Play around with ideas, deciding which are facts and which are opinions. Ask: How tall are you? What's the best food in the world? Do you like dogs? Point out that both facts and opinions show up in the news, but opinion is usually labeled.
Early voting has started in McLean County! You can vote early by mail or in person until March 31st. For details on voter registration, mail-in voting, polling locations, and more, visit www.elections.il.gov.
https://bit.ly/MCEV25
Say “hello” to two-way messaging in the Olympia CUSD 16 app! The same district app now offers class streams, class announcements, and parent-teacher chat. Look for your personalized invitation to begin using this feature in our app after Feb 24th.
Download for Android https://aptg.co/ZDkmVX
Download for iPhone https://aptg.co/49q8Hl
Use real-life examples to help kids understand how people can view the same situation with totally different perspectives. One child might experience a game on the playground as fun, while another might feel like the rules are unfair. Sibling conflict can be a great example of how two people can have wildly different opinions about the same event. With older children, talk through controversial subjects and take turns arguing for different sides to help kids understand various viewpoints.
Fake News has been around for a long time. Track its history from 63 B.C. through present day in this infographic. Where do you see Fake News today? Where does AI fit in? How does it impact your life? Does it impact the type of media you consume, or where you consume it?
https://youtu.be/mh1dLvGe06Y - BBC
When we get news from our social media feeds, it often only tells us part of the story. Our friends -- and the website's algorithms -- tend to feed us perspectives we already agree with. Check out these ways to escape the filter bubble and make sure your ideas about the world are being challenged.
When you see advertising on TV or on a billboard, ask your children to figure out what the ad is selling. Sometimes it's obvious, and sometimes it's not. Help them explore why certain pictures, sounds, or words are used to sell certain products.
Well-crafted headlines benefit everyone. They help readers digest information and publishers sell news stories. But what if the headline is misleading? What if it's crafted just to get clicks and not to inform? "Clickbait" headlines may benefit advertisers and publishers (think $$$), but they don't benefit readers. And when they go viral, they can badly misinform the public. This week, look for clickbait headlines in the media that you consume and discuss them with your family. How many can you find before Sunday rolls around!?
If approved, by law the One-Cent Tax revenue can be used for:
🔒 School Safety and Security: Fire prevention, life safety, School Resource Officers, and Mental Health Providers.
🏫 Facility Improvements: Roof repairs, replacing doors, and completing the Ag/STEM classroom spaces, and adding a multipurpose space to the OHMS campus.
🪙 Property Tax Stability: Offset eligible expenses, and as a result, reduce the reliance on property taxes to cover these costs.
If approved, each school district decides how to allocate these funds to address the unique needs of their school community.
Learn more about how this request could benefit students, staff and our school community by attending our community information meeting on March 10th at 5:00 p.m. in the Olympia High School Media Center, visiting our webpage (www.april1cent.info), or contacting us directly!
#april1cent
bit.ly/OlyNMV2
All media comes with an author and an agenda. Help kids think critically about any media they view with critical questions that dig below the surface. And to really empower kids, have them create their own media with these same questions in mind.
Students at West participated in a variety of STEM activities this morning. Students could make a snowball launcher, build with packing peanuts, design and test a Lego car, make slime, experiment with sound and vibrations, and create and test clay boats. Thank you to Olympia West PTO for sponsoring the Children's Discovery Museum. Check out the video to see first and fourth-graders having fun.
https://bit.ly/417jZ4D
The 5th graders at Oly West had the exciting opportunity to spend the morning engaging in STEM activities. It was a chance for them to design, build, and test a variety of creative projects.
Help your children analyze the info around them, from toy packaging to Instagram posts to news headlines, and question the purpose of the words and images they see. Teach kids how to use fact-checking tools like Snopes and FactCheck.org.
On April 1, 2025, voters in McLean County will vote on a 1% County Schools Facility Tax, also known as a one-cent tax. All school districts across McLean County have united to bring forward this request.
If approved, the one-cent tax will provide Olympia CUSD 16 with:
- Safety, security, and support, providing revenue for things like school resource officers and mental health providers
- Facility upgrades such as roof repairs, replacing doors, and completing the Ag/STEM classroom spaces, and adding a multipurpose space to the OHMS campus
- Property tax stability for homeowners- Districts can use the one-cent tax revenue to offset eligible expenses, and as a result, reduce the reliance on property taxes to cover these costs.
Learn more about how this referendum can make a difference by visiting our webpage at www.april1cent.info or contact us!
#april1cent
With so much media and information coming at us through the television, phones, social media, and more, it's more important than ever for kids to understand the basics of media literacy. When kids can identify different types of news and media and the methods and meanings behind them, they're on their way to being critical thinkers and smart consumers.
Throughout the month, we will be sharing a set of five tips to help your children become critical thinkers of news and media. Here is a short video to get those conversations started!
bit.ly/OlyNMV5
Video: bit.ly/OlyNMV1
Family Activity: Decoding Images. bit.ly/OlyNMFR1
Kids find and read news in lots of different ways. But studies show they're not very good at interpreting what they see. How can we help them get better? Teaching your children about the structure of online news articles is an important place to start.
If you want to know if someone is trying to trick you with a headline, think through a few of these five questions each time you read a shocking story. Don't let them pull the wool over your eyes Spartans!
Kindergarten celebrated the 100th day of school today! Students worked on various tasks throughout the day to unlock a secret code. Once they completed all the tasks, they earned a glow party!
The NHS sponsored Princess Tea Party will take place on Sunday, February 2 from 1-3 pm at the Olympia High School cafeteria. The event features games, crafts, bouncy house, face painting and a ROYAL RUNWAY! Come dressed in your finest royal outfits and meet the princesses! Cost is $5 at the door. Reservations recommended. Email amanda.hapgood@olympia.org
Reminder - Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!
No School on Monday, January 20, 2025.
