Sweeter's Tiger Tracks

Lifelong Readers

To become lifelong readers, students must have...

-Contact with adults who read regularly and widely and who serve as positive reading role models.

-Certified library media specialists and classroom teachers who demonstrate their enthusiasm for reading by reading aloud and booktalking.

-Time during the school day dedicated to reading for pleasure, information, and exploration.

From School Libraries that work 3rd edition

Incredible

I don't know what the big deal is with this Romanian kid.  I mean really who cannot do this stuff?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aihFYw7N5wo&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_stronger_r2-HM

VB Domination

I am not sure how I missed this, but apparently our 7th grade girls had an undefeated season.  Wow way to go!!!!  It was just two years ago and our 7th graders, this year's freshman had an undefeated season.  It would appear that our VB future is looking bright. Stay Tuned!!!

Sanitizer Safety

Fox News did a segment that discussed some of the concerns with the hand sanitizer that many of us are using regularly now.  Apparently there are some real safety concerns that we should all be aware of especially when young children are involved.  Typically I wouldn't link media spin, but this video does have some good ideas for promoting safety.

http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=videolandingpage&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=11008585&referralPlaylistId=beb08264aff2a2d8c74ea7ed35b6a73cd038de0f

You be the judge?

I read an article today that shows that people are generally very pleased with their neighborhood schools, but disappointed in the nation's schools.  Maybe I am getting cynical in my old age, but if most of us are happy with our schools are they broken or is the media creating spin?

http://www.committedsardine.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=398

Sports News

I am sure that most of you have heard that our young men are going to be making their 4 playoff appearance in as many years tomorrow, at home, against Redfield/Doland.  The excitement around here is starting to build.  It will surprise few when I saw that I am a football fanatic, and there is little that can compare to the atmosphere that surrounds playoff football.  This year will be no exception.  I say that because our Tigers are proving to be the little engine that could.  After 2 early losses many people had written our boys off, but a 6 game winning streak has started to build the masses for another exciting run.  Tomorrow's game will be a hard nosed, strap'm up tight, and square off toe-to-toe match.  Both teams rely on a heavy ground pound attack, and the winner will probably be the one that hits the hardest and is the sorest on Wednesday.  I'm starting to get get a pit in my stomach just writing about it.  Stay tuned, and see how far our boys know they can.

Veterans Day

We are starting to plan for this year’s Veterans Day Assembly, and one of the ideas was to have a slide show of pictures of our local vets playing both at the Invite a Veteran to Breakfast and then again at the Assembly.  We were thinking that a combination of portrait pictures and active pictures would be  best.  I truly like the idea, but am going to need help in order to pull this off.  What I need is pictures.  The easiest would be digital pictures, but we do have a scanner that I could use in order to incorporate any pictures into our presentation. 

 

If you have access to pictures or know of someone who does would you please have them contact me at Todd.Sweeter@k12.sd.us or 397-8381.

 

Thanks for your help.

H1N1 @ Home

I received an email today in regards to what to do with flu patients at home. While much of it is common sense, I am sure many of you are facing this and might need a refresher.

PIERRE, S.D. – Health officials say most normally healthy people who get the flu can recover at home but do you know how to care for a flu patient in the home setting?

“Most flu patients can be cared for at home, so it makes sense to be prepared to do that,” said Colleen Winter, Administrator of Health and Medical Services for the Department of Health. “These are good skills to have for both seasonal and H1N1 flu.”

When practical, the ill person should stay in a separate room away from others and one person should serve as main caregiver. Ideally, this caregiver should be healthy and not have medical conditions that increase the risk of severe influenza disease (e.g. pregnancy, heart problems, diabetes, kidney disease, chronic lung disease, over age 65, cancer, or patients that are immunocompromised). The following steps are recommended:

·   Have the patient rest in bed, the more rest the better.

·   Give acetaminophen or ibuprofen according to package label to reduce fever, headache, and muscle, joint or eye pain. Do not use aspirin in children or teenagers.

·   Prevent dehydration by making sure the patient drinks plenty of fluids, such as water, juices, broth, and drinks with salt and sugar like sports drinks or lemonade.

·   Care providers should wash their hands with soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand cleaners, before and after attending to sick persons. Washing hands is the single best preventative measure for everyone in the household.

·   Clean counters, surfaces and other areas in the home regularly using everyday cleaning products or a bleach solution (one part plain household bleach to nine parts water).

·   The ill individual should stay home until 24 hours after fever has resolved without fever-reducing medications.

·   Seek medical care if symptoms are severe or the patient has difficulty breathing, has bluish or grayish skin color, or there is severe or persistent vomiting.

For more detailed information see the Department of Health’s Influenza Home Care Guide at http://doh.sd.gov/PDF/InfluenzaHomeCareGuide.pdf. Stay informed about H1N1 flu at the department’s web site, http://doh.sd.gov/H1N1.

Random News and Views

1) Check out this website. http://health.yahoo.com/featured/46/8-mind-boggling-optical-illusions/  After your headache subsides go ahead and read on.

2) Did you happen to catch Sam's article in Friday's paper?  I don't know about you but it gave me goose bumps reading about how great the soreness on Saturdays was and especially when he was talking about the Groton vs Ron-calli games.  I would have to agree that they are all great and wonderful.  Hopefully our boys will take care of business so that we can experience it again this year.

http://www.aberdeennews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091016/SPORTS/910160378/-1/sports

3) Friday our gridironers rolled over a good Clark team, and believe it or not it rained on us again.  I think the only FB game we've had this year that it didn't rain was homecoming.  I did see that the moms finally were able to impose their will upon these boys, because they didn't wear their white pants in this mud bowl.  Great game and one more to go in order to keep the train moving into the playoffs.

Parents Matter

I received the following in an email and thought that I would share it with the masses.  I like the overriding message.  Talk to your kids.  Lay out expectations.  Isn't this true of all areas, not just alcohol use.

 

 

Over the past 3 years, 28 South Dakota teenagers died in underage drinking and driving crashes.

 

We have made significant strides in lowering this number. Underage drinking and driving related fatalities have dropped nearly 70% in the past two years from 13 to 5. And we have determined that when it comes to stopping underage drinking and driving, Parents Matter.

 

Unfortunately, even though we have seen marked improvement, we can’t let up. It has been proven that if you talk to your children, they’ll listen. Which means we cannot stop talking to our children. We need to continue communicating the dangers and consequences of underage drinking and driving.

 

What can you do?

 

• Make a plan. Prepare yourself to talk to your kids. Organize your thoughts.

 

• Present the facts. Set the tone by telling your kids you love them, and then present the facts.

 

• Listen. After presenting the facts as you see them, ask your kids for a response. And listen— really listen!

 

• Discuss. This is the most difficult part, as it may be easy for you and your kids to respond angrily to each other. Be steady and consistent. Resist being drawn into an argument.

 

• Set rules and consequences.. Make it clear that you will not tolerate alcohol use. Set limits and follow through with consequences. Let your kid know that it’s because you care.

 

• Continue the conversation. Don’t let this be the last word. Talking to your kids about alcohol use isn’t a one-time event – it’s a continuous process.

 

Please set aside time to talk with your child. It’s imperative that we continue to act together to stop these preventable tragic deaths.

 

 

PARENTS MATTER    www.safesouthdakota.com