All Employees Leaves in hours

For simplicity, all leaves are now converted to hours in AESOP. All types of leave for everyone are now under one standard. The amount of time stays the same, but before this change some where tracked in days and some in hours. The rules all stay the same also, such as vacation needs to be taken in full or half days. This is just a recording and tracking change in our system. As always, if you see something that does not look correct in your records, give us a call or e-mail and we will check it out.

Update on Building Projects

Paul continues his work on the BAK office project. Internal walls are going up.

High School back entrance is also progressing as floor to ceiling envelope is in.

Praying Mantis

Just for fun - some pictures of a Praying Mantis that had wandered into our garage. Coaxed him, or her?, on to a broom and took it back to the woods. It has been said that many alien creatures in the movies are based on this guy - I can see why! In the third one below; he is watching you!!

QR Codes in the Classroom ideas and tutorial

A QR Code is a Quick Response Code and it is a picture of a design that is somewhat similar to a bar code. Click here to go to the site explaining how QR codes are being used.

Or view this 20 minute tutorial

WPS on-line member site

You can access your WPS information directly over the web including claims and other information such as searching for a specific doctor. You will need your 9 digit number from your insurance card. You will need to make up a unique username and password. Click the picture below to enter the WPS site or go to wpsic.com. Click on 'Members' and then within that 'Register'.

Summer Reading Activities at Libraries and Online

DPI Release:

Research shows students not engaged with educational activities over the summer test lower at summer’s end than at the beginning. Estimates place this learning loss at two to three months’ worth of learning—a quarter of the school year.

However, reading 4-6 books per summer has been shown to help readers maintain their skills, while reading 10-20 helps them improve. Summer reading incentive programs at libraries across Wisconsin provide enriching, engaging activities including art, music, hands-on science, and storytelling. Many also offer adult programming.

Online, Wisconsin students and families can use BadgerLinkto access educational activities such as these: Encyclopædia Britannica offers not only informative articles but also educational games in its “Learning Zone” and in the “Learning Materials” section of its Elementary, Middle, and High school editions. The encyclopedia is also available for mobile devices. LearningExpress Library provides test preparation and skill building for children, teens, and adults. Kids can practice math or grammar, prepare for the SAT, ACT, or AP tests, and more. NoveList and NoveList K-8 offer book recommendations, book lists, and discussion guides for fiction books. TeachingBooks provides K-12 book-related multimedia: author interviews, book trailers, authors reading their works, book lists, and discussion guides.

Boaz Almog uses quantum physics to levitate and trap objects in midair. Call it "quantum levitation."

This is cool! (pardon the liquid nitrogen pun)

TED description:
How can a super-thin, three-inch disk levitate something 70,000 times its own weight? In a riveting, futuristic demonstration, Boaz Almog shows how a phenomenon known as quantum locking allows a superconductor disk to float over a magnetic rail -- completely frictionlessly and with zero energy loss.

In October 2011, Boaz Almog demonstrated how a superconducting disk can be trapped in a surrounding magnetic field to levitate above it, a phenomenon called “quantum levitation.” This demonstration, seemingly taken from a sci-fi movie, is the result of many years of R&D on high-quality superconductors. By using exceptional superconductors cooled in liquid nitrogen, Almog and his colleague Mishael Azoulay at the superconductivity group at Tel Aviv University (lead by Prof. Guy Deutscher) were able to demonstrate a quantum effect that, although well known to physicists worldwide, had never been seen and demonstrated in such a compelling way.