As I write this, Peter and Paul Reynolds are on their way to Arizona to speak together at the National Media Market conference (www.nmm.net). This is the conference at which media professionals who purchase for public libraries, universities, media/technology centers and educational broadcasting get a chance to screen and select the latest releases from the nation's finest producers and distributors of educational media. This is exciting as I think it is a first for Peter and Paul to be on stage together - and for us to showcase our films which, at this time of year, are often used in staff development to kick off the school year. Many of you have shared your stories of using our books and films as inspiration for the journey ahead, please keep the cards and emails coming - it fuels our journey too!

Fondly,
Jane
Jane F. Reynolds, Executive Partner
FableVision/UK

Wade Whitehead, Milken Award Winning Educator and one of FableVision's top Ambassadors, held a professional development session on The North Star book and classroom materials in Roanoke Virginia. We wanted to share one of a participant's comments with you: "You were just what we needed to begin our new school year! There are lots of teachers who are using the North Star story and constellation project this week. What wonderful ideas and resources we can use from your presentation activities! Thanks so much! You are a great inspiration to all of us! We look forward to working with you! Take care. Keep in touch! Your students are very lucky to have you for their teacher! I know that you have touched their lives and hearts!"

Educator Robin Robb from Indialantic Elementary wrote us this lovely note about her back to school experience and how it affected their school.

"During preplanning our principal used the movie He Was Me to help set the stage for beginning school by reminding us of our "inner child." It truly touched everyone! She followed it up on another day by reading the book Ish and launched a philosophy of "acceptance." We acknowledged that many of us can be our own worst critic and allowing us to think "ishly" brings freedom in many ways. Many teachers throughout the school used the book Ish to begin their writing activities. Even Marie-Claude Thelland our Art Teacher used it and read it to all grades as her introductory project, and said 'Everyone loved it. The lesson was to teach that there's no such thing as perfection in art, and that instead of getting frustrated with a drawing that doesn't turn out "just right" students should try to change it or make it look like something else. Go with the flow and have fun with it. I also stressed how we all have our own personal vision of things, which stems for different personal life experiences, which in turn influences how we do art. Art is personal and subjective, thus a reflection of ourselves... I showed visuals which we discussed, compared, and contrasted to show personal style, and how each piece of artwork produced a different experience for each and every one in the class.' "

This contest is an invitation to young writers who are ready to “make their mark!” Any student from kindergarten to seventh grade is invited to write a short piece using Stationery Studio software – either on the computer or printed and written off-line.

Entries must be received on or before November 22, 2006. For a full list of contest rules, please visit www.fablevision.com/stationerystudio or click on the link below.

On Saturday, August 27, 2005, my family and I evacuated from New Orleans to Houston. We caravanned to Houston in three cars – my husband and I, our two children, my in-laws, my parents, and my brother and his four young children. An old family friend graciously took us in. For the next day and a half, we were glued to the TV, watching as Hurricane Katrina barreled toward New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. On Monday morning, August 29, 2005, Katrina landed. She made a last-minute easterly turn, narrowly missing New Orleans. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief thinking that our city was spared the worst and we prayed for our neighbors in Mississippi.

Here's what we're up to for the next few weeks:

September 27-29 - National Media Market, Both Peter and Paul Reynolds will present the opening keynote at its annual conference on September 27, 2006, in MESA Arizona.

Sept 28 - Oct 1 - Park City Literary Festival, Park City, UT - Peter H. Reynolds will be one of the featured author/illustrators at Park City Literary Festival whose mission is "to celebrate and inspire writing and reading". Peter will be meeting students and staff from several area schools and hosting an afternoon reception for educators and those in the school community. He will also be the master of ceremonies at the Park City Animation Festival, working with students on creating their own book as well as playing an instrumental role in fund raising for this second annual event.

Oct 3-4 - Superintendent Technology Leadership Conference - Sponsored by the Massachusetts Superintendents Association. DCU Center in Worcester, MA.

Oct 4 - NHSTE Celebrates 25 Years of Integrating Technology into our Classrooms, Schools, and Districts, Concord, NH - Peter H. Reynolds will offer the evening keynote "Reflections and Retrospective" incorporating the idea that technology has enabled us to do a lot, but we do not need to do it all, all the time, as his new book, So Few of Me, proclaims. Visit http://nhste.org/ for more info.

Oct 8 - 10 - Iowa Technology Education Connection (ITEC) Annual Conference, Des Moines, Iowa - Peter H. Reynolds will offer the keynote, "Make a Mark and See Where it Takes You", in addition to a session called "Tools of the Creativity Trade" as well as an author visit with families called “Share the Magic”. www.itec-ia.org

Oct 14 - Jackson Heights Film Festival Series "Family Day Event" at 11am, Jackson Heights, NYC. The festival features Ish, the FableVision/Scholastic Weston Woods film by Peter H. Reynolds. For more info and listings, visit www.7iae.org

Oct 23 - CECA: Connecticut Educators Computer Association Annual Conference, Cromwell, CT. FableVision's suite of software products will be demonstrated in the Educate-Me.net booth. www.ceca- ct.org/

Merton penned these words prior to his death in 1968, but what he was insightfully observing then is only more obvious and troubling nearly forty years later. Something is deeply amiss in much of formal education today. With the increasing emphasis on “one size fits all” standardized-testing, teach-to- the-test, drill and practice, and content-driven curriculum, there is lack of attention given to the “untestable” attributes required to nurture a mindful, reflective approach to personalized curriculum. An approach that can lead to a self- motivated and sustainable love of life-long learning.

Children today continue to move along the educational system’s “conveyor belt” – to fall off and be left behind. According to the National Center for Education Statistics’ 2003 report on educational attainment, nearly 3.6 million young people (aged 16- 24), nearly ten percent of that age band, had failed to earn a high school diploma. And less than half of those who do graduate end up enrolling in college. (Laird, Lew, DeBell, & Chapman, 2006). As the Associated Press reported in November 2005, little over half of those going onto college in 1997 managed to get a degree even six years later. The numbers for blacks and Hispanics were even more alarming.

Why are we losing so many in the system? How do we find the “spark” of passion that will keep students engaged and not drop out? How do we ensure that spark is leveraged long-term to foster life-long citizen-worker-learners who are passionate about their personal mission and go on to fulfill their potential?

Dr. Rose Piccioni and the educational team at Carnegie Hall turned to FableVision for several multiple-media educational initiatives. FableVision adapted the film as an interactive offering online, adding a maze-like game featuring Gino the Cat.

Check out the website to watch the movie and play the game - don't be afraid to pass it on to music fans and gamers alike!

Visit www.carnegiehall.com (click on Weill Institute "Listening Adventures") or navigate using the link below.

Gary Stager is an award-winning journalist and voted 'Shaper of Our Future' by Converge Magazine. For more background on Gary, his keynotes, sessions, and the classroom initiatives he's involved in, visit his website at www.stager.org.