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Manchester's assistant superintendent to leaveBy BILL SMITH
New Hampshire Union Leader
May 12. 2013 9:54PM
MANCHESTER — As the Board of School Committee continues its search for a new superintendent for the Manchester schools, another top ranking administrator has announced that he's leaving the district.
Assistant Superintendent Michael Tursi, who oversees curriculum and instruction in the district, announced in an email Friday that he will leave the Manchester district by July 1 to become a superintendent elsewhere.
The departure of Tursi is not unexpected. He was been publicly identified as a candidate for the since-filled superintendent position in School Administrative Unit 44 in Northwoods a few months ago.
Tursi's departure comes as Superintendent Thomas Brennan prepares to leave at the end of June.
The school board is currently conducting its second superintendent search since Brennan announced his decision to step down.
The first search yielded three finalists for the post, but after interviews the board decided to begin the search again. The second search has the goal of selecting Brennan's successor by June 8.
Committee vice-chairman Dave Gelinas says the fact that two of the the top three administrators in the district are leaving as of July 1 changes the dynamic of the search.
"I would find it very, very difficult for a new person not familiar with Manchester and our district to be able to come in and take over and do what they have to do with the number two man gone and being new to the district," Gelinas said. "With our assistant superintendent leaving, it places us in a position where we have to ask ourselves quite a few more questions about what direction we have to take."
But Gelinas said it is too early to think about appointing an interim superintendent from within the district, at least until the board knows what candidates will be recommended in the search.
The first search is believed to have included at least one school district employee.
Tursi, Assistant Superintendent Karen Burkush and district Finance Director Karen Francis were caught up in a school board controversy over whether to offer them new contracts late last year.
Burkush is in charge of student services in the district.
When he took the job in Manchester, Tursi had been principal of Barrington Middle School for several years, and previously served as assistant principal and a science teacher in Plymouth.
Some committee members preferred to let a new superintendent make a decision on assistants. But the existing agreements provided that contracts were automatically renewed if no new contract was offered by Jan. 1 and the board did not send the three notices that they were not renewed.
The board ultimately renewed the three contracts for the 2013-14 school year.


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Before The Spring, After The Fall
All series episodes
About This Episode
In 2008, a film crew began documenting a group of young heavy-metal musicians in Egypt. Oppressed by massive social forces beyond their control, the kids - sons of a jailed political dissident and the leader of the only female metal band in the Middle East - saw music as their outlet, their hopes trapped in the traffic-clogged streets of Cairo like a bull in a pen. Then one day, everything burst wide open.
Filmed before, during, and after the beginning of the Egyptian revolution, Before the Spring and After the Fall tells the stories of a few remarkable young people as they seek the freedom to define themselves and shape their world. Influenced by their participation in major historic events, the young Egyptian musicians experience the political upheaval as personally transformative. With their music as a soundtrack, they share their stories, from their early struggles in Mubarak's police state, through the fever dream of a revolution, and beyond, into a strange new world where uncertainty is the only constant.

subset: commoncrawl


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Handmade Gifts of Decadent Chocolates
Captivated by the Mendocino mood, artists and artisans from everywhere have come here to live and work. Is candymaking an art? We think so, and take special care in creating artful handmade confections as beautiful to behold as they are delicious to eat.
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text:
Originally from Mississippi, Ben Domenech began his career as a political journalist covering Capitol Hill. In 2002, he was sworn in as the youngest political appointee in the Bush Administration, where he served for a year before spending two as the chief speechwriter for a U.S. Senator. Ben has worked as a book editor, ghostwriter and consultant (though not necessarily in that order). He is a co-founder of Redstate and the editor in chief of The Critical. He lives in Virginia.
At a time when electronic communication leaves us increasingly cynical and skeptical, blogs can free us to communicate in a surprisingly personal way.
Nazi-era theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer inspires us to love, to the point of discomfort and even death.
Helping young adults mature in Christ and prepare for marriage and family. Learn more
© Focus on the Family 1998-2018


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How Many Would Bonds Have Hit [at Home]?
I was pleased to see that my "How Many Would Bonds Have Hit?" article got a lot of feedback, mostly positive, some negative. At the end of my analysis, I asked readers to let me know if I fudged my math at all, and I was told by two readers that I had made two errors: I used Bonds' home park factor for all of his career HR, instead of just his home HR; and I "turned" all of Bonds' intentional walks into hypothetical at-bats, instead of using a league-average, or the top-five average I implemented.
The intentional walks issue is minuscule, as the league-average would probably be less than 2, so I'm not going to bother with that. But I definitely need to edit my math (and the title!), using the park factor only to account for homeruns Bonds hit at home.
The adjustment I made doesn't need a lot of explanation. I simply just created another column for Bonds' homeruns hit at home, and divided that by the park factor. When that math is done, we find that Bonds has an adjusted 569 homeruns hit at home. Then, we add that to his road homeruns (382, including tonight's homerun in Florida against the Marlins), and we come up with 951 homeruns.
In the interest of accuracy, I should also adjust for his road homeruns, but that's just a lot of work. I'd have to find the park factor of every ballpark Bonds played in for each of his 22 seasons.
You can download the updated spreadsheet here.


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Picture This! Lost and Found on a Mountain!
Lesson 7 of 19
Objective: SWBAT use information gained words in text to demonstrate understanding of the plot.
- Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
- Lost & Found' character template
- Plot Mountain worksheet
- Lesson vocabulary words from the Reading/Writing word wall: plot, solution, literature, climax, setting, characters, problem, events, imaging
- Set up the whiteboard
- 'Imaging** & Visualizing' poster (I'll be adding to this chart throughout my imaging/visualizing unit)
I chose this book because it has a very clear introduction, problem, climax, and solution. It is a simple nice story with some prediction and the kids enjoyed the characters and simplicity.
** "Imaging" is the term that my district uses for "visualizing". In order to stay true to the district expectations, I'll continue to use this verbage. Visualizing is a critical skill for 2nd graders because they need to 'go deeper' in the text. By visualizing as they read, they are creating and tweaking images in their minds as they actively read. This kind of 'close reading', forming images using text, verifying and changing those images, and ultimately comparing their images to the author, creates critical readers and deepens comprehension.
Resources (5)
Let's Get Excited!
Underlined words below are lesson vocabulary words that are emphasized and written on sentence strips for my Reading & Writing word wall. I pull off the words off the wall for each lesson, helping students understand this key 'reading and writing' vocabulary can be generalized across texts and topics. The focus on acquiring and using these words is part of a shift in the Common Core Standards towards building students' academic vocabulary. My words are color coded 'pink' for literature/'blue' for reading strategies/'orange' for informational text/'yellow' for writing/'green' for all other words)
Common starting point
- "We've been talking about imaging. This story has a great plot that shows what happens to 2 cute characters and some fun events."
- "The story today is about two characters who go to a cold place (the setting) that has big 'mountains' and we'll use a 'mountain' to describe the plot." Draw the mountain on the board.
I am working on imaging/visualizing throughout this unit by helping students realize that this powerful reading strategy can really deepen comprehension. Take a look at some of my other lessons, utilizing the 'Imaging/Visualizing' poster mentioned in the materials section: Imagine That-Make a Picture in Your Mind, Pictures in the Snow-Imaging, Oh No! Duck for President-Imagine That!, Extend Your World, and Imagine What An Inchworm Would Say.
Resources (1)
Resources (1)
Teacher's Turn
Set the purpose
- "With this book, we'll use imaging to make story scenes and put them into the plot."
- "This will help us retell the story using the images and the parts of the plot. Imaging helps us to order the pictures in our mind to see what happens in the story - the plot"
- "I'll write on the 'Imaging/Visualizing Strategy' chart:" help us describe the problem in the plot.
- "Plot is what happens in the story. I think of a plot as a 'mountain' because it has a low point (setting & characters), a steep part going up (problem and events), and a high peak called the climax. At the end, it slides back down (solution).Here's a graphic organizer of a plot."
- Here's how my discussion of the plot mountain looked.
- "I brought some characters and event squares. I'll read and then we'll create an image with the pieces."
- Read through the page that says, "Once there was a boy". I'll put my penguin and boy here and create an image." Add some details. "Take a look, is that similar to the book? Since this has the characters and setting, I'll put that at the bottom of my 'mountain'.
- This is my explanation of the imaging.
Guided practice
- Read through the page that says, 'The penguin was sad'. "Can you help me create an image with the characters and square. Is that the problem of the book? Let's put that at the beginning of the 'plot mountain."
- When we were done, this is how the whiteboard looked.
Resources (3)
Students Take a Turn
- "Now let's finish the rest of our mountain."
- "I'll read and pause at pages for you to use imaging." Read and show pictures, but stop and hid the pictures for the pages below. Let the kids create the images and show when they're done.
Read the text *
- Read through the page and kids draw the event.
- Read through the page that says another event kids draw the images. Some of my kids had ideas about the characters' feelings.
- Read through the page with the climax. In this video, I am discussing the idea of climax to help the kids draw the images.
- Read through the solution at the end of the book and kids draw the images.
- Stop after the pages and review what is happening. Have the kids draw an image and glue it on the 'plot mountain."
Formative Assessment
- As kids work, walk around and ask them about their images.
- When they are completing the project, see who can retell the story using the images.**
- Here is an example of one of my student's artifacts.
*When you preview the book and think about your class's ability, I will leave it up to you which pages to stop on and how often to have the kids use imaging. I previewed the book, putting a marker in the pages that seemed like good places to stop and draw the events, the climax and the solution. Since I was prepared, I was able to give the students ideas of what to draw.
**I felt it was important to integrate the important plot-related academic vocabulary in this lesson, as was evident in the video of the student retelling the story. This is a key shift with Common Core State Standards towards acquiring and using academic vocabulary and generalizing those words across the curriculum. It's important for students to know words like 'climax' and 'plot' so they can describe other stories, deepening their comprehension of other examples of literature.
Resources (4)
Share What You've Learned
Review the ideas
- Have the kids 'turn and share' with a partner. Their goal is to see what images are the same and what are different. You can share too. This is what my images looked like when I put them on the whiteboard.
- Discuss as a group – "How did the plot develop? What was the climax or high point of the story? How did the events lead up to this?"
- "How were the author's images different than yours?" Here's a great explanation from one of my students about the author's images.
- "Did the group like the solution?"
My class has focused quite a bit on character development this year and I wanted them to look at this story from that angle and bridge that to plot development. My goal was to encourage the his evaluation/integration of the author's approach to character and plot development alongside students' own analysis of the events (RL.2.3).This discussion is the first my class will take part in about plot development. Understanding that we use information gained from the illustrations and word in a text to demonstrate an understanding of plot is critical for students to recognize.(RL.2.7) Students are doing 'close reading' as they analyze how the author develops the plot, by looking at the text and pictures, and how he/she uses events that rise to a climax and a solution to wrap up the story.
Scaffolding and Special Education: This lesson could be easily scaffolded up or down, depending on student ability.
For students with language challenges, this lesson should be accessible because the reading is done by the teacher or on the Elmo for the class. The reading level is well within the 2nd graders' reading level, but I find that they can focus on the reading strategy more fluently when the story is read to them. Here is one of my students with language challenges explaining the story.
For students with higher abilities, it would be worth challenging them to justify their thoughts with higher level language. "Can you tell me 'why' you drew that? What was your reasoning?"


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Craftsbury Academy Opens WWII Memorial Gymnasium
CRAFTSBURY–The moment I walked into the brand new World War II Memorial Gymnasium at Craftsbury Academy, the electricity was palpable.Principal Merri Greenia was greeting fans at the door, dispensing tickets and programs with an extra twinkle in her eye.And who could blame her.After months of hard work, and weeks of anticipation, this was the big night, the night the entire community had waited for; The first home games of the 2012-2013 Craftsbury Academy basketball season.And what a night it was.The lofted stands, as well as the stage, were packed with not only members of the community, but a fair amount of Richford fans who were their to cheer on their teams, as well as revel in the glory of the evening.After the girls took the floor for warm-ups, got ready, and met with the officials, Greenia took the house mic and officially welcomed everybody to the new building.The ovation was exceptional.In between the two games, Greenia spoke about what an important achievement the facility was for both the school and the community."It has made such an enhancement in the life of the Craftsbury school. To see the kids in here in gym class and recess, then practices and games, is just wonderful, and I think 'how many towns the size of Craftsbury could have taken this on."The town, as we know, came together to build the floor, and there's been some just wonderful community spirit, from the beginning of getting the bond vote through, right up until the end."New Athletic Director Rob Cioffi was not familiar with the old building, but definitely appreciates the new facility he is fortunate to work out of."This is my first year here, and I have only seen pictures of the old gym, but this building is setting the stage for a new era of Crafstbury athletics."We have a lot more space, so more spectators can fit in here We can drop a curtain and have two practices going on, and I think it is going to be beneficial for all athletic teams coming in here and getting some workouts in, and that is what it is meant to be used for."Said head coach Rich Thomas on the new Charger Dome, "This is a large financial and emotional commitment for this town, and I think everybody who was here tonight understands how exciting a facility this is, and it was packed."So with the crowd in a fever pitch, the two girl's teams lined up at center for the first tip-off in of a new era in Craftsbury basketball.And it went to the Chargers.But the first basket of the night would go to the Rockets, as Melissa Hango laid one in 48 seconds into the game.The Chargers then kept the Rockets at bay for over five minutes, but the problem was, they couldn't score either.They took a few trips to the line, but nothing would fall.Finally, with 2:12 left in the quarter, Meghan Pennock put one up that dropped in, and the crowd erupted once more at the sight of the first Craftsbury basket scored in their new home.After that monkey was off the girl's shoulders, they regained their composure and finished up the first ahead of Richford 7-3.If the first quarter was a slow moving, low scoring affair, the second was just the opposite.Janet Bohannon got her shot rolling, both from the field and the line scoring ten points, including a 4/4 performance from the charity stripe.Pennock contributed four points, while Sarah Dunbar had two.For the Rockets, Elle Purrier was finally able to shake loose from Craftsbury's Thaila Thomas' smothering coverage, dropping in seven.Morgan McAllister had four, and Hannah Gleason had one, and at the break, the Lady Chargers were in good shape, leading their division three rivals 23-15.But this is where things started to go south for the home town team.After scoring sixteen in the previous quarter, the girls could only muster seven in the third, while Richford started to find their stroke, led by Purrier's and Erika Snider's four points apiece.Nobody had more than two for Craftsbury, but there was still some hope as they clung to a 30-26 lead.While Richford was heating up en-route to their biggest quarter of the game, things got down right chilly for the blue and white.The Rockets closed the gap to two on Johanna Sherver's bucket, but Bohannon made both shots on a 1-1 to restore the lead to four.McAllister then went 1-2 from the line, and Sherver nailed a three and we were knotted at 32.From there, Richford's big girls took over, as Sarah Doe and Gabby Coons combined for eleven points to seal the big comeback 42-36 win for the 1-0 Rockets.Said coach Thomas on what happened to his now 1-1 girls after the second quarter, "Down the stretch we got away from our offensive elements and had some defensive breakdowns. We have some young kids in positions trying to match up to (Richford's) size"Our shooters were a little off, but this early in the season, what I am looking for is effort and being in the right spot at the right time."Overall, that is a team that probably should have blown us out of the gym, and this team stayed together and to their principals as much as they could."Purrier led Richford with 11 points, while Bohannon had a game-high 19 for Crafstbury.The girls will now move on and face UCA today at 5:30 for the second time in three games.Before the boy's game got underway, senior Frank Spiese unveiled the 2011-2012 League Championship banner to yet another thunderous round of applause."To me that was a metaphor of closing last year down, but connecting ourselves to the past," said Thomas.The boys looked much better then they did on Saturday when they faced UCA.There was a spring in their step, a bounce to their game, and... once again Richford scored the first points of the contest.But this time things would be different.Not willing to take any more of this "Richford winning in our barn nonsense," Frank took control, and quickly tied the game up.That sparked a mini-run of six points with buckets from Alex Vetere and Kyle Adams.The Falcons hit for three to halt the run.Logan Masse then put up four, followed by two more from Spiese and Adams and another Masse basket off of a Adams rebound, and after one the Academy had doubled up Richford 14-7.The second quarter was a wild affair, as each team put up 19 points to move the score to 33-26.Craftsbury was led by Adams' eight point offering, while Richford's Bret McAllister, who had six, led the visitors.The Rockets had the edge in scoring in the third, as Joe Lamoureux scored five of the team's eleven points.The Chargers could muster only eight points, paced by a pair of Vetere three's.The problem for Craftsbury was that the boys kept trying to force the same play over and over again, much to Thomas' chagrin."We moved away from our offensive philosophy and started playing 1-on-1, sort of a street ball style, and it just wasn't very productive."With the lead down to just four points (41-37), the fourth quarter was set to be a nail biter.And it was.With 6:47 left to play, Jamie St. Pierre's basket and one tied the game at 41-41.Back and forth the two teams went and with under a minute to play, it 45 all.:43:8 was all that remained for time in regulation when Vetere made an impossible lay-up and the following foul shot to give Craftsbury the three point cushion."It wasn't really the shot, it was more about how are team played," Vetere said. "We came together in the final minute and stayed strong until the end.""Coaches always say they 'love easy,' they love the easy shot. Alex, he kind of thrives on easy, but he can also make those shots," said Thomas. "He creates, and he created that for himself. That was will-power right there and the game ball goes to him tonight."Then as expected, the Chargers went into super-clean defense mode, while Richford fouled anything they could.Vetere added two more free throws, Richford one, and after the horn sounded, the night's final ovation showered the players as the evening came to a close.Said Vetere on the importance of getting the win in the building's opener, "It's great and it is a huge boost, and it brought our community together again."Although her team lost, Pennock too reflected on the building's significance."I love this gym, and it makes playing basketball twenty times better. I think it makes us a lot better because we get to work in a much bigger space."Vetere led all scorers with 17 points, while Brady Hemond had 11 for 0-1 Richford.Now 1-1 the boys will face UCA later tonight after the girl's game.Tip-off is slated for 7:00.As the building began to empty, the feeling that something special had happened on a rainy night in December couldn't be overlooked, a feeling that everybody who was at the gym to witness the new era of Charger athletics will not soon forget.


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Polo Classic-Fit Hudson Jean
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They Open & Close - Flowers & Syllables
Lesson 4 of 6
Objective: SWBAT decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with open and closed syllables.
- From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons (or other informational text)
- Lesson vocabulary words from the Reading/Writing word wall: informational text, syllables
- Set up the whiteboard
- 'They Open and Close' worksheet
I chose this book because the topic is part of our science unit. It's so helpful to read an informational text related to the science or social studies unit you are studying. The review of vocabulary and concepts in this lesson reinforces the our science study and helps students generalize concepts across the curriculum.
You could do this lesson with any informational text and tie in the idea of open and closed syllables. Just preview the text and find words that fit the pattern.
In second grade, students begin to read to learn. They need to be able to read academic vocabulary to learn new concepts. The ability to decode new words, including those with long and short vowels, (RF.2.3c) by using spelling rules, allows students to become more independent readers.
Resources (3)
Let's Get Excited!
Underlined words below are lesson vocabulary words that are emphasized and written on sentence strips for my Reading & Writing word wall. I pull off the words off the wall for each lesson, helping students understand this key 'reading and writing' vocabulary can be generalized across texts and topics. The focus on acquiring and using these words is part of a shift in the Common Core Standards towards building students' academic vocabulary. My words are color coded 'pink' for literature/'blue' for reading strategies/'orange' for informational text/'yellow' for writing/'green' for all other words)
Common starting point
- "I've brought a great informational text today to help us understand our science unit better. It has lots of new vocabulary words that we have been learning in science. Sometimes it's hard to remember how to pronounce and read these new words."
- "One way to help us read new words is determine if the syllables are 'open' or 'closed'. English has 'rules' that helps us determine how to say the words by looking at open and closed syllables. Since we're reading about flowers and talking about syllables, I found a video to show this flower is 'closed' and then 'opens'."
Resources (1)
Resources (1)
Teacher's Turn
Give the purpose of the lesson
- "When we are trying to read new words, it's helpful to sound them out by looking at the syllables.
- 'Closed syllables' are those that have consonants after the vowel, which makes it 'short' - the syllable is 'closed on the end by a consonant'. Here's an example of that - sunshine. (the /u/ is a short vowel because it's 'closed' after the /n/.
- 'Open syllables' are those that have no consonant after the vowel, which makes it 'long'. The vowel is left 'open'. Here's an example of that - going. The /o/ is a long vowel because it's left open.
- "We'll read the book today and look for new 2 syllable words to see if they are 'open' or 'closed'. We can categorize these words by their syllables to read."
- "Pay attention to the text features as we read - there are lots of great captions, pictures, and diagrams in this book!"
- Note: Be very careful not to say the words for the kids - the goal is for them to READ the words. Many words are familiar, but some are novel to this unit.
Introduce strategy - teacher models
- "I've made a list of a few open and closed 2-syllable words. Say them to yourselves and think about how you pronounce the vowels - are they long or short? What do you notice?"
- total, final, funny, kitten, sucker, sofa
- Prompt with 'the closed syllables have short vowels and the open syllables have long vowels'.
- "Now I'll read the first few pages of the book and identify some other words to add to the list."
- Read through the page that says, "A flower is made up of many parts (including the captions)."
- List the words on the board (don't read them aloud). 'pollen', 'stamen', 'stigma', 'aster', 'sepal')
- "As we look at each word, let's determine if the first syllable is open or closed and then we can read it." Read the words and put in the right place. Make a mistake and let the kids see it - say 'Sti (long vowel) and gma' ohhh that sounds wrong, let me try it again - 'stig.. ma' that's right."
Practice strategy - guided practice
- "Let's read some more and you can help me." Read through the page that says, "Pollination happens in different ways."
- "Do you see any 2 syllable words that are open or closed?" Prompt with itself, before, begin, happen. List them on the board. This is the completed whiteboard.
- "Where do we put them and how do we say those words?"
- "What about the word 'flower'? The syllable is open, but the 'ow' is a vowel team, so it doesn't follow the open vowel rule. We won't put it on the list. Remember not all words will follow the rule."
- "Here's a review of open/closed syllables that we discussed.
Resources (2)
Students Take a Turn
Assign Task
- "I'll read the rest of the book to the class and write 2 syllable words on the board as I finish each page."
- I put a few more up as examples, including 'itself' so I could gauge student understanding through the discussion.
- "When I'm done, put the words in your open/closed chart. Say them to yourself to check if they are open or closed."
- "Remember to think about the syllables." This is a discussion we had about root words.
Words for the board
itself, insect, protect, ripen, become, nectar, onto, along, open, acorn, explain, people, toward, certain, garden, onto
As we look at open and closed syllables and how words are put together, we are ultimately determining the meaning of words and phrases relevant to a 2nd grade topic (RI.2.4). As students learn how to decode words, they are learning how to draw on their own abilities to learn and read, a shift in the Common Core Standards.
Formative assessment
- After you read, check on student work as you walk around. If students seems confused, use that as an opportunity to review the word.
- This is an example of what formative assessment looks like.
- Here's a student artifact
- Remind students to read the word aloud to check pronunciation.
Resources (4)
Share What You've Learned
- I always take a minute to ask again- what did you learn? How did this help you> Here's one example of a student perspective about how open and closed syllables help her.
Share what you know
- "Let's go back and use some of the GREAT vocabulary that is new for our science unit."
- "Take a minute and draw the flower that you see on the page starting with 'A flower is made up of...."
- Give the kids time to draw.
- "Can you help me label that parts - I'll point to my flower and you can tell me the name - think about how we pronounce the word-if the syllable is closed or open." (focus on those new words - stamen, pistil, petal, pollen, sepal)
- "Label your flower and color it."
- Here's one of my student's pictures.
This is a great review of 2 skills - how to read words with closed and open syllables and vocabulary for our science unit. It would be worth going through all of the new words on their lists to touch on the ideas from the book.
Scaffolding and Special Education: This lesson could be easily scaffolded up or down, depending on student ability.
Students with academic challenges may have a harder time with these words and you may want to use a whiteboard to show them how to categorize the word or at least how to break the word into syllables. They may see the pattern if you're able to show them pol/len and stig/ma contrasted with a/corn and ri/pen.
Challenge your students with more ability to think of some other words that fall in this categories - possibly fruits or vegetables that grow on plants to stay within the theme. (orange, apple, pepper....)


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Andrew Boy Charlton Biathlon Series: Cantor Charity Race
Thursday, 29 March 2018
Andrew Boy Charlton Pool, Sydney, NSW
The Andrew Boy Charlton Biathlon Series is on Thursday nights in the summer, and consists of a 4km run in and around Sydney's Domain & Royal Botanic Gardens, followed by a 300m swim in the Andrew Boy Charlton Pool, with this event on Thursday, 29 March 2018.
With approximately 1,500 people that participate in the race each year, the ABC Biathlon Series has become a favourite on the Sydney multi sports calendar each year. There are all levels of fitness that participate, from your average Joe (and Jill) Sunday Jogger to your elite athlete.
ABC Biathlon Series
- Previous (22 March 2018)
4km Run + 300m Pool Swim


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- Width 25cm
Illustrious French label Lanvin is loved for its exquisitely crafted accessories, and this taupe elaphe 'Happy' shoulder bag is a shining example of the brand's superior attention to detail. The grosgrain ribbon and sleek chain inserts add signature delicacy to this ladylike style. Team it with a silk blouse and a printed midi skirt for a chic, contemporary combination.
Shown here with: Oscar de la Renta earrings, Chloé top, Dolce & Gabbana skirt, Alaïa shoes.
- - Taupe elaphe
- - Chain, grosgrain and elaphe shoulder strap
- - Burnished-gold hardware
- - Internal zip-fastening pocket
- - Fully lined
- - Twist-lock fastening at flap front
- - Designer color: Beige
- - Elaphe: Indonesia
Product Code: 193849
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Product Code: 193849


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Lauren Cook Named 2017 Douglas County Teacher of the Year
In a sanctuary overflowing with family members, friends, and colleagues of the 34 school level Teachers of the Year, Lauren Cook, 4th grade teacher from Arbor Station Elementary, was named the 2017 Douglas County Teacher of the Year at Central Baptist Church on September 28.
The 2017 Teachers of the Year for High School and Middle School were also announced at the ceremony. Roxanne Purcell, 6th grade math teacher from Turner Middle School, was selected as Middle School Teacher of the Year, and Jeremy Anderson, math teacher at Chapel Hill High School, was selected as High School Teacher of the Year.
All 34 Teachers of the Year were introduced at the ceremony and showered with gifts from area businesses.
Lauren Cook, Arbor Station Elementary School
Teacher of the Year Lauren Cook is a product of the Douglas County School System. She attended Arbor Station Elementary School, Chapel Hill Middle School, and graduated from Douglas County High School. Ms. Cook received her undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of West Georgia. She received her master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Leadership from the University of Colorado. In 2009 she added a Reading Endorsement to her teaching certificate.
Ms. Cook is currently in her 18th year of teaching. She taught a K-1-2 multiage class for two years in Colorado at Ft. Carson and 1st grade for an additional five years in Colorado. After those seven years of teaching, she took three years off to move back to Georgia and stay home to raise her family. Ms. Cook began teaching again in 2006 as a half time reading teacher at Eastside Elementary School in Douglasville. In 2007 she went back to teaching full time at Eastside as a Title I reading teacher. In 2009 she was honored as Eastside's Teacher of the Year.
In 2013 Ms. Cook transferred to her elementary alma mater, Arbor Station Elementary School. "I feel blessed to be in the position to teach, love and impact such a diverse and talented group of students," said Ms. Cook.
Members of the selection committee remarked, "We loved this teacher's enthusiasm in the classroom and how students were so absorbed in their learning."
Ms. Cook has been married to Chapel Hill High School social studies teacher Jonathan Cook for over 20 years and they have two sons.
Roxanne Purcell, Turner Middle School
Middle School Teacher of the Year Roxanne Purcell received her bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1994 and her teaching certificate in Middle Grades Mathematics and Social Studies from the University of West Georgia in 2011. She currently teaches 6th grade mathematics at Turner Middle School.
Ms. Purcell's professional interests include vocabulary instruction and differentiating mathematics for at-risk students, especially English language learners and students with disabilities. She is the 6th Grade Department Chair at Turner Middle School. She serves as coach for the Turner Middle School Math team, which has been the Douglas County Middle School Mathematics Overall Champions for two consecutive years, including 2015-2016 and 2016-2017; as well as the 6th Grade Mathematics Champions in 2014 – 2015 and 2016 – 2017. She served as chair of Turner Middle School's annual United Way Campaign during 2014 – 2015 and 2015 – 2016, and as co-chair in 2016 – 2017. Ms. Purcell also works as an after-school mathematics tutor for the FOCUS 21st Century Grant Program.
Ms. Purcell volunteered extensively at her children's schools when they were younger, including serving as PTO president of her children's middle school for five years. "It was this volunteer work that made me realize how much I enjoyed working with middle school students," said Ms. Purcell. Most recently, while her daughter was enrolled at Georgia Tech, Ms. Purcell volunteered with the Parents Program during Freshman Orientation Week. Additionally, she has served as secretary and social director of her homeowners association board.
A member of the selection committee commented, "This is a teacher who truly cares about making sure every door is open for every child."
Jeremy Anderson, Chapel Hill High School
Jeremy Anderson, High School Teacher of the Year, grew up in Middleburg, FL, in a large family of eight where each person's name started with the letter J. His family moved to Douglasville where he and his siblings attended the new Alexander High School. After graduation, Mr. Anderson enrolled in the University of West Georgia and majored in Computer Information Systems.
While attending classes at West Georgia, Mr. Anderson worked full time as a store manager for a pager company. He loved working with the newest technology and the store he managed transitioned from pagers to cell phones. While working as a store manager, Mr. Anderson created a game store business, which soon became his full time job. He owned one of the largest card game shops in west Georgia and hosted events that brought in numerous participants from all over the state. "It was at this shop where I developed a love of teaching others," said Mr. Anderson.
After five years of owning his own business, Mr. Anderson realized that in order to raise a family with his new bride Lisa Anderson, he needed a more stable schedule. One of his former employees introduced him to the principal of Herschel Jones Middle School. Mr. Anderson entered an alternative teaching program at Georgia State University and taught middle school as a special education and math teacher. Wanting to work closer to home, he later switched to Chapel Hill High School where he has spent the last nine years teaching math and facilitating the use of technology for both students and teachers alike.
A selection committee member said, "Mr. Anderson has taken technology to a new level. He has shown his students how to apply real world situations through math."
Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalists
In addition to the three finalists, five other teachers were named semi-finalists in August and were honored at the Teacher of the Year celebration.
Joseph Bogozan began teaching in 2002 and currently instructs 5th grade at Bright Star Elementary. He mentors boys in 3rd – 5th grade through the Boys to Men Club which he founded at Bright Star.
Lonnie Woods teachers 5th grade at Burnett Elementary School. Before Burnett, he spent time teaching English, math, and science in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Mr. Woods established and chairs the intramural sports program and the "About Face" boys mentoring group at Burnett.
Anisa Lucas-Grant teaches language arts at Chestnut Log Middle School where she serves as team leader for 6th grade. Ms. Lucas-Grant believes that as an educator, she helps her students develop goals, morals, and ethics that are followed throughout life.
Teacher Sarah Anthony pioneered the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program at Mason Creek Elementary School. She has organized Mason Creek's Science Fair for the past three years and also has helped student prepare for the science fair in a science club after school.
Richard Parham is a law enforcement instructor at Alexander High School. He is one of 20 Career Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) teachers from across Georgia selected for the LEAD CTAE program.
The 2017 Teacher of the Year selection process began last May when each school selected a Teacher of the Year. The 34 teachers attended an informational meeting in late May and completed an extensive application over the summer. A group of 16 judges read and scored the applications, with eight teachers being named semi-finalists. The semi-finalists were observed by the judges in their classrooms and individually interviewed.
As 2017-2018 Douglas County Teacher of the Year, Ms. Cook will now compete for 2019 Georgia Teacher of the Year.


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|2008-07-12, 04:07
|Link #1
Le fou, c'est moi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 29
Letter Bee/Tegami Bachi
It's been a while since I started a manga thread...
What's this about?
It's a fantasy story set in a world where the only major source of light is a man-made sun above the central capital city. The story, for now at least, follows the path of a young boy whose dream, after a certain dramatic event in his youth, was to become a "Letter Bee," a sort of a glorified mailman in this dangerous world (and yes, they call their headquarter a "beehive"). Said dramatic event involved a certain Letter Bee by the name of Gauche, who saved his life and changed his way of thinking, technically because the boy was a "letter," and someone has had him sent to a new, caring home, a job waiting for a skilled Letter Bee to take on. At the end of their dangerous journey to the boy's destination, Gauche acknowledged their friendship, and the awed Lag decided from then on to follow the path of his savior and idol.
Oh, and there's a lot of talk about the "heart" in this series, and our boy Lag can literally shoot out a "heart bullet" to receive visions of the "heart" of people; that is, their true feelings and memories -- it can hit people, letters (obvious), a church bell, and a lot of other stuff and create a bunch of big screen TV's () that allow Lag and everyone around the vicinity to witness these feelings.
Spoiler for Space saver: because not everybody wants to read me rant:
Short version: an excellent and very promising fantasy series with good art, good characters, and good plot. I heartily recommend this one!
|2009-05-28, 01:52
|Link #3
Join Date: Feb 2006
Just finished reading all 28 chapters, and this one of the best mangas out in Jump SQ at the moment. Plot is surprising original, atleast compared much of the stuff I've read lately. I'm looking forward to how the anime adapation will handle much of atmostsphere.
Spoiler for I don't know:
|2009-08-16, 17:01
|Link #4
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: on the Alps/ in the plain
Do any of you know whether Hiroyuki Asada has been taking a break, the manga has been put on hold or interrupted by the editor? I'm asking because I can't find any new chapters after number 30 came out in June and this manga is one of my favorites. The story has that fairy tail touch into it that captures your attention and moves you from the very beginning.
|2009-09-05, 14:03
|Link #6
Join Date: Feb 2006
|2009-09-18, 11:50
|Link #7
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: on the Alps/ in the plain
I just relized they've already taken care of chapters 31 and 32.
|2009-10-01, 11:12
|Link #8
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 29
Well the anime is coming out soon. The art style is very similar to Claymore, but I think the storyline is really beautiful. It has that kind of post-apocalyptic feel laced with dubious hope, and peppered with jokes once it becomes too emotional.
Though I wish the mutant boar had a more normal name. Or maybe pet boars in anime are supposed to have weird names (remember Botan, anyone?).
|2009-10-20, 11:24
|Link #15
reads too much
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: you know that's a great question.....
Wow that was fast, yay for chapter 33!
Spoiler for Chapter 33:
Non-spoilery comment: Was it just me or did the pacing feel a bit off/rough in this chapter? Almost felt as if the original idea for the chapter wasn't long enough so part of the next chapter got tagged on. Also I believe that the anime will stop just before this arc, anyone else have an opinion on that?
|2009-10-20, 14:16
|Link #16
Join Date: Feb 2006
I agree that Anime will probably end before this arc provided it doesn't go it's own route. Last arc is actually decent place to end the show since it takes care of one of the major plot threads.
|2009-10-20, 15:35
|Link #17
reads too much
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: you know that's a great question.....
I meant odd pacing as in we kinda cleared up that mini-arc involving the inspectors and then kinda launched into a new mini arc. They felt a little too disjointed, a little too separate to flow well in this chapter, all IMO of course.
|2009-10-20, 15:50
|Link #18
Join Date: Feb 2006
Ah, I see. Well, I don't count the issue with investigators over with, it's more at this point Lag and co. are in a bind since they can't do anything about them atm. This doesn't mean they still don't have work to do and we don't know arc well play out. It end up like the "Lighthouse" chapter when Lag met Jiggy Pepper for first time.
|2009-11-16, 00:17
|Link #19
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: CA
Age: 30
This manga is absolute gem!! Loving every chapter and characters.
It is a really good read, but at the same time I sort of have this feeling that I should have waited till in ends (given it's pace maybe 2-3 years lol) because it is absolute torture that this is on monthly release and at the same time riddled with cliff hangers. Anyways, I'm hooked and can't till the next chapter.
|adventure, shounen
|Thread Tools


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Mobile Automotive Locksmith Service Camberwell South, 3124 | Luke's Locks
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text:
Stuff needed:
2 computers (Should go without saying but you never know with somepeople)
2 Network Cards (Installed into your computers)
To set up a LAN with a mate for whatever reason ... **COUGH** cs **COUGH** ... you do not need to go through the hassle of hubs, switches and miles of cable.
Usually you would connect both PC's to a Hub or a switch, but as these burn away a fair wedge of your hard earnt cash we are going to create a cross-over cable. This is basically a normal network cable (RJ45) wired differently to allow 2 PC's to connect straight to each other.
Creating the cable
1) You Will Need: Cable Stripers
Get a piece of CAT 5 cable long enough to reach between the two PC's. Strip about 1 inch off the end of the wire to reveal 8 more wires. These wires will all be color coded as follows.
O - Orange
WO - White and Orange
G - Green
WG - White and Green
B - Blue
WB - White and Blue
Br - Brown
WBr - White and brown
2) You will Need: Wire Cutters, RJ$% connecter
You need to order the wires in the following combination - WO,O,WG,B,WB,G,WBr,Br
Once you have them in order cut them so they are about 3/4 of an inch long and slide them into the RJ45 plug with the clip facing away from you
3) You will need : Crimper
Make sure the wires are all the way in to the top of the RJ45 connector and that they are in the right order and put the connector into the crimpers and crimp it.
Repeat these steps for the other end of the wire but with the wires in the following order
In this order all you have done is swapped the green and white green wires with the orange and white orange wires.
Once you have done this you can plug the wire into the two computers network cards.
The last thing you need to do is to configure your PC's to talk to one another. Right click on your network neighbourhood or my network places in XP and select properties. This should bring up your network properties.
The client for networks is self explanatory, file and printer sharing is need if you want to swap files between computers. TCP/IP is the communication protocol they will be using to talk to each other. Now we need to assign IP addresses to the PC's. You do this by selecting TCP/IP and clicking properties.
Because there are 2 computers we will need 2 IP addresses, we will use 192.168.0.1 & 192.168.0.2 both having a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0, simple enter the numbers in the boxes, click ok and then ok again. After a quick restart you should be ready to rumble.


text:
Browse Past Blog Posts
More Resources for Teaching about ElectionsSep 11 2008
Online resources help integrate elections into history and social studies curriculum. [...] »
Learn About Mexican American HistorySep 10 2008
This website weaves the voices of Mexican Americans into the history curriculum. [...] »
Objects and Memory: Making Sense of CatastropheSep 4 2008
What is it about a piece of paper, an ID card, or a teddy bear that evokes powerful memories? [...] »
Teaching 9/11Aug 31 2008
The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) will sponsor two webcasts on what students should know about 9/11. [...] »
National Museum of American History Aug 28 2008
On November 21, 2008, the Smithsonian Museum of American History (NMAH) reopens its doors. [...] »
Bringing National Parks into the ClassroomAug 19 2008
The National Park Service offers traveling exhibits, media-on-loan, and in-class speakers. [...] »
Teaching about Presidential ElectionsAug 12 2008
A wealth of historical material exists on the web to support teaching about presidential elections. [...] »
Picturing America: Round TwoAug 12 2008
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently announced that a second round of applications for Picturing America would be accepted online through October 31, 2008. [...] »
Organization of American Historians: Highlights of the August NewsletterJul 31 2008
A report from the Third Annual Teaching American History (TAH) Symposium and a discussion of how donors shape museum exhibits are among newsletter highlights. [...] »
From Medieval Europe to Colonial AmericaJul 29 2008
What did Colonial America and Medieval Europe have in common? [...] »


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A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article entitled Fight Club! Netflix, LOVEFiLM and NOW TV: a UX comparison. For this I had to sign up to their respective VoD services. You know, for the greater good of journalism.
Now the time has come to quit these VoD services because it seems there really is such thing as too much choice... plus I'm not made of money... and there's only so many hours in a day. I do have a job you know!
Based on recent research that suggests 72% of customers expect complaints on Twitter to be answered in one hour, I'll be taking a look at each company's Twitter customer service channel compared to their site's own customer service, then finally I'll see how easy it is to quit and how easily they let me go.
NOW TV has a clean and clear interface, and finding help is straightforward enough.
There's loads of help topics here, with detailed FAQs for each one. There's a customer service form that takes you through to an internal email system, and there are links to ask the NOW TV community.
I also like the help videos embedded in the bottom right corner of the page, with a link to more videos on Youtube.
Perhaps even more impressively, in the left hand menu there is a 'Get help on Twitter' link, which is great to see on a customer service page.
NOW TV's Twitter account specifically states that its here to "Help", so it's an encouraging forum.
The working hours are stated as 10am-10pm. Does this transparency stop questions piling up out of hours? It's good that NOW TV is clear on this, but perhaps a large brand should be operating 24 hours a day. Or is that just unrealistic?
NOW TV's response time is actually very good on Twitter, often replying within the hour and offering clear information.
If the query is more difficult, the customer is given a link to its livechat.
Twitter is definitely an effective channel for contacting a brand and provides much speedier gratification, if the brand is operating the account efficiently.
How easy is it to quit? Very. The option is highlighted with a black background directly on the help page.
You're then taken through to a page that asks if you're sure you want to cancel.
This is fairly effective, showcasing the films that are coming up in the next coming weeks. It's a good mixture of genres appealing to many demographics. However if the fifth entry in the Die Hard series doesn't float your boat…
There's a brief survey to fill in. "Don't worry it won't take long" claims Sky. That's it. End of the relationship. Simple enough. Time to move on and break some more hearts…
The Netflix customer service page is easy to find and straightforward to navigate.
It also offers a handy livechat function. Paul appeared within one minute to ask if he can help.
Despite the plethora of FAQs, livechat and phone lines that promise a less than one minute wait, there's no link to Twitter.
Netflix's Twitter account is largely a broadcasting PR machine, however there is a link to a separate help account within the bio.
Netflix is reasonably good at responding.
The channel operates between 6am-9pm, which is a few hours longer than NOW TV, however surely these hours would be better later rather than earlier? Can't say I regularly watch Breaking Bad before 9am.
How easy is it to quit? Extremely. It's even easier than NOW TV. There's a clear 'cancel membership' button at the top of your account page. Then after only one click…
That's it. It's over. Not even an "are you sure?" or a "but we've got Die Hard!" Nothing. It's like it doesn't even need my custom. I leave despondently on to the final one...
LOVEFiLM operates a fairly complex customer service page.
There's little logic behind the order of this, which is frankly difficult to look at for too long with its stark text and dated layout.
LOVEFiLM doesn't operate a separate customer service Twitter account. This is just its standard promotional account.
However LOVEFiLM does answer customer queries on it.
LOVEFiLM responds helpfully and in a timely manner. It's difficult to say if it operates between certain working hours, as they're not stated, however each question is answered quickly and with further positive feedback from the customer.
In the future LOVEFiLM could certainly do with operating a separate customer service Twitter feed and linking to it on its website. This would certainly remove some burden from the main Twitter feed. Does LOVEFiLM really want to be mixing its promotional messages with answering customer's broadband issues?
How easy is it to quit? LOVEFiLM carries with it a major preconception here.
I have a friend who tried to quit LOVEFiLM via telephone yesterday. LOVEFiLM asked "Why are you quitting?" She replied "I'm too busy and don't have time to watch films", LOVEFiLM followed with "Why are you busy and and what are you doing that's taking up all of your time?" There's a certain amount of overstepping the mark here.
The option for cancelling your account is fairly well hidden on the site.
I finally found it as the third option in a separate account page, which then leads to this page…
This is even harder to view than the customer help page, and here's the real kicker… You have to phone them to cancel. There's no online function.
So I take a deep breath and give LOVEFiLM a ring...
The customer service representative picked up quickly. I told him I wanted to quit. He asked for a lot of security based information. He then proceeded to offer me all kinds of special incentives to keep me. Long story short, I got three months free LOVEFiLM.
I put the phone down feeling a little sheepish and realising I will be having the exact same conversation again in February.
In conclusion…
LOVEFiLM knows exactly what it's doing in terms of hiding the cancel membership option. It's also playing a devilish card in making the customer ring to cancel membership. It's much more difficult to do this in front of a human being than it is to click a button online. Also that human being can tailor incentives to suit the customer in order to make them stay.
This however can cause a great deal of negative feedback, especially when you consider the ease of NOW TV and Netflix cancellations. Netflix however could really stand to put up a bit more of a fight to keep its customers. Perhaps Netflix feels open to exploitation if it offers incentives to those who quit. LOVEFiLM successfully worked its magic on me, but there's nothing stopping me from trying the same tactic again.
All three operate reliable customer service pages, and it's great to see them adopt Twitter as a customer service channel. With customers expecting ever faster response times from brands, it won't be long before Twitter becomes the primary channel for feedback and service.
Comments (13)
After cancelling Lovefilm a year or so ago there's been a handful of times when I've thought about resubscribing; but every time the memory of the hassle involved in cancelling puts me off. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Personally I don't mind Lovefilms approach (although if they could do it via Text Chat rather than phone that would be even better as often you end up with an Indian call centre where the line isn't the clearest and the accent can sometimes be hard to understand).
If I'm cancelling a product I want the company to fight to keep me, obviously there should be a line and some of the horror stories that come out about Lovefilm seems to suggest they can go too far but most seem to not care one bit. Whats worse is most of those who don't fight to keep you will start sending offers weeks later (sometimes days later) when they could have tried that at the time and I might have stayed
I am not sure if it is still the case, but when I last had a lovefilm account I noticed that if you waited until after 11pm (when the call centre was closed) to searched how to cancel you would get the option to do it online. So guess what I did when the time came to cancel...
Great Article!
I would definitely recommend reading 'Being Digital' by Nicolas Negroponte (if you can find a copy as it's out of print) as despite being published in 1995, he comes up with some great predictions about how humanity will become digitalised (from newspapers to entertainment and even sex) with the suggestion that the book is made of "unwieldy atoms" that will probably be replaced by a digital copy by the time anyone reads the book! Quite funny when you can now buy it on many ereaders!
He is convinced that HD television would be a waste of broadcasting power and never truly take off buy hey - you can't get everything right!
Also surely no article about what is written or said in terms of prophecies is the 'If Pac-Man had affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in dark rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.' comment frequently attributed back to former CEO of Nintendo, Kristian Wilson...
This is also worth a watch on the same line... not bad for 1984!
@Kris - great tip, I wish I'd thought of that.
@Simon - I have yet to receive anything remotely begging from Netflx, but it's only been a few days so I'll keep you posted.
@Matt - I always thought that was Marcus Brigstock. Maybe he appropriated it.
It would be interesting to find out what incentives LOVEFiLM offer to customers who have been with them for a shorter period of time. I have a lengthy service under my belt.
Sorry Chris - I posted that response on the wrong article. As I logged in I was taken back to a different article to the one I was reading - weird!
Haha - yeah it's definitely interesting. Especially given there is a question there about whether in Netflix / Now TV making it too easy to unsubscribe they have missed a trick and maybe there is a compromise somewhere along the line.
That said, if all LoveFilm have done is given you freebies away, I'd love to know if they make enough from those customers or if they're all (like you) simply planning on calling back in 3 months time...!
I'm sure most people, like me, will see February come and go and realise eight months later that they never cancelled their subscription.
Maybe although I know a friend who worked in the retention team at Sky and they had to stop offering freebies and move to discounts as a result of people simply pushing for freebies and when no more were forthcoming, simply cancelling their membership.
Just makes it interesting to know what the behaviour is / whether each of the brands even actually knows...
It's interesting to know what the 'breaking point' is. Which customers are considered past their worth and better to jettison?
I'm planning to leave LoveFilm shortly due to having too much on and not watching the films in time - thanks for the heads-up on the troubles I'm likely to experience.


text:
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Five core ingredients to building "combinatorial alchemy" mindset and capability.
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Acquisitions are a key element of our inorganic growth strategy. Through targeted acquisitions, we will expand and strengthen our capabilities and accelerate bringing new services and expertise to our clients. Recently, we have made acquisitions to increase our industry capabilities as well as to help our client improve their competitiveness.
October 9, 2017
October 31, 2016
November 1, 2016
November 1, 2015
June 29, 2015
April 3, 2015
NXP Semiconductors is driving
innovation in the secure connected, end
to end security & privacy and smart
connected solutions market.
Creating a clear, actionable link between
the company's strategy and a practical
transformation roadmap
Mark A. Knickrehm
Group Chief Executive – Accenture Strategy
Join a new kind of strategy consulting firm. One that operates at the intersection of business and technology. Combining a deep level of functional and industry expertise with an unrivalled understanding of technology and an analytics-led approach, we're devising innovative strategies that unlock value and create real impact for our clients and the world around us. For you, this means unique opportunities to grow and build your career in the new digital economy.LEARN MORE
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We are your one stop shop for Medieval Swords, Renaissance Clothing and many other Medieval & Renaissance items. We have been serving the online community since 1999. We carry high quality battle-ready and decorative swords, armour, shields, and other weaponry of the past and present. Our site is updated daily to bring you the most current information on things like pre-orders and new products. We also upload products weekly so there is always something new and exciting. Use our Advanced Search option to see what we have added recently.
We are the largest online distributor of Medieval and Renaissance items. Here is a list of things that we offer: Medieval Swords, Renaissance Clothing, Celtic Jewelry, Medieval Jewelry, Medieval Pipes, Lord of the Rings Swords, Renaissance Boots, Authentic Long Bows, Traditional Archery Supplies, Historical Arrow Heads, Functional Armor, Decorative Armor, Chainmail, Leather Armour, Medieval Daggers, Scottish Dirks, Fantasy Daggers, Medieval Helmets, Roman, Scottish, Greek, Celtic, Irish, Peasants, Pirates, Knights, Renaissance Rapiers, Medieval Shields, Scottish Shields, Halberds, Battle Axes, Maces, Flails, Castle Décor, Medieval Banners, Medieval Tapestries, Queens Crowns and Kings Crowns, Renaissance Hats, Leather Masks, Sword Canes and believe it or not, much, much more! So take your shoes off, relax for a little while and have a look around.
In our online catalog you will find items such as medieval swords, Greek and Roman swords, Scottish swords such as Claymores and William Wallace, Military swords, Military sabers, Viking swords, decorative and functional Oriental Swords, Spanish swords and wooden practice swords. Medieval Collectible's carries the top name brand swords that are of excellent quality and value. We have tons of sword accessories, such as floor stands, wall hangers, swords plaques. We have leather accessories for carrying your sword, sword frogs, sword belts and baldrics.
We have lots of medieval and renaissance clothing. We have styles for any occasion, whether you want to be an authentic peasant at the fair, a princess bride, the juggling jester or even the King, you are sure to find something here. Check out our Clothing category and our Themes category which groups the most popular items into themes and is really convenient if you are going for a certain look.
Can't find what your looking for? Use our New Live Chat feature! We can give you real time help by answering your questions and helping you find specific products. Help is just a click away! Or you can give us a call at 1-877-637-9673! Please read our Ordering and Shipping pages before ordering for important information.
We have the best selection of Medieval and Renaissance Clothing. We carry a large variety of bodices, medieval gowns, renaissance dresses, skirts, fantasy wear,
wench wear, Celtic, Medieval and Peasant style clothes. For the men we have ruffled collars, lace up fronts, pirate shirts, warrior shirts, poet shirts,
and swordsmen shirts. Our arming caps and gambesons will provide protection from your functional armor or chainmail armour. Medieval dresses are perfect for
the Fair, Re-enactments, and even as bridesmaids gowns. Great quality and material. These dresses go perfectly with our bloomers and chemises. We also carry a
large line of costumes for adults both men costumes and women costumes, children and even pets, such as fantasy, princess, roman, gothic and vampire as well as
pirate costumes, wizards, witches and of course renaissance costumes. Medieval Collectibles has all your clothing accessory needs, such as leather belts, hats,
capes, hoods and snoods. Our wrist bracers, belts, kidney belts, and leather gauntlets will make your clothing look authentic. We carry plenty of different types
of Monks robes, and surcoats for the knights even peasant outfits.
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Medieval Collectibles carries a full line of Hand crafted LOTR Bows, Traditional English Longbows, Recurves, medieval longbows and Crossbows. Our crossbows are both decorative and functional
which include Medieval, Gun, Slingshot, Rams Head, Italian, Defense, and Fantasy Crossbows. We have functional English Longbows, Target Bows, American Longbows and the Legolas Style Bows.
You will also find many accessories, such as leather quivers, arrows, arm guards, targets and hand protection.
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We have a wide selection of chainmail armour, decorative armour, LARP armour, leather armour and functional armor. Our Chainmail armour comes in a wide variety of styles
and finishes. We offer chain mail hauberks, gauntlets, Chainmail coifs, mantles, and Chain mail chausses. Our plate armor lines include display and reenactment armor in different
styles including scale, segmenta, and plate. Full suits of armor, are both wearable and decorative. Reproductions follow original designs very closely which makes our medieval
replica armor like it came out of a museum.
Live action role playing re-enactors can find plenty of LARP Weapons and LARP Leather Armour and Accessories to satisfy their needs. Check out are wide selection of LARP weapons, including LARP swords,
LARP daggers, LARP maces, LARP axes, knives, flails, clubs, rapiers and Hammers. We provide every kind of or LARP armor protection from Shields, leather harnesses, leather pauldrons, spaulders,
arm bracers, gauntlets leather breastplates to fantasy Leather Helms. LARP protection consists of Steel armour, quality leather armor and even hybrid larp armour made from hybrid polyurethane.
Our LRP armour comes in a wide variety of styles like Dragon armour and Samurai armour. We also have styles of Lord of the Ring Orc armor and Troy armor that are perfect for your fantasy amour needs.
Medieval Collectibles offers one of the largest sword selections on the internet.These wonderful sword replicas of famous medieval, fantasy, renaissance, ceremonial, samurai
swords and military sabers make great gifts and decorations. Functional swords consist of Roman swords, Viking sword, Celtic swords, Norman swords, German swords, Italian swords,
English swords, European swords, medieval swords, swords from the renaissance, and Japanese swords and katanas. We carry well known sword brands, CAS Iberia, Hanwei, Marto, Windlass,
Acero, Ritter Steel and Stage Steel. Many of our functional swords come in a variety of edges, such as sharp, or blunted (rebated) for sword fighting.Some swords are for decorative use.
Decorative swords are mainly used as wall decor, sword display or for costume. Many of our medieval, fantasy, renaissance, ceremonial, samurai swords and military sabers were produced for
royalty and famous heroes throughout our history. This makes them perfect as a home decoration and conversation pieces, as well as for the collector or as stage props. We renaissance rapiers
and swords for all time periods. We carry a variety of cut and thrust swords, back-swords, flamberges and short swords. Our Chinese swords such as Tai Chi, and kung fu swords. Japanese swords
include some of the best katana, wakizashi, tanto sets you will find. We have a full range of martial arts training weapons, books and videos. Our wooden swords or training swords consist of
single hand swords, two hand swords and Gladius (rudis) swords. We also have the newly added Filipino weapons, Katipunan bolo-tusok, pinute, kris swords and kris-kalis.
Medieval Collectibles offers a full range of Official Lord of the Rings items LOTR shields, lord of the rings clothing, lord of the rings costumes, lord of the rings collectibles, We also
carry limited edition items like the lord of the rings helms, Sting Sword, Anduril Sword and lord of the rings gauntlets. Our lord of the rings jewelry goes great with our LOTR costumes and
Lord of the Ring clothing. With our vast selection of lord of the rings scabbards and lord of the rings weapons and lord of the ring shields we are sure you will have the best collection.
Looking for Renaissance and Celtic Jewelry? Well you have come to the right place just browse through our truly unique Museum Quality Jewelry. Here you will find Medieval Jewelry, Celtic Jewelry, Bridal Jewelry,
Religious Jewelry and Jewelry for any occasion. You will also find Anklets, Bracelets, Brooches, Earrings, Hair Accessories, Necklaces, Pendants, Pins, Rings, and Toe Rings. We carry Medieval and Celtic jewelry
that will go with Medieval or Modern day wear. Are you looking for the perfect accent for your medieval wardrobe? Look no further! We are constantly adding new jewelry! We offer a large variety of Gothic,
Medieval and Celtic jewelry. Our jewelry is in two different categories, so please visit both of them so you don't miss a thing!
Medieval and Renaissance style shields. Battle ready and decorative shields as well as Live Action Role-play Shields. Display our decorative shields in your den or in your
young knights bedroom. Use our functional shields to keep yourself alive during battle, re-enacting, on stage (theater)! We also have LARP shields for all of you role play gamers.
Our shields come in a variety of shapes, styles and sizes, such as the round shields, classical shields, and heater shields.
"Thank you very much for your quick responses and replies to my questions.'Excellent Customer Service. Thanks again."
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401 North Richland Creek Drive
Princeton, IN 47670
Contact Us
Hours (CST): 9am-5pm Mon-Fri