WJCT Kids Writers Contest extended

WJCT Public Media this week announced the submission deadline for the 2021 WJCT PBS Kids Writers Contest has been extended. The organization will accept entries through April 15, 2021.

Starting its 27th year, the annual contest invites students in grade K-3 to submit their original writing and illustrations. The 2020 contest collected over 200 stories from Florida, Georgia, and other parts of the country as far away as California and Alaska.

The annual contest is an initiative designed to promote the advancement of children’s literacy skills through hands-on, active learning and is open to any child in grades K-3 who writes and illustrates their own story.

All writers and illustrators, who enter and meet the requirements of the contest, will have their work published online at wjct.org and receive a certificate. First-, second- and third-place awards will be presented for stories from each grade level; winners will also receive a WJCT PBS Kids prize pack, the opportunity to create a video reading of their story and an invitation to share their story live at Be My Neighbor Day on Saturday, May 9. Winning stories will be eligible for the People’s Choice grand prize, a $100 savings bond.

“WJCT Public Media is proud to provide a platform for our youngest neighbors to share their unique stories through the WJCT PBS Kids Writers Contest,” said David McGowan, President and CEO of WJCT. “Through this contest, we hope to inspire students and their communities to experience the joy of creativity.”

For more information, including official rules and tools to help students create their stories, visit wjct.org/writerscontest.

About WJCT:  WJCT is the community-owned and operated public media organization serving Jacksonville and the First Coast since 1958, using television, radio, digital media, and live events to help community members learn, share, and grow. For more information on WJCT’s in-depth programming content, log on to WJCT Online at wjct.org. Like WJCT on Facebook (facebook.com/wjctjax) and follow WJCT on Twitter (@WJCTJax) and Instagram (@WJCTJax).

About PBS KIDS: PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital platforms and community-based programs. Kidscreen- and Webby Award-winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS also offers mobile apps to help support young children’s learning. The PBS KIDS Video app is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as YouTube, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Android TV, Xbox One and Chromecast. For more information on specific PBS KIDS content supporting literacy, science, math and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter and Facebook.

JAX parents and teaches get FREE school assistance from ‘WJCT-TV’

“WJCT” (a Florida public media partnership) delivers at-home learning online resources and a new television schedule of educational programming for First Coast Teachers and Families.

As many schools and districts across Florida shift to online and at-home learning in an effort to lessen the spread of COVID-19, WJCT Public Media, in partnership with public media organizations across the state, has launched a new, weekday television schedule of educational programs aligned with state standards.  The new programming begins Monday, March 30, 2020 at 11 a.m. on TV Channel 7.1 (Comcast 8 and 440).  WJCT will also offer a suite of free digital learning resources accessible from home.  The service has been developed over the past two weeks in consultation with educators, including Duval County Public Schools.

“These school closures bring challenges for parents and teachers in keeping students engaged and learning,” says WJCT President and CEO, David McGowan.  “We are really pleased to be able to create this service and to restructure our educational offerings in ways that make them most useful to educators, parents, and children as we all confront schools being closed.  As Jacksonville’s public media organization, we have education in our DNA, so this is a natural way for us to help make a bad situation a little bit better.”
WJCT will dedicate its daytime weekday schedule on channel 7.1 (Comcast 8 and 440) to Florida standards-aligned educational programming.  The new schedule, airing from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., follows WJCT’s current block of programming for early learners (PreK through third grade) from 6 to 11 a.m., and includes specific blocks of time for high school content (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and middle school content (3 to 6 p.m.).  These new blocks will cover topics such as English language arts, social studies, science and math.  Programs can be incorporated into lesson plans for teachers, while providing parents and caregivers with quality, educational content to supplement their child’s academic studies.  More information on the schedule and available resources can be found HERE.

Each week’s program schedule will be shared with teachers across the First Coast, who can follow up with discussion questions, worksheets or hands-on projects and experiments when they communicate with their students.  Resources will also be integrated into the Duval County Public Schools’ Parent Academy.

“Duval County Public Schools’ Parent Academy, a free family resource traditionally offering face-to-face classes, has now moved to virtual courses, and soon can add television to our educational offerings,” said Regan Copeland, Parent Academy Supervisor with Duval County Public Schools.  “We are thrilled to have this opportunity to partner with WJCT in providing our families with additional enrichment opportunities as a supplement to our Homeroom environment.”

This new programming builds upon WJCT’s education-focused initiatives, including the region’s pre-eminent professional development conference for teachers (TEACH, scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2020) the PBS Kids Writing Contest, and additional resources available to educators and parents, such as:
Florida PBS Learning Media: WJCT and PBS have curated free, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans and more for all Florida educators. Collections include videos, lesson plans and activities, sorted by grade level (PreK through high school), subject area and state standard.
WJCT Kids Connect Newsletter: WJCT’s new weekly e-newsletter provides engaging educational activities every Monday morning, with fun family learning ideas from sources such as PBS, The Fred Rogers Company and other local educational community partners.
WJCT World: Effective March 30, 2020, the public media WORLD Channel (WJCT 7.4, Comcast 212) will provide a five-hour At-Home Learning Service for students in grades 6-12 every weekday. Programs will highlight topics such as science, history and English language arts.
Support for Teachers: Through PBS LearningMedia, teachers can access webinars from PBS master trainers and educators about how to create engaging and effective distance learning plans.
WJCT-TV (Comcast 8 and 440): WJCT’s main PBS channel will continue broadcasting standards-aligned programs like: Nova, SciGirls, History Detectives, American Masters, Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed The World and Africa’s Great Civilizations weekdays from 11 a.m. through 6 p.m.

Many public media organizations across the country are providing enhanced at-home learning resources and revised programming schedules in response to the widespread school closures which have resulted from the Coronavirus pandemic.  More information on those initiatives can be found HERE.

It Takes a Village – Get Involved!

"It Takes a Village to Raise a Child”; no, that phrase did not originate from a book written by Hillary Rodham Clinton, it came from an old African proverb and it’s a true statement

There was a time when teachers were the authority figure during the day while a child was in school.  Today things are different because of the integrity of some teachers & that parents believe everything that their children have to say before asking the adult what happened.  Some parents will even cuss-an-educator-out for saying something to that parent’s child.  Oh, and long time ago on the way home from school, the child might get in trouble with the neighbor up the street before having to confront their own parents.  That was an example of a real “village” which helped to raise the children in the neighborhood.

Our world is a village and crimes of injustice are children of that village.  Crimes of injustice are happening all over this world that we live in today.  As Bishop George Davis of Impact Church pointed out during a recent sermon, people should get involved and not just turn a deaf-ear when crimes of maltreatment occur.  We should take a stand to help another person who may be subject to bullying, human trafficking, or other forms of abuse.

Many times, we just don’t want to get involved.  It may be because there is a fear of retaliation, a feeling of being inadequate to make a difference, or not having the time to do anything right then and there.  Sure you don’t want to put yourself or your family in jeopardy, but there are many ways to report crimes, so you’re not placed in danger.

It’s always a good thing to check with Holy Spirit as your back-up advocate in times of confrontations.  Holy Spirit will let you know when to get involved and when to be safe and report an incident to the proper authorities.

If you don’t have a village (there may not be a mother, father, grandmother, aunts or uncles) within your family, then borrow or adopt a village.  Villages can be established through “Small Groups or Cell Groups” from church, or people you can trust like the mature woman up the street.

Always be aware of your surroundings.  Pay attention to the signs of abuse.  Get involved and be that “village” who will step up to help someone in need.

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