The Dublin Citizen (Dublin, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 30, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 26, 2009 Page: 17 of 26
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Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Dublin Citizen
Sec. B, Page 5
Dublin Schools Today
March 2009
Make Calories Count with these tips
Fit students more likely to do well
A lirst-of-its-kind study of more
than 2.4 million Texas students
found that students who are
physically fit are more likely to do
well on the state’s standardized
tests and have gooii school
attendance. Fit students are also
less likely to have disciplinary
referrals.
The findings are based on the
results of a battery of six
FITNESSGRAM® tests taken by
students in grades 3-12 during the
2007-2008 school year. Hie
FITNESSGRAM® tool was
created by The Cooper Institute of
Dallas. The six types of assessment
measure five areas - bod)1
Composition, aerobic capacity,
muscular strength, endurance and
flexibility. The assessments
determine whether students are in a
“healthy fitness zone” for their age
and gender.
The study analyzed data front
6,532 schools, which represents
about 75 percent of the schools in
Texas and about 84 percent of the
school districts.
“(Dttr -state and nation are
struggling with obesity,., thanks to
the combination of increasingly
sedentary lifestyles and the
declining quality of diets,” Gov.
Rick Petty said “We owe it to out
children to take the appropriate
steps to encourage fitndss, steps
that are made more clear by the
information contained in this first
round of testing. I am confident we
are on our way to making a
difference that will improve and
even save lives.”
Commissioner of Education
Robert Scott said “Texas is the first
state to require an annual physical •
fitness assessment of public school
students. Today’s research results
show that improving our children’s
physical fitness can have positive
results not only for die children, but
for the schools as well.”
The study found that
cardiovascular health, measured by
a walking/running test, had a higher
correlation to school success than
did the Body Mass Index (BMI),
which is a measure of body fat
based on height and weight,
adjusted for age and gender.
“The impact exercise lias on the
growing brain is unparalleled said
“father Of aerobics” Kenneth H.
Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., founder and
chairman of The Cooper Institute.
“Increased exercise improves
cardiovascular health, and that
helps the brain function more
efficiently mid enhances its ability
to learn.”
About 78 percent .of fourth-
grade students were in the healthy
fitness zone for cardiovascular
fitness, whereas only 20 percent of
high school seniors reached the
healthy fitness zone. As with the
overall FITNESSGRAM® data,
cardiovascular fitness levels
declined with each passing grade.
About 70 percent of students in
each of the grades 3-12 reached the
healthy fitness zone for Body Mass
Index. About 30 percent of the
students were not able to achieve
the healthy fitness zone for their
age and gender. i
Significant correlations were
found between physical fitness and
various indicators of academic
achievement. The study shows
that:
•Higher levels of fitness are
associated with better academic
performance. At high performing
schools that have earned the state’s
top rating of Exemplary, about 80
percent of the students have healthy
levels of cardiovascular fitness.
•At schools that liave received
the state’s lowest rating called
Academically Unacceptable,
slightly more than 40 percent of the
students achieved cardiovascular
fitness.
Higher levels of fitness were
associated with better school
attendance.
•Higher levels of fitness at a
school were also associated with
fewer disciplinary incidents. The
research looked at the number of
incidents involving drugs, alcohol,
violence and truancy.
•Counties with high levels of
cardiovascular fitness tended to
have high passing rates on the
Texas Assessment of Knowledge "
and Skills (TAKS). Regional and
county data can be found at www.
texasyouthfitnessstudy.org.
“This data confirms what we
have always thought to be hue -
that there is a strong correlation
Calories fuel your body. Your
body performs best if you power
up with high-grade fuel, like fruits
and vegetables, and other nutritious
foods. The 10 tips below will help
you and your child get the most out
of every calorie you consume.
•Know How Many Calories
You Need. Most school-age
children require between 1,400 and
2,500 calories per day, depending
on their age, gender and amount of
daily exercise. Find out how many
calories you and your child need a
day at www.mypyramid.gov.
•Fill Up On Low-Calorie
Foods, Eat smart by balancing
higher calorie food choice^ with
lower calorie ones. Curb hunger
pangs with fresh fruits and
betw een a student's fitness and their vegetables, which are packed with
scholastic success. These results
provide yet another incentive to
reverse the health trends we are
seeing among our youth. We need
vitamins, minerals mid fiber.
•Size Up Portions. How much
you eat is as important as what you
eat when it comes to maintaining a
to move foAvard on this issue as if healthful body weight. Proper
lives depend on it - because they portion size is especially important
do!" said Sen. Jane Nelson,
R-Flower Mound, chainnan of the
Senate Health & Human Setvices
Committee and author of the law
establisliing the assessments.
The physical fitness assessments
are given annually to Texas
students. 'Hie 2007-2008 scliool
year was the first time students
were assessed statewide using the
FITNESSGRAM®, About 2.6
million students were tested. To
ensure that results were
representative of a school, test
results were removed from the
for high calorie fiiods.
•Check Out Food Labels.
Teach your child to check out the
Nutrition Facts label on foods.
especially the calories per serving
and the serving size. Find out how
to read a food label at www.cfsan.
fda.gov.
•Select Lean Meats And Low-
Fat Daily. Choose leafi meats and
poultiy; and vaiy protein choices-
try fish, beans and peas. Adults and
children over the age of 2 should
drink fat-free or low-fat milk. Low-
fat cheese mid yogurt are also good
sources for calcium mid protein
with fewer calories than the full-fat
version.
•Avoid Drinking Your
Calories. It is easy to drink
excessive calories and added sugars
in the form of liquids, such as soft
drinks, sweetened drinks and fruit
drinks. Encourage your child to
drink the recommended amount of
fat-free or low-fat milk, small
amounts of TOO percent fruit juice,
and plenty of water it’s calorie-
free.
•Grab Healthy Snacks. Help
your cliild get the most out of
snacks by making nutritious food
readily available. For example,
prepare kid-friendly veggies, such
as carrots, celery sticks and broccoli,
and fresh fruits tliat are washed,
chopped and ready for *your
youngster to grab and go.
Remember to watch portion sizes
of your favorite snack foods as
well.
•Make The Most Of Away-
From-Home Foods. Select
steamed, grilled or broiled dishes
rather than tlmse that are fried or
sauteed. And remember a laige
burger, fries and soft drink may
contain all the calories you need for
the whole day. Try cutting portions
in half and take the rest home for
leftovers.
•Burn Up Calories With
Plenty Of Exercise. The more you
exercise, the more calories you can
consume. We all need to be
physically active on most days to
maintain a healthy weight and to
feel good, too.
Eat School Meals—They
Make The (Trade. School meals
meet federal nutrition standards
mid are served in age-appropriate
portion sizes a great way to ensure
growing children get exactly what
they need.
Teaching teens to manage anger
Conflict and its related emotions
are a daily fact of life. Anger
associated with conflict is difficult
for many adults to manage. Now
imagine the difficulty teenagers
have with anger when new
responsibilities and pressures are
added to a massive influx of
analysis if fewer than 25 percent of hormones. Teenagers are in the
the students at a school were tested, midst of developing much-needed
Consequently, the research into the
correlation between the
cardiovascular health and BMI and
academic success is based on the
performance of 2.4 million
students.
The original 2008 baseline data
from 2.6 million youngsters, which
was analyzed by researchers with
The Cooper Institute, found that:
•Students were most likely to
achieve a healthy fitness zone level
on all six FITNESSGRAM® tests
at third grade;
•Of the 331,379 third-grade
students who participated in the
study, 3325 percent of the girls and
28.60 percent of die boys were in
the healthy'fitness zone on all six
tests;
•Fitness levels declined with
each subsequent grade level,
reaching a low at 12th grade. Of the
152,144 seniors tested, only 8.18
percent of the girls and 8.% percent
of the boys meet healthy standards
on all six tests.
This spring students in grades
3-12 tire undergoing a second
round of FITNESSGRAM®
testing.
anger management skills, and you
as a parent play a critical role in
their success.
With this in mind, it is even
more important that you teach your
teenager ways to address conflict
inways that don’t involve anger
and violence.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
One of the first things to teach is
that conflict, both large and small,
will always be there. The degree to
which it controls your life, however,
is up to you. Teach your teen that
when life’s small irritations occur,
use the motto “don’t sweat the
small stuff.” Learning to ignore
some of the little things can go a
long way in helping manage
emotions.
Ultimately, learning to let such
small incidents pass without a
major emotional reaction will make
for a happier life.
Learning to Manage
Sometimes life just makes you
angry, hi those instances, learning
to manage anger and conflict is one
of the most useful skills your
teenager can have. Some things
you as a parent can teach to help
follow:
Identify feelings—Sometimes
anger masks another emotion that
we are unwilling or unable to
express, such as frustration or
embarrassment. Teach teenagers to
ask the question, “What am I really
feeling here?” and answer it
honestly. It will help them get a
better perspective on the situation
and aid problem solving.
Communicate—Teach your
teenager to ask what the other
person is really feeling and why,.
When describing what they’re
feeling, teach your teenager to use
“I" statements instead of “you.” In
other words, use the phrase “1 feel
that what you said is disrespectful,”
instead of “You are disrespectful.”
This simple change of words is less
confrontational and can open more
insightful dialog regarding tire
problem.
Beaproblem solver —Teenagers
need to leant to separate die people
from die problem. Teach diem to
empathize—to see die situation as
die other person sees it.
Walk away—If emotions are
out of hand, make sure your
teenager knows that it is okay to
walk away and cool down. Teach
ways of calming oneself, such as
counting to 10, breathing deeply,
waiting, or talking to someone.
Use humor—Never discount
the survival technique of using
humor. It is a successful means of
dissipating strong emotions mid
relieving tension that may be
creating die impasse to a ,solution.
Just be sure your ' teenager
recognizes the difference between
sarcasm mid humor.
Saving face—Saving face
means giving people committed to
conflict a way out that allows them
to feel like they’ve won something
and tiiat helps diem avoid
embarrassment. This is often easier
ihan continuing to aigue.
Conflict resolution is a process
that can be learned at any age.
Teaching teenagers to manage
conflict successfully is one of the
best preparations you can give
them for adulthood.
Oxinselcre Comer
Apply Early for Federal
Student Aid with the FAFSA
The start of the calendar year
also marks the beginning of the
college financial aid season with
the release of die U.S. Department
of Education's 2009-10 Free
Application for Federal Student
, Aid (FAFSA).
The FAFSA is die qualifying
form for all federal grants and loans
as well as many state and private
student aid programs.
Each year, the U.S. Department
of Education disburses more than
$80 billion in higher education
grants and loans to students
attending postsecondaiy schools.
To qualify, students must first
complete die FAFSA.
“We want to make sure students
and families take full advantage of
the billions of dollars in federal
’financial assistance available to
'them for postsecondaiy education
each year,” Secretary Margaret
Spellings said “Most families are
eligible to receive some type of
financial aid; they jidt have to take
that first step mid complete the
application”
1 Each year, an estimated 14
million applicants apply, and more
■than 10 million receive some type
; of federal grant or loan
J' More than 95% of FAFS As are
submitted online, and now, with.
several added features, it is easier
than ever to apply online. Students
mid families can:
•Requestapersonalidentification
number (PIN) and immediately
receive it to electronically sign die
application.
•Submit an online FAFSA and
immediately receive a confirmation
with a preliminary expected family
contribution.
•List up to 10 schools to receive
the provided .financial aid
information.
•Copy parental information to
another FAFSA application for a
second or third child.
To determine aid eligibility,
students and families should fill out
the FAFSA as early as possible
after Januaiy 1 for the academic
year beginning July 1. Many factors
contribute to a student’s eligibility
for federal financial aid besides
income, such as the size of the
family mid the age of the oldest
parent. Completing a FAFSA is the
only way students and families can
find out how much federal aid they
are eligible to receive.
Although completing the
FAFSA online is the preferred
method for most families, there are
other FAFSA filing options
available, including downloading
the form or ordering a hard copy.
Both online mid hard copy FAFSAs
are available in English and
Spanish
at the Federal Student Aid Web
site, www.federalstudentaid.ed.
gov, by clicking FAFSA Filing
Options.
Federal Student Aid, an office
of the U.S. Department of
Education, ensures that all eligible
individuals can benefit from
federally funded or federally
guaranteed financial assistance for
Online Networking Do's
And Don'ts
By SHARON MCNUTT
DMS Counselor
When joining any social
networking sites, there are certain
things you should mid shouldn't do.
These range from online safety
tips, to general social networking
etiquette.
First and foremost is online
safety. There are a lot of crazy
people out there and those people
are looking at your Myspace page.
You should never put personal
information like your address, or
even your phone number. It only
takes one incident of your phone
being inundated with text messages
from a Myspace user for you to
leant that lesson.
That should be a good indication
that talking to strangers online
might not be such a good idea.
Some of these sites are worse than
others but there are plenty of fake
profiles and spammers who send
education beyond high school. To messages and friend requests to
learn more, visit www. any profile they stumble upon.
federalstodentaid.ed.gov. These are people that shouldn't
SourceAvww.ed.gov even be humored. They might
range from harmless compulsive
friend requesters to actual
predators.
It should go without saying that
you should never arrange a meeting
with a person you met online. You
never know who is actually behind
that computer screen or what their
intentions are. You should never
add people you don't know. There
are people spreading viruses or
promoting things from fake profiles
■till over social networking sites.
Additionally, if you want to
prevent these people from
contacting you in the first place,
you should make your profile
private. Strangers are less likely to
contact you if your profile is private
and that way only your friends see
your informatioa
But if you don't want it private,
you should be conscious of the
things you are posting on there.
Pictures or comments can give off
the wrong impression about you
Sometimes employers look at
profiles when making hiring
decisions.
But of course, there are
guidelines you should follow when
using these sites. Ifs good to leave
friends comments and keep in
touch with coworkers and old
school friends but when you are
constantly interacting with people
you're friends with but haven't
really spoken to in years, it gets
annoying for everyone else. This
applies to Myspace bulletins, which
sometimes people use to talk to
people or might post too
frequently.
If you want to communicate
With your friends but not your
entire network, tiien you should
write blogs, which you can also do.
Another annoying habit that you
should avoid is more Facebook-
specific. With the new applications,
a lot of people think that they
should share it with all their friends.
It's no fun to get requests about
something you aren't interested in
from someone you haven't spoken
to since 11th grade math.
Instead use your time on social
networking sites more
constructively by sending, birthday
greetings to your friends or making
event invitatioas for your next pool
party to send out. Often these sites
have other useful features like
Marketplace where you can buy
and sell books, DVDs and even
furniture.
There are many pros and cons
to these types of sites and following
these simple guidelines to avoid the
creeps and so you don't annoy your
Dublin Schools Today is brought to you monthly
by tiie Dublin Independent School District.To
suggest topics, please contact Curriculum Director
Nancy Russell at 445-4665.
For Future Reference:
Charlotte Pounds
Principal of Dublin Elementary, 445-2577
Rebecca Owen
Principal of Dublin Intermediate, 445-2618
John Grimland
Principal of Dublin Middle School, 445-2555
Vicky Stone
Principal of Dublin High School, 445-0362
BiD Towns
Elementary & Intermediate Counselor, 445-2577
Sharon McNutt
Middle School Counselor, 445-2555
acquaintances.
GayLynn Holt
High School Counselor, 445-0362
Nancy Russell
Curriculum Director, 445-4665
1
Roy Neff
Superintendent, 445-3341
ll is a policy of Dublin ISD not to discriminate on the basis
of race, color, national origin, sex. handicap or age in;
providing employment, programs and services.
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The Dublin Citizen (Dublin, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 30, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 26, 2009, newspaper, March 26, 2009; Dublin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth770269/m1/17/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dublin Public Library.