Date:1/19/00
Contact:
Bob Washut, professor of music and director of UNI Jazz Band I, (319) 273-6431
Vicki Grimes, UNI Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band makes Downbeat Magazine's list of best CDs of the decade—with two entries
CEDAR FALLS—The University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band One made Downbeat Magazine's list of the best CDs from the 1990s—twice.
“Come Fly With Me,” released in October 1994, and “The Big Band Thing,” released in October 1996, received five-star reviews. Six school groups made the list. Three of these schools received four 1/2-star ratings and three got five-star ratings. UNI's Jazz Band One was the only group to be honored for two of its CDs, and received five-stars for both of its recordings.
UNI Jazz Band One has appeared in festivals in the United States and Europe. These festivals include: the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, 1985, 1989 and 1998; the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, 1989 and 1998; received outstanding band recognition at the Notre Dame, Wichita, Eau Claire, Kansas City and Elmhurst Jazz Festivals; and was the featured band at the Greeley Jazz Festival in Colorado, and the University of Kansas Jazz Festival. Jazz One has also received Outstanding Performance Awards in 1992, 1995 and 1999 from Downbeat Magazine's Annual Student Music Awards.
The group has also been the recipient of two “Meet the Composer” grants from Arts Midwest. These grants allowed the band to commission and premiere works by jazz composers and arrangers.
For more information, contact Bob Washut, UNI professor of music and director of UNI Jazz Band One, at (319) 273-6431.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
John Bumpus, UNI professor of chemistry, (319) 273-7220
Vicki Grimes, UNI Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa—John Bumpus, University of Northern Iowa professor of chemistry and the environmental science program, has been named the federal liaison for basic and applied research grants at UNI.
Bumpus will make frequent visits to Program Officers in Washington, D.C., to identify forthcoming or unpublished grant opportunities and serve as an advocate for new grant applications; will identify faculty mentors to assist with the development of applications by new faculty or faculty with little grant experience; conduct regular meetings of the mentors to review grant progress by faculty; direct follow-up with individual faculty following workshop presentations and Washington visits; and organize grant opportunity workshops.
He has taught at UNI since 1995, after serving as a member of the special research faculty associated with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Center for Bioengineering and Pollution Control at the University of Notre Dame. He also taught previously at Utah State, Michigan State and Lake Superior State Universities
At UNI, Bumpus oversees master's thesis work of students, as well as teaches environmental chemistry; topics in environmental chemistry; environment, technology and society; and organic chemistry laboratory. He was also the 1999 College of Natural Sciences recipient of the Dean's Award for Superior Achievement in Research.
For more information, contact Bumpus at (319) 273-7220.
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At first glance, the average kindergarten classroom may appear to be little more than a large play area --.the ultimate dream for a 5-year-old. Children busy themselves with blocks, books, crayons, miniature kitchen set-ups and the requisite construction paper. There are few structured activities and children are allowed to work with sand, water and even mud. Fun at every turn.
But what, if anything, do children gain from all this playing?
What they gain, says Jill Uhlenberg, is a priceless learning experience. Uhlenberg is an instructor and coordinator of the University of Northern Iowa's Price Laboratory School Child Development Center. A strong proponent of play-based learning, Uhlenberg says children in kindergarten classes can learn socialization, sequence language development, and even mathematical concepts through play.
For instance, art projects like coloring, painting and drawing teach children to manipulate materials, to recognize shapes and colors, and to write. Putting on puppet shows teaches them character analyzation. Working with blocks can help teach children subtraction, addition, trial and error, and decision making.
Although some may advocate a stricter “reading, writing and arithmetic” sort of curriculum, Uhlenberg disagrees, primarily because 5-year-olds are typically not suited for more structured activities.
“They have a very hard time sitting down for long periods of time, waiting in lines, things like that,” says Uhlenberg. “It's very challenging for them. Their bodies very much need to be moving. At that age, they learn more from the hands-on experience than they do from sitting and listening. A couple years later, they won't have a problem with that, but at this age, they need something concrete.”
She believes kindergartners' basics should consist of things such as social problem solving, organization, and functioning in a group, all of which can be learned very well through play-based activities. Those skills lead directly to others which will help students as they progress through the grade levels. Uhlenberg says when children complete kindergarten, they should be able to:
“These things are so important,” says Uhlenberg. “If a child can do those, so much of the content can be more easily learned, just because the child can pay attention. If you can't do that, it's difficult for the content to get there and make sense.”
Although the slide is covered with snow, and it's just too cold to swing, there are reasons to visit the playground. Donna Thompson, director of the National Program for Playground Safety housed at the University of Northern Iowa, says now is the perfect time to handle specific maintenance tasks on playgrounds.
“It's critical that playgrounds be maintained during winter months, so the equipment can get through the winter a little better, and to help prevent any problems when the warmer months arrive and children flock to playgrounds,” says Thompson, who has surveyed and evaluated playgrounds across the globe. Her program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and is designed to decrease the number of playground injuries.
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, as many as half a million children are injured on playgrounds annually in this country. To prevent these kinds of injuries, nearly half of which require a visit to a hospital emergency room, Thompson suggests adults can work with the local parks department to form committees specifically for playground safety. If playgrounds aren't municipally funded, groups can raise funds to make necessary repairs. Winter safety tasks:
Order any special surfacing that will be needed come spring
Check for head entrapment areas on the playground equipment; contact the manufacturer to help with any necessary changes
Check the spaces in equipment that might catch shoestrings or hood strings, and make plans to fill those spaces with sealer
Cut off bolts and sand bolts that are too long
Make signs to indicate the need for supervision and age appropriateness of play areas
Make plans to sand and paint metal equipment
Make plans to sand and put sealer on wooden equipment
“Maintaining a playground is a year-round task,” says Thompson. “It's not something you do once. And even during months like January and February, when you don't typically think of playground safety, it's necessary.”
For more information about planning or maintaining a playground, contact the NPPS, 1-800-554-PLAY, or visit its website, uni.edu/playground.
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For twelfth-graders across the nation, senioritis has probably already set in. This is the year -- they are closer to adulthood and the end of mom's and dad's rules, than they've ever been before.
“By this time in their life, seniors begin to find high school boring and it just doesn't mean as much,” notes John Krumbholz, principal at the University of Northern Iowa's Price Laboratory school. An educator for more than two decades, Krumbholz has seen many seniors come and go, and he recognizes all the signs of senioritis. “Right now, they are feeling the need to expand their horizons, to spread their wings, so to speak. And they may rebel a little bit, trying to find themselves.”
For the most part, it is more annoying to the parent than it is dangerous to the senior. However, there are occasions when these near-adults will cross the line and venture into troublesome territory.
Krumbholz says society in general, and television in particular, play a large role in the kinds of activities seniors today want to try. Already anxious to be adults, they are more likely than ever to seek out adult undertakings like drinking alcohol, using tobacco and enjoying a school-free day.
“And that's when they can get into trouble. “
He encourages parents to be as involved as possible. “I know there is a tempation to treat them like adults, but in reality, they are still minors and they still need supervision.” Krumbholz is the parent of a senior himself and has, despite the young man's pleas, insisted on knowing his whereabouts at all times. “I believe it's important to play a very active role in the kid's life during that last year of high school.”
Often, says Krumbholz, parents just concede the battle at this stage in their child's life, figuring it is the best way to avoid invading a kid's privacy. “In fact, they just aren't ready for that kind of freedom. Too much freedom is the freedom to make a poor choice.”
Once a poor choice -- such as skipping school or experimenting with alcohol -- has been made by the student, the best thing a parent can do is allow the child to pay the penalty. In his 23 years as an educator, Krumbholz has witnessed many parents do exactly the opposite, usually with disastrous results. “Although they are minors, they are just months away from entering the adult world. And it's imperative that they learn about the consequences involved with that world. If you bail them out, they'll come to the conclusion that their mistakes are someone else's responsibility.”
Bailing the senior out of trouble is more of a disservice than anything else, says Krumbholz. “It will only cause them to repeat these kinds of actions, because no one is holding them accountable.”
Krumbholz says parents have to walk a fine line between allowing the senior to spread his wings, but making sure that boundaries are set. “So you're saying, `while we may allow you to go to a certain party, there will still be a curfew. Or we may allow you to attend certain events like concerts where older people will be present, we will not allow you to engage in all the same activities those adults enjoy.'
“You just have to remember that they are still minors, still children. And they do still need your help.”
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