2 . Spanish-American Institute

Student Cub Notes

Free and Low Cost Gyms, Health Clubs and Pools

NYC Department of Parks Recreation Centers

www.nycgovparks.org

Recreation Centers: The NYC Department of Parks has many Recreation Centers throughout New York City. Recreation Centers offer a wide range of free and membership programs and services. Some have indoor swimming pools. Almost all have weight rooms, basketball courts, dance studios, boxing rings, art studios, game rooms, etc. 

All Recreation Centers offer a wide range of programs such as aerobics, dance, tai chi, fencing, computer classes, and art. Many programs are free and open to the general public but many require membership. 

You do not need to be a New York City resident to use a Recreation Center. You may use your annual membership at any and all Centers. Use one near the Spanish-American Institute and then use one near your home. 

Costs: Free and membership programs. Standard annual membership is $50 for Recreation Centers and $75 for Recreation Centers with pools. (Do you know anyone 55 and older? The senior membership is only $10 a year.)

Standard annual membership provides scheduled access to the gym, pool, and all the other facilities. Instructor-led courses such as aerobics, martial arts, music, or yoga may require an additional fee. 

Membership and Program Information: Go to the www.nycgovparks.org home page. On the “Facilities” menu, click on “Recreation Centers.” On the “Recreation Centers” page, you will find information about membership and fees. You will also see links to Recreation Facilities by borough (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island).

On the “Facilities” menu, you may also want to check out other NYC Department of Parks facilities such as beaches, ice skating rinks, nature centers, running tracks, soccer fields, etc.

Recreation Centers: There are several Parks Department Recreation Centers in each borough. After you go to the “Recreation Centers” page and click on a borough, you will find a list of the centers in that borough with their addresses, phone numbers, and web links. The list will look like that for Manhattan below. Click on the link for a particular Center to learn more about its services, schedules, and programs.

7 . Shanghai Disneyland Annual Pass

Shanghai Disneyland is a place where every moment is packed with joy, surprises, romance, fantasy and excitement. It's place where friends and families come together to enjoy magical adventures, and with the new Annual Pass, available from January 25, 2019. Guests will be able to enjoy a whole year of never ending magic! Start your year-long magical journey today from the moment you purchase the new Annual Pass!

As a pass Holder, you'll enjoy exclusive benefits, including a full year of events and parties, Disney Character greetings, and discounts on delicious food and merchandise! You'll also receive invitations to special events and so much more!

There are three types of Shanghai Disneyland Annual Pass (Different pass types are subject to restrictions specified on the “Shanghai Disneyland Annual Pass Calendar”):

Pass eligible visit dates are subject to the pass calendar, found on the “Shanghai Disneyland Annual Pass Calendar” page on the Shanghai Disney Resort official website and the Shanghai Disney Resort official WeChat Account. Guests will have visibility for the following three months of the Pass calendar (including the current month). The Pass calendar for a new month will be released in the middle of each month. We may restrict the number of persons with access to the Park due to capacity.

Launch Channel:

From January 25, 2019, guests can purchase the Shanghai Disneyland Annual Pass through the Shanghai Disney Resort official WeChat account, the Shanghai Disney Resort official WeChat Mini Program “E-gift Ticket,” the Shanghai Disneyland Main Entrance ticket booths, and the Shanghai Disney Resort Reservation Centre at 400 - 180 - 0000 or +86-21-3158-0000. The Annual Pass can be redeemed and used to enter the park from January 25,2019.

From February 15, 2019, guests can purchase the Shanghai Disneyland Annual Pass via the Shanghai Disney Resort Official Website and app. The Annual Pass can be redeemed (兑换) and used to enter the park from February 15, 2019.

Annual Pass Holders must redeem their Annual Passes at the Shanghai Disneyland Main Entrance ticket booths during park hours every day.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

8 . Welcome to the Hunter

Take a short break from Sydney’s urban delights and escape to Hunter Valley Wine Country! Just a two-hour drive north of open spaces, fresh country air, super wines and excellent food.

Set around the quiet villages of Pokolbin and Broke, this region is of fertile volcanic soils, backed by the rolling wooded hills of the Brokeback Ranges. It’s a place where the natural Australian landscape has been accompanied by a tradition of cultivating grapes dating back over 190 years. Grapes were first grown in this valley in the 1830s, making the Hunter Australia’s oldest wine-producing area, where you can find varieties of admired wines. The region is also popular for its fine dining and various activities.

Fine Wines

Begin your tour by visiting some wine factories dotted around the village of Pokolbin. Most wine factories are open daily for tastings. You could start at Tyrrell’s Wines, one of the area’s most popular and still family-owned after over 160 years. Taste award-winning wines in its atmospheric underground rooms, among the oldest in Australia.

Eating Well

When it’s time for a change of pace, turn to the Hunter Valley’s fantastic food, including cheeses, bread and vegetables. Dine on praised Modern Australian meals at excellent restaurants such as Roberts at Pepper Tree. If you’re after a light lunch, or just coffee and a snack, try the more casual Café Enzo or The Grill at Rothbury Estate.

Activities & Touring

When it’s time to work off all that food and wine, there are a host of options. Play tennis, or enjoy a round of golf. Hire a bike, or go horse-riding in the hills.

Enjoy a bird’s eye view of this beautiful rural landscape by taking an early morning hot-air balloon trip—or be really adventurous and sample the unforgettable thrill of double skydiving.

Since its launch in September 2016, TikTok has taken the social media world by storm. Reaching half a billion active users worldwide in just under 2 years, it is the fastest app ever to reach that milestone.

From the creator-first user experience to their flawlessly-executed global expansion, the Chinese video-sharing social network's meteoric rise has been nothing short of     1    . TikTok's secret sauce, however, could well be found by looking into something far simpler than their algorithms(算法) and marketing tactics. Human evolution.

Over the course of human history, as our ancestors began to live in larger and more complex social structures, the quality of our relationships became more     2     to our survival. As the size of our networks increased around 10 million years ago, humans began developing a series of more advanced social behaviours that allowed us to connect larger groups and communities together.

The first new behaviour was laughter. Laughter kicks our endorphins system into action, releasing feel-good hormones that relieve pain and increase pleasure. In doing so, we also create pathways that support the formation,     3    , and maintenance of social bonds with other humans.

Next came dancing and singing. Around 500,000 years ago, our social networks had dramatically increased in size again, tripling to approximately 150. At that point, humans needed even more sophisticated ways to     4     with their social networks. It is then that scientists believe that music was 'invented' and that we first learned to sing and dance.

Singing and dancing are intensely social and highly synchronised activities. They too release the same powerful endorphins as laughter. If you've ever been to a live music event or sung along to your national anthem in a major sporting event, you will certainly be able to     5     to the euphoria this brings.

It is no wonder then that TikTok, a video-sharing app built entirely on people singing (or lip synching), dancing and laughter, has so quickly     6     the minds of so many people. The app is in essence an infinite     7     of endorphin-inclucing content that triggers a strong sense of unity and belonging within us as we consume each video.

Whether it was through     8     design decisions or a happy coincidence, the app's creators have successfully     9     their niche(商机)in an extremely competitive vertical through more than just smart technology or well-executed marketing. TikTok's rocket fuel has been derived from simply understanding and leveraging the human psychology that underpins the offline social world.

In an era where questions are being asked of whether incumbent social platforms are really connecting us, perhaps we will see     10     opportunities for social apps to do much better by bringing more of our offline social behaviours online. With COVID-19 highlighting the importance of offline social interaction and human connection, the market is certainly more ripe than ever for further disruption.