I remember being in school as a kid and wondering why we were only taught about historical Black figures during February. I then remember being confused because we only talked about well-known names like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

The back-to-school season is upon us, bringing with it a blend of excitement, nervousness and anticipation. Whether you’re a student, a parent or a teacher, this time of year marks a fresh beginning and a chance to set the tone for the upcoming academic year. To help you navigate this transitional period with confidence, we’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks to ensure a successful start to the school year.

Chapin Branch Library is planting a pollinator garden. After receiving our Certified Wildlife Habitat® status from the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, we looked around and asked what else we could do to promote lifelong environmental learning. So much of our food comes from flowering plants — apples, cucumbers, watermelons, nuts and so much more. Crops depend on our wildlife friends to pollinate the flowers while they search for food. I learned this firsthand when a failed pumpkin patch never produced a single pumpkin. The vine was there, and flowers bloomed, but with no pollinators, no pumpkins grew.

Adults are reading Young Adult (YA) literature. Yeah, adult adults — grown people with jobs, who pay their own bills, chat about interest rates on mortgages, or maybe even have young adult children themselves. Not only are they reading it, they also make up most of YA literature’s readership.