Classroom’s Holocaust poster draws ire of school staff member, is removed

Last week, students of a sixth grade class at Lincoln School in Fairview, New Jersey were working on a group assignment – create a poster based on Number the Stars, a historical fiction novel about a Jewish family's plight during the Holocaust. One of the posters created included images of swastikas, pictures of Jewish children with their faces crossed out, and desecrated Stars of David/Israeli flags. Said poster was then put on display on a hallway wall near theclassroom for days, before a complaint was filed on Monday by a Jewish staff member and it was taken down, as NJ.com reports.

The poster in question (NJ.com)

The unnamed staff member, who is Orthodox Jewish, was offended by the sight of the poster, telling NJ.com, “It's highly offensive to anybody, especially someone who is Jewish and whose family members were survivors of the Holocaust." She said that it lacked an explanation that it was inspired by a book that covered the topic, and denies claims from the Fairview Board of Education that a copy of Number the Stars was displayed near the poster. Furthermore, she says that when she approached Lincoln School’s principal, Lea Turro, she was told that it would not be removed until, “the class' curriculum was scheduled to change.”

(FairviewPS.org)

Fairview Superintendent Louis DeLisio spoke with NJ.com and says he ordered the poster’s removal on Tuesday after speaking with the anonymous staff member who complained and the teacher who had assigned the project. He told the New Jersey news website, “"We're not trying to offend anyone... my true feeling is they (the students) did not have any ill-intention with this poster. They were trying to depict things that were prohibited during the Holocaust."

As for the teacher who assigned the project, she was reportedly upset after learning her assignment, one that was meant to “resonate with students,” had offended a coworker, for reasons that include the fact that she is engaged to a Jewish man.

More info: NJ.com

View the original article here

99-year-old Iowa woman gets high school diploma

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A 99-year-old Iowa woman who dropped out of a high school more than 80 years ago despite needing only one credit to graduate has finally received her diploma.

Audrey Crabtree, of Cedar Falls, smiled Monday as she received an honorary diploma for her time at Waterloo East High School.

"And I feel so much smarter," Crabtree quipped.

Crabtree, who began her education at a one-room school house in northeast Iowa, left high school in 1932 due to a swimming and diving accident that forced her to miss several school days. She also had to care for her sick grandmother.

"I was a senior, but I was short a credit, so I would've had to go back the next fall," she told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (http://bit.ly/15pHtO3).

That would have interfered with her plans to marry her first husband. In 1957, the couple bought the flower shop where Crabtree had worked after their two children started school. But her husband died of a heart attack two months into their business venture.

Crabtree operated Flowers by Audrey for 28 years. She married two more times and outlived both husbands. Her family today includes five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Despite Crabtree's professional and family success, those around her had noted her dissatisfaction with not finishing school.

"She had voiced quite a while back the one regret she had in life was that she never had gotten her diploma," said Shelley Hoffman, Crabtree's granddaughter.

Hoffman contacted Waterloo Community Schools and helped arrange the diploma ceremony.

Family and friends surrounded Crabtree as the current principal of East High handed her a diploma during an education board meeting.

"I wouldn't advise anyone to drop out," she said. "I just have to say in my life the Lord has been so good."

Crabtree was given a copy of her last report card and memorabilia from her time at the high school, including a jacket and homecoming pins. She also received more than 100 handmade congratulatory cards from middle school students.

___

Information from: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, http://www.wcfcourier.com

View the original article here

Back to school ads stir up controversy

Canada’s Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia has come under fire for a back to school advertising campaign that some call sexist and demeaning to women. The ads feature caricatures of girls next to statements like, “My favourite class? Shop!” “Mixing patterns-now that’s a science!” Also, “Social studies? Does posting my new boots on Facebook count?” The controversial ads sparked outrage, which was expressed on social media and in the press. Ramona Jennex, the Nova Scotia Education Minister told Global News, “I’m not pleased to see an ad campaign that would be stereotyping our young women and because, saying that the only thing that they would be interested in was shopping.” Still others like Debra Wells-Hopey, a certified image consultant, defend the ads calling them ironic. “Women, young ladies, girls going back to school today are far more sophisticated than many people may give them credit for and that they themselves too can see the irony, and the humor, the tongue-in-cheek-ness so to speak, of the ads.”

The advertisements ran for a week on radio, television, billboards and online before they were pulled by the shopping center. Mic Mac Mall’s marketing director, Rebecca Logan issued a statement of apology reading, “Mic Mac Mall is sincerely sorry for offending its customers. We’ve heard what our customers have to say and we understand why you’re angry. It was never intended to be offensive.” The mall also committed to donate $5000 to a local organization “that focuses on empowering girls” and is asking for the public’s help in identifying a deserving group.

The Canadian mall’s ads are not the only back to school campaigns under scrutiny. JC Penney recently took heat for their “First Day Look” campaign for returning students. Some said that the ad featuring a child sitting alone in the cafeteria because his clothes may not be cool enough, perpetuated bullying. JC Penney pulled the ad from their TV campaign and said that their marketing was not intended to trivialize or promote bullying.

Thoughts about a Kmart ad featuring the Minneapolis-based group Da Rich Kidzz, has viewers split. Some call the commercial “belittling and deplorable,” saying it racially profiles black kids by implying that all they do is “rap and dance.” But an equally vocal group say that Da Rich Kidzz are talented young positive rappers who rap about how much they love school, and that people are overreacting.

Opinion is clearly divided on these back-to-school ads. What do you think about the campaigns?

More information: Global News

View the original article here

School cheerleading uniforms violate dress code

Give me a B-O-O!

That’s no doubt what the cheerleaders of Countryside High School in Clearwater, Fla., are saying to the news that their uniforms violate the school dress code and they can't wear them to class on game days, according to a story from WFTS-Tampa.

Officials at the school, which is located in the Tampa Bay area, are telling the students that their school-provided cheerleader uniforms should cover shoulders and the skirts should reach midthigh.

“I love putting it on. All the cheerleaders do,” cheerleading team member Jeana Fraser told the TV station.

But now, due to a strict enforcement of policy, Jeana may no longer be showing up to class on game days in her uniform. According to the Tampa Bay Times, in the past, Pinellas County high schools had turned a blind eye to the dress code violations.

This school year, some of the high schools are stepping up enforcement or introducing a stricter dress code for school hours, even when it comes to approved school uniforms.

“There’s a dress code in place,” Pinellas County school district spokeswoman Melanie Marquez Parra told the TV station. “If a school determines a certain outfit is not appropriate then they can ask a student to change or to wear something different. This might include athletic uniforms.”

Countryside principal Gary Schlereth told the Tampa Bay Times he is working with the cheerleaders on a compromise in the classroom: Jackets to cover bare arms, for example. Skirts may have a Velcro section of fabric added for length. Alternatively, track pants may be ordered for the girls.

For the game this Friday, Jeana knows what she’ll be wearing to cheer. But she’s still not sure what she’ll be wearing to class.

View the original article here

ACLU joins 12-year-old Ohio girl's fight to play on school football team

12-year-old Makhaela Jenkins is fighting her Ohio school district to play on the football team.fox 28

The ACLU has joined a 12-year-old Ohio girl's fight to play football for her school district, in a case that has prompted requests that the school board change its policies on female athletes.

Seventh-grader Makhaela Jenkins has played youth football around Baltimore, southeast of Columbus, but isn't allowed on the active roster for her school team because the district doesn't allow girls to participate in games and contact drills.

Fox 28 Columbus reports Liberty Union-Thurston District superintendent Paul Mathews said the longstanding policy doesn't violate any gender-related regulations, because the district offers girls other, non-contact athletic options.

"We are not violating Title IX," Mathews said, referring to the federal law that bans gender discrimination in federally funded school programs, including sports. "We have opportunities for girls, but those opportunities do not include contact sports."

He said it's the district's choice to set which school sports are available to girls.

"We think we have plenty of places for everyone to fit in, but it is simply a choice," Mathews said.

The Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in a letter to Matthews on Thursday said the district's decision is "unacceptable and unlawful." The organization added that the district cannot say it has a "legitimate basis" for denying female students from participating on the football team.

Makhaela said gender shouldn't be a barrier to participation in school sports.

"Some people have different goals and dreams they want to follow, and if they want to play a sport, (they) should be able to play a sport no matter what gender you are," she told Fox 28.

She and her relatives contend she practiced, lifted weights and earned the right to play. And she still wants to do so.

"It sets me apart from everybody else, and it lets other people know it's OK to be different and you don't have to follow what everybody else does," she said.

The school district's board members have not yet publicly responded to the ACLU's letter.

Click for more from Fox 28.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

View the original article here

Wealthy parents sue school, claim they were scammed into buying $50K finger painting

The Heinemanns attend the Prize4Life Gala, Sotheby's, New York City, June 24, 2013. (Owen Hoffmann/Patrick McM …

A pair of Manhattan socialites are suing a private school for nearly a half-million dollars after it allegedly tricked them into bidding $50,000 for a finger painting done by kindergarteners.

According to the lawsuit filed on Friday in New York State Supreme Court, Michelle-Marie and Jon Heinemann claim the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine sent them a bill for $50,000 after the March 1 silent auction.

“This is essentially a painting done by 5-year-olds,” a "source who knows the family" told the New York Post, which first reported the lawsuit.

The school scoffed at the Heinemanns' claims.

"These allegations are sad, false and without merit," a spokesman for the Upper West Side school said in a statement to Yahoo News. "The Cathedral School has a more than 100-year reputation of excellence in education and service to its students and demonstrates a profound respect for the dignity and equality of every child.”

The Heinemanns—whose 5-year-old son, Hudson, attended the school—were not present at the auction but instructed the school to bid on their behalf until they won the artwork. They claim the finger-painted piece should have sold for a maximum of $3,000, but a high-ranking school official made a first-grade teacher bid against the Heinemanns, resulting in the $50,000 price tag. And that was in addition to "$6,000 worth of designer clothing items" the Heinemanns bought and donated to the school specifically for the auction, the suit states.

From the lawsuit:

Additionally, Plaintiff Michelle-Marie Heinemann, a renowned artist whose works have sold for tens of thousands of dollars, donated significant amounts of her time to work with the children at the school on an art project to be included in the Auction.

The family subsequently pulled Hudson out of the $39,000-a-year school. According to the lawsuit, the employee who engineered the auction scam was terminated.

But the Heinemanns say their trouble with the K-8 day school began well before the auction. They say Hudson was "subjected to disparate and unfair treatment" during the 2012-2013 school year.

He "was consistently left out of School exhibits and films" and "was made to go last at nearly everything," the lawsuit claims:

On one occasion, Plaintiffs' five-year-old son was relegated to the role of "door-holder" and ordered to hold the door for all of the other students.

The Heinemanns say they tried to discuss the situation with school officials, but "were either ignored or otherwise met with resentment."

They say they "were forced to endure humiliation and emotional damages" as a result of the auction debacle. They're seeking $415,900 in damages, including the following:

a. Tuition to a new school- $20,000;
b. Forfeiting deposit paid to Defendant School for the following school year- $5,000;
c. Maintaining the employment of a family driver that is no longer needed due to the relocation- $60,000;
d. Continuing the employment of the family housekeeper that is no longer needed due to the relocation- $1,200 per week

View the original article here

Could school gate politics replace mommy porn for women readers?

By Belinda Goldsmith

LONDON (Reuters) - A British writer whose debut novel about mothers at the school gate sparked a seven-way bidding war between publishers has attributed the overnight success of her book to striking a chord with women used to negotiating the politics of female groups.

The hype around "The Hive" led to Gill Hornby being described as publisher Little Brown's "most important new author of 2013" and NBC Universals' arthouse Focus Features snapped up the film rights even before the book's release on May 23.

Hornby said she was slightly bemused by all the attention for her book which hit the top 10 bestselling fiction list in the UK in its first week, drawing comparisons to the huge success of EL James's "Fifty Shades of Grey" series last year.

After all it is Hornby's first novel although she is far from new to publishing. She is married to Robert Harris, best-selling author of thrillers like "Enigma" and "Archangel" and her brother Nick Hornby wrote "High Fidelity" and "Fever Pitch".

Hornby, who has four children aged 12 to 22, said the book took her two years to write but was in her head for years.

"I've always been very conscious about the groups girls and women make but I was too busy living the life to write about it," Hornby told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"This book is based at a school but really it is about women and their relationships .. about ordinary, domestic life."

"The Hive" is based at a fictional school, St Ambrose Primary, in a smart English rural town, which has a new headmaster and a group of mothers committed to raising funds for his plan to build a new school library.

The fund-raising is led by the undisputed queen bee Beatrice while Heather desperately tries to be more popular and other mothers steer clear or unintentionally fuel the rivalries, one-upmanship and smugness that comes with mother-led school group.

As the cliques swerve the lunch ladder and car boot sale, the school year becomes the backdrop of various life-changing events from broken relationships, depression, to cancer scares.

Hornby, a columnist with the Daily Telegraph until 2010, said the characters were based on the six roles outlined in Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book "Queen Bees and Wannabes" that dealt with girls' friendships and conflicts.

The six are the Queen Bee, the sidekick, wannabe, floater, target, and torn bystander.

"The book is not autobiographical and not revenge against anybody. I've always been an amused observer," said Hornby,

Hornby is working on her second book about another group of women in the same town who are 15 years older with departed children and downplays "The Hive" being hailed as starting a new genre for women who are the main buyers of fiction.

Publishers have been trying to second guess the next big trend among women readers after the phenomenal success last year of "Fifty Shades of Grey" which appealed to a wide group of older women no longer interested in the shelf loads of chicklit.

"After mummy porn, mumlit?" asked the Guardian newspaper.

"I do worry about people comparing it to "50 Shades" because there is no sex at all in my book," said Hornby.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)

View the original article here

Swedish high school forgets to offer class required for graduation

Graduation (Thinkstock)

Skipping out on a class required for graduation is the kind of thing you’d expect from a slumping senior, but not the high school itself.

Students at a high school in Gothenburg, Sweden, were outraged to learn that their school “forgot” to teach them a required religion class—days before the students were about to graduate, according to UPI.com.

Principal Christel Berver of the publicly financed, privately run, free high school said it was all a big misunderstanding. "When you read the law, it can be interpreted that you can switch religion with social science," she told the Local.

It turned out she was wrong—which some of the students had suspected.

"The last two years I've wondered, 'Aren't we supposed to have religion?'" said student Patricia Kjellby to the Local, who now worries that she won't be able to wear the white graduation cap.

The seniors have been given two choices: Use the few days before graduation to make up the work. Or, accept a failing grade and take the class next fall. We’re guessing students will be praying for a miracle.

View the original article here

Small Wash. school closes because of nice weather

SEATTLE (AP) — In a sun-deprived part of Washington state, the promise of nice spring weather prompted a small private school to give students a day off to enjoy the sunshine.

Friday is a "sun day" of sorts for the 205 students at Bellingham Christian School, a small, private, nondenominational Christian school in Bellingham, Wash., about 90 miles north of Seattle.

"SCHOOL CANCELLED DUE TO GREAT WEATHER! WAHOOO!" the school's website announced Thursday night. "Yeah! It's a Sun Day today and everyone gets the day off from school."

Principal Bob Sampson said he wanted to give students some time to re-energize and enjoy the weather, adding that he wanted to re-create the excitement snow days get among the kids. He began teasing the possibility of giving the day off earlier in the week.

"In a world that's got a lot hard things going, it's fun to create a moment of joy," Sampson said.

The forecast for Western Washington calls for a weekend of sunshine, with highs hitting the low 80s in some parts of the region on Sunday.

The sun day was also made possible because there weren't any days off because of snow this school year.

"Kids just love the anticipation of sitting around see if school is canceled when it snows," he said. "You know, we haven't had any snow days, so I thought 'how fun would it be to create that anticipation for kids when it's nice out?'"

Sampson surveyed parents to make sure the day off wouldn't cause any hardships and floated the idea with the school board before canceling school, he said. The 22 staff members will also get the day off, he added.

Sampson and another staff member will be at the school bright and early, though, to welcome any students who didn't get the notice.

The principal asked students to take pictures of what they do on their sunny day off. He plans to show the pictures at an assembly Monday.

It's not the first time the school has given students the day off because of sunshine. The last time was two years ago.

View the original article here

Deputy Sheriff fights alligator from middle school

Jessica McGregor and the alligator has caught (Sheriff's Office Lake County)

Florida Sheriff's Deputy took matters into their own hands last week when was spotted a seven-foot alligator trying to break through the fence of a local middle school.

Jessica McGregor, Deputy Sheriff of Lake County, a 29-year-old mother of two, has answered the call, fashioned a noose from a 30 foot rope and "saw the would-be attacker," the Orlando Sentinel reports.

"I got it turned around, and began to spin and jump and flop," McGregor told the newspaper. "Once he got tired, he just laid there and wiggled his tail. I threw the rope above him and fall down with your knees behind the front legs. He jerked around a bit and just gave up.

The Congressman, who said she and her brother used to catch alligators for fun, explained that she didn't want to wait the two hours estimated for the professional trapper arrive.

"I lived in Lake County my entire life," McGregor told the newspaper. "Back in the day, you've got these things come on your land, and just took 'em and 'em threw back into the nearest drinker."

Not a big deal.

While alligator encounters are common in the State, attacks are less and even then are rarely fatal. Still, it can be frightening. Last summer, two teenagers in Florida were attacked by alligators in a span of five days. One of them lost the bottom half of his right arm in the near-fatal encounter.

View the original article here

106-year-old woman with high school diploma

The Mansfield News Journal reports that Reba Williams was presented the award on Wednesday from Mount Vernon Superintendent Steve Short.

Technically, the High school dropout rate in the nation just dropped a fraction. Although it is not clear whether that counts towards 1925 or 2013.

In 1925, Williams finished all 12 grades in Mount Vernon, but never received his diploma.

And it was a bureaucratic error. Williams was denied his diploma after she refused to read a book by one of his teachers. It turns out that Williams had already read the book, disliked and refused to dredge up again through its pages.

"I would like to tell them what happened to me," Williams told the newspaper. "If you expect to get anywhere in this world, they have to learn."

Actually, it was a recent profile of Williams from the Journal that helped finally get the diploma. A former teacher read the profile of Williams and presented his case to the board of education, which decided unanimously to award Williams a diploma.

Surprisingly, one of the Board members who helped make the case he had been awarded his diploma at the age of 95 years.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," said Williams. "Isn't that wonderful?"

Williams Junction for the occasion were a number of relatives, including his brother, 88-year-old "baby", Charles.

In fact, Williams has some distinct society. It was just last week that Massachusetts resident Fred Butler was awarded his high school diploma at the same age – 106. In fact, Butler expressed concern that he was not "earned" the degree, the ceremony in which they held a number of local figures including the Mayor.

And despite graduating late, Williams greatly praised the Mount Vernon school system saying that provided students the opportunity to embark on a lifetime of learning.

You can use it or not, "he said. "I was learning all the time."

View the original article here

Ohio woman, 106, finally gets high school diploma

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A 106-year-old central Ohio woman who completed classes but didn't graduate in a dispute over a book has received her high school diploma.

The News Journal in Mansfield (http://ohne.ws/15OcL2x ) reports the Mount Vernon superintendent presented Reba Williams with the diploma Wednesday at her apartment in Columbus. She even got to wear a traditional graduation cap brought by the retired Mount Vernon English teacher who urged the school board to award the diploma.

Williams has said she completed high school in Mount Vernon but was denied her diploma because she refused to read a final book assigned by a teacher. She'd read the book once and didn't want to read it again.

Williams says she hopes current students realize that learning is important and that they probably shouldn't follow her example.

___

Information from: News Journal, http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com

View the original article here

Ohio School Cancels prom on the water balloon fight

CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio high school cancelled its prom to punish students for a joke: a massive water balloon fight at lunch.

Cincinnati Enquirer (http://cin.ci/Xszo65) reports that the principal of Withrow High School in Cincinnati says students used social media last month for planning the hoax.
Principal Sharon Johnson said staff discovered and tried to prevent it. Did joke day ads planned, students would have canceled prom alert if they balloon fight. School officials were concerned about security.
But about 150 to 175 students went ahead with it. Johnson says that there was water everywhere and some students were upset and slip and fall.
Johnson says that she had only received a few calls from parents upset.
___
Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com

View the original article here