Latest news with #middleSchool
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Child dies after school coach carrying more than 60 people crashes on day trip
A child has died after a school coach carrying children and staff from a day trip crashed in Somerset. The coach was carrying 60-70 passengers and was heading back to a nearby middle school in Minehead. A local resident said the coach had gone off the road and down a slope. Tragically, we are confirming this evening that a child has died after a collision on the A396 at Cutcombe Hill in Exmoor this afternoon. Please read our latest statement following the A396 coach collision. #A396Incident — Avon and Somerset Police (@ASPolice) July 17, 2025 Chief Superintendent Mark Edgington of Avon and Somerset Police told reporters that a child had died following the incident. Speaking outside Bridgwater Police Centre, Mr Edgington said: 'A number of other people have presented or been taken to hospital, some with serious injuries. 'This includes two children who were taken to hospital by air ambulance, many passengers either sustained minor injuries or were physically unharmed and were transferred to a rest centre. 'Work to help them return to Minehead has been taking place throughout the evening. 'An investigation into the cause of this incident will be carried out.' The crash happened on the A396 at Cutcombe Hill, between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe, at about 3.15pm on Thursday, police said.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Study finds 6% of Florida teens have handguns, a 65% increase over 20 years
Despite increased concerns about rising gun deaths among children, new research found that the number of teenagers who have handguns has gone up. The study, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, found that Florida adolescent general handgun carrying increased by 65%, from 3.7% to 6.0%, from 2002 to 2022. Females, middle school-aged teens and white students were among the groups that most substantially contributed to the increase. "These findings indicate the need to specifically tailor earlier prevention strategies focused on handgun access and carrying toward female and middle school students, with ongoing attention to rural and male adolescents across racial and ethnic identities, who still have the highest prevalence of carriage after a 20-year period," the authors wrote. Researchers used data from the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey, a cross-sectional survey of Florida middle and high school students. In total, more than 700,000 student respondents were analyzed. Though general handgun carrying went up, carrying in school decreased by 60%, from 1.1% to 0.4%, according to the study. There was also a 39% decrease in favorable attitudes toward school carrying, the study found. The authors noted that both these decreases initially seemed contradictory, as school shootings have increased in the past 25 years. "Ongoing research should explore factors influencing regional and sociodemographic differences in these trends, such as the increases in school safety measures (eg, controlling access to buildings, requiring visitors to sign in, using security badges) or increases in the presence of security or law enforcement officers," the authors wrote. They also noted the study's limitations, including the reliance on self-reporting, which can introduce bias. Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teenagers in the United States, with a steep increase in ages 15 to 19 starting in 2020. Nonfatal firearm injuries among children under age 18 also increased 113.1% from 2011 to 2021, another recent study found. A study published last month in JAMA Pediatrics found gun deaths among children rose in states with lax firearm laws, with certain states seeing a jump in pediatric gun deaths after amending their firearms restrictions. Meanwhile, in the states that had the most restrictive laws, deaths remained stable or, in some cases, there were fewer pediatric gun deaths. Death toll rises as desperate search for Texas flash flood survivors continues Sabrina Carpenter on the biggest misperceptions about her How Lady Liberty became a beacon for immigrants
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Should You Let Teens Sleep Late During the Summer, Or Wake Them Up?
The mom of a 16-year-old night owl asks: How much sleep do teens need in the summer? Should parents wake up their teens at a semi-decent hour of the morning, or let them sleep? 'He is turning into a vampire, staying up all night and sleeping all day,' Ashley Smith, a middle school teacher, tells about her teen son. 'Is that normal — or am I totally crazy for letting him do his own thing in the summer?' Smith quizzed TikTok for help. 'Question for parents of teenagers, especially teenage boys,' Smith said in a TikTok video. 'How long are we letting them sleep in during the summer — do we wake them up at all?' Parents had different rules for summer bedtimes, responding: 'As long as they want. Summer is for recharging.' 'When they're sleeping, they're not eating all the food. Let them sleep.' 'Two teenagers here. They're sleeping in as long as they want, so they're not bothering me.' 'You never wake a sleeping baby. Same applies with teenagers.' 'We're a farming family, so no, our son can't sleep all day. In summer, he can sleep an hour later than during the school year, so 6:30 a.m.' 'Unless we have plans, I let all the kids sleep. If they have chores or things I need them to do, they can do it when they're up. I don't care if they clean their room at 9 a.m. or 11 p.m., as long as it gets done.' 'Depends on why they're sleeping so much and how late in the day. If they're waking up at 4 p.m. and playing video games until 6 a.m., that's a 'No' for me.' 'Youth is such a short period of time. They have the rest of their lives to have alarms and deadlines. Let them be kids, as carefree as possible, for as long as possible.' 'My parents made me work, volunteer, etc. during the summer. Y'all aren't setting these kids up for success.' 'Why do you think kids grow so much over the summer? ... They are exhausted, they are growing.' 'Summer just started two minutes ago. Let them sleep.' Smith tells that her 15-year-old daughter wakes up around 10 a.m. to hit the pool, while her 16-year-old son has been rising in the late afternoon, after staying up for most of the night playing video games. The lenient bedtime rule, says Smith, is more for her son, who wakes up early during the school year and for part of the summer to attend marching band practice. 'There's a lot of variability for sleep duration across all ages of children,' Dr. Rakesh Bhattacharjee, the director of pediatric sleep medicine at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, tells 'For teenagers, the current recommendation is at least eight hours of sleep — and not less,' says Bhattacharjee, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. 'As children get older .... their need for sleep reduces: Babies spend half the day sleeping and adults spend a third of the day sleeping.' Bhattacharjee adds, 'Up to 85% of teenagers are not getting the recommended amount of sleep.' These are the sleep guidelines for children of other ages (including naps for the youngest kids), according to The American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Babies: ages 4 months to 12 months should sleep 12 to 16 hours. Toddlers: ages 1 to 2 years old should sleep 11 to 14 hours. Preschoolers: Ages 3 to 5 years old should sleep 10 to 13 hours. School-aged children: Ages 6 to 12 years old should sleep 9 to 12 hours. Teenagers, Bhattacharjee says, should get 8-10 hours, but he notes, 'There's a range. Some teens can function on 8 hours of sleep while others may need 9 to 10 hours.' You don't have to, but it's OK if you do, and sometimes you should. 'This is an incredibly relatable scenario for many parents of teens,' John Lopos, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation, tells in an email interview. 'There's nothing wrong with checking in on and waking up a teen who's sleeping late into the day, including during summer, especially if they've had the opportunity to get ... a sufficient amount of quality sleep.' Lopos says parents should figure out the reason a teen is sleeping in for so long. 'Are they very sleep deprived from what they are doing late at night into the early morning? How is their mental health? Are there any medical symptoms that are disrupting their sleep at night?' says Lopos, adding that checking in with a medical or mental health professional can help. Teens who don't heed their natural body clocks while playing video games or using other devices at night 'are setting themselves up for a really poor sleep schedule and the consequences for health and performance that can travel with that,' notes Lopos. Even without a reason to wake up during the summer, Lopos recommends a consistent sleep-and-wake schedule for teens, which also helps them adjust to earlier wakeup times as the school year approaches. Without an explicit time at which parents should wake their sleeping teens, Lopos suggests using judgment 'based on reasonable social and activity schedules' and 'the effects of daylight.' 'Our circadian clock needs light during the day, especially sunlight in the morning, also to help our sleep at night,' says Lobos. 'Even with longer summer days, if a teen is sleeping so late into the day that they have less opportunity to get up, get outside and be active in the light, that's another contributor to an unhealthy sleep experience and a pattern of behavior that can have lasting negative effects.' Teens are usually sleep-deprived on weekdays and 'incur a sleep debt,' says Bhattacharjee, adding, 'They sleep more on the weekends to make up for it.' Video games are a frequent offender when it comes to disrupting sleep. "Engaging in video games during the nighttime exposes teenagers to potentially harmful screen time, which can disrupt their circadian rhythm," Bhattacharjee says, noting that video games can have addictive effects, making it harder for kids to stop playing and get the sleep they need. Sleep is involved in learning and memory consolidation, emotional regulation and athletic performance, according to the doctor. He adds that sleep-deprived kids could have higher rates of anxiety and depression, lower scholastic performance, poorer executive functioning and unsafe driving skills. 'Teen boys and girls need about the same amount of sleep .... but teen girls struggle more with sleep than teen boys,' says Bhattacharjee. 'That disparity starts in adolescence and persists throughout adulthood.' This article was originally published on
CTV News
26-06-2025
- CTV News
18-year-old arrested for assaulting middle school student on New Westminster bus, police say
A Metro Vancouver Transit Police officer is seen in this undated image. (Metro Vancouver Transit Police/Facebook) An 18-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a 13-year-old middle school student on a Metro Vancouver bus. The incident occurred on June 19 in New Westminster, according to a news release from Metro Vancouver Transit Police. Around 3:30 that afternoon, the victim boarded a bus on 8th Avenue with a group of other students, police said, adding that the 13-year-old was headed home from school. 'A few stops later, the student stood up to exit the bus and accidentally bumped an 18-year-old man with his backpack,' the MVTP statement reads. 'The man then allegedly grabbed the student by the throat and punched them multiple times. Both the suspect and the student departed the bus, at different stops.' Police said they received 'multiple phone calls and text messages' reporting the incident, and were soon able to identify the suspect. He was arrested on June 20 and has since been released with conditions. MVTP did not name the suspect, and there are no online court records related to the police file number, indicating that charges have not yet been laid. 'Transit police would like to thank the young witnesses who came forward, supported by their parents, to share their information with officers,' said Const. Amanda Steed, in the release. 'We understand that it can be difficult to recount something deeply upsetting that a person has experienced or witnessed, and would like to commend these students for finding the courage to do so.' Transit police said they 'continue to work closely with school administration' to address concerns about student safety on transit. They asked anyone with information about the June 19 assault who has not yet spoken to investigators to call 604-515-8300, or text 87-77-77.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
My teens' social lives are thriving, but my wallet isn't. Dances, movie tickets, and mall outings add up.
My youngest two kids are 12 and 14 and have formed important friendships in middle school. They're starting to have more frequent — and expensive — social events. While I'm happy their social lives are thriving, I'm not so thrilled about the financial impact. I have four kids. My youngest son and daughter, 12 and 14, respectively, are in middle school. They've both formed important friendships during this time — no small feat for kids this age — and being able to maintain these bonds is important to them and to me. That often means spending money. My money. Don't get me wrong. While I love seeing how happy my kids are as they branch out into the world, staying connected to their friends part of doing so means going to social events, including sleepovers, going on trips to the mall and movies, and other social outings, like dances and birthday parties. These often come with a price — sometimes, a hefty one. Movies, a popular weekend activity, include not just the cost of admission but also snacks. Even if they opt to get snacks for a more affordable price before hitting the theater, the cost of a ticket alone is steep, at $14.75 each. A mall excursion costs between $20 and $40 for food and some sort of desired or needed item. I do my best to have them purchase something they actually need while they're there, so I'm getting the most for my money. My kids' friends often bring their Greenlight card, a debit card for kids, loaded with $100 or more. More than once, they've come home complaining that they don't get the same. We've talked about how there will always be people with more than we have, and others who have less. The trick is to be grateful for all that we have, no matter how it stacks up to others. They're getting a valuable lesson with these trips for free, I suppose. For me, the most costly endeavor of all, though, is a school dance, which happens in the spring. There are outfits, shoes, and nails. Acrylic nails are popular where we live in the suburbs of Southern Maine, and a full set costs between $60 and $80. Though we could have done her nails at home, I opted to get them done professionally as part of her graduation gift. Outfits and shoes are purchased with a limit in mind at discount prices. Still, for my daughter's recent dance and graduation, we spent $35 on bedazzled heels to match the $50 dress. Accessories, a mix of affordable jewelry, included a necklace and earrings with a combined cost of $30. She got straight A's and worked hard during her three years of middle school. Still, the total cost was almost $200. I know this is far less than most of the parents in our town spend. It's less expensive for my son, as for him, I only have to worry about a nice shirt and some sort of name-brand, trendy shorts. I've already done all of this with my two oldest, now 18 and 20. They needed and wanted the same things as their younger siblings. For me, the most important thing has always been setting limits and explaining the value and cost of things. While I don't want to stress my kids out, I want them to know that their dad and I work hard for our money. I also want them to understand that they can't and won't get everything they want. Our younger kids, who aren't working yet, often save money from holidays or birthdays to get some of the things they ask for; sometimes, we will split the cost with them. We do pay for their necessities, and make sure to distinguish between the two, which has become a lesson in want versus need. Once my oldest children began to work, they realized just how difficult it is to earn money. They also understand the value of things and their true importance. I want my younger kids to learn the same lessons. While we don't give weekly allowances, we reward them for helping with certain things around the house and for getting good grades. They also know they are expected to work when they turn 15 or 16. We don't want work to interfere with school, so we'll limit the number of hours they can work, just as we did with their older siblings. Social ties are important for kids. I'm lucky my kids have found friendships where they feel they are part of something. While I wish the price of being social weren't so high, I don't mind that it gives me another opportunity to talk to them about money. Read the original article on Business Insider
