Students taking part in the Herald’s StoxSmart competition had a chance to meet with State Treasurer Steven Grossman earlier this week. They chatted over ice cream about the unpredictability of the stock market and trusting your instincts.
The students, who have the chance to change their portfolios this week, gained valuable insight in investments, finances, and making decisions that will surely help them in the competition.
Read the full article here.
A new study ranks Massachusetts 8th graders among the world’s top performers in math and science. A Trends in Mathematics and Science study found the Commonwealth’s students tied for 2nd place in science behind Singapore and 6th place in mathematics, behind South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan.
The academic performance tests were given to 2,075 students in 56 randomly selected public schools across the state, participating with 8 other states in the country. Students competed with over 600,000 students worldwide.
The United States ranked 9th overall in math and 10th overall in science.
Read the full article here.
Brianne Costa
Boston Herald NIE Associate
Harvard University graduate students are making math and science cool for students through their educational rap program EDUtainment. The video series combines education with fun raps, skits, and classroom activities. Lybroan James created the program to help students better relate to the material.
EDUtainment hopes to launch their website by next month and have content and guides for teachers by next year.
Read the full Boston Herald article here.
Watch the video with EDUtainment creators below.
Brianne Costa
NIE Associate
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will address educators in Washington, D.C., and nationwide via video conference, on August 7, 2012. His live message for teachers will focus on the need for personal financial education in the wake of the recent financial crisis. After his remarks, Chairman Bernanke will take questions from K-12 and post-secondary educators of economics, personal finance, and related disciplines, who will be gathered at Federal Reserve Bank offices across the country.
The event takes place from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, August 7, 2012.
Watch the online webcast of the event at http://www.ustream.tv/federalreserve 
. Twitter users can also follow the Federal Reserve Board’s feed, @FederalReserve, and join the discussion about the event by using the hashtag: #FedTownHall.
Graphic by Boston Herald
School is out for summer, and that means the Boston Herald StoxSmart competition has also come to a close.
JLS Rising Stox came in first place with a team total of $3,039,911. Team members include students Steven Julien-Stewart and Liyi Ye, as well as John Fish, CEO of Suffolk Construction Company. They were followed by The Titans, The Madison Millionettes, and the Dorchester Stock Boys. Amine Elmeghni from Dorchester Stock Boys came out as the top individual student stock picker.
Check out the Boston Herald article Contest rides tough stock market for the full story.
What does Hermione from Harry Potter and a fairy have to do with flying an airplane? Well, you probably won’t find them in a cockpit anytime soon. But Massachusetts Institute of Technology students are using characters like these to teach K-12 students science concepts. In a new project called MIT+K12, college students have made more than 30 online videos that teach important STEM topics from the Doppler Effect to chlorophyl.
For more information, read the Boston Herald article MIT videos teach fun-damental lessons. Then watch more than 30 science videos on the MIT+k12 website here.
The Boston Herald StoxSmart competition is on! Eight students from Boston area schools have partnered with financial experts to test their skills at picking profitable stocks.
This week Team JLS Rising Stox from Josiah Quincy Upper High School in Chinatown is in the lead. Find out where team members Liyi Ye and Steven Julien-Stewart spent their investment dollars, and follow the progress of other teams by reading the Boston Herald article Stock pros team with Hub students. You can also stay updated by checking out the StoxSmart Blog.
Photo by Boston Herald
Local students are learning about the stock market firsthand through a new Boston Herald StockSmart stock-picking contest. Boston area high school students were recently paired with stock experts to invest $1 million fictitious dollars in stocks and exchange traded funds from April 1 to June 30. Read the Boston Herald story Herald challenges students to play the market for complete competition information.
How your students can participate:
When Patriots star Rob Gronkowsi “Gronk Spikes” a football after touchdowns, it has more force than a hockey slap shot. Students can learn the science behind Gronking, and compare their spikes with Gronkowski’s using this activity from the sports section of the Boston Herald.
First read the story Rob Gronkowski’s TD ritual becomes a fan phenomenon to find out how Gronking began and how popular it has become. Then students can use the MIT developed formula below to calculate their own spike.
Image by Boston Herald
Courtesy of craftbits.com
In celebration of Earth Day, here are some fun ways to reuse old newspapers before they make it into the recycling bin.
Create Newspaper Slippers
Learn how to make one-time-use slippers that double as a great art project.
Write Newspaper Poetry
Have your students look through the newspaper for words and phrases that catch their eye. Students should cut them out and arrange them to form a poem. Then students can paste their newspaper poem on a new sheet of paper.
Courtesy of Newspaperbagproject.com
Craft Newspaper Lunch or Gift Bags
Tired of bringing lunch to school in a brown paper bag? Make your own lunch bag—or gift bag—out of old newspapers.
Build Newspaper Towers
How tall a tower can your students build using only two sheets of newspaper?
Need even more recycling inspiration?
Check out this house in Rockport that’s made entirely out of newspapers!
A Smart Way to Go Green
Another great way to reduce your carbon footprint is to read the online Boston Herald Smart Edition. It’s an exact replica of the Boston Herald print edition, but it never needs to be recycled. Teachers can order a free subscription here.
