NewsBites for KidzÔ Nov 18-24 2003
News about kids all
over the world
This is what kids all over the
world did this week
Click on each
link to read the full story!
Earth
Matters: Children roar their support for animals
Heavy-weight kids boxing it off
Mall will page kids to see Santa Claus
BOOKS - A goat and a dog
Children's Film Fest: An Angel for May
gets award
Celebration of Childhood and Children India
Slum children join in song of the
road India
Horses Helping Children with Disabilities
From News
for KidzÔ
e-magazine Earlier NewsBites
KIDZ PRAY FOR KIDS:
FOOD RUNNING OUT FOR ONE MILLION KENYAN CHILDREN
21.11.2003. 15:30:56
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has warned
that delivery of meals to one million school children in Kenya will soon cease
without urgent donor assistance.
http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=73439®ion=5
Prayer helps- or sending loving thoughts or peaceful
thoughts. Whichever way you want to help, HELP!
--------------------------------------------------------
Earth Matters: Children roar their support for animals
Loretta Ann Soosayraj
Children at a
One such bunch of youngsters who
have taken the bull by the horns, and understood why horns of animals should
stay on their heads and not be mounted on walls, are the students of Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Damansara in
The children have raised money for and awareness about an
animal of their choice, for the fourth year. This time, it was the tiger, with
a focus on other wildcat species in
For a year, they learnt all they could about with the
chosen creature. They made handicrafts in cat motifs and sold it to other
students, parents and patrons at makeshift stalls at Sunday morning flea
markets. They collected cat-themed poetry, stories, sayings and pictures, and
decorated a corner in the school. They also recycled newspapers to raise money,
a project guided by the local environment non-governmental organisation
Treat Every Environment Special (TrEES).
The creative children even came up with their own original
short stories and compiled them into individually decorated booklets.
At the end of the project year, they handed over the money
they raised to renowned tiger researcher Kae Kawanishi for her work in the field in a ceremony last
week. But these children, being who they are, put on a real show. This was no
ordinary cheque presentation ceremony. Sure, there
was the usual speech by the headmaster, but he began with a ROAR, so that kind
of set the pace for the evening.
This was a show with a message, in a very entertaining package.
"I'm the grooviest cat, that's why a leopard never
changes its spots!" and "We are hunted for coats and other body
parts, but our fur is just meant to be worn by us." And asked the child
playing the rather vain
"Stop poaching!"
"Stop destroying the forest!"
"Stop using animal parts for traditional
medicine!"
This was the chorus from Amina, Bainunisa, Raja Ahmad Nazim Raja Azman Shah, Mohd Ashraf Rahmat, Harris Lemm, and others, explaining the reasons why they did what
they did.
Says parent Noraini Jane Arrifin, the coordinator of this project, who also runs a
kindergarten, "They did this all by themselves. They sat down, gathered
the facts about the wild cats and then worked out what they wanted in the
script. Their drama teacher just tightened things a little. They even directed
themselves." While 37 students from Standard 1 to 6 were involved in the
production of the play, virtually the whole school had a hand in the
fundraising and awareness campaigns. Said another proud parent Jes Izman Izaidin,
also chairman of the school's Parent-Teacher Association, "As this is the
fourth year the students are involved in such a project, the methodology has
evolved. It's all about building an education process around a theme, and the
kids do it all by themselves, with some help from parent volunteers."
While no decision has been taken yet, there were hints that it might be a
primate species that will be the focus, to coincide with the Year of the Monkey
next year.
These children seem to have a real grip on the reality of
impending extinction for so many wildlife species. Here's hoping it isn't too
late.
Chan Sau Mun, seven, had a
poignant message in her writing: "One day a long time ago, my father and I
went to the jungle. I saw three panthers, leopards and bay cats. There were
still many of them in the jungle.
"The next week I went into the jungle again. A few of
the panthers, leopards and bay cats died. Two months later I went there and all
the animals had died.
"Everything died, even the tigers, cats, snakes,
lions, leopards, bay cats and panthers.
" Last week I
began to cry. Everyday I cry and pray to God. I ask God: ‘Why have all the
animals died in the jungle, God?"
©New Straits Times (M) Berhad
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/Features/20031118101713/Article/
November 18, 2003
For a couple of reasons, there aren’t many 11-year-olds
like Elliott Rychter. Firstly, the Caulfield
youngster has been seeing a personal trainer once a week for the past three
years. Secondly, Elliott is one of a steadily shrinking number of Australian
children whose fascination with fitness means choosing exercise over
PlayStation.
"It’s the highlight of my week," the year 6
student at Mt Scopus School says of his weekly, one-hour-long personal training
sessions at Harpers Personal Training, which cost $50 and feature kickboxing,
sparring and situps.
"I do it to keep up my fitness level and to learn
self-defence. I think it’s important for young people
to be fit and active."
Elliott is part of a special program called PT4K, short
for "personal training for kids", run by Harpers, which has outlets
in
About one in five Australian children is
overweight or obese, and a dramatic rise in the number of overweight pre-school
children has triggered concerns that weight problems develop at a much younger
age than previously thought.
Another Australian study, released last week, revealed
that obese children as young as six had early warning signs of heart disease,
with the walls of their arteries beginning to thicken.
Conducted by researchers at the
Rychter says personal
training for her sons educates them as to "why it’s so important to be
active and healthy".
"Today we are way past the fact that you need to look
a certain way," she says. "It’s about taking care of the inside as
much as the outside."
More personal trainers are working with school-aged
children.
Picture: Danielle Smith
Harper says it is "ridiculous" to say that
personal training is about "trying to create obsessive kids". He
speaks from personal experience. At the age of 14, he tipped the scales at 90
kilograms — about 10 kilograms more than he weighs today.
"I empathise with big kids
because I used to be one," he says. "All that we are doing is trying
to address the fact that
Harper admits that personal training for children is out
of the financial reach of many families but he says low-income parents could
still ensure that their kids exercise.
"It’s the same with everything — people from a low
socio-economic background are disadvantaged because quality food costs more
than junk food," he says. "But parents can get a group of six to 10
kids together, and the different parents can rotate taking them to the beach or
to the park."
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/17/1069027046203.html
Heavy-weight
kids boxing it off
Published on Nov 19, 2003
A boy who was turned away from his favourite
sport of football because he was overweight has found a new love in Muay
“My friends booed me off the football field because they
said I looked clumsy,” said “ManU Luk
Khokphaek”, who weighs 49.5 kilograms at the age of
nine.
“But a boxing trainer invited me to his camp. He said I
would get into shape and be very masculine if I learned Muay
Thai,” he said. So, the boy took up Muay Thai
training at a camp in Nakhon Ratchasima
in the middle of this year and has proved to be a good boxer.
“He’s very determined and patient. And he’s very good,”
said ManU’s trainer.
Although ManU has yet to lose
much weight,
A municipality official hailed it as a good opportunity
for overweight children to express themselves and to get rid of unwanted kilos
at the same time.
“It has received a good response. I also think that the
same opportunity should be given to girls,” the official said.
A boxing referee said that very overweight children were
less likely to get hurt as the fat on their bodies protected them to a certain
extent.
“We stop the fights before the youngsters get badly hurt.
Their tears and fatigue are enough for us to call off the fights,” he said.
ManU’s arch
rival is another 9yearold, “Chaiyaphum Luk Chaiyaphum”, who won their
first encounter in October.
However, ManU recently avenged
that defeat to even the score between the two. Chaiyaphum,
however, weighs in at only 42kgs.
Taweechai Jaowattana
The Nation
http://nationmultimedia.com/page.news.php3?clid=3&id=103789&usrsess=1
The
kids of ancient
Colorful exhibit hints at what life was like for little ones
2,000 years ago
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
BY ANNE RUETER
News Staff Reporter
Yellow. A yellow that yells, too: not some pale legal-pad
shade. Step into the august University of Michigan Kelsey Museum of
Archaeology, a dark Victorian pile of stone. Soon you're drawn down a glowing
yellow hall, where a neon-green pull-down panel asks, "What would your
name be like if you lived 2,000 years ago?"
A curious child - or adult at this bouncy, inviting new
exhibit on childhood in
"Archaeologies of Childhood, the first years of life
in Roman Egypt" is a fresh departure for the museum with its kid-friendly
colors and curvy exhibit cases. But don't cross it off as an outing if you're
sans enfants. It's also adult friendly, with papyrus
texts describing ancient family life and slavery practices, plus new
revelations from CT scans about the museum's child mummy.
Curator Terry Wilfong and
exhibit designer Scott Meier have put on display some of the museum's choicest
items related to childhood - dolls, toy horses, protective amulets and
revealing artifacts of life and death in ancient times.
Meier worked with Wilfong for
more than a year to plan and build the exhibit. The yellow won out, though
there were some skeptics at first.
"My thinking was, 'This is going to be up through the
long winter of
Wilfong drew
from hundreds of items of everyday life in
At the end of the exhibit entry hall, you can't help but
halt at a scalloped, 8-foot-tall exhibit case staff call the red monolith.
Inside, bathed in light, are objects inviting you to head into the small room
beyond - yellow again - that holds the exhibit. There's a wooden toy horse on
wheels, a child's amulet worn to protect against scorpions and snakes. They and
most of the exhibit objects are from Karanis, a
Roman-era Egyptian village where U-M archaeologists led excavations in the
1920s and 1930s.
The most intriguing object in this first exhibit case, at
least to scholars and technophiles, may be the small polymer-resin skull. It's one result of a late-night trip the museum's child
mummy made to the
U-M engineering student Grant Martin thought up the
unusual project as a way to learn about burial rituals and how the child died.
He later made the skull from the scan images using 3-D computer modeling and
prototyping techniques.
Martin is about to graduate as a semiconductor physicist
with a minor in classical archaeology. He's excited about the exhibit, which
officially reveals the project's findings.
"I didn't think it would be carried this far,"
he says. "Everyone in my engineering department is just tickled. Posters
(for the exhibit) are up on North Campus."
Visitors can learn more about what the medical imaging
revealed in another display in the exhibit. Wilfong,
who oversaw the scanning, won't forget the moment the scans revealed one of the
small boy's hands had six fingers. That abnormality occurs when gene pools are
restricted in close-kin marriages, he says. He hopes further study of the scan
data will shed more light on the ancient Egyptian custom of close-kin marriage,
practiced by about a quarter of the population.
As visitors walk from case to case in the exhibit room,
there's plenty that's charming, plenty to ponder. There are images of the god Harpocrates, a childhood form of the god Horus "who pays attention to the needs of
children," Wilfong says. Ancient Egyptians
sought protection and reassurance in a time when many children died early on.
There are small homemade farm animals, miniature tools and
several simple cloth and wood dolls. The museum's dolls were recently written
up in the magazine "Doll News." They're a mystery to scholars, Wilfong says. Some may have been ritual objects, rather
than children's playthings.
© 2003 Ann Arbor News. Copyright 2003 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/features-0/1069170276233590.xml
Mall
will page kids to see Santa Claus
By Associated Press
Santa's helpers will instead hand out pagers that will
beep, flash and vibrate to alert parents and kids when it's time for children
to take their turn on Santa's knee.
Families can carry the pagers -- similar to those handed
out at restaurants -- throughout the mall, allowing them to get more Christmas
shopping done without losing a precious place in line.
"We'll never have a line more than 12 families,"
Crosswinds marketing representative Al Shifflett III told the Kalamazoo Gazette. "No one
should have to wait (in line) more than 30 minutes."
In previous years, visitors have had to wait up to two
hours to meet the man from the North Pole.
Santa's helpers will continue paging until a family comes
for its visit, Shifflett said.
http://www.sunspot.net/news/sns-othernews-santapagers,0,440643.story?coll=bal-features-specials
When learning is child's play
The skits may look simple, but they demand a great deal of
the students.
Ann Strosnider
Sun Staff
November 18, 2003
"Please, can we keep the kitty?" Amanda Kinnard, 7, begs.
"Meow, meow," chimes in Laura Wilcox, 8, a
third-grader temporarily impersonating a cat.
"Do you really want to?" asks Nick Polsin, 7, in a slightly menacing tone. He's the
"father" in this little scene.
Staff photos by Steve Zugschwerdt
Amanda, a third-grader at PineCrest
Elementary in the Central Kitsap School District, puts on her saddest face and
pleads some more.
The skit is known as the "Please, please, can I keep
him?" game. Leading the antics is D.J. Hamilton, dramatic
artist-in-residence, in a green turtleneck, black pants and red tennis shoes.
His presence is made possible by a grant from the Washington State Arts
Commission.
Now in his 20th year with the state Artists in Residence
program, he's spending three weeks teaching the basics of acting through games,
skits and improvisations to six classes of third- and fifth-graders. Students
will have a chance to show off their newly acquired skills at the Imagination
Celebration on Friday night at the school.
Although some of the young actors show great talent, the
point is not to find the next Leonardo DiCaprio or
"Even though it's really fun, it's about
self-discipline and concentration,"
The "Please, please"
skit, for example, gives students a chance to try out different strategies of
persuasion. Other theatrical exercises --
including the "Machine Game" and "Department Store Dressing
Room" -- help students develop creativity, stage presence and cooperation.
While the skits may look simple, they demand a great deal
of the children. Several times a student playing a preacher at a graveside
service for "Aunt Matilda" or "Uncle Harvey" looks down at
an imaginary Bible and freezes, unable to think of anything to say.
"It's hard work to think of what to say,"
Zoe James,
a second-grade teacher at the school, applied for the artist-in-residence grant
as part of her master's thesis. Next year she would like to get a visual artist
as well as a performing artist to come into the school.
She believes academics have become so paramount that they
overshadow the arts.
"We're forgetting all the other things that may be
equally important," she said.
Vicki Carlson, whose class of second- and third-graders
has been taking part in the acting workshops, says it has been valuable for the
students.
"It's a favorite part of their day," Carlson
said. "We have very little opportunity for the arts these days because
school has become so academic. It's just wonderful for students to have a
chance to express themselves."
As if to underscore the point, a teacher comes up to
"It's not unusual to hear this from teachers,"
An actor, director and playwright with a degree from
"They accept and begin to play the roles that have
been given them, roles like troublemaker, failure or bad kid. I try to break
through that."
Linda Bellon-Fisher, arts in
education program manager the state, says research shows that students attend
school more when the arts are part of their education.
"They have higher graduation rates and higher college
attendance rates. The residencies aren't long but they help teachers and
principals see how the arts can be integrated with other subject areas."
http://www.thesunlink.com/redesign/2003-11-18/local/320779.shtml
Goats in the
Kitchen - Author Tells True Story of Survival in the Wilds of
Wednesday November 19, 7:43 pm ET
SAULT SAINTE MARIE,
Goats in the Kitchen is a true
story of one family bonding in the midst of chaos. Mactino's
story, begins when, as a young American woman from the city, she follows her
husband to a farm more than 2,000 miles into ``the middle of nowhere'' in the
bitter cold of northern
Mactino's husband
suffers his fourth heart attack and dies shortly after they arrive on the farm,
leaving her and her children to struggle on. Facing starvation, Mactino and her children claw their way to survival.
Winning against all odds, they learn everything from how to ``mud,'' lay carpet
and electrically wire their house to how to build kitchen cupboards, keep bears
off the porch and deal with five goats in the kitchen at 2 a.m.
Goats in the Kitchen is a
unique story of survival, perseverance and winning out against the odds.
Mactino was
raised in Europe, moved stateside and later moved into the frozen wilds of
http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/031119/48545.html
Sparky’s Walk
Local editor's nightly dog walks inspires children's book
By
Arruzza, an
editor for a
"Sparky got into so many situations in the
neighborhood when we went for our nightly walks that I had to write about
it," Arruzza told third-graders at Julia A.
Stark elementary school Monday during a book reading. "If you have a story
to tell and you're really enthusiastic about it, it's not that hard to write a
book. You have to believe in your story."
Sparky was adopted five years ago after she narrowly
escaped death at a
"When one of the workmen pull you off to the side and
beg you to please take one more, we couldn't resist," said Marcia Bigger,
adoptions manager at Adopt-A-Dog. "She was so sweet and so loving we
thought she had a battery in her backside because her tail was wagging all the
time."
"Sparky's story is really amazing," Arruzza said. "When we first saw her, she bowled over
my son with licks and we knew we had to have her."
Her curious nature comes out in the book, which is written
for children ages 4 to 8. Arruzza said he wrote the
book in prose but quickly changed it to a fast-paced verse, much like their
nightly walks he and Sparky take around their Glenbrook neighborhood.
Stark school featured the book this week at its scholastic
book fair during National Education Week, which concluded today.
"We think it's great to have a local author come in
to speak with our students about the writing process," said Stacey Staff,
a third-grade teacher. "To get a first-hand account on what it's like to
go through the process of crafting an idea into a story really helps them see
the results of hard work."
Copyright © 2003, Southern
Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
Children's Film
Fest: British film bags top award
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
At the closing ceremony held at the Lalitha
Kala Thoranam on Thursday,
chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu
asked film-makers to make more children’s films in Telugu, Hindi and other
Indian languages. Naidu said festivals such as the
ICFF help both educate and entertain children.
The secretary, ministry of I&B, Pawan
Chopra announced that select films from the festival would be telecast on Doordarshan and some of them will also be screened in
Children’s Film Society chairperson and actress Raveena Tandon thanked the
children and the delegates who participated in the festival for making it a
success. She appealed to the film-makers to make meaningful and entertaining
films for children.
Earlier in the evening, the closing ceremony of festival
got off to a colourful start with school children
from the twin-cities performing folk dances from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and
The celebrations were marred by the delayed entry of the
chief minister and most of the children left the auditorium even before the
awards were announced.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=294471
Celebration
of Childhood and Children
RAGINI BHARADWAJ, TIMES NEWS NETWORK
While Varun, student of class
VIII maintains, "Children's Day does not excite me, I Know it is Nehru's
birthday, who was very fond of children". Suniti
of St Theresa is excited about the skit in which she is participating. Sidra of St Joseph's Convent maintains that birthday of
first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru is celebrated
as "Children's Day" due to his genuine love for children. It's a day
of fun and fanfare.
There is something remarkable about these kids and about
kids the world over: they experience life in a way that bestows deep and
profound wisdom. This is their wisdom, not their parents', not their
teachers'-not the wisdom of any authority. Children today believe in spelling
their own views by weighing the pros and cons and it's seldom when they accept
things without applying their brains. They have the power to draw water of
inspiration and wisdom from the same well as elders do. In their simplicity and
sincerity, they are the heirs to their elder's vision. In their purity and
innocence, they are the custodians of what they learn from society.
According to Anjana Agarwal, a schoolteacher, "Everything you do, say and feel is a
lesson for the children." When you take care of yourself emotionally by
enjoying your life, you're teaching your children how to become healthy &
happy adults as well, she said and added that the children need to know that
they are a very important part of your life.
"The day like other day's has turned into a rhetoric
for children sandwiched between their abilities and cut throat competition, due
to which they are missing upon something precious called "Childhood",
maintains Pooja Tiwari,
another teacher. It lacks the same spirit of celebration, neither students
enjoy nor the teachers ". She adds.
Children complete the community! Without children, the
world is a dead end. They are the life-givers, the healers, and the messengers
of their ancestors. They bring out the spirit of the community. Children are
embraced, celebrated, and supported, for without them there would be emptiness
in the hearts of all. Its colours of childhood that
shape the women and men we are today. It's day to
cover the omissions and commissions against the children and celebrate
childhood as its "Children's Day!!!
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-286062,Curpg-2.cms
Susie Steckner, The
"I wanted to make them feel better," said Davis
of Gilbert. "And also I can do what I love to do."
In advance of the fund-raiser, called "Kids for Kids:
The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow," organizers held
a singing competition and each participant paid a $100 fee. That instantly
raised more than $10,000 for the hospital, said event founder Shelli Yares Poulos.
Among the participants was a girl who couldn't really sing
but wanted to make a $100 donation; another participant paid the $100 out of
her allowance because she spent time in the hospital.
On Thursday, singer Carly Gasbarra, 13, of
Yares Poulos conceived the fund-raiser, taking place Dec. 7 at
the Phoenix Zoo, after her daughter was hospitalized at Phoenix Children's
Hospital.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1121kids21.html
Slum
children join in song of the road
NISHA LAHIRI, The Telegraph
Prashanta Pike,
9, too, is in much the same situation. Tumpa Adhikari, 8, Jaba Sardar, 7, and Puja Hela, 10, do the housework, but like going to school. These
children live in the slums near
The members of the Rajya Academy
Award-winning group range from Asmita, a kindergarten
student of Loreto House, to Shubhadiptya Bhattacharya
from Bhowanipore, a first-year student of
The group, started by lawyer Ashish
Khan, provides a platform for the youngsters to be creative and interact with
others from different backgrounds. And for them, it’s a means of making friends
and having some fun, besides discovering their talents. Keeping with the theme
of integration, this time, streetchildren have also
been brought in to act in the play.
The poignant story is that of a young boy, who has no
name, but is called Palga Phorsa,
because he is pagla (insane) and fair. His mother
abandoned him as a child, just leaving him under a monument.
He learns to survive through petty theft, and is popular
for his daring character and sharing nature. But he gets caught one day, and is
beaten up by the shopkeeper. He bleeds to death on the streets. Then, the real
madness begins, with the politicians exploiting the tragedy for their own ends,
and the slum-dwellers demanding revenge. In the end, he gets a decent
cremation, and the world forgets.
Swapan, Tumpa, Prashanta, Jaba, Puja and the others don’t
perform any prominent roles, neither are they regulars, because “they have to
work, and are not always allowed to come for the rehearsals”, according to
Khan. They play themselves, contributing to the essence of the theme. And
although they don’t quite understand what it’s all about, for them, it’s a
little entertainment and a diversion in an otherwise dreary existence.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1031121/asp/calcutta/story_2593419.asp
Horses
Helping Children with Disabilities
A group called "Friends of Therapeutic Equine Activities"
is helping people with disabilities move more freely.
Many happy kids have a lot of fun with their favorite
four-legged friends.
Horses are part of their therapy session for children and
adults with disabilities.
But what do they get from riding a horse?
"Improved coordination, strength, muscle tone,"
said Mary Illing, Friends of Therapeutic Equine
Activities.
"When a rider sits on the horse's back, their pelvis
rotates almost identically to walking. We can work to get the movement better,
to get more balanced and squared," said Butt
5-year-old Matthew has some problems with his muscles and
his concentration.
He's been riding for nine months.
His mom says the therapy has helped greatly.
"He's able to sit down and concentrate and feel
connected with his body. Riding the horses has given him that input his body
needs in order to concentrate and regulate himself,” said Karen Grane
"Attention has improved, muscle tone has improved.
He's happy here,” said Butt
This works well because the horses are very gentle.
"The bond between humans and animals can be extremely
strong,” said Illing.
One horse is helping Louise cope with injuries from an
accident.
"I can tell my balance has really improved, and my confidence.
It's just a wonderful feeling. It's the highlight of the week for me,"
said Louise Glynn, rider.
"Normally, when they move through their environment,
they have to move slower because of things they have, yet here they're on a
horse and trotting around and able to control this big animal. And they do fall
in love with them,” said Illing.
And you can tell the feeling is mutual.
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_324120647.html
News for KidzÔ
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