Lawrence Kids, Fall 2022 by Four Birds Media

Lawrence Kids Fall 2022

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YOUTH OF THE YEAR 2023

JANUARY 26, 2023 LIBERTY HALL. 7 P.M.

Lawrence Kids Fall 2022

Season’s Readings

Mental Health Matters w/ Kiley Luckett

The Mendez’s Seasonal Essentials

These Lawrence Kids - Sunflower Devo MTB

In Class with Lawrence Schools

The Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie

cover photo: Amber Yoshida table of contents photo: Dan Hughes a project of Four Birds Media info@lawrencekidsmagazine.com (785) 766-5669 Thank you for reading.

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Season’s Readings

by Dan Coleman from the Lawrence Public Library The Big Leaf Leap, by Molly Beth Griffin, illustrated by Meleck Davis Kids from all over the neighborhood work together to make the biggest leaf pile ever. There aren’t enough books about jumping into big piles of leaves, and this title aims to fill that void. The is the best of the batch of this year’s new fall-themed books. A Very Big Fall, by Emmy Kastner Cute leaves with arms, legs, and faces are about to learn why we call it “fall” in a big way. Another new picture book sure to be a mainstay of many autumns to come, this tale is not only a paean to the season, but also a parable about change and fear of the unknown. The Leaf Thief, by Alice Hemming, illustrated by Nicola Slater Last year’s runaway hit features a squirrel who doesn’t quite get fall. When the leaves on his tree begin to disappear, he accuses his woodland neighbors of stealing them in a comic romp reminiscent of mid-century Woody Woodpecker and Bugs Bunny cartoons. Hello, Harvest Moon, by Ralph Fletcher, illustrated by Kate Kiesler This homage to a crisp fall night features owls, luna moths, moonflowers, and other wonders of the season. Published in 2003, it remains a go to bedtime celebration of autumn. Pumpkin Island, by Arthur Geisert In this tale of natural magic, a Midwest river town is inundated with pumpkin seeds in a flood, and by fall the rampant vines have taken over. Arthur Geisert’s centuries-old illustration process is just as improbable. He draws a picture, etches a mirror image of it onto a copper plate, covers that with ink, and runs it through a 3,000-lb. press in his Iowa studio. There are a lot of pumpkin books, but none look like this one. The Apple Pie That Papa Baked, by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Jonathan Bean Illustrator Jonathan Bean channels Thomas Hart Benton in this folksy take on “This is the House that Jack Built” featuring the fruit synonymous with fall. There’s a Ghost in This House, by Oliver Jeffers Author/Illustrator Oliver Jeffers offers a ghost story to be enjoyed year-round with this triumph of book design. Translucent vellum pages allow readers to place ghosts (the cute kind) in the same rooms as a girl touring a Victorian mansion (the creepy kind), although the ghosts appear only in places she is not

looking. The Mystery of the Monarchs, by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Erika Meza Over the years Lawrence kids have helped University of Kansas Professor Chip Taylor’s Monarch Watch tag thousands of migrating butterflies. This new nonfiction picture book explains how researchers and volunteers from the United States, Mexico, and Canada figured out where they go every year in the fall. Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story, by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten, illustrated by Garry Meeches Sr. A Wampanoag author writes a Thanksgiving tale from the perspective of the Indigenous people who helped the Pilgrims. Knowing that the settlers have endured a hard winter with loss of life, the spirits of the Three Sisters (corn, beans, and squash) send the Wampanoag to assist, and all celebrate a successful harvest in 1621 with a feast. This book includes a map, glossary of Wampanoag words, and backmatter describing the complicated legacy of European arrival. Don’t Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, by various authors If you were a child of the ‘80s or ‘90s, chances are you gave yourself goosebumps reading the ghost stories and urban legends Alvin Schwartz put together in his three Scary Stories to Tell in Dark compilations, which are still in print and on the shelf at the library (when they are not otherwise occupied scaring kids who check them out). In 2020, the Horror Writers Association published this homage, for which thirty-six children’s authors, including the master of goosebumps himself, R. L. Stine, contributed original spooky tales. Ghostly Tales of Lawrence, by Lisha Cauthen Adapted for younger readers from Paul Thomas’s 2017 Haunted Lawrence, this compilation finds its chills a little closer to home. Kids can now read about the ghosts haunting Cordley Elementary, The Toy Store, or Oak Hill Cemetery, and learn some local history in the process. This Was Our Pact, by Ryan Andrews This 2019 graphic novel for tweens centers on a group of boys who pledge to follow the paper lanterns their town sends down the river every year on the autumnal equinox. Somehow this moody, hand-drawn fantasy sustains for 336 pages the feeling of being inside Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” or a Miyazaki film, or the part in E.T. where Elliott’s bike takes off and flies across the moon. LK

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Mental Health Matters...

Kiley Luckett, USD 497 mental health coordinator, discusses challenges and goals for overseeing the mental health of nearly 11,000 students. What led you to work in the mental health field? I began working in the mental health field in high school. I worked as a group leader for an after-school program at my local mental health center. After graduating high school I worked at the mental health center full time as a team leader. This cemented the idea that I wanted to work with and help kids. I had planned on transferring from the community college to KU and studying psychology. A supervisor asked me if I had ever considered social work—I hadn’t— and after looking into the social work program at KU, I was all in on becoming a social worker and working in the mental health field. Before joining USD 497, you worked as a family therapist for St. Francis Community Services in Topeka. Why did you decide to join the school district? It was always my goal to work for Lawrence Public Schools. I applied in August of 2013 for an elementary counseling position, and wasn’t offered the position. In December of 2013 St. Francis Community Services was in the process of closing due to losing the family preservation contract for the region. I knew I was going to be looking for other work. I went to the district website to apply for any job to hopefully get my foot in the door, and the same position was open again. At the risk of looking desperate I applied again and this time was offered the job. Working for Lawrence Public Schools at Schwegler Elementary has been the most challenging and rewarding work that I have done to date. I believe in the mission and vision of Lawrence Public Schools to prepare students of all races and backgrounds to achieve at high levels and graduate prepared for success in college, careers, and life in a diverse and rapidly changing world. We have to address mental health and mental wellness starting with our earliest learners As Fredrick Douglas said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” It was and is my desire to build strong children, which I believe is the best way to build a strong community. How would you describe your job as the district’s new mental health coordinator to parents in Lawrence? I coordinate and serve as a liaison to the building-level mental health teams, K-12 counselors, prevention programs, district mental health services, and community mental health services. I support building staff, so they can best support the students they work with. The pandemic created unforeseen challenges for kids and families in Lawrence. What are your priorities for helping identify students and staff at risk? The pandemic affected kids and families in such different ways based on privilege and circumstance. My priority is helping building mental health teams and to create and maintain systems that work for their buildings and their population. I am ensuring that as a staff they have access and knowledge of community resources, social service agencies, state and federal programs, and any other resources that might be a benefit to school families and staff. My priority is to be in buildings as much as possible to be a support and

see firsthand the needs so I can accurately report those back to the district, while always doing my best to be an advocate. What steps can you and the district take to be proactive in addressing the mental health needs of Lawrence students? Building relationships with students and their families is the first step in being proactive in addressing the mental health needs of Lawrence students. I’ve always said if they don’t know you, they won’t come to you. This began at the beginning of the school year with parent-teacher conferences. Taking the time to get to know families, students, and their unique situations and needs will help develop a partnership where school staff and school families can work collaboratively to support students. It is also necessary to focus on our community partners, of which there are many. No one can do the work of addressing mental health needs in isolation. An increase in school shootings and violence is a subject of concern for many Lawrence parents. What steps will you take to help the district keep students safe? I wholly believe that safety is a shared responsibility. Towards the beginning of the school year I had the opportunity to participate in six community safety forums. These forums were at two elementary schools, two middle schools, and both high schools. During these forums we discussed what students, parents, staff, and the community can do to support school safety—physical safety, emotional safety, and mental safety. In terms of gun safety, Be SMART is a wonderful community partner. More information can be found at www. besmartforkids.org. I will continue to advocate for mental health services in schools. Lawrence Public Schools is fortunate to have full-time counselors in all of our schools. Every building also has a mental health team composed of building administrators, counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and nurses that support mental health efforts within buildings. I encourage everyone to stay informed and active in creating and maintaining safety. What do you identify as the biggest mental health challenges students currently face? From my experience and perspective I concur with the CDC who in February of this year released “Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2013–2019” in which they note that Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety among children of all ages, and symptoms related to depression among adolescents, are the most common concerns. The social challenges of homelessness and rising costs can often lead to mental health challenges. It is imperative that as a community we strive to have everyone’s basic needs met. What’s one simple thing parents can do to help facilitate mental health in their children? Oftentimes when mental health is brought up in regard to children it is around unwanted behaviors. To address this I suggest that parents provide children with loving boundaries. Parenting with Love and Logic by authors Foster Cline and Jim Fay says, “Effective parenting centers around love: love that is not permissive, love that doesn’t tolerate disrespect, but also love that is powerful enough to allow kids to make mistakes and permit them to live with the consequences of those mistakes. Most mistakes do have logical consequences. And those consequences, when accompanied by empathy, hit home with mind-changing power.” LK

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The Mendez’s Seasonal Essentials Javier and April Mendez, with kids Santana (4th grade), Sofia (3rd grade), Santiago (1st grade), and Salma (preschool), are always in motion. By day, Javier runs J Mendez Painting and April works as the development director for Corpus Christi Catholic School, but enjoying what Lawerence has to offer is their real full-time job. photos by Amber Yoshida

•Spending Saturdays on the soccer field cheering and playing our family’s favorite sport, soccer. All four kids play soccer for Sporting Kaw Valley. •Hiking the Clinton Lake trails and exploring while creating stories, looking for animal footprints, and making memories. •Getting together with family at Wells Overlook Park and having a picnic, playing games, and enjoying the beautiful view. •Ever since our kids were babies our favorite thing to do is walk downtown and window shop. Our kids love to spark a conversation with any and everyone that is willing to take the time to chat. We have some of our favorite places to stop along the way, such as getting a pizza at Papa Keno’s, getting a cookie at Wheatfields, craving ice cream from Sylas and Maddy’s, and stopping at The Toy Store. •Riding bikes at the arboretum has always been some of our kids’ first safe place to learn to ride without training wheels. It’s easy for parents as you can see them no matter how fast one goes or how slow the youngest goes. They love taking breaks and getting a snack or drink and feeding the geese. •Making s’mores has been a new but fun evening downtime activity for our family. We keep it as simple as possible. •We take advantage of having Rock Chalk Park around the corner from our home. The kids enjoy playing all sports there. It’s the best place to play when the weather is bad or just walk/run the trails with the kids on nice days. •We are a bit biased when it comes to our favorite outdoor dining patio. La Tropicana is our family’s restaurant and we all enjoy great food, time with my mom and dad, and a wonderful margarita or sangria as we see longtime friends come in with their families. •During the pandemic our family was trying to find any new thing we could all enjoy and do as a family. Sunfire Ceramics fit the bill perfectily. We’ve been several times as a family to bring out our creative side making things to keep forever. •As you can imagine with four kids, playing at the park is huge. We have our go-to parks that the kids have loved since they were all little. •Going to the Lawrence Farmers’ Market is a fun Saturday morning activity. Mom goes and picks up a cup of coffee, kids all get five dollars each to buy something from local vendors. The girls have their favorite flower stop, the boys go for the baked goods, and they all have to get honey sticks. They enjoy people watching and seeing friends that are local farmers.

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These Lawrence Kids - Sunflower Devo MTB A group of Lawrence kids, with the help of some influential adults, are taking the idea of a bike club to a whole new level. Photos by Dan Hughes

interscholastic mountain biking programs for student-athletes across the United States and is the go-to source for advice, funding, and regulation. NICA agreed to run a Kansas chapter so Nelson got to work recruting kids in Lawrence for a team. Being a cycling family (Nelson’s son Henry is a competitive racer in college and daughter Oona races), it wasn’t hard to reach interested kids. In 2021 the team had ten kids, this year it grew to fourteen. The season featured six races across Kansas. Races and courses are designed for racers in grades 6–12 and cover between one and four laps of a course. The longest races can last up to an hour. Oona Nelson, senior at Bishop Seabury Academy, is the standout rider for Sunflower Devo MTB. “I’ve been on a bike my whole life,” Oona Nelson says with a laugh. “I’m kind of used to racing against people much older than me, so it’s great to have an organization that brings other riders together to race. The practices and race weekends are really a fun celebration.” While races typically happen on Sunday afternoons, the culture of mountain biking has created an unexpected benefit for families involved: way more time together. “It’s about way more than just riding a bike, actually,” Eric Nelson says. “It all revolves around practice and the races, but the community we’ve built is the real gold mine. Races are one day, but the experience is an entire weekend.” Race day is Sunday, but teams from across the state arrive on site Friday afternoon to set up camps, check the course, and prepare for the next day’s races. Because the number of racers and teams is relatively low, Sunflower Devo competes against many of the same competitors from week to week. That breeds familiarity and a common bond with other teams.

Kids riding bikes is almost as American as apple pie and baseball. A series of organized mountain bike races for a structured team of kid riders? That’s a new concept in Lawrence. Together with support from Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop and the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), Sunflower Devo MTB is making it happen. “Get more kids on bikes, it’s that simple,” explains Eric Nelson, Sunflower Devo MTB coach. “Anything we can to do give kids more opportunity and incentive to get on a bike and get moving is our ultimate motivation. We need to get kids moving more and more.” The group formed in the spring of 2021 after years of planning. Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop owner Dan Hughes and Eric Nelson had discussed the idea. Hughes told Nelson that the key was getting the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) involved. That, according to Hughes, would give the team and the state of Kansas credibility in the competive mountain bike world. NICA develops

“The bond between not only the kids on our team, but the other competitors, is pretty strong,” explains Oona Nelson. “We all have this one thing in common that not that many other people our age have, so that is a cool bond that is more than just going to the same school.” “I don’t want to diminish the work these kids put in, but race weekends have evolved into family camping weekends that happen to have a bike race on Sunday,” Eric Nelson says. “We didn’t expect that aspect when we got involved, but it’s certainly a major highlight.” As more kids join and have positive experiences with racing, Eric Nelson hopes to grow the team in the coming years. The Sunflower Devo MTB team is open to kids in 6–12 grades from all schools in Lawrence. During the season, practice is generally once a week. More information about the team is avaiable by contacting Eric Nelson at Bishop Seabury Academy. “These kids work their tails off,” Eric Nelson says. “But I think they also have a lot of fun. I know they laugh a lot, even when they’re exhausted after a race.” LK

Pinkney’s Caleb Locke explains the rules of the day’s P.E. lesson.

In Class with Lawrence Schools “Fall is here, hear the yell / Back to school, ring the bell” Take a sneak peek into the classroom as Lawrence Kids learn...

On Wednesdays, Nicole Poracsky’s 2nd/3rd grade class at Woodlawn does STEM work. Students were working on a science/health lesson on bones after doing a reading activity about bones, then building a spinal cord with noodles, gummy lifesavers, and a pipe cleaner. “In science we are learning about fossils and dinosaurs so we wanted to link the two subjects,” Poracsky explains. “The students had a great time picking out a dinosaur print out and picking noodles to try and build the bone structure like a skeleton.”

In Caleb Locke’s kindergarten P.E. class at Pinkney, things can get a bit wild! Kids play a series of tag games like Fiddlesticks. If a student has a noodle in their hand when the music stops they say “Fiddlesticks.” If they do not have a noodle in their hand they say “Cha-Ching.” “All of these tag games focus on improving personal and social responsibility of students,” Locke says. ”Additionally, these games clearly incorporate a fitness component that helps improve the cardiovascular endurance of students.”

Bishop Seabury Academy teacher Sara Asher guides her 7th grade histography students through their culture project.

“Instead of talking to them about what a culture is in the introduction to geography, I challenged them to make their own unique culture complete with maps, houses, food, transportation, and even new numbers and letters,” Asher explains. “Histography is history + geography class and offers amazing social studies learning.”

The

Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie A restored one-room schoolhouse west of Lawrence is bringing fresh lessons in education. by Rebecca Zarazan Dunn

Katie Winter at the Winter School

Barreling down the farmer’s turnpike, the sky a brilliant Kansas blue, headed west on a late afternoon towards Lecompton, passing autumn-faded fields and trees, and around a small climbing bend, perched atop a hill of a remnant prairie, you’ll find the Winter School. The Winter School, a historically registered one-room schoolhouse nine miles from downtown Lawrence, is a singularly innovative museum devoted to educational foundations and how these foundations shape our worldview. The goal? To shake up the way we think about school.

inclusive, and interconnected interpretations. The grounds surrounding the Winter School include a prairie walk, an outdoor play area for children, art installations, a firepit, and event space. Teaming up with artist Megan Embers, the dynamic pair have advanced the vision and mission of the museum, as well as developed a curriculum and accompanying activities. Rooted in conservation, information sharing, imagination, and community, the symbiotic relationship between the two manifested into the trailblazing endeavor of the Winter School.

Under the careful, discerning attention of the museum’s director, Katie Winter, the schoolhouse established by lineal ancestors has been resurrected, transforming a 143-year-old building into an airy space that houses participatory exhibits, local art, artifacts, and a much-loved cast iron schoolbell. The renovated building’s design mirrors the museum’s mission of honoring historic contributions through a lens of modern,

Since opening their doors in May 2022, the Winter School has been embraced by hundreds of eager visitors attending an array of events including author talks, a children’s picnic, workshops, and a film screening. During the rush of the backto-school season, I caught up with Katie Winter to learn more about her forward-thinking process, the museum’s inaugural exhibit, and why the history of education is important.

Your journey of creating a museum that explores the foundations of education started with an abandoned schoolhouse. During the restoration of that building, how did the vision and formation of what the Winter School is today come to be? KW: The first question the architect (Dan Rockhill) asked was whether we wanted people to visit. While we didn’t know what we wanted it was easy to answer “yes.” We envisioned it as a lively, dynamic place. In the 1980s, my late grandfather (Wint Winter, Sr.) wanted to turn it into a museum where it had old desks so people could come see what an old school looked like. We started with that vision but expanded it to be more flexible and to engage a broader story. We didn’t just want to tell the story of how families like ours got educated but also what was happening in schools around the county amd the entire state. That led to a deeper exploration of the history and philosophy of the education system. We unofficially call it the Museum of Education Foundations. As our flagship program, we hope to have rotating exhibitions and accompanying curriculum. It’s just the beginning! When the schoolhouse was first established and opened its doors in 1870, what was the shared goal? Is that goal the same or does it differ from goals of education today? KW: This is an excellent question and very difficult to answer. In fact, it’s the theme of our current exhibition “History, Notice Me.” We ask “what is the goal of school?” And can it be neutral?” If we look deeper into history we see that the goals of school differ from population to population. Some people were schooled for leadership, some for a specific economic strata, some for assimilation, and some were banned from schools and literacy altogether. Parallel to that, we also talk about schooling for opportunity, freedom, and equality. Those values are harder to define and even harder to agree on how to achieve them. IIf we—the common people—can more clearly define the goals, then perhaps we can more easily find a compatible structure through curriculum, pedagogy, administration, etc. I’m deeply curious about what people think the goals of school are… and what they should be. Peace could be a good option. In the current exhibit, “History, Notice Me,” the idea that “we are all stars” is stitched into each detail. Can you share more about this notion? Nature meta-

phors are cool. KW: “We are all stars” is a motif that works in many ways: to connect us to nature, to connect us to deep time, and to connect us to the idea of lost histories. Understanding that we are all exceptional can connect us better to ourselves and to others. In our exhibit and corresponding curriculum we explore how we all have worthwhile knowledge. No one individual has the experience and perspective as another. Diversity and equality of intelligence/knowledge are essential, and we take some time to explore that paradox. When we sincerely believe that we are all stars, we then have an obligation to express ourselves creatively, and in turn, acutely listen. How does understanding the history of education add to the conversation of what it is today? Why is it important for young people to learn about this history? KW: The history of education is helpful in the way that history in general is helpful. It gives clues into why we do what we do, and why we feel what we feel. And it’s so important to learn about education, not simply its vast history. We spend so much time in school, then we send our kids to school, hire people from schools, and live next to people who went to school. Schooling is a huge investment and one of the most powerful socializing institutions that we have—it has an outsized influence. I’m afraid we just don’t know very much about it, especially how its history has influenced our most complex modern issues such as marginalization and anxiety. One of the most important things for young people to know is that schools are a socially constructed institution—they are not an unchangeable fact of life. And hopefully that alone gives us enough confidence and agency to act, both individually and socially. How cool is it that we have the power to shape the world around us? How will the Winter School cater to and advance the knowledge of young people of the area? KW: We want to listen to young people and help them express their knowledge. They already know so much and we can learn a lot from just observing them. We want kids to feel like what they know now is valuable—that their worth does not come in the future or with a certain type of knowledge and that their imaginations, vulnerability, sense of play, and creativity are not immature. They are a model. I’d like them to know that we are all constantly confused, and hopefully, proud of something too. We are all stars. LK

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