The Press-Dispatch

July 31, 2019

The Press-Dispatch

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C-4 Wednesday, July 31, 2019 The Press-Dispatch HOME LIFE TO ADVERTISE: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: ads@pressdispatch.net Visit: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Deadline: 5 p.m. on Monday Youth First Today by Lynn Bell, Youth First, Inc. Getting your child's medical needs met LUNCH BOX PIZZA MEALS IN Monica's MINUTES Share your favorite recipe! www.facebook.com/mealsinminutes Monica's Meals in Minutes PO Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567 mealsinminutes@pressdispatch.net FACEBOOK MAIL EMAIL By Monica Sinclair With school starting soon, you may be looking for new ide- as of food to send in your child's lunch. While peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are awesome, it's nice to change things up every now and then. This week, I found a recipe that can be eat- en hot or cold and almost every child loves pizza. Enjoy! INGREDIENTS • 1 tube (7-1/2 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10 biscuits) • 1/4 cup tomato sauce • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning • 10 slices pepperoni • 3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese DIRECTIONS 1. Flatten each biscuit into a 3-in. circle and press into a greased muffin cup. Combine the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning; spoon 1 teaspoonful into each cup. Top each with a slice of pepperoni and about 1 tablespoon of cheese. 2. Bake at 425° until golden brown, 10 -15 minutes. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator. Source: tasteof home.com If you are a parent of a child with a chronic medical condition such as di- abetes, asthma, allergies, cystic fibro- sis, epilepsy, etc., your child may re- quire specialized accommodations at school. Your child's needs may require individual arrangements for home- work, tests, attendance, and medica- tion dispensation. There are important documents that will help protect your child and deter- mine how these accommodations will be carried out. The sooner the doc- uments are completed in the school year, the better. The process starts by requesting a meeting in writing with the school counselor, principal or school nurse. It is best if the letter includes the date on which it is written, as this starts the "time clock" for when the school must work to ensure your child's needs are being met. The letter should include your child's diagnosis and a list of your main concerns. Your child's doctor or med- ical social worker can be a wonderful resource to help you write the letter. Reputable websites that focus on your child's medical diagnosis can also be helpful, as they often include samples of letters and documents as a starting point. A commonly used document is a 504 Plan of Care. A "504" is an outline for how the school will provide accommo- dations and supports to remove barri- ers so the student has equal access to a general education curriculum. For example, for students with Type 1 diabetes, the plan will distinguish which school personnel are responsi- ble for administering or supervising blood sugar checks, drawing and ad- ministering insulin, where these tasks will be completed (nurse's office or classroom), what supplies the student will carry with them and who will be trained on how to administer medica- tion in case of emergency. As a parent, it is helpful to educate yourself about the documents best used with certain medical conditions. Two helpful resources are the ASK (About Special Kids) and Insource websites, both of which are based in Indiana and include a parent hotline: • www.aboutspecialkids.org • www. insource.org As you develop a Plan of Care, the most important thing to remember throughout the entire process is that parents and school personnel must maintain open communication. Do not be afraid to ask questions or state your concerns. It's also important to monitor how well the Plan of Care is working throughout the school year and dis- cuss whether changes need to occur. You will always be the best advocate for your child as you work toward the best Plan of Care with the school. This column is written by Lynn Bell, LCSW, school social worker for Youth First, Inc., a local nonprofit dedicated to strengthening youth and families. Youth First provides 55 Master's level social workers to 76 schools in 10 Indiana counties. Over 38,500 youth and fami- lies per year have access to Youth First's school social work and after-school pro- grams that prevent substance abuse, pro- mote healthy behaviors, and maximize student success. hen I was a kid, my dad and I would hike the Appalachian Trail, each sum- mer picking up where we had left off the year before. We never got very far. Just long enough for that time when we stumbled across some black bear cubs — no mama to be found, though she was undoubtedly nearby — and I went barreling toward the cubs for a hug and my dad held back, rooted in terror, shrieking for me to return to him. Just long enough for that time when I chewed on horsemint while taking a break on the side of the trail and my dad told me it's called horse- mint because it grows in horse poop and I immediately spit it out and my dad laughed and laughed at my gullibil- ity. Just long enough to share a camp- fire with father-son thru-hikers who smelled so terrible I breathed through my shirt, though I still loved every mo- ment of basking in their stench. My dad used to say we would hike the entire AT together, but when I fi- nally had the free time, his knees wer- en't what they used to be, and the idea of lugging a home on his back and eat- ing beans and horsemint and running into mama bears that could tear you limb from limb and smelling like death no longer appealed to him. It still ap- pealed to me. Correction: It still appeals to me. A few months ago, my husband and I sat down to plan out our ideal summers over the next decade, and of course, a few summers are dedicated entirely to thru-hikes. This makes both me, an avid camper, and my husband, an av- id five-star-hotel-goer, equally excited. I'm excited that I'll get to see a dream come to frui- tion, even if it will not be the AT. My husband is ex- cited to embark on a totally new type of adventure, one that will challenge him in ways he never expected to challenge himself. The first planned hiking summer is just a few years away. Our children will still be very young. We will have to train, both mentally and physically, for this type of journey — especially so the kids enjoy it and see it as a proper adventure rather than a punishment. I say this. People nod. They seem to hear me. My husband nods. The chil- dren nod. But something doesn't quite seem to be clicking. We take a walk in the woods next to our home. The trail is a half-mile. My son, going into first grade, demands to know why I have tortured him. He picks up rocks and throws them into the stream. "We've been at this all day! " he insists. I look at my watch. We've been at this for 12 minutes. I argue with him that when we spend our real summer hiking, we will have to do at least 10 miles a day. I explain to him we really will be hik- ing all day. But he doesn't understand how to tell time well enough to pro- cess what I'm saying. Plus, it's hard to reason with someone at death's door — someone dying of starvation, heat- stroke, dehydration and West Nile vi- rus, as he explains to me. Okey-doke. At the start of our neigh- borhood, we have a field and a tennis court. A neighbor zips around the street on a golf cart. This is not Flori- da. Our neighborhood is not a sprawling city of retirees. There are only 70 homes. The front of the neighbor- hood is a five-minute walk. "We should get a golf cart," my husband says. I look at him as if he's nuts. "What? " he continues. "The tennis court is far. We don't want the kids tired from walking before they even start playing." I remind him that we want them to walk 300 miles in just a few years. They need to build stami- na. "But it's far. And hot. And golf carts are cool," my husband insists. A couple of weeks ago, we went to Banff, Alberta, with my in-laws. We took a gondola up a mountain and tack- led a two-mile trail. My three-year-old insisted on being carried. My husband acquiesced and picked her up. "You have to be able to hike on your own," I told my daughter. "I am hiking," she yelled from four feet off the ground. "Don't you see me moving up the hill? " I believe I will be spending my fu- ture summers thru-hiking alone. Send bear spray. Like Katiedid Langrock on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/katiedidhumor. 2 master bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with solid wood doors and hardwood trims. 4 bedrooms with one master bedroom and 3 bathrooms, including a family room with a ÀUHSODFH Luxurious 5 bedroom home. and hardwood trims. ÀUHSODFH hom ÀUHSODFH Hurry! Once these are gone...they are gone! ious oom me me. HOMES 814 NIBLACK BLVD., VINCENNES • 1-800-743-7004 • WWW.BAIRDVINCENNES.COM NUMBER 3 R E M U B U B UMBE NU NU NU NU NU NUM UM UM UM UMBE BE B MB MB MB R ER ER E BE BE BE BER ER ER ER Magic is the Save $40,000 on three of Baird Homes' Finest Homes. Katiedid vs... by Katiedid Langrock Thru-hiking

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