Darien Patch Roundup of Articles for Parents & Kids

Here's a roundup of recent articles, announcements and events on Darien Patch for parents, children or both:

Events for kids and parents

Announcements

• A blog post about a panel discussion that touched on Common Core education standards: "As the controversy surrounding what is considered baseline “knowledge” continues, a group of Greenwich Education Group educators weighed in with their views on 21st century essential skills—among them critical thinking, common sense, the ability to question, self-advocacy, self-worth and self-esteem."

• "Kids and moms bond over yoga poses at the YWCA Darien/Norwalk’s ‘Mommy and Me Yoga’, an evening class for moms and kids of elementary school age." Registration is ongoing.

• Pictures here: "[T]he Methodist Family Center Preschool hosted Pajama day. Preschool students and their teachers dressed up in their pajamas, enjoyed pancakes and watched a movie."

• "On Friday March 14th, Middlesex Middle School held the inaugural Family Spontaneous Scrimmage Night for Odyssey of the Mind.  The event was open to any families in Darien that wanted to participate in a night of family problem solving and fun."

• "On March 14-15 the Fairfield County String Teachers Association sponsoredtheir 40th annual String Festival featuring outstanding string students in grades six through nine from throughout Fairfield County."

• "17 Darien YMCA Piranha swimmers made the trip up to Wesleyan University this past weekend to compete in the CT Age Group Championships. Racing against the fastest swimmers in the state, the Piranhas had some fantastic swims, with nearly all Piranhas swimming their lifetime best times."

• "The Darien YMCA will be holding a five –day camp to teach individuals with disabilities to ride a conventional two-wheel bicycle. This program called iCan Bike will be held April 14th – 18th at Middlesex Middle School and requires riders to attend only one 75 minute session a day."

• "[T]he New Canaan YMCA Whirlwind divers were HOT on the boards this past weekend as they dominated the competition to win the USA Diving Spring Junior Region 1 Championship, hosted at their home pool. [...] Divers who qualified to compete at the East National Championship include: Claire Ross, Bobby Ross, and Kiley Towbin of New Canaan, Jake Bowtell, Timmy Luz, Wiley Schmidt, and Owen Stevens from Darien."

• "Katharine Graham (Co-captain) and Peter Del Col (Co-captain) of the Darien High School Ski Teams skied their way on to Team Connecticut."

• "At the recent Connecticut Interscholastic Ski League Championship (CISL) race, the Darien High School girls and boys ski teams both finished 4th in the Class S Division and 8th and 12th overall, respectively."

• You can host an exchange student, get a $1,100 monthly stipend, introduce your kids to someone from another culture.

• "Want your teen to be a safer, more aware driver? This spring, the public is invited to attend Survive the Drive’s Teen Driver Safety presentation hosted by Grand Prix New York." And it's a fun place to visit -- but driving there could be difficult at rush hour, so factor in plenty of time for that.

• "[T]hree teams from the Darien High School Quiz Bowl Club competed in the first annual Connecticut State Championship [...] The A Team, consisting of Michael Borecki, Claire Borecki, Molly Bell, and, Andrew Benz placed first out of nine teams at the competition, going undefeated. The A Team’s win earned Darien High School the title of NAQT Connecticut State Champion."

For the College-Bound

• CHET Advance Scholarship will hold random drawings in the spring to provide up to 200 Connecticut students – up to 100 high school juniors and another 100 sixth-grade students across Connecticut.

• Post on the "College Transitions" blog: "Ivy League schools and many elite colleges with Division III athletics purport not to grant admissions favor or any edge in scholarship consideration to student-athletes. In related news, Taco Bell claims that their 89₵ tacos are made with 100% sirloin beef…"

• Another post from the same blog: "the most frequently asked questions we receive from clients about Advanced Placement classes"

• Post from the "College Application Essays" blog: "The SAT is not the tool that gets the student into college. It’s the tool that 'allows' the student to apply to that particular college. Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 doesn’t mean victory at the finish line."

• "Attention Darien High School Students! On April 5th & 6th, come learn everything you need to know to outsmart the ACT with Catalyst's veteran test-prep instructors."

Articles beyond Darien

• Should School Start Later In The Morning?

• Highest and Lowest Birth Rates in Connecticut

• Oh, Baby! Your Town's Birth Rates

• Should Flip Flops Be Allowed in High Schools?

• Track Your Teen's Driving: Would You Do It?