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Plenty to be thankful for at lwsf
What are you thankful for?
Here at LWSF, we're thankful for the generosity of our donors who make the programs that we fund possible. We're thankful for the compassion of the volunteers who give their time to help children. And we're thankful for the hard work and dedication of the staff, teachers, and administration in the LWSD.
Together, we're helping our students succeed in and out of the class room. In this issue of the Impact Update, we're highlighting a few more opportunities for you to get involved.
Right now, we're seeking Ambassadors to help us share LWSF's events and programs with every school in the district. It's a fun gig that doesn't require a ton of time, but brings a lot of benefit to your school. Interested? Join us at our Ambassador Information Tea tomorrow, Friday, November 8, from 9:30-10:30 at the LWSD Resource Center. If you can't it tomorrow, we'll be hosting another one before the end of the year. Email Katy for more info.
We're also hosting another free Find Your Fit college workshop on November 28. Spaces are still available, but reserve your seat today. These popular workshops always fill up.
Do you have an extra hour each week to be a mentor to a local student? LINKS is LWSD's one-on-one youth mentoring program, and they're holding training sessions for prospective adult volunteers throughout the remainder of the year. Email Victoria Goetze-Nelson for more information.
Can't be there in person? Is there room in your budget to support someone who can? If you haven't already, please consider donating to our Be the Difference campaign to support LINKS youth mentoring in LWSD this November. We just posted several video interviews with current LINKS volunteers to our website--trust me, if you want to see something heartwarming today, you'll want to check them out.
But do it soon: the Be the Difference campaign ends before the turkeys hit the oven!
Larry Wright
P.S. We are excited to report that we received $2,743 from the new Whole Foods in Kirkland as a result of our 5% Community Giving Day on October 18! We loved greeting customers and meeting supporters in person at the new Whole Foods store in the revitalized Totem Lake area.
Thank you to Whole Foods and to everyone who supported us with their shopping list on our big day!
HOW CAN YOU BE THE DIFFERENCE FOR
A LOCAL KID?
"I volunteer because I know that spending just an hour a week to talk to my little buddy about his day can make an impact that lasts a lifetime." -- LINKS volunteer Davin Alsin
Redmond, WA, November 5, 2018 – At first, it might not seem like meeting with a local student for lunch once a week can make that much of a difference. "From the get-go, my Lunch Buddy and I would do crafts together," recalled local resident Laura Spencer, who volunteers as a weekly LINKS mentor at Juanita Elementary School. "We'd sit there quietly and do crafts and we wouldn't talk much. And then after a couple weeks..."
WE'RE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD FRIENDS
Want to help your school take advantage of the programs and resources offered by LWSF? Could you share LWSF news and events with your school? Not 100% about what an "LWSF Ambassador" does?
Join us at an upcoming Ambassador Information Tea! These casual events help you learn more about the role of school ambassador and give us the chance to get to know YOU!
What: LWSF Ambassador Information Tea
When: November 8, 2018 from 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Where: LWSD Resource Center
Can't make that one? Email Katy to be put on the list for the next one!
FIND YOUR FIT WITH OUR FREE COLLEGE WORKSHOPS!
Does your high school student need a little College 101? Join Mary Pat O'Neil of True Fit College Counseling at a free interactive workshop that will not only help students and their families understand the steps involved in applying to college, but also how to find the perfect college fit.
When: November 28, 2018 6pm-8pm
Spaces are limited, secure your spot today!
CLICK TO RESERVE A SEAT!
FALL ISSUE OF CROSSINGS MAGAZINE
AVAILABLE NOW!
New to the area? Wondering what "Choice Schools" and "Skyward" and "PowerSchool Learning" are? Check out the Fall issue of LWSF's Crossings magazine (available in English and Spanish), and be sure to join the conversation online on our Spanish Crossings Facebook page. Paper copies of our magazine are also being distributed directly to students engaged in English-learner programs in LWSD.
Topics covered in our newest issue:
Year-by-year checklist for high school students who want to attend college
How to load up your student's school lunch account, report an absence, and check grades
Explaining LWSD's Choice School Program
read crossings magazine!
GIVE BACK WITH AMAZON THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
AMAZON SMILE
Before you head into your holiday shopping, take a moment to set Lake Washington Schools Foundation as your Amazon Smile beneficiary, and Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase price to LWSF.
set lwsf as your amazon smile charity!
PANTRY PACKS AMAZON WISH LIST
Ever need just one more item to fill your Amazon cart before you can add that "add-on" item to your cart? Want an easy way to donate food to Pantry Packs? Bookmark the Pantry Packs Amazon Wishlist!
pantry packs wish list!
Fall at the foundation means...
Apples are ripening, you need your heavier coat, and traffic is snarled (worse than usual). Welcome back to fall in the Northwest!
We love this season here at the Lake Washington Schools Foundation because we get to run our annual campaign to help kids Start Strong. A hearty thank-you to the compassionate donors who helped us raise $40,000 for programs to benefit children in our schools. (Did you want to give to this campaign or share the link with someone who might? Click here).
The Start Strong campaign benefits programs like Pantry Packs, our volunteer-run weekend food program that undertook a big move to a new storage facility off Willows Road over the summer. Want to get involved? Check out our Pantry Packs information page, especially the links at the bottom of the page. You'll find everything you need to run a food drive, volunteer at a packing party, or get your child signed up to receive a pack.
Have you submitted your charitable contributions to your employer for a match? Many local employers match employees' charitable contributions dollar-for-dollar. Ask your human resource or employee services manager for details on how to submit your donation for a match. Let me know if you need a fresh receipt for your last donation to LWSF.
Finally, I want to send a special thanks to Darrin Helfrecht, Director of Nutrition Services for the Lake Washington School District through Sodexo, who volunteers his time to write (and win!) grants for Pantry Packs. Three cheers for Darrin!
P.S. Cookies for Kids is back! Chick-fil-A Totem Lake is donating $0.25 to LWSF for every Chocolate Chunk cookie sold at their location in October. Buy a treat for yourself or take a whole platter home this month from Chick-fil-A Totem Lake (12026 NE 124th St Kirkland WA 98034).
Save your shopping list! LWSF's 5% day at whole foods kirkland is October 18.
Thanks to the generosity of the Whole Foods philanthropic team, LWSF will receive 5% of net sales processed at their new Kirkland location on October 18. This amounts to several thousand dollars in a single day, and it's truly one of the easiest ways to make a donation to LWSF...just show up and shop!
What: Community Giving Day, 5% of all proceeds benefit LWSF
When: Thursday, October 18, 2018
Where: Whole Foods Kirkland, 12501 120th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98034
LWSF RAISES $40,000 IN START STRONG CAMPAIGN
Running a fundraising campaign in the first month of school is a tradition for the Lake Washington Schools Foundation. Raising $40,000 in a month almost entirely on an email-based community donations campaign, though, isn't an easy task for a small non-profit.
"Without this funding, we can't run our programs. Thankfully, our community has extraordinary compassion for kids in need," notes Lake Washington Schools Foundation Executive Director Dr. Larry Wright. "When we tell people what we're doing for children right here in the Lake Washington School District, most people want to help."
FIND YOUR FIT WITH OUR FREE COLLEGE WORKSHOPS!
Does your senior need help with her college application essay? Join Mary Pat O'Neil of True Fit College Counseling at a free workshop designed to help high school seniors craft a personal and compelling college application essay.
When: October 10, 2018 6:30pm-8pm
When: October 17, 2018 1:00pm-2:30pm
Where: Redmond High School Library
Spaces are limited, so reserve your seat today!
WE'RE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD FRIENDS.
Want to help your school take advantage of the programs and resources offered by LWSF? Consider signing up to be your school's LWSF Ambassador. We'll send you monthly updates that you can forward to your PTSA and school communications liaisons, flyers you can post on your school's message boards, and other opportunities and campaigns for you to share with parents and teachers.
Email katy@lwsf.org for more information!
A $350,000 Investment in our children's future...
As we head into summer and look back upon an incredible year, we consider with gratitude the hundreds of compassionate people who donated funding, time, and social support to help the Lake Washington Schools Foundation create opportunities for student success.
For all you've done for students, thank you. We simply cannot do this work without your help.
In this Impact Update, you'll find details on our commitment to invest more than $350,000 in our schools next year, be introduced to our $10,000 college scholarship recipients, and learn the results of our spring FAN campaign to benefit summer school scholarships.
I hope you enjoy your summer. Let's talk again in August about how we can best support students, teachers and families. Together, we truly can give every child in the Lake Washington School District the opportunity to flourish.
P.S. Our summer Find Your Fit workshops covering college applications and application essays are full. We see that families want more of these free events, and we'll try to get a few more on the calendar. Want to be the first to know if we do? Follow us on Facebook or
Twitter.
Lwsf in the news
Foundation invests more than $350,000 in schools
Lake Washington Schools Foundation support ranges from classroom grants to district-wide programs.
Kirkland Reporter, June 21, 2018
It was a red-letter day in local schools as the Lake Washington Schools Foundation announced its grant recipients for the 2018/2019 school year.
The Lake Washington Schools Foundation has pledged more than $350,000 in classrooms grants and district-wide programming funding to support students, families, and teachers in the coming academic year.
$37,500 in scholarships awarded to
local students
Outstanding character and achievement earn post-secondary funding for local students.
Redmond Reporter, June 18, 2018
Lake Washington PTSA Council and Lake Washington Schools Foundation have announced a combined total of $37,500 in scholarship awards to sixteen local students.
Through a joint application process that received more than one hundred applications and required more than thirty community readers, the LWPTSA Council conferred fourteen individual $1,250 student scholarships in the categories of merit, education and perseverance. The LWPTSA Council bestowed an additional $500 each to exceptional teachers Eleanor Jones at Thoreau Elementary and Steve Okun at Redmond High School.
Summer school scholarship campaign a resounding success!
When we heard that the LWSD was expanding its summer school catalog, we knew we had to make sure every kid had the chance to attend--money shouldn't be a barrier to educational opportunity. So this spring, we ran a community Fund-A-Need campaign that gathered more than $15,000 in donations to sponsor every kid who applied for need-based summer school scholarships.
"This scholarship campaign has made an incredible difference for kids," wrote Heather Sánchez, LWSD director of Accelerated Programs, Choice and Innovation. "These scholarships enable the students to participate in Jr. DigiPen courses, STEM, Drama and Integrated Art/Writing Camps and a wide variety of core academic courses. These students will experience academic support and unique enrichment opportunities this summer. We are so thankful to the Foundation and all the individual donors for making this a special summer for kids."
Thank you to everyone who donated to this incredible grassroots campaign. It isn't often that you get to say you sponsored every kid who needed a scholarship--but this year, you did!
Nickels, summer school, and a kite...
Spring may be a break for some, but it's one of the Foundation's busiest seasons.
Thanks to everyone who helped our March benefit luncheon raise more than $210,000. If you donated and your employer offers matching gifts, don't forget to submit your donation for a match. Just this week we received nearly $3,000 in corporate matches for the spring lunch.
March also marked the deadline for our Reach for Success grant applications. The evaluation process is underway and we'll be notifying applicants of their status by the end of the school year.
Did you miss the application deadline? Keep in mind that we occasionally make off-cycle grants. Last week, in fact, we awarded $1,000 to Juanita High School to help with fees for students taking Cambridge exams.
Reducing financial obstacles to educational opportunities is a priority for us. If you agree, you'll be interested in our new FAN campaign to sponsor need-based summer school scholarships in the LWSD. With the district's newly expanded programming options, summer school really is for everyone. With the community's support, we'll make sure that finances are no barrier to participation.
We're also helping local students pay for college. In a couple of days, we'll be announcing the deserving recipients of two $10,000 LWSF college scholarships. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to hear the announcement when it happens.
We're committed to ensuring that all kids in the LWSD achieve their full potential. With your support, we'll continue to help students achieve success in and out of the classroom.
Larry Wright
P.S. I'm leading a Youth Mental Health First Aid seminar on May 24 and 25 at Juanita High School. Youth Mental Health First Aid USA is an 8-hour public education program which introduces participants to the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in adolescents, builds understanding of the importance of early intervention, and teaches individuals how to help an adolescent in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge.
Right now, this class is for teachers and staff, but space may be available for other community members. If there's enough interest, we could add another session. Let me know if you're interested.
Lake Washington Schools Foundation luncheon focuses on 'bridging gaps'
Foundation aims to bring equal opportunities to students from all income levels.
by Nicole Jennings, Redmond Reporter
Poverty. Hunger. Homelessness.
These are not words that one normally associates with Eastside schools, but the Lake Washington Schools Foundation's annual benefit luncheon on March 27, attended by 400 people, drew attention to the population of Lake Washington School District students who come from families struggling to make ends meet.
Summer school is for every kid.
Summer school in the Lake Washington School District is expanding! Now, along with opportunities to re-learn previously taught content, students can undertake accelerated coursework and engage in enriching experiences. From STEM and drama camps, integrated art/writing, and sustainable design, to multiple Jr. DigiPen courses (including game design, art and animation, music and sound design, and fictional worldbuilding) there's something to interest every kid.
But not every kid can afford to go.
That's why the Lake Washington Schools Foundation is sponsoring need-based scholarships for summer school. With your help, we'll raise $12,000 this May and secure summer school opportunities for students who would otherwise be unable to attend.
Sponsor a student, register for summer school, or apply for a scholarship:
Every nickel makes a difference...especially when you have 14,000 nickels.
It all adds up. When you bring your reusable shopping bags to your local Whole Foods, you have the opportunity to donate a $.05 per bag credit to a local non-profit. We were honored to be one of the options at Whole Foods Redmond for the first quarter of 2018.
We weren't sure what to hope for, but more than 14,000 reusable bags were used at the Whole Foods Redmond in just three months, raising more than $700 for LWSF! We're astonished and grateful to everyone who not only donated their credit to the Foundation but remembered to bring their bags (sometimes, that's half the battle).
Special thanks also to the dedicated team at Whole Foods Redmond, who continually think of innovative ways to support our mission. We're lucky to have their partnership.
FINAL WEEK of the Kite Stem Challenge!
Have you heard the excitement surrounding the KITE STEM Challenge? We've teamed up with Google and Kirkland Parks Foundation to encourage students in the LWSD to use their STEM skills outside of the classroom by answering STEM questions via an iOS or Android app. Not only can you win money for your school but there are prizes available each week for participating students.
It's not too late to participate in the challenge, so what are you waiting for? Download the app, have some fun outdoors while winning prizes for your school and your student! But hurry, the competition ends May 13 with an awards ceremony at Google Kirkland on May 23!
Kids are changing the world...
These beautiful spring days have us here at LWSF feeling invigorated and inspired--just in time for our annual benefit luncheon on Tuesday, March 27. If you haven't already registered, please take a moment to reserve your seat. We'll welcome keynote speaker Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib and an array of local heroes who are making a difference in our community. I hope to see you there.
I'm delighted to share this third issue of the Impact Update (see past issues here). Read on for the inspiring origin story of the Girl Power group, as well as news and events to help you get involved and make a difference.
Did you recently donate to LWSF? We've been honored by our community's generosity this year. In January, our FAN campaign to fund music arts in schools met with enthusiasm, raising over $5000. And for Valentine's Day, LWSF helped parents and students to send messages of appreciation to 114 teachers in our schools.
Together, we can help all students in the LWSD achieve success in and out of the classroom.
P.S. Don't forget to reserve your seat at our March 27 luncheon!
Remember, this is our only spring benefit this year, and we're limited by the Marriott Redmond Town Center to 400 attendees. We have about 100 seats left but we do expect to hit capacity and close to registrations soon. Register today! I'd hate for you to miss your opportunity to be a part of this joyful community event.
"It's about students making a difference; children helping children."
We were excited to interview Carrie Steedly, a facilitator of the group known as Girl Power. Girl Power is a part of the WE organization that started over 20 years ago with two Canadian brothers wanting to empower local youth and encourage them to make a difference in their community and abroad.
The WE Girl Power group consists of a few parent leaders, however, the girls do the vast majority of the work. They started out as a girl scout troop which then grew into Girl Power, consisting of 10 middle school students and one high school student. These WE service groups are given the opportunity to support a cause at a local and global level. For their global cause, they sell rafikis which are beaded bracelets created by women in Kenya known as "mamas". These Rafikis are sold for $10 where $5 goes to the "mamas" to benefit their families and livelihood, and the second $5 (chosen by the group) was to support education in India.
As for the local cause, the girls chose a program very close to home...
Reach for Success grant applications are due Monday, March 19!
Know about a great school program or project that could use funding? Take the weekend to fill out a Reach for Success (RFS) grant application! Applications are due by 5 PM on Monday, March 19. These grants fund creative educational initiatives that enhance or expand Lake Washington School District's curriculum. With awards up to $3,000, proposed projects may benefit an individual classroom, a specific grade level, or an entire school.
Take the KITE STEM Challenge!
LWSF is proud to co-sponsor the KITE STEM Challenge, a Google-sponsored challenge between Lake Washington School District schools to encourage students to use their STEM knowledge outside of the classroom. The challenge begins on April 23, 2018 and runs for three weeks, during which students will have the opportunity to answer STEM-related questions to earn entries towards winning up to $10,000 for STEM programming at their schools. Students who answer questions on the app while in a geofenced Kirkland park will earn additional entries.
The challenge runs from April 23, 2018 through May 13, 2018, with an awards ceremony at Google Kirkland on May 23, 2018.
Introducing Crossings Magazine!
LWSF has partnered with Tableau Software Foundation and Cultural Nexus to create a bi-lingual magazine for families in the Lake Washington School District. This English/Spanish magazine shares information about community events and provides updates on what's happening in the Lake Washington School District.
The very first publication will arrive soon at all LWSD schools. Have any questions? Want to tell us about an educational opportunity? Email us today or connect with us on Facebook.
A Mother and a daughter making a difference...
I hope you had a peaceful and merry holiday season.
Here at the Foundation, 2017 finished with grace and generosity, as supporters like you gave nearly $2,800 in our Zero Balance campaign to erase school lunch debt.
We've hit the ground running in 2018. With upcoming Reach for Success grants to benefit classrooms, our new FAN campaign to fund music arts in schools, and a Find Your Fit presentation LWTech on January 31, we're finding more ways to help you bridge the gaps between what our students have and what they need to succeed.
In this second issue of the Impact Update, I'm excited to share with you the moving story of Kim and Bailey, a mother and daughter who are making a difference in our community. Read on to learn about our upcoming events and campaigns, and don't forget to register to attend our annual spring benefit luncheon.
Please note that we're hosting just one spring event this year--a luncheon at the Redmond Marriott on Tuesday, March 27. Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib is our keynote speaker and Juanita High School student Grace Harrington returns as an MC. It promises to be an inspiring afternoon. I hope to see you there.
Larry Wright, PhD
p.s. bring your bags!
An easy way to give: use your reusable shopping bags when buying groceries at Whole Foods Redmond and tell them to donate your five-cent credit (per bag) to the Lake Washington Schools Foundation. We're one of two selected recipients this quarter. Program runs through March 31, so remember your bags--and tell them to "Give it to LWSF!"
Whole Foods Redmond is located at 17991 Ne Redmond Way, Redmond, WA 98052.
"mOM, I THINK MY FRIEND IS HOMELESS."
By Elizabeth Russell
Bailey, then just a little girl, spoke out of the blue. Her mother, Kim, replied, "What do you mean?"
"I think they're sleeping in their car. Mom, do you think they can stay at our house sometimes, just so that they can have breath?"
Kim didn't hesitate. "Of course they can come over and stay with us, and get breath."
"Breath" is a bit of shorthand between mother and daughter. In their household, "breath" can describe a space where one can manage some of life's obstacles. Kim says that sometimes it's about "finding your breath for a moment, and that will help you navigate whatever is overwhelming you."
read the rest of their inspiring story!
WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR CHILDREN, YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN DUCT TAPE.
support music arts now!
Lake Washington School District music programs win awards and enrich our children's lives. So when the school district let us know that our high and middle schools needed nearly $300,000 in instruments in the next five years, we knew you'd want to help.
Become a "FAN" and fund-a-need for music arts in local schools. Direct your support to the school or learning community of your choice, or make a general donation to support LWSD's circulating instrument library.
It's hard enough for a child to play a tuba. Let's make sure it isn't duct-taped.
Learn more about the need in your area...
register now for local college presentation on January 31, 2018
Lake Washington Schools Foundation is pleased to partner with Lake Washington Institute of Technology to present the next step in its "Find Your Fit" series. Free and open to all Lake Washington School District families, this presentation and Q&A session (with tours available after) will introduce the array of workforce-ready programs available at this vibrant local college.
Get ready to think outside of the classic college box at this exciting presentation. Sign up today and arrive on time for a free chicken sandwich; this event will fill up!
reach for success with
classroom grants up to $3000
Do you know a teacher, school club, or other school-associated need that could benefit from a little extra funding? Lake Washington Schools Foundation funds innovative educational programs that enhance or expand district curriculum, support a school's goals, and are in line with the Foundation's mission to support academic excellence and success for all district students. A grant application can be written up to a $3,000 maximum request per project, and applications will be available on the LWSF website the last week of January.
Need help with your Reach for Success application? Have questions about the program? Visit our information page for grant guidelines, frequently asked questions, and more.
reserve your seat at our annual benefit luncheon on march 27, 2018
reserve your seat today!
Sign up today to engage with like-minded community members and be inspired by remarkable speakers while enjoying a delicious luncheon at the Marriott Redmond Town Center.
This year, we're honored to welcome Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib as our guest speaker and the fabulous Grace Harrington has agreed to return as a student MC...with a little co-hosting help from KOMO meteorologist and Redmond High School alumna Shannon O'Donnell. Hear from an inspiring group of everyday philanthropists and learn just what it takes to build a bridge in our community.
Email us now to become a Table Captain or Corporate Sponsor. Only a few tables are left.
And remember⸺just one spring event this year!
Did you hear about this hero fourth-grader?
It's Pantry Packs day.
Every Friday, all over the Lake Washington School District, more than eight hundred children will walk into their school counselor's office or open their locker and pick up a non-descript grocery bag filled with nourishing food.
If you donated to our fall campaign, Pantry Packs is one way you're making an impact. If you've given an unrestricted donation, you're also contributing to the steady progress a student makes while working with his Avid tutor, the connections made between a high schooler and his LINKs mentor, and dozens of other programs and grants.
Here, in Impact Update, we'll gather stories and report back to you on the impact you're having, and give you opportunities for more. I hope you enjoy this first issue.
Larry Wright, PhD
P.S. Reach out to me anytime--I'd love to hear your ideas.
donor spotlight:
one good kid inspires another.
Local hero Barrett with his "big check" for Pantry Packs from GoFundMe.
Local fourth-grade student Barrett was inspired to act when he heard about another kid's philanthropy efforts to raise money for children who need hearing aids. He and his mom contemplated how Barrett could give back to his community. Back in September, Barrett's mom had received an email about LWSF's Pantry Packs campaign, and she told Barrett about it. Barrett said, "I was very surprised that 815 students go hungry each week in the LWSD." Together, they created the material for a GoFundMe page with a $250 goal--which was surpassed in 3 days!
So far, Barrett's page has raised nearly $1900 dollars in about a month's time and received an additional $1,000 from GoFundMe when they selected Barrett as one of their Kid Heroes. He was also honored with an award given by his school at Rockwell Elementary. Barrett's mother said this award is given to students "who give their 'Beagle Best' by being safe, respectful, responsible, and kind in all aspects of school life." He's also participated in a Pantry Packs "packing party." We asked Barrett about his future plans with helping Pantry Packs and he replied, "My idea for future ways to help Pantry Packs is to donate gift cards for groceries for breaks, especially Winter break!"
Thank you Barrett for all that you've accomplished. You are what makes the world a better place!
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to hear these stories as they happen!
Together, we can zero balance school lunch debt in the lwsd.
We know you care about children. We've seen your generosity before, in campaigns like Pantry Packs and others like it. This one's different. This time, we're asking you to give a little to make sure every family starts the new year with a Zero Balance.
A fresh start for all students. Isn't that the best gift you can imagine?
register now for local college presentation on January 31, 2018.
Get ready to think outside of the classic college box at this exciting presentation. Sign up today; this event will fill up!
"I'd tell them, hey, we've got 300 LWSD homeless students. They were like, 'Really?'"
Marlene Vacknitz (right) with Colleen Wolfe, volunteer Pantry Packs driver for Redmond Middle School. (Photo by Anne Young with Young Reflections Photography, 2017).
You may have already heard of Pantry Packs by now but what about the volunteers that run it day in, day out? For this story, we chose to interview one of the Pantry Packs Volunteer Leadership Team Members, Marlene Vacknitz, to learn about the roots of Pantry Packs.
When Marlene first began advocating for the Eastside's homeless population, she'd chat with friends and colleagues about her work and was often stunned by the lack of awareness she encountered, even among well-intentioned and compassionate people who are were already working to help youth in the area.
save-the-date FOR OUR ANNUAL BENEFIT LUNCHEON ON MARCh 27, 2018
Mark your calendars for our biggest annual event. The Spring for Learning luncheon invites local philanthropists (that's you!) to engage with like-minded community members and be inspired by remarkable speakers while enjoying a fabulous luncheon at the Marriott Redmond.
This year, we're excited to welcome Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib as our guest speaker.
Email us now to become a Table Captain or Corporate Sponsor!
click here to receive the next impact update
Crossings Magazine
Kid Heroes
KITE STEM
LWTech
Marlene Vacknitz
Reach For Success Classroom Grants
Spring Event
Spring Luncheon
Zero Balance


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Vote / Enter
Entries and voting now closed for 2020
The three Grand Finalists in each of our ten categories will be announced in March and invited to the Sussex Food & Drink Awards Banquet on 29th April.
Voting closed on 18th January 2020.
Sussex Food Producer of the Year 2020 – sponsor Southern Co-op:
Sussex Food Producer of the Year 2020 – sponsor Southern Co-op
Sussex Drink Producer of the Year 2020 – sponsor Natural PR
Sussex Eating Experience of the Year 2020 – sponsor Lloyds Bank Cardnet
Sussex Farmers Market of the Year 2020 – sponsor Harvey's Brewery
Sussex Food Shop of the Year 2020 – sponsor Sussex Food & Drink Network
Sussex Butcher of the Year 2020 – sponsor RP Meats Wholesale Ltd
Vote NOW for Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2017!
Entry is now closed for the below four categories in the Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2020! Our judges will be in contact with you soon if you have made the shortlist! Grand Finalists will be announced in March 2020.
SUSSEX STREET FOOD OF THE YEAR
Our winner will offer great food to be eaten in a mobile situation, including as many local ingredients as possible. Finalists will participate in a live competition at Horsham on 27th October.
SUSSEX YOUNG CHEF OF THE YEAR
Our winner will be aged 25 or under on 31/01/20, working or studying in Sussex, with a talent for creating a wonderful menu of creative dishes using local ingredients.
SUSSEX NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Our winner will be an innovative business from any part of the food and drink sector, supporting local produce, which has been trading for up to 3 years by end 2019; has the ambition and determination to succeed; and can demonstrate a realistic and sustainable business plan.
YOUNG SUSSEX FARMER OF THE YEAR
Our winner will be a young farmer aged 35 or under by end 2020. They can come from any sector within agriculture, horticulture or viticulture and must be involved in food or drink production. They could be part of the family farm (owned or tenanted), a student, an employee or self-employed. This young person should display the following attributes: vision; leadership; innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship; ability to incorporate new ideas and practices; ability to inspire others; and the desire to succeed and grow business.
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← Only in Dreams…
The Danish Double-Take →
Lukewarm Patootie
It's a mystery to me… I like Jane Lynch, I like musicals, and I have a big crush on Lea Michele… so why do I find Glee so utterly unwatchable? I don't know… I can't really pin it down… there's just something about the glibness of the humour that irritates me. Still, the show has somehow managed to become a huge success without my endorsement, and has grown so ravenous that it's even started to consume other theatrical/movie musicals whole! Last night "The Rocky Horror Glee Show" aired here in the UK, and as a big fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I forced myself to sit through it, out of morbid curiosity.
In the interest of full disclosure, I'll admit to having watched the Britney special a couple of weeks ago… and then watching it again when it was repeated, so I could ogle over Heather Morris's dancing, and giggle over her deadpan surrealism. I also have to say, she looked damn fine dressed up as 'Columbia' for this episode… while gal-pal Naya Rivera looked ridiculously hot as 'Magenta' (gotta love those lips!)… and I laughed out loud at their contribution to the 'Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me' scene, so top marks to them on the being-very-funny-and-beautiful front. Meanwhile, I thought Michele made the perfect 'Janet', but I also really liked Jayma Mays's take on the aforementioned song, so I'd hate to have to pick between them if I was actually casting a production! As for the rest of the cast… meh. To be fair, I must have heard the movie's soundtrack album a million times, so it's ingrained pretty deep in my brain, and the original cast had such distinctive voices, that it would be impossible for anyone to ever replace them in my ears… especially Little Nell, who was a true one-off.
As for whether the showrunners should have even attempted such a thing in the first place, well… that is the question. I first saw the movie when I was in my early teens, and it left a huge dent in my psyche (in a good way, I mean) It's unlikely that this episode will have the same watershed effect on many young viewers, but if it leads them to rent/borrow/buy the original, then it will have served a useful purpose as a gateway, I guess. Is it ironic that they cut the word "Transsexual" from 'Sweet Transvestite', and then got into so much trouble for using the term "Tranny" in the script? I can understand why they had to change some of the lyrics, especially within the context of the story, but I find it dispiriting that such watered down, wishy-washy versions of the songs should also prove to be the most successful financially! Does O'Brien get a cut of that wedge? If so, then I'm all for it, because dude deserves to get paid… and hopefully it will salve the pain of the whipping they've inflicted on his creation!
This entry was posted in Rants about Films, Rants about Music, Rants about TV and tagged Brittany Pierce, Glee, Heather Morris, Jayma Mays, Lea Michele, Little Nell, Naya Rivera, Rocky Horror, Santana Lopez, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Bookmark the permalink.
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True Horror, Channel 4, Thursday 10pm.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/true-horror/on-demand/62853-003
This is my guilty secret, takes me right back to my childhood. I'm a BBC 4 kinda guy. The kinda guy that sneers at people that watch soap operas like River City, Coronation Street, Emmerdale or Question Time. Yet, here it is, factual stories based on a recipe borrowed from Hammer House of Horror. Remember the rule. Vampires. Scary Christopher Lee. Wrap the blankets around your neck and hope they bite your wee brother in the bed next to your own. Sit in the sunlight. Or if it's a shark, do that Billy Connelly thing and hold up two fingers with your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Terror in the Woods. Do not get lost in woods with a capital W and camp beside the most haunted cathedral in the world which has access to a long forgotten plague pit and the gate to hell. Two teenagers that like to mess about in front of the camera and play at being dead gay with each other, but not in that way, spend a night in a wood. There's a mock-up of what happened. Scratching on the tent. The portable DVD doesn't work. Your torch doesn't turn on. And you keech your pants as the ghost of a wee lassie with no eyes floats through the tent. Who need the Blackpool rollercoaster?
Then you go home – with a big scary ghost in your haversack. Aye, the ghost knows where you live now. Ghost sat-nav. So you call in the Scooby Doo bunch of ghost busters. What do they do? Whistle it down. Hi, silver bullets. Crosses. Exorcisms and priests. Nah, tell the ghost to go and shaft itself, but it doesnae.
And you get the two wee guys, now a bit older saying we kidded on about ghosts until we met a real one. See telly, that's educational, doesn't need to be BBC 4 or a version of Ghost on Benefits. Smoking.
Ghost in the Wall. So you've got this woman with dyed red hair telling you, aye, I'd seven kids and eh, my man's dad died in that chair. We could smell his cigarette smoke and he was doing a bit of haunting. He dragged my baby daughter through the walls and held her like a rat in the spaces. When I dragged her out her eyes were black. You know what they say, don't go into the cellar. Move house. Nah, hang about. He was only kidding on. He's settled down to baby sitting and making knocking noises. Families, eh, they fuck you up.
Hellfire Farm is right next to Terror in the Woods, but without the trees. It's deepest darkest Wales, boyo. Look out for a massive electricity bill hitting you right in the eye. Ghosts are murder on the electricity. Shining pupils in the corner of the room. Farmyard animals that mysteriously hang themselves and a pig that does laps of the farm and runs itself to death. The focal point seems to be the dad. He seems cursed, but quite likes it. He's like a pig on speed, drawing all these pictures that look vaguely like something you don't want to look at, but can't look away. Option A, go to the local cinema and watch The Shining, or jump in the car and fuck off. No. This couple and their children carried right on. It nearly cost them. They brought in an exorcist. He burned the Harry Potter books and the Satanic Bible and all of da's painting and the outstanding electricity bill no one on earth could pay. You know what happened next, don't you? It followed him home. I want a legless leyless lined map where these places with capital letters are so I can avoid them. No floaters. Can't wait until next week.
May 5, 2018 odonnelljack52
Billy ConnellyChannel 4Chirstopher LeeCoronation StreetEmmerdaleGhost in the WallHammer House of HorrorHellfire FarmQuestion TimeRiver CityTerror in the WoodsThe ShiningTrue Horror
Black Lake, BBC 4, 9pm, 9.40 pm, Directors: Jonathan Sjoberg, David Berron, Peter Arrhenius.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b081clh5
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0821s1b
I watched episodes one and two of Black Lake last night. I'll be following the other six episodes. I'm a bit of a Wallander anorak, loved wooly jumpers and The Killing, so a Swedish thriller with subtitles is a must see. A group of friends meet and drive to the Black Lake hotel complex, a remote ski resort that is so near the Norwegian border they joke they're not even sure they've crossed it. Johan (Filip Berg) is the young, hip financier that plans to make a killing on the land and property and takes his friends along for the ride. His girlfriend and later fiancée, Hanne (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) who look like a young Winona Ryder isn't sure about the hotel, isn't sure about the noises coming from the basement and therefore isn't sure about him. Her sister Mette (Mathilde Norholt) who is doctor ask Hanne if she's still taking her meds. Their brother drowned when Hanne was twelve and she has never got over it. She's off-kilter as some of the locals. The caretaker Erkki (Nils Ole Oftebro), for example, refuses to open the cellar door and threatens to punch the putative owner Johan when the latter gets a bit stroppy and challenges his lame excuses for doing nothing. Then there's the appearance of those strange children's drawings (a dramatic device I used in my novel (Lily Poole https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lily-Poole-Jack-ODonnell/dp/1783522356) and the way Jessan (Aliette Opheim) suffers from mysterious pains in her bloodshot eye, sleepwalks and is drawn to the cellar door. Her boyfriend, Frank (Philip Oros) seems powerless to help when she sleepwalks and when she becomes possessed by drugs or something more malevolent. Nobody can offer any answers. Osvald (Victor von Schirach) cook and bottle- washer in the hotel complex is filmed entering the cellar, but he claims he too sleepwalks and has no recollection of it. He also claims to have no knowledge of another party making a bid for the complex, but Johan doesn't trust him. The key to what happened twenty years ago is the local Lippi (Valter Skarsgard). He's nearer in age to Hanne that the distant Johan and teaches her to ride a motorised snow-ski. It doesn't take much delving to uncover the facts and guess they'll get together. Here we are in Stephen King's The Shining territory. Isolated hotel. Hannah's psychic presence and the backstory of murders that took place in the hotel when it first opened. Father, mother, and children, holding hands as they were all smothered. An open and shut case. Helgesen (Christian Skolmen) is shown confessing to the crimes on an old betaxam tapes Hannah watches and replays. Then she spots it. He said something made him do it. The hotel is built on the grounds of an old mental sanatorium. Local myth is that murdered children return to capture souls. Johan is also captured kissing Elin (Anna Astrom) by Hanna's sister. He'll be punished for his sins.
September 17, 2017 odonnelljack52
Aliette OpheimBlack LakeChristian SkolmenDavid BerronFilip BergJonathan SjobergLily PooleMathilde NorholtNils Ole OftebroPeter ArrheniusPhilip OrosSarah-Sofie BoussninaStephen Kingthe killingThe ShiningValter SkarsgardVictor von SchirachwallanderWinona Ryder


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What is the coaches name of the french rugby team?
Marc Lievremont
Q: What is the coaches name of the french rugby team?
How many coaches is there for one rugby team?
This depends on the level of the team. If in the higher levels you will have a main coach, then attack coaches, defense coaches, strategic coaches, fitness coaches
What is the name of the french womens rugby team coach?
entraîneur
What is the French rugby team name in English?
pooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolp pooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolp
What is the french rugby team name?
nicknamed Les Tricolores or Les Bleus
Names of french rugby team?
l'équipe de France = French national rugby team les Bleus = the Blues (nickname)
What is a famous french rugby team?
What is you love the French rugby team in French?
Vous aimez l'équipe de France de rugby
What Rugby teams are there near perpignan?
Perpignan (a city located in France) has a rugby team by the name of USA Perpignan. The team is a French rugby club that plays in Pyrénées-Orientales.
Do people get paid to play rugby?
Yes. There are hundreds of professional rugby players as well as coaches and team instructors who are paid to play the game.
What is the nickname of the French national rugby team?
The nicknames for the French national rugby team are Les bleus, Les tricolores and XV de France.
What is the name of the Irish rugby team?
The Ireland National Rugby Union Team.
What is the team name for the english rugby team?
It's the Rugby Football Union.


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Watch This Never-Before-Seen Cold Open From The Office
BY Michele Debczak
Jim invested a lot of time and money in pranking Dwight on The Office, but one of his most elaborate gags never even made it onto the air.
The Office's official YouTube channel posted this never-before-seen cold open from the NBC show. In it, Jim convinces Dwight that he's living in a simulation with help from a trained cat, a pair of twins, and a cryptic computer message. The bit goes full Matrix when Hank (played by the late Hugh Dane) introduces himself as Dorpheus—Morpheus's brother.
Since The Office premiered in 2005, viewers have been treated to bloopers and deleted scenes that didn't make the final cut. This piece of bonus content was released nearly eight years after the series finale in 2013. For fans of Jim-and-Dwight hijinks and Hank the security guard, the clip is a great way to start the new year.
After watching the cold open below, check out more deleted scenes from The Office's nine-season run.
Comedy entertainment funny News Pop Culture Television The Office tv


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Chinese lifestyle product retailer Miniso continues growth in Europe and opts for Cegid Retail unified commerce platform to open new stores in France
Back to the customer case list
For the grand opening of France's first Miniso store in October 2020, a long line of patient shoppers eagerly awaited the discount treasure-trove for household appliances, cosmetics and Japanese-inspired home furnishings. "Useful but cute", beckoned the slogans.
The Chinese retailer known for its stylish yet affordable household products, mostly crafted by an in-house team of designers, is forging ahead with an ambitious expansion strategy. In just over six years, the chain has already amassed 4,800 stores worldwide, with 2,600 in China. Europe is firmly in its sights and many new stores have been opened during the last year, including in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
According to the three executives we interviewed in France – Jonathan Siboni, Ariel Wizman and Nicolas Rey – this first French store opening is only the start of the journey.
They believe that shoppers will be lured by the quality of goods displayed on shelves, getting a much better experience than those faced with the ubiquity of so many inferior products viewed online:
"When you come to Miniso, you don't necessarily know what you want to buy," said Siboni. "In our stores, you're more likely to find something and be drawn by a product's captivating design and good value for money."
The success story behind Miniso
Miniso was founded in 2014 by Ye Guofu, a Chinese businessman generally put off by the poor quality of mass produced commodities found online. His vision was to open a number of physical stores offering a wide range of affordable yet well-designed household products and toys.
The average price of products is 5,90 euros and the group boasts 16 design centres across the globe to refine the selection of products on offer. Every Monday, between 800 and 1000 new products are put forward as part of the 500 new items offered each week in its stores.
It's a format that's proven popular with shoppers and helped establish the retailer on a global scale.
Cegid Retail assists store expansion
Since the first Miniso store opening in France last October, another has since opened its doors in Paris, as well as a concession in a popular Fnac store in Paris. So, even though the impacts of Covid-19 and successive lockdowns have slowed things down for Miniso's expansion plans across Europe, a further 50 new stores are still expected over the next two to three years.
The company is relying on the Cegid Retail unified commerce platform to help manage its growing network of stores and concessions.
"We were looking for an integrated and proven retail solution to cover everything from store sales, CRM and back-office management – for optimising stocks, replenishment, inventories and reporting. We did not want to disparate solutions, we needed a single solution to manage the retail operations," said Nicolas Rey. "It was also easier and quicker to transition to Cegid because it was already being used by colleagues abroad (in Réunion)."
Siboni added: "We handle a large variety and volume of products, so we wanted a strong and agile provider that could grow with us."
Cloud, M-PoS, Inventory tracking, BI…various tools to boost operational performance
Miniso France has followed in the footsteps of other partners abroad (like in Réunion) and opted for Cegid Retail omnichannel solution in SaaS.
"A SaaS solution was an obvious choice for us and gives us the flexibility to add tools as and when we need them for the best options in retail," said Siboni.
After quickly implementing the core modules of Cegid Retail Y2 – sales, merchandise management, order management, inventory management and store management – Miniso is adding CRM, M-PoS, Inventory Tracking and Business Intelligence solutions.
Then comes e-commerce, with Miniso deploying various omnichannel services that will include e-reservations and click-and-collect. Home delivery is not considered essential, given the low value of most goods on sale:
"Most products retail at 5.90 euros and one of our best-sellers is a stuffed teddy-bear the size of a man, which throws up its own logistical challenges."
The new reporting and BI tools provided by the Cegid Retail Intelligence solution save the company a lot of man-hours. Automated replenishment and mobile PoS devices will also lead to further time savings, as well as increased revenue thanks to better service and availability of products.
"The reporting tools allow us to automatically generate dashboards, analyse results and set benchmarks," said Rey. "We estimate time savings that equate to about 1 month.
We're delighted to help Miniso with their continued international expansion and share their vision for developing physical and experiential retailing, with the cloud being the obvious choice to always stay at the forefront.
Nathalie Echinard
Director of Cegid Retail.
3 steps for growth in physical retailing
Miniso France is building firm foundations for future growth and sees a mix of company-owned and franchise stores in city centres and shopping centres, as well as concessions in popular shopping locations like train stations and department stores. It plans around fifty stores within 2 to 3 years, with "the franchise concept likely to take over once things become more established."
The second stage will see more outlets opening in train stations:
"We will soon be opening at Paris Gare de Lyon and Nantes station in France, because we want to be close to consumers," said Siboni. "Mobile pop-up stores are planned on the subways and we're working on this with RATP (the public transport operator in Paris)."
The third and final part of Miniso's strategy of opening more outlets centres on strategic partnerships with core retailers like Fnac and Galeries Lafayette in France.
Miniso will soon be present in around ten Fnac stores in the form of smaller shop-in-shop concession areas; and a pop-up store will soon be added to Galeries Lafayette, the leading department store chain in France.
It's a strategy that's sure to win over the hearts and minds of consumers who've spent months during lockdown starved of shopping trips on the high street!
#Retail the new way
I would like a demo/a proposal/product information


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Bristol Area Code: 0117
The UK telephone area code for phone calls to the city & county of Bristol is 0117.
To phone a personal or business contact number in the South-West England city & ceremonial county of Bristol you should first dial their default area code which is 0117, followed by the remaining 7 digits of the number. Phone numbers registered to addresses in the surrounding area of the city will also use the 0117 area code.
All Bristol districts & surrounding hamlets, villages and towns covered by Bristol's 0117 area code
Avonmouth Easton Kingswood
Bedminster Eastville Patchway
Bishopsworth Filton Redcliffe
Bitton Fishponds Stoke Bishop
Bristol Henbury Westbury-on-Trym
Downend Keynsham
Phone call costs to 0117 (Bristol) numbers
Phone calls made to Bristol numbers using the 0117 area dial-in code should cost the exact same as calls of equal duration to other UK 01 & 02 local area code numbers. Therefore phone calls to Bristol will normally cost a maximum of 12p per minute from a BT landline as well as an additional call connection charge. If you are calling an 0117 number from a mobile it will usually be free, provided you are using the free inclusive minutes that are part of your mobile call package, however please check with your provider as calls can cost up to 45p per minute if you aren't using those minutes. Overseas calls to Bristol will almost certainly cost more than phone calls made within the UK, with the exact cost varying depending on which country you are calling in from.
Some popular Bristolian phone numbers
Phone calls received from numbers containing the 0117 area code are more highly regarded throughout the UK than calls from nationally-registered phone numbers or premium business-rate lines. This is because 0117 numbers are usually registered to a local person or business in Bristol, rather than a national sales team or an unscrupulous cold-calling business. A few phone numbers for some popular attractions and helpful general enquiries units within Bristol are given to you here:
0117 974 4664 – This is the tour guide number for the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
0117 974 7328 – This phone number is for Bristol Zoo Gardens, a 400-species zoo set within 12 acres of award-winning gardens.
0117 922 2000 – Phone the general enquiries team at Bristol City Council by calling this switchboard helpline.
How to dial a Bristol number from another country
The first step in calling an 0117 number from abroad, or indeed any other local UK 01 & 02 number, is to take away the initial zero '0' from the area code, in this case leaving you with 117. You then replace that zero with the UK's international dialing-in code which is '+44', which gives you a new prefix of +44 117. Therefore if you wanted to dial Bristol City Council from overseas: instead of dialing 0117 922 2000 you would dial +44 117 922 2000.
A snapshot of Bristol
Bristol is a city & small ceremonial county situated in the Southwest of England, bordering Somerset and Gloucestershire. Bristol is well known for a variety of reasons such as its architectural heritage, with Bristol being the site of the famous Clifton suspension bridge. Bristol also has a strong maritime history and this, coupled with beautiful surrounding landscapes, make it an ideal city for sightseeing. Furthermore, Bristol is the most populous city in Southern England, meaning it has a huge amount of activities, attractions, restaurants and cafés, as well as a thriving nightlife.


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Audeze speaks to producer, engineer and mixer Jonathan Hucks
Jonathan Hucks is a producer, engineer and mixer based between London and Liverpool, engineering sessions for other producers and artists as well as producing bands and anyone that makes lots of loud noise with guitars and drums. He's worked with artists such as Years & Years, Sigrid, Burna Boy, The Rills, Voodoo Bandits, Fearn, Orchards, Sheafs, and Breezer.
"They allow me to monitor with confidence in places where beforehand I would be really having to second guess what I was hearing... Never been blown away with headphones before but these have done it. They're indispensable!" - Jonathan Hucks
Here's our chat with Jonathan:
Can you pick out any highlights from your work that you're particularly proud of?
I'm really proud of everything I work on but a few recent stand outs would be the tracks I mixed for an artist called Fearn. The minute I heard a 30 second snippet of music on Instagram I knew I had to speak to him and that chance conversation turned into us working together on a run of singles that are still being released. They're very different records to most stuff I work on so they acted like an audio pallet cleanser and I am so thrilled with the results. Beautiful soundscapes, diverse arrangements of electronic and organic sounds and intimate vocals (some even recorded through an iPhone).
I've also just wrapped up an EP with a band I'm super excited about called Voodoo Bandits. It's out and out garage/surf rock, brilliantly written tracks, super tight and energetic band. We had so much fun in the studio and I think that shines through on the record, can't wait for that one to drop.
How would you define your main role on most of the projects you work on these days?
At the moment my main role is split depending on the project. Often I'm engineering for other producers where I'm making sure the session runs well and we record and capture the sounds the producer and artists are looking for but when I'm producing bands and artists my role opens up as producing now is all encompassing. I'll be engineering, editing and mixing; all whilst producing at the same time. As I'm often working with bands on my own without other engineers or assistants I'll try and keep the engineering on 'autopilot' as much as possible, so I can park the technical side of my brain and stay creative as much as possible. Artists don't want to be watching me messing around with patchbays and mics for hours, they want to be making noise so the quicker I can get the signals going and we're able to hit record and find tones the better. Preparation is key for this approach, but it's incredibly freeing because it opens up your brain to be creative, focusing on the song and artist, and also listening a lot more which I think is the most important thing.
How did you get started in music? What kind of music did you listen to while growing up and how has that progressed?
I started out interning at a beautiful small music venue in the middle of rural Essex that had a recording studio attached. When I started there I had never even seen a mixing desk before! I'd always been massively into music but had never connected the dots about how it gets made until then. From there it was simply a lot of luck, meeting some amazing people who let me ask questions/learn from them and then a lot of hours in the studio working my way up.
I've always been a huge lover of live music so I think it's important to make the time to get to gigs, it can be hit or miss but there's nothing more exciting or a better way of understanding a band than seeing them play in a small sweaty packed out venue.
Growing up I listened, like most kids, to a lot of stuff my parents had in the house that I picked up from the CD rack. In my teens I went through a huge metal stage which led to some phenomenal gigs, learning guitar but also meant I inadvertently missed out on the huge indie scene in the 00's. Now I listen to a huge variety of music which I think is super important because it lets you draw influence from anywhere but also as a producer and engineer it's cool to learn techniques that apply to one genre and try to bring that across to a whole different genre of music.
We're also living in a time with playlists and streaming where people aren't defined by one genre like they used to, which I think is actually brilliant for music because it's really pushing the boundaries of genre and stopping minds and music from being so closed off. If you can bring influences from a whole other type of music into your genre it can only be a good thing in my opinion!
Can you name any factors that influenced the course of your musical life? Heroes, role models, moments, interactions, etc?
Being given my first opportunity to work in music is one of the biggest factors that got me where I am today. I was looking for some summer work so I applied to a local music venue. I didn't get a job but did get invited down to hang out with the sound and lighting team. I had never even seen a mixing desk in real life before so to get to hang out, see gigs and learn the ropes was a huge opportunity. The venue had a small studio on the side, so I was quickly learning how to use the desk and run ProTools. From then I was hooked and I didn't look back. I owe a huge amount to the venue and its owners Kate & Chris for giving me that opportunity because without them I wouldn't have started down this path in life.
It's really hard to nail down specific moments or interactions that influence me, but I've been incredibly lucky to work with a huge amount of talented, experienced and brilliant people and I always find myself coming away from a session having learnt something that will help me on the next session.
Can you briefly describe a moment of frustration from your past work, and what you may have done to overcome the obstacles? Would you approach it differently now?
Frustration for me comes from chasing perfection, whatever that might be! By relaxing more, trusting my own instincts and remembering that if it sounds good when you're tracking, it more than likely is!
I often found I'd be buzzing after a session, that feeling at the end of the night where you play back the track after you and the band have spent hours working on it and everyone is bouncing off the walls - if you could bottle that up you'd be a very rich person! But I found that when you're spending lots of time on it after, editing, mixing and going through things with a fine tooth comb, you can start to lose that feeling of excitement as it becomes a more technical job. Because of this I try to get the post production work done as quickly as possible, keep that excitement and energy up and also focus on making things less perfect and referring back to the above, 'if it sounded good when we tracked it, it most often is.'
The best test for me is if I can listen to a track whilst doing something else; cooking, scrolling on my phone, answering emails etc, and not notice anything wrong with it, that's a good sign it's all good to go!
Is there any gear you find yourself turning to most when working on a project? What are some of your favourite tools/instruments recently?
I've been lucky that throughout my career I've worked in a variety of incredibly equipped studios so have gotten to use a lot of the gear that us audio nerds dream of using however I still don't think much can beat classic Neve pres and EQs, they sound absolutely amazing on everything. Super musical, easy to use and sound incredible. Vocals, guitars, drums, bass, synths, you name it they will make it sound amazing. If the studios got some you can bet I'll be using them on something.
Recently my favourite tools have been sending stuff out my reamp box into my (ever expanding to the displeasure of my wallet) pedalboard, a little 9V cigarette box guitar amp or my Homegrown Devices Spring Ting. Plugins are brilliant but you can't beat mangling audio and playing with the controls in real time. Recently I've been using my Boss RE-201 pedal for vocal delay throws. I've got a plugin but automating the delays and feedback is quite a faff, I'd much rather send it to the pedal, manipulate it in real time and record the results back in. It's also nice to not look at a computer screen for a bit too!!
I was also very lucky to be working at a studio recently with an EMT140 plate directly hooked up into ProTools, found myself sending no end of sounds to that thing, it sounded absolutely incredible.
Do you have any words of wisdom for people who might aspire toward a similar path for their own careers?
Do it. The time has never ever been better to get into producing and recording. Sure the old path of starting as a runner and working your way up through the studio hierarchy might be rarer than ever with the demise of a lot of large studios; but the amount of incredible tutorials, learning resources and the cheapness and ease of getting equipment that only a few years ago would have been insanely expensive means the barriers to entry are so low. What I would have given to have access to something like Mix With The Masters when I was starting out!
In more practical terms though, just get out there, find artists you love to work with, don't let setbacks stop you (and there will be setbacks the entire way through your career), learn from them and keep going. You're only as good as your last record, and as long as you're always improving, learning and having fun doing it you can't go wrong.
Recording may look super technical (and it can be) - but at the end of the day it's a people business, be kind, positive, supportive and enthusiastic. Be fun to be around, help push other people up around you and the same will come back in return!
How long have you been working with headphones, and how do you typically use them in your workflow?
I've always had headphones in the studio and in the past have used them to double check mixes on. Recently I've had to travel a lot more so find myself having to do mix revisions and editing in less than ideal places so started the hunt for a pair of headphones I could truly trust as much as I do my monitors. Audeze kept coming up with everyone I spoke to so I had to try them out and was instantly blown away. They allow me to monitor with confidence in places where beforehand I would be really having to second guess what I was hearing. Not only that but I have also started to use them when I'm working in the studio almost like a secondary pair of monitors. Alongside this, I've also started using them when I'm tracking an artist in the control room. Before I was using LCD-Xs I was never completely confident that what I was hearing was sonically right, but now with the LCD-Xs I can be as confident in this situation as I would be when I'm tracking through my monitors.
How have your Audeze headphones affected your work?
The LCD-X's have been an absolute game changer. I've been using them every single day editing and prepping sessions for mix on a number of up coming releases both in the studio but also when having to work remotely, and not only have they delivered sonically, allowing me to trust exactly what I'm hearing, but they have also been super comfortable even when wearing them for 8+ hours a day. Never been blown away with headphones before but these have done it. They're indispensable!
Mail: support@audeze.com
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Kubacki earns shock normal hill win as Norway claim 10th straight relay crown at FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
Poland's Dawid Kubacki upset the odds as he sealed his first major individual title with a shock triumph in the men's normal hill ski jumping event at the International Ski Federation Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld.
The 29-year-old had claimed team medals at the 2017 World Championships and last year's Winter Olympic Games but had failed to taste individual success at an international event.
That all changed today as he stunned the rest of the field, recovering from 27th after the opening jump to finish on a total of 218.3 points.
Kubacki jumped 93 metres and 104.5m to secure the gold medal ahead of Olympic large hill champion and compatriot Kamil Stoch.
Stoch recorded efforts of 91.5m and 101.5m to end on 215.5 points, 2.8 adrift of his victorious team-mate.
The bronze medal was claimed by Austria's Stefan Kraft, whose jumps of 93.5m and 101m were rewarded with a total of 214.8 points.
Kubacki's dream of individual gold appeared to have ended when he languished in 27th after the first round.
But it proved to be a blessing in disguise as his second jump took place in good conditions, which worsened as the round went on.
The weather seemingly played a part in Stoch and Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi, who led Kubacki by 19 points going into the second stage, being unable to usurp the Polish athlete.
Norway secured their 10th straight cross-country 4x10km men's relay title ©Getty Images
There was a familiar winner in the other event held today as Norway won the men's 4x10 kilometres relay for the 10th consecutive World Championships.
The team of Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Emil Iversen, Sjur Roethe and Martin Johnsrud Sundby clocked 1 hour 42min 32.1sec to beat Russia by 38.8 seconds.
Andrey Larkov, Alexander Bessmertnykh, Alexander Bolshunov and Sergey Ustiugov were forced to settle for silver having finished the course in a combined 1:43.10.9.
Adrien Backscheider, Maurice Manificat, Clement Parisse and Richard Jouve of France earned silver, a further 1.8 seconds off the pace.
Victory for Norway saw the country maintain its dominance of the 4x10km cross-country relay, with their winning run stretching back a decade.
The event in the Austrian resort continues tomorrow.
March 2019: Athletes arrested in raids at Nordic Ski World Championships provisionally suspended as Estonian admits doping since 2016
February 2019: Riiber ends long wait for Norwegian gold with Nordic combined triumph at FIS Nordic Ski World Championships
February 2019: Son of double Olympic champion among athletes arrested at FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
February 2019: Nine arrests made after police smash "international doping network" at World Nordic Skiing Championships
February 2019: Johaug secures second title as Germany win first women's team ski jumping event at FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
Brazil's Moellhausen beats China's Lin to women's epée title at World Fencing Championships


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Wagon Assembly Plant to be established in Ogun State, Amaechi reveals
The Hon. Minister for Transport, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has revealed that a Wagon Assembly Plant, is about to
By: Ossai Rita Ashinedu | on 11/5/2019 | 577 views
Topic: News
Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi
The Hon. Minister for Transport, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has revealed that a Wagon Assembly Plant, is about to be established in Kajola, Ogun State, along the Lagos-Ibadan Railway Corridor.
He explained that the factory is part of the Federal Government's resolve, "to bring home rail technology and have our own people produce, develop and maintain rail transport equipment and facilities".
While noting that the Federal Government have been able to, "convinced our Chinese partners to establish a Wagon Assembly Plant here in Nigeria", Hon. Amaechi disclosed that Vice President Yemi Osibanjo will perform the ground-breaking ceremony of the Plant scheduled for November 8.
Operators seek sustainable solutions to power challenges
NNPC Saves Over $3bn from Arbitrations
Ossai Rita Ashinedu
Our Correspondent , Ossai Rita Ashinedu, has Ordinary National Diploma in Mass Communication from Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro. She can be reached on 07061927586
Read other stories by Ossai Rita Ashinedu


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9-12, AfterClass, Reading
As I reflect on the past year, I am awestruck with the kindness and generosity that my colleagues in the Dysart Unified School District have shown me. The last few years of my personal life have been very challenging. My husband was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson's disease at age 40, and had to leave his job. This left me, a school teacher, as the sole breadwinner for our family. I was holding it together financially, but it was tough.
National Women's History Museum
Use this Instagram account to gather bite-sized information to share with students. You'll find amazing primary sources and interesting historical anecdotes that are easy to digest, yet meaningful. Social media options like this one also show students that they can follow educational content across all platforms.
Created by a graduate student in 2015, this Instagram account contains stories of historical women that students may not have read about in class. Learning about lesser-known historical figures can help your students understand that everyday acts of heroism and kindness can have far-reaching effects well into the future.
Deadfeminists.com
The Dead Feminists series combines original art and quotes by historical feminists, connecting them to current political and social issues. While the site offers art prints for sale, you and your students can also learn a lot from the free blog content.
Nevertheless Podcast
This podcast celebrates women who are "transforming teaching and learning through technology." Browse through two seasons' worth of episodes, including transcripts, extended reading, and quotes. And consider listening to Episode 4 during Women's History Month, as it features inspiring and resilient women.
Nevertheless STEM Role Model Posters
Display these free downloadable posters in your classroom, and use them in tandem with this podcast episode that explores why young learners need STEM role models from all walks of life.
200 Women: Who Will Change the Way You See the World
In this book by Ruth Hobday, 200 inspirational women were asked five questions: What really matters to you? What brings you happiness? What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? What would you change if you could? Which single word do you most identify with? These are great questions to use in classroom discussions, too. You could even ask students to answer them from the perspective of historical figures.
Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History
Using whimsical illustrations and an engaging writing style, Sam Maggs tells the stories of women who have broken barriers. It also sets the stage for a future research project by introducing students to a variety of historical figures, at least one of which is likely to resonate with each student.
Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History
This New York Times bestseller by Kate Schatz uses powerful illustrations and quirky content to bring women's history to life. It's the kind of book that you might recommend to students (especially girls) as a free reading option, but you can also use it to teach minilessons during Women's History Month.


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HomeFeaturesThis final farewell feels like the funeral of an old friend
This final farewell feels like the funeral of an old friend
There won't be a dry eye in the house when it's time to say goodbye
May 2, 2016 BRIAN WILLIAMS Features 0
Please tell me I'm having a bad dream. Th is can't really be the end for my beloved Boleyn Ground? Ever since the closure was first announced I knew it would be hard to accept when the time finally came, but I didn't think it would be this difficult. It feels like a funeral
I can picture the priest as he turns from the coffin to a mourning congregation: 'We are gathered here today to remember a beloved friend, to give thanks for her life, to commend her to our merciful redeemer, to commit her to the bulldozers and to comfort one another in our grief.' What, I wonder, would he take as the theme for his sermon? Perhaps he might be inspired by the words of Timothy in the Book of Job: 'We brought nothing into the world, and we take nothing out. Th e Lord giveth, and Karren Brady has taken away.'
Actually, to be fair to Timothy, he didn't mention Baroness Brady by name – but you don't get quoted in the Bible by badmouthing members of the House of Lords. Maybe the clergyman would even throw in a psalm from Hymns Ancient and Modern (well, Modernised in this case). Th e Lord is my shepherd/ He leads me by still waters like the River Lee and will guide me in the paths of righteousness to Stratford/ Th ough I walk through the valley of the shadow of Westfi eld/ I will now have to change at Mile End and get the Central Line/ Or take the fast train from St Pancras/ Although that costs a small fortune/ You are my rod and comfort still/ You have anointed my head with oil and my cup shall be full/ But not the FA Cup this year sadly/ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life/ And I will dwell in the Olympic Stadium for ever.
If this were a funeral, it would be the final farewell to a proper lady. Some say that, at the ripe old age of 112, her time had come. But there are those of us who believe she still had plenty of life left in her, and could have gone on for many more years had she been given the love and attention she so richly deserved.
I first got to know her more than 50 years ago, and it's fair to say she's had a few facelifts since then. She had a few "gentlemen friends" in her time as well. Bobby Moore; Sir Trevor Brooking; Sir Geoff Hurst; Martin Peters; Billy Bonds, John Lyall – she knew how to hobnob with the very best. She had to put up with a few less appealing characters, too. But a funeral is not the place to go into all that. We'll save the gossip for the wake in the pub afterwards.
Like all memorable characters, there are various sides to this particular lady. I first became acquainted with her via the North Bank ¬– complete with concrete terracing, crash barriers, the peanut man, pushing and shoving, singing, more singing, and no idea that one day it would all be gone. Then I discovered the Chicken Run and a brand of humour so dry you could have been in the Sahara Desert.
Over the years I have explored all parts of the Boleyn Ground. Each section has a distinctive feel about it. It's like any family: we may not all be the same, but we have a common cause. We are the West Ham family – and she was a mother to us all. It's not uncommon at a funeral for the mourners to be asked to spend a moment or two in quiet reflection, recalling the cherished moments they shared with the loved one they have just lost. We will all have our own memories of this wonderful old lady: goals, glory, disaster, disappointment, triumph – she's given us all of those. And a whole lot more besides.
When I close my eyes I see the imperious Bobby Moore leading out his team, ball under arm, the personification of self-belief; I see the main gates draped in all things claret and blue to mark his untimely death; I see Hurst and Peters in the centre circle leading the official tribute to our greatest ever fallen hero before a bitterly sombre game against Wolves.
I see another captain – the awesome Billy Bonds – buccaneering through the mud to make a crucial tackle. He slides in, wins the ball, springs to his feet and immediately looks for Sir Trevor. Brooking angles his body to receive the pass, allows the untouched ball to slide past him as he uses his muscular frame to shield it, and then brings it under instant control as he turns and powers away from a desperate defender. Look again and I see Paolo Di Canio's unforgettable goal against Wimbledon; I see Liam Brady scoring with his last shot in his last game, leaving the ref no choice but to
blow the final whistle a minute early as ecstatic supporters piled on to the pitch in celebration. I see Pat Holland run half the length of the field to score a brilliant solo effort and save us from FA Cup humiliation against the giant-killers of Hereford. The images of times gone by flash up so quickly it's hard to record them all. I see Gordon Banks saving Sir Geoff 's penalty to deny us a place in the League Cup final; I see Ray Stewart smashing home a spot kick at the other end to send us into an FA Cup semi final – and ultimately on to Wembley itself; I see Adrian ripping off his gloves with the swagger of a matador before converting the winning shoot-out penalty against Everton.
Now the memories are cascading like a waterfall. I see the knowing smiles on the faces of all around me when Mr Moon is in the ground – and the even wider grins when he leaves the stadium. I see an ocean of claret and blue scarves hoisted high as Bubbles reverberates around the terraces of yesteryear; I see replica shirts swelling with pride as the same anthem rises in tribute from the modern all-seater stands that followed.
And still the recollections come flooding back. The unlikely 4-1 victory under lights against Liverpool in the League Cup; the sickening relegation from the top flight six months later. Phil Parkes and Allen McKnight. Julian Dicks and Rigobert Song. Pop Robson and Marco Boogers. Alan Devonshire and Nigel Quashie. David Cross and David Kelly. Good times, bad times. The ups and downs. The West Ham way.
Clearest of all is my memory of a game long-forgotten by most. It was against Bolton Wanderers in 1997 – the first time I took my son to Upton Park. My fabulous father-in-law was in the next seat. Three generations, side by side at the home of the Family Club. You never forget that.
But now there can be no new memories of the Boleyn Ground. It really is over. The time has finally come to commit her body to the pages of history. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Please, forgive the moisture in the corner of my eye. Farewell, my old friend. We will remember you. Rest in peace. * Brian Williams is the author of Nearly Reach The Sky – A Farewell to Upton Park BBM
Why England may have just done West Ham a big favour
Boleyn memories


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The Page 69 Test
"The Nesting Dolls"
Gail Bowen's Joanne Kilbourn mysteries have made her one of Canada's most popular crime writers. The first book in the series, Deadly Appearances (1990), was nominated for the W.H. Smith/Books in Canada award for best first novel. Bowen has also written five plays that have been produced across Canada, and several of her mysteries have been made into TV movies starring Wendy Crewson as Joanne.
Bowen applied the Page 69 Test to The Nesting Dolls, the 12th Joanne Kilbourn mystery, and reported the following:
Two significant themes are introduced on page 69. One is the love between Joanne Kilbourn and her husband, Zack Shreve, a brilliant hard-hitting paraplegic trial lawyer who has, in the words of his doctor, lived like an 18-year-old with a death wish until his marriage to Joanne, two years earlier. Zack has a great lust for life, but he is fifty-one years old, and Joanne is aware that the average time between a trial lawyer's first court appearance and his or her first coronary is 20 years.
Joanne notes that "During the early months of our marriage our most serious quarrels had centred on Zack's determination to shut me out when his body betrayed him and my determination not to be shut out… I convinced him that caring for one another's bodies could be a sensual pleasure…but despite his promises to cut back, his hours were long and there were mornings when after his customary five hours of sleep, he awoke grey and drawn. This morning was one of them, but I had long since learned not to comment."
The second theme centres on the identity of the woman who walks into a Christmas concert, hands her 6-month-old son over to teenaged Isobel Wainberg, daughter of one of Zack's law partners, and disappears into a blizzard. Zack is at the event snapping pictures of his stepdaughter and her friends and he unwittingly photographs the tableau.
On page 69, the Shreves are looking at the morning paper. The picture of Abby Michaels on the front page is one Zack took at the concert Saturday afternoon. The headline beneath it is stark: "MOTHER MISSING".
Joanne characterizes the story about the missing woman as "standard journalism…the five W's and one H with no answers to why and how and a deliberate obfuscation of who. The search for the answer to these questions drives the plot of The Nesting Dolls.
In Talking About Detective Fiction, P.D. James discusses the mystery author's challenge to pick a victim that readers will care about who is "powerfully alive" to readers and for whom there is a good reason to be murdered. As readers learn about Abby Michaels, the term "Mother Missing" gains a powerful resonance. There is hurt in her violent death and in the dark secret that brought about her death.
Read an excerpt from The Nesting Dolls, and learn more about the book and author at Gail Bowen's website and blog.
Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.
--Marshal Zeringue
Posted by Marshal Zeringue at 2:34 PM
Feed Me The Page 69 Test
The CftAR Network
Campaign for the American Reader
My Book, The Movie
HEPPAS Books
At the Page 99 Test:
Mike Goldsmith's "Discord: The Story of Noise"
"Too Many Clients"
"Blue Lightning"
"The Killing Storm"
"Strangers"
"Rogue Island"
"The Sleepwalkers"
"Mourn the Living"
"Death Notice"
"Unholy Awakening"
"Draculas"
"Mister X"
"Murder on the Bride's Side"
"Innocent Monster"
"A Curable Romantic"
"And Then There Was One"
"Penelope's Daughter"
"Dream Queen"
"The Mistaken Wife"
"Esperanza"
"Crystal Death"


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in Family, Life, Work
Daycare Owner Called Ageist For Setting A New Policy For Her Elderly Employee After Accident
Yusuke Murata/Getty Images
Managing multiple employees is a difficult, nuanced task.
A good manager must have one ear in the realm of business or organizational success, and the other trained on the wide-ranging needs and tendencies of the employees who look to them for direction.
For one Redditor, known as Acceptable-Jump4191 on the site, that task grew complicated on a recent workday. She posted about the experience on the "Am I the A**hole (AITA)" subReddit.
The Original Poster (OP) clarified the particular sticking point right in the post's title.
"AITA for my 'discriminatory' instructions to my elderly employee?"
She began with a quick rundown of the workplace and the personnel situation.
"I know the title seems absurd, but hear me out."
I [27-year-old female] am the head of a childcare-related business. We're relatively small (only about six employees) but the ones I'll be mentioning are K [17-year-old female] and B [86-year-old female]."
"B, though in excellent shape, is elderly and isn't able to move around as well as she once did. She often plays with the kids and allows them to be physical with her."
"We employ her as an as-needed worker, meaning she generally comes later in the day when K is working."
One slight impasse would be the sign of more to come.
"A few weeks ago, B was playing with the children and allowed them to get rough with her (pull on her clothes, push her around, etc)."
"K tried to intervene, but B assured her it was all fine and that she could take care of herself."
OP explained how that was only the beginning.
"Well, later that day, one of the children hugged her so hard that she tripped and fell into the wooden playhouse. She ended up being virtually incapacitated on the ground."
Meaning K, the seventeen year old, had to call 911 and help B as best she could, all while having to wrangle over a dozen young children."
"B ended up being totally fine, and was released from the hospital the next day."
But B wasn't the only one who took a blow.
"However, that event was extremely hard on K."
"She's an extremely capable worker, but seeing someone she cared about hurt combined with having to call 911 and being virtually alone with the kids was hard."
"She asked me privately if I would be okay with instructing B and the kids to not get too physical with B. K has said she's terrified of having another event like that, and I don't blame her."
OP gave her best attempt at conflict resolution.
"I talked with the kids and parents to make sure they understand that playing with K is different than playing with B, and they need to be more gentle."
"However, when I discussed this with B, she accused me of being ageist and said she could do everything she used to do just fine."
"Our coworkers are divided. AITA?"
Plenty of Redditors agreed with B.
"YTA. You had good intentions but by framing it solely aimed at B it becomes an age discrimination thing. You should have sent a general email reminding parents/staff about boundaries with rough play."
"Also despite her being energetic, in this capacity B is, as callous as this may sound, a liability. If she has an accident in the work place you're the one liable for it." — Dangerfyeld
"It really sounds like you're more concerned about K's feelings in this situation than you are about B's physical well-being. At least with the way you've written this. If this is true, YTA."
"B sounds like she can, and wants to, take care of herself. But this is also a workplace injury and should be treated as such- as in your company should be covering the cost and also finding a way to prevent these things in the future."
"In order to do that, I would maybe sit down with B and come to a solution together, rather than you making decisions on your own that make her feel excluded/discriminated against." — gnarwhalbb
Many Redditors criticized OP, though not for the reason she expected.
"YTA. The kids roughhousing with any of your employees is a liability. They shouldn't be playing like this with any of your employees. You really should rethink this policy and extend it to all employees not just B. What you are doing is ageist."
"You're already responsible for B's medical bills. This is a workers comp nightmare. A bad fall can kill an elderly person (or even a young person). Had B hit her head hard on that wooden playhouse, you could be looking at a death claim on your insurance."
"If the kids are roughhousing with all your employees, the employee doesn't have to be old to be hurt."
"If one of the kids were hurt, then you could be sued. I hope you have good liability insurance with umbrella coverage." — PotatoLover-3000
"YTA. You run a child care facility not a doggy daycare. Why are you teaching kids it's okay to rough house and get physical with any of your employees at all instead of keeping their hands to themselves????" — captnunderpanties
"YTA because it's inappropriate to allow students to manhandle a teacher/staff of any age. You need to be teaching boundaries and personal space and, yes, respect for the elderly, which she is whether or not she acknowledges it."
"It's not ageist to set safety guidelines as long as they're consistent with everyone."
"As a former preschool teacher, I'm honestly pretty appalled that you've allowed the children to do this. Who is the boss here, you or B? Make the rule, make it clear and make it universal." — Underwater_20897477
Others couldn't believe OP's management decision that led to the mishap.
"YTA why are you scheduling a 17 year old and an 86 year old on the same shift?" — katherinemma987
"Holy moly, you have an 86 yr old and a 17yr old minding kids, is that even legal? You need to have 2 fully appropriate adults at all times. 17 is not an appropriate adult. Both these women need to work with a qualified cc professional. YTA" — SnooChickens5652
"YTA here. There's 2 things I think you did wrong:"
"1.) You made it ageist against B. She is absolutely right. She said she she can handle herself, and you decided that she can't because she is too old. That's ageist."
"2.) It's incredibly irresponsible to have 2 employees of their ages, being the only people working with 12 kids. K has every right to be terrified of having to make that call again- she shouldn't have even been in that position in the first place."
"And just throwing it out there: I would never trust your daycare to watch my son knowing you leave a 17 and a 86 year old alone with the kids." — jxcegxhris
We'll never know if OP takes this feedback to heart, but perhaps the onslaught of Reddit criticism will result in a few scheduling changes at the daycare.