NASCAR Driver Visits America's Incredible Pizza Company Jason Keller, NASCAR driver of the number 11 America's Incredible Pizza Company Chevrolet will provide an afternoon of fun at America's Incredible Pizza Company on Friday, July 18, from 12-3 p.m. Keller will sign autographs, race go-karts and bowl with IPC guests. Keller's chevy will be on display, and he will even perform a burn-out for fans in the parking lot. You can register to win two pit passes to the to the July 19 race at Gateway Racetrack. America's Incredible Pizza Company is located at 5254 S. Lindbergh. For more information visit www.ipcstlouis.com or call (314) 842-0700.
COCA Holds Auditions for Dance, Acting Companies in August
COCA (CenterofCreative Arts) is holding auditions for its three student companies for the 2008-09 school year. The two dance companies and one theatre company are geared for middle and high school students with a love of performing and a possible interest in pursing dance or acting in college or as a career.
Theatre company auditions will be held Aug. 23 and 24 from 12-3 p.m. Interested parties should arrange an appointment by calling director of theatreBrooke Edwardsat (314) 725-6555, ext. 150. The dance company auditions will be held Aug. 20 from 5-9 p.m. and Aug. 24 from 12-4 p.m. No appointment is necessary, but dancers are required to attend a full session. An opportunity to practice for the auditions are provided at a free mock audition Aug. 18 from 5-7 p.m.
COCAdance is an advanced level student dance company specializing in jazz, modern, hip-hop and rhythm tap dance for students ages 11 to18. Ballet Eclectica, COCA’s ballet company, provides training and performance opportunities for students ages 11 to 18. The COCA Theatre Companyis an advanced training and performing company for students in grades 6-12. For more information or to learn more about student companies call (314) 725-6555 or visit www.cocastl.org.
International Youth Circus Troupe Sets Peaceful Example Two youth circus troupes, one from northern Israel and the other from St. Louis, are merging at the City Museum in August for their own version of a Middle East peace meeting.
The
Galilee Arches, a collaboration between the Galilee Circus and the St.
Louis Arches, is reuniting for a series of performances in August.
Through juggling, balancing and flying through the air, the Galilee
Arches’ performance is an exercise in trust, working together and
giving to others.
The
St. Louis Arches is made up of students from all over the St. Louis
area who participate in the Circus Day Foundation. The foundation is a
circus school based inside the City Museum that uses circus arts to
build character in individuals and to build bridges between
communities. The Galilee Circus is a Jewish/Arab youth circus from
northern Israel.
The
two groups first performed together last summer in Israel,
demonstrating what can happen when people of different nationalities
and backgrounds build something together. The children promote peace
through pyramids, joy through juggling and harmony through handsprings.
In
the words of Rabbi Marc Rosenstein, from the Galilee Foundation for
Value Education: "I think many who saw the shows felt the same tears in
their eyes, maybe out of the feeling one is seeing a vision of
something that we all long for... the total obliteration of barriers,
whether social, economic or gravitational."
The
Galilee Arches will be appearing at the City Museum, from Aug. 1-12, as
well as other locations. For more information, visit www.citymuseum.org or call (314) 436-7676.
Baby Leopard On Display in Children's Zoo A critically endangered Amur leopard is now on display in a nursery at the St. Louis Zoo's Emerson Children's Zoo.
Sofiya, which means wisdom, was born on Saturday, May 10, and has been hand-raised because her mother failed to demonstrate proper maternal care, as is common for first-time leopard mothers. Zookeepers will continue bottle feedings until Sofiya is weaned at about three months of age.
The St. Louis Zoo's Amur leopards are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Amur Leopard Population Management Plan, which is responsible for maintaining a genetically healthy population of Amur leopards in North American zoos. The Amur leopard is considered one of the most endangered cat subspecies in the world. Loss of habitat due to logging activities, human encroachment and poaching threaten their survival in the wild, but small population size and lack of genetic diversity are the most detrimental factors facing these cats today. Learn more about Amur leopards on the zoo's Web site.
-- Tiffany Chan
St. Louis Schools Earn National Character Award Five St. Louis area schools won top honors for their character education programs. The following schools and districts in St. Louis were designated 2008 National Schools of Character by the Character Education Partnership.
- Chesterfield Elementary School, Rockwood School District - Francis Howell Middle School, Francis Howell School District - Lindbergh School District - Sappington Elementary School, Lindbergh School District - Valley Park Middle School, Valley Park School District
Only 11 schools were selected for this award nationwide.
"The Missouri sweep is likely the result of long-term, bold leadership in character education throughout that state," said Character Education Partnership Executive Director Joe Mazzola.
Character education strives to foster ethical, responsible and caring young people. "It is the intentional, proactive effort by schools, districts and states to instill in their students important core, ethical values that we all share, such as caring, honesty, fairness, responsibility, and respect for self and others," according to the CEP Web site.
Science Center Selected to Host International SciFest in Fall The Saint Louis Science Center won a national competition to host SciFest 08: International Science Festival/St. Louis. Festival organizers selected St. Louis from a list of cities including New York City, Boston and San Francisco.
SciFest, to be held annually, will take place on Oct. 9-13, 2008, at the Saint Louis Science Center. Public conversation, debates, hands-on workshops and exhibits form the core of the festival, and events feature content beyond scientific statistics and facts. Proposed sessions include topics such as wearable technology, dating, fertility, extreme weather and NASCAR. Organizers also plan to facilitate discussions on the state and presidential candidates’ science and environmental platforms, as well as political hot topic issues, including climate change, bio-fuels and renewable energy sources.
The final schedule and ticket sale information will be available in August.
Five tigers born at the St. Louis Zoo will make their public debut later this summer.
Tiger Quintuplets Doing Well, First Public Appearance at Zoo Planned for Mid-Summer Five critically endangered Amur tigers were born on Monday, April 28, at the St. Louis Zoo. The two male and three female cubs are being kept with their mother, 7-year-old Kalista, in an off-display indoor maternity den at Big Cat Country.
The cubs, as of yet unnamed, are doing well. The family group will remain in the maternity den until they are about three months old, when they are able to cope with the challenges of their yard, said Steve Bircher, curator of mammals at the St. Louis Zoo. "It’s a whole new world when they go outside," he said.
Khuntami, the cubs’ 15-year-old father, does not have any responsibilities in raising the litter and is currently on display.
The Amur tigers are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Tiger Species Survival Plan, which is responsible for maintaining a genetically healthy population of tigers in North American zoos. Amur tigers were formally known as Siberian tigers, but because of loss of habitation due to logging, human encroachment and poaching, they are no longer found in Siberia. Learn more about the Amur tigers on the zoo's Web site.
-- Tiffany Chan
St. Louis Children's Hospital Once Again Ranks Among the Nation’s Top Children’s Hospitals St. Louis Children's Hospital has been recognized as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals in all of the seven specialties rated by US News & World Report in the 2008 edition of "America’s Best Children’s Hospitals."
St. Louis Children’s Hospital ranked sixth in neurology and neurosurgery, 11th in neonatal care, 12th in respiratory disorders, 17th in general pediatrics, cancer care, heart and heart surgery, and 23rd in digestive disorders. The rankings for this year's America’s Best Children's Hospitals were based on a new and improved methodology that weighed a three-part blend of reputation, outcome, and care-related measures such as nursing care, advanced technology, credentialing, and other factors. The magazine also turned to a roster of nearly 50 experts at top U.S. children’s hospitals, who were in turn divided into specialty panels to develop recommendations for each of the seven specialties in this year’s survey. A detailed description of the survey methodology can be found online at www.usnews.com/pediatrics.
"I talk to many parents at our hospital, many of whom have traveled great distances (including every state in the U.S.and 60 countries around the world) to receive the best medical care possible," says Hospital President Lee Fetter. "It should be comforting to parents in the metro St. Louis area to know they have nationally recognized care at St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine,in their own backyard."
This is the sixth consecutive year St. Louis Children's Hospital has been honored by U.S.News.
Missouri MOST Introduces New College Savings Tool The state-sponsored MOST (Missouri Saving for Tuition) – Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan has launched Ugift, a new resource that makes it easier for friends and family members to contribute to a child’s MOST529 account. Account owners can now invite family and friends to make gift contributions to a child's 529 college savings plan account in lieu of traditional gifts. On May 29, Ugift became available for MOST529 account owners. Using the plan Web site, account owners can send invitations via e-mail or print gift coupons to give to family and friends for a birthday, holiday, graduation or other celebration. Gift contributions are tied to the celebration and the specific MOST529 account and can be monitored online by the account owner. The minimum gift amount is $25, about the average cost of a child’s birthday gift. For more information about MOST or to start an account for your child, go to https://missourimost.s.upromise.com/index.html. See detailed information about the changes by clicking here.
Check back soon! This page is updated weekly!
Because of the large number of event notices and press releases we receive each week, we can't publish them all. But if you have news of interest to St. Louis parents, or if your organization is hosting an event to benefit local families, send your notice to editor@stlouiskidsmagazine.com . It's just what we're looking for.
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST
MagicHouseSandcastleBeach Exhibit Opens
The entire family will dig the return of SandcastleBeach. With the help of ten truckloads of sand, The Magic House’s
backyard is being transformed once again into a beachfront park,
complete with tons of sand, hidden seashells, ocean misters, lifeguard
stands and beach umbrellas. At SandcastleBeach,
you can take a stroll along the boardwalk; search for some seashells;
feel the spray of the ocean on your face; and, build along-side a
world-champion sand sculptor as he sculpts a gigantic 75-ton sandcastle
along our shores! The exhibit runs through Aug. 3. For more information, click here or call (314) 822-8900.
