Friday: T. B. A.

Posted on November 4, 2018 by asgtc

“Honor your Father and your Mother,
as the Lord your God has commanded you,
that your days may be long,
and that it may be well with you
in the land which the Lord your God
is giving you.”
– Deuteronomy 5:16

Every
breath we breathe
is a Miracle.

As you hold your breath,
it nurtures you with Light,
fills your every living cell,
resonates with every part
of your body and mind and Soul,
and brings you
into a Beautiful harmony
with everything you seek
in Life.

Upon releasing this Gift
back into the void
from which it came,
you become harmonious
with all other Living things.

The breath you breathe
you share
will every
thing,
and you become one
with all,
again.

The Majesty of Wonder
is Graced
by your every
breath,
by your thoughts and deeds,
and by the Prayers you Pray,
to sow the seeds
of Life ever after,
and LOVE
beyond Belief.

YOU
are the culmination of God’s
creative Desire.

“The LORD God formed Man
from the dust of the ground
and breathed into his nostrils
the Breath of Life,
and man became a Living Being”
– Genesis 2:7

Yes,
God
is the Potter,
that molds our Clay
to His Creative Desire.

…………….God is the Potter.

And
your Mother’s Love –
also comes
from Above.
It frees you
from worry and
sleepless nights,
from not knowing
what is right.

A Mother’s Love frees you.

A Mother’s Love
fills us with
Grace,
that will never
die,
with tears
that never dry,
with a Truth
that will never lie,
with LOVE
surging from Her
Fiery Heart,
in whose Loving Shadow
WE
shall always remain.

In the midnight quiet
of a railway station,
a little boy
sits quietly,
almost all alone,
waiting on
the Rock Island Line,
to return him home,
to the farms
of far away Iowa,
a place he knew
as Paradise,
with just his precious
Mother’s voice
to soften the hard edges
of the hardwood bench,
the crisp night air,
the reflecting, echoing walls,
Life.

And I discover,
with the Love
of a Mother,
nothing else
in Life
truly matters.

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause Peace to return to our Hearts.”
― Washington Irving

And My Mother’s precious Life
echoes back:

“If I never
would have lived,
I could not
die.
Death
is proof of
Life.
And Life,
my Son,
is proof of Love.”

………….It is YOU.

Life is bittersweet
and can be filled
with despair.

Upon a razor’s edge
are we cast
onto the stage
of a Magnificent Day,
that can quickly become
a long night
to stay.

As our minds reflect
upon Human misery,
the mirror of our awareness
shows the World can be
a terrible place.
The History
of the Human race
depicts something far less
than Humanity.

And the fear of death,
not knowing where we go,
or what takes place
after we tell
the brief story of our Life,
can become worse
than death itself.

My Dear Friends,
God dwells in your Heart.
And by His Strength and Grace
alone,
you are able
to overcome adversity.

Marie Anderson

Marie Anderson

How well I remember
finding my precious Mother,
Marie,
lying in her bed,
literally in a pool
of her own blood.
She was rushed
to Baylor Medical Center.

I am in tears
as I share this with you.
They are tears
of Joy
and Thanksgiving.

The Surgeon visited with me
shortly before proceeding with
exploratory surgery.
And he shared with me
a sad truth.
I asked a simple question
and he gave me
the simple truth:
“Is there any Hope?”
No,
he whispered.
“What is the chance
that she can survive?”
None.
And then I searched his eyes
for any sign of Hope
and asked,
“What are her chances?”
He replied with great compassion
in his voice:
There is a one hundred percent
probability
that she will not survive
this night.
We will do what we can.
But, No.
Dr. Anderson, there is
no Hope.
Her condition is such
that she cannot survive
whatever is causing
this very massive loss of blood.
She is dying from cancer.
I’m sorry.”

I do not know how,
but I made my way
to the little Chapel
in the Hospital.

And there I cried
and cried and cried.
I begged God
not to take the Life
of this precious Mother.
I Prayed.
And through the tears
I could barely see.
But through the years,
I could clearly see.
What a Blessing
Life can be
when someone Loves you
as much
as she Loved me.

sun set

In awesome wonder

I shared the Love
I had felt though the years
with my Lord.
I expressed my deep gratitude,
over and over again,
for her very precious Life.
I shared the need
to have her with me
a little longer.
I told my God,
“I still need her in my Life.
Please, let me have her
a little longer.”

I was in
so much pain.

And then
my Communion
with the Lord
suddenly ended.
A strange feeling,
a quiet Peace,
came to my Heart.
I never felt anything
like it before.

I looked around
and the good Doctor
was quietly standing behind me.
The look on his face
astonished me.
It shocked me.
I could not understand it.
It was a look
I never expected.
Why was he looking
through me
and with such an amazement
in his tired eyes?
He was speechless
for a very long time.
He just looked
into my eyes
and looked through me.

After what seemed like
an Eternity,
he spoke
in a hushed and whispered
voice:
“I could not find anything wrong.
I think she will be all right now.”

I could barely speak.
I thanked him
and he very, very slowly
walked away
into a darkening hallway,
and I walked out of
a very dark night.

My precious Mother lived
for another twelve
and one half years.

Yes,
my tears
are of Joy
and Thanksgiving.

My Precious Lord,
How Great Thou Art.

A Mother’s LOVE
is the reason
why,
the night
Flowers into Morning.

May God grant
that a Man
should one day
be as strong,
as the LOVE
He found
in His Mother’s arms.

A Mother’s Love
is forever found,
in all
the countless generations
to come.

The
Infinite Love of
God
defines a Mother’s Love.
It is now
and forever.
It is
God Incarnate.

Mother,
it is
YOU.

Goodnight.

….A Heavenly masterpiece of a creation.

The 40th anniversary of the
Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented
will be held in Fort Worth!

GiftED18 will be sure to keep you busy
as you connect, learn and grow with fellow attendees.

Hotel

Conference sessions, exhibits and more will be held
at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
The Omni Fort Worth will serve as the conference hotel.

Omni – Fort Worth
1300 Houston St.
Fort Worth, TX 76102

Targeted Interest Sessions: Parents

Thursday, 7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m. NOV. 29

Keeping the Light in Their Eyes: Supporting Essential Skills for Talent Development

Nature & Needs
Parents/Community, Talent Development
203 A | Foundational

This workshop will provide a foundation for parents and teachers to better understand how they can support a student’s cognitive, social, and emotional growth. Emphasis will be placed on keeping students excited about learning and developing their abilities.
Robin Schader, Ph.D., Bridges Academy

Thursday, 10:45 a.m.–11:45 a.m. NOV. 29

Raising Children With Grit: Parenting Passionate, Persistent, & Successful Kids

Social Emotional
Parents/Community
203 A | Foundational

Grit, the combination of passion and perseverance, is critical to a child’s success. That means we must understand how to cultivate children’s passions and raise them in ways to combat the need for immediate gratification. Participants will learn how to develop grit in their children in social and academic environments.
Laila Sanguras, Ph.D., And Still We Teach

Thursday, 1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m.

NOV. 29

Executive Functioning: Tips and Strategies for Home & School

Creativity & Instructional Strategies
2E, Research
203 A | Foundational | Grades 3–8

Executive function is a strong predictor of academic success; however gifted students can show difficulty with initiating, prioritizing, staying focused, and completing projects. These difficulties have nothing to do with ability, but can create a negative narrative for a child. Learn how to understand EF better and strategies that help in this session.
Tabitha Molett, M.Ed., ACE Academy

Thursday, 2:45 p.m.–3:45 p.m.

NOV. 29

Building Partnerships: What Can a Parent Group Do for You?

Program Options & Design
Parents/Community, Advocacy, Professional Development
203 A | Foundational

Strong G/T programs have strong parent groups to advocate for and support G/T educators and services. Come learn how and why educators and parents work together to build parent support and receive ideas for ways your district’s parent group can help you take your G/T services to the next level.
Folly Ligh, M.S., TAGT Board of Directors, Emily Villimar-Robbins, TPPG, Cherin Escher, TAGT Parent Division, and Bettina Flunker, Past Chair, TAGT Parent Division

Thursday, 4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

NOV. 29

Perfectionism: A Practical Exploration

Nature & Needs
Parents/Community, Mindsets
203 A | Foundational

Do you have students or children who struggle with perfectionism? Perhaps you do yourself. Would you like practical ideas for helping overcome it? Learn what perfectionism looks like in gifted kids and its potentially damaging effects, and then discover the strategies for turning this terrible master into a compliant servant.
Lisa Van Gemert, M.Ed., Gifted Guru

Friday, 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

NOV. 30

Let’s Talk: Parenting Gifted Children 101

Nature & Needs
Parents/Community, Advocacy
101 | Foundational

How can you help your gifted child be successful? Bring your questions about parenting gifted children to these experts. Get ready to discuss tips for raising gifted kids, social-emotional issues, strategies for cultivating perseverance and encouraging your child’s talents and passions, ways to advocate for your gifted child, and more.
Tracy Inman, Ed.D., and Julia Roberts, Ed.D., The Center for Gifted Studies, Western Kentucy University, Laila Sanguras, Ph.D., And Still We Teach

Friday, 9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

NOV. 30

Making a Positive Impact on the Emotionally Intense Gifted Child

Social Emotional
Student Voice, Parents/Community, Mindsets
201 B | Applied

Managing the highs and lows of emotional intensity can be a struggle for children, their parents, and teachers. This session explores the understanding of why some gifted children are extreme in their behavior. Participants will gain strategies on interacting and guiding gifted children in self-regulation.
Chelsea Molton, M.Ed., Temple ISD

Friday, 1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.

NOV. 30

Resources for Gifted Kids 2018

Nature & Needs
Differentiation, Student Voice, Advocacy
203 A | Foundational

A recurring issue adults have regarding gifted kids is where to find appropriate resources that address their asynchronous nature and intellectual needs. This session will include academic, camps/competitions, peer relations, self-advocacy, media, and online resources.
Lisa Conrad, TAGT

2018-19 Anderson School Calendar

First Semester

Nov. 9 Half Price Books and a Movie (The Grinch)

Nov. 19 – 23 Thanksgiving / Fall Break

Dec. 7 Texas Civil War Museum

Dec. 21 (Friday) Last Day of Fall Semester

Dec. 24 – Jan. 7 Winter Break Holidays

Second Semester

January 8 – May 24 2019

Jan. 8 (Tuesday) Second Semester begins

Jan. 21 (Monday) Rev. Dr. Martin L. King Holiday

Jan. 25 (Friday) Fort Worth Stock Show

Feb. 18 (Monday) President’s Day Holiday

Mar. 8 (Friday) Texas Storytelling Festival in Denton

Mar. 11 -15 Spring Break Holidays

April 19 & 22 (Fri. & Mon.) Good Friday & Easter Holidays

April 30, (Tuesday) Scarborough Renaissance Festival

May 20 Prep. Day for Adventure Trip …………………………………………………….(no school)

May 21 – 24 Adventure Trip

May 24 Last Day of Semester

Dr. & Mrs. Anderson may schedule 2-5 additional days
(to be announced later) for In-service Training.
Visit our website at http://www.andersonschool.net
for updated information.

The School Calendar is subject to change.
There are no make-up days
if school is closed due to
inclement weather.

Inclement Weather Policy:
the school will close if Fort Worth I. S. D. is closed.

(Calendar 2018-2019 / approved 7-29-18)

Lyrics/songs texts/paintings/articles
are property and copyright of their owners
and provided for educational purposes.

Copyright Disclaimer – Section 107 – Copyright Act 1976,
allowance is made for “fair use”
for purposes such as criticism, comment,
news reporting, teaching, scholarship,and research.
Fair use is permitted by copyright statute.
Non-profit, educational or personal use
tips the balance in favor of “fair use”.

A Prelude to Infinity / Remembering Margarete Pross / Friday: Fossil Mania

Posted on October 23, 2018 by asgtc

“Sparks electric only strike
on Souls electrical alike.
The flash of intellect expires,
unless it meet

congenial fires.”

– Hannah Moor

Oh,
precious Earth made Child.
We were given feet of clay,
and Wings.

Our Lives
are
a prelude to
Infinity,
our roots
in the Heavens,
not
underground.
Profound Revelations
guide us
to the Source of all
Beauty.

Profound Revelations guide us.

And when,
My Dear Friend,
does this Life
end?

No.
Not when your
Heart of clay
ceases to beat.
It stops
when Hearts fail
to comprehend
the Love and Compassion
that dwells
within.

We all possess
a longing
for the unknown.

Yes,
the Immensity and Beauty
of the Universe
is Our Home,
and it is
little known.

“Among all the realities of the invisible world,
mediated to us by the disclosures and promises of God,
and to which our Faith responds,
there is none that more strongly calls into action
this faculty for grasping the unseen
than the Divine pronouncement through the Gospel,
that, though sinners,
we are Righteous in the judgment of God.
That is not only the invisible,
it seems the impossible;
it is the paradox of all paradoxes;
it requires a unique energy of Believing;
it is the supreme victory of Faith
over the apparent reality of things;
it credits God with calling the things that are not
as though they were;
it penetrates more deeply into the Deity of God
than any other act
of Faith.”
– Geerhardus Vos,
Grace and Glory: Sermons Preached
in the Chapel of Princeton Theological Seminary

Our Home is little known.

Buried deep
within our will to be,
is a Promise,
a Sacred Promise of God Almighty,
to Forgive
and to heal,
and always be.

We weavers
of Dreams,
and other things,
possess
the unexplainable feeling of longing
for a time and place,
we do not know.

And this,
My Precious Friend,
can be a sign
of recognizing
the identity of the Soul.
To envision a picture of a certain place,
unknown in time and space,
may trigger the Soul
to feel a great longing,
a feeling like
we have been there
before.

And
who knows?
The waves of Oceans deep
land upon every
shore,
like the Love
of God
that seeks a way
into every
Heart.

George Matheson

“I give thee back the Life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Light that foll’west all my way,
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
My Heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my Heart to thee;
I trace the Rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.”
– George Matheson

Oh Lord,
grant that our Lives
restore
the borrowed Day,
the Sacred Gift
of
Celestial Love,
the precious Life
given
from Above.

Goodnight.

Remembering Margarete Pross

Once upon a time,
a couple of college friends and I invited

our dear friend and teacher, Mrs. Margarete Pross,
to join us for an evening of music
with John Gary at Hardin-Simmons University.
.
What a magical evening it was.
And later, she cried at the thought that her students
would care enough to

include her in our plans.
.

Those tears still flow though our Hearts,
down though time, and into the lives we

live today.
.

She shared the tragedy of her Life –
of how her husband, holder of both a law

degree and a Ph.D. and Chair of the Department
of Speech at a nearby University, died suddenly.
She felt that without his presence at the school,
she was unfairly dismissed
from her teaching position at this University.
.
Now it was evident that she was fending for herself,
in a very real struggle to merely
survive.

Mrs. Pross was teaching Speech,
along with the Joy of Living,
at a small junior college in, of all places,
Ranger, Texas,
when our group came to pick her up for

the John Gary concert
at her home.
.
As she wiped away tears from eyes
that were always

filled with such compassion for her students,
I looked around at the very humble

surroundings she lived in.

I was mortified at the so-called apartment
she merely existed in.
And I thought privately, how can such circumstance toss

such a Beautiful Human Being
into this.
.
The place made her three students want only to quickly leave.

It was at this time that we decided to assist her in finding
decent living accommodations.
We succeeded in finding a nice

garage apartment for her,
and we included her in our lives,
as much as we could.
.

We finally departed that evening for Abilene
to truly enjoy
a night of music with John Gary in concert,
a great steak dinner,
and as many one liners and jokes as she could endure.
What we created was a great friendship
that lasted many years.

And it began with that evening.
.

Such is the way with the quiet lives we live.
So many teachers,

so many tears, so many lonely evenings,
when it looks as though
no one cares.
All of her students felt, deep in our hearts,
that

this Lady cared deeply for us,
and she made us care

a great deal more than we thought we could.
We learned from her that

much of what we do,
in small ways for others,
really matters.
It creates Joy,
keeps us alive,
and makes our brief Lives
worth living.
.

And in sharing a little of your time and yourself,

you discover

that your life is richer.
You find that Life is more than just living –

you discover that
Love is everywhere
and in everyone
and, to your surprise,
in YOU.
.
And that you have plenty
to share –
that

your Cup runneth over,
with Love.
.

So,
in this moment,
before your Life ceases
to stir the endless sea of Time,
while tears of remembrance can still flow over you,

tell the teacher that held you in her Heart
how much it mattered

that someone cared,
when it seemed, perhaps,
that no one else
would.
.

Take her by the hand,
waltz her out the door,
and share a moment of gratitude
for all the Love that still abides
with you.
.

Life
is like a string of pearls,
consisting of brief moments
of Joy.

And few of them!

Goodnight.
.

“The secret to Life
is meaningless,
unless you discover it
yourself.”
– W. Somerset Maugham,
Of Human Bondage

This week in Philosophy Class:
we will enjoy viewing the Anderson School Production
of Julius Caesar
performed by our students
last Spring in our great outdoor theater.
Our appreciation goes to
Nick Meagher
and
Director George X Rodriguez.
Thank You
for your support.

2018-19 Anderson School Calendar

First Semester

Oct. 26 Fossil Mania in Glenrose

Nov. 2 Museum of Science & History

Nov. 19 – 23 Thanksgiving / Fall Break

T. B. A. Texas A.G.T. Conference (no school)

Dec. 7 Texas Civil War Museum

Dec. 21 (Friday) Last Day of Fall Semester

Dec. 24 – Jan. 7 Winter Break Holidays

Second Semester

January 8 – May 24 2019

Jan. 8 (Tuesday) Second Semester begins

Jan. 21 (Monday) Rev. Dr. Martin L. King Holiday

Jan. 25 (Friday) Fort Worth Stock Show

Feb. 18 (Monday) President’s Day Holiday

Mar. 8 (Friday) Texas Storytelling Festival in Denton

Mar. 11 -15 Spring Break Holidays

April 19 & 22 (Fri. & Mon.) Good Friday & Easter Holidays

April 30, (Tuesday) Scarborough Renaissance Festival …………. Student Day

May 20 Prep. Day for Adventure Trip (no school)

May 21 – 24 Adventure Trip

May 24 Last Day of Semester

Dr. & Mrs. Anderson may schedule 2-5 additional days
(to be announced later) for In-service Training.
Visit our website at http://www.andersonschool.net
for updated information.

The School Calendar is subject to change.
There are no make-up days
if school is closed due to
inclement weather.

Inclement Weather Policy:
the school will close if Fort Worth I. S. D. is closed.

(Calendar 2018-2019 / approved 7-29-18)

Lyrics/songs texts/paintings/articles
are property and copyright of their owners
and provided for educational purposes.

“Dr. A,
Thank you
for your most inspiring words from the Heart.
The message today spoke directly to me.
The entire newsletter is a complete gift to anyone
who is Blessed enough to read it.
Only Love is real.
And only Love is important.
I have heard a resounding melody
and like the sweetest of lullabies sings to me.
Trust in the unknown
and then you will know everything.”
– Laura Jaye Greer

Thank You
Laura Jaye,
as always, for the kind words.
They are deeply
appreciated.

The Tears and the Rain / Ways To Stay Mentally Healthy – Feel Less Depressed / Friday: Shakespeare Rehearsal at School

Posted on March 19, 2018 by asgtc

The Life of our Love
can sometimes be revealed
in the borderland
between mind and matter.
Shades of our imagination
peer into this inner World.
And now we know,
it can reflect
and create Love.

To laugh with abandon
and feel the Freedom
of pure Joy in Life,
is to awaken
Wisdom,
and let it flow
like a violent, raging river
across the barren plain
of existence.

It can reflect and create Love.

To overcome the
perceived absolutes
that become
barriers to our Beliefs,
Hearts
must sing
with the Birds,
murmur with the
brooks,
rise and fall
with the ebb and flow
of tireless tides,
transform and evolve
with moments
fleeting
and illuminating.

Moments fleeting and illuminating.

Love
stirs the endless Sea
of Time,
swirls the Stars around,
finds us
dreaming of Sunshine,
when none
can be found.

Once the Heart
softens,
it lets in the
rain.

Oh,
you may think of tears,
but in so many ways,
they are the same,
the tears
and the rain.

God
is everywhere,
in everything.

Yes,
there is a Greater Reality
than we may ever
truly know.

Your Heart is the ground upon which you walk.

My Dear Friends,
Life
is hard price to pay
for Love.

But Hearts
that are Human,
are FULL of
Wonder.
It has
always been.

The rushing rapids
of our fragile
emotions,
can lead us to
no one,
nowhere.
And nowhere
is also
eternity.

“Teach your parents well.
Their children’s hell will slowly go by.
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick,
the one you’ll know by.
Don’t you ever ask them why.
If they told you, you will cry.
So just look at them and sigh,
And know they Love
YOU.”
– Graham Nash
click here to play song

No,
we may never
fully comprehend
the Nature of our
Reality.

But,
isn’t it Wonderful
that what lies beyond
our poor ability
to add or detract,
really exists.
And a spark
of this incomprehensible
Divinity
resides within
each of us,
patiently waiting
to be manifest.

“Do you not know
that your body
is a Temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you,
whom you have from God,
and that you are not your own?”
– 1 Corinthians 6:19

Goodnight.

Ten ways to stay mentally healthy by Celia Dodd
click here to read more

1 Put people before things: spend more time with friends and family. Nurture your relationships.

2 Be authentic: focus on activities you really believe in, whether it’s a hobby, a project at work, a cause.

3 Don’t measure success in how much you earn or what possessions you own.

4 Set yourself challenging but achievable goals, both short term and long-term.

5 When you achieve a goal, Celebrate it.

6 Learn something new. (Get some ideas what you could learn online.)

7 Volunteer – or just do something simple to help someone. Studies show clear links between volunteering and psychological well being. But don’t be a martyr: choose something you really enjoy.

8 Exercise outside every day.

9 Don’t beat yourself up when things go pear-shaped. Treat yourself with the same compassion you’d treat a loved one. Accept that everyone mucks things up sometimes.

10 At the end of every day make a list of three things you feel grateful for, or things that went well that day.

Love swirls the Stars around.

How to deal with not being happy
Click here and stay to the end to see how simple happy is

In an environment where stress is the norm, it’s important to be aware of warning signs that anxiety is beginning to slide out of control. Sleeping badly, for example, or drinking more than usual, or flying off the handle for no good reason.

It’s easy to assume you’re the only one who isn’t coping with stress – and that you should be coping.

“So many people carry on striving to avoid facing up to the fact that they’re under constant pressure,” says Mark Williamson. “Just giving yourself the space to stop and notice can help.”

Eight natural ways to feel less depressed

by Xenia Taliotis

1 Eat right

Beware the three false gods: booze, caffeine and sugar. They are not your friends, no matter how much they pretend to be. They’ll pick you up, and then drop you from the high they’ve taken you to. Your true friends are water; selenium-rich foods such as eggs, brazil nuts and unrefined grains; proteins, including meat, fish, poultry, legumes and quinoa; and the all-round hero, the Mediterranean diet.

A study published some years back by University College London, which followed 3,500 people over five years, showed that those who followed a Mediterranean diet were 30 per cent less likely to become depressed than those who didn’t.

If there’s a better lunch buffet to be had in Fort Worth, we haven’t found it. Byblos Lebanese Restaurant, located in Fort Worth at 1406 N. Main St., lays out a delicious spread of Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisine.
Introduce yourself to our very dear friend and owner, Marios Hedary.
Without his kind assistance in the past, the Anderson Private School simply would not exist. By the way, this is our favorite place to dine!!

2 Laugh

Laughter – even fake laughter – releases a surge of stress-busting endorphins into your bloodstream. Even of you don’t have anything to laugh about and remain immune to the best-worst of Basil Fawlty and David Brent, you can still have a go at faking it. Your mind will thank you for it, and so will your body, thanks to the boost in oxygen and the cardiovascular workout (yes really). If you’d like to do it as part of a group, join a laughter club. laughteryoga.org. There are hundreds nationwide.

3 Connect with other people

Dr Steve Ilardi, author of The Depression Cure, says that one of the most damaging aspects of depression is the fact that it makes us withdraw from others. According to him, our brains treat mental illness much as they would a physical one, urging us to retreat until we feel better, when what we really need when we’re low is company. So fight the impulse to switch off the phone and dive under the duvet and instead arrange to meet a friend.

4 Learn something new

If you’re in a rut, ploughing the same furrow will only take you deeper down that hole, so give your brain something new to think about. Learning a new skill, a new language, or even how to master all the functions on your smartphone can make you feel better about yourself and give you a sense of achievement.

Clinical psychologist Dr Linda Blair advocates learning to bake: “Baking is an antidote for the hectic approach we take to living. I would encourage anyone who is stressed or burnt out to start baking.” (Easy on the sugar, obviously; I refer you to point 1.)

But if baking is not for you, the University of the Third Age, u3a.org.uk is a great place to start. It provides “life-enhancing opportunities” for retired and semi-retired people and operates on a local level, so there’s bound to be a group near you.

5 Give more Love

Loving something or someone is one of the best things you can do for your mental health. If you don’t have a partner, and friends and children have moved away and you don’t know what to do with your love, find something you really enjoy doing. Or, even better, get a pet, or volunteer your time to someone who needs your care. Looking after someone or something will shift your focus and could lift you out of the doldrums.

The amazing Cinnamon Trust, cinnamon.org.uk matches volunteers with elderly or terminally ill pet owners who need help looking after their pets. You could have all the pleasure of walking someone else’s dog – and the accompanying health benefits – with none of the responsibilities of ownership.

6 Be active

Nothing slows down your brain’s recovery faster than slowing down your body. You don’t need to run or bootcamp or do anything more strenuous than walk, preferably every day (but failing that, at least five days a week). The NHS recommends 10,000 steps spread throughout each day. Walk It walkit.com is a city route planner that shows you the best way of getting from where you are to where you want to be, while tracking your calorie burn and step count. Walk 4 Life walk4life.info can help you find walks, and people to walk with.

7 Change your mind

Marcus Aurelius, the second century Roman Emperor, said: “The whole universe is change and life itself is but what you deem it.” In other words, life is all about perception. We can’t change any of the awful things that happen to us, but what we can try to change is how we think of them.

Rewiring the brain in this way and accepting situations is hard work, but it can be done with practice and through meditation, which teaches people how to stop automatic thought processes. There are many excellent apps available to get you started, including Buddify (£3.99, buddify.com) and Headspace’s freebie starter app. headspace.com

8 Challenge yourself

Angela Padmore, author of Challenging Depression and Despair, argues that people are often too soft on themselves, and that they need to “get a grip”. This sounds harsh, but it needn’t be.

A brilliant clinical psychologist I know, Dr Mary Burgess at University College London Hospitals, taught me a very simple and effective trick to use whenever I’m wallowing or thinking destructive thoughts, which is this: I just ask myself “Is this helpful?”.

If the answer is no, as it invariably is, then I stop that thinking and move on to something else. Logic is a powerful tool. Use it to challenge your negative thoughts.

Then you can take action to prevent anxiety escalating. Simple steps like cutting down on caffeine and alcohol, setting aside 30 minutes a day for yoga or meditation and reassessing your priorities can be highly effective in tackling stress.

When things go wrong, what matters is how you treat yourself. Recent research into self-esteem found that people who have ‘self-compassion’ cope more robustly when things go wrong.

They still feel bad, but they treat themselves kindly. They don’t agonize or disparage themselves, but instead accept that everyone makes a mess of things sometimes.

There is a Greater Reality.

Copyright Disclaimer – Section 107 – Copyright Act 1976,
allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of “fair use”.

Website Design by Alexander Anderson
© Copyright 1995-2018 The Anderson Private School. All Rights Reserved

The One We Are / Protect Yourself from Radio-frequency Radiation / Friday: Texas Storytelling Festival (Denton)

Posted on March 4, 2018 by asgtc

On
the fevered brow
of our Mother,
this beautiful Earth,
we can place
the calming, cooling
Hand
of our felt Compassion
for one another.

Often,
the only Light
one can see
in the darkness
of the shadows cast over
our Home
by you and me,
is a tiny spark,
emanating from a Love
that can engulf our
whole World,
and Light the
Way.

In the darkness of the shadows.

Life
is a Love Story,
or it becomes
nothing at all.

Hope
is a Heartbeat.
One beat
of the Human Heart.
But,
if it does not
beat for another,
it may not be beating
at all.

We need see but one.

Billions of diamonds
cover the ring
that weds us
to this Earth.
And we need see
but one,
the one we are,
to remind us
of the deep,
abiding need
for Her
Love.

“I’ve stumbled on the side
of twelve misty mountains.
I’ve walked and I crawled
on six crooked highways.
I’ve stepped in the middle
of seven sad forests.
I’ve been out in front
of a dozen dead oceans.
I’ve been ten thousand miles
in the mouth of a graveyard.

And it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.”
– Bob Dylan

The hardest thing
is to say
goodbye,
goodbye to everything,
everything that is not
Love.
.
But we suddenly realize,
Love is
everything,
and Love is a Gift
from our Father
above,
and Love,
Love is God.
And YOU
are His Child,
a Child of Love,
a Child
of God.
.
“Love is the fundamental essence
of His nature and character
– His very Being.
God is perfect in Love.
God’s Love is manifested
by His absolutely pure desire
to care for, share and give.”
– Steve Moody
lifehopeandtruth.com
read more
.
Love
of Life,
is the Life
we give to
Love.
.
The Sun
that rises,
is the same Sun
that sets.
The God
of our Fathers and of our Mothers,
is the God
of our Sons
and our Daughters.

You cannot bury
the Dream
we are.
You cannot ferry
the Love of God
across a River
of no return.
.
“You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.”
– Edgar Allan Poe
.
Every Spark
of our Compassion
becomes
an Eternal Flame.
Every act
of Kindness
remains the
same.

“Without saying a word,
you can Light up the dark.
Try as I may
I could never explain.

What I hear
when you don’t say a thing.

You say it best,
when you say
nothing at all.”

– Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz

My Dear Friends,
we are so much MORE,
and in so being,
so much LESS,
than what we perceive ourselves to be.
Philosophers of the past were right,
our senses really do deceive us.

We have been told
our reality is made up of
physical material things
and that our world
is independently existing
and objective.

But quantum physics tell us
is that there is no true
“physicality”
in the Universe.

Atoms are made of focused
vorticies of energy
– miniature tornadoes,
constantly spinning and vibrating
and popping into and out of existence
billions of times each second.

We are made
of atoms.

We are
pure energy,
pure Love.
Each of us
is a Child
of Love,
a Child of
God.

Goodnight.

flower-blue-b

Here’s what you can do
to protect yourself from potential harm from
radio-frequency radiation:
read more

1. Always use a hands-free headset or the speakerphone setting when talking on your cell phone. Some researchers say a wired headset, especially a “hollow tube” headset you can special-order—which will be labeled as such and uses hollow tubes rather than wires to conduct sound—is the best. But even a Bluetooth wireless headset will reduce your radio-frequency radiation exposure by several thousandfold.

2. Keep the phone off your body. Carry your phone in a purse or bag with the antenna (back of the phone) pointed away from you, not in your pocket or bra. When you’re talking on it (with a headset or on speakerphone) put it on a table in front of you. Just a few inches can substantially reduce your radiation exposure.

3. Text instead of talking. Holding your cell phone away from your head to send text messages exposes you to less radiation than talking on it without a headset.

4. Turn it off. Phones only emit radio-frequency radiation when they’re searching for or receiving a signal, so a phone that’s off or in “airplane mode” is safe.

5. Replace cordless phones with corded models. Cordless phones can emit as much radiation as cell phones, and the charging station constantly emits radiation.

6. Use a low-radiation cell phone. Unless you live in San Francisco, cell phone retailers aren’t required to display the specific absorbency rate (SAR), or the amount of radiation a phone causes your body to absorb. Search FCC.gov/cgb/sar to find out the SAR level of your model, or consult the Environmental Working Group’s online database: EWG.org/cellphones. But no matter how low the SAR of your phone is, it’s still important the phone away from your head and body whenever possible.

7. Keep your cell phone, cordless phone, and wireless modem away from your head. All three will expose you to radio-frequency radiation, so banish all three from the bedroom or, at least, keep them away from your head and body. If you must have wireless Internet, turn off your router when you’re not using it, especially at night—a power strip with a timer can help.

8. Keep your phone fully charged. When a cell phone’s signal strength is weak or blocked, it has to work harder—and consequently emits more radiation.

9. Be wary of devices that claim to block EMF exposure. A Google search yielded 236,000 results for “EMF protection,” most of which were sites selling “protective” devices ranging from pendants and crystals to microchips and herbal remedies. Most experts agree that many are based on quasi-science and there’s no evidence that they work. Some “EMF shields” for your phone can actually increase the amount of radiation that it emits, since they block the signal and the phone has to work harder.

10. Don’t give cell phones to young children as toys or pacifiers. If you occasionally let your small tot play Pac-Man on your cell phone, put it into “airplane mode” so it won’t search for a signal – which means it won’t emit radiation.

11. Take care with older children. Children are more susceptible to potential harm from radio-frequency radiation than adults. If you give your children a cell phone for safety reasons, also give them a headset and encourage them to text or use the speakerphone instead of putting the phone close to their heads.

Source: Green American. January/February 2011 Issue, Aritcle by Victoria Kreha

Next Week:
Remembering
our Children of the
Holocaust.

IMPORTANT DATES
March 12 – 19                       Spring Break Holiday
April 13 & 16 (Fri. & Mon.) Good Friday and Easter Holidays
May 1                                    Tuition Balance Due for 2018-19
May 22- 25                            Adventure Trip
May 25                                  Last Day of Semester

Important dates are posted each Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.:
William’s Weblog at andersonschool.net

Copyright Disclaimer – Section 107 – Copyright Act 1976,
allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of “fair use”.

A Song Begins to Form / Surprising Mental Benefits of Clean Eating / Friday: at School (Shakespeare Rehearsal)

Posted on April 18, 2017 by asgtc

“Nighttime sharpens,
Heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs,
And wakes imagination
Silently the senses
Abandon their defenses

Slowly, gently
Night unfurls it’s Splendor
Grasp it, sense it
Tremulous and tender.”
– Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart,
Richard Henry, Zachary Stilgoe

Remembering my precious “Kirby”.

There’s a whisper in the dark,
as Life comes to be
unafraid
to pierce the night
with imagination
and Love
and Light.
Unfolding in our dreams
we come to be,
where it seems,
there is no end
to what we can see.

Then a song begins to form
from deeply felt memories
that once were we,
echoing Love’s harmony
and joined in endless
flight
heard throughout the World
of our awareness,
on this precious
night.

And intoned we hear,
we shall never be alone,
as Hearts beat as one,
and again we find Love,
joined by cherished voices from the past,
and a deep Abiding Love
from Above.

“Oh Great Spirit,
Whose Voice I hear in the winds,
And whose Breath gives life to all the world,
hear me!
I am small and weak,
I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in Beauty,
and make my eyes ever behold
the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.
I seek strength,
not to be greater than my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy –
myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when Life fades,
as the fading sunset
my Spirit
may come to you without shame.”
– Native American Prayer
listen here

Such is
the Miracle of Love,
that it goes
on and on and on.
Not through time,
that may have never really existed,
or space,
not without end,
but through
Grace,
Everlasting to Everlasting.
Such is the Precious Love of
God.

“Grace, amazing Grace,
takes the powerful nature of Love
to the next level.
Grace is the width, and depth, and breadth of Love
reaching out, rippling across the ponds of time
to reach into the Hearts
of the lost and searching.
Grace is the freeing element of Love.”
– Antwuan Malone
read more

I am rendered silent
when trying to fathom
the “Grace” of God’s Love.
How great is the Love of our Father?
Were we to spend our entire Life
trying to comprehend,
we could never grasp
its depth.

“Yea,
I have Loved thee
with an everlasting Love;
therefore with Loving kindness
have I drawn thee.”
– Jeremiah 31:3

Day after day
God’s Love
rises like the Dawn,
and always shines
upon you and me.

And through the dark of night
voices from the past
keep calling,
until
the Light of Dawn
chases away
every whisper
of our remembrances and imaginings
that begged to stay.

Annie and Alex, ages 8 and 5 (1992)

Old friends they are,
the rocks I tread upon –
I kick out from
under my bare feet.
Familiar they are,
these old friends
as comforting as the
ground,
belonging to me
as I to them.

My memory
seemingly seeps from the
Sacred soil
and back into me,
giving me
a sense of Peace,
finding some comfort
here.

The silence is my teacher.
The calming air I breathe,
I find warm and inviting
and free.
Under the comforting warmth
of a beautiful spreading Tree,
I look to the Heavens
through the flickering,
whispering leaves.

This Sacred Place
I can never leave –
It never left me.
I belong here,
beneath the beautiful
canopy
of God’s Eternal Love.
What God provides
in Nature,
nurtures me.
It steals my Heart,
and leaves my Spirit
free.

I Pray
you will find
God’s Love
hidden deep within
the Forest
of your Heart.

“There is One Ultimate Loving Energy
that is present in all that exists.
You may call it whatever you are comfortable with:
God, Spirit, Source, the Great I Am, Allah, Yahweh, etc.
This is not a personality outside of us,
but rather a Presence within each of us.
We are inherently Spiritual Beings
having a Human experience.
We live in an abundant, unlimited Universe
and within us lies all the Wisdom, Love and Power
needed to create full, Joyous
prosperous lives.”
– Rev. Lee Wolak
Agape Center For Spiritual Living

Such moments
as I am with my Mother,
Nature,
truly magnify
the Miracle of Life
in me.

Goodnight

What God provides in Nature, nurtures me.

“Did you ever think
That we could be so close, like brothers.
The future’s in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change.
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
in the wind of change
Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever.”
– Klaus Meine
listen here

The Surprising Benefits of Clean Eating

by Matthew Solan
read more

Eating unprocessed food is a great way to improve your overall diet, but proponents say it can also do great things for your mental health.

Erica learned the hard way how food affects her physical and mental health. Ten years ago, she worked in the high-pressure, go-go-go TV industry. Meals were devoured in minutes. Drinking two cans of Coke a day was the norm.

The work stress became overwhelming, and she soon left. But it wasn’t until later that she made the connection between what she ate and how it made her feel.

“I was not happy and my job at that time was no longer rewarding,” she says, “but I came to understand how my eating habits and choices had contributed to that.”

Erica realized that her food choices had aggravated her episodes of stress – and, conversely, that her stress had contributed to poor food choices.

“When I adopted a clean eating diet, where I cut out the processed and comfort foods, I immediately noticed a change not only in my mood, but how I reacted when things went wrong,” Erica says.

“No longer was my instinct to reach for the chips, soda, or ice cream.”

Less packaged, more whole

The term “clean eating” is trendy nowadays.

An entire magazine is devoted to the subject. From TV chef Curtis Stone and Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey to actresses Anne Hathaway and Jessica Alba, a slew of personalities and celebrities swear by clean eating.

But what does it mean exactly?

“Without all the excess sugar from processed foods and dairy, I had much less of the mental ups and downs that can happen when faced with daily stress.”

“There are a lot of different interpretations, and no one fixed definition,” says

Pamela Fergusson, RD, PhD, a registered dietitian and consultant with Fresh Start Nutrition in Toronto.

“But generally, it refers to eating less processed foods and more whole foods.”

That means food in its natural or near-natural state, with minimal or no added chemicals, additives, or refined sugar. Ideally, what you eat should not be processed, or minimally processed, allowing it to retain high amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients.

One way to approach clean eating is to skip anything that comes in a box, can, or similar packaging.

But there are exceptions.

“For instance, beans come in cans that may add a little extra salt for flavor and preservation, but they are still beans, which are a nutritious whole food,” Fergusson notes.

You can ID processed foods as those that undergo changes from their natural state: think instant oatmeal instead of steel-cut oats, or French fries instead of whole potatoes.

Sound simple?

For the most part, it is.

“Clean eating encourages eating more of the right kind of foods without thinking about low-fat, low-calorie, or low-carb,” says Fergusson.

If you follow a particular eating plan – including a vegetarian, vegan or Paleo diet – you can still incorporate clean eating into your regimen. Just make a point to avoid processed staples.

For instance, vegetarians may enjoy frozen veggie burgers, but they don’t meet the guidelines of clean eating. Vegans may opt for soy cheese, but that’s often made with additives and preservatives.

Food-mood connection

Clean eating can have a positive impact on your mood. Indeed, research is beginning to demonstrate how our food choices – not just what we eat, but what we don’t eat – can influence how we think and feel.

The scientific connection between our brain and food is an intertwining path, but here’s an abbreviated version:

When you get stressed, the body goes into fight-or-flight mode, releasing the hormones adrenal and cortisol to combat the stressful event. This reaction typically suppresses our appetite.

If stress persists, however, and you find yourself in a constant state of worry, anxiety, or prolonged exposure to stressful situations, these hormones overload the body and cause heightened inflammation and negative emotions.

“The worse someone feels, the more likely they will seek comfort,” explains Eva Selhub, MD, author of the books Your Health Destiny, The Love Response and Your Brain on Nature.

“Food can act as that comfort, which is why we call foods high in fat and sugar ‘comfort foods.’”

While it can make people feel better in the short term, comfort food serves only as a temporary fix, Selhub warns.

“You find yourself craving more feel-good foods to help fight the stress,” she says. “High amounts of these trans fats and high-sugar foods can further flame inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain, which creates more mental fog and depression.”

Healthy diet, enhanced mood

While your diet can contribute to stress, it may also control how your brain responds to them.

That’s why the goal of clean eating is to eliminate unhealthy “feel-good” food and replace it with natural choices that can actually promote greater brain health.

Studies have found that people who follow the Mediterranean diet, for example – which includes plenty of whole vegetables and fruits, unprocessed grains, fish, and other seafood – have a 25%-35% lower risk of depression compared with those who follow a typical “Western” diet high in processed and refined foods.

One reason that a diet abundant in natural-state foods benefits your brain and mood is that these foods contain high amounts of antioxidants, which have been shown to not only soothe inflammation and oxidative stress but help prevent it in the first place.

A “sweeter” outlook, naturally

If you battle unhealthy cravings as part of your stress, clean eating is a way to break free from your dependence.

Taylor, co-owner of St. Pete Strength and Conditioning in Florida, turned to clean eating when he became more dedicated to his weight-training regimen.

His approach: stick with foods close to their natural state, which helped eliminate high amounts of refined sugar in his diet.

Taylor says he noticed an almost instant change for the better.

“I’m detailed-oriented, I sweat the small stuff, and I get stressed easily. But the clean eating helps me stay more focused and not get sidetracked with distractions.”

Taylor pointed to cutting out sugar, a feeder of inflammation, as the main factor for his improved outlook.

“Without all the excess sugar from processed foods and dairy, I have much less of the mental ups and downs that can happen when faced with daily stress. I’m much better able to go with the flow,” he says.

Another advantage to clean eating is that it can expand your palate, so you’re not always stuck in a food rut.

“Clean eating encourages eating more of the right kind of foods without thinking about low-fat, low-calorie, or low-carb.”

“Clean eating is more about what you can have rather than what you can’t have,” says Rebecca Katz, MS, author of The Healthy Mind Cookbook.

“You’ll discover that when you eliminate a lot of processed ingredients, you’ll add more fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats that can turn into Technicolor meals full of bright greens, reds, and yellows.”

For her part, Erica discovered the many wonders of kale through clean eating.

“I learned that it was such a nutrient-rich food, and there were many ways to use it,” she says. “I use it in my breakfast smoothie, on lunchtime sandwiches, and as a side dish for dinner.”

Keep in mind that clean eating is designed to be flexible, so your healthy efforts will not collapse if you take a day off. If anything, the mental benefits of clean eating make it easier to rebound without guilt or stress.

“Now if I slip up, even over a few days, I’m aware of it and can more easily get back on track,” says Erica. “I don’t stress about it. That’s what’s so great about making positive change – it stays with you.”

Tips to Get Started

Here are some tips for making the move into clean eating:

Begin with breakfast. It’s a smaller meal and easier to prepare. Replace processed cereal with oatmeal, or a smoothie made with almond milk, greens, and frozen fruit.

Plan your meals. Organize and prep your meals for the week over the weekend. Have your fruits and vegetables chopped and stored in a container ready to go. It’s easier to reach into the fridge and grab what you need than to feel overwhelmed trying to prepare an entire meal from scratch.

Make a sweep of your kitchen. Get rid of processed foods lurking in your cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer. “This frees up space for you to add healthier alternatives that make cooking much more efficient,” says Katz.

Examples of “Clean Eating” Foods

The focus of clean eating is to consume more whole foods in their natural state and to avoid heavily processed foods.

When in doubt, read the label. “The ingredient list should be short and recognizable,” says Katz. “If you can’t say them, don’t eat them.”

Avoid anything with chemical-sounding names or phrases like “artificial coloring” and “flavors.” Here are a few examples of food staples that make up clean eating, according to Katz:

Healthy fats such as olive oil, grass-fed butter, and coconut oil
Fresh fruits – or canned, frozen, or dried fruit with no added sugar
Fresh vegetables – or canned or frozen vegetables with no added sauces or salt
Nuts like almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, and walnuts
Organic or vegetarian eggs
Unrefined grains, like whole-grain wheat bread and pasta, non-microwave popcorn, steel-cut oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, and whole-wheat flour
Canned beans and legumes with little or no added salt (rinsing can reduce sodium by 35%)
Plain yogurt
Plain nut butters
Unsweetened almond or cashew milk
Organic or grass-fed meat, including beef and chicken
Fresh or frozen fish, including Pacific cod, salmon, and tilapia
Herbs and spices such as turmeric, basil, rosemary, cinnamon, and ginger

Cooking Tip

How you prepare your food can also help you eat clean. Stick with flash-cook methods like stir-frying and steaming, which lock in more vitamins and minerals. Avoid high-fat cooking techniques, like deep frying or stewing your food in animal or vegetable fats.

“Hold on to what is good,
even if it’s a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe,
even if it’s a tree that stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do,
even if it’s a long way from here.
Hold on to your life,
even if it’s easier to let go.
Hold on to my hand,
even if I’ve gone away from you.”
– Pueblo Indian Prayer

Beneath the beautiful canopy of God’s Eternal Love.

IMPORTANT DATES:

April 28             Scarborough Renaissance Festival (Weather permitting)
May 1                TUITION DUE for 2017-18
May 15 & 16      Shakespeare Production at Stage West Theater
May 22 – 26       Adventure Trip
May 26               Last Day of Semester.

Copyright Disclaimer – Section 107 – Copyright Act 1976,
allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of “fair use”.

Lyrics/song texts are property and copyright of their owners and provided for educational purposes.

Lockstep and Fits ALL? / Monarchs and Milkweed / Nutrition / Tea and Dementia / Equipping the Storm Shelter / Friday: At School (Shakespeare Production)

Posted on April 4, 2017 by asgtc

“I long for the day
when the statement,
‘Our God is Love,
our race is Human,
and our religion is Oneness,’
is more than the musings
of my mind,
but is the Creed of the Heart
of the Human family.”
– Rev. Jim Rosemergy

Monarch butterfly / Photo by Mark Musselman / National Audubon Society / USFWS

The annual migration of North America’s
Monarch Butterfly is a unique phenomenon.
The Monarch is the only butterfly
known to make a two-way migration as birds do,
flying as far as 3,000 miles.
The farthest ranging Monarch recorded
traveled 265 miles in one day,
and they weigh less than a gram

Every backyard can become an oasis
for Monarchs. You can engage in planting
or preserving native milkweed plants
necessary for their survival.
Our school always preserves milkweed plants
for our visiting Monarch friends.

Why don’t you join us?

By the way,
Milkweed is the larval host for the Monarch
and is considered nectar plants for many different
butterfly species found feeding from the flower.

We are located directly in the migratory path
of the magnificent Monarch Butterflly.

Few are aware
that the educational system
we have in place today
was adopted from the program
put into place by
Catherine the Great of Russia in
1899
to produce good soldiers, obedient factory workers,
and citizens who would not question authority
and dutifully pay their taxes.

Catherine the Great Credit: Dmitry Levitzky [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

This curriculum model
has inevitably led to a
“one size fits all”
mentality
and a lockstep method
of advancement.
It emphasizes rote memorization
and the passing of tests
over critical thinking skills,
the development of creativity,
fostering and nurturing
a Love of Learning,
and the acceleration of study
in innate areas of
higher awareness.

The lockstep platform forces learners
to proceed at the same pace.
It requires fewer instructors,
far less management and assessment
and is much more easily managed
than self-paced programs.

The ‘Iiwi is one of the endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper species. Photo by Kahn, Noah/USFWS

A primary disadvantage of lockstep placement
is that the pace is set for average learners.
However,
there are no average learners.
It is statistically improbable
that a group of children will all be
in the third grade, second month,
first week and second day
in all elementary subjects
and progress day after day,
year after year,
at the same pace.

And the design of the curriculum,
placement within the program,
as well as the assessment tools utilized,
are all highly subjective.

Every child is different.
They all have special learning requirements
and different pacing needs
within different subject areas.

No,
there are no average learners.
Everything in Life
follows the bell-shaped curve
of probability.
And with time,
one’s position on this curve
becomes fluid and flexible,
especially within a broad range
of subject areas
and learning disciplines and interests
and strengths and weaknesses.

Endangered Bay Checkerspot butterfly / photo by John Clecker / USFWS

And the linear concept
of directing virtually every educational goal
toward achievement on a singular event assessment
always results in validity concerns.

“Teaching to a test becomes stifling
for teachers and students,
far from the inspiring, adaptive education
which most benefits students.
Our greatly accelerating world needs graduates
who are trained to address
tough situations with innovation,
ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and a capacity
for mobilizing collaboration and cooperation.”
– Jonathan Lash, President, Hampshire College

Goodnight.

Island marble butterfly / Photo by Miskelly, James / USFWS

“Nutrition is important
in both cancer and heart disease prevention.
Eating a diet RICH in
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and
low-fat dairy foods, and seafood
has been associated with a decrease
in cardiovascular disease and cancer.”

The disease-fighting elements in a good diet are:
Fiber, which aids weight control
and lowers heart and cancer risks,
Antioxidants, which fight disease-causing cell damage.
Omega-3 fatty acids,
which lower blood pressure
among other benefits.”

– Michael LeFevre, MD

Zebra Swallowtail / Photo by Hagerty, Ryan / USFWS

When a severe storm spawns tornadoes,
proper shelter is the key to staying alive.

it is crucial to keep the shelter equipped
with the right materials to stay safe.

“People should take every warning seriously,”
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said.
“Warnings are issued because there is good scientific data
showing either a storm producing damaging winds,
hail or a tornado,
or is capable of doing so.”

Having a plan in place before severe weather strikes
will avoid any last-second panic or confusion.
It also ensures that everyone will be prepared
to handle a storm and its aftermath.

Lucinda Parker, public information officer
at the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said.

A basic kit includes water, nonperishable food,
a first aid kit, a flashlight and batteries.
(Friends: have an additional unopened package of new batteries)
If sheltering pets or infants,
keep a supply of baby formula, diapers and pet food
in the kit as well.

“We urge people to keep a kit at home,
in their car, and if they do have a storm shelter,
that would be a good place for a kit, as well,” Parker said.

“If you ever find happiness
by hunting for it,
you will find it,
as the old woman did
her lost spectacles,
safe on her own nose
all the time.”
– Josh Billings

Other essential items to have on hand, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency:

1. Battery-powered radio
2. Pillows, blankets and other bedding (pillows can also be used as protection from flying debris)
3. Essential documents (birth certificate copies, insurance policies, etc.)
4. Toilet paper and bags for sanitation
5. Personal sanitation items (toothbrush, deodorant, etc.)
6. Whistle (to signal for help if trapped)
7. A change of clothes per person
8. Close-toe shoes and extra socks per person (especially if there is debris to tread over)
9. Wrench or pliers (to turn off utilities)
10. Dust mask or cotton t-shirt (to filter the air)
read more

Little wood satyr / Photo by Barnes, Dr. Thomas G. / USFWS

Drinking Tea Cuts Your Risk of Dementia in Half
from our friends at the Underground Health Reporter
read more

A recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging
found that drinking tea can cut your risk of cognitive impairment in half. For individuals with a genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s, the reduction of risk could be lowered by as much as 86%!

Benefits associated with tea consumption come from the numerous bioactive compounds found in tea leaves, including:

Catechins
Theaflavins
Thearubigins
L-theanine

The compounds exhibited anti-inflammatory
and antioxidant properties,
as well as additional bioactive properties
that appear to prevent vascular damage to the brain
and neurodegeneration.

“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” – Luke 18:15-17

Friday:
We will meet at school (8:30 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.)
The day will be dedicated to work on our
Shakespeare production
with Director
George Rodriguez.

IMPORTANT DATES:
April 7               At School (preparation for Shakespeare production)
April 14 & 17    (Friday and Monday) Good Friday and Easter Holidays
April 28             Scarborough Renaissance Festival (Weather permitting)
May 1                TUITION DUE for 2017-18
May 15 & 16      Shakespeare Production at Stage West Theater
May 22 – 26       Adventure Trip
May 26               Last Day of Semester.

Tiger swallowtail / Photo by Dr.Thomas G. Barnes / USFWS

Copyright Disclaimer – Section 107 – Copyright Act 1976,
allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of “fair use”.

More Fragile Than We Think / Affirmative Prayer / Friday: At School (Shakespeare Production)

Posted on March 27, 2017 by asgtc

“Love is a fruit
in season at all times,
and within reach
of every hand.”
– Mother Teresa

Slowly, gently, soft as early morning Light

Unbeknown
to the population at large,
Suicide
is the second leading cause of death
for college students.

November 2018
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Oct
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30

Hotel

Targeted Interest Sessions: Parents

Thursday, 7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m. NOV. 29

Keeping the Light in Their Eyes: Supporting Essential Skills for Talent Development

Thursday, 10:45 a.m.–11:45 a.m. NOV. 29

Raising Children With Grit: Parenting Passionate, Persistent, & Successful Kids

Thursday, 1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m.

NOV. 29

Executive Functioning: Tips and Strategies for Home & School

Thursday, 2:45 p.m.–3:45 p.m.

NOV. 29

Building Partnerships: What Can a Parent Group Do for You?

Thursday, 4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

NOV. 29

Perfectionism: A Practical Exploration

Friday, 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

NOV. 30

Let’s Talk: Parenting Gifted Children 101

Friday, 9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

NOV. 30

Making a Positive Impact on the Emotionally Intense Gifted Child

Friday, 1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.

NOV. 30

Resources for Gifted Kids 2018

Ten ways to stay mentally healthy by Celia Dodd click here to read more

How to deal with not being happy Click here and stay to the end to see how simple happy is

1 Eat right

2 Laugh

3 Connect with other people

4 Learn something new

5 Give more Love

6 Be active

7 Change your mind

8 Challenge yourself

Ten ways to stay mentally healthy by Celia Dodd
click here to read more

How to deal with not being happy
Click here and stay to the end to see how simple happy is