Before you have children, you have a certain set of responsibilities, but you don’t have anywhere near the same type of worries that a parent has. The minute a child enters your life, you suddenly realize how fragile the world is and how easily you could lose the child that you brought into this world. For some parents, the fear of losing their child is enough to stop them from allowing their child to experience anything new, such as a high school student exchange.

The fear can consume parents, but the reality is that if you prevent your children from doing the things that they long to do, especially safe things such as a high school student exchange, you are taking them away from the experiences that could shape their future dramatically. If you’re worried about letting your children become high school exchange students, there are a few things that you should know. The Family

The families that are chosen for a high school student exchange are, for the most part, your average, everyday families. When a family decides that they want to host an exchange student, there is a process that they have to go through in order to be considered a qualified family. If they have not gone through the process, which includes a great deal of paperwork and an inspection, they are not allowed to host a student. The safety of the student is the most important thing for any high school student exchange program, and they are going to make sure that whatever family takes care of your student will do so as well as they possibly can.

Your Child

Many parents are concerned that, just like a child’s first sleepover, the student will get to the foreign country and will decide that they don’t want to stay the required amount of time. Unlike that first sleepover, it’s almost impossible to go and retrieve your child, especially if you don’t have the financial resources to afford a trip to Germany, Italy or wherever they may be. If you support your child and keep in contact with them, they should be able to handle the separation as well as, if not better than, you can.

There are many reasons that most parent can come up with as to why their children shouldn’t become high school exchange students, but the truth is that most high school exchange students get so much out of their experiences abroad that you should tear down the excuses and allow your child to enjoy experiencing the world.

High School Students Drinking Fewer Sodas

One quarter of US high school pupils are drinking one soda every day, fewer than in the past, says a new report issued by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The authors explained that water, fruit juices and milk are considerably more popular among teenagers than sodas.

The report, titled " Beverage Consumption Among High School Students - United States, 2010," involved 11,429 nationally representative high-school students from the 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (NYPANS). The report appears in the CDC's publication MMWE (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report).

The students completed a questionnaire, which among other things asked how often they had consumed the following drinks during the previous seven days: energy drinks, regular sports drinks, diet soda (or pop), regular soda (or pop), 100% fruit juices, milk, and other SSBs (sugar-sweetened beverages).

However, when other sweetened drinks are included, such as Gatorade, approximately two-thirds of high school students have at least one per day. Towards the end of the 1990s over three-quarters of teenagers had one sugary drink each day.

US health authorities and health care professionals have long linked the country's high childhood obesity rates to the consumption of sugary beverages.

29% of American teenagers consumed at least one soda a day in 2009, compared to 24% in 2010, the authors reported.

Some experts wonder whether teenagers are underreporting their soda consumption. Among young people today there is much better awareness regarding the health consequences of over-consuming sodas.

Below are some facts from the study:

72.4% drink a serving of water daily

16% have a sweetened sports drink each day

17% have a flavored milk, sweetened tea, or some other kind of sugary drink each day

African-American teenagers tend to consume more sugary beverages than their Caucasian or Hispanic peers do

Boys on average consume more sugary drinks that girls

42% consume at least one glass of milk each day

15% have a minimum of one cup of coffee or tea each day

7% have at least one diet soda each day

30% have a 100% pure fruit juice each day

The authors write that 100% fruit juices and milk are sources of key nutrients, such as vitamin C, calcium, as well as water. On the other hand SSBs have very poor nutritional value, and are only really seen as a source of water. SSBs are the single largest source of added sugars in the diet of young Americans.

The report urges parents, schools and youth-oriented institutions to take measures to reduce SSB consumption by teenagers, while at the same time encouraging them to consume healthier drinks.

The authors inform that water, low-fat, or fat-free milk are healthy drinks. 100% fruit juices are too if low amounts are drunk. They add that according to the American Academy of pediatrics, children should avoid routinely drinking sports drinks. 

"Beverage Consumption Among High School Students - United States, 2010"

Nancy D. Brener, PhD, Caitlin Merlo, MPH, Danice Eaton, PhD, Laura Kann, PhD, Div of Adolescent and School Health, Sohyun Park, PhD, Heidi M. Blanck, PhD, Div of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC. Corresponding contributor: Nancy D. Brener

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) June 17, 2011 / 60(23);778-780

Written by Christian Nordqvist 

Copyright: Medical News Today 

INNOVATIVE METHODS OF PROMOTING READING IN PRE-PRIMARY AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.  ~Charles W. Eliot

We're always telling children that books and reading are good for them,

but have we ever really thought about the learning outcome of reading ? 

Does reading matter ? According to me, it's true, reading really is

important, and that there are some solid reasons why that is so. Let's

begin with the practical benefits of reading supplemented by real-life examples from my pre-primary and primary schools.

·        Books help children develop vital language skills.

Reading is an important skill that needs to be developed in children.

Not only is it necessary for survival in the world of schools, but in adult life as well. The ability to learn about new subjects and find helpful information on anything depends on the ability to read.

The more children read, the better they become at reading. It's as

simple as that. The more enjoyable the things they read are, the more

they'll stick with them and develop the reading skills. Reading should be

viewed as a pleasurable activity - as a source of entertaining tales

and useful and interesting factual information.

Being in the field of education for so many years and being associated with so many educationists, I have observed that the more the young children 

are read to, the greater their interest in mastering reading.

I would like to highlight some of the innovative methods that we follow in 

schools for promoting reading in primary classes.

·        Class Library

The smallest bookstore still contains more ideas of worth than have been presented in the entire history of television.  ~Andrew Ross

Each section maintains a class library with the collection of age appropriate selected books which may include fiction, non-fiction, classics, poetry, 

encyclopedias, biographies, etc. Reading books from the class library has 

opened doors to factual information in different subjects and gives them an easy access to books.

·        Reading Time

Amity strongly believes that ‘reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body’ and so we have made reading an integral part of our curriculum by 

following ‘Reading Hour’ every Thursday between 7:50 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. 

wherein everyone in the school including the teachers and children indulge 

in reading books.

·        Book Review

Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.  ~James Russell Lowell

It is a ritual for every class to make a presentation in the assembly in which book review holds a place of vital importance. A presentation is made on 

the book eliciting its key points like author, interesting characters and 

incidents and moral values thereby acquired. This helps in promoting and 

popularizing books amongst similar age group.

·        Reader’s Club

One of the USPs of Amity is the introduction of Reader’s Club where a 

parent or a grandparent reads a story aloud which provides a great opportunity for children to socialize and to give a full run to their imagination.

·        Various activities in library

* Quiz on books and authors

*  Creating magazines and newspapers containing self-composed articles.

*  Summarizing the story books read in the library.

·        Book Allowance

*  Setting aside a book allowance is an excellent idea. Even if the allowance allows for the purchase of one paperback book or magazine a week, you would motivate your child to develop the reading habit.

·        Incentives

* At home  Praise your child for completing a long or a difficult book

* At school  To announce the best reader of the week.

‘Let books be your dining table,

And you shall be full of delights

Let them be your mattress

And you shall sleep restful nights.’

Hence we come to the conclusion that reading provides children with endless 

hours of fun and entertainment and acts as a lifelong source of pleasure and 

learning.