News: Swine Flu Vaccines, SIGG Bottle Swap, NY Hall of Science Closed, More

9/7/09 - By Anna Fader

Happy Labor Day. Summer is officially over for New York City kids and that means back to school time. Check out some recipes and other useful information in our Back to School Guide.

It also means this is the last week of our summer-long Susie's Supper Club Dinner Party Giveaway. We've given away 9 dinner parties for 10 people and we have just one left to give away. In order to enter, just answer our short reader survey.

If Labor Day to you means preparing to apply to Preschools, maybe you've been checking out our Preschool Guide. We want to overhaul it and make i easier to use, so if you care to answer our ONE QUESTION survey we'd really love to get your input. Click Here to take survey.

Here's the rest of the news:

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The New Yorker had an interesting article last week about the NYC DOE's "Rubber Rooms" —rooms where teachers suspected of being too bad to expose children to are sent since they can't be fired due to union regulations.

The New York Hall of Science will be closed through September 14 for undisclosed reasons and is opening on the 15th with new exhibits. [via TimeOutKidsNY]

The City announces their new swine flu preparedness strategy, including that NYC school children will be able to get free swine flu vaccines at school. The shots will be available in mid- to late October, but won't be effective until close to the end of November.

We recently reported that SIGG water bottles do have BPA in their liner. If you are concerned, now you can trade in your SIGG water bottles and get 30% off alternative stainless steel bottles at bigbottleswap.com.

Sesame Street has created a special program aimed at helping families cope with these difficult economic times. Families Stand Together will be a bilingual program starring Al Roker, Elmo and real families who have struggled in these times. It will air on September 9, 2009 at 8pm EST on Channel 13.

If you’re looking for something unique and free for kids you’ll be particularly interested in the New Amsterdam Village every day at Battery Park (now-Sept 14th) where you can learn about traditional Dutch crafts and foods and see new artists and environmental innovators.

Need something to do on Tuesday, the last day before public schools start? The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is always free on Tuesdays.