Videos
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This module provides students with opportunities to get comfortable with thinking processes and with developing resilience. It supports the practices of gratitude, generating fresh ideas, learning as a lifelong experience, appreciating one’s personal gifts as well as those of others nearby and around the world, and healthy ways to handle difficult experiences like bullying.
- Introduction
- Unit 1: Think Hip ‘n Happy – The Power of Positivity
- Unit 2: The Gratitude Attitude – Everyday Skills for Appreciating Life
- Unit 3: Storm the Brain “Brainstorming” – How to Select Your Best Ideas
- Unit 4: Seeing Fresh – The Power to Look at Things With Fresh Eyes
- Unit 5: Groovin’ With the Group – Positively Getting Along With Others
- Bonus Lesson: Straight Talk about Bullying
Photo Gallery
Amazing Jake’s Celebrating 10 Years of Family, Food, & Fun
MESA AZ — August 1st, 2015 — Amazing Jake’s, opened for business 10 years ago on Friday, August 5, 2005 welcoming hundreds of guests opening weekend. Ten years later, Amazing Jake’s continues to host thousands of guests every year at their facility. Amazing Jake’s has become a staple in the Phoenix area for family entertainment where families can enjoy bowling, laser tag, go-kart racing, bumper cars, kiddie rides and interactive prize-redeeming games all at one indoor location. The prize redemption counter is over 40 feet wide and 20 feet tall – the largest in the U.S! The center also features a full-scale all-you-care-to-eat pizza, pasta, salad, soup, potato bar and dessert buffet. Guests purchase the buffet as their price of admission to the facility, with additional attractions available at additional prices. Weekday specials and party packages are also available.
With 5,000 square feet of meeting space, including 10 separate party rooms, Amazing Jake’s offers fun party experiences for all ages, from birthday parties and church lock-ins to school and team parties. The center also appeals to corporate groups looking for a place to host fun outings for their employees, company picnics, customer appreciation events and more.
The facility currently employs 150 people and adds more employees during peak times to support its operation. In recent years, Amazing Jake’s has re-invested funds into the facility by upgrading restrooms, carpet, equipment and other repair & maintenance that is needed in a facility 10 years old. But more importantly they added over $400,000 in new video and redemption games as well as the New Bone Blaster shooting gallery.
“I joined the Amazing Jake’s team in March 2005 when the building was empty with cement floors. We had renderings of what it would eventually look like and I am just so happy we were able to sustain the business through the tough recession and still have a happy place where families can go and enjoy time with each other,” said Becky Sigmond, Amazing Jake’s Director of Marketing.
For more information on Amazing Jake’s: www.amazingjakes.com, 480-926-7499
For more information, press only: Becky Sigmond, marketing@irvinelanes.com, 949-417-1310
Positive Thoughts Improve Academics
A new study supports the philosophy that social and emotional learning improves student achievement and social behavior.
By: Marion Herbert – District Administration, Apr 2010
A new study conducted by Oregon State University and funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse supports the philosophy that social and emotional learning improves student achievement and social behavior. “The Impact of Positive Action on Academic Outcomes,” published in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, focuses on a program called Positive Action, a course founded on the belief that positive thoughts induce positive behavior. The results showed an improvement in standardized test scores and a decrease in suspensions and absent students.
The study followed 20 Hawaii schools from the 2002-2003 school year through 2005-2006. Ten schools incorporated the program into every K12 grade, while the other 10 schools served as a control group. The findings showed an improvement on national standardized math and reading tests by 10 percent, 70 percent fewer suspensions, and 15 percent less absenteeism. The state of Hawaii was chosen because it has a single school district, diverse ethnic groups, and a recognized need for improvement. “Students are trained to focus on positive behaviors and less on negative behaviors,” says Brian Flay, primary researcher of the study and professor of public health at Oregon State University.
http://www.districtadministration.com/article/positive-thoughts-improve-academics
RESEARCH AFFIRMS POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING
By DANIEL GOLEMAN
Published: February 3, 1987
POLLYANA was right, new research shows.
Optimism – at least reasonable optimism – can pay dividends as wide-ranging as health, longevity, job success and higher scores on achievement tests.
Pessimism not only has the opposite effect but also seems to be at play in such psychological disorders as extreme shyness and depression.
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/03/science/research-affirms-power-of-positive-thinking.html