InTheLoopKids iReporter

McKinney ISD will be closed on Friday, May 18 for an unused bad weather make-up day.  Classes will resume Monday, May 21.  Enjoy the long weekend!

For more information, visit the McKinney ISD website or call 469-742-4000.

BubbleLife has a new look and feel, more reader-friendly features and a state-of-the-art design to bring you the most comprehensive neighborhood news from communities across North Texas.

The new design is featured on all BubbleLife Media sites in a format that is original, easy to use and adaptable to whatever device you are using to read neighborhood news.

“Our commitment is to gather up all the neighborhood news and get it to where people like to read,” said Saffie Farris, Publisher of BubbleLife. “We have no paywalls, lengthy subscription forms or exclusive content. We’re open and free, serving the neighborhoods we call home.”

The biggest change to the BubbleLife website is something that is not immediately obvious to the eyes but will make using BubbleLife easier and more satisfying. BubbleLife sites now employ “responsive web design,” which means the site will respond differently to individual users based on what platform they’re using, their screen size or the orientation of their mobile device.

Boston.com, website of the Boston Globe newspaper, uses responsive web design for its market-leading site. The major benefit of the responsive design concept is that it enables site pages—layouts, fonts and images—to adjust automatically to different screen sizes. A combination of HTML5 and CSS3 design technologies helps extends BubbleLife’s digital publishing effort to the rapidly expanding tablet and smartphone universe.

Simply put, rather than creating a different design of BubbleLife for an ever-increasing number of web devices, the new “responsive web design” will treat them all as facets of the same experience. BubbleLife will look and feel different for each user, but each user will still receive an optimal viewing experience without making any sacrifices.

One of the most noticeable changes of the new look of BubbleLife is the display breakdown of stories on the site. Instead of just a long list of local stories, the stories are slotted under sections – sections devoted to news, education, real estate and other topics. This will make finding a particular story easier and relevant to you.

Each BubbleLife site will now also have two main featured stories at the top of the site instead of just one. These featured stories are changed and updated constantly and represent what the editors believe to be the top stories in the neighborhood.

Our iReporter feature still functions as it always has, making it easy for readers and viewers to report on any news that happens in their vicinity. As before, any person wanting to post in iReporter will need to have an account and be signed in. We welcome all contributions.

The new look and feel of BubbleLife compliments our other reader features, such as the email share feature, Sunday Magazine and distribution to Facebook and other social media platforms.

BubbleLife’s new look also extends to the Neighborhood Marketing Center on the site, where local merchants are able to access new web-based marketing and content tools to drive results, such as new business leads, and track and optimize their marketing performance.

“BubbleLife will continue to grow and change in order to bring readers the latest in neighborhood news,” said Farris. “We’re once again raising the bar for neighborhood news.”

Ronald McDonald House Charities has received a $100,000 grant from Dell.  This Powering the Possible Grant has been awarded to be shared among 14 Ronald McDonald House Chapters in cities where Dell has offices. The money is designated to support programs for families with children undergoing pediatric cancer treatment.

“Dell has proven itself to be a company which is dedicated to the health and wellness of the communities in which they live and operate,” said Ann Jerome, chief operating officer of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin and Central Texas. “We are very excited to be part of this new multi-city partnership between Dell and RMHC on behalf of families of critically ill children.”

The award was announced during the annual symposium of the Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium, sponsored by Dell and held at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin. In November, Dell announced a multiyear, multimillion dollar commitment of technology and employee engagement to support childhood cancer care initiatives globally, including the world’s first personalized medicine clinical trial for pediatric cancer conducted by the NMTRC and supported by The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).      

Receiving a portion of the $100,000 award are Ronald McDonald House Charities Chapters in Austin, Nashville, Chicago, Central Illinois, Oklahoma City, the Upper Midwest, Greater Washington DC, and Omaha; and Ronald McDonald Houses in Boston, Dallas, Stanford, Atlanta, Providence and Akron, all cities which also have Dell headquarters or offices. In each of these cities, Dell employees will also be volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House as part of this ongoing partnership. 

Jerome further explained, “Ronald McDonald Houses keep families together during difficult treatment regimens, and children heal better when their families are nearby.”

Ronald McDonald House Charities is proud of this unique partnership and hopeful for the thousands of families and children who will benefit nationwide from this generous donation.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities

Through its Ronald McDonald House and Ronald McDonald Family Room programs, Ronald McDonald House Charities in these 14 cities, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Since the first Ronald McDonald House opened in Philadelphia in 1974, Ronald McDonald Houses have addressed very simple but profound needs: most importantly, the need for parents to be near their child when that child is in medical crisis and the need for children to have the comfort of their parents in frightening times.

For more information, please visit www.rmhc-austin.org.

By Bob Pospick

Aspiring students are invited to spend a week at the 2012 Physical Computing Summer Camp where experienced instructors will teach the physical side of computing. Students will discover how easy it is to make their high performance 3π robots light up, sound off and move out!

Computers, big and small, are increasingly found in everything from cars to coffee makers, and it’s programming that makes them work. Understanding and using computer science is a skill that will give students an edge going forward in the 21st Century.

Brenda McGurgan, the Highland Park High School Computer Science chair, along with Bob Pospick, a local mechanical engineer and robotics enthusiast, will lead the students through activities designed to be fun and engaging, while teaching the fundamentals of computer programming. Each day brings a new hands-on programming challenge, and the week culminates with a robot race.

The summer camp is designed for students who have completed grades seven and up. It will be hosted at the Zion Lutheran School, 6121 E. Lovers Lane (at Skillman). The weeklong camp runs from 9 a.m. to noon on June 25-29. Past experience is not required other than an interest in robotics and computers! And best of all, the campers get to keep their robots as they continue exploring the fascinating world of physical computing.

For more information and to register online, go to http://robotics.shinayaka.us.

PLANO, Texas, May.14, 2012 – For the past six years when summer hits its
hardest and the Texas sun makes even the swimming pool unbearably steamy,
The Shops at Willow Bend has hosted Summer Fun Thursdays.  “With gas prices
soaring, parents are searching for some good old-fashioned summer fun
that’s close to home.  With that in mind, we have planned eight afternoons
in June & July with heart-pounding, bubble-popping, mind-stretching,
floor-stomping and clown-laughing performances that are fun for the whole
family,” says Amy Medford, Marketing & Sponsorship Director for the center.

Children and parents / caregivers are invited inside the cool,
out-of-the-sun environment at the center to participate in free activities.
The fun will start with Eddie Coker on Thursday, June 7 and continue every
Thursday through July 26 when it ends with a special performance presented
by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®.  All Summer Fun Thursdays begin at
1:00 PM and will be held in Grand Court (lower level near Neiman Marcus).
The Shops at Willow Bend has filled eight afternoons with fun performances;
each one is unique, inventive and sure to capture a child’s imagination.
The performances include:


Thursday, June 7:  Eddie Coker; Live on Stage.  Dallas’s own children’s
singer/songwriter will delight all comers with his unique singing
performance.  His songs and performances will feature fanciful and quirky
characters and provide educational and spiritual support, including
character building, fostering kindness and empathy, physical fitness and
self value.

Thursday, June 14:  Titanium Ted, Mind-Stretching Fun.  Whoosh, is it
getting windy in here?  Hold onto your seats for this explosively
entertaining look at matter, physical and chemical changes, and the effects
of extreme temperatures.  Join Titanium Ted from SciTech Discovery Center
as he provides mind-stretching fun for the entire family!

Thursday, June 21:    The Amazing Bubble Man.  Bubbles, excited kids, and a
lovable bubble man, what’s not to like?  The Amazing Bubble Man is able to
create an immediate rapport with his young audience based upon a shared,
enthusiastic love of bubbles.  If his bubbles don’t get you, his witty
asides will, and by the end of the show, your spirits will be soaring up
with the helium-filled bubbles floating about the ceiling.

Thursday, June 28:  Le Theatre de Marionette breathes new life into the old
world art of string puppetry.  Since 1985, Le Theatre artists have been
entertainment innovators, taking concepts from centuries before and giving
them a fresh new appeal for today’s modern audience.  Le Theatre designers,
craftsmen, and sculptors spend months to create the one-of-a-kind shows.

Thursday, July 5:  David Chicken Live Show Spectacular.  A talented
singer-songwriter will lead the audience through a high-energy, interactive
performance filled with creative movement, motivational messages and
general hilarity.  Named ‘Best of Big D’ by D Magazine, the singer invites
members of the audience on stage to sing, play musical instruments and be a
star.  Everyone’s invited to join the fun and learn to scackle!

Thursday, July 12:  Vocal Trash; A Stomping Sensation.  Back by popular
demand, this high-octane stage group provides an afternoon of music, dance,
comedy and audience participation just for kids. Like a variety show with
Broadway flair, Vocal Trash will present Street Show, an electrifying show
for children and adults that features acapella harmonies and industrial
‘Stomp-style’ drumming.

Thursday, July 19:  Mr. Vic; Rock-n-Roll Comedian for Kids.  Are you ready
for funny?  Vic Sinclair, aka Mr. Vic, brings home the kids/family comedy
in spades.  Sinclair has been called a rock-star for kids, a standup comic
for children and families, and “that funny man with the hair.”  His bag of
tricks includes comedy, insane puppets with minds of their own, hilarious
song paradoies, side-splitting illusions, and audience participation
improvisations.

Thursday, July 26:  Fully Charged Funday, presented by Ringling Brothers &
Barnum & Bailey®.  Join Ambassadors of Laughter, Slappy and Monday, as
they celebrate performance power that boosts circus-goers excitement. Step
right up, test your circus skills, and laugh at the hilarious antics of the
clowns prior to the circus coming to American Airlines Center August 1 – 12
and Ft. Worth Convention Center August 15 - 19.

All performances are free of charge and open to the public.

Cirro Energy is the power behind The Shops at Willow Bend Summer Fun
Thursdays.  Dallas Child, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® and Primrose
School of Bent Trail, West Plano and Coppell are also sponsors.  In
addition, Fuze will be doing sampling at each event!

Guests can purchase tickets to see Fully Charged at the Concierge Center
located on the lower level near Macy’s.

The Shops at Willow Bend is located at the northwest corner of the Dallas
North Tollway and West Park Boulevard and features more than 150 stores,
restaurants and services plus four anchors: Neiman Marcus, Macy’s,
Dillard’s and Crate&Barrel.  For more information about stores, restaurants
or events at The Shops at Willow Bend, call 972-202-4900 or visit
www.shopwillowbend.com.