On this Thursday, February 3, edition of Sundial:
Palm Beach County Schools’ mental health
Adjusting to life back in person can be difficult.
When the pandemic started, social etiquette changed in the blink of an eye. From one day to another we were social distancing, masking, staying home. The effects of that are still being felt. Especially in schools.
Students are reporting higher levels of stress and anxiety.
WLRN is here for you, even when life is unpredictable. Our journalists are continuing to work hard to keep you informed across South Florida. Please support this vital work. Become a WLRN member today. Thank you.
In Palm Beach County, more than three thousand students have been referred to mental health support this year — a significantly higher number than ever before, according to Keith Oswald, the chief of equity and wellness for Palm Beach County's school district.
The district recently received a federal grant of $1 million to strengthen its mental health training.
Oswald joined Sundial to discuss the district’s mental health concerns and details of that grant.
Harlem Renaissance
The "I Dream A World: the Harlem Renaissance and Beyond Festival” is taking place through February 5 at the New World Center. The festival hopes to celebrate Black artistic excellence that thrived in the famous movement of the 1920's.
Dr. Tammy L. Kernodle, faculty at Miami University in Ohio, organized the festival. We spoke with her about making Black music in today's world, on Sundial.
"This is what I have spent, I would say, the last 30 years of my life preparing to do. I entered graduate school at the Ohio State University in the early '90s with the specific intention of writing, and studying and teaching Black music," Kernodle said. "While we may know Jay-Z, and while we may know Rihanna or Beyonce, we don't really know the names of Black composers. Now that's changing…"
Maestro Thomas Wilkins also joined the program. He is conducting during the festival on Saturday night.
"We have to understand that these composers didn't apologize for feeling comfortable in their own skin," Wilkins said. "The bravery and the self-dignity … that has to find its way into the Duke Ellington music that we get to hear … If I don't show them that this music bends when it bends or sways when it sways or it bops when it bops — then they can't perceive what that language really is."
You can find out more information about the festival and events left to attend here.
Wildlife Thursday: Birding
Florida is a vast space, home to an abundance of colorful life, and that’s just the people who live here.
It’s also home to a beautiful palette of wildlife. This month, we’re gonna look at some of the wilder sides of Florida, with our Wildlife Thursdays series.
For our first episode, we’re going to look up at the sky and the birds that either make Florida their home or the ones that just like to stop by from time to time — like tourists.
Mark Hedden, a columnist writing about birds for the Key West Weekly, and the Executive Director of the Florida Audubon joined Sundial to talk birding. He also told us about his amazing bird photography.
