13 (Women of the Otherworld, #13) by Kelley Armstrong

War is coming to the Otherworld. A sinister cult known as The Supernatural Liberation Movement is hell-bent on exposing the truth about supernaturals to the rest of the world. Their violent, ruthless plan has put everyone at risk: from werewolves to vampires, from witches to half-demons.

Savannah Levine - fiery and unpredictable - stands at the heart of the maelstrom. There is a new, dark magic inside her, granting her the power to summon spells of terrifying strength. But whether this magic is a gift or a curse, no one knows.

On the eve of battle, all the major players must come together in a last, desperate fight for survival - Elena and Clay; Adam and Savannah; Paige and Lucas; Jeremy and Jaime; Hope, Eve and more...They are fighting for lives.

They are fighting for their loved ones.

They are fighting for the Otherworld.

Wildfires: Blazes Kill Firefighter, Force Hundreds To Evacuate

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Hundreds of firefighters battled a pair of wildfires that burned out of control in Northern California for a second day on Monday, threatening a clothing-optional resort and forcing the evacuation of some 500 homes.

Meanwhile, authorities said a U.S. Forest Service firefighter was killed in Idaho while battling a blaze there.

In California, the Wye Fire and the Walker Fire had charred a total of 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) by Monday evening in Lake County, a tourist area some two hours north of San Francisco, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The flames forced the closure of a portion of Highway 20, a major road that runs around Clear Lake, a popular summer destination.

It also prompted authorities to order the evacuation of 480 homes and at least several ranches in the Spring Valley area, Berlant said, and threatened nearby Wilbur Hot Springs, a resort that offers clothing-optional bathing in mineral water.

The resort closed on Sunday for 12 days of maintenance and it was not clear if anyone had been forced to flee. The resort could not be reached for comment on Monday.

"We haven't had rain in months, so the grass and the brush were incredibly dry. We had triple-digit temperatures, which create the perfect burning conditions for a wildfire," Berlant said.

The benefits of music therapy for special needs students

Music therapy can be a fun way to motivate and encourage students to learn, especially for children with special needs who not only get the benefit of a richer learning environment, but also the advantage of developing behavior and social skills.

Following are the benefits on how music can assist students with special needs.

1. Cognitive/ Academic. Some children who rarely speak will sing along with songs that they have learned, showing that they are actually demonstrating a lot of memorization and retention. For example, many learning songs such as the “ABC’s” or “Head, shoulders, knees, and toes,” are songs based on basic knowledge, but aid in memory and organizing information.

2. Communication/ Social Interaction. Playing music or instruments with others can build a sense of community for children who are not connected in other ways. Being able to express themselves through singing and playing instruments may be easier than communicating through words. In group environments, playing music can also promote social skills like turn taking and following directions.

3. Motor Abilities. Many children’s songs like “The Hokey Pokey,” include basic motor movements that can increase skill areas in a child’s body. Playing instruments such as drums or wind instruments not only teaches students rhythm and memorization, but also increases fine motor skills due to the variety of grips and hand positions to make a sound.

4. Music Appreciation. Learning about music builds children’s appreciation as members of an audience for other’s performances, as well as an understanding of music as a form of expression. This opens up opportunities for our students to create their own new interests as well as their own talents and ability in performances.

Original source here

Exam boards set out GCSE shake-up plans

Two major exam boards have set out plans to shake up the current GCSE system - after Education Secretary Michael Gove announced a consultation aimed at replacing it with a tougher O-level style qualification.
Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR) board called for lower-level GCSE pass grades to be scrapped while the parent company of Edexcel unveiled plans for a new "gold standard" test for 16-year-olds.

The plans were outlined as thousands of teenagers prepare to receive their results, with A-levels coming this Thursday and GCSEs a week later.

Mr Dawe wants to scrap the two-tier GCSE system, where exams are divided into higher and lower-level papers. Those who take the lower-tier paper cannot get higher than a C grade pass.

He told the Independent: "We're doing our students a disservice if they feel that's going to allow them to progress further."

Mr Dawe pointed out that most employers only recognised A* to C grade passes and refused to count grades D to G towards employment, arguing that the exam should be reconstituted to offer only A* to D or E grade passes.

A separate lower qualification could be used by certain students as a "stepping stone" towards taking a full GCSE, and with the age range extended to 18.

"Some leavers won't be able to achieve it at 16 and it is therefore appropriate it could go on to 17 or 18 for them," Mr Dawe said.

Meanwhile an international panel of education experts has been set up by Pearson, Edexcel's parent company, to plan a qualification which would begin by offering new exams in English, maths and science.

The panel will include members from Harvard as well as the Singapore and Australian education systems, with the aim of creating an international "gold standard" exam, and will be headed by Sir Michael Barber, a former education adviser to Tony Blair.

In what could be seen as a swipe at Mr Gove's ambition to return to the O-level, Sir Michael said: "The gold standard is not what happened in the 1950s in England.

"It is what is happening in Singapore and Hong Kong and Ontario and Alberta now. The gold standard is being set by the best education operating in the 21st century."

Original source here

Report: Smoking Among High School Students Declines In 2011 in U.S

A National Youth Tobacco Survey study released Thursday reports a 1.4 percent decrease in smoking among high school students, from 17.2 percent in 2009 to 15.8 percent in 2011. Cigar use, on the other hand, appears to be on the rise.

The national health study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was the third of its kind to detect a decline in adolescent smoking. It boasts participants from all 50 states and features 178 middle and high schools and 18,866 students. The survey measured usage over a 30-day period, and asked about all manners of tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipes, bidis and kreteks, according to Education Week.

"An overall decline in tobacco use is good news, but although four out of five teens don't smoke, far too many kids start to smoke every day," Dr. Thomas Frieden, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, said in a statement. "Most tobacco use begins and becomes established during adolescence."

Overall, the study found that cigar use among high school students increased from 10.9 percent to 11.6 percent, while smokeless tobacco use decreased from 22.2 percent to 21 percent. The rise in cigar use was particularly evident among black high school students, 11.7 percent of whom smoked cigars in 2011, compared to 7.1 percent in 2009.

Anti-smoking advocates attribute the upsurge in cigar smoking to lower tax rates on some styles, and the use of flavorings, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

In March, the Surgeon General’s report indicated that in recent years, adolescent and young adult smoking of menthol cigarettes has increased significantly, while smoking non-mentholated cigarettes has been on the decline. According to the report, up to 58 percent of middle school smokers and 49 percent of high school smokers smoke menthol cigarettes.

Although smoking among high school students has declined since the 1994 Surgeon General’s report, the rate of decline has slowed in recent years.

In June, a government survey found that marijuana smoking has eclipsed cigarette smoking for the first time; while 23 percent of high school student indicated they had recently smoked marijuana, only 19 percent said the same about cigarettes.

Original source here