The New 13th Zodiac Constellation Did your Horoscope just Change

The New 13th Zodiac Constellation Did your Horoscope just Change Tell me about the new 13th zodiac constellation, shouted my 8 year old student Miles when I was teaching astronomy to him. For the record, Ive studied astrophysics (for only 6 month though) and hosted planetarium shows in Santa Barbara. Since that time I have been tutoring astronomy to docents of students all over California. Now you can imagine how stunned I was when Miles asked me about the new 13th zodiac constellation and I couldnt answer the question. To avoid you the troubles of a similar  mute response I am addressing all my fellow astronomy tutors in California in this article about the 13th constellation. The new 13th constellation is called Ophiuchus. It is situated between Sagittarius the archer and Scorpius the scorpion. Time wise, the Ophiuchus starts at the end of November (November 29th to be precise) and ends on December 17. The astrological  notion of the zodiac constellations (Cancer, Leo, Virgo, etc) dates back to the ancient Babylonians. They introduced the system of 12 zodiac constellations in accordance with their 12-month calendar. But the ancient Babylonian astronomers ignored the fact that the sun moves through 13 constellations, and not just 12. In our time, the astronomers at NASA decided to correct the Babylonians mistake and to include the missing 13th constellation the Ophiuchus. Whether the astrologers will adopt the new zodiac system remains to be seen. But to we scientist and teachers should know about Ophiuchus. For those who enjoy reading their horoscopes they might have to look it up under a different symbol now. Here are is the list of the corrected 13 zodiacs signs and their dates. Capricorn the sea goat January 20 February 16 Aquarius the water-bearer February 16 March 11 Pisces the fish March 11 April 18 Aries the ram April 18 May 13 Taurus the bull May 13 June 21 Gemini the twins June 21 July 20 Cancer the crab July 20 August 10 Leo the lion August 10 September 16 Virgo the virgin September 16 October 14 Libra the scales October 14 November 23 Scorpio the scorpion November 23 November 29 Ophiuchus the serpent-bearer November 29 December 17 Sagittarius the archer December 17 January 20 If you have more questions feel free to ask one of our excellent astronomy tutors.

Parent-teacher communication How to encourage engagement at your school

Parent-teacher communication How to encourage engagement at your school A well-established parent-teacher relationship can benefit students greatly, but the development of a relationship depends on several things, namely the teacher’s outreach, a parent’s interest, and the school’s overall culture of communication. The type of things that a teacher communicates to a parent matters as well. If teachers share their students’ successes with the parents, it can provide parents with confidence and direction on how to get involved in their child’s learning process. But if teachers consistently reach out to parents only to share bad news (about their child’s grades or classroom behavior) and neglect to share any positive feedback, this can discourage any parental involvement because it may instill feelings of helplessness or even a distaste for the teaching style. But when a parent does feel empowered to get involved, there is a significant amount of evidence to show that their involvement benefits students by improving their academic achievement, improving classroom behavior, better motivating students to learn, and instilling a more positive attitude about school and studies. But teachers can benefit from the relationship as well. Parents who are involved in their child’s learning and have come to know their child’s teacher through regular communication tend to have a more positive view of teachers, and this in turn can boost teachers’ confidence and classroom morale. What, as principals and school administrators, can you do to encourage the relationship? Read below for some tips. Focus on communication in all its forms This includes telephone calls, open houses, curriculum nights, and all are very effective forms of communication.Teachers can do their own individual outreach to their students’ families, and this is often more personal than general communications anyway. Unfortunately, as families evolve and parents’ schedules change, events like open houses may not be as plausible for some families. Encourage teachers to diversify their communication methods and include some of the following: Initial contact letter: Sending home a letter at the beginning of each school year to students’ families is a great way for a teacher to introduce themselves as their child’s teacher and to begin to open a communication path between the teacher and parents. Good news report: As mentioned above, when teachers regularly communicate positive feedback to parents, it gives them an opportunity to garner insight in a teacher’s classroom, and it establishes a realm of trust should problems arise later. Aside from individual teacher communication, there are other school-wide forms of communication that could integrate parents into the learning process including: parent newsletters School calendars that outline events for parents in advance Field days and school events Parent workshops School website In an international school, language barriers can be a common challenge. Being sure to address these barriers in a sensitive manner is important. Some tips include: Speak slowly (but not condescendingly) and clearly Avoid idioms, jargon, or culturally specific sayings Choose the most effective medium of communication given the language barriers Check for understanding As the second semester unfolds, it’s a great idea to think about your school engagement policy and how you plan to engage teachers and parents in communication. More than general information about the school, parents want to know about what is going on in their child’s classroom. This year, take as many opportunities to share this information with parents to develop effective partnerships.