That’s Elbert With An E

I get this daily email which features different unusual words. Today’s word is mare’s nest. It is defined as this:

1. A confused mess.
2. A hoax or an illusory discovery.

I’ve got to use this one sometime. Any ideas?

My mother said that some of my early educational experiences were from Sesame Street. I don’t remember much except that I liked Ernie and the Cookie Monster. Did you ever try to laugh like Ernie or eat cookies like Cookie Monster? When I woke up politically I did wonder how much of the Socialist Kool Aid I may have ingested. I don’t remember that show being so bad that it wouldn’t be appropriate for my kids or my far-in-the-future grandkids to see. It was a mix of entertainment and education. Harmless, unless you’re today’s hypersensitive liberal.

I saw this on Slashdot Sunday. Sesame Street: Old School volumes 1 and 2 are now available on DVD. The disks come with a warning (?): “These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.” Adults only?? This is SOOOOO stupid.

Hat tip to Delmar Dustpan for this fun tidbit:

Hmm, debatable.

Joe Biden says, “We’ve got to trust the American people more.” (from Hot Air & New Hampshire Union Leader)

Yes, you do. Trust me to know how to invest my Social Security. Trust me to know if I need to put on a seatbelt in my car. Trust me in my education choices for my children. There’s more I could list here but this is at least a good place to start.

The Laurel Middle School recently received a weather station donated by the Wilmington News Journal. The weather station is a Davis Vantage PRO2. It’s a great addition to the 8th grade science department, adding relevant content to the study of weather, one of the required areas of study for that grade. The students will be collecting data such as wind speed, current temperature, temperature history, wind direction, etc.

In addition, the first grade students at Dunbar Elementary will be using some of the data for their study of weather. Those students will focus on weather patterns and their influence on living things (at a very observational level).

Other middle schools in Delaware also received weather stations, including Seaford Middle and Delmar Middle Schools.

Anyone can view data from the Laurel Middle School weather station on Weather Underground. Currently, it is also the default reporting station on Weather Underground for the ZIP Code 19956. We are fortunate to have two local weather stations in Laurel, the other being operated by Delmarva Tech Solutions.

The Laurel School District sent home a letter today briefing parents on the staph bacteria MRSA. It provided general information on the Department of Health’s guidelines:

• The person with a staph infection is to be out of school for 48 hours.
• The person is to take an antibiotic.
• When the person returns to school, the area on the person that was treated should remain covered.

The letter gave advice to help prevent staph, including washing your hands, keeping cuts and scraps clean, don’t touch other people’s cuts or bandages, and don’t share personal items such as towels, razors, etc.

Finally, the letter reads:

…the Laurel School District is taking proactive measures to avoid any possible outbreak. We have started the process of disinfecting all appropriate areas in all out schools. We believe we are taking good precautions, and hope that by notifying parents about the issue we will reinforce the importance of good hygiene at home as well as in our buildings.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your school principal and/or school nurse.

The Laurel School District’s web site has information posted regarding it’s past and future board meetings. The scheduled meetings are listed on the board’s main page along with the agenda for that meeting (agendas are posted the week before the board meeting). On the site, there is an archive of the board’s minutes from July 5, 2006, to the most recent approved minutes. The board policy manual is also available in electronic form on the site. It’s certainly worth your time visiting the site if you can’t make the meetings but want to know what is going on.