St. Jude's Radio-a-thon

In February the girls from The Wise Owl participated in the St. Jude's Radio-a-thon at Kalf Radio Station. The total amount raised was $47,290!!!!! Thank you to our customers and everyone else who donated. We had tons of fun and plan on doing it again next year.

Our Cockatiel has been named, and the winner is..................

........Calypso!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations to Melissa and Tucker Schlafer from Mendocino, CA. Thank you to everyone who participated in our contest. It was very difficult to choose a name because we received so many wonderful name submissions!!

TEACHER APPRECIATION DAY

Teacher Appreciation Day 2008

• When: Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
• Time: 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
• Where: 1038 Esplanade, Chico, CA 95926

*****There will be food & drinks, special discounts for teachers & a prize drawing!

March Month-Long Celebrations

MARCH MONTH-LONG CELEBRATIONS

• American Red Cross Month
• Deaf History Month
• Ethics Awareness Month
• Hamburger Month
• International Listening Month
• Irish-American Month
• Music in Our Schools Month
• National Baby Month
• National Kite Month
• National Optimism Month
• Women's History Month
• Youth Art Month

Information from Celebrations! Book by Incentive Publications

Teaching Grants Available

Great Resources For Finding Grants!!!

Here are some key words and phrases to try in Google.com or the search engine of your preference when searching for grants:

• Name of your state or city education grant


• Name of your state or city math grant


• Name of your state or city enrichment grant


• Name of your state or city school grant

Check Out These Websites!!!

Teachers Count

http://www.teacherscount.org/teacher/grants.shtml#cgen

GrantsAlert.com

http://www.grantsalert.com/education.cfm?id=3&m=1

The Foundation Center

You can put yourself on a list for free to receive updates on new grant listings on this website.

http://foundationcenter.org/

Grants.gov

http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;isessionid=Hy2d2hM9OKyS2JLGsn4t5BPc23nR2FXvHyWzbyyh08PwxmhKrVy!709677814?modc=CATSEARCH&fundActivity=ED

Out-of-School Time Programming Resources

This is a great resource for finding donors, developing programs and much more.

http://outofschool.osu.edu/

EVERYONE SHOULD SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR THESE GRANTS!!

Adopt-A-Classroom

http://www.adoptaclassroom.com/

DonorsChoose.org

http://donorschoose.org/homepage/main.html

Public school teachers write a one-page student project proposal listing exactly what they need. The site then matches teachers with donors. This is worth trying!

BASIC GRANTS

Staples Foundation for Learning

http://www.staplesfoundation.org/foundapplication.html

Grants awarded to programs that support or provide job skills (Systematic problem solving skills are the best jobs skills you can posses!) and/or education for all people (bonus if you have an inclusion program or teach in a low-come area).

JP Morgan Chase Foundation Public Education Grant Program

http://www.jpmorgancjase.com/cm/cs?pagename=Chase/Href&urlname=jpmc/community/grants/econ/recfaq

This is a good option. They also take equipment donation requests which might be easier and more direct way to go if you just want the kits.

Sparkplug Foundation Grants

http://www.sparkplugfoundation.org/

Sparkplug aims to support projects that deal with "the whole student" and with learning as a community activity. In the past, this has included literacy programs that bring parents & kids together to learn, projects that use a neighborhood as a classroom, projects that help teachers share ideas about creative, relevant curricula, etc. We're especially interested in supporting critical thinking and investigative thinking, and projects that address class disparities in education.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

http://www.nctm.org/met.aspx

National Council of Teachers of Math: Connecting Mathematics to Other Subject Areas Grants for 9-12 Grade Teachers

http://www.nctm.org/resources/content.aspx?id=1328

Grant applicants must be current members of the NCTM and teach math at the high school level. Applications must demonstrate how the program connects math to other subject areas.

The above information was provided by Thinkfun

10 Reasons for Using Classroom Games!

Reason # 1: Games are fun with a purpose

Games create a cognitive engagement between the learner and the topic in a flowing, smiling environment. Games celebrate your topic and reward individual and group achievement. Games bring fun and energy into the learning zone.

Reason # 2: Games provide feedback to the learner

Learners want and need feedback on their performance. Games give them immediate feedback on the quality of their input- their successes and their errors.

Reason # 3: Games provide feedback to the trainer

Games provide a practice field where learners interact with the topic, demonstrating their knowledge & ability to apply the information. By observing the learner, the trainer can adjust the readings and interventions, accordingly.

Reason # 4: Games are experiential

Today's learner needs to do and to try things on their own. Games provide an environment that transforms the passive student into an active part of the learning process where she can connect her own dots and experience her own ideas.

Reason # 5: Games motivate learners

Games engage players and then motivate them to interact with the topic. This interaction drives players to demonstrate their understanding of the topic in friendly contest where successes are memorable moments of shared triumph and celebration and where mistakes mean only that the learner is being stretched to his or her own limits.

Reason # 6: Games improve team work

Games are real-time activities that bring players into teams, demonstrate the rules and roles of working together as a team, and underscore the value of team collaboration. Games give your learners a chance to know their peers as they share the same real-time experiences, allowing for strong networking and bonding.

Reason # 7: Games provide a less threatening learning environment

Because the game format is playful, the environment becomes less threatening. During the game play seemingly difficult questions and scenarios are "just part of the game."

Reason # 8: Games bring real-world relevance

Games allow you to present real-world information in the form of questions, scenarios, role-plays, & so forth. In this way, players learn not only the "what," but the "why," of the topic from a real-world perspective. Players also observe their own behavior & that of the others during game play.

Reason #9: Games accelerate learning

The visual presentation, oral interactions, and active participation of game play appeals to all of the learning styles (visual, auditory and kinesthetic), involves both the rational and the experimental mind that helps players remember what they have learned.

Reason # 10: Games give you choices for your classroom

Games allow you to add variety and flexibility to your teaching menus. They allow you to do any or all of the following:

-Vary the level of the learner involvement

-Vary the level of skill level and knowledge

-Introduce or review topics

Source: Educational Insights

LIST OF A FEW GAMES WE CARRY:

~American Trivia Board Game

~Apples to Apples

~Bananagrams (Shipment should arrive 03/18/08)

~Bingo Games (Alphabet, Real-Life Photos, Numbers, US)

~Blokus (Strategy Game)

~Blokus Trigon (Strategy Game)

~Checkers & Chess Set

~Dominoes

~Heximania (word game)

~Mancala

~Math Dash

~Math Noodlers

~Memory Matching

~Professor Noggin's Series (Trivia Games on certain subjects)

~Rush Hour

~Set

~Smart Lab Challenge Trivia Books

~Spill Your Guts (Human Anatomy Game)

~Travel Bingo

~Who? What? Where? (Drawing Game)

Name The Cockatiel Contest!

The Wise Owl is Holding a "Name The Cockatiel" Contest!

Our store pet doesn't have a name. Please help us to name him. He can say "Hello Pretty Bird" and we are working on teaching him to say "Bye, Bye!"

Submit your choices via email to Kacee@WiseOwlChico.com. When you submit your name choice, please also let us know who you are (Name, age, school, etc.... & don't forget your contact information!)

A name will be chosen on Monday, March 31st, 2008.

Whoever submits the winning name will get a $20 gift card to the store! Good Luck!

Come into the store to meet him!

Welcome To The Wise Owl Blog

Hello to All!


This is our first blog from our small independently-owned store located in Chico, CA. The Wise Owl welcomes all. We moved in June 2007 to a new location on The Esplanade close to Downtown Chico. Our new address is: 1038 Esplanade, Chico, CA, 95926. Come stop by our NEW LOCATION and come see our store pet!

We can be reached at: 530-342-0444, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to call. Thank you! And have a great day!

By the way, here is a fun fact brought to you with help from Smart Lab Challenge Books:
There is enough IRON in your body to make a Small Nail.