Siouxland Life - September 2016

Could your child fake an illness?

The hot swag among teens

Social media poses plenty of problems

A GUIDE FOR LIVING IN SIOUXLAND

SCHOOL’S BACK!

IT’S A TIME OF HOPE, PROMISE FOR MANY

INSIDE AN ARTIST’S HOME 8 THINGS TO LOVE

SEPTEMBER 2016

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SEPTEMBER 2016

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Contents September

2016

The end of summer brings the hope of a new school year – or so parents like to tell their children. This month, we talk with those going back to school, how they get ready, what they anticipate and where they want to be. We’ll look at that traditional “first day of school” photo and a way to archive those treasures students create. It’s time. We’re back to school.

Angie Putze embraces her daughter, Sarah Putze, 13, as Mary Putze, 13, looks on at their home on the first day of school outside Moville, Iowa.

4 An artist’s home

Spilled paint doesn’t hurt a home that bursts with color – and life.

22 On the cover The Putze family, front row from left, Sarah Putze, 13; Rachel Putze, 9; Mary Putze, 13; back row from left, Suzanne Putze, 17; Ryan Putze, 14; mom Angie Putze; Seth Putze, 4, pose for a photo at their home outside Moville, Iowa, on the first day of school.

Photographs by Justin Wan

features 4 HOME artist’s retreat 12 SCHOOL it begins at home 15 SCHOOL superintendent’s start 16 SCHOOL far from home 22 SCHOOL first day pix 26 SCHOOL next step 28 SCHOOL family tradition 32 SCHOOL never too late

The home approach One Siouxland mom knows how to turn everything from the Olympics to a trip to the store into a learning situation.

35 SCHOOL social media 38 SCHOOL saving memories 40 SCHOOL swag 43 HEALTH school physicals 44 HEALTH faking it 45 HEALTH medical answers 47 PARTING SHOT

Publisher Steve Griffith Editor Bruce Miller Editorial Dolly A. Butz, Tim Gallagher, Earl Horlyk, Ally Karsyn Photography Tim Hynds, Jim Lee, Justin Wan Design Sara Harvey Advertising Sales Nancy Todd Advertising Design Kayla Fleming ©2016 The Sioux City Journal. Siouxland Life is published monthly by The Sioux City Journal.

For advertising information, please call (712) 224-6281. For editorial information, please call (712) 224-6281.

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28 All in the family

A Catholic tradition fuels one family’s desire to return to the classroom year after year.

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8 HOME artist’s

4

retreat

SEPTEMBER 2016

THINGS

SIOUXLAND LIFE

TO LOVE ABOUT A SIOUXLAND ARTIST’S HOME

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Text by Ally Karsyn | Photography by Jim Lee

Judging by the paint splotches on the carpet – a casualty of an artist’s creative nature – Mary Sterk’s home is decidedly lived in. For the past six years, the owner of Sterk Financial Services in Dakota Dunes has been honing her skills in mixed media art. The result is a home that’s set up with a heavy dose of artful appreciation and plenty of space for relaxation, too.

While Sterk has a studio space in the Benson Building in downtown Sioux City, she spends a lot more time in her studio at home. Her workbench is a closet door that will never be a door again. “Use what you have,” she said. She keeps all of her supplies out in the open where she can see everything and have it ready to use.

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SEPTEMBER 2016

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1. Above: This is a space where Mary Sterk likes to curl up in the chair and read art books. It’s also where she keeps her works in progress. She hangs her mixed media paintings on the wall to dry, and it helps to have somewhere to set them aside and stare at until inspiration strikes.

2. Left: Sterk’s designs have even been featured in Art Journaling magazine. One of the pages in her personal art journal features a check from her late grandma, prominently showing her handwriting. Another features a page from her girlhood diary. “It’s not a scrapbook,” she said. “It’s like an inspirational journal. That’s what I’m having fun playing with right now.”

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3 3. Above: The library is Sterk’s favorite room in the whole house. She loves to read everything from mysteries to chick lit. Even though she has an e-reader, she’s still the kind of person who loves the tactile feel of a book. On the top shelf, she proudly displays her book, “Ready to Pull the Retirement Trigger?” The Kindle edition was released in July, and the print version will be out in the spring.

4. Right: All three rooms upstairs have been converted into home art studio spaces. The third bedroom upstairs is dedicated to art journaling, which encourages exploration and experimentation in the craft and creative techniques, including the use of a sewing machine. Sterk is playing with the idea of making inspirational art journals that could be given as gifts.

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September 2016

Siouxland Life

5 5. The formal dining room takes on a safari theme with lots of tall graceful giraffes tucked in corners and guarding the china cabinet. A lot of the decorations came from Pier 1 Imports. So no, they’re not souvenirs from an African safari, but they make Sterk feel adventuresome just the same.

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September 2016

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6 6. Above: During the infamous Missouri River flood of 2011, her whole basement was destroyed in her Dakota Dunes home.

She managed to salvage the soundproof theater room, which has six cushy red seats for the whole family to enjoy.

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7. Right: This summer, Sterk wanted to see if she had a green thumb for gardening. She’s growing spinach, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and cantaloupe in containers on the back deck. For some reason, she thought cantaloupes grew underground like carrots, which is not the case. “So you live and learn with gardening,” she laughed. “You can’t be an expert in everything.”

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September 2016

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SCHOOL it

begins at home

Laura Cvrk stands in a library located on her porch and available to area homeschoolers.

MOM:

HOME s SCHOOLING

Text by Dolly A. Butz Photographs by Tim Hynds

HAS MANY BENEFITS, BUT IT’S NOT FOR EVERYONE

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SEPTEMBER 2016

SIOUXLAND LIFE

SIOUX CITY | WHEN THE 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro were in full swing last month, Laura Cvrk saw the Games as a learning opportunity for children, Noah, 16, Abigail, 14, and Hope, 13.

While their public- or privateschooled peers were enjoying the final days of summer vacation, the Cvrks were getting two weeks of school in as a unit study.

“They don’t know that they’re getting school. It’s part of life that we’ve just incorporated in,” Cvrk said.

Cvrk, a mother of seven, has home schooled all of her children. The Olympics are of special interest to Hope, a competitive swimmer, who served as a basket carrier at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha.

“We’re reading some history and reading some biographies and

Above: Laura Cvrk goes through some of her children’s textbooks at her Sioux City home.

Left: Laura Cvrk talks about homeschooling as her daughter, Abigail, looks on during an interview at her Sioux City home. Cvrk has homeschooled all seven of her children.

“We started home schooling because I really felt called to do so. I felt like that’s what God was showing us to do.”

Laura Cvrk autobiographies of some athletes. We’re marking the map of what countries the athletes are from. It’s all kind of tied together, the geography, the history, everything,” said Cvrk, who pulled down a large classroom-style map mounted above the doorway between her living and dinning rooms. She bought the map at a school auction.

Cvrk has even covered the use of performance-enhancing drugs, a controversy that has clouded the Olympics in recent years and led some athletes to be banned from competition and stripped of medals. She called on her oldest daughter, Elizabeth, 24, who works in the laboratory at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s, as a resource.

Cvrk got her feet wet home-schooling her oldest son, Isaac, now 25. At the time, the family was living in Italy while Cvrk’s husband, Cory, served in the U.S. Air Force.

“We lived about 50 minutes from the base so it would’ve been a long bus ride every day to and from kindergarten,” she said.

But it was before her children were even born that Cvrk decided she wanted to home-school them. At a church in Colorado, Cvrk met a woman experience in home schooling. She was intrigued by

the practice, which, then, was illegal in the state of Iowa.

“We started home schooling because I really felt called to do so. I felt like that’s what God was showing us to do,” said Cvrk, who said her husband’s work schedule also influenced their decision.

If the children attended public school in Sioux City, they would only see their dad, who works a 2 to 11 p.m. shift Tuesday through Saturday, on Sundays.

“It’s been the best thing to help our family be together and have time together,” Cvrk said.

If Hope has meets out of state, Cvrk brings school on the road. When the family traveled to Brookings, South Dakota, Hope swam in the morning. In the afternoon Cvrk took the kids to the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet.

Back at home, the children read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books and watched the TV show “Little House on the Prairie.”

“We did some activities. My daughter made a prairie dress and things like that that we could incorporate into school,” she said.

Cvrk utilizes the Bob Jones curriculum to teach language and reading; teaching textbooks or Math-U-See, a masterybased and student-paced curriculum, for math; Sonlight, a Christian-based

curriculum, for history; and Apologia, a creation-based home-school science program.

“Abigail, because she’s special needs, her curriculum is tailor-made for her,” Cvrk explained. “I use all kinds of things that I pull together to help her out.”

The biggest challenge for Cvrk hasn’t been wearing the hats of both mom and teacher, she said it’s the opposition she’s faced from other people, including family members and friends. Her dad was a teacher, as well as both of her in-laws.

“At first, they weren’t real fond of the idea,” she said. “Now that a couple of the kids have graduated and they’ve gone on to college and not had any trouble getting in or taking an ACT, have won scholarships, have not had any trouble surviving in college, I think that’s helped.”

Isaac graduated from Western Iowa Tech Community College with a construction degree the day before he graduated from home schooling. Elizabeth also started at WIT before she finished high school. She went on to swim and attend school at College of Saint Mary in Omaha before transferring to Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Micaiah, 20, graduated from WIT last year with an electronics degree. Deborah, 18, will attend Morningside College in the

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SEPTEMBER 2016

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fall. She already has two years of collegelevel work under her belt.

Cvrk said home schooling looks a little different for each of her children.

Noah goes to school for varsity band and choir, marching band and jazz band.

His day starts at 6:45 a.m. at East High School. Depending on the day, he’ll stay at East for first period or return home before school starts.

At home, Cvrk said Noah works independently for the most part. When he has finished a section, he checks in with Cvrk and they discuss what he’s learned.

“He knows what he needs to do. For science I’ll tell him, ‘Go over the next section.’ After he reads it, then we talk about it. I ask him questions, make sure he’s understood what he’s read, check his labs if he’s done any labs and then he does his history,” she said.

Abigail eats breakfast and finishes her chores before beginning home school at about 9 a.m. School takes her about two hours.

Hope begins her day at 5:45 a.m. with swim practice. When she returns home, she eats a second breakfast and dives into her school work, which she could finish as early as 10:30 a.m. Then it’s time for a nap.

“You’re really schooling all the time.

The time that you’re sitting at a desk or

Laura Cvrk holds a science textbook at her Sioux City home.

Laura Cvrk talks about teaching her children during an interview at her Sioux City home.

table is a lot shorter,” Cvrk said. “If they understand it, you go on to the next thing.”

Home repairs, oil changes and cooking all become part of home schooling in the Cvrk household. Once a week, the children take turns fixing lunch before their dad goes to work.

“They have to tell me what they’re going to fix, plan what their sides are going to be, tell me what they need from the grocery store and then they have to prepare it and do that time management of having it on the table by what time

we would be eating,” Cvrk said. “That’s Home Ec. It looks different than Home Ec. in school, but essentially it’s the same kind of thing.”

Home schooling was the right choice for Cvrk’s family, but she said it’s not for everybody. Learning how to learn and loving to learn, she said are key, as is being flexible and wanting to be around your children.

“I wasn’t patient when I started, either,” she said with a chuckle. “God has worked a lot of things in me over the years.”

GettinG Creative with Your emptY nest Many baby boomers are finally saying goodbye to their adult children, who are moving out of the house and starting the next chapter in their lives. While some empty nesters are excited about this new phase, it can be a stressful time for others as they deal with this time of transition in their lives.

When your kids move out and you’re faced with an empty nest, lots of questions come to mind. Should you move and downsize? If you stay, how should you use the kids’ rooms?

What other changes should you make as you get older?

If you’ve made the decision to stay in your home – at least for now – it’s time to figure out how your house can work better for you in this the next chapter of your life.

Focus on Small DIY Jobs With the kids out of the house, you may be surprised at how much free time you have.

Use this time to tackle some of those home renovation jobs that have been on your to-do list for a while.

Before you begin any project, however, look at your house – room by room – with a fresh set of eyes. Now that your house doesn’t need to accommodate a growing family, how do you want to use each of the rooms to fit your new lifestyle? Perhaps the mudroom is no longer needed, but a craft room has always been on 14

September 2016

your wish list. Now you can focus on making those changes.

Create a Home Office You may be an empty nester, but you are still a very active member of the workforce.

An extra bedroom or den previously used for family activities would be a great place to turn into a home office.

Home offices are becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity with more people telecommuting or running their own businesses from their house.

Expand Your Space Depending on the age of your home, you may find that your master bedroom or bath is too small for comfort. Expand into space that isn’t being used to build the master bath of your dreams or to create a separate seating or dressing area in your bedroom.

years in the home they love.

Building professionals who have earned the National Association of Home Builders’ Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) designation have received training on how to build or renovate a home so that the occupants can live in the home safely, independently and comfortably, regardless of their age or ability level. While most CAPS professionals are remodelers, an increasing number are general contractors, designers, architects and health care professionals.

For more information on remodeling a recently kid-free home, or to find professional remodelers to adapt your home, visit www. siouxlandhba.com.

Incorporating these changes will not only create a home that suits your new lifestyle, they also may increase the value of your home when you decide to finally sell.

Many empty nesters hire expert remodelers to Todd adapt their home to make it easy to use and Hagaman maintain. Stairs often become a problem, but President moving the master bedroom and the laundry room to the ground floor can be part of a Todd Hagaman solution that gives home owners many more Construction

Siouxland Life

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school superintendent’s

start

Setting goals, making memories:

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Gausman on what the first day of school means to him

Text by Earl Horlyk Photograph by Justin Wan

Even when he was a student in Fremont, Nebraska, Sioux City Community School District Superintendent Paul Gausman looked forward to the first day of class.

“To be honest, it had little to do with classes,” he admitted. “It was all social and catching up with my friends after summer break.”

The start of the school year is still exciting for Gausman since he takes it as an opportunity to personally greet some of the district’s 2,000 employees and the more than 14,600 students.

“I can’t personally say ‘hi’ to everybody,” he said, “but it won’t be for lack of trying.”

Gausman’s Aug. 23 schedule (the first day of class for the 2016-2017 school year) began by meeting with bus drivers in the district’s “bus barn” by 6 a.m.

The day then proceeded to various school visits and didn’t end until the last of the school activities ended at night.

“Oh, it’s always crazy because we can easily be going 14-15 hours on the first day,” Gausman said. “But it’s also important to make your presence known.”

This is because some students might be experiencing school for the first time.

“The first day of school is a rite of passage,” Gausman said. “It can be really exciting or it can be a little scary.”

To ease a student’s anxiety, he recommended a good night’s sleep as well as a healthy breakfast.

Will this advice also work for

Sioux City School Superintendent Paul Gausman traditionally spends the first day of the school year personally greeting as many staff members and students as he can.

anxious parents who are seeing their kids off as well?

“Probably,” Gausman said. “The start of the school year can be a bit traumatic for both students and their parents, I suppose.”

Mostly, the start of the school year is a time to set goals and look forward.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a student or a staff member, the first day of class is when you look at what you’ve already accomplished and see what still needs to be done,” Gausman said.

In fact, he compares the first day of school to the first day of the year.

“Most people only say ‘Happy New Year’ one day a year,” Gausman said.

“I’m fortunate enough to be able to say it twice a year.”

Reflecting on the many first days of school he’s personally experienced, Gausman can’t help but smile.

“The first day may be a social thing or it may be strictly academic,” he said.

“Either way, we will always remember the first day of school.”

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August 2016

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school far

away from home

Esther Mboa left Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a population of more than 10 million people, to study business at Briar Cliff University because she’d heard from a friend that it was a good school.

Why do international students

come to Sioux City, of all places?

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Max Pizarro left Valencia, the third largest city in Venezuela, to study biology and play soccer at Briar Cliff University.

Text and photographs by Ally Karsyn

Walking the Great Wall of China, riding camels in Morocco, feasting on crepes in France, drinking absinthe in Amsterdam and taking siestas in Spain – studying abroad promises a host of unforgettable experiences for college students.

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But what is it like when studying abroad means coming to America, or more specifically, Sioux City? Do international students return to their home countries with delightful tales of eating their weight in La Juanita’s burritos and Twin Bings, surrounded by the cornfields of summer before they’re buried by 6 feet of snow?

Nearly 975,000 international students studied at American colleges and universities in 2014-2015, according to the most recent data from the Institute of International Education. One out of three studied in California, New York or Texas with a majority of the students coming from China, India, South Korea or Saudi Arabia.

Here in Sioux City, Briar Cliff University had 50 students from 18 countries for the 2015-2016 school year.

One of those students was Max Pizarro.

While he is Catholic, he didn’t attend Briar Cliff for its Franciscan values. He received academic and athletic scholarships that covered about 60 percent of his tuition.

“It was a good offer,” he said. “And I really, really, really wanted to play soccer.”

Having the soccer team gave him instant friends who understood the struggle of assimilating to American culture because many of them were going through it too, coming from other countries like Ecuador, Spain, Scotland, England, Ireland, Peru and Canada.

On a map, Sioux City was far away from Valencia, the third largest city in Venezuela, a country caught in an economic crisis. Pizarro didn’t know Iowa

from Idaho. It was all the same to him.

It was the United States.

He hoped to hone his English skills and didn’t expect to hear much Spanish in the Heartland. Boy, was he wrong. It was Miami all over again. In middle school, his mom sent him to the seaport city for one year, thinking he would learn English. Most of the classes were taught in Spanish.

He picked up words and phrases from watching episodes of “Friends” and “Two and a Half Men.” Still, Ross and Rachel could only teach him so much. The first year he struggled to understand what the professors were saying.

“The big thing was the classes, taking the classes in English,” he said.

“That really threw me off.” continued on page 19

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As a senior, he’s adjusted.

Meanwhile, Esther Mboa closed out her first year at Briar Cliff, feeling the pressure Pizarro once felt. She’s still struggling with eating American cuisine and the language barrier.

She speaks French, Swahili and Lingala.

She knew a little bit of English and tried to learn more by listening to American music, particularly Beyonce and Rihanna. Two years ago, she left her home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to study English for seven months in Orlando, Florida, at The Language Company.

Mboa was looking at attending a state school but determined they were too big and too expensive.

“With a little university, you can go see the professor. You can talk. They give you that attention that you need, and they really care about what you’re saying,” she said. “When you go to them and you tell them, ‘You know what, I’m from Africa. I don’t really speak English.’

They’re like, ‘OK, you’re not the first person (to have this problem).’ And they’re really there for you.”

Admittedly, though, Mboa didn’t want to live in Iowa. “I hate cold,” she said. And she had never seen snow. But one of her friends was enrolled at Briar Cliff and liked it.

Her friend’s vote of confidence – and an academic scholarship – was enough to convince her to give it a try.

Mboa had already gone to college in Kinsasha, the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

She studied economics there for three years out of five, but her credits wouldn’t transfer.

So, she was a 24-year-old freshman.

“I really hate that, but I don’t have any choice,” she said. “When you have an American diploma, you have a lot of doors open (to you), job opportunities, things like that.”

Once she earns her business degree, she wants to return to the Congo. She hasn’t been home in two years.

Mboa and Pizarro stayed in Sioux City over the summer to work.

She lived on campus. He rented a house with a three friends from the soccer team, who are from Ecuador and England. She has time to figure things out, but he’ll have some big decisions to make in the coming months.

There’s nothing for him in Venezuela.

His mom moved to Panama. His sister is moving to Spain or Miami.

“Right now, the country’s in a really bad place. You don’t want to live in a place where you can’t even go out because you’ll get mugged or kidnapped,” he said. “For a lot of people, you can’t

“When you have an American diploma, you have a lot of doors open (to you), job opportunities, things like that.”

Esther Mboa even get basic products at the supermarket. You can’t get soap. You can’t get shampoo. You can’t get food, some food.

It’s crazy to think of.”

The State Department issued an updated travel warning in July, detailing countrywide shortages of food, water, medicine, electricity and other basic necessities that have led to violence, riots and looting.

Recently, McDonald’s stopped selling

Big Macs in Venezuela because it couldn’t get buns. Even more alarming, some zoo animals – the ones that haven’t starved to death – have been reportedly killed for food.

“The quality of life is just really, really low,” Pizarro said.

He hopes to stay and work or study in the United States after completing his bachelor’s degree in biology.

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Enjoy the

Sioux City Journal Fall

Expo October 9, 2016 • 1-4pm Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center Downtown Sioux City

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Siouxland Life

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ask a professional Dr. Joel Pistello, DC

Q: Doctor, it’s great the kids are back to school, but yesterday I went to move Suzie’s backpack and it felt like a 20-pound bowling ball! Is it safe for them to be constantly carrying so much weight?

A: At first, I wanted to give this answer a quick strike and proclaim, “No!”, but the reality is that it’s safe as long as you follow two simple rules: don’t lean forward to support the weight, and wear both shoulder straps.

Rule #1 is easy to correct and follow if your child’s backpack is worn with the bottom no more than 4” below the waist. Keeping the backpack higher makes the weight easier to carry. Additionally, make sure that the backpack doesn’t weigh more than 10% of their body weight. Both of these rules keep them from leaning forward to support their backpack.

Rule #2 keeps the weight distributed evenly, and keeps the spine from having to uncomfortably bend and stretch muscles on one side, which can create spinal pain and dysfunction, which is a big “No-No” at such a young age.

If you are interested in more tips about safe backpack use, we’ve posted some more tips from the ACA on our Facebook page. In most cases, following these two simples steps can keep your children’s spines pain free.

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SEPTEMBER 2016

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SCHOOL first

day pix

Above: Six of the nine Putze children gather for a photo on the first day of school in 2015.

In front, from left, are Sarah, Mary and Rachel. In back, from left, are Michelle, Suzanne and Ryan.

Right: This 2013 photo on the first day of school shows seven of nine Putze children, from left: Michelle, Mary, Rachel, Sarah, Mark, Ryan and Suzanne.

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SEPTEMBER 2016

SIOUXLAND LIFE

PICTURES OF A FAMILY

m

ON FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

MOVILLE, IOWA | ANGIE Putze isn’t positive when she started taking pictures on the first day of school. She senses it had to be when her oldest daughter, Emily, 22, headed to kindergarten in Sioux City in the fall of 2000.

That was 16 years and eight children ago!

Angie and Matthew Putze, parents of nine children, send

Text by Tim Gallagher | Photographs provided

them all off to school this fall.

For Emily, it’s likely her final year of school, as she’s a senior agronomy major at Iowa State University.

There are two other Iowa State students in the family, as well.

Mark is a junior in the mechanical engineering program, while Michelle, the reigning Woodbury County Fair Queen, starts her

freshman year at Iowa State as an education major. She’d like to teach history and coach cross country and track, eventually.

Michelle, according to her mother, probably enjoyed the first day of school tradition photo the most. “She’s a little more sentimental,” Angie said. “I think the girls all kind of like it. The boys?

Maybe not as much.”

In 2008, the children of Mark and Angie Putze gathered for their traditional photo on the first day of school.

From left: Emily, Mary, Sarah, Ryan, Michelle, Suzanne and Mark.

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The Putzes, from left, just before they depart for school in 2014: Michelle, Mary, Sarah, Rachel, Suzanne and Ryan.

“The first day of school is important at our house. ... It’s fun when they come home to hear how that first day went.”

Angie Putze

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SEPTEMBER 2016

SIOUXLAND LIFE

There are lots of parents around Siouxland who snap photos as their children head off to school, starting a new year. When the family has nine children, well, the standard horizontal photo won’t quite do. You maybe need a panoramic camera.

“We just have the kids gather on the front steps before the bus arrives,” Angie says. “We don’t line them up in order. I figure they’ll feel more natural if they can stand where they like. They stand in a different order every time.”

The photo follows a big breakfast, one befitting the first day of school.

Angie rises early to fix egg sandwiches.

There have been years, she estimates, when 15 eggs were consumed during this meal. The number has dwindled a bit as Putze children leave “the nest,” so to speak.

“The first day of school is important at our house,” says Angie, who, like Matthew, is a native of West Bend, Iowa.

“Everyone is so excited and you want them to get off to a good start. They go to bed early the night before and have a good breakfast to start the day. It’s fun when they come home to hear how that first day went.”

The family also enjoys dinner together, one big nightly get-together.

This year, they’ll hear summaries from Suzanne, a junior; Ryan, a freshman; eighth-grade twins Mary and Sarah; third-grader Rachel; and Seth, a preschooler. All the Putzes attend Woodbury Central in Moville, Iowa. That is, except for the trio of Iowa Staters.

Those first day of school photos feature children with new shoes and shirts, wide smiles (mostly) and looks of anticipation for what the next 180 days might hold. Some of the children dig in to those photos later on. Michelle tapped the first day of school reservoir for a portion of the photos she displayed at her graduation reception in May. Like many parents, Angie almost always carries a camera. She’ll snap photos during music concerts, athletic events, the Woodbury County Fair and more.

“The kids always say, ‘Mom, don’t embarrass me with the camera,’” Angie says. “So, I stand back and take a few pictures and then save them to our computer. While some of the kids don’t like having their picture taken, all of them like to go back and look at pictures.

“I think it’s a lot of fun for them to go back and see how they looked,” Angie concludes.

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

SEPTEMBER 2016

25

school next

step

Orange City student takes

‘NEXT’ step at NWC

o

Text and photographs by Tim Gallagher

ORANGE CITY, Iowa | Trey Poppema graduated from Unity Christian in 2015.

While in high school, he served as a manager for two sports. He sang in the choir, served as a Living Group leader, escorted queens during the Tulip Festival programs and participated in the Unity Christian Game Club.

However, Trey didn’t have school during the 2015-16 academic year, a time in which Trey, who was born with Down Syndrome, was hospitalized twice.

His mother, Lauri Poppema, connects those dots.

“We’d always had Trey in an inclusive academic setting and we’ve seen the benefits for him, both socially and academically,” Lauri Poppema says. “Then he graduated from Unity and had that year off last year. It was hard as we waited. We know he needs to be around other kids.”

His mother read studies revealing that when children with intellectual disabilities aren’t around their peers and friends for a prolonged period of time, it can adversely affect their health.

That changes this fall for the son of Jim and Lauri Poppema, as Trey becomes the first student enrolled in NEXT, a twoyear certificate of completion program at Northwestern College in Orange City, where the Poppemas and their four children reside. Trey is the oldest of four boys, as brothers Charlie and Jared are students at Unity Christian. Youngest brother Jaxson is a fifth-grader at Orange City Christian School.

“I had been kicking around this idea (of a NEXT program) at Northwestern and then Lauri came by and I met Trey,” says John Menning, NEXT program director and learning disability service provider at NWC. “I said right away that Northwestern will love Trey!”

Trey Poppema, a freshman at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, stands outside the Learning Commons in August, just a couple of weeks before his freshman year in the new NEXT program began.

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september 2016

Siouxland Life

Trey Poppema, front right, walks with his parents, Lauri and Jim Poppema, right, and John Menning, left, and Tonya Moore-Huss, middle, across Northwestern College’s campus in Orange City, Iowa, just a couple of weeks prior to the start of Trey’s freshman year. Trey, who has Down Syndrome, is the first student enrolled in NWC’s NEXT program.

The NEXT program offers young adults with intellectual disabilities an integrated college experience. The program, according to Menning’s outline, centers on a curriculum emphasizing life and social skills, functional academics, independent living, academic enrichment, self-determination and career development.

There are similar programs, such as Year 13, a collaboration between the Sioux City Community School District and Western Iowa Tech Community College, the Build program at Bethel University in the Twin Cities, and Augie Access at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, to name a few.

The Poppemas will pay tuition and room and board. Trey will reside in the dorms with roommate Ben Grev, a sophomore from Odin, Minnesota, who has a heart for those with Down Syndrome.

Grev, a music education major, will receive a roommate stipend for his work with Trey.

Trey, for his part, will attend the Freshman Seminar Class with other freshmen. He’ll also attend math, reading and life skills classes taught by Tonya

Moore-Huss. Additionally, Trey will work at a job on campus, maintain his parttime employment at Pizza Ranch in Orange City, and will do everything else on campus with his peers, such as attending “RUSH” and cheering on the Red Raiders in football, basketball, volleyball and more.

“Everywhere we go, he already knows someone. He might even be our Red Raider mascot at some point. He’s very pumped.”

Tonya Moore-Huss instructor

“Everywhere we go, he already knows someone,” says Moore-Huss. “He might even be our Red Raider mascot at some point. He’s very pumped.”

“He’s not prejudiced about anything,” Lauri Poppema says. “He’s lovable and happy. He teaches us each day about the value of Christian acceptance. God

created him for a purpose, as He’s created all of us.”

Menning notes that all students at NWC completed a program that focused on diversity last year. Trey represents another piece of that diversity. His presence on campus will serve as a teaching tool for students, faculty and staff members.

“I want to make friends,” Trey says, smiling at the prospect of starting his life at NWC. “Go Raiders!”

Lauri and Jim Poppema are excited about their son’s upcoming opportunity, one that might one day lead to additional employment opportunities and added independence for their son. That said, they realize they’re also “letting go” of their child, watching him blossom as he heads out the door.

“Trey has been a huge blessing in our life,” Lauri says. “Like all parents, it is hard to let your child go.”

Menning is confident the act will be repeated, a letting go of the best kind.

Trey Poppema and his family, he says, will help blaze that trail, taking the first steps for NEXT this year. Big steps for Trey, and maybe even bigger steps for Northwestern College.

Siouxland Life

september 2016

27

SCHOOL family

tradition

Betty Loutsch, who was Betty Livermore when she graduated from Gehlen Catholic in 1980, has coached and served as a teacher’s assistant for years at her alma mater. Loutsch will assist teacher Kay Wick in the secondgrade classroom this year at Gehlen.

SHE WEARS

MANY HATS AT GEHLEN CATHOLIC Text and photographs by Tim Gallagher 28

SEPTEMBER 2016

SIOUXLAND LIFE

l

JOURNAL FILE

Above: Gehlen Catholic’s Eric Loutsch, youngest son of Kevin and Betty Loutsch, reaches for a pass while playing Woodbury Central in 2010 at Jim Lorenzen Field in Le Mars, Iowa, in the fall of 2010.

Right: Betty Loutsch is shown in the library at Gehlen Catholic in Le Mars, Iowa, a week before the school year began. Loutsch, a 1980 graduate of Gehlen, has worked for nearly a decade as a teacher’s assistant. She began coaching at Gehlen more than 30 years ago.

l

LE MARS, IOWA | BETTY Loutsch has worn just about every hat one can at Gehlen Catholic.

“I started here as a first-grader,” Loutsch says. “My parents lived right across the street, where my mom still lives.”

Betty Loutsch, one of 10 children raised by the late Orville and Marge Livermore, began her educational journey at Gehlen Catholic in 1967, most likely. That was nearly 50 years ago.

“Family” is the term she uses to describe this special school, where her husband, Kevin, earned his diploma in 1978, two years before her commencement ceremony was held. The couple has seen all five of their children become Gehlen Jays and graduate. Now, the third generation of their immediate family attends class there each day.

And, so does Betty. She’s been a teacher’s assistant for nearly a decade, having started in that role when Gehlen expanded its programming to offer a TK (transitional kindergarten) curriculum.

“I worked in TK for six years and then

went to work in kindergarten, and then first grade,” says Loutsch. “This year, I’ll be with the 25-student second grade class taught by Mrs. (Kim) Wick.”

Loutsch, and TA’s like her, are invaluable in the education arena. Loutsch helps keep learners on task as Wick directs a busy classroom.

“I assist with a teacher’s needs, whatever that may be,” Loutsch says. “I tend to move as the bigger classes go through.”

That’s not all, not by a long shot.

Betty Loutsch also coordinates Tier 2 of Gehlen’s Problem Behavior Intervention System. She helps head a committee of a half-dozen staff members, including the building principal and counselor as well an an AEA professional, in implementing interventions for students

with behavior needs.

“It’s always positive reinforcement,” Loutsch is quick to say. “We conduct daily check-ins for the student with an adult. I also started a High School Buddy Program that matches freshmen and sophomores with elementary students who get to see that high school student once per week, as a friend or a mentor.”

Loutsch also has frequent recess duty and has, in the past, aided in monitoring the lunchroom. She still has bus duty and works each day to help elementary students make the block-long trek to where buses wait in line to pick up students heading home.

“My job is to bring the first kids to the bus,” she says. “We kind of have that down to a science.”

SIOUXLAND LIFE

SEPTEMBER 2016

29

Betty Loutsch, a teacher’s assistant at Gehlen Catholic in Le Mars, Iowa, coordinates the school’s Problem Behavior Intervention System, which uses the acronym of “B.I.R.D.S.” in its instruction.

“My mother, who still lives in that house, had a candy drawer that kids had access to. ... Now, I’ve got grandchildren and their friends who are getting candy from that drawer!”

Betty Loutsch, talking about her childhood home across the street from the school

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september 2016

Siouxland Life

It’s no wonder, as a person like Betty Loutsch probably knows every inch of this campus. There’s rarely been a time she’s not been directly affiliated with the Catholic school in Le Mars.

“I think my first coaching at Gehlen took place in the mid-1980s,” she says.

“I remember bringing Mandy, our oldest child, to practice with me while she was still in a stroller.”

It wasn’t uncommon for Betty Loutsch to help coach a practice while one of her toddlers napped in the coach’s office.

Loutsch has helped coach volleyball, track, basketball and softball at Gehlen.

She and Kevin have had children participate in all those activities.

“I began as a volunteer junior high volleyball and basketball coach, not long after Kevin and I got married,” she says.

The ties to Gehlen were reinforced on an almost daily basis while growing up. Legions of young Jays, over the years, would depart the school after an athletic practice and end up across the street at the Livermore home, relaxing in the swimming pool out back.

“My mother, who still lives in that house, had a candy drawer that kids had access to,” Betty says. “Our home had a very open-door policy. Now, I’ve got grandchildren and their friends who are getting candy from that drawer!”

Betty remarks that her father, Orville, who went to Le Mars Community School, became a great Jays backer, through financial assistance and in-kind contributions. The founder of the O.H. Livermore Construction Company did all sorts of physical plant work at the school. He also made the dressing used for an annual dinner fundraiser at the school.

“After my dad died, we learned from several people about the financial assistance he provided to people in need, assistance in addition to what went with sending 10 of his own kids here,” Betty says.

Betty’s brother, Bob Livermore, now runs the construction company. Like his sister, he has helped coach basketball and football. He also put his work expertise to use for Gehlen in helping construct the new weight room facility a few years ago.

And, their sister, Pat Beitelspacher, served as the librarian at Gehlen for close to three decades. Beitelspacher just retired.

Betty smiles and mentions even more family ties. She’ll have five grandchildren at Gehlen this fall, including one, Josslyn Weiland, who will be in “Grandma’s” room as a second-grader.

Josslyn’s mother, Mandy Weiland, is also at the school each day. That little girl who sat in the stroller while her mother coached 30-some years ago? She’s now the school nurse.

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Siouxland Life

september 2016

31

SCHOOL never

too late

NURSING STUDENT HEADS BACK TO SCHOOL

s

Text and photographs by Tim Gallagher

SHELDON, IOWA | KATHERINE Steen thinks of something her husband, John Steen, says at home when tackling a new activity.

“He likes to say, ‘Go big or go home,’” Katherine says.

She makes the statement while enjoying an afternoon break from class and being a mom. Steen is enrolled in the nursing program at Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon, heading back to school some 17 years after graduating from Sioux Central High School.

“I’m 35,” she says. “I have a son, who is a high school senior, and three daughters, ages 11, 9 and 8.”

And, now she’s the one who might have the most homework in the house. The stack of textbooks she purchased for the fall semester measure a couple of feet tall, at least.

Earning adequate marks in courses like anatomy and physiology and medical terminology can be daunting for a student juggling motherhood, marriage and more. The workload seems to agree with Steen, who earned 91 percent on her final exam to certify as a CNA. She earned 99 percent in her medical terminology class, a 97 percent mark on anatomy and physiology.

Left: Katherine Steen, of Merrill, Iowa, is shown at Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon, Iowa, where she’s enrolled as a nursing student.

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

Katherine Steen, 35, is shown in a nursing classroom at Northwest Iowa Area Community College in Sheldon, Iowa. Steen, who has a degree in criminal justice, headed back to school to fulfill personal and career needs. She hopes to become an RN in a couple of years.

Going back to school does have its advantages. Steen says she’s a much more focused student than she was two decades ago.

“I look back now and wish I would have paid closer attention when I was in school,” she says. “John’s mom talks about the stages of life and how when you get to a certain age, you realize you better get it figured out.”

Katherine laughs at the statement, which hangs in the air of a nursing classroom. “I’m starting over at 35. Actually, that’s true,” she says.

Steen didn’t see herself working in this field a few years ago. She went back to school the first time about eight years ago, earning a degree in criminal justice in 2009 from the University of Phoenix.

“I never did get into law enforcement, she says. “I don’t think that’s what God wanted me to do.”

Instead, she worked as a supervisor, a subcontractor of sorts who aided workers at a rural processing plant in

“Many people are stripped of their dignity as they age (or their health fails). ... I want to make a difference for those people. I want to treat them and restore their dignity.”

Katherine Steen Buena Vista County. Along the way, she picked up a second language: Spanish.

Being bilingual, she says, may serve her well in a hospital or medical clinic setting in the future. There is demand for Spanish speakers across all categories of work in the medical community.

Steen, in fact, may see herself working as a traveling nurse at some point.

She likes the adrenaline rush she gets from both the emergency room and in being in a new area of the country. She and John, she says, may one day purchase an RV and hit the road in different parts of the country as Katherine toils in her new career.

First things first, though: Steen

must complete this year of classes in order to become a nurse practitioner.

Then, she’ll set her sights on becoming an RN. “I was self-employed for 16 years and wasn’t really fulfilling my career purpose,” she says. “John suggested that I look to NCC as it’s a great nursing school. As a nurse, I’ll be able to fulfill those personal needs. I want to be a ‘salt and light’ nurse.”

Jesus, she says, was the “salt and light” for many, metaphors for His level of care.

“Many people are stripped of their dignity as they age (or their health fails),” Steen says. “I want to make a difference for those people. I want to treat them and restore their dignity.”

Siouxland Life

September 2016

33

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Siouxland Life

SCHOOL social

media

Kristen Perez is an assistant professor and chair of the digital media department at Briar Cliff University. One of her assignments sends students out on a Twitter scavenger hunt.

SOCIAL MEDIA,

STUDENTS AND TEACHERS:

SOMETIMES THE MIX WORKS

k

Text and photographs

by Ally Karsyn

KRISTEN PEREZ USED TO avoid friending her students on Facebook.

Only after graduation would they be rewarded with access to their professor’s profile.

It was one way to separate her personal and professional lives, but now, if she gets a Facebook friend request from a familiar face in her class, she’s likely to accept.

She doesn’t see the harm. She posts like a pro. There’s no incriminating information on her end – just a steady stream of photos of her two daughters whose smiling faces also brighten her office at Briar Cliff University.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

SEPTEMBER 2016

35

So, if her students want to be inundated with these sweet family pics, who is she to stop them?

“Overall, social media has just changed so much. Facebook, for example, my students are friends with their parents and grandparents. There’s not that separation that there used to be. Your ‘friends’ aren’t just your friends anymore. Maybe it’s your boss or, in my case, your professor,” she said. “It’s kind of a nonissue for me now.”

Within the Sioux City Community School District, teachers, coaches and club advisers frequently use social media to stay in touch with parents and students through Facebook groups or pages, but a hard line is drawn on other interactions. A blanket policy states: “Staff must never use personal social media to engage, friend, or otherwise establish a relationship with students.”

At the college level, social media use is largely left up to the preference of each professor.

Perez, who chairs the digital media department at Briar Cliff, can’t get away from it. She frequently relies on Facebook and Twitter as a teaching tool. This school year, she’s hoping to venture into Instagram and Snapchat, going where the students are.

Those ages 18 to 29 have always been the most likely users of social media by a considerable margin. Today, 90 percent of young adults use social media, compared

Kristen Perez, chair of the digital media department at Briar Cliff University, frequently uses Facebook and Twitter as a teaching tool with her students.

with 12 percent in 2005, according to the Pew Research Center.

Perez’s students might be “digital natives,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean they know how to properly use the technology they’ve grown up with.

Encouraging them to use online platforms more professionally, every year, she assigns a Twitter scavenger hunt in her

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Siouxland Life

social media class. Students are given a list of seven to 10 things that they need to write about in 140 characters or less and post to Twitter using #bcumcom407.

“They’re graded not only on if they’re posting but the quality of their posts,” she said.

As part of his homework, @tylerjmcghee tweeted, “Briar Cliff Women’s Volleyball is the true definition of a team #bcumcom407,” with a photo of the yellow-shirted players huddled on the court. @BeckmannDillon tweeted, “Blueberry Wafflecone and Strawberry Cheesecake are @TheeDesignator’s fav things about BCU #bcumcom407,” with a video of @ TheeDesignator, also known as Desi Beckmann, saying, “My favorite thing about Briar Cliff is that they have four different kinds of ice cream every day so I can get my ice cream fix seven days a week.”

One student pushed the bounds of propriety with a picture of a toilet and a snarky caption that declared the porcelain bowl the “most beautiful spot at BCU, because some times you just need to take a load off.”

In most cases, that tweet wouldn’t fly in a professional setting unless you’re working for BuzzFeed or a plumber.

After students posted their content to Twitter, Perez reviewed everything by searching for #bcumcom407 and led class discussion, talking about what makes a good tweet, covering everything from capitalization and punctuation to typos and blurry photos.

If they learn nothing else from class, let it be this: “If you wouldn’t want you grandma to see it, then you probably shouldn’t post it.”

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

SEPTEMBER 2016

37

SCHOOL saving

Tom Munson, archival clerk of Sioux City Public Museum, shows an example of a piece of old paper turning yellow during an interview in Sioux City.

memories

PRESERVING SCHOOL MEMENTOS LIKE A MUSEUM ARCHIVIST WOULD

Tom Munson, archival clerk of Sioux City Public Museum, talks about tips of archiving, including using photo sleeves.

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SEPTEMBER 2016

SIOUXLAND LIFE

t

“Remember the cardinal rule for archiving? Do no harm.”

t

Tom Munson, archival clerk Text by Earl Horlyk Photographs by Justin Wan

Tom Munson admitted that many of the report cards, school papers and art projects he accumulated as a kid are likely residing in either the attic or the basement of his mom’s house.

“Those are absolutely the two worst places to house things you want to keep,” the Sioux City Public Museum archival clerk said. “An attic will be too dry and too hot to store keepsakes and a basement will be too cold and too damp.”

And both places violate Munson’s cardinal rule when it comes to archiving: Do no harm.

“Those three little words say everything you need to know about archiving,” he said inside the museum’s research center. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about preserving a historically important document or the watercolor art you did in the first grade, never do anything you can’t eventually undo.”

Having said that, Munson said environment is key.

Don’t want to see your junior high school book report turn yellow? Store it in a safe environment.

“Dark is good when storing important things,” Munson maintained. “A closet is fine since it will likely have a consistent temperature.”

But before you stick it in a closet, he recommends investing in some galleryquality protectors like archival folders, envelopes and sleeves.

“There are any number of online sites that have quality products that will keep photographs and important records from discoloration or disintegration,” Munson said.

Just make sure that folders are both acid-free and lignin-free.

Why? Munson said acid causes paper and photos to disintegrate. This aging process is significantly slowed when the acid is removed from paper during the manufacturing process.

The same is true for lignin – a natural bonding element that holds wood fibers together.

“Newspaper contains lignin and you may have noticed that newspaper can become brittle and discolored with age,” Munson said. “Like acid, lignin can be removed during the manufacturing process so suitable products should be labelled lignin-free or archival quality.”

And two things that you should never use on perishable collectibles: pens and tape.

“Never write using permanent ink and never tape something to a page,” Munson said. “Remember the cardinal rule for archiving? Do no harm.”

Checking through his collection, Munson pulled out art pieces and stories produced by a teenage girl from the early part of the 20th century.

“It’s really remarkable to see how well preserved this is,” he said. “The only yellowing I can see is on the artwork.”

Munson said the watercolor piece

dated back to 1917.

“It’s nearly 100 years old but doesn’t look it,” he said.

So, how does Munson think his old school material looks like after considerably less time?

“Oh, my stuff probably looks 100 years old if it’s been kept in a basement or in an attic,” he said with a shrug.

Yet, if something’s important to you, Munson said preserve it.

“We all have mementos from our school years,” he said. “You can keep them looking crisp with just a little time and effort.”

Siouxland Life

september 2016

39

SCHOOL swag

SCHOOL SWAG BRIGHT COLORS, BOLD PATTERNS SHOW OFF STUDENTS’ PERSONALITIES

e

Text by Earl Horlyk | Photographs by Justin Wan

EVEN THOUGH SHE’S MOM to kids, ages 8, 10 and 12, Target’s Amanda Corbin said she wouldn’t mind being a kid again.

“Are you kidding?” she asked while looking at shelves of pencils, notebooks and backpacks. “I don’t remember having cool back-to-school stuff like this when I was growing up.”

That’s a sentiment shared by Corbin’s

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SEPTEMBER 2016

colleague Brenda Nelson, who is busily restocking merchandise days before the start of the school year.

“Years ago, every kid had the same pencils, erasers, book bag or whatever,” Nelson, the mom of kids, ages 10, 12 and 20, explained. “It wasn’t fun and it became boring quickly.”

This has all changed since today’s student wants to express his or her

SIOUXLAND LIFE

individuality through school supplies.

“Judging from my own kids, this need for individuality begins toward the end of elementary school,” Corbin noted.

“And this need to showcase your personality doesn’t even end in college,” Nelson interjected. “I’m still buying school supplies for my daughter in college and her tastes are very specific.”

Yet one thing most students will agree

Above: Bright colors and big graphics are “in” when it comes to book bags. Below: Notebooks (left) and crayons (right) are seen at the back-to-school area of Sioux City’s Target.

on is that color is in, the brighter the better.

“One of the newest brand names is a company called Yoobi,” Nelson said, showing off a large supply of kid-friendly pencil cases, composition books and assorted supplies. “All of their stuff is festive and bling-y and in pinks, blues, greens and aquas.”

“I love their fuzzy pencil cases as well as the binder that come with googly eyes,” Corbin said, pointing out some of her favorites. “Kids will go crazy over this kind of stuff.

“So might some adults,” she added, checking the price tags of some

polka-dotted office supplies. “This must be new.”

Nelson walked over to the shelves containing notebooks.

“Notebooks are a great and inexpensive ways for kids to show off a bit of personality,” she said. “Many notebooks have sports teams, musical acts and movie characters on their covers.”

Indeed, some of this year’s most popular notebooks are the movie-related ones, with characters from “Finding Dory” and “The Secret Life of Pets” becoming best sellers.

“Any parent knows that a child’s

interests can change overnight,” Nelson admitted. “Notebooks can reflect that short attention span.”

Still, it probably won’t make as drastic a statement as a book bag.

“Book bags are hot right now,” Corbin said. “And the bags that have bright colors and big designs have been flying off the shelves.”

Showing off book bags bearing large geometrical circles, chevrons or smiling whales got Corbin to thinking.

“Who said grown-ups can’t use book bags?” she asked. “These are just really cute.”

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Siouxland Life

Health school

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physicals

School physicals:

Who needs them and why?

Text by Dolly A. Butz Photographs by Tim Hynds

SIOUX CITY | Every other year, from kindergarten through college, students should typically receive physicals, said Steven Joyce, an internist and pediatrician at Mercy Medical Center.

What takes place during a physical exam, he said, doesn’t change too much as the child ages. During the teenage years, he said doctors are especially on the look out for orthopedic issues, including scoliosis, sideways curvature of the spine.

“In the younger age groups we focus more on growth and development,” he said. “We’ll do some of the growth in the adolescent and pre-adolescent group as well because of the obesity epidemic.”

Joyce said a child’s hearing and vision should be checked before they start kindergarten. He utilizes vision charts at Mercy and an otoscope to look inside ears. He said hearing testing is traditionally done at school through the Northwest Area Education Agency.

Staying up-to-date on immunizations is important for maintaining a child’s health.

A 5-year-old will need the following vaccinations, according to Joyce: • Tdap vaccine (Combines Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis vaccines) – prevents lockjaw, a bacterial disease that affects the nervous system, and pertussis, a highly contagious bacterial infection that causes severe coughing spells.

• MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) – Protects against all three viral diseases that can be very serious. Measles and mumps have reemerged in the United States in small clusters in recent years.

Mumps is a highly contagious disease that is spread through the air by droplets of saliva or mucus from the nose, mouth or throat of an infected person. The disease causes fever, swollen and tender salivary glands and headache. The measles virus mimics symptoms of the common cold and causes a rash.

• Varicella – Protects against chicken pox, a highly contagious viral infection that causes itchy, red blisters to form on the skin.

• Polio – Polio is a vaccine-preventable disease that causes paralysis. Polio was declared eradicated in the United

Dr. Steven Joyce listens to Chase Eickholt’s heart while demonstrating a part of the type of back-to-school medical exam appropriate for his age group. Eickholt, of Hinton, is a sophomore at Iowa State University.

Left: An otoscope is shown at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City. Right: The dial and cuff of a sphygmomanometer - used to measure blood pressure.

States in 1979.

At this age, Joyce said, children will also have blood drawn to check for lead exposure. The source of most lead poisoning in children is dust and chips from deteriorating lead paint in the home.

Except for an annual flu shot, Joyce said no other vaccines are needed for about another six years. At age 11, children receive another dose of Tdap vaccine and a

meningitis shot. Joyce said the HPV vaccine, given in a series shots, is also recommended. The vaccine protects against certain types of human papillomavirus, a common sexually transmitted virus associated with cervical and throat cancers, as well as genital warts.

If students have received all of these vaccinations, Joyce said they shouldn’t need any others when they enter college.

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HEALTH faking

it

KIDS COULD BE FEIGNING ILLNESS

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FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS Text by Dolly A. Butz

SIOUX CITY | YOUR DAUGHTER complains of a tummy ache.

She says she can’t go to school and then asks, “What’s for breakfast?”

Your son says he feels feverish and needs to stay home, but then plops down in front of the TV to play video games.

Daniel Gillette, vice president of behavioral health for UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s, said it’s common for children to engage in malingering or pretending to have an illness they don’t really have.

“That’s the classic, ‘I Daniel Gillette want to stay home and watch cartoons. I don’t want to go to school,’” he said. “A child knows they’re not really ill and they’re just trying to get out of going to school.

There’s either something they want to avoid or something they want to get from the illness.”

Mothers and grandmothers are

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usually pretty astute at detecting malingering, according to Gillette. But for those who struggle with it, he recommends checking the child’s temperature with a thermometer. If the child has an appetite, he said that’s another sign that they’re probably feigning illness.

Take away screen time while a child is home sick, and if they’re malingering, Gillette said they’re likely to recover in a hurry. A child who’s really sick, Gillette said, won’t care if he or she can’t watch TV or use a tablet.

“When a child is really malingering, usually if they find out they can’t do any of the fun stuff that comes with staying home they change their mind about just how sick they are,” he said.

Children with psychosomatic illness, however, aren’t consciously faking illness. They might be sick, but are exaggerating the symptoms of that illness, or their sickness could be brought on by anxiety or depression. Gillette said

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bullying is one of the most common causes of psychosomatic illness.

One out of every four students (22 percent) report being bullied during the school year, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

“They may not really be medically ill, but at the same time they’re not pretending. They really think they are (sick),” Gillette said.

The big challenge for parents is figuring out what’s causing psychosomatic illness. Gillette said having a good channel of communication with your child is key. Talk about what’s going well at school, what’s not going well and what the child is worried about, he said.

“Sometimes it’s going to be something that’s just a child not understanding a situation. Talking to them can help them get through it,” he said. “Frequently it will be helpful to talk to the school about what’s going on and maybe the school can do something to help.”

advice Medical

Answers

‘Doc, i’ve got a question …’

meet the doc Kelly Ryder is an Omaha, Nebraska, native who attended Creighton University for her undergraduate and medical degrees.

She then moved to Sioux City to complete her residency in Family Medicine at the Siouxland Medical Education Foundation.

She is currently in her third and final year of residency. She enjoys spending most of her free time with her fun and loving husband, Dylan, and two wild and wonderful children, Luke and Hallie.

answers to your medical questions

I was told I’m wearing the wrong shoe for running. How do I know what works for what?

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there are countless different types of running shoes on the market these days. However there are also different types of feet to make finding the right shoe for you a bit more difficult. There are three main shapes of the arches of feet to first distinguish between. These are flat arches, neutral arches and high-arched feet.

People with flat feet, also known as pes planus, will need a shoe with more stability and rigidity than people with neutral or high arches. This is because they will tend to walk and run on the inner edge of their feet, which is called overpronating. Those with high arches tend to do better with a shoe that has a lot of cushion, thus providing more support and flexibility to their midfoot where the arches are high. People with neutral arches can often wear a wider variety of running shoe, but often feel best with a mid stability shoe, without quite as much cushion.

Another aspect of your feet to pay attention to is the width of the soles. Some brands run more narrow than other brands. There are also brands available that make shoes in narrow, regular and wide widths.

Lastly, you want to be sure you are wearing the correct size shoe. You want your heel to be snug enough in the shoe so that it is not slipping out when you run. You will also want about 1/2 inch of room at the toe of the shoe to ensure just enough wiggle room while you are running so you don’t develop blisters.

A good way to learn you own arch type and gait is to visit a local sporting goods store to be fitted for running shoes. These salespeople are often trained to be able to watch a person’s gait and look at their soles to decide what type of arch and in turn, what type of shoe will be best for their feet while exercising.

If you find that you are having pain in your feet while running or walking despite trying multiple different types of shoes, I would suggest paying a visit to your primary care physician or a podiatrist in the area to have your feet further evaluated.

Why does it matter where you get a shot? Why, for example, are some in the arm and some in the butt? Is there a difference which arm it goes in?

There are many different types of medications that can be given through shots or injections, such as antibiotics, insulin, vaccinations and anti-allergy shots. Given the many different medications and injections that exist, there are several different ways in which the medication is absorbed into the body. Depending on the substance being injected and the amount administered, this will effect where and how the shot is given.

The first type of injection is called an intradermal injection. This type positions the needle just under the skin, into the dermis, which is the top layer of the skin.

This injection technique is used for allergy treatments and tuberculosis skin testing.

The next type of injection is called a subcutaneous injection. The needle is somewhat longer than intradermal needles because it must penetrate the first two layers of the skin, the dermis and epidermis, to arrive at the subcutaneous fat. This technique is used to inject insulin for diabetic patients who are insulin dependent, as well as for some vaccines.

With subcutaneous injections, there is a lesser chance of adverse reaction to the medication. The medication is also more slowly absorbed and so can act for a longer period of time.

The last type of injection is called an intramuscular injection. This technique uses the longest needle and the needle will insert past all three layers of skin

and into the muscle. This is the kind of injection that people are most familiar with, as this is how many vaccinations and antibiotics are administered by injection. This injection technique offers the most rapid absorption of the medication into the blood stream and body, which makes it ideal for antibiotics which need to work more quickly.

Depending on the volume of medication being injected, a larger muscle is sometimes necessary for injection. When it comes to which arm is preferred, it does not matter. Usually the nurse will ask you which if your dominant hand, and will opt for your other arm solely due to the fact that some medications and vaccines can make your muscle sore for several hours after injection.

If you ever have any concerns before receiving an injection, do not hesitate to ask the nurse or physician. Also remember to always contact your physician if you ever think you may have had an allergic reaction to an injection.

What good does hand lotion do? Don’t you just wash it off anyway?

A good hand lotion, if used on a daily basis, will help to keep your hands from getting too dry, itching and cracking from the dryness. Since we should be washing our hands frequently throughout the day to prevent the spread of germs, many people are quite susceptible to dry hands. Some lotions, or emollients, work better for continued moisturizing than others. Often the dermatologist recommended brands, such as Cetaphil and CeraVe, are more expensive overthe-counter brands, but will better keep hands moisturized if used regularly.

Although it may seem counter intuitive to wash your hands after applying lotion, please don’t feel like you can’t wash your hands because you have used lotion early in the day. I recommend applying it early in the morning

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as part of your daily routine. The lotion will take about 15-20 minutes to fully absorb into your skin. As long as you are able to wait that allotted amount of time before washing your hands, you should not need to reapply the lotion. You could also use hand soaps that help moisturize your skin as well, such as Dove or Aveeno hand soaps.

If you feel that your hands are continuing to feel dry, itchy or are cracking despite trying the above recommendations, please see your primary care provider as there may be something more than just regular dry skin occurring.

What is the limit for physical activity for children? Is there such a thing as too much, particularly when you see how often they’re in more than one sport?

With the many distractions of screen time that exist in our world today, parents often wonder if their children are getting enough physical activity. According to the American Academy of Pediatricians, they recommend that children ages 6 and older get at least 60 minutes of physical activity throughout the day. This does not have to be an hour straight of exercise, but can be split up throughout the day and can include a wide variety of activities. Activities could include team sports, swimming, jumping rope, riding bicycles, playing on the playground and the list goes on.

But how much is too much? There is not a specified limit set on physical activity according to the AAP. That being said, if your child is involved is multiple sports at the same time it is recommended to keep a close eye on their physical well-being. Always make sure they are eating a well-balanced diet that includes protein and carbohydrates, since both of these food group provide a considerable amount of energy to the body. Monitor how much water they are taking in daily. Children should be drinking at least four to six

Children should be drinking at least four to six glasses of water per day, sometimes more during the summer months. glasses of water per day, sometimes more during the summer months.

Since they have less reserve than their adult counterparts, children are highly susceptible to dehydration if they are not keeping up with their water intake while participating in sports or other physical activities. Lastly, pay attention to how much sleep your child is getting each night. The AAP states that children need at least 9-10 hours of sleep each night for their bodies recover from the day’s activities and continue to grow and thrive. If you have any concerns about how much physical activity your child is enduring, whether it be too much or too little, do not hesitate to ask your primary care physician.

If you have a child or children that participate in high school sports, this is the time of year that many teams will be participating in “two-a-days”, or twice daily practices. This is an especially important time to know and be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of dehydration. If your child experiences decreased urine output, severe muscle cramping, dizziness, lightheadedness or disorientation, seek immediate medical assistance.

What kiNds of health questions do you have?

Submit your questions and they may be used in this monthly feature. Write to Siouxland Life at 515 Pavonia St., Sioux City, Iowa 51102.

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Siouxland Life

712-255-3852

PARTING SHOT By

Bruce Miller

THE TROUBLE WITH TRAVELING

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I HATE TAKING OFF my shoes for security checks.

I also hate waiting in lines, listening for “updated” announcements and sleeping in airports.

Unfortunately, I got the thrill this summer when I happened to be on one of those flights that had “computer” problems.

To hedge my bets in advance (I haven’t been flying since the Wright Brothers for nothing), I got TSA Pre, the great card that allows you to board without taking off your shoes, separating your liquids or undressing in order to stand in an X-ray machine.

I also got the airline’s credit card, which allows me to have one free bag, Zone One boarding and lots of other perks.

How tough can traveling be under those circumstances, right?

Well, the first half hour went well. I zipped through security, found my gate and waited for the flight to be called.

An hour later, there was still no announcement. A murmur spread through the waiting crowd: “Something’s wrong.”

Sure enough, the plane was experiencing “mechanical” difficulties and would be boarding “a bit late.” Since I had a connecting flight, I decided to ask if we’d take off and land in time.

“No problem,” the gate agent said. So I sat back down. And waited. Two hours passed. The crowd grew restless and word came down: “They’re sending in a mechanic and a part.” This, I was sure, would mean I’d miss my flight, so I got in line to ask an agent. The line was so long the departure time passed. It moved like a snail, too, since they only had one person at the gate. I got on the phone, called the airline and the clerk said she was “unaware” of any problem. “Your flight should be landing on time.” I didn’t know if I should laugh or tell her it wasn’t even moving from the gate.

The repair flight came an hour later and, in the meantime, I got on Twitter to see if I could learn anything more. “Private message us,” a note came back. The airline connected me with a reservations agent who said she would get me out on the next flight and get me on a connecting flight that would only require an hour layover. “I do have some bad news,” she said.

“I can’t get you in First Class.” I didn’t have a First Class ticket anyway, so it didn’t matter. I thought I was in the clear.

Nope. The mechanic couldn’t fix the plane and we’d have to take a replacement. The replacement, however, was smaller than the broken plane so some people would have to give up their seats. The long line formed and quickly the mob turned angry. “I’m driving,” a woman announced. “Who’s going with me?” Remarkably, five or six people took her up on the offer and they left. I stuck it out and watched as the bidding rights went higher. The herd had been culled by the time they got to $800.

We got on the plane and waited. And waited. I fell asleep and, still, it hadn’t left.

Two hours later (without air), we took off and got to our first destination in 30 minutes.

I missed my connection, had to rebook and run. Because I was going to get on in mere minutes, I was unable to grab anything to eat. I had been gone 12 hours without anything to eat.

On the flight, the attendant said she had no gluten-free meals and the one snack she could offer (nuts) would not be served because someone was allergic to peanuts and they wouldn’t be able to offer them. “I can give you something to drink.” I asked for the whole can of Coke. “I’m sorry, sir, but we have to be able to service the whole flight.” Instead, I got a third of a can splashed over more ice than you’d find in Antarctica.

By the time I got to my destination I was ready to gnaw on the service dog that was seated behind me or the pacifier the baby in front of me had dropped. Because I arrived so late, the airport restaurants had already closed. I got in a cab, got to the hotel and made a meal out of the mints on my pillow.

On the return flight, I took a red-eye and realized the situation hadn’t improved. The airport was stacked with cots, mats and fast-food wrappers. Seats were nowhere to be found. Passengers for three flights waited at one gate. “Is this the right place?” I asked a woman standing next to me. “Who knows?” she said. “I just want to get on the first flight that’s leaving.”

Two hours later, I left. On the plane, I insisted on the whole can and relished each one of the nuts.

The upside? I had TSA Pre and didn’t have to take my shoes off when I checked in.

Sometimes, it’s the little things that matter.

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• Leg aching • Heaviness • Muscle cramping • Leg fatigue • Restless Legs Syndrome • Ankle swelling

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

• Itching and burning • Skin discoloration • Ulcers of the skin • Eczema to the lower legs • Phlebitis (blood clots)