Newsflash The winners of the Breakast for Learning Recipe Contest have been selected by a panel of dietitians and community members. The first place winners were Payton Landsborough of Colbourne St. Public School in Strathroy and Cassie Cornish of Ekcoe Central Public School in Glencoe. Payton won the Grade 1-4 category with a recipe for Apple Danish Roll-ups, while Cassie's recipe for Breakfast Parfaits was tops among Grades 5-8. Payton and Cassie each received a portable CD player donated by Sears at the Westmount Shopping Centre for their winning submissions. On October 8, they also appeared on New Day on the New PL. Other prizes were awarded to Shelby Hoffman and Madeline Seale in the Grade 1-4 category and Colton Hathaway and Rachel Lane in the Grade 5-8 category. More than 100 children submitted recipes for the contest. Several creative entries included more than just recipes. Some children and even whole classes drew pictures, created colourful posters, and recorded a song to accompany their submissions. In one case, as shown above, the child created a clay model of his Pizza Omelette. Voices Do you have something to say? E-mail it to info@investinginchildren.on.ca and we'll include your thoughts in next month's Voices section. Surfin' Safari In 1991, George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, launched the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit organization that gathers and disseminates stories about exemplary practices in K-12 public education. Edutopia Online is the foundation's home on the web, containg a collection of articles and multimedia pieces highlighting exciting new innovations in learning. The current spotlight feature is (Re)Designing Learning Environments, offering an in-depth journey into the planning and creation of new types of schools and learning environments. (Re)Designing Learning Environments forecasts that $100 billion will be spent in the US in the next five years to build and renovate schools, and strives to present alternatives to building new schools that function like old schools. Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics According to new study results published by Statistics Canada, the gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest neighbourhoods in Canada's urban areas narrowed substantially from 1971 to 1996. In 1971, the gap in life expectancy was more than 6 years for men, and nearly 3 years for women. In 1996, the difference was 5 years for men, and considerably less than 2 years for women. Urban neighbourhoods were ranked by income and divided into five groups based on income level. Each group represented 20% of the population. Life expectancy for all income levels rose substantially between 1971 and 1996, with the largest gains being seen in the poorest neighbourhoods. During this period, life expectancy at birth for men in the lowest 20% increased 6.0 years, while increasing by 4.7 years for men in the highest 20% Women in the lowest 20% increased 3.8 years, while women in the highest 20% increased by only 2.6 years. Breakfast for Learning First Place Recipes Apple Danish Roll-up by Payton Landsborough Grade 1, Colbourne St. School Steps to Make 1. Place 1/2 apple, sliced, 2 thin slices of part skim mozzarella cheese, 1 or 2 slices of honey ham and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a dash of cinammon in a flour tortilla. 2. Wrap and heat in microwave for 30 seconds. Breakfast Parfaits by Cassie Cornish Grade 7, Eckoe Central Ingredients 2 slices of Raisin Bread 1 cup of yogurt (plain or flavoured) Fresh fruit (Strawberries, Raspberries, Kiwi, etc.) Nuts and seeds for the topping Steps to Make 1. Tear the raisin bread into bite-size pieces. 2. Place a layer of bread into the bottom of a parfait cup. 3. Cover with 1/2 of the yogurt then 1/2 of the fruit. 4. Repeat layers 5. Top with a mixture of sunflower seeds, peanuts and toasted almonds. 6. Enjoy! Puzzle Corner Hidden in the grid below are six ships in the style of the Battleships game: One battleship : length 5 Two destroyers : length 4 Two transporters : length 3 One submarine : length 2 The totals are shown for each row and column. For example, if a column crosses the battleship (5) and a destroyer (4), the total would be 9. If a row crosses the submarine (2) and a transporter (3), the total would be 5, etc. Each ship is only counted once per row/col. Can you solve the puzzle? The first correct submission will receive an Investing in Children prize pack. E-mail your solution to info@investinginchildren.on.ca                 3                 5                 8                 4                 8                 4                 7                 0 6 11 12 12 8 5 4 3 © Kevin Stone www.brainbashers.com Oops! In Issue #4, the link to the complete Covent Garden Market article was incorrect. Please click here for the full story. Back Issues Did you miss an issue? Visit the E-mailer Archives to catch up! Subscription Info If this was forwarded to you and you would like to become a subscriber of Investing in Children's monthly E-mailer, please send an e-mail message to info@investinginchildren.on.ca, and write SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. To unsubscribe from the E-mailer, please send an e-mail message to info@investinginchildren.on.ca and write UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." - Anonymous Welcome Welcome to issue #6 of Come Together, Investing in Children's Monthly E-mailer. This month, we look at mentoring, the balanced scorecard, the grand opening launch of the Ontario Early Years Centres and the family-friendly practices of Scholar's Choice. In the Sidebar, we are pleased to highlight the winners of the Breakfast for Learning recipe contest, and have even included the winning recipes for your enjoyment. We also feature our first contest in this issue. Look in Puzzle Corner for more details! We are constantly looking for exciting new stories and ideas that will be of interest to you, the reader. If you would like to write an article for the E-mailer, or suggest a topic for an article, please e-mail it to info@investinginchildren.on.ca. Mentoring It's a good thing "Mentors are advisors, people with career experience willing to share their knowledge; supporters, people who give emotional and moral encouragement; tutors, people who give specific feedback on one's performance; masters, in the sense of employers to whom one is apprenticed; sponsors, sources of information about and aid in obtaining opportunities; models, of identity, of the kind of person one should be to be an academic." - Morris Zelditch "A mentor is an adult who, along with parents, provides young people with support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and constructive example. Mentors are good listeners, people who care, people who want to help young people bring out strengths that are already there . . . Things that may seem easy or straightforward to you are often mysterious to young people. That's why it can be easier than you think to make a difference in a young person's life." - Mentoring.org In many unique and positive ways, mentors play an important role in our society. Mentors are at once teachers, role models, challengers and friends. They can guide and stimulate personal development in their charges, and offer a voice of wisdom and experience. Mentoring can be particularly effective with children, where a mentor can supplement the life lessons received from parents and teachers, providing a new voice and set of experiences for the child to draw on. The role of the mentor dates back to ancient times. The original Mentor was a character in the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer. Mentor was the wise and trusted counselor to Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. When Odysseus left Ithaca to war against the Trojans, Mentor became the teacher and overseer of Telemachus, the son of Odysseus. In truth, Mentor was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, adopting the guise of a wizened old man. Throughout history, fiction and popular culture, noteworthy mentors have played a significant role in the development of their equally-notable students: Socrates to Plato, Merlin to King Arthur, Yoda to Luke Skywalker. But mentoring is not just for philosophers and Jedi Knights! Who is it for? Click here. Keeping Score You can't tell if you're winning if you don't keep score What is the balanced scorecard? Perhaps it is best to turn to the experts at the Balanced Scorecard Institute for a definition: "The balanced scorecard is a management system (not only a measurement system) that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. It provides feedback around both the internal business processes and external outcomes in order to continuously improve strategic performance and results. When fully deployed, the balanced scorecard transforms strategic planning from an academic exercise into the nerve center of an enterprise." Dr. Robert Kaplan and Dr. David Norton, who recognized the weakness and vagaries of other management systems and sought to correct them, developed the balanced scorecard in the early 1990's. It incorporates the financial data that used to be the sole criterion of successful organizational planning, but also brings into play other less-tangible aspects of a successful organization, thus creating a balance with the financial perspective. (as seen in the diagram above from BalancedScorecard.org) How does the balanced scorecard work? Click here to learn more. Ontario Early Years Celebration! On October 18, 2002, London's three Ontario Early Years Centres will celebrate their official grand openings with an assortment of fun activities for local families. The Ontario Early Years Centres are a place for parents and caregivers of children aged 0-6 to get information they need about their children's development, and about services to support that development. Each Ontario Early Years Centre offers early learning and literacy programs, programs to support parents and caregivers in all aspects of early child development, programs for new parents, and links to other early years programs in the community. Through the centres, all families in Ontario have access to early years services that help give children a healthy start in life. With each of London's three centres now established in its permanent location, the time has arrived to celebrate! On October 18th, each centre will welcome families to visit and explore the centres, and to take part in different activities. What activities are planned? Click here to find out. Scholar's Choice A Case Study in Family-Friendly Practices What does a strong, family-friendly organization look like? To answer that question, look no further than last year's winner of the Special Friends of Children Business Award Winner, Scholar's Choice. With 24 locations throughout Canada and a head office in London, Scholar's Choice is a leader in education materials and toys for children, parents and teachers. With numerous policies for customers and employees, Scholar's Choice is also a leader in innovative family-friendly practices. For parents and children, Scholar's Choice provides an extremely family-friendly atmosphere, coupled with toys, games and activities designed to promote self-esteem and education from 0 to Grade 8. Products sold by Scholar's Choice are all safe and non-violent and feature long-term play value. A play area within each store allows children to enjoy different toys and games, allowing adults to shop in relative peace. Free craft events held throughout the year also provide fun activities. In addition, washrooms are accessible. Each store also offers gift-wrapping on purchases, in a variety of seasonal papers. This allows customers to go straight from the store to a child's party. Teaching materials also comprise an important part of Scholar's Choice's catalog. Products are selected to provide teachers and parents with the best resources to educate and inspire children. All materials are carefully selected to meet curriculum needs and to be easy to use in the classroom. Since many of the suppliers are from the United States, extra attention is paid to ensure the content is appropriate for Canadian schools. What policies are in place for employees? Click here to find out! Investing in Children, through It Starts with Kids and the Special Friends of Children Business Awards, recognizes businesses that adopt family-friendly practices, both for their customers and their employees. If you would like to see your business or company profiled in this space, send an e-mail to info@investinginchildren.on.ca, outlining what makes your workplace or practices family-friendly and unique.