Winning Words:

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“Philosophy ought to question the basic assumptions of the age.  Thinking through, critically and careefully, what most people take for granted is, I believe, the chief task of philosophy, and it is this task that makes philosophy a worthwhile activity.”–Peter Singer

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Fellow Winning Words teachers, participants, and admins,

CKP’s Winning Words program has little beyond this blog in the way of so-called “new media” communication accessible by teachers, administrators, students, and the general public alike. In order to correct this deficit, and to — in the true spirit of the Civic Knowledge Project — open the transmission of information in all directions, I have created a number of new outlets for information sharing among those associated with Winning Words.

First, be sure to “become a fan” of our new Facebook page, which features a comprehensive calendar of Winning Words events, a “wall” on which content can be posted and shared, in addition to albums for photographs and other digital media like audio and video. Anyone can share content, and anyone can view content. I’ll moderate the page, and update it frequently in order to keep those associated with the program well-informed, while also increasing the visibility of CKP to a larger online audience.

The URL for the Facebook page is as follows:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/The-Civic-Knowledge-Project-Winning-Words/145752131155

A new Twitter feed is complementary to a Facebook page, because, for those unfamiliar with Twitter, it acts as a sort of ‘Facebook lite’. This is to say that I’ll be — even more often than I update the Facebook page — posting miniature 140-character “tweets” to our Twitter feed. Be sure to check it out at the following address (and click the “follow” button in order to stay up to date):

http://twitter.com/winningwords

I hope everybody finds these new methods of communication useful and fun. Let me know if I should make any changes.

Sam Cohn

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Winning Words coordinator Amy Garey and her new Winning Words coach Sam Cohn have been busy putting together some great new tools for us! Check out their comments here!

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Hi Coaches!
Our final performance date is December 6th.  We’ll be in BARS, on the first floor of
Bartlett, and busses will get the kids at staggered times from
their schools starting at 9:30am.  The shows should start at
about 1:00pm, and should finish by 3:00pm.

There are some things we need from you before the performance.

• Firstly, each kid in your group needs to turn in a signed permission slip.  This can be found on the CKP website under ‘useful documents’.  EVERY KID NEEDS TO HAVE ONE!  Toencourage them to get them in, you can tell them we will behanding out awards, and if you don’t have a permission slip, you don’t get one.
• Please print enough copies and distribute these Informational Flier for your kids and their parents to hand out at the next rehearsal.

• Related to that, we need a set list of the kids who will beperforming with your group.  So next time your group meets, take a head count — give me first AND last names.  If you have some kids who aren’t sure, give me those names too, butmarked as unsure, and as soon as you know either way tell me.

• Tell your group NOT to bring backpacks.  There’s very little storage space, so we need as few bags as possible.

The schedule for the day is as follows:
Bus picks up Donohue group at 9:30
Bus picks up McCorkle group at 9:45
Bus picks up Shoesmith group at 10:00
Bus drops groups at Bartlett
Bus picks up Bret Harte group at 10:30
Bus picks up Carnegie group at 10:45
Bus drops groups at Bartlett by 11:00

Christ’s Way and HPNC are in charge of getting to Bartlett themselves.  Alternatively, they can come to one of the schools (eg, lots of Christ’s Way kids go to Carnegie, so they can all just go to Carnegie).

ALL GROUPS SHOULD ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THEIR SCHOOLS BY THE
TIME LISTED ABOVE.  If some of your kids want to go straight
to Bartlett, that’s fine, but THEY HAVE TO BE THERE BY 11:00.
I will be at Bartlett doing attendance.

Once everyone’s there, we will split everyone up into two groups.  From 11:00-12:00, one group will eat lunch upstairs in Bartlett while the other group will split rehearsal time in
BARS.  From 12:00-1:00 they will switch.  During this time, it’s a good idea to have some activities prepared.  You can print out that list of games I sent around and play some (quiet) games, or practice lines if you prefer.  Just plan on having a bit of downtime.

If you have any further questions or comments, do not hesitate to ask Rebecca Rothschild at ranne236@uchicago.edu

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Don’t miss the story on our election eve event!  http://www.meadville.edu/Ab_News_VoteCPP.htm    What a great group of young people!  And what great partners!  Thanks to Dorothy, Chris, Qiyamah, Tyree, and Alper House!

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Please join the young people from the Woodlawn Youth Solutions program for a discussion of the election, civic knowledge, and their new club, which has them cooking local and organic–and highly educational–treats!  Woodlawn Youth Solutions is a joint production of the Civic Knowledge Project, the youth center at the Christ’s Way MB Church, the Brickyard Garden, and the Meadville-Lombard Theological School.

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Just wanted to update you on a few things:

• You can find all printable teaching materials (lesson plans, permission slips, etc.) under the Useful Documents page
• If you need supplemental books or other materials (pens, paper, markers, posters, etc.) please contact Rebecca Rothschild (ranne236@uchicago.edu) or Bart Schultz (rschultz@uchicago.edu)

Also, don’t forget that we’ll be hosting our 2nd Instructor Workshop on Monday, October 13th from 6:30pm-9:30pm in Rockefeller Chapel (basement)!

*Also, if you would like a downloadable version of The Lorax movie, go here: The Lorax Movie

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A big thank you to all of the new recruits for the Civic Knowledge Project’s Winning Words afterschool program!  We are delighted to have you working with us on this important educational program!  Please feel free to compare notes, add comments, post inquiries and news, etc., if this will help facilitate your participation.  Best Wishes, Bart

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