Travel with Terri Guthrie

Gathering Place THE

by Terri Guthrie | photos courtesy of Terri Guthrie

Are you looking for something nearby to do this summer? Well, I have a great idea for you, and it’s just north of us in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Gathering Place has been named “America’s Best New Attraction” by USA TODAY. It was also awarded the “World’s Greatest Places” by Time Magazine in 2019. And what a place it is!!! We have been countless times and still have not seen everything. You really need to see this new creative and very unique FREE Park!

This brand new riverfront park was designed as an inclusive green space where residents and visitors alike can relax and engage with one another. The expansive park makes use of more than six million gallons of water and 80

tree species, with attractions like multistory fireplaces, an adventure playground, a boathouse, restaurants, coffee shops, a sensory garden, and a reading tree. There’s something here for everyone.

The Gathering Place is centered on the east bank of the Arkansas River. It is largely the brainchild of Tulsa multibillionaire and philanthropist, George Kaiser. This publicprivate partnership covers approximately 100 acres of land. As of September 2018, it has cost about $465 million to construct. The future for The Gathering Place looks very promising as the Kaiser Family Foundation also created a $100 million endowment to support maintenance of the park for the next 99 years. Every city should be so lucky!

Fortunately, our daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons live here, so we visit this wonderful park as often as possible and always find new things to discover. It’s definitely a park like none other. Go and see for yourself…you will be glad you did!

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Living That

by Brooke Ezzo photos courtesy of Jessica Bennett

Mound. Their journey caused several “new beginnings,” and the person it seemed to affect the most was oldest daughter, Olivia. They have free resources on their website that help families take part in kind acts, and they fundraise to collect items for snack, hygiene, and foster kits. “Our goal is to remind people to start by being kind to themselves,” Jessica said. “Encouraging people to fill up their cups so they can go and fill up other people’s.” As a family, they have come up with creative ways to engage the community and give back during the pandemic and quarantine. They organized birthday caravan parades for families in the area who were looking for unique ways to celebrate. They are also organizing ways for volunteers to do FaceTime calls with residents in nursing homes. And they are currently doing virtual travel camps.

“We did a travel camp where we took a virtual field trip to France, Mexico, and Jamaica. We did a brief history of each country; we would provide recipes and make snacks together,” Jessica said. “Another camp is called Discover America where we take the kids back to the

As a young family, the Bennetts moved multiple times before landing in Flower

School was challenging because she was always the new girl. One day, when Olivia was 8, she had a hard day with some of the girls and found a hidden place on the playground to be alone and cry it out. She was, surprisingly, met by a classmate who showed her great kindness and compassion.

That day left an imprint and a dream in Olivia’s heart to spread as much kindness in this world as possible. This idea led her family to start a nonprofit organization called: Living That Kind Life. Their simple but powerful mission is to encourage people of all ages to spread kindness.

Now 12, Olivia works side-by-side as CoFounding Encourager with her mother, Jessica Bennett, overseeing the kindness operations of their nonprofit.

“We started by doing small random acts of kindness in the area,” Jessica said. “Olivia donated her birthday party to cheering on the kids at a Special Olympics event, and we put quarters on vending machines at the Dollar Store.”

Starting in January, the Bennett family’s goal was to fill current needs in the area as best they could. They do this in several ways. Olivia makes YouTube videos and interviews others who spread kindness.

pilgrims up through present day.”

All of the virtual camps have a level of kindness. For Discover America, all the kids wrote letters to soldiers and thankyou notes to veterans that were passed out on the 4th of July.

Olivia hopes the organization helps others keep kindness as a priority and encourages others to go out and spread as much as they can.

“Always love on people as big as you can,” Olivia said. “If someone is mean to you, don’t be mean back. Try to turn it around and do good.

Like That Kind Life is looking for volunteers and will continue to have camps and resources on their website. For more information about how you, too, can be an encourager, visit www. LivingThatKindLife.com.

Adam, Jessica, Olivia, Eli, and Selah Bennett look forward to partnering with the community to continue spreading joy and kindness.

DENTON ISD PREPARES FOR 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

by Brooke Ezzo

As we all know, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Denton Independent School District students left schools for spring break this past March and did not return. As extended spring break turned into summer break and now school registration is looming in the background, there is still much confusion.

The ever-changing information from both federal and state entities in regards to the virus has left the district, parents, and caregivers on the edge of their seats, waiting for further instruction on how to reopen schools for the 2020-2021 school year.

With registration deadlines quickly approaching, Superintendent Dr. Jamie Wilson and his team have come up with possible plans for the new school year after getting guidance from the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

From correspondence via email with Dr. Wilson, he said the district is prepared for whatever COVID-19 throws their way, and they plan to be flexible and nimble enough to change at a moments notice.

“Our Plan A is twofold. We will offer face-to-face instruction with health and safety protocols for students and employees,” Dr. Wilson said. “And, we will offer a virtual option for parents who want to make that choice.”

Dr. Wilson added, “should social distancing requirements reduce the number of students in attendance at one time, we have contingency plans in place to rotate students into face-to-face instruction while filling in the gap remotely.”

The district’s plan to resume school instruction is on track to begin Wednesday, August 12, regardless of the delivery method.

The district is also prepared for remote learning for all schools should they need to delay the start of school or close during the school year.

On June 23, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath shared guidance with all Texas superintendents by outlining expectations for remote learning.

Remote Learning at Home

When students were not allowed to return to the classroom in March the district quickly converted to a virtual learning platform. To continue this form of learning, it will be a family choice but will come with the same expectations for learning as the traditional face-to-face instruction model. With recent spikes in positive cases throughout North Texas, the district understands that its students’ health and safety is the priority. With that, families that choose to keep their children at home or are unable to return to a classroom setting will have access to a full virtual learning experience taught online by a Denton ISD teacher or another online platform.

This includes more teacher interaction and more time in virtual learning and completing lessons. Remote learning might be semi-flexible, but based on state guidelines, the students are still required to mirror the level of work, commitment, and time on a task as they would with in-person learning. Daily attendance rules will apply, and students will be required to show evidence of daily learning. This means saving all assignments until the end of the week will no longer be applicable.

The district hopes to have more instruction on exactly how remote learning will look for the new school in the upcoming weeks.

In-Person Learning

This is understandably the most difficult decision the district will be making considering opposing views when it comes to what health measures are effective against the virus.

Information from the TEA indicated they have purchased face masks, thermometers, and hand sanitizer for every district in Texas to help with the start of the new school year. However, no further instruction was given from Commissioner Morath in the conference call on mandated health measures.

In a newsletter from Dr. Wilson, he states that feedback from the community and staff, alongside any guidance from governing entities, will help determine to what degree Denton ISD will make face-to-face instruction available to all.

The district’s plan to resume school instruction is on track to begin Wednesday, August 12, regardless of the delivery method. Until then parents and caregivers are encouraged to register their children during the traditional time, during July, via an online platform, and indicate their intended model of instruction for their student.

Families should expect emails with more information regarding the virtual learning option before anyone has to commit to a decision.

For more information from Superintendent Dr. Jamie Wilson and the updated plans for starting the school year, please refer to the Denton Independent School District website, www.DentonISD.org and the District’s social media accounts.