Valentine’s Day is on Thursday, which for most moms is not a day about romance, but about school parties, candy and Sponge Bob Square Pants Valentine’s. If you survive the holiday, there is actually a lot going on in Paris next weekend.
First, make plans to see O’Keeffe! This is a one-woman show based on the life of American artist Georgia O’Keeffe. It is showing at Paris Community Theatre Friday, February 15 at 7:30pm, Saturday, February 16 at 7:30pm, and Sunday, February 17 at 2:30pm. Starring acclaimed Dallas Actress Carolyn Garvin Wickwire, a Paris High School Graduate and sponsored by Lamar National Bank of Paris, TX. Tickets are $10.00 each and may be reserved by Email at: pct@1starnet.com, or by Phone: 903-784-0259 Weekdays 1:00 – 5:00 PM.
Next, grab your bowling shoes and form a team to bowl in Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake on Saturday, Feb. 16th. Teams will be accepted up until the day of the event. Teams consist of five to six bowlers of any age, and each bowler is asked to raise at least $100 to participate. All bowlers receive two free games of bowling, shoe rental, a free shirt and a team photo. Prizes will be awarded to teams for best team name, best costumes/shirts, best lane decorations and most money raised. To register your team or learn more about the event call Big Brothers Big Sisters at 903-784-7388 x503 or email eneely@bbbstx.org.
Finally, on Saturday evening at 7pm the Texas A&M University Singing Cadets will be performing at the Paris Jr. High School Auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students (children under 5 are free). Tickets are available at Kwik Kopy and the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
From one mommy to another,
Jenny Wilson
Jenny Wilson is a mother of three. She teaches a Mommy & Me class at Central Presbyterian Day School, is a member of the Paris ISD school board and serves on the board of Paris Community Theatre and Children’s Advocacy Center. She also is on the PCT Children/Teen Theatre Advisory Committee, the Aiken Parent Association Board, the PJH Parent Association and is a Sunday school teacher at Holy Cross Episcopal Church. She also is a certified yoga instructor and owner of Everyday Yoga.
From the Mommy Desk…
The Twelfth Annual Sweetheart Soiree will take place this Saturday, February 9th at the Love Civic Center. This is a wonderful way to support the Children’s Advocacy Center of Paris, an organization committed to serving child victims of abuse and their families in both Lamar and Red River Counties.
As a mother, it is very hard to hear that in the United States, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before they reach 18 years old. Moreover, 1 in 5 children are sexually solicited while on the internet. That is why though uncomfortable to talk about, an organization like the CAC is absolutely critical and necessary. The purpose of the CAC is to reduce the trauma faced by children and their non-offending family members by using a multidisciplinary approach to investigations. The CAC works with the police departments, the district attorney’s office, the Sheriff’s departments, SANE nurses, juvenile probation and Texas Child Protective Services to make the whole experience of reporting and convicting sexual offenders easier on the child and the family. The CAC is also committed to providing community education and awareness on child abuse information. Finally, the CAC has a wonderful, community supported “Rainbow Room” which is an emergency resource center that provides clothing and personal hygiene items as well as other necessities to children in immediate need.
The Sweetheart Soiree is the CAC’s biggest fundraiser, and all proceeds go to support the CAC mission of promoting hope, healing and justice for child victims of crime in Lamar and Red River counties. This extremely fun and elegant evening will feature dinner provided by Hole in the Wall, the popular Dallas based band, Motion, as well as a silent and live auction. This year’s Sweetheart Soiree is underwritten by J & L Paving.
To purchase tickets to the Sweetheart Soiree call 903-784-5787 or visit them at 711 Pine Bluff Road. To report suspected child abuse, call the Texas Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-252-5400. (And what you may not know, is that everyone over the age of 18 has a duty to report, failure to reported suspected child abuse is a crime).
From one mommy to another,
Jenny Wilson
Jenny Wilson is a mother of three. She teaches a Mommy & Me class at Central Presbyterian Day School, is a member of the Paris ISD school board and serves on the board of Paris Community Theatre and Children’s Advocacy Center. She also is on the PCT Children/Teen Theatre Advisory Committee, the Aiken Parent Association Board, the PJH Parent Association and is a Sunday school teacher at Holy Cross Episcopal Church. She also is a certified yoga instructor and owner of Everyday Yoga.
From the Mommy Desk…
I love baseball! It is without a doubt my favorite sport to watch, and watching the boys play every spring is so much fun. To me, spring time is all about Woodall Field. And, oh the French fries and hamburgers! There is nothing better!
The Paris Optimist registration is this Saturday, Feb. 2nd at 10:00am – 2pm at the Lamar Ave. Church of Christ (across from Burger King). New this year is a beginners/instructional league is for 3 and 4 year olds. All first time players need to bring a copy of the birth certificate.
The leagues and registration fees, which includes team drinks and game shirt, is as follows:
Instructional/beginner 3-4 year olds – $35.00
T-ball for 5 & 6 year olds – $55.00
Coach Pitch for 7 & 8 year olds – $55.00
AAA for 9 – 10 year olds – $60.00
Ozone for 11 & 12 year olds – $60.00
Ranger for 13 & 14 year olds – $70.00
League age is May 1st. All teams will be redrafted this year. Buddy Baseball sign-ups are also going on at Lamar Ave. Church of Christ on Saturday.
Girls are also invited to play baseball, but for those wanting to play softball there is also a Dixie Softball league in Paris for girls ages 4-18. The registration for Dixie Softball is Feb. 2 from 10am-2pm and Feb. 5th from 5pm-7pm at the Sports Complex next to the Love Civic Center. The fee is $55.00.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks! I don’t care if I ever get back!
From one mommy to another,
Jenny Wilson
Jenny Wilson is a mother of three. She teaches a Mommy & Me class at Central Presbyterian Day School, is a member of the Paris ISD school board and serves on the board of Paris Community Theatre and Children’s Advocacy Center. She also is on the PCT Children/Teen Theatre Advisory Committee, the Aiken Parent Association Board, the PJH Parent Association and is a Sunday school teacher at Holy Cross Episcopal Church. She also is a certified yoga instructor and owner of Everyday Yoga.
From the Mommy Desk…
Seems like everyone is talking about the flu… is it an epidemic, should I get the vaccine, children are dying. It is scary stuff for any mom. In today’s article I’ve tried to present the facts, so each mom can make up their own mind on how to take care of their children. Always, always consult a doctor if your child is sick.
So, to start with – should you get the vaccine? According to the CDC, the flu vaccine reduces the odds of getting the flu by 70% to 90%. You may wonder why there’s such a wide range and actually it’s even wider than it seems: this statistic only applies to healthy adults. It turns out that the effectiveness of the flu vaccine depends on a number of different factors. First is your age. The flu vaccine doesn’t work equally well in all people and is most effective in healthy adults. In young children, the flu vaccine is only about 66% effective at preventing the flu. It becomes more effective as children get older. There may also be slight differences depending on which vaccine you get. Some research shows that the nasal flu vaccine may offer the best protection for children.
The next factor to take into consideration is your general health. If you have a weak immune system to begin with, a vaccine may just not work as well. Many chronic illnesses can weaken a body’s defenses. The CDC estimates that the flu vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization (for flu and pneumonia) by 30% to 70% in people with chronic illnesses.
Also, the effectiveness of the vaccine depends on when you get it. At one time, the flu vaccine was only be available between October and the end of November. Experts now stress that you can now get it into December and January. Keep in mind that the flu season often doesn’t peak until February or later.
But the sooner you get it, the better. Why? Simple: the further you get into the flu season, the higher your risk of getting flu. Here’s something else to keep in mind: it can take two weeks for the flu vaccine to take effect. So if you’re exposed to the flu within that two week period, you might still get sick.
Finally, unlike other vaccines, the flu vaccine has to be redesigned each year so the effectiveness depends on how well it is matched to this year’s dominant strain of the flu and the dominant strains of the flu change every flu season. Once a flu season is over, the old vaccine is worthless. Furthermore, researchers have to create the vaccine long before the flu season starts, and they can’t know, for sure, what strains will be dominant when the flu season actually starts. They make predictions, and while those predictions are generally accurate, they aren’t foolproof.
Even though getting the flu vaccine isn’t a guarantee that you won’t get the flu, most health officials recommend getting the vaccine especially those who are at high risk for flu complications. While it may not be perfect, the flu vaccine is the best defense we have.
Another thing to consider is that the flu vaccine does not protect against cold viruses. Some people believe that the flu shot doesn’t work because they get sick despite being vaccinated. But in most of these cases, experts say, the flu vaccine did work — it’s just that these people came down with an unrelated cold virus. So how do you know if it is the flu or just the common cold? The simplest detector is that a cold is generally neck up – sore throat, sinus congestion, maybe a fever. The flu is generally all over the body – body aches, chills, high fever, extreme fatigue, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. Another indicator is that the flu often is a sudden onset, while generally you feel a cold coming on and the symptoms seem to gradually worsen.
Obviously, we want to keep our families healthy, so here are the best ways to prevent your loved ones from getting sick:
From one mom to another,
Jenny Wilson
Jenny Wilson is a mother of three. She teaches a Mommy & Me class at Central Presbyterian Day School, is a member of the Paris ISD school board and serves on the board of Paris Community Theatre and Children’s Advocacy Center. She also is on the PCT Children/Teen Theatre Advisory Committee, the Aiken Parent Association Board, the PJH Parent Association and is a Sunday school teacher at Holy Cross Episcopal Church. She also is a certified yoga instructor and owner of Everyday Yoga.
From the Mommy Desk…
Registration for the Spring Semester of the PCT Children & Teen Theatre Program is Saturday, January 12th from 11am – 1pm. Registration and all classes are held at the
PCT Brown Centre of Creative Arts, located just off the downtown square at 115 Clarksville Street (next to That Guys Coffee). Spring Classes begin the week of January 14 and continue through May.
New this spring is a Children’s Art Class taught by instructor Katherine Burns. This art class will explore various mediums and is for children ages 8-12. (Minimum of 5 students required). The class is Monday afternoons from 4:15pm-5:15pm and is $120 for the entire semester (includes supplies).
Theatre classes are available for kids in kindergarten through teen age. Creative Drama for children in kindergarten and 1st grade is taught by Ashley Pickering, who teaches middle school Drama for NLISD. This class will introduce your child to the world of acting through theatre games & dramatic play and includes spring skit. This class meets on on Thursdays at 4:15pm-5:15pm and is $95 for the semester.
Introductory Theatre Skills taught by Alan Jones & Katherine Burns is for children in 2nd – 4th Grade . This Class will introduce the Children to staging, blocking, movements, as well as voice and theatre skills. The class concludes with a Spring Play. Katherine Burns is a Teacher at Roxton, and has taught PCT Children’s Theatre for several years. Alan Jones has been in the Entertainment Industry for 40 years. He is the PCT Manager as well as a Director and Actor. Classes are on Mondays at 5:15pm-6:15pm, and is $95 for the semester.
Intermediate Theatre Skills & Performance taught by Laura Hutchings is for kids in the 5th-7th Grade and includes the BIG Spring Production for area schools. Laura Hutchings has a BFA in Theatre Education & has served as the PCT Children’s Theatre Director, as well as being a Teacher of Theatre for over 30 years. Classes are on Mondays 4 to 5:15pm or Tuesdays from 5pm –6: 15pm. Auditions will be held during the first week of classes – all kids will be asked to audition on Monday 1/14 and Tues. 1/15. Class day will be assigned after auditions. The tuition for this course is $105 for the semester.
Teen Theatre taught by Cody Head, is for teenagers in 8th Grade & up and includes Traveling Social Theatre in May. Cody Head is returning to PCT to once again teach teen theatre. Cody is a Teacher at North Lamar High School and has a degree from NTSU in Theatre. Classes are on Wednesdays at 5:00pm – 6:00pm, and it is $105 for the semester.
For questions or more information call the PCT Box Office at 903-784-0259 or Email to pct@1starnet.com.
From one mommy to another,
Jenny Wilson
Jenny Wilson is a mother of three. She teaches a Mommy & Me class at Central Presbyterian Day School, is a member of the Paris ISD school board and serves on the board of Paris Community Theatre and Children’s Advocacy Center. She also is on the PCT Children/Teen Theatre Advisory Committee, the Aiken Parent Association Board, the PJH Parent Association and is a Sunday school teacher at Holy Cross Episcopal Church. She also is a certified yoga instructor and owner of Everyday Yoga.
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