4 Days Attracts & Keeps Teachers!

Students are back in school at West Ridge Elementary, in the 27J School District, on August 12, 2021, in Thornton, Colorado.

Tre Sisco wanted a teaching job with a good work-life balance after graduating from Missouri Southern State University in 2023.

During his job hunt, he learned Missouri’s Independence School District was moving to a nontraditional, four-day school week — a change that would give staff and students Mondays off.

The district is part of a growing trend in rural communities, where schools are switching to four-day school weeks to attract and retain high-quality teachers amid funding challenges and a nationwide teacher shortage. (CNN)

A shortage of teachers is the primary motive driving this trend.

I hope the kids don’t lose out!

Bryson Daily Has A Bad Day!

After a great season, Army quarterback Bryson Daily was in the Heisman conversation.

He just had one more game to go, the annual Army-Navy game.

Army went into the game as the favorite because of his well-earned credentials.

Unfortunately, it was the worst game of his career.

He threw three interceptions while losing to Navy 31-13.

It was one of the largest margins in the history of the rivalry.

He came in sixth in the Heisman voting.

There are buildings at West Pointe with permanently etched these words, BEAT NAVY.

I hope Bryson can try to put the game in perspective.

Easy for me to say, but it’s still a game.

I wish him well.

Can You Rise Above Your Misfortunes?

98,600+ Man Sad Face Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free ...

Things happen.

It could be your fault or caused by someone else.

Assigning fault is a waste of time.

Will you leave it behind and point your personal resources in another direction?

Past mistakes just weigh us down.

Even dwelling on the past wastes valuable energy.

If there is some valuable lesson that can be obtained from a previous experience, that’s fine.

Otherwise it is like carrying a huge weight on your back day in and day out.

Let the weight go and move on. You will experience a feeling of freedom and a new beginning.

We each only have so many days left in our lives.

Invest them wisely!

If not today, when?

Walked 120 Miles For Love!

Boris and Svetlaya are two Siberian tigers.

They are orphans who were raised together.

They were reintroduced to the wild separately when they were 18 months old.

Boris surprised scientists by walking 120 miles to find Svetlaya where she had made a home.

We’ll never know how he found her.

Six months later, Svetlaya gave birth to a litter of cubs! (NYT)

What a LOVE STORY!

Monarch Butterfly Is Now An Endangered Species!

A monarch butterfly drinks nectar from a flower in the Pollinator Habitat bed near the Chicago Park District storehouse in August.

Every winter, millions of monarch butterflies journey thousands of miles across North America to spend winters in the forests and mountains of central Mexico.

But over the years, the beloved butterfly has seen such a troubling decline in its population that US wildlife officials on Tuesday announced a proposal to protect with the Endangered Category.

Growing threats such as habitat loss from illegal logging, exposure to insecticides, and the climate crisis have dramatically shifted the monarch’s breeding and migratory patterns.

The law states that a species is labeled “threatened” when it is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. (CNN)

Be Careful of Charities: Beware!

It’s the holiday season and many of us give to charities.

You probably receive three to four solicitations every day in your mail.

But, we must be careful when selecting who we give our money to!

Even if a charity is called a non-profit, the chief executives may be highly compensated.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, CEO $8,104,960 Year-2022

American Heart Association, CEO $4,145,055 Year-2023

City of Hope & Affiliates, CEO $3,684,871 Year-2022

These statistics and more are available from a watchdog service called CHARITY WATCH.

A good practice is to give to local institutions whose work you can observe in your community.

blog.charitywatch.org

Joe Burrow’s House Broken Into During MNF!

Joe Burrow’s house was the target of a break-in while the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback was in Texas facing the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, according to CNN affiliate WLWT.

CNN has reached out to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio, Burrow’s representative and the Bengals for comment.

The NFL told CNN that the league has been in touch with the Bengals but declined to comment further.

According to WLWT, the sheriff’s office confirmed the break-in, which the TV station says is in Anderson Township, but did not provide other information.

Last month, the NFL – as well as the NBA and NHL – warned teams that organized and skilled groups are targeting the homes of athletes for break-ins, including while the players are away at games.

Joe Burrow’s house was the target of a break-in while the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback was in Texas facing the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, according to CNN affiliate WLWT.

CNN has reached out to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio, Burrow’s representative and the Bengals for comment.

The NFL told CNN that the league has been in touch with the Bengals but declined to comment further.

According to WLWT, the sheriff’s office confirmed the break-in, which the TV station says is in Anderson Township, but did not provide other information.

Last month, the NFL – as well as the NBA and NHL – warned teams that organized and skilled groups are targeting the homes of athletes for break-ins, including while the players are away at games. (CNN)

It’s become obvious high earning athletes must have guards protecting their homes while at “away games.”

Mistakes Keep You Humble!

Minor car accident Stock Photos, Royalty Free Minor car ...

Today’s photo is a sample of what I did to my car when pulling into my garage.

I’ve driven into the garage hundreds of times w/o a problem.

But, for some unknown reason, I went a little wide and hit the edge of the opening.

Sometimes we make mistakes.

Mistakes we didn’t think we were capable of.

It’s frustrating, but we must acknowledge it and move on.

And speaking of mistakes, our loved ones make mistakes too.

Of course, they are embarrassed and don’t need us making it worse.

DELOAD WEEK A Must!

Group of people exercising together outdoors

If you were to think about the key to getting fit, you’d probably imagine you need to spend plenty of time in the gym.

But many fitness influencers assert that taking time away from the gym every six to eight weeks — known as a “deload week” — is actually the key to improving fitness gains.

Deload weeks mostly involve toning down the intensity of your workouts.

These are typically done during periods of heavy training.

The express aim of a deload week is to give the body time to recover from the fatigue and damage that can be caused by periods of intense training.

Intense training or high volumes of training cause us to accumulate damage in our muscle tissues.

While this damage is an essential part of the process in improving fitness gains, these improvements can only happen if the body has time to recover. (CNN)

Detroit Lion Gives Back!

David Montgomery is the starting running back for the Detroit Lions.

He is also a former Eagle Scout and current Scouting Ambassador.

When he scores a touchdown, he holds up three fingers in the classic Boy Scout pose.

Boy Scout Ambassadors conduct entertainment at nursing homes in addition to many other activities.

Despite his financial success, he continues to give back to the Boy Scouts! (Detroit Free Press)