Keep young minds sharp over the summer with educational programs at Rivermont Collegiate! Rivermont is offering an assortment of Summer Adventures for children from preschool age and up.  Programs cover a wide variety of interests – from cooking to poetry – to French and microbiology. Children from any school may register. Sessions run for one week from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. or from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.; each session cost $110 and some require an additional $25 lab fee. Students attending two classes per day need to bring a sack lunch. Lunch time will be from 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Rivermont strives to prepare students who are grounded in the basics, yet able to think analytically and creatively, to confidently meet the challenges of the 21st century.  Check out full class descriptions and obtain a registration form at www.rvmt.org.

Preschool - Junior Kindergarten - Kindergarten

June 20-24          Mad Science! (8:30 – 11:30 a.m.)

June 20-24          Stories & More (12:00 – 3:00 p.m.)

June 27-July 1     Cooking Class     (8:30 – 11:30 a.m.)

July 18-22            Take Me Out to the Ballgame (8:30 – 11:30 a.m.)

Grades K - 2

July 18-22        Dig Into Dinosaurs (8:30 – 11:30 a.m.)

Grades 1 - 5

June 20-24        Bits, Bytes and Hopefully NO Bugs! (8:30 – 11:30 a.m.)

June 27-July 1     Poetry, The Symphony of Words (8:30 – 11:30 a.m.)

June 27-July 1     Got Game? (12:00 – 3:00 p.m.)

Grades 3 - 12

June 27-July 1     Une Semaine à Paris! (8:30 – 11:30 a.m.)

July 18-22            Scrapadoodle (8:30 – 11:30 a.m.)

Grades 8 – 10

July 18-22            Seeing the Unseen: Basic Microbiology Techniques (8:30 – 11:30 a.m.)

July 25-30            Plagues & Poxes & Pestilence – Oh, My! (8:30 – 11:30 a.m.)

For enrollment information on Rivermont Collegiate contact Cindy Murray at 563-359-1366 ext. 302 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For additional information on Summer Adventures at Rivermont Collegiate contact Tammi Burrell at 563-359-1366 ext. 337 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Rivermont Collegiate is the Quad Cities’ only independent, non-sectarian, PS-12 college preparatory school, ranked #1 on Iowa’s AP Index.

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DES MOINES, IA (05/03/2011)(readMedia)-- Iowa's community colleges are celebrating 45 years of educating students, so it is fitting the Governor recently signed into law Senate File 209 restoring $5.9 million in cuts made in FY 2010.

"We couldn't be happier with this bipartisan effort to support Iowa's community colleges. Restoring the $5.9 million in cuts made in FY 2010 makes good economic sense," said Chris Bern, president of the ISEA. "This is an especially critical time for Iowa's workforce, and our community colleges meet the myriad needs of unemployed workers as they seek job retraining and further education. Community colleges have a powerful role in helping grow our economy so our continued investment is critical to economic recovery in Iowa," added Bern.

The ISEA supports legislation to increase community college funding from the Iowa House $144 million to the Senate $169 million.

The Iowa State Education Association is a professional association made up of more than 34,000 educators who are dedicated to promoting and preserving quality public education for all students. Great Education. It's an Iowa Basic!

DES MOINES, IA (05/03/2011)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald is asking Iowans to celebrate 529 College Savings Day on May 29 by exploring the benefits of using a 529 plan, such as College Savings Iowa, to save for their loved ones future higher education expenses. "We want parents to know it's never too early to start planning for their child's education," Fitzgerald said. "As a way to raise awareness about 529 plans, families are able to gain a jump start on saving for their child's future education by registering, during the month of May, for the chance to win a free $529 College Savings Iowa account." For more information and to enter the giveaway, please visit www.my529iowaplan.com.

May 29 was nationally declared 529 College Savings Day in order to help bring attention to the fact that saving for college is one of the most significant things families can do for the children in their lives. Those who begin putting away money early and save little by little can, over time, make their college savings add up to a significant amount. Because saving for future educational expenses is so important, everyone is encouraged to open a College Savings Iowa account for a special child in their life.

College Savings Iowa offers families a tax advantaged way to save money for their children's higher education. It only takes $25 to open an account, and anyone – parents, grandparents, friends and relatives – can invest in College Savings Iowa on behalf of a child. Participants who are Iowa taxpayers can deduct contributions up to $2,865 per beneficiary from their 2011 adjusted gross income, and there are no income or residency restrictions.* Investors can withdraw their investment federally tax-free to pay for qualified higher education expenses including tuition, books, supplies and certain room and board costs at any eligible college, university, community college or accredited technical training school in the United States or abroad.** To learn more about College Savings Iowa, please visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com or call 1-888-672-9116.

*Adjusted annually for inflation. If withdrawals are not qualified, the deductions must be added back to Iowa taxable income.

**Earnings on non-qualified withdrawals may be subject to federal income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax, as well as state income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.

For more information about the College Savings Iowa 529 Plan, call 888-672-9116 or visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com to obtain a Program Description. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are included in the Program Description; read and consider it carefully before investing.

MOLINE, ILLINOIS – May 2, 2011 - WQPT received 378 stories from students in kindergarten through third grade for their annual PBS Kids Go Writers Contest. Sixteen winners (four from each grade) were recently selected by educators and sponsors of the contest. The winners and their families will be honored and awarded prizes at Deere-Wiman House on Sunday, May 22 at 3 pm.

Stories were judged on such criteria as: Is the story written clearly? Does it have interesting details? Is there a conflict, lesson or information learned? Do the illustrations enhance the story? How well did the author follow the guidelines?

“It’s evident that many of these young authors spent a great deal of time and effort on their stories and illustrations,” said Ana Kehoe, WQPT Educational Outreach Director. “The judges were pleased there were so many excellent stories, and it was a challenge to select the final 16 winners.”

Sponsors for the contest were Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House, Family Museum, Figge Art Museum, Midwest Writing Center and WQPT, Quad Cities PBS. Winning stories will be on display from May 22 – June 5 at the Butterworth Center in Moline, Illinois; from June 6 to June 21 at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa; from June 22 to July 5 at the Midwest Writing Center; and from July 6 to July 20 at the Family Museum in Bettendorf, Iowa.

WQPT is a media service of Western Illinois University – Quad Cities located in Moline, Illinois.

PBS KIDS GO WRITERS CONTEST WINNERS 2011

Kindergarten

First Place: Andrew Skinner, Alan Shepard Elementary, Eldridge, IA

Second Place: Isabel Kann, Winfield-Mt. Union School, Winfield, IA

Third Place: Juanita Lopez, Longfellow Elementary, Rock Island, IL

Honorable Mention: Aneesa Saldivar, Longfellow Elementary, Rock Island, IL

First Grade

First Place: Calla Brunkan, Ed White Elementary, Eldridge, IA

Second Place: Allen Catour, C.R. Hanna Elementary, Orion, IL

Third Place: Dalton Morrow, Harrison Elementary, Davenport, IA

Honorable Mention: Riley Packer, Erie Elementary, Erie, IL

Second Grade

First Place: Baylor Verbrugge, Ed White Elementary, Eldridge, IA

Second Place: Angela Jones, Rivermont Collegiate, Bettendorf, IA

Third Place: Ilese Rodeffer, Bushnell Elementary, Bushnell, IL

Honorable Mention: Ezra Olson, Homeschooled, East Moline, IL

Third Grade

First Place: Jayda Brunkan, Ed White Elementary, Eldridge, IA

Second Place: Faith Catour, C.R. Hanna Elementary, Orion, IL

Third Place: Liberio Mukdani, Jane Addams Elementary, Moline, IL

Honorable Mention: Nichole Taets, C.R. Hanna Elementary, Orion, IL