Habrard (philippe.habrard@ge.com) with the correct answer to this question will win 2 tickets to the VIP reception at the March 31st Gala.
 
How do we name the Indian auxiliaries enrolled in the British Army who sparked a revolt in 1857, resulting in heavy massacres and reprisals?Comment appelle-t-on les auxiliaires indiens de l’Armée Anglaise à l’origine de la révolte de 1857, qui déboucha sur d’importants massacres et représailles?”

Fair Park Passport
Purchase a Fair Park Passport and you’ll receive 40% off admission to eight participating institutions including The Women’s Museum, The Science Place, Hall of State, Dallas Museum of Natural History, The Age of Steam Railroad Museum, Texas Discovery Gardens, African American Museum and the Dallas Aquarium. Purchase passports online.

New! Visit our “Come Learn with Caillou” section.

Caillou is a wide-eyed four-year-old who learns about life - one adventure at a time! From his own backyard to his very first airplane ride, Caillou discovers the wonder and excitement of being a little boy in a very big world.

The television series and the activities on the Web site combine the following “guiding principles” to encourage learning:

CAILLOU is 4 Making New Friends

Caillou knows friends are important. He knows that being a good friend is accepting a friend’s special way of viewing the world.

CAILLOU is 4 Finding Out

Caillou helps young children realize they are not alone. All kids have LOTS of questions about everything, and Caillou helps two and three-year olds see where they’re going - and five and six-year olds appreciate where they’ve been!

CAILLOU is 4 Laughter and Fun

Four year-olds love to laugh - and Caillou is no exception! Caillou lets kids know that even if life isn’t always easy, with the right kind of attitude even the hard stuff can be accomplished.

North Texas Irish Festival
Where: Fair Park, Dallas

When: March 2 - 4, 2007

A hundred thousand welcomes–or Cáed míle fáilte –to the largest celebration of Irish culture in the Southwest! From its humble pub origins in the early 1980s, this Celtic compilation of music, dance and traditional cuisine has matured into an annual event which attracts internationally-known performers, up-and-coming recording artists eager to hone their craft, and a gathering over 35,000 strong who proudly proclaim “Erin go Bragh!”

Activities: From ancient melodies to contemporary Celtic rock, the music of the Emerald Isle is showcased at the In The Tradition stage inside Centennial Hall. If the rhythm makes you feel like dancing, head over to the Emerald stage, where dance troupes slip on ghillies and hard shoes to perform jubilant jigs and reels, and beginners and professionals alike can kick up their heels on Saturday night during a three-hour ceili.

Whet your appetite for all things Irish at one of the many food booths, where Irish stew, Shepherd’s Pie and fish and chips are served, then set out in search of that special sporran or claddagh ring on sale at the numerous vendor stalls.

Workshops: Musicians can brush up on their bodhran skills during one of the series of workshops held on the Tara stage. Experts will also be on hand to pass on their knowledge of the fiddle, flute, Gaelic language and traditional Irish songs.

Children’s Activities: Storytellers surely blessed with the gift of Blarney weave tales of Celtic lore at the Urchin Street Faire, an area where wee ones can tap their toes to the beat of Celtic-tinged children’s tunes or make a new four-footed friend at the Petting Zoo.

For more information:

• visit www.ntif.org

 click icons above

The Inverse Power of Praise.

By Po Bronson

What do we make of a boy like Thomas?

Thomas (his middle name) is a fifth-grader at the highly competitive P.S. 334, the Anderson School on West 84th. Slim as they get, Thomas recently had his long sandy-blond hair cut short to look like the new James Bond (he took a photo of Daniel Craig to the barber). Unlike Bond, he prefers a uniform of cargo pants and a T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of one of his heroes: Frank Zappa. Thomas hangs out with five friends from the Anderson School. They are “the smart kids.” Thomas’s one of them, and he likes belonging.

Since Thomas could walk, he has heard constantly that he’s smart. Not just from his parents but from any adult who has come in contact with this precocious child. When he applied to Anderson for kindergarten, his intelligence was statistically confirmed. The school is reserved for the top one percent of all applicants, and an IQ test is required. Thomas didn’t just score in the top one percent. He scored in the top one percent of the top one percent.

But as Thomas has progressed through school, this self-awareness that he’s smart hasn’t always translated into fearless confidence when attacking his schoolwork. In fact, Thomas’s father noticed just the opposite. “Thomas didn’t want to try things he wouldn’t be successful at,” his father says. “Some things came very quickly to him, but when they didn’t, he gave up almost immediately, concluding, ‘I’m not good at this.’ ” With no more than a glance, Thomas was dividing the world into two—things he was naturally good at and things he wasn’t. …more

Follow-Up:

In last week’s New York cover story, novelist Po Bronson argued that praising accomplishment and so-called innate ability is actually bad for the recipient’s self-esteem and that, instead, what should be lauded is effort. He was talking about kids, but, still, he might want to skip this post: Turns out most of the online responses to his article agreed with his findings and — gulp — praised his accomplishment. (We’ll go a step further, though we know we shouldn’t: Two cover stories in the same week, Po? We’re kvelling.) After the jump, some of blogland’s best (worst?) praise. …more