Austin ISD Middle School Fair December 1, 2018 at Fulmore Middle School

Families of current and future middle school students are invited to Austin ISD's 2018 Middle School Fair.

Students and their families can learn about the diverse and innovative programming offered in Austin ISD, enjoy student performances, and hear from current students, families and faculty from our 19 middle schools about the amazing programs and classes open to our middle school students.

This year's fair is 9 a.m.–noon Dec. 1 at Fulmore Middle School, 201 E. Mary St. 

Reagan and Crockett Early College High Schools will be running a shuttle to and from Fulmore Middle School starting at 8 a.m., with final pickup to return to the high schools at noon.

For more information, please contact Ollie White in the Middle School Office at 512-414-4481.

Brain Health Series: Your Brain, Sleep, and Relaxation

Did you know that not getting enough sleep is not healthy for your brain? New research shows that sleeping less than seven or eight hours a night has been linked to cognitive decline, memory loss, and possibly even Alzheimer's disease.

A sleep deficit can have dangerous implications for your brain, and not just because it makes you sleepy during the day. Parts of your brain are several times more active at night than during the daytime. One of them is a newly discovered drainage system called the glymphatic system. This is a bit like your city's sewage and recycling system. Its job is to clear out and recycle all toxins in the brain. One protein actively recycled during sleep is amyloid plaque. This plaque is the hallmark of Alzheimer's. Alzheimer’s disease is caused by many factors, but one of these may also be sleep deprivation.

A University of Pennsylvania study found that extended wakefulness can injure neurons essential for alertness and cognition, and that the damage to these neurons might be permanent. Other studies have led scientists to conclude that chemicals secreted during the deeper stages of sleep are crucial for repairing the body, including the brain.

One of the chemicals involved in creating memories, acetylcholine, is also developed during sleep and dreaming. Brain cells that produce acetylcholine are destroyed in people who are developing Alzheimer’s disease. So, these people do not dream as much.

Relaxation and meditation or mindfulness has been found to be very beneficial to brain and body health.  Deep relaxation and meditation, when practiced regularly not only relieve stress and anxiety but have been found to improve mood. Deep relaxation has many other potential benefits as well—it can decrease blood pressure, relieve pain, and improve your immune and cardiovascular systems

The brain requires substantial downtime to remain industrious and generate its most innovative ideas. According to Tim Kreider, of the New York Times, "Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets,"

Let’s get a good nights sleep, remember to relax, and meditate. do it all for the health of our brains and become better thinkers in the process!

Sources:

https://healthybrains.org/pillar-sleep/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-downtime

http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/rest-relaxation-and-exercise

Daily Practice for the SAT

For more information, please click here.

East Austin Studio Tour - 11/10-11/2018 and 11/17-19/2018

Design Theme

Our design theme for 2018 uses trees as a way of emphasizing the importance of regionality and peace in response to our current tumultuous cultural climate. Ten EAST artists each illustrated a seasonal, native tree.

Artists include Karen Alexander, Federico Archuleta, Elizabeth Chiles, Ryan Davis, Gabe Langholtz, MakeATX, Ryan Sandison Montgomery, Ryan Runcie,Rachel Wolfson Smith, and Amanda Walker.

Dates & Times

Free and open on November 10–11 & 17–18, 2018 from 11am–6pm.

Boundaries

East of I-35
West of HHW 183
South of HWY 183
North of Riverside

Who We Are

EAST is a program of Big Medium, a nonprofit organization dedicated to championing and cultivating artists and the contemporary arts in Austin and across Texas. Through our programs and partnerships, we are working to foster the arts and facilitate an inclusive cultural dialogue between artists and their communities.

What We Do

Big Medium produces the East Austin Studio Tour, the West Austin Studio Tour, the Texas Biennial, and presents innovative exhibitions throughout the year in the Big Medium Gallery. We also provide studio space to artists at Canopy, and umbrella several artists and creative organizations through our Sponsored Projects program.

2018 Participants

The 2018 tour includes 555 participants, with 202 Artists in a Studio, 73 Guest Artists in a Studio, 47 Artists in a Gallery, 73 Group Exhibitions, 123 Artists in Temporary Spaces, 28 Happenings and 9 Libraries.

For more information, please click HERE. 

NSCDA Washington Week Workshop Scholarship

The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America is pleased to offer this

amazing opportunity to high school students!

∗2019 Essay Topic and Title∗

“What do you think the authors of the Bill of Rights intended the Second Amendment to mean? 

Do you think it is being interpreted correctly today?” 

Rules, Information and Judging Criteria for Essay Contest

Essay Poster

History of the Congressional Essay Contest

How to Apply

Review Essay Rules and Information to make sure your submission complies with all rules.

Download and complete the Application and email or mail by USPS with your essay to the local/state NSCDA Congressional Essay representative or Patriotic Service Chair as directed. Please download the Application Unsure about who this person is? Please email  Dames@nscda.org for the correct name and contact information. Please include your name, State and county/parish of your school and contact information.

Email Dames@nscda.org if you have any questions.

*Please Note: Grandchildren and children of Dames are not eligible for the contest but can still participate. Please contact Libby Siskron at lsiskron@mindspring.com for more information.

ESSAY RULES & INFORMATION

The essay topic for 2019 is:

“What do you think the authors of the Bill of Rights intended the Second Amendment to mean? 

Do you think it is being interpreted correctly today?"

• Deadline December 1, 2018, postmark or by time/dated email.
• We welcome essays from 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students
• If students are participating as part of a class or school project, please note that all students must submit an individual application form and essay.
• Students may enter online or send hard copies via USPS mail. Complete the online Application. Save (see below) or download/print the form. If completing form by hand, take care to make all information readable.
• Essays (750 words or less, excluding topic/title and sources) must be typed, double-spaced and
printed on one side of paper only. A cover page is strongly encouraged. The student’s name
and State should be on each page of the essay.
• The title of the essay must be the same as the essay topic. The topic must not be altered in any
way.
• SAVE all essays as .PDF or Word .DOC; NAME your files: State + student’s Last Name+
Essay or Application. As an example: if applying from Maryland the file would be: "MDSmithEssay.doc or MDSmithApp.pdf"
• Email or USPS mail essays with application to the local/State NSCDA Congressional Essay
Chair or Patriotic Service Chair as directed or send to: Dames@NSCDA.org.
• If you do not have a Colonial Dame contact in your State please contact Dames@NSCDA.org to obtain the address for submission. Reference Essay Contest as subject of the email and give your name, city and state.
• Students submitting by paper should send their application form plus 3 copies of their
essay.
• If more than five students are entering the contest online from one school, please also USPS mail a copy of each essay to your Colonial Dame contact.

Microsoft Domain Hosts YouthSpark Technology Events

Events for Students - sign up for free youth workshops, camps, events, and field trips 

involving the latest technology! Click HERE!

Vision & Voice Contest 2018-2019 Now Open

Welcome to a new year of Vision+Voice!

The 2018-19 competition is just starting, so get those creative juices flowing and make a poem!

You may have noticed that we’ve moved. Our new home is

http://k12.visionandvoice.org

Why did we move, you ask? Well, we’re growing, both in the number of schools that are included in the Vision+Voice family, but also in the types of projects we’re creating. We’ll let you know more about some of our new ideas as they develop.

Meanwhile, this is the home of our famous K through 12 poetry competition. Selected poems from each grade level will be paired with art by ACC art students to create posters and an anthology. And as in years past, KLRU will be videotaping our poets, and we’ll be celebrating our young authors at the spring reception. (Date is coming soon!)

So, sit back, relax, create, submit*, and read some poems! (Don’t forget to rate your favorites, too!)

Deadline for submissions is December 31, 2018; winners announced February 15, 2019

* Poems of all languages accepted