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Jim Huinink
Web Page: http://www.ourkids.net |
| Profile: Jim and his wife Shirley have a lifelong commitment to private education - more explicitly, Christian school. He has spent most of the last decade in various posts close to the intersection of education and new media, most recently (since March, 2008) as website editor for Our Kids Media. | |
Posts by the author:
Our Kids Media Hires Social Media Guru
Our Kids Media, publisher of two of Canada’s most popular websites on kids’ camps and private schools, camps.ca and ourkids.net, recently announced the hiring of Travis Allison in the position of Social Media marketer. Previous to embarking into the dynamic, exponentially-growing world of Social Media, Allison was Executive Director at CAIRN Presbyterian Camping & Retreat Centres, from 2005 to 2007. He was co-director at Glen Mhor Camp for ten years before taking on responsibilities at CAIRN.
Although social media is a relatively young field, Allison has already established himself as an expert, having presented “The Internet Will Make You a Better Camp Director” at the 2009 Tristate international camping conference. His summer camp and Social-Media-related tweets have garnered him over 1000 followers on Twitter, and the Facebook page he developed for CAIRN has over 200 fans. He is also avid about video and photography.
“I am bursting with exciting ideas and I look forward to working with Our Kids’ clients and reader-families to bring great new ideas and discussion to our sites across the World Wide Web,” said Allison.
“This is another step forward in our growth,” said Andrew Stawicki, president of Our Kids Media. “Over the past two years, we have grown our websites to the point where this year, we received 650,000+ visits from families searching for information about schools and summer camp programs. We love to continue growing.”
Tags: facebook, private school, social media, summer campsOver 2,000 Expected to Attend Toronto Private School Expo
Canada’s largest Private School Expo takes place this weekend at Roy Thomson Hall, with more than 2,000 people expected to attend. Over 70 schools will be represented at the Expo, which has been held annually since 2002. Many schools are located in Toronto and area, but schools from places as diverse as Nova Scotia, California, Virginia, and elsewhere will also be in attendance.
Both parents and schools rave about the Private School Expo in Toronto as an unparalleled experience in meeting each other and understanding how schools can match families’ needs.
One parent at least year’s expo called it “a must for parents researching educational options for their children,” adding, “I was able to get more information about schools in one spot and it saved me a lot of time.”
Ruth Ann Penny of Branksome Hall in Toronto said that last year’s expo “was one of the liveliest and successful we have ever attended.”
Media and families are invited to attend the Toronto Private School Expo to find out about the value of private education in Canada.
Presentations at this year’s expo will include the following:
• How to choose a school offers parents a step-by-step approach to choosing the right school for your child. There are many factors to consider when choosing a school, and what may be a great school for your neighbour’s child may not be the best fit for yours.
• How to pay for private school, presented by financial experts, tells you how to work education costs into your budget and offers details about incentives like tax benefits, grants and scholarships.
• Boarding Schools — An opportunity of a lifetime challenges parents to fully consider this option. Boarding schools today offer tremendous advantages. The session offers a peak into life at boarding school and identifies some of the common myths causing parents to miss an opportunity to give their children a great gift.
Get all the details: http://www.ourkids.net/expo/toronto-expo.php
Register now: http://www.ourkids.net/expo/register.php
Come prepared: http://www.ourkids.net/expo/prepare-for-the-expo.php
Our Kids Website Redesign
Over the past four months, Our Kids Media has worked toward redesigning and entirely revamping our portal on private schools at ourkids.net. Three writers and editors, two designers and one of the hardest working developers in the business have all been busy adding content, new features and an entirely new look to our website on private education.
The updated website includes the following noteworthy additions:
An advanced school search that allows parents to drill down into regions and school specializations, along with a clickable, searchable map listing private schools from Canada, the United States and internationally.
A community section that includes areas of parents and students. The Student Zone highlights contests and videos and promotes student bloggers from private schools. The parent to parent community allows parents to ask and answer questions about private schools, boarding schools, Montessori, faith-based and other options and issues in private education.Some hot topics include advice on choosing a school, academics and curriculum and other decisions. More »
Private Day Schools Offer Endless Opportunities
Experts discuss the widespread appeal of day schools. To many it might be an obvious choice but there are more reasons than immediately apparent.
Parents seeking a quality education for their child often find this and more at an independent or private day school.
Stay-at-home kids
Because attending a day school doesn’t require a child to be physically separated from his or her family—outside regular school hours, that is—most parents enjoy the fact that they can remain actively involved in their child’s daily life. No homesickness (or “kid-sickness”) or missed occasions required.
“There’s a significant group of parents who like to have their children educated in their communities and have brought forward a bulk of new independent day schools,” says Robin Hinnell, Executive Director of the Independent Schools Association of B.C. “Parents these days don’t want to send their child away. They want them to be closer to their homes.”