Colleen Surridge/Sun photo Before heading home from school Friday, Erie Elementary School second-grader Jena Babcock waters a flower she grew from a seed in a special cup she decorated for her mother for Mother’s Day.

Colleen Surridge/Sun photo Parsons High School seniors Lindsey Drummond, Levi Phelps, James Carson, sophomore Benjamin Brewer and senior Benjah Wicker clean debris and weeds from the flower bed on the south side of Forest Park Friday and add fresh mulch around the plants. The group of PHS students was one of many that volunteered to perform community service work Friday morning around various parts of the city.

Colleen Surridge/Sun photo Labette Community College physical therapy assistant program graduate Leslie Sklamburg receives a hug from PTA program director Lisa Bradley while graduate Amy Shaw receives her PTA graduation pin from fellow graduate Sara Schwaninger during Wednesday night’s ceremony in Thiebaud Theatre.

Courtesy photo Erie Elementary School students Morgan DeMeritt and Darci Summervill work with simple machines during a class field trip to Greenbush: Southeast Kansas Education Service Center. The students had been studying simple machines in class, and the field trip was an activity to finish the study.

Jamie Willey/Sun photo Kendall Young, 7, of Parsons gets some hang time while jumping on the trampoline during the Parsons Recreation Commission tumbling and cheer program’s Flippin’ Fun Friday event at the PRC Multi-Arts Academy.

Colleen Surridge/Sun photo Parsons firefighters Rob Gartner, Danny Cagle, Ryan Schibi, Darren Lubbers and Casey Irish try a new fruit and vegetable mix created in a new juicer director Shellie Collins brought to the Rector Diabetes Education and Resource Center Thursday. Collins has been providing the firefighters with information they requested on nutrition, exercise and weight loss to help them live healthier lives. See story in Local News.