Family Matters...
Friday, 25 November 2011 10:14
Canadian Pacific Holiday Train Heads to Saratoga for Holiday Food Drive
The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train hits the rails again in November, visiting over 140 communities across our network. Since the program's inception back in 1999, more than $5.6 million and over 2.45 million pounds of food has been collected in Canada and the United States.
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Saturday, 15 October 2011 06:10
Overwhelmed?….Not Enough Hours in the Day? Let’s do a Heart Check…
Written by Liz Lemery Joy
Well, here we are… September 2011. It seems that summer was cut short, and now the kids are back in school. (Unless, you are still cleaning up from the floods and start next week).
How is your mindset? Are you overwhelmed between work, kids, house, parent-teacher nights, after-school sports schedules? How about those lists of everything the kids need for school? Notebooks, rulers, pens, pencils….the endless list of instructions on certain types of binders and colored folders. The health forms, and signatures on the student-teacher homework expectations. (With the promise that you read them)
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Wednesday, 12 October 2011 12:05
Eye on Learning
Written by Pamela Grandin, Learning Skills Specialist
“Unfortunately, everything the experts tell us about diet is aimed at the whole population, and we are not all the same.” -The Scientist magazine
Many parents are surprised to hear that the food their child is consuming can be contributing to their learning struggles. And dairy is one of the biggest offenders. Children with undiagnosed allergies may be living with fluid in their ears which can cause distortions in their hearing and listening skills. With fluid sitting in the child’s ear, he may actually not hear certain tones so he is told that he is not ‘listening.’ Or they could be hearing the wrong sounds which can cause them to become frustrated because what they heard did not make sense. Fluid in the ears can also cause issues with balance, and activities such as bike riding can also be affected.
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With almost 400 runners, walkers and volunteers in attendance, weather in the upper 80's, the 5th Annual Team Teagan 5K Benefit Run/Walk went off without a hitch. 2011 Honored Hero, Hannah Hughes, surrounded by her family was able to cheer on participants from her perch on the back of dad's pick up truck, as Marc Shinebarger, 2011 Honored Hero Kristen Shinebager's dad and Eric, her brother, sprinted across the 5K mark to cheering friends, spectators and participating families.
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Tuesday, 03 May 2011 09:41
Team Teagan Announced 2011 Honored Heroes!
Written by Juergen Klingenberg
5th Annual Team Teagan 5K Benefit Walk/Run for Honored Heroes Kristen Shinebarger and Hannah Hughes
Saturday, July 9th at the Saratoga State Park (Warming Hut) | Registration: 7:30 am | Run/Walk begins: 9:15 am
For the past 5 years, Team Teagan Inc., a Saratoga Based non-profit, organizes the Team Teagan 5K Benefit Run/Walk to help a local family with a child battling childhood cancer, refereed to as "Honored Heroes". The event, named after Teagan Klingenberg (5), a kindergartner in Saratoga, was the first benefactor of the event in 2007. Each July since then, dozens of volunteers, organizers and 100's of participants line the paths of the Saratoga State Park to show their support.
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Friday, 08 April 2011 12:17
“I hate my life” – How To Understand and Connect with Your Teenager
Written by Meghan D. Lemery LCSW-R
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of holding a workshop on the power of self- confidence and acceptance for teenage girls. “You Are What You Think” is a workshop I designed to help young ladies learn to trade the voice of self-doubt and abuse for self-confidence, love and acceptance.
During our time together I asked the ladies to write down their questions, concerns, or self-defeating thoughts that may be causing depression and anxiety.
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Saturday, 19 March 2011 05:06
Dr. Mario? Nintendo 3DS could help kids with vision disorders, optometrists say
Written by Dr. Howard Kushner O.D. PLLC
Original Story Written by Peter Svensson (CP)
Posted on Google/Canadian Press NEW YORK, N.Y. — U.S. eye specialists are welcoming the Nintendo 3DS game device, dismissing the manufacturer's warnings that its 3D screen shouldn't be used by children 6 or younger because it may harm their immature vision. On the contrary, the optometrists say, it's a good idea to get your kids to try the 3D screen, especially if they're younger than 6. It won't do any harm, they say, and it could help catch vision disorders that have to be caught early to be fixed. "The 3DS could be a godsend for identifying kids under 6 who need vision therapy," said Michael Duenas, associate director for health sciences and policy for the American Optometric Association. The new handheld game device is already available in Japan and goes on sale in the U.S. on March 27 for $250. It has two screens like the DS machines it is designed to replace. The top screen can show 3D images, without the need for special glasses, though only new games will be in 3D. A pair of cameras on the 3DS can be used to take 3D pictures.
Posted on Google/Canadian Press NEW YORK, N.Y. — U.S. eye specialists are welcoming the Nintendo 3DS game device, dismissing the manufacturer's warnings that its 3D screen shouldn't be used by children 6 or younger because it may harm their immature vision. On the contrary, the optometrists say, it's a good idea to get your kids to try the 3D screen, especially if they're younger than 6. It won't do any harm, they say, and it could help catch vision disorders that have to be caught early to be fixed. "The 3DS could be a godsend for identifying kids under 6 who need vision therapy," said Michael Duenas, associate director for health sciences and policy for the American Optometric Association. The new handheld game device is already available in Japan and goes on sale in the U.S. on March 27 for $250. It has two screens like the DS machines it is designed to replace. The top screen can show 3D images, without the need for special glasses, though only new games will be in 3D. A pair of cameras on the 3DS can be used to take 3D pictures.
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You make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:
"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query.
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It's all about protecting yourself and your friends on the internet.
There are countless threats to your personal security each day in this world of information and the internet. As we further extend ourselves into this electronic age with computers, cell phones, Ipads and countless other electronic devices – we are able to stay "connected" in both our personal and business life. There are an ever growing amount of threats against our personal security. Most users don't even understand the simplicity and extend of some of these.
These threats come in shapes and forms you would never suspect. What now seems many years ago- one threat came in the form of someone standing next to you at a pay phone to capture your long distant PIN code. Then you find yourself with a $3000.00 phone bill making countless calls to India or some other far away region. More sophisticated cell phone scanners could capture the private ID of your cell phone at a toll plaza.
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