A potluck and play day for adoptive families will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 18 in the Family Life Center at Lawrence Free Methodist Church, 3001 Lawrence Ave.

Guests should bring a dish or two to share and table service for your family. Anyone touched by adoption, or people considering adoption, are welcome. For more information, call 542-1154.

Southwest Junior High School claimed the first-place trophy in the K-12 division and Quail Run School won the third-place trophy in K-5 at the Blue Valley High School Chess Tournament on Oct 28. SWJH’s Thomas Reams was the champion in the K-12 section. The top Lawrence finisher in K-8 was Central Junior High School’s Jacob Wilson, sixth; and in K-5, Quail Run’s Luke Lesslie, second.

Other medal winners in the K-12 section from SWJH were Alan Shi, second; Kellen Cross, third; Keely Stenseng, ninth; Peter Lesslie, 11th; and Jason Chang, 15th. South Junior High’s Jessica Newman was 25th.

Medal winners in K-5 were Cole Reams, Quail Run, seventh; Zack Curran, Cordley School, 13th; Austin Bailey, Quail Run, 15th; Robert Newman, Wakarusa Valley School, 26th; McCarthy Fitch, Cordley, 30th; Byron McClelland, Cordley, 34th; George Wedge, Cordley, 40th; Eileen Huang, Quail Run, 47th; and Ting-Ting Shi, Quail Run, 48th.

Bradley Schmidt, a 2006 graduate of Free State High School, has received a $500 Award of Excellence in art to attend Fort Hays State University for the 2006-2007 academic year.

Schmidt is the son of Terry and Laura Schmidt, Lawrence, and plans to major in graphic design.

Cordley School claimed the second place trophy in the K-5 division of the Smoky Valley High School chess tournament on Nov. 4 in Lindsborg. Cordley’s Roscoe Bradt won a third place individual trophy in K-5. In the K-12 division, Central Junior High’s Roy Wedge won the sixth place medal.

Medal winners in K-5, all from Cordley, were McCarthy Fitch, fourth; Eddie Wilson, fifth; and Byron McClelland, 16th. Also competing at the tournament were Cordley’s Zach Curran, George Wedge and Colin Bradt, as well as Quail Run’s Austin Bailey.

Trent Nauholz, Lawrence, was inducted into the Simpson College Hall of Fame during homecoming festivities Oct. 14. Nauholz, who graduated from Simpson College in 1994, was recognized for his outstanding achievements in football and excellent academic background as well as being a successful citizen since his college years.

Simpson College is in Indianola, Iowa.

Oskaloosa High School’s Students of the Month for October are senior Hayley Barnes and sophomores Cassie Allen, Keesha Lennox and Jacob Rhodes. Students are chosen for their positive contributions to the school and community and will be treated to lunch at Carlos O’Kelly’s in Lawrence.