back to school

When I was a younger lad, I had my fears of high school and my first day as a freshman.

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The two-and-a-half-month summer vacation that kids get was a mid-19th century compromise between rural school districts, which had children who needed to help out on the family farm, and urban districts, which often dealt with extreme heat in the summer.

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As back to school approaches, many of our kids will be entering junior high or high school this year. I remember my junior high years at Conkling School in Utica, then off to UFA (Utica Free Academy). In both cases, it was intimidating. The first thing I did in high school was to  get involved as my homeroom representative in the Student Council. I looked forward to those Friday afternoon meetings and met a lot of other students that way.

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Long gone are the times you went to your first day of school with a new backpack filled with pens, pencils, crayons, binders and some paper.  Now a days they don’t make backpacks big enough to fit everything you need for school. Especially if you have a child in high school. 

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I still remember when a classmate brought in pine-cones for show and tell and preceded to tell her classmates that they are editable. I felt so bad for her as the kids laughed and laughed. Kids can be

The new school year begins soon, and with that comes back-to-school shopping. And since many parents are feeling the crunch of the economic downturn, that means lots of them are talking to their kids about something they often haven’t before: money.

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Utica, NY (WIBX) – Should three Mohawk Valley school districts become one?

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It seems that summer is going by faster than expected. If you blink your eyes now, you may miss the entire month of August. You’ve been getting ready to deal with the pain of back to school shopping in Utica, and now take a minute to relax. Do you remember the glory days of Recess? Maybe you were the king of the playground. I sure thought I was in Westmoreland. Here’s my Top 5 Favorite Recess Games.

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They're the classics of literature. You know the titles and they're likely to be on your children's back to school reading list but did you ever read or do you remember these books?

MyTudut, Flickr

Fall means school, and school means homework, and homework –- for many a family -– means stress and arguments. But getting homework done doesn’t have to be a daily battle. Here are a few easy

Labor Day means a three day weekend and respite from hard work for many, but it also means it's the season for end-of-summer deals. Here are some of the best savings of the season, from clothing to back-to-school gear.

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Ever given a five-year-old with an iPad a dirty look? Silently tsk tsk-ed in your head? Hold onto your judgment for a minute – they're not all playing Angry Birds. In fact, there are tons of apps out there that are all about learning. Here, we round up the best in