Kevin Szawala, also known as Mr. Peace, is a nationally recognized youth motivational speaker from Metro Detroit with a focus on diversity and inclusion, student mental health, bullying prevention, character education and staff enrichment. Additionally, all of his presentations are interactive, high-energy, and adaptable, and they all feature age-appropriate information, interesting multimedia, and inspirational hip-hop musical performances. Heart-focused programs like those Mr. Peace offers are more important than ever to support our children’s entire well-being in light of the consequences of the epidemic and remote learning. Consider booking an in-person or online visit for your upcoming assembly, conference, keynote, retreat, workshop, or other event to bring one of his motivational lectures to your school or organization (list of topics folow). Anti-Bullying Program | Diversity Program | Positivity Program | Leadership Program | Respect Program | Cyberbullying and Social Awareness Parent Program | College/Career Prep | Substance Abuse Prevention | Suicide Prevention | Staff Enrichment

Historic Huguenot Street is a 10-acre National Historic Landmark District and museum in New Paltz, NY. Visitors at HHS can experience thousands of years of history at our seven historic stone-house museums, reconstructed 1717 French Church, original burying ground, and replica Esopus Munsee wigwam. Historic Huguenot Street envisions a nationally recognized historic site that will inspire guests to think in new ways about American history while also carrying forward the conversation about the relationship between past and present. In-person K-12 field trips are offered September-November and April-June. Outreach visits to your school are available January-March. Visit https://www.huguenotstreet.org/programs or email education@huguenotstreet.org to learn about our field trip offerings. Testimonials: “My students were able to experience what life was like in those times.” “As a teacher as well as school principal, it is evident how well prepared the tour guides were to share historical information.” "My students really love all of the hands on activities and rich cultural experiences."

I offer both Picture Book presentations and Creative Writing workshops. My 5 picture books are centered on themes such as rejection/belonging, kindness/friendship, trying new things, etc. These stories are delightful for young ones, catering to their imagination, and are not preachy! My Picture Book Presentation consists of pre-reading Q&A, picture book reading, digital presentation of writing-illustrating-publishing process, and post-presentation Q&A. This is suitable for one time sessions for grades K-2. My Creative Writing workshops consists of helping young writers to create their individual story outlines which they then use to begin writing their story drafts. I read their drafts and give them personalized feedback for them to use in their new drafts. These workshops are suitable for multiple sessions and for grades 3-5. For references, see my website. My credentials include having a Creative Writing degree from Columbia University and I was also a former ELA/ENL Teaching Fellow.

I am a performance storyteller and have told stories many times to children and adults of all ages. I tell the Odyssey, the Epic of Gilgamesh, numerous Norse and Irish myths and the Mahabharata epic of India as well as fairy tales and folk tales. I have taught storytelling to both adults and children, and have also taught poetry. I have been a ranger in Yosemite National Park, am a published poet, and have received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. I bring music to my storytelling and storytelling to my music. I love this work and welcome new opportunities.

New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Kate Messner visits schools and libraries around the world to get kids excited about reading, research, and writing stories of their own. She offers large-group interactive assemblies focusing on the research and writing process behind her award-winning books as well as smaller-group writing workshops with a variety of focuses, from character and story development to mystery writing to researching and writing historical fiction and nonfiction. Kate is also a former middle school ELA teacher who earned National Board Certification in 2006 and provides staff development focused on engaging readers, teaching writing, and getting students excited about research and revision. She can be reached via the contact form on her website www.katemessner.com or by filling out her author appearance request form: https://forms.gle/nePpZY7on36gBozN9

The NYSCLSA Conference is the annual statewide student leadership conference organized by the New York State Council on Leadership and Student Activities (NYSCLSA). Here are the key details about the conference: Primary Goal: To develop leadership skills in high school and middle school students across New York State. Participants: A diverse group of student leaders, typically from student councils, National Honor Society (NHS), and similar organizations, along with their advisors. Activities: The conference features a variety of activities aimed at building skills and promoting civic engagement, including: Workshops: Focused on topics like communication, team building, decision-making, and critical thinking (as mentioned in your previous question). Keynote Speakers: Internationally and nationally known motivational speakers. Networking: Opportunities for students to share ideas, programs, and network with peers from around the state. Service Projects: The organization and its members typically support a statewide charity fundraiser and develop service-learning projects. Purpose: The event is designed to inspire participants to take the ideas and skills they gain back to their respective schools and communities to make a positive difference. The NYSCLSA organization is founded and governed by both students and advisors, who play an essential role in planning the annual conference and other state and local leadership activities The NYSCLSA conference’s Student Leadership Program strongly aligns with the New York State P-12 Learning Standards for the Arts by engaging students in the four artistic processes. By requiring students to create, develop, and produce public service announcements (PSAs), the program fulfills the Creating and Performing/Presenting/Producing standards, particularly in Media Arts and Theatre. Furthermore, the workshops on communication and critical thinking, along with keynote speakers on school climate and culture, address the Responding standard by teaching students to analyze and interpret artistic intent, and the Connecting standard by urging them to synthesize their work with personal experiences and societal context. Essentially, the conference uses the creation and presentation of media as a practical vehicle for developing key leadership and critical thinking skills mandated by the NYS arts curriculum.

How to Live Mentally Well and Crush it During Difficult Times In this session, based, in part, on stories from his i’Mpossible Project book series, author and youth mental health specialist, Josh Rivedal talks about his school days in a format that’s visceral and creates an emotional connection between students and the powerful message that it’s okay to talk about mental health and that it’s possible to live mentally well during difficult times. Josh will cover: what mental health is and is not, coping skills, what depression and anxiety is and how we can cope with either or both, how to reframe failure, how to help oneself or a friend if in a mental health breakdown, and finding and cultivating hope during difficult times.

We offer in-person and virtual Professional Development, supporting early childhood educators to thoughtfully integrate musical learning and play into their classroom setting to support literacy and language development, social-emotional skills, and fostering a positive, loving classroom environment where all children can thrive. We offer a digital, supplemental, instructional resource that provides teachers with over 300 research-based, high quality musical learning and play activities that are specifically curated for the early childhood classroom, appropriate for Morning Circle, Transitions, Large and Small Group Instruction, Nap time, and End of Day. We offer a Certification Pathway for educators interested in additional learning and support around integrating musical learning and play into their daily classroom routine.

You Can Do a Graphic Novel, Comic Book, Meme, or Zine Categories: Creative Writing, Visual Arts Curriculum. Costs VIRTUAL PROGRAMS (ZOOM) One-hour interactive classes, unlimited participants: $500.00 LIVE IN-PERSON PROGRAMS One day: $1,200.00 Four days: $3,800.00 Eight days: $6,500.00 For venues more than 40 miles from Hudson, NY travel cost of $0.50 mile will be added. For venues more than 40 miles from Valatie, NY travel cost of $0.50 mile will be added. Available year-round. Program Theme: Students learn how to create a graphic novel beginning with a six page comic. It doesn’t matter if they can draw. Stick figures are an expressive way for the reluctant artist to begin. Participants are encouraged to bring their sketchbooks and characters they may already be working on. They will learn about The Creative Process, how to write a Character Study, focus on the beginning, middle, end and twist of a story, and Create Layouts. If the program is an assembly, Barbara talks though the program with on-screen illustrations of the process. The school is to provide a computer, projector and screen. Program Description: Each program is custom tailored to the grade, number of students in the class, and number of sessions. If there are four or more sessions per class, the program finishes with a Graphic Novel Exhibition (see below). The Creative Process: 20 creative tips. Creating Characters: Participants complete bio sheets with the character’s name, age, best friend/side kick, powers (if any), biggest fear, life goal, etc. Plotting: Learning how to plot challenges the student to complete a story. Too many begin the story and throw it out somewhere in the middle. The student learns to plot by color code, a method used by film/tv/graphic novel writers. Layout: Participants learn about panels, thumbnails, dialogue balloons, sequence, and making a page pop. Rather than drawing “talking heads,” they draw a close-up, pull back for a long shot, followed by interior, exterior, bird’s eye views. Everybody works at their own pace. Some are advanced artists/writers while others are beginners. It doesn’t matter where they begin as long as they get going. I hand out a “character bible” sheet and encourage them to think about the beginning, middle, end and twist of their story. The twist is what makes the story interesting. I bring in samples of character bibles from Marvel comics which they can keep, and scripts written by professionals. Feedback is an important part of the program. It usually begins when I hold up a student’s drawing and ask them to suggest a name, age, or character trait. The student can take the suggestions or discard them, however, it opens up discussions. In the first session, students are sometimes quiet/shy with other students but by the second, they open up about their characters and stories. After the last workshop, the doors open to parents, friends, relatives, the community, and the local press. Students show and talk about their work…where they got their inspiration for characters/story. The “Graphic Novel Exhibition” attracts a lot of attention and often results in newspaper articles. Having artwork in the newspaper is great for a student’s self-esteem and for their portfolio. Copies of Barbara's textbook You Can Do a Graphic Novel can be ordered for the school library, and discounts are available from the publisher for class-size orders. http://youcandoagraphicnovel.com/students1.htm

I'm an author/illustrator who presents to elementary school students about writing and illustrating humorous picture books, graphic novels, and chapter books. Each of my programs features multimedia presentations about how I make both fiction and non-fiction books. I include a mix of info about my writing and illustrating processes as well as exciting, interactive drawing demonstrations for all ages.

Princesses, Heroes, and holiday shows with themes of anti-bullying and foster cognitive learning for kids in grades K-5. - **Royal Tea Party Show**: Features favorite royals, teaching grace, intelligence, bravery, and anti-bullying. - **Hero Training Show**: Focuses on cognitive learning skills, anti-bullying, and strength. - **Elf on the Shelf Holiday Show**: Perfect for the holidays, includes cognitive learning, anti-bullying themes, and interactive singing and dancing. - **Gill the Merboy Show**: Based on Tony Ardolino's book, featuring an underwater adventure with puppets, live mermaids, and music, emphasizing problem-solving and anti-bullying.

I am a children’s book author and illustrator who loves to visit and interact with my readers! I talk about the book making process with a slides presentation of the making of my latest picture book, and hold a story brainstorming session where the students are the authors and I am the illustrator and we create a story together. You can read more about my school/library visits on my website. There’s also testimonials from teachers I’ve worked with!