Before schools shut down in March, students at Leopold Community School were on track to paint a new sculpture at the school. The sculpture, called 'Fiddlehead Fern Family', was fabricated by Michael Burns and commissioned by Madison Arts Commission’s 'Art in Public Places'. It was designed with the Fiddlehead fern in mind. Leopold Art Teachers Sonia Valle (left) and Candace Patterson (right) have been working hard to see the project through to completion. See additional photos.
VELMA HAMILTON SCHOLAR WI WINNER OF 'DOODLE FOR GOOGLE' CONTEST
Congratulations to Ocean Beutter, a rising 8th grade student at Velma Hamilton Middle, and the Wisconsin winner of the 2020 Doodle for Google contest! 

The prompt for this year's contest was 'I show kindness by...', and entries were submitted in the spring. Here is how Ocean describes her winning entry, titled 'Not Only Ours':

"I show kindness by returning the favor to animals, who lend us their home: Earth. Soon I'll be hitting my four-year mark of becoming vegetarian. My drawing aims to portray the beautiful relationships with animals we could have. I hope my doodle will shout a wake up to the world that animals deserve a happy life, just like us."

Ocean's drawing is one of 54 doodles that will advance to the next round, in which five national finalists will be chosen. You can help Ocean become one of the five finalists!

You can still vote for Ocean's doodle through midnight tonight (scroll to the bottom of the 'Grades 6-7' category at link below)!
WISCONSIN'S 48 MOST INFLUENTIAL
ASIAN AMERICAN LEADERS
Each day this week, Madison365 has been shining a statewide spotlight on the dedicated leaders of Wisconsin’s Hmong, Chinese-American, Japanese-American, Pacific Islander, South Asian, and other communities. Those highlighted include elected leaders, business leaders and community leaders, doing difficult, important work. Check out the list (by part, below), which includes some of our MMSD leaders and community members!

MADISON WEST HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT FEATURED IN INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY CAMPAIGN VIDEO
Last week, International Youth Day was celebrated across the globe. Here in Madison, our very own West High School student, Maka Chikowero, was honored by UN Women for her work to empower girls from marginalized communities through her own non-profit organization, MTC Educate A Girl Inc.

UN Women featured Maka in their International Youth Day campaign and in their video "These 20 young activists will inspire you to join the fight" (linked to the left).
Maka's organization (MTC Educate A Girl Inc.) is registered here in the US and in Zimbabwe and offers full scholarships for orphaned girls to stay in school and also sources sports equipment for rural girls to participate in sports, especially in those disciplines that are usually inaccessible to girls due to cultural biases. As Maka says, "Soccer, in particular, is considered a "boys" game in Zimbabwe. Today, my organization has a group of girls on full scholarship and an even larger group playing for my community-based soccer club, MTC Sirens Football Club in the same area. I have also sourced and donated soccer equipment for a few years!"
 
To learn more about MTC Educate A Girl Inc. or to support Maka's projects here in Madison and globally, visit the website or follow on Twitter.
MSCR FALL 2020 PROGRAM GUIDE
Enjoy a variety of active and enriching programs adapted to keep you safe.
Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR) is proud to announce the MSCR Fall 2020 Program Guide. This book offers a variety of recreation programs for all ages including arts & enrichment, fitness, paddling & boating, sports, soccer and much more! Programs are available inside, outside and online so customers can choose their comfort level following health and safety policies

New this season:

Art, Nature & You - Learn how to use found and reclaimed natural materials to create stunning pieces of artwork. Tuesdays, September 15 - October 20. Grades K-2: 4:30-5:30 pm and Grades 3-5: 5:45-6:45 pm at Hoyt Park.

Community Climb - Bring your isolation crew for a climbing adventure at the School Forest Challenge Course. Fridays, September 4, 18 & October 9, 2-5 pm. Ages 12+.

Games Galore - Play popular yard games; stations are created to keep participants physically distanced. Takes place Mondays to Thursdays, 4:30-6 pm at several locations.

The guide is also available in Spanish. Please go to mscr.org to learn more + register.
RESOURCES + OPPS + NEWS + MORE!
The Wisconsin Book Festival will take place virtually October 15-17, 2020 and the lineup is being announced soon.

You’re invited to take part in Cycle September - a global competition with individuals and organizations coming together to help more people realize the benefits of riding a bike.

The Wisconsin Association of College Admissions Counselors is hosting several opportunities from August 24 - September 3 for Wisconsin students to connect with more than 100 colleges and universities, hear from admissions counselors and gain important college knowledge.

Just announced: 2nd annual Conservation Art Contest hosted by Dane County Parks Natural Areas (for middle and high school students)

IN THE NEWS





Wisconsin Department of Children & Families Secretary points to MMSD as a model for child care this school year.
MMSD | Website