ARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2014 28 Education Significant gaps in proficiency alarm experts US children read, but not well or often: report NEW YORK, May 12, (RTRS): Although American children still spend part of their days reading, they are spending less time doing it for pleasure than decades ago, with significant gaps in proficiency, according to a report released on Monday. The San Francisco-based nonprofit Common Sense Media, which focuses on the effects of media and technology on children, published the report, which brings together information from several national studies and databases. “It raises an alarm,” said Vicky Rideout, the lead author of the report. “We’re witnessing a really large drop in reading among teenagers and the pace of that drop is getting faster and faster.” The report found that the percentage of nine-year-old children reading for pleasure once or more per week had dropped from 81 percent in 1984 to 76 percent in 2013, based on government studies. There were even larger decreases among older children. A large portion rarely read for pleasure. About a third of 13-yearolds and almost half of 17-year-olds reported in one study that they read for pleasure less than twice a year. Of those who read or are read to, children tend to spend on average between 30 minutes and an hour daily with that activity, the report found. Older children and teenagers tend to read for pleasure for an equally long time each day. Rideout cautioned that there may be difference in how people encounter text and the included studies may not take into account stories read online or on social media. The report also found that many young children are struggling with literacy. Only about one-third of fourth grade students are “proficient” in reading and another one-third scored below “basic” reading skills. Despite the large percentage of children with below-basic reading skills, reading scores among young children have improved since the 1970s, according to one test that measures reading ability. The reading scores among 17-yearolds, however, remained relatively unchanged since the 1970s. About 46 percent of white children are considered “proficient” in reading, compared with 18 percent of black children and 20 percent of Hispanic kids. Those gaps remained relatively unchanged over the past 20 years, according to the report. “To go 20 years with no progress in that area is shameful,” Rideout said. The report highlights some behaviors that have been tied to children being more frequent readers. Those behaviors include parents setting aside time to read with their children and parents reading themselves to model good behavior. A trip to Paris IES students experience art, literature of France KUWAIT CITY, May 12: A crew of 21 students of IES, Kuwait visited Paris, the city of lights in connection with the educational trip to experience the cultural heritage, architectural symphony and the sophistication in art and literature of France. The group along with 2 members of staff set off to Paris on 22nd March from Kuwait International Airport. The imaginative recreation and the boundless excitement about the sight of a variety of museums, theatres, monuments and architectural styles kept the party alive throughout their journey on board. The party reached Paris on 23rd March and the overwhelming beauty, the serene atmosphere and mesmerizing panorama welcomed the team to the land of art. The educational tour began with a cruise in river Seine. The 60 minutes cruise with audio guides provided an insight into the glorious heritage of France. The Sacré Cœur Basilica, designed by Paul Abadie on Montmartre hills was the next cherished destination. The children were awestruck at the poignant structures and stained glass works which carved indelible imprint in the hearts of all. Centre Georges Pompidou, a place of verve and vitality was visited by the team. The lovers of fine arts among the Bhavanites were stupefied by beauty and elegance of the paintings of Pablo Picasso,Chagall, Matisse, Kandinsky and other innumerable artist who lived among the arts for art’s sake. A visit to Notre dame Cathedral was really a feast to eyes, the coordination and combination of French gothic style of architecture satiated the inquisitiveness of everyone. Many of French masterpieces such as the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe are iconic buildings, especially its interna- A photo from the trip click Latest Continued from Page 26 Six students teams that made it to the final. 6 teams make it to grand finale KQ Matters quiz draws huge response By Paul Francis X. Fernandes Arab Times Staff KUWAIT CITY, May 12: The KQ Matters (Knowledge Quotient Matters) General Knowledge Quiz, perhaps the most prestigious and the most remarkable general knowledge quiz contest was conducted by an educational institution for the knowledge-hungry students of Indian, Bilingual and International schools in the country. The scientifically chosen rounds of quizzing by prominent and experienced quiz masters and attractive prizes set KQ apart from other quiz contests conducted for school children in the country. The preliminary-cum-elimination round of KQ Matters 2014 was held at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kuwait on Saturday, May 10, 2014. The preliminary round was open to any number of pairs from all the participating schools. There were 65 teams comprising 130 students from 15 schools within the country. The contestants appeared for a written examination in the school premises soon after registration. The questions were chosen by a panel of subject experts after carefully sifting through more than 300 questions prepared by the KQ Matters Resource Team in utmost confidentiality. The results of the elimination round were declared by Principal T. Premkumar amidst applauses in the school auditorium that was packed to the rafters with parents, teachers and contestants from the participating schools. The six teams that made it to the grand finale of KQ Matters-2014 are as follows: Allen Thomas and Sanjay Samuel Mathew from the Gulf Indian School, Sonal Bera and Darin Sunil of United Indian School, Akshay Girish and Mohammed Mishal of ICSK Khaitan, Rithika Raghupathy and Karthikeyan Suresh of ICSK Senior, Shaein Malamel and Vivek Prasad of ICSK Amman Branch, and Aaron Samuel Jacob and Murtaza Hatim Rangwala of Carmel School, Kuwait. The principal congratulated the winners for their outstanding abilities. The KQ Matters 2014 Grand Finale will be held after the summer vacation at the Indian Educational School Auditorium. members will be coming to Kuwait under the auspices of the CEO of Kuwait Energy, Ms Sara Akbar (also a member of C200). A group of around 25 of AUK’s top female students from the College of Business and Economic will be participating in the workshop with the C200 members, which will focus on topics related to women’s leadership in business. This is an excellent opportunity for AUK students to network and engage in discussions with high profile female business leaders from around the world. The women will be sharing their success stories, and will give students valuable advice and information on how to develop themselves, their businesses, and their careers, and how to be successful as a new generation of female business leaders. The opening session will take place from 9-10 am, after which the students will break into smaller groups with the committee members for smaller discussions. Press are welcome to attend the opening session. The workshop will take place in the AUK library (American Corner). May 16 FBC tournament: Filipino Badminto Committee (FBC) is inviting all badminton enthusiast in Kuwait to join their regular badminton tournament being held every Friday from 8 am to 7 pm at Kuwait Disabled Sports Club, Bin Khaldoun School participates in Int’l Youth Conference Bhavanites in pursuit of new horizons KUWAIT CITY, May 12: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan set another example of being at the helm of trendsetting when their team represented the school at the second International Youth Conference on ‘Changing weather patterns’ organized by ‘The Achievers Program’ Chandigarh at the prestigious The Doon School, Dehradun on 21 & 22 April, 2014 to celebrate the spirit of Earth day. The presentation on ‘Climate Change - The past and the present’ by the Bhavan’s team comprising Vanshika Gandotra and B.V.Srividya was much approbated by everyone present at the conference. The thesis as well as the presentation presented at the conference was the out- come of the extensive research carried out by the students under the guidance of Mrs Meenakshi Nayyar, the head of the department of Social Science. The expert panel including the Headmaster of Doon Scool, Peter Mclaughlin and the CEO of The Achievers Program Taranveer Singh appreciated the Bhavanites for their verve, style and confidence. The presence of 35 leading schools like The Doon School, Mayo College Ajmer, Scindia School Gwalior, Maharani Gayatri Devi School, Jaipur, Welhem’s Academy Dehradun and Camp Bay School, South Africa raised the level of presentations to great heights. The interactive sessions that followed each presentation were novel and informative. Students shared their ideas and pledged their commitment to reduce carbon footprints affecting the earth’s environment. Dr Y.V.N. Krishnamurthy, Director of Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun was the chief guest who enriched the audience with India’s initiatives in launching different types of satellites. Another highlight of the conference was the presence of eminent guest speakers. Highly inspiring thoughts were shared by Anand Sharma, chief of Indian Meteorological Dpt. in Dehradun and Ms. Jodie Underhill, CEO of Waste Warriors, an NGO with the sole aim of cleansing India and making people aware of proper way of garbage disposal. tionally recognized symbol, the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel tower, the iconic symbol of French tradition attracted visitors with its grandeur in its posture, and the Bhavanites were elated at the sight of this master craft of monarchy. The panoramic view of the Paris city from the upper platform of the Eiffel tower pulsated the hearts of all with perfect bliss. The visit to royal chateau in Versailles stamped a royal mark of eternal pillars of arts and sculptures in the minds of the exhilarated sightseers of Bhavan family. The invaluable treasures in the chateau were incredible and inimitable. Then, at Musee du Louvre Students explored the most superior and the most refined collection of drawings, paintings, sculptures and engravings in the museum. Musee du Louvre opened the door to an enchanted land of famous paintings and sculptures in front of the young seekers of knowledge. Mona Lisa, the most famous painting of Leonardo Davinci was the icing on the cake. A journey through the world of paintings and traditional arts gave way to leisure and merriment when the party reached Disneyland in Paris. A whole day was spent in jollity and adventure as the children explored discovery, Fantasy, Frontier and Adventure Lands in the park. Bhavans once again proved that its multi-dimensional approach towards education sets it apart from the propagators of bookish-rote learning as Bhavans has always stood in the forefront of child-centered education. The very many educational tours, spur-of the moment assessments and its widely acclaimed Digital Campus are the testimony to its commitment to molding global citizens for tomorrow and not mere impartation of blind bookish facts. Hawalli. Over 10 badminton courts are now available for badminton practices and tournament and it is open for all nationalities and from different badminton organizations. Exclusive-private court are also available on per hour rental. For more information, please contact Dr Chie Umandap – 97197268 May 25 Ukraine Embassy polling station: The Embassy of Ukraine in the state of Kuwait would like to inform that the external polling station No 900046 of the Presidential elections was created in the embassy’s premises at the following address: Hawalli, Jabriya, Bl 10, St 6, Build 5. The working hours of the polling station: Sunday-Thursday from 15:00-17 pm. On May 25, 2014 the working hours of the polling station from 8:00am to 08:00 pm. Citizens of Ukraine are kindly advised to refer to the Embassy’s website to check their data in the Electoral Register as well as to pick up their personal invitation from the polling station if they did not receive this document by post. May 24 IEI seminar and election: The Institution of Engineers (India), IEI Kuwait Chapter is pleased to announce that the Election for the year 2014-2015 shall be held on Saturday, May 24 at Salmia Indian Model School Hall, Salmia, Kuwait. To encourage more participation we have organized a technical seminar on the topic of “Energy Systems in Geobiology” and shall be delivered by Engr. P. Sundararajan, former chairman of IEI Kuwait Chapter. Thereafter the elections for the New Executive Committee shall be held. All those corporate members who are interested to contest for the Executive Committee which will be consisting of chairman, general secretary, treasurer and 9 EC members can obtain the nomination form from IEI, Kuwait chapter office located at KSE premises. The seminar shall start at 7.00pm followed by the election. For further information please contact IEI, Kuwait chapter office between 5.30 pm. To 8.30 pm Sunday through Thursday by tel. 22445588 ext 314 OR by email [email protected] for any further details kindly contact Engr. Karunagaran (99879569), Engr. Fareed (69001722) May 30 Multilingual Kavi-Sammelan: Writers’ Forum Kuwait is proud to present its 4th Multi-Lingual KaviSammelan/Mushaira/Poetry Reading. Poets shall present their poetries in varied Indian languages such as Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Photo from the event Continued on Page 29