FREE EVENT!!

Countdown to Kindergarten!!

Come join us for the 3rd annual Kindergarten Readiness Fair. This Fair will offer a variety of resources from community agencies, school districts, and child care centers available to answer questions and assist your family as your child transitions into Kindergarten.

Resources MAY Include:

• Area school districts available to answer kindergarten entry questions

• Meet kindergarten teachers

• Tour a school bus

• Local organizations that are focused on providing family services

• Free school supplies (while supplies last)

• Age appropriate activities

• Summer learning activities to use at home

• Information on various summer programs

AND SO MUCH MORE!!!!!!!

Questions? Please contact Tammy Muerhoff at the Rock Island County Regional Office of Education at 309-736-1111.

Together, We're Better

Where?

Moline Viking Club, 1450 41st Street, Moline, IL 61265

When?

Stop by anytime on May 3, 2010 from 4-6pm

Who?

Families and their child(ren) that will be entering Kindergarten throughout Rock Island County during the 2010-2011 school year. Your child must be 5 years of age by Sept. 1st to be eligible for Kindergarten.

ROCK ISLAND, IL (04/29/2010)(readMedia)-- The academic achievements of forty-one Augustana students earned them election into the Phi Beta Kappa society this spring. Only about one in every one hundred college students nationwide is selected as a member of the oldest and most prestigious honor society in the nation.

Augustana students are selected for Phi Beta Kappa based on their academic standing and recommendations from faculty members. Members must be senior students who exhibit strong intellect and integrity and are committed to freedom of thought and expression. Augustana emphasizes that election to Phi Beta Kappa is more than an honor of past academic success. It is also recognition of a student's outstanding potential for growth and achievement.

For Dr. Jeff Abernathy, dean of the college, Phi Beta Kappa scholars exemplify the goals of an Augustana education-creative, critical thinking and the willingness to question conventional wisdom. Their leadership and service is as important as their high academic standing. "Phi Beta Kappa students contribute greatly to our college and to the Quad Cities. Even as they serve Augustana in many ways, most are deeply involved in service to the broader community," said Abernathy.

Phi Beta Kappa was established in 1776 to celebrate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. A select 10% of the nation's leading colleges and universities have Phi Beta Kappa chapters, and the chapters only elect about 10% of their most exceptional arts and sciences students for membership. Augustana's Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Zeta of Illinois, was officially established in 1949 to recognize students of high academics, leadership and service.

From your area, the inductees include :

Nicholas Borchert from Rock Island,IL, who is majoring in English and philosophy.

Kevin Carton from Moline,IL, who is majoring in speech communication, French, and Africana studies.

Luke Osborne from Moline,IL, who is majoring in classics Latin emphasis.

Alex Sieg from Bettendorf,IA, who is majoring in biochemistry.

Bret VanDeWoestyne from Silvis,IL, who is majoring in biology.

Nicholas Wilczynski from Moline,IL, who is majoring in pre-medicine and biology.

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls nearly 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it always has done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.

Grassley Legislation to Promote Greater Public Access to Federal Courtrooms Clears Committee

WASHINGTON - Legislation introduced by Chuck Grassley to allow federal trial and appellate judges to permit cameras in the courtroom today passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Grassley, along with Senator Charles Schumer of New York, have led efforts over the last several years to ensure the sun shines in on the federal courts.   The bill has broad bi-partisan support and has passed the Judiciary Committee several times.  The legislation has the support of the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

"Our judicial system is one of the best kept secrets in the United States.  Letting the sun shine in on federal courtrooms will give Americans an opportunity to better understand the judicial process.  This bill is the best way to maintain confidence and accountability in the judicial system and help judges do a better job," Grassley said.  "Cameras in our federal courts will be a tremendous learning tool for the American people and with the safeguards in place we have really good bill to help bring our courts into the 21st century."

Grassley said that states, including Iowa, have had great success in allowing the sun to shine on the court system.  Grassley also noted that the bill has safeguards in place to protect vulnerable witnesses, to exclude jurors from broadcast, and to allow a judge to use his or her discretion in determining whether to allow cameras in the courtroom.

During the confirmation hearings for the three most recent Supreme Court Justice nominees, Grassley asked the nominees about their support for allowing cameras in court proceedings.  The nominees indicated that they would consider having cameras in the courts.  Grassley expects to ask the President's next nominee as well.

The bipartisan "Sunshine in the Courtroom" bill allows the chief judge of federal trial appellate courts to permit cameras in their courtrooms.  The bill also directs the Judicial Conference, the principal policy-making entity for the federal courts, to draft nonbinding guidelines that judges can refer to in making a decision pertaining to the coverage of a particular case.  It also instructs the Judicial Conference to issue mandatory guidelines for obscuring vulnerable witnesses such as undercover officers, victims of crime, and their families.

Forty-eight states currently permit some form of audio-video coverage in their courtrooms and at least 37 directly televise trials.  Studies and surveys conducted in many of those states have confirmed that electronic media coverage of trials boosts public understanding of the court system without interfering with court proceedings.  Fifteen states have conducted studies aimed specifically at the educational benefits that are derived from camera access to courtrooms.  They all determined that camera coverage contributes to greater public understanding of the judicial system.

In order to provide a mechanism for Congress to study the effects of this legislation on the judiciary before making this change permanent, a three-year sunset provision is included in the bill.

The "Sunshine in the Courtroom" bill does not require a federal judge in a federal court to allow camera access to judicial proceedings.  The bill gives federal judges the discretion to allow cameras or other electronic media access if they see fit.  The bill also protects the privacy and safety of non-party witnesses by giving them the right to have their faces and voices obscured.

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Dick Stahl, a retired English teacher from Davenport Central High School and a former poet laureate of Quad Cities has written a poem about new Rock Island business Cool Beanz Coffeehouse, 1325 30th Street. Stahl performed this poem at Cool Beanz Poetry Slam earlier this year. The poem, titled " At Cool Beanz Coffeehouse", now hangs on the walls for all patrons to read and enjoy while they sip their gourmet beverages. This nice addition to the walls has brought an important aspect of Quad City art to the eclectic decor.