First Bell: ‘Middle School Parent Connection’ starts next week; students visiting C-SPAN bus shouldn’t expect scoop on MU and SEC

Parents of middle school students are being invited to learn more about the changes their children are experiencing as they make their way through school.

The district is offering the Lawrence Middle School Parent Connection, a four-part series described as an opportunity to learn about the “academic, emotional and physical development of young adolescents.”

The first session is set for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, 1400 Mass. The night’s topics will relate to students’ academic success, plus health and wellness needs during adolescent years.

All parents are welcome, the district says.

Future sessions are set for Dec. 1 at West Middle School, Feb. 8 at Southwest Middle School, and April 19 at South Middle School.

“We’re excited to bring the middle school community together as we work to provide the best learning possible for our young adolescents,” said Rick Doll, district superintendent.

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Students climbing aboard the C-SPAN 2012 Campaign Bus will get a chance to experience plenty of interactive, digital displays filled with information regarding the presidential campaign and other matters of public interest.

They’ll also learn about C-SPAN’s video library: 170,000 hours of programming available for campaign knowledge, general entertainment and, of course, resources for classroom projects and reports.

The bus will pull up to Lawrence High School this morning, and will accommodate 10 students chosen to pose questions via Skype to Leo Hindery, a member of Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength. The Q&A session is slated to be featured on “Washington Journal.”

The bus will stop by Free State High School for the afternoon to welcome classes. And from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, the bus will be at the Lawrence Public Library, open for tours by patrons.

The bus spent Friday in Columbia, Mo., by the way, including a stop at the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri.

Doug Hemmig, a community relations specialist for C-SPAN, reports that he hadn’t picked up any scoop about whether Missouri would be bolting for the Southeastern Conference anytime soon.

“I’m going to try to find that out,” he said Thursday afternoon from the busy bus.

The bus visits about 10 communities each week, traveling about 36,000 miles during the year.