Monarchs and other heroes at Lanier HS

Hart, Tami and I had a great visit yesterday at Lanier HS during their lunch hour.  We were getting set up in the hallway outside the cafeteria and along came some students carrying a banner they had made about the monarch butterfly.  Monarchs are a special interest of mine, so I was thrilled to learn that Lanier's Environment Club is creating a Monarch garden and is raising awareness about the monarch's migration and importance to the ecosystem.  Excellent!

the student-made monarch hero photo booth, nicely done!

We had our usual t-shirt challenge, and the reflection poster asked, "Yesterday was Indigenous Peoples Day.  What is one of the things about your ancestors or heritage that you value most?"  Here are some of the student responses:

That we came from natives
My Mexico family
Our connection to nature
I value the rights
I value that I am different from others
I value the food
I value our culture, food and way of life
They are united
Love yourself
We all have love for whatever we do
The best boxer in the world
Black Lives Matter
Our cultures
I admire the fact I was located in East Africa
I value music the most
I value our traditions

We also, as at McCallum, asked students to write about a way that they are kind to the earth.  And, as at McCallum, most responses had to do with picking up trash or recycling.

The Penny Poll results showed a very high interest in education, with almost half the pennies put into that category.  Results were:  49% for Education, 17% for the Environment, 16% for Health Care, 13% for the Military and 5% for Humanitarian Aid.

A few more photos from the visit.  Thanks for your participation, Vikings!

Tami with the Peace Wheel of Fortune

Hart at the chin-up bar

glad to see this was happening at Lanier

Beginning the school year with a visit to McCallum HS

We had our first school visit of the new semester at McCallum HS today, and we had a great one!  Hart was doing a presentation at Crockett HS today, so it was just two of us staffing the McCallum table.  We shortened the t-shirt challenge a bit for that reason.  We had steady interest and students had good ideas to contribute.  We appreciated their responses on the reflection posters.  We debuted another t-shirt design, and it was the most popular today!  Thanks to all Knights for welcoming us to the round table!

Here is what students wrote on the reflection poster that asked "October 2 (Gandhi's Birthday) was the International Day of Nonviolence.  What are some nonviolent strategies you can use when there is conflict?"

Use your words
Be peaceful and calm
Peaceful protest
Write a speech and protest
Come together with people going through the same things
Take a deep breath
Be respectful and mindful of yourself and others
Listen to both sides of the story and be respectful
Words can protect more than violence
Talk it out, come to an agreement
Just talk about, clarify your POV, try to find common grounds
Treat the other party with respect and patience
Have both leaders speak to each other and find a reason
Art pieces
Count to 10 and breathe
Talk about how it made you feel
Talk to local congress members
Start petitions

And students are doing a lot to be kind to the earth -- especially along the lines of recycling and gardening.