Thinking of buying a new computer, eReader, tablet or cell phone? The library will offer Technology Basics, a free showcase on what to look for in technology, at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, Oct. 16 in the Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th Street.

Learn more about social media, with Facebook and Twitter: What You Want to Know, at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street. Library employees will answer some common about the features of both Facebook and Twitter, and how people use them to build connections with others.

To register for any of the above events, call the Rock Island Library Children's Department at 309-732-7360.

Other events during the school break include :

• Evening Storytimes: 6:00 pm,  Oct. 15 at the Southwest Branch;
• Wednesday Lego Time: 4:00 pm, Oct. 17 at the 30/31 Branch;
• Saturday Lego Time: 10:30 am, Oct. 20, Southwest Branch
• Saturday "STEM-tivity:" 11:30 am, Oct. 20, Southwest Branch. Why do things float? Explore this topic with a fun, hands-on project around concepts in STEM (science, technology, engineering or math.)

Learn how to survive a zombie attack with a Teen Zombie party, 5:30 pm at the Rock Island Main Library. Teens ages 12 to 18 will watch a zombie movie, enjoy snacks, and share tips on zombie survival.

Summits to follow at Illinois State, Western and SIUE

CARBONDALE - Advocating for affordable and accessible higher education for all students, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will host College Affordability Summits in Carbondale, Normal, Macomb and Edwardsville in the coming week.

Simon will call on state, federal and higher education leaders to increase transparency, target state aid and support a federal tax credit for middle class families in order to make college affordable for Illinois students. The average costs for a public university education have outpaced family incomes and available aid, increasing 128 percent since 1980 when adjusted for inflation.

"Our state has set a goal to increase the proportion of working-age adults to 60 percent, from 41 percent, by 2025. The only way we can achieve this goal is if college is affordable," said Simon, a former Southern Illinois University law professor. "We must work together to rein in costs of a higher education."

The Governor's point person on education reform, Simon supports legislation for College Choice Reports, a standardized report for all degree-granting institutions that would help students analyze cost, debt and graduation rates across institutions. Simon also serves on the state's MAP Eligibility Task Force, which is reviewing ways to better target the need-based assistance to students. A task force report is due to the General Assembly January 1, 2013.

The College Affordability Summits are scheduled for Monday, Oct. 15 at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; Thursday, Oct. 18 at Illinois State University and Western Illinois University; and Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville on Friday, Oct. 19. Additional dates and locations will follow.

EVENT: Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Affordability Summit

TIME: 1:15 p.m.

DATE: Monday, October 15

PLACE: Trueblood Dining Hall, 1175 S. Washington St., Carbondale

NOTE: Simon will hold a media availability in the dining hall before shadowing a work study student. The job shadow is for photo and video spray only.

The best resource we have in affecting change and improvements in our lives is ourselves, writes Cathy Holloway Hill in "Lies, Love & Life," (www.chollowayhill.com).

"Relationships are ruined every day because of lies," says Hill, a former IBM executive. "The most damaging lies are the ones we tell ourselves."

While it may seem obvious that personal well-being is largely based on self-determination, the reality is that too many of us - perhaps most of us, at least sometimes - not only forget that we have the power to change; we often tell ourselves lies that impede our own progress, she says.

"No one wakes up and says, 'I want a miserable, unfulfilled and unhealthy life.' What then prompts people to continue dysfunctional and toxic, limiting, self-destructive behaviors?" Hill asks. "The book brings this self-sabotaging behavior to the surface and guides you through a journey of self-discovery and self-improvement."

In the forward of "Lies, Love & Life," best-selling author and psychologist Dr. Alan Zimmerman provides an overview of all that people risk and lose when "they pretend not to know" what they know, in fact, is true.

"If you're ever going to be truly happy and really successful, you've got to stop 'pretending' ... or as Cathy Holloway Hill says ... stop lying to yourself," Zimmerman writes.

"Reading Hill's book is as good as hiring a life coach," writes best-selling author Simon T. Bailey. "... The book challenges us to see all the ways we deceive ourselves into living half lives and to jump from that sad state into a life of real meaning and truth. This book will make your life a lot more authentic .... Everything worthwhile requires work, and Cathy has mapped it out for you in a very easy-to-understand manner."

"Holloway-Hill's book is an honest and insightful examination of the powerful ways lies grow and shape our reality once we allow them to become a part of our personal narratives," writes CNN, E! and MSNBC media personality S. Tia Brown. "(It is) a critical resource for anyone ready to move beyond feelings of inadequacy and lack."

About Cathy Holloway Hill

Cathy Holloway Hill is founder of C. Holloway Hill Enterprises, an international consulting, training and professional speaking firm focusing on personal and professional growth and effectiveness. Her guidance is sought by Fortune 100 companies, youth organizations and individuals who want to transform their lives. Hill has a bachelor's in computer science, a master's in psychology and numerous life coaching certifications. After 25 years in the corporate world, she walked away from her successful career at IBM in order to pursue her passion - helping people live happier lives. She is a winner of Indiana's Torchbearer Award for contributions to her state.

Ongoing effort aims to end child hunger by serving healthy breakfast at school 

BERWYN - October 12, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today visited Irving Elementary School to emphasize the importance of eating a healthy breakfast and to participate in the school's "breakfast in the classroom" program as part of the 2012-2013 Illinois School Breakfast Challenge. A partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the Midwest Dairy Council and the Illinois No Kid Hungry Campaign, the effort challenges every school in the state to make school breakfast a top priority. Governor Quinn sent a letter to superintendents throughout Illinois encouraging them to participate in the challenge earlier this year.

"No child should begin their school day with an empty stomach," Governor Quinn said. "The Illinois School Breakfast Challenge will help children across the state have a nutritious start to their day, so they are ready to learn, grow and play."

Serving breakfast in the classroom is a proven way to eliminate child hunger and help students succeed in school. Studies indicate that children who come to school hungry report headaches and stomachaches more frequently, have trouble focusing in class, make more errors and have slower memory recall. Researchers have also found that just by serving breakfast at school, students perform better on standardized tests and show a general increase in reading and math scores.  "Breakfast in the classroom" programs also help children develop healthy habits for life.

The state of Illinois offers a federally funded School Breakfast Program for children who come from households that struggle with hunger; however, less than 40 percent of the students who qualify participate. The Illinois School Breakfast Challenge encourages schools to take advantage of this program and prevent children from coming to school hungry. Schools with the largest percentage increases in average daily breakfast participation rates for August-December 2012 compared to January-May 2012 will receive awards. There are four tiers of awards, with each tier awarding three prizes of $5,000, $3,000 and $1,000. The Challenge kicked-off in Illinois in April 2012 as part of a nationwide effort to close the school breakfast gap.

Since Irving School introduced their classroom breakfast program, students' standardized test scores have dramatically improved. In 2010 - before the program was implemented - only 79% of third graders at the school met or exceeded state standards in math, but in 2011 - the first year of the program - 92% of third graders met or exceeded this standard. In 2012, it went up to 98%. As of Thursday, October 11, 2012, Irving School has served 9,271 breakfasts since the first day of school.

The Breakfast Challenge is part of the Illinois No Kid Hungry Campaign to end childhood hunger in Illinois. Governor Quinn launched the Illinois No Kid Hungry Campaign earlier this year with the Illinois Commission to End Hunger and Share Our Strength, the nation's leading child anti-hunger organization. The campaign is one of the key recommendations made by the Commission to eliminate hunger throughout Illinois.

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