Joplin students explore science with Humpty Dumpty Day
JOPLIN, Mo. — It's a day often celebrated to teach young children about things like physics and problem-solving.
And, Humpty Dumpty Day was celebrated by elementary and preschool kids Wednesday morning at St. Mary's Catholic in Joplin. This is something the school has done for more than thirty years.
And, once again, members of the Joplin Fire Department were there to help.
Joplin students explore science with Humpty Dumpty Day
Children's Center receives boost from Kia dealership
First responders taking a look at safety training protocols
New agreement eases path for students in agriculture business field
GALLERY: Joplin-area & Newton County storm damage
The mission for each preschooler, come up with a way to protect an egg from being dropped from the top of an engine ladder. A fun and educational experience.
'This gives them an opportunity to pair along with their science and learning about the world around them, and we're big on play-based learning. So, they're still learning. They're applying those concepts of how do I keep something so fragile safe from such a large drop — but, they're getting to do it in such a fun way through play and doing an egg drop,' said Mary Landreth, St. Mary's Catholic Elem. Principal.
Humpty Dumpty Day isn't an official holiday, by the way. As for the rhyme, it first appeared in print in England in seventeen ninety-seven.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Joplin students explore science with Humpty Dumpty Day
JOPLIN, Mo. — It's a day often celebrated to teach young children about things like physics and problem-solving. And, Humpty Dumpty Day was celebrated by elementary and preschool kids Wednesday morning at St. Mary's Catholic in Joplin. This is something the school has done for more than thirty years. And, once again, members of the Joplin Fire Department were there to help. Joplin students explore science with Humpty Dumpty Day Children's Center receives boost from Kia dealership First responders taking a look at safety training protocols New agreement eases path for students in agriculture business field GALLERY: Joplin-area & Newton County storm damage The mission for each preschooler, come up with a way to protect an egg from being dropped from the top of an engine ladder. A fun and educational experience. 'This gives them an opportunity to pair along with their science and learning about the world around them, and we're big on play-based learning. So, they're still learning. They're applying those concepts of how do I keep something so fragile safe from such a large drop — but, they're getting to do it in such a fun way through play and doing an egg drop,' said Mary Landreth, St. Mary's Catholic Elem. Principal. Humpty Dumpty Day isn't an official holiday, by the way. As for the rhyme, it first appeared in print in England in seventeen ninety-seven. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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On Thursday evening, Jenna Maly received a notification from the app the Carl and Norma Miller Children's Center at Frederick Community College uses to communicate with parents. Maly and her husband have two children enrolled at the center — a daughter who's 2 1/2 years old and a son who's almost a year old. Maly's husband called her over and told her to check her phone. She said she was extremely nervous to look at the notification. She saw a letter from FCC President Annesa Payne Cheek announcing the impending closure of the children's center on May 16 due to financial difficulties. In the fall of 2025, the facility will be reopened as a workforce development training center. To give the center's staff time to process the news, since they were told about it earlier Thursday night, the facility would be closed on Friday, the letter said. "I have been emotional all weekend about it, crying, just anger," Maly said. "It didn't feel like a great way to be told this news." The Carl and Norma Miller Children's Center at FCC opened more than 30 years ago and provides year-round services for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. Its total capacity is 83 children. Currently, 69 children are enrolled, according to a statement FCC sent to The Frederick News-Post on Friday. The U.S. is currently facing a national child care crisis, and Frederick County has already felt those impacts. A 2024 study on child care availability and demand in the county found that the number of available licensed child care slots in the county isn't keeping up with the demand. If that trend continues, the shortage of care could reach crisis levels in the next 10 years. Some parts of the county are already at or approaching crisis levels. In her letter to parents, Cheek said the center has faced ongoing financial losses in its operations. From fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2024, the Children's Center had a net income loss of $1.3 million, according to FCC's statement. Even with a $250,000 subsidy Frederick County set aside for the center for fiscal year 2023, the center's net income loss still exceeded $1 million. "With the current financial environment, any operation that consistently sustains financial loss must be reevaluated, and this includes the Children's Center," Cheek wrote in her letter. Maly is one of the 50 parents who currently have children enrolled at the children's center. She's also one of the people fighting to keep the center open. In the days since FCC announced it would be closing the children's center, advocates have created a petition to keep the center open and a Facebook group called "Save Frederick's Community Childcare Service." The petition, created on Jan. 31, had more than 380 signatures as of Tuesday night. The Facebook group was created Monday and had 24 members as of Tuesday afternoon. Avis Boyd, Cheek's chief of staff, confirmed receipt on Tuesday of questions The Frederick News-Post had for Cheek, including if she had comment on parents who've reached out with concerns, the petition to keep the center open, and the Save Frederick's Community Childcare Service Facebook group. In a statement to The Frederick News-Post, Cheek said, "I appreciate the community voices and praise for the quality of service and care provided by the employees of our Children's Center. At the same time, childcare is not our core business." "FCC's primary focus is education, training and workforce preparation," she said. "My decision to better leverage the College's resources to meet current and emerging workforce needs, supports that focus." 'We are so devastated' The parent patrons of the children's center have experienced a range of emotions since hearing the center will be closed — betrayal, anger, grief, confusion. Maly said she and her husband both work full-time, and they began using the center's services in 2023 when they enrolled their daughter. At the time, she had reached out to 50 at-home child care providers and 20 child care centers. FCC's children's center was one of three facilities that had openings. Maly said the center was "an instant match for us." She said the staff was warm and welcoming, the surrounding green space was a plus, and the center's location on the campus made it feel safer. It was also one of the more affordable child care options that she and her husband looked at. "My children both absolutely thrive there. We are so devastated at this announcement," she said. "... Yesterday, felt kind of like just a funeral going in there. It's a very sad environment right now." Maly has been aggressively sharing the petition to save the center. She also has emailed Cheek and Fred Hockenberry, FCC's executive director of auxiliaries, procurement and special projects, who was listed as a point of contact in Cheek's letter. Both of them responded to Maly on Monday. Hockenberry said "this decision was not made lightly, and we acknowledge the dedication and excellence that have defined the center's operations." Cheek told Maly that since the children's center is an auxiliary unit of FCC, it is supposed to be financially self-sustaining, but the revenues aren't enough to cover the expenses. Maly said parents weren't aware that there was any financial strain to keep the children's center running. "It doesn't seem like there was a very collaborative effort to work with the parents, work with the community on how they could turn things around," she said. "... It feels like we need to act urgently. It's only three months from now that they're going to close, if it doesn't close before then." Losing a community Kaitlyn May, the parent who started the petition to save the center, said Cheek's letter didn't give a sense of how long the decision to close the center was being considered. May's daughter was first enrolled at the center in 2021 when she was an infant until early 2022, when the facility had to close to repair water damages. May was working full-time, but after her daughter had to be unenrolled, she left her job to take care of her child. Her daughter was reenrolled in 2023 and goes to the center a few days a week. May's husband works full-time, and May does substitute teaching on the days her daughter goes to the center. She said she was "stunned" to learn about the center closing — she felt like she'd been "left in the dark, and then someone pulled the rug out from under us." She said she emailed Cheek and Hockenberry on Friday, but had not received a response as of Tuesday. 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"... It is not like you can just go down the street and get another childcare center. It's not easy to replace." Conner said she felt betrayed when the closure was announced. She said families and the staff were promised by FCC that the center would reopen after scheduled renovations that were slated to close the facility temporarily from May to August. She also felt like she was grieving and was confused by the decision. She sent an email Tuesday to Hockenberry asking for more insight into the closure. "As an advocate and on behalf of the staff, I would really like to know, are we sure that these budgetary concerns were truly things that the children's center couldn't find ways to mitigate, or were they resulting from policies that FCC had in place?" Conner said. She said parents are sharing what they've been learning and their concerns, as well as trying to advocate for the center's staff. "We're the same village we've always been," she said.
