Holiday Tea Party set at Lawrence library

The Lawrence Public Library will play host to its annual Holiday Tea Party at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday in the library’s auditorium.

There will be tea sandwiches, cookies, herbal tea and punch for participating children. A jester and Celtic musicians will entertain. Participants may dress up or wear period clothing.

Jenny Stern, above left, and Erica Lignell, right, participated in a past Holiday Tea Party at the library.

Children must be at least 5 years old and pre-registered. For more information or to register, call 843-3833, ext. 117.

Art

American Indian singer to perform at Lied Center

American Indian singer and Grammy Award nominee Joanne Shenandoah will perform in February at the Lied Center on the Kansas University campus.

The songwriter, composer and singer’s performance at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 is sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition and the Lied Center’s Kansas Family Series and World Series. Tickets for the show are available at the Lied Center, 864-2787.

Shenandoah, nominated for a Grammy for Best Native Recording, lives in Oneida-Iroquois Territory in central New York.

She also will conduct an education residency at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence.

Residency activities:

• Conversation with Haskell Indian Nations University, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 12, at Haskell.
• Lecture and lunch with Lawrence professional women’s organizations, noon to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 13, at Haskell.

Education

Lawrence school official honored by national group

A Lawrence public school district administrator received a distinguished service award from the National Staff Development Council.

Sandee Crowther, executive director of planning and program improvement for Lawrence schools, recently was recognized for her service to the council during a convention in New Orleans.

The council is a nonprofit educational association with more than 10,000 members.

Its goal is to support school improvement through application of standards and practices that advance individual and organization development.

Crowther served the council from 1993 to 1998 as a trustee and president. She is a charter member of the Kansas Staff Development Council and serves as that group’s executive secretary.

Community

Youth agency collects 1,500 books in drive

A recent book drive coordinated by the youth agency Lawrence-Douglas County Promise collected about 1,500 books during a three-month period, the agency announced.

The books will be donated to day-care centers, low-income health clinics and other agencies.

The drive, titled “Why Wait to Read?,” was the idea of Mary Olive Thompson, a Kansas University graduate who’s assigned to the local Promise agency through the federal AmeriCorps program.

The drive received support from a variety of businesses and community members. In August, an 8-year-old Prairie Park School student held a birthday party in which she asked guests to bring books for the drive instead of gifts.

Agencies that will receive the books include the Ballard Community Center, Boys & Girls Club and Douglas County Dental Clinic.