The 'Letter to the Editor' in the April 11th issue of the Stockton Sentinel was very sad. To quote several alumni that read this and reached out to me (this one being the nicest one I can share), 'That was the most ignorant thing I have ever read! I would have withheld my name too.' At first, I just viewed it as a spoiled child's temper tantrum of 'I do not want to eat vegetables, and you cannot make me.' But after looking over our posters in the cafeteria, I saw that NONE of them are 'MyPlate' posters, except for one on the north board that explains what items are in each food group, and NONE of them speak of calories.

Prom! When I was a junior many, many years ago, our prom theme was “Pieces of April.” The event was held in the high school gym, and our junior class sponsor was Mr. H.

Dear Stakeholders of USD#271, The Board of Education wants to address some concerns which have arisen over the past few weeks. It has been a challenging time for all involved within our district.

Dear Editor: April reminds us of our shared responsibility for the well-being and healthy development of children and families, which is crucial for the future health of Kansas. National Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Month is a perfect time to emphasize that prevention thrives on collaboration.

I'm a senior at Stockton High, and I want to bring to your attention a situation that happened today. According to the USDA's national standard for school lunches, MyPlate (the system we use currently; we have around 6-8 posters in our lunchroom reminding us of this fact), the range for a 14+-yearold teenager (the age range of an eighth grader as the minimum, mind you) is ~1600 calories per day.

This And That * I always write about the music I love but haven’t said much about Country singers. Well, I have quite a few favorites in that genre as well, starting with who I can think of off the top of my head: Toby Keith, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Charley Pride, Marty Robbins, Travis Tritt, Montgomery Gentry, Alabama, and The Judds.

This and That * Alligators can live up to 70 years, which is why there is a good chance that they will see you later. * Instead of watching the Academy Awards this year— okay—I haven’t watched them in like forever—I watched the 2024 MovieGuide Awards on the Great American Family Channel.

Happy Easter Easter is the only time of year it is safe to put all of your eggs in one basket. I am the Resurrection and the Life.

This And That * I read this about the Kansas City mayor suggesting racism after the Missouri governor called the Chiefs Parade shooters “thugs.” All I can say is know your history and get educated people! The definition of a thug is “a violent, aggressive person, especially one who is a criminal.” Historically, a thug means “a member of a group or organization of robbers and assassins in India who waylaid and strangled their victims, usually travelers, and stole their belongings. They were suppressed by the British in the 1830s.” The slang for thug is “a bad guy or bully, especially a violent one.” I agree with the governor, those shooters were thugs.

To all patrons of USD 271. I would like to use this format to express my concerns as a member of the school board. Thirty odd years ago we moved our kids into this district with the hopes of a great education. We had no regrets. I have been on the board for nearly two years. My motivation was simple… my grandkids attend here and from all information I had available to me, they were attending a “failing school.” I thought I had a responsibility to use what, if any, experience/knowledge I have as an educator for the past 30 years, to simply help pull us out of this situation. I quickly learned that not only was the concern academic but financial as well. It was difficult to watch the huge number of students moving out of our district, which further added to the financial burden. When Mrs. Armstrong started as the superintendent, these problems were already on the table; all concerns inherited from years of mistakes and mismanagement. I am not insinuating that any of that was purposeful or intentional, however the only way to move forward was to see and admit what was not working. Keep the good, get rid of the bad!