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Independent Schools Open Houses
Gateway School K-8TUE & WED | JAN 11 & 12 | 9AM – 12PM255 Swift Street, Santa Cruz(831) 423-0341 | admissions@gatewaysc.orgCome and learn how Gateway School inspires children’s innate curiosity and sense of wonder through daily exploration, discovery, and hands-on experiences. Visit www.gatewaysc.org to schedule a tour. Santa Catalina SchoolSUN | JAN 16 | 10:30-11AM1500 Mark Thomas Drive, Monterey(831) 655-9356 | admission@santacatalina.org Get a tour of campus, meet our students as they engage in the programs they love, and hear from students and faculty about life at Catalina! RSVPs are required. Visti us at santacatalina.org Spring Hill SchoolTHUR | JAN 20 | 6 PM250 California Street, Santa CruzSpringHillSchool.org/open-house-calendarJoin Spring Hill…
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December’s Winners
Kian Nilas | Age 9 Presley | Age 6 Mrs Penprase’s third grade class at Watsonville Charter School of the Arts Find More Coloring Pages
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Happy New Year
Happy New Years! Spot the Difference Submit your coloring page for a chance to be in our paper Editor@growingupsc.com More Coloring Pages
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Kids Say the Cutest Things
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Independent Schools Review
Independent Schools Serve the Whole Child By Suki Wessling At these independent schools, there’s a helping hand next to every potential crack, waiting to give a student a hand up. January is our Independent Schools issue, and every time I write an article for this issue, I’m reminded of my own family’s search for education that suited our kids’ needs. At one point another parent said to me, “We’re just sending our kids to the neighborhood school; we’re not picky about education.” But it isn’t always pickiness that sends parents looking for alternatives—it’s necessity. Although we often talk as if most kids are some imagined “average” student, all of us…
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Empowering Youth
Empowering Youth and Addressing Bullying From Bystander to Upstander By Jessica Zovar In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. – Martin Luther King, Jr. I remember walking the halls as a timid sixth grader, hearing unkind words directed toward others echoing off the walls, and fearful that standing up for myself or others against hurtful words could have major implications. Let’s be honest; middle school is not always the friendliest of landscapes. Often the dreamy-eyed wonder of childhood is waning, identities are on shaky ground and youth yearn for belonging and acceptance from their peers. As a licensed marriage and…
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New Year Local Artist
Joaquin Cruz Local Artist My name is Joaquin Cruz, I’m 17 and currently a senior at SLVHS. I’m what feels like inches away from the end of high school which is somewhat terrifying but at least that means I’m growing. The paintings and art I do has meaning and no meaning, it really varies. While painting, sketching, testing different mediums regardless of how it looks, etc. I did my best to create somewhat of a surreal look, even though that look and mindset changed frequently. The majority of my art revolves around the themes of my ethnicity, how I see myself (portraits), how I see the political climates during the…
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Self Esteem in Teens
Secret to Building Self-Esteem in Teens By Susan Tatsui-D’Arcy Being a teen today has many complexities that the rest of us old folks never had to maneuver. We didn’t have 18 months of social isolation where most of our interpersonal interactions were spent perusing social media posts. We didn’t have bullies who hid behind digital screens while they blasted hateful messages and photos to us for everyone to see. Most of the teens I work with today suffer from depression and devastating self-esteem issues. Teens so desperately need to receive affirmations to feel that they’re normal. Whether it’s knowing that their favorite sweatshirt looks good on them or that they’re…
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Love Birth Matters
Love, the Best Drug of All By Laura Maxson LM Love – it’s something you want in big doses during labor. Feeling loved and being loving, both help release the hormone oxytocin – the fuel that runs the engine of labor. Pulsing into the bloodstream from the posterior pituitary gland, oxytocin goes directly into the brain, triggering the release of endorphins (nature’s opiates) as it also finds oxytocin receptors in the uterus, causing contractions. Oxytocin and endorphins go hand in hand in labor, resulting in a cycle of oxytocin release, answered by heightened endorphin levels. As labor progresses, the laboring person sinks further and further into their body, deepening their…
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January 2022’s Mom
Carmen Clark Teaches Art for Life Suki Wessling Welcome back to our monthly feature of moms who give back to our community while also raising their children. Research shows that even in families where both spouses are involved, women face more obstacles while attempting to juggle parenting and work. We love to celebrate you, moms! You know it’s serious when they devote a whole room to art. When Carmen Clark, 42, a classroom aide and owner of Crooked Beauty in Felton, moved into a new home with her husband, Aaron Clark, co-owner of Bro Prints, she had one firm request: their dining room would be dedicated to making art. Her…
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Book Review
Sarah and the Big Wave By Jeanette Prather In a pandemic-friendly, COVID-ridden world, it can be hard to fill seats at an in-person event. That wasn’t the case for the authors of Sarah and the Big Wave, the parking lot at Vintage Faith Church, and Sarah Gerhardt – the first woman to surf the revered Mavericks. “I’m amazed that we sold out of books!” Said Gerhardt about the original ten books that turned into 28 when Gerhardt’s husband, Mike, had to run out and get more. Those sold out as well. “There are so many people. The turnout is great!” What was the secret sauce in Gerhardt’s…
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Stress Busters
Stress-busters for Positive Parenting Awareness Month By Nicole M. Young, MSW Are you a parent or other caregiver who’s raising children and teens? If so, it’s that time of year to celebrate YOU! The County Board of Supervisors has partnered with First 5 Santa Cruz County to declare January 2022 as the 10th annual Positive Parenting Awareness Month. Other California counties are doing the same, and the California legislature will pass a resolution, declaring January 2022 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month across the state. Celebrating positive parenting during the first month of the new year is an opportunity to remember that: Raising children and youth to become healthy, confident, capable individuals is the most important…
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Editors Note Jan 22
Editor’s Note By Brad Kava Talk about traumatic. My dog, a 7-month-old standard poodle, ran away for nine hours and I must have walked and driven 20 miles looking for her. It was my fault, as my 5-year-old boy reminded me. I had her on a field and I looked down to answer a text. Next thing, she had run off somewhere around Aptos. I couldn’t believe she could disappear so quickly. After three hours of searching, I got on the internet and put out a call for help on NextDoor. For a while, nothing came back and at noon, while Parker and I were searching, we heard the howls…
