NEWS from LPB
As the holidays close in fast, here are a few things that you, your family, and your students might be interested in:
1)Get the Math is a really cool new program for middle and high school students that involves students in interactive real-life algebra applications so they see how useful algebra is in life. On Saturday, February 5th, LPB will host a free teacher workshop—in LPB’s auditorium in Baton Rouge—during which trainers from the Get the Math program will show how the program, the real-life applications, and web resources can be used with students. Online registration is not yet open. In the meantime, you might want to mark your calendar to save the date! If you excel at creating real-life algebra applications you may win a great prize! More information will be coming soon.
2)Do you have students who do exceptionally well in the classroom or make a huge difference in their communities but do not receive the recognition they deserve? You can help them get that recognition by nominating them for the 2011 Louisiana Young Heroes Awards. Previous Young Heroes have overcome physical handicaps, raised money for charity, cared for family members, assisted hurricane victims, and even saved lives.
To be eligible students must be in grades 7-12, have excelled in the classroom, have served their community or have shown great courage in overcoming adversity in their own lives, be enrolled in a Louisiana school or homeschooled, and may not be older than 19 years of age.
Nomination forms can be downloaded from the LPB website ( or submitted through the online form. Letters of recognition and other supporting materials should be sent to support the nomination. Students who have been nominated in past years may be re-nominated for this year’s awards. Previous winners are not eligible. The deadline for entries is Friday, February 4, 2011. Winners will be announced on LPB and WLAE on Friday, March 4, 2011.
Louisiana Young Heroes Day will be April 20, 2011. The Young Heroes will be treated to a day full of activities including lunch on the grounds of the Governor’s Mansion. The day will culminate in a banquet that night at the CrownePlaza in Baton Rouge.
3) Are you into geocaching? This new tech version of a treasure hunt requires that you use GPS coordinates to find where “X marks the spot” and then locate the hidden geocache, a box filled with small items and a log-book. When you find the geocache, sign the log book, take a small item, replace it with something of equal or greater value, and return the box to its exact hiding place. If your children love Dinosaur Train, then you may want to search for the Dinosaur Train geocache that LPB has hidden. Next week, the coordinates will be posted at The first person to locate the Dinosaur Train geocache will find inside a $10 gift card to Borders Bookstore! There’s no need to replace the gift card with another item—that’s the special prize for the first finder. To learn more about geocaching go to
4)Another National Park Service live Electronic Field Trip has been opened for registration at February 23rd at 9 am students from grades 4-8 can take part in the Gulf Islands National Seashore where they can learn about the science of change—from natural causes and man-made such as the Gulf Oil Spill. Pre-register at
5)Just a reminder, if you want your students to see the online Colonial Williamsburg field trip, Founders or Traitors, on December 16th at 9 am, you need to register, if you have not already done so, at
6)Do you love the glamour of early 20thcentury Paris and the creative surge in art, music, literature, dance, and theatre that took place during that era? Then you will want to watch Paris the Luminous Years: Toward the Making of the Modern on Wednesday, December 15th at 8 pm on LPB 1. The program spotlights key figures in the art world’s first international avant-garde, including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Igor Stravinsky, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Josephine Baker and more as they discuss how being in Paris at that time transformed them and their work.
7)We noticed that the US Department of Education singled out Forest Heights Academy of Excellence, a BlueRibbonSchool here in Baton Rouge, for recognition for combining the art of learning with the learning of art. ForestHeights’ students study instrumental music, visual arts, drama, dance, and vocal music and learn everything from costume design and stage lighting to jazz and tap dance. Students also learn math, science, language, and social studies through their study of the arts. LPB applauds the accomplishments of the ForestHeights students.
Secretary Arne Duncan emphasized the importance of the arts, “First, the arts significantly boost student achievement, reduce discipline problems, and increase the odds that students will go on to graduate from college. Second, arts education is essential to stimulating the creativity and innovation that will prove critical to young Americans competing in a global economy. And last, but not least, the arts are valuable for their own sake, and they empower students to create and appreciate aesthetic works.”
8)Premiering January 26th, 2011, is Design Squad Nation a new 10 part TV series to help tweens, teens and families appreciate that if they can dream an idea, they can also build it. See how engineering can make real-life happen as in a "moving" fashion project with Project Runway's Christian Siriano, a human-powered flying machine, a monster of a cake for the cast party of Young Frankenstein: The Musical, and more. A preview page for the website can be seen at On the site kids will be able to work along with the program co-hosts to post solutions to real-life problems and respond to challenges from the show. The program’s blog will feature inspiring engineering and DIY content from across the web and will engage students throughcalls to action, how-to challenges, examples of kid-made content on the site, and first person video and messages from the co-hosts—sharing both the fun and the failures that are a part of the design process.
9)You won’t want to miss Christmas specials on LPB:
oRadio City Christmas Spectacular Starring the Rockettes—enjoy the precision dancing of the Rockettes as they perform traditional favorites “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” and “Living Nativity.” Sunday, December 5th at 4 pm, LPB 1.
oChristmas in Yellowstone—NATURE follows the snowy footprints of red foxes, wolves and elk and climbs into the den of a grizzly bear that gives birth to two cubs. Sunday, December 5th at 5:30 pm, LPB 1.
oChristmas at Concordia—Journey to Bethlehem, the ConcordiaCollege’s 83rd annual concert of sacred seasonal favorites and original compositions. Monday, December 13th 8 pm, LPB 1.
oChristmas with the Mormon Tabernacle featuring Natalie Cole and David McCullough, Wednesday, December 15th at 7 pm, LPB 1.
oChristmas with the Annie Moses Band in performance of an eclectic blend of classical, jazz, and pop music. On Wednesday, December 15th at 9 pm.
oPeter and the Wolf, Sergei Prokofiev’s fanciful musical tale in an innovative animated interpretation on Great Performances on Wednesday, December 15th at 10 pm on LPB 1.
oBritCom Christmas Specials—Keeping up Appearances Saturday December 18th at 8:30 pm on LPB 1 and Are You Being Served? 9 pm on LPB 1.
oTrisha Yearwood hosts a holiday program of traditional carols and light-hearted seasonal favorites from Christmas at Belmont (University). Sunday December 19th at 10 pm on LPB 2.
oJoin the lighting of the National Christmas Tree on Thursday, December 23rd at 9 am, LPB 1.
o On Christmas Eve Faith Hill, Joy to the World: A Soundstage Special airs at 10 pm.
oStart Christmas morning at 9 am with the San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker. At 1:30 is Chef Lidia Bastianich’s presents Nonna Tell Me a Story: Lidia’s Christmas Kitchen.
oOf course, it is a tradition to start the New Year with the New Year’s celebration from Vienna. Julia Andrews hosts this performance featuring the Strauss Family favorites on Saturday, January 1st, 2011, at 7 pm.
10)Finally, if you are confused about what LPB 1, 2, and 3 are, then check online at to see how you can receive all 3 LPB channels FREE.
If you missed a program, you can find when it will be repeated by checking the online schedule at ( you may need to scroll down to see the interactive schedule), click on the program and then on the “When to Watch” tab at the top of the pop-up window. You can even arrange to receive email reminders to watch the shows.
I hope you get a chance to enjoy some of these things. I’ll be sending you more information soon about what will be coming up in the New Year.
Enjoy the holiday festivities!
Sincerely,
Ellen W. Wydra
Director, Educational Television and Technology
Louisiana Public Broadcasting
(800) 272-8161, ext. 4453
(225) 767-4453