As free as they make us, mobile phones still need to stay close to a power source. Soon that may change with "green" power.

    Three Chilean students got the idea for a plant-powered device(装置) to charge their cellphones, while sitting in their school's outdoor courtyard during a break from exams, with dead mobile phones. Then, one of them had an "aha" moment.

    “It occurred to Camila to say about plants,” said inventor Evelyn Aravena. “'Why don't you have a socket, if there are so many plants? 'After that, we thought, 'why don't they have a charging outlet? Because there are so many plants and living things that have the potential to produce energy, why not?'”

    Their invention—a small biological circuit called E-Kaia—uses the energy plants to produce during photosynthesis(光合作用). A plant uses only a small part of that energy and the rest goes into the soil, and that's where the E-Kaia collects it. The device plugs into the ground and then into your phone.

    "It's the most amazing project I've ever seen in my life, plain and simple. They brought this original model, and it worked — and that's when it all changed, at least from my personal point of view and I began to support them." said Mauricio Cifuentes.

    The device solved two problems for the engineering students — they needed an idea for a class project, and an outlet to plug in their phones.

    "Looking for a place to charge the notebook, which had no power, and the mobile phones, we weren't able to find anything because all the other students were in the same state of madness trying to find a place to charge their devices," said Aravena.

    But plants are everywhere, and the bio－circuit makes the best of their excess(过多的) power.

    The E-Kaia doesn't carry much charge but it's powerful enough to completely recharge a mobile phone in less than two hours.

    The student inventors have applied for patents on their technology, and expect the E-Kaia to go on sale in December 2016.

    Application Workshop

    Join Citizens Committee for New York City and the NYC Department of Sanitation for a workshop on the Green Team Mini-Grant application on February 2, which lasts from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM!

    The workshop will cover

    Applying for the Green Team Mini-Grant

    How to use the Zero Waste schools website

    Creative Coding

    We are hosting a free design workshop just for girls on March 7 from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM, in support of International Women's Day! The focus of the workshop is on Creative Coding, with art and technology, but we'll also have a few female designers to share their unique work with the attendees.

    No experience necessary, this event is for girls between the ages of 9-12.

SAT & ACT Roadmap to Success

    In this free 1-hour workshop, parents will discover the road map to SAT & ACT success. Topics included: Review of "goal scores" for SAT/ACT college admissions, national trends in college admissions, how to determine whether the SAT or the ACT is the best test for your student, steps to prepare for the Sat or ACT, best time to take the Sat or ACT. Join us on March 23.

    Square School Family Information Night

    Join us for our Family Information Night on March 14! We'll gather at the future home for Square School for an introduction to the school model at 6:30pm.

    This event is intended for families with young people entering grades six or seven in 2019 that want to be a part of a school community that attaches importance to a lifestyle of learning. Join us for this Family Information Night to see if Square School is the right choice for your family.

    When I heard the piano, I walked to Mrs. Windsor's house and waited outside as I always did. That meant she was working with another student, and I was not supposed to bother them by ringing the bell. I stood against the wall and daydreamed what I'd rather be doing. "Almost anything", I sighed dejectedly. I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn't have a gift for it. It didn't come to me naturally. I thought back to happier times when I was writing stories and acting them out with my friends, cutting up old clothes to make dresses that performers wear in plays, and building scenery out of old things we found. But Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt my duty to try.

    The door opened and Wendy Barton came out. I walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music.

    "Hello," I heard a voice behind me say softly. I turned around to see a little girl standing behind me, eating an apple. But before I could make any response, Mrs. Windsor walked into the room in her usual urgent manner and announced, "Jennifer, this is my niece, Pasha. Pasha, this is Jennifer. Pasha will be giving you your lesson today. I'm up to my ears in something else!" she then exited to the kitchen.

Pasha set her apple down on the side table and slid beside me on the piano bench.

    "What piece do you like best?" she asked.

    "What do you mean?" I asked. "They're all the same to me. I don't know.

    "You mean you don't have a favorite?"

    "No, not really."

    Pasha looked at me, rather puzzled, then opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys and studied the notes on the page for a moment. Then I frowned and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I have to admit I was a rather mechanical pianist.

    After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. "What are you hearing in the music?" I looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn't know what she meant.

    "Like a story. What story is being playing out within the music?"

    "I guess I've never thought about it before. I don't know."

    "Here, let me try and you listen," Pasha advised.

    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play. "See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water flowing beside you?"

    Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys. "Now the princess appears and she's picking flowers from the water's edge." A carefree, happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha's dancing fingers. "Oh, but she slips!" The music changed. "And our princess is being carried off by the fast-flowing stream. Quickly, the princess's horse sees her plight (困境)," Pasha continued, "and races to the river's edge where he swims out to let her catch hold of him. They make it to the bank and she hugs her faithful horse and swears she will never again wear princess skirts that weigh her down." Pasha finished with a big smile and then looked at me.

"Aren't you the girl who tells the stories?" she asked.

    "I guess. I do tell a lot of stories."

    "Oh, yes! All the kids talk about them. I've heard about you. Well, all you have to do is learn to hear the stories in the music. That's all there is to it."

    "I've never thought it that way."

    "Let's try another one, shall we?" Pasha smiled and together we played that afternoon, finding the stories in the music and learning that sometimes it takes a friend to pull you out of the river onto dry land again.

SeaWorld Orlando

    SeaWorld Orlando takes families below the surface and above their expectations. No visit to SeaWorld would be complete without watching one of the park's signature animal shows. Witness the interaction between otters (水獭) and trainers at the Sea Lion and Otter Stadium. SeaWorld Orlando is a treat for visitors of all ages, kids and adults alike.

Sea Life Orlando

    Uncover the secrets of the ocean at Sea Life in Orlando, FL! This amazing center is filled with a variety of colorful creatures that are sure to touch off your imagination. For an additional cost, guests can also choose to participate in a VIP experience to learn how to feed these creatures!

Gulf of Mexico Deep Sea Fishing

    Your journey will take place on board the Super Queen, the largest fishing boat on Florida's west coast. The boat's personnel will help you determine if your catch is large enough to keep. You will enjoy four full hours of fishing time. On the way back to the mainland, kick back and talk with fellow passengers about the 'big one' that you caught on this fishing trip!

Monumental Hotel Orlando

    The Monumental Hotel Orlando provides you with high-quality accommodations and easy access to the many exciting attractions that make Orlando a top vacation destination. Start your morning off with the ease and convenience of the iron and in-room coffee maker. If you feel like staying in for the night, take advantage of the TV with Pay Per View.

    I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals for two elderly women in my community. Both had died "full of years", as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.

    At the first home, the son of the deceased(过世的)woman said to me, "If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It's my fault that she died." At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, "If only I hadn't insisted on my mother's going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It's my fault that she's dead."

    You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course—keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation—would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?

    There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.

    The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.

    A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to his tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.

    The best movies for teenagers are listed here. You can pick one for your teen to watch it with you or their best friends.

    ⒈Eighth Grade

    Kayla is a shy, socially anxious girl trying to get by the last few weeks of middle school. She earns the "most quiet" girl title in school, but at home, she posts online self-help and motivational videos that not many people watch. Kayla is raised by her single father Mark, who tries to disconnect Kayla from the social media.

    ⒉Dead Poets Society

    Mr. Keating, an English teacher, introduces his students, all set to become doctors and lawyers, to poetry and free-thinking. Each of his students deals with several issues. He encourages them to form the Dead Poets Society where they read and write poetry.

    ⒊The Hunger Games

    Based on a book by Suzanne Collins, the story is set in a country called Panem, which was once the ruins of North America. Every year, young boys and girls from the 12 districts of Panem fight in the Hunger Games, a televised competition in which the contestants (参赛者) compete against death.

    ⒋The Break fast Club

    It begins with five students at the Shermer High School, Claire, a princess, John a criminal, Andrew, an athlete, Brian, a bookworm and Allison, an unfortunate person, who are forced to spend 9 hours together on a Saturday. In spite of their differences, they find that their social problems are more similar than they think. The film tries to encourage breaking social boundaries for positive self-identification in the world.