Vandalism What Should You Do?
By McGruff and Scruff
July 19, 2009
In 1974, a neighborhood crime watch group was organized in South Dade County. Citizens met with their local law enforcement departments to ask what they could do to help the police apprehend a rapist terrorizing their community. From this first informal meeting, communities and law enforcement began to work together to keep neighborhoods safe and free from crime. An organization was formed, and Citizens’ Crime Watch of Miami-Dade County, Inc. (CCW) was registered as a 501(c) (3) non profit organization. Today, over 1,600 neighborhoods participate in the crime watch concept.
In 1979, the crime watch concept was introduced into the public school system at one school. Because it succeeded in curbing school crime, the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) requested we, CCW, expand its student crime watch program from one school to include all public schools in the county. Since that time, Youth Crime Watch of Miami-Dade (YCW) has functioned as an allied program of the public schools.
Methodology The public school system contracts with YCW to educate and train students in violence and crime prevention strategies. Children also learn that good citizenship and personal responsibility include watching out for family, friends, schools and community. YCW maintains a presence in all M-DCPS.
The foundation of the YCW program is built upon a “school safety survey” which is administered at the school during the first few months of the school year. It asks respondents to rank their particular safety concerns – those issues which they believe have the potential to cause harm to themselves or their schoolmates. YCW students, student advisors, and our staff are then enlisted in the effort to resolve those issues impeding the safety, health, and education of young people. The results of the survey are prioritized and comprise the core content of the YCW program.
The YCW program is structured to teach leadership skills to students who volunteer to learn about school safety. While they learn how to keep themselves safe, they also learn public speaking, critical thinking, leadership, and other skills that will serve them into their adult lives. This, in turn, reinforces their self-esteem and promotes positive involvement, again curbing misbehavior, crime and violence in the school.
I’m McGruff the Crime Dog – world famous for my advice on how to stop crime before it happens, and for my great sense of humor. But seriously, my job is to help people, especially kids, learn how to be safe and make their neighborhood safer. Something else you should know about me is that I go all over the country to talk to people about how they can take a bite out of crime. So if you see me in your town, come on up and say hi. You can recognize me by my tan trench coat – I never go anywhere without it.
This here is my nephew Scruff. He helps me show kids how they can stay safe. Scruff’s a good pup but sometimes gets himself into a bit of trouble. Lucky for him he’s got a good memory – eventually he remembers the right thing to do to get out of trouble. Want to know more about me and Scruff?
You can read more about yours truly in the story How McGruff Became the Crime Dog, and you can read some of Scruff’s adventures in these comic books. Today’s Tip: Help others in the Community.
You and your friends can help out in your neighborhood by taking some few simple steps each day:
Ask your teacher if you could help by erasing the blackboard, or if he or she needs help carrying supplies.
- Bake some goodies for the elderly people in your community.
- Offer to rake the lawns of those in your neighborhood who are not able to.
- Ask your parents if they need help around the house. For example, offer to fold the laundry while you watch the television…that way you both win!
- Collect donations for a local shelter or Red Cross office. These are just a few ideas that you can do to help out around your community.
- By helping out, you are saying thanks to all those who make your neighborhood great!
Today, we will talk about Vandalism
<>Have you ever seen a street sign that was painted over, a picnic table with someone’s name carved on it, or a library book with pages torn out of it? Have you ever done any of those things?
Doing these things is called vandalism. It’s when someone breaks or damages someone else’s property.
There are reasons why you shouldn’t vandalize property and things you can do if you see vandalism.
Remember, you shouldn’t vandalize because
- People feel angry, hurt, and sometimes frightened when something of theirs is destroyed for no reason.
- Schools pay millions of dollars each year to clean up graffiti. Graffiti is paintings and drawings on walls, lockers, and other property. That’s money that could be used to buy computers, sports equipment, and books.
- Graffiti gives criminals the impression that people don’t care about their neighborhoods, which can make the neighborhoods unsafe.
- Vandalizing a street sign can cause problems other than the damaged sign. Drivers could get lost or be in a car accident because they didn’t see the sign.
If you see graffiti, destroyed street signs or library books, or other kinds of vandalism, tell an adult who you trust about it. If you see someone vandalizing something, get away and tell an adult you trust.
Source: McGruff
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think?dan@youngchronicle.com
Connie Talbot and Blind Korean Girl Pianist
Connie Talbot – You Raise Me Up
Three little birds slide show
FBI – What We Do
July 19, 2009 by Dan
Filed under FBI Website
By Special Agent Bobby Bureau
July14, 2009
Editor’s Note: We are always looking for ways to inform parents of programs that will help them raise their children. Well we found one it is called “Special Agent Bobby Bureau”. We will be joining him to give you tips for kids of all ages. The best way to tell you about this agent is to let him tell you himself.
The Kids’ Page is designed for children and their parents to learn more about the FBI through age-appropriate games, tips, stories and inter actives. We also introduce you to our working dogs and show how FBI special agents and analysts investigate cases. First, can you help Special Agent Bobby Bureau get in disguise for his undercover assignment? He’s depending on you. You have to visit the sight to sign up as a special agent.
Today’s we talk “What We Do.”
We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
We strongly recommend that you visit this sight with your child. This sight we rate a 10.
I am a lawyer for the FBI and I work for the legal department. A law is like a very important rule. When someone breaks a law, we call it a crime. When Congress makes a law, they decide which government agency will investigate when the law is broken.
Many years ago, the FBI investigated crimes like bank robbery, kidnapping, and the theft of cars that are taken from one state to another. Today, there are over 350 violations of the law that the FBI investigates. We can’t list them all here because there are so many, but we break them down into a few categories. The FBI investigates violent crime, organized crime, white collar crime, terrorism, foreign counterintelligence, civil rights, and applicant matters.
The FBI has many ways of solving these crimes and finding the criminals. One of them is through fingerprint identification.
Fingerprints are a great way to tell people apart because everyone’s fingerprints are unique. This means that no two people in the world have the same fingerprints! Other ways of identifying people (hair color, height, weight, and eye color) may change as a person gets older, but fingerprints stay the same.
There are over 250 million sets of fingerprint records on file. If all of the fingerprint cards on file were stacked on top of one another, they would equal one hundred and thirty three stacks, each the size of the Empire State Building! Finding space to keep all of these fingerprint cards is difficult! This is one of the reasons that the FBI is now putting the cards in digital format so that the images can be stored on computers. All fingerprint cards at the FBI are eight-inch squares (a little smaller than a piece of notebook paper) and are thinner than a piece of cardboard. The FBI gets over 37,000 of these fingerprint cards each day, seven days a week! Thirty-two percent of these cards now come to the FBI as digital images. Here’s an example of a FBI applicant fingerprint card. You can click on the picture at FBI Kids sight and print it out.
Not all fingerprint files are of criminals. Some records are civil prints. Civil prints are taken of people who work for the government or apply for a job with the government.
Have you ever had your fingerprints taken? It’s a great idea to do this, because if you ever wander off or get lost, your parents will have a record of your fingerprints to give to the police. The faster your parents can get this information to the police, the sooner you will be recognized and safely returned to your family.
Remember – fingerprints are unique. Not even identical twins have the same fingerprints. Take a minute to look at your own fingertip and notice all the ridges and swirls. Now, look at your parents’ fingertips. Can you tell the difference? Take a minute to look at the seven different fingerprint patterns that are used to identify people. Go to FBI Kids and you can compare your own fingerprints to these patterns and see which one looks most like your own!
Next Week, we will talk about: DNA
Source: FBI Kids
Safe Food Parties
By Alexander
July 13, 2009
Dear Alexander,
Sometimes my friends want to try my food, but I only have enough for me. So I want to have a safe food party for all my friends! How can I do this?
That sounds like a great idea!
You should talk to your parents first. Make sure that it’s OK to have a party. If they say yes, then figure out what foods you want to have. Party foods are a good way to go.
Cooking the safe food with your friends might be a good idea. That way, they will see just how similar your food is to theirs.
Try this idea: After making some cupcake batter, you and your friends can play games while the cupcakes bake – and then you can take a break with a great treat. Be sure to have lots of activities planned. You don’t want to be cooking all day!
Good luck!
Your friend,
Alexander the Elephant
Editor’s Note: The information above is not designed to take the place of a doctor’s instructions. Patients are urged to contact a doctor for specific information regarding guidelines for care.
We would like to know what you think? And is there a question that you have for Alexander. dan@youngchronicle.com
Source: Food Allergy
Three Little Birds
Happy 8th Birthday Connie Talbot!
Need to Talk When Scared
by: D’Arcy Lyness, Phd
July 17, 2009
Everybody is afraid of something. That’s what more than 1,700 kids told us when we asked them about fears and scary stuff. Some don’t like the dark. Others hate nightmares and scary movies. And then there are those who want to run away from mean dogs, snakes, and creepy crawly spiders.
Tommy, 11, fears the dark because he worries that someone might break into his house.
Ten-year-old Madison is afraid of shots (immunizations) and was once teased because she said she was afraid of thunderstorms. “I tried to take my words back, but they knew anyway. I was really embarrassed,” she said.
The Top Fears
We gave kids a list of 14 scary things and asked which one frightened them the most. Here are the top 5 answers from our survey:
1. Scary movies and TV shows
2. Nightmares and scary dreams
3. Thunderstorms, hurricanes, and other violent weather
4. War and terrorism
5. Sounds I hear at night
But not everyone is afraid of the same things. And what makes one person scared can be no big deal for someone else. Plenty of kids said their biggest fear wasn’t on our list.
Rachel, 11, was one of them. She’s most afraid of giant jellyfish that live off the coast of Australia. “I would like to get over them because they’re bigger than people and they have huge stingers that can kill someone in 3 seconds,” Rachel said.
Kate, 9, wishes she could get over her “whole back flip problem. I never do it when I know I can. I am scared I will hurt myself,” she said.
A couple kids said funerals scared them. Fireworks frightened other kids. Even going alone to a big bathroom — like the kind in school or at the mall — can be scary, according to a few kids.
Health-related matters can be scary, some kids said. In addition to getting shots, they said they were scared of throwing up, wetting the bed, or getting fat.
Morgan wishes she would stop being afraid to ride roller coasters. Why? “Because hey, I’m 9 years old, and my whole family loves them.” And not just that, Morgan said. “My best friend Kerri said that I was weird for not liking so many things that are fun.”
What’s Fear Anyway?
Fear is a feeling that everyone has — it’s programmed into all of us — and that’s a good thing because fear is there to protect us. We’re born with a sense of fear so we can react to something that could be dangerous.
Babies cry when they’re afraid, even if that loud noise that startled them is just an older brother banging pots and pans in the kitchen. The baby cries, and mom comes over to soothe him or her, helping the baby feel safe and OK again. There, that’s better! Now, with the help of mom, the baby has just experienced calming down after feeling afraid — something that every person needs to learn as they grow up. (Nice job, baby!) Bigger kids hear that loud clanging and say, “No big deal. It’s just my brother making noise again.”
Real vs. Pretend
The best way to get over a fear is to get more information about it. As kids get older, they understand more and start seeing the difference between real and pretend. So when William’s imagination leads him to think of witches and werewolves, he can tell himself, “Wait a minute. They’re only pretend. I don’t need to worry about them.”
The same goes for the dark. A kid’s imagination can start playing tricks when the lights go out. What’s under my bed? Is that a burglar I hear? With the help of a parent, kids can get more comfortable in the dark. Using a nightlight or shining a flashlight under the bed to see that there’s nothing there can help fight that fear.
You might say, but burglars can be real, what then? True, but you can feel safer knowing that the door is locked and a parent is nearby to keep an eye out for any problems. In other words, get snuggled in and get some sleep!
When Fears Are OK
Other fears that kids have make sense and do not need to be conquered. If you’re afraid to ride your bike on a busy highway, right on! You should be afraid because it’s dangerous. There’s no need to get over a fear like that, not even if someone dares you. Find a safe place to ride instead.
It’s also OK for Rachel to be afraid of that big jellyfish in Australia because it’s truly dangerous. But she doesn’t have to be afraid of it all the time — or even every time she swims. It lives only in certain ocean waters. So when she’s not swimming in one of them, no worries about the big jellyfish.
And it’s OK for Kate to be a little fearful about doing the back flip, because she could get hurt. But Kate also can create safer conditions for trying her back flip, like having a parent or coach teach her how to do it and help her do it. Eventually, she will feel ready to try it alone.
Twelve-year-old Nick knows how taking small steps can lead to success. He used to be afraid to play his trumpet in front of people. But over time, he played in front of larger and larger groups.
“First, I just played in front of my mom, then my family, then my classmates, then the whole school!” he said.
What to Do?
Sometimes the worst thing about feeling afraid is that you don’t know what to do. Here are the top 3 ways that kids who answered our survey try to help themselves feel better:
- Do something, like playing outside, listening to music, or watching TV.
- Talk to a parent.
- Talk to a friend.
Talking to a friend can help, especially if that person is supportive. About half the kids who took our survey said they’d been teased for being afraid. And even more — 75% — said they’ve sometimes said they weren’t afraid when they really were. So no teasing allowed. Encourage your friend today and maybe he or she will encourage you tomorrow!
Here’s some very supportive advice kids had for other kids:
If you get scared at night, Monique, 10, suggests listening to the radio when you’re falling asleep. And Naruto, also 10, recommends writing or drawing what you’re afraid of and then ripping it to pieces. Eight-year-old Jessica finds that it helps to take a deep breath when you’re scared.
Amanda, 10, thinks kids should talk with a parent or school counselor. “They will invent a way to help you get over it,” she said.
Bethany, 9, wants kids to hang tough, so we’ll let her have the last word: “Try, try again and never give up,” she said. “You’re not alone!”
Source: Kids Health
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com