Mayor’s Back to School Fair August 2nd

Mayor's Back to School Fair

FREE Event provides school supplies and services for about 15,000 qualifying families

 

The 16th annual Mayor’s Back to School Fair, presented by Walmart and Sam’s Club, will take place Thursday, August 2, from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., at the Automobile and Centennial buildings at Fair Park. Parking is free, or visitors can take the DART Rail Green Line to the Fair Park or MLK, Jr. station. Fair Park is located at 1300 Robert B. Cullum Blvd., Dallas, TX 75210.

From free school supplies for Dallas schoolchildren (who meet specific eligibility requirements), to free health, dental and vision screenings, immunizations and haircuts, to the latest information on education, health and social services, the Mayor’s Back to School Fair offers parents and children everything they need for the first day of school.

Tarrant County Back to School Roundup August 8th

Tarrant County Back to School Rounup

FREE Event provides school supplies and services for about 10,000 qualifying families

 

The eighth-annual Tarrant County Back To School Roundup, presented by Walmart and Sam’s Club, will take place Wednesday, August 8, 2012, from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., at the Will Rogers Memorial Center’s Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall (3401 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth, TX 76107). Parking is $5 at the Memorial Center, or free parking is available at Farrington Field located at the corner of University and Lancaster. The T will provide free bus service on August 8 to Roundup participants (pre-registration voucher is required).

Why is Math so important to teach our children?

Child Counting Change

by Ashley Parks

I must admit, I’m a bit biased.  See, I was that child who actually enjoyed math class.  Math was this wonderful new tool I could use to solve problems.  Whether it was addition and subtraction, multiplying or dividing, I was able to solve every day problems with this new way of thinking.  There was a new game that my sister and I had to share equally.  Well, there are 60 minutes in an hour so I got 30 minutes and she got 30 minutes.  Convincing me that I get to spend 20 minutes on the game was not in the cards since I knew how to divide by two.  Take money for example—you need to know how to make change, count, earn interest and so forth.   The “Rule of 72” in finance refers to the concept of how long it will take for money to double.  Divide 72 by an interest rate, say 6, and you get that it would take 72/6 = 12 years for your money to double.  With interest rates currently at fairly low levels, see that 72/2 = 36 years for money to double at a 2% interest rate.  Now that can come in handy!  The thought of Algebra can send many people running in the opposite direction.  Truly, I use Algebra all the time.  Here’s a real world example:

You want $1,000 after taxes and your tax rate is 20%.  How much do you need to earn before taxes?  Here’s the Algebra:

$1,000=x-.2x

$1,000=.8x

($1,000/.8)=x

$1,250=x

You need $1,250 before taxes to net $1,000