Monday is the first day of school for Santa Fe Public Schools, so please take extra care when driving through school zones. The district's website — sfps.info — features useful information regarding the school year, bus schedules, supplies, etc.

The district has teamed with ¡Youthworks! to sponsor a school-supply drive for needy families. You can bring donations of school supplies to the new ¡Youthworks! location next to KSWV (Que Suave) Radio Station on Taos Street (the actual address is 1504 Cerrillos Road, but you can't access ¡Youthworks! via Cerrillos). Among other items, SFPS students need binders, backpacks, packages of thick markers, glue, glue sticks, wide-lined notebooks and rulers.

The district has also joined the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Fe in a clothing drive for needy students. Drop off donated clothing to the club on Alto Street or call 983-6632 for information.

Last week's column focused on Kathleen Nolan's book, Police in the Hallways: Discipline in an Urban High School (University of Minnesota Press), which details the impact that a constant police presence has on an inner-city public school in New York.

Coincidentally, I asked Santa Fe Public Schools to provide me with a list of drug and weapons violations at both Santa Fe High School and Capital High School last year. I also asked for an accounting of any student assaults on teachers. There were no reported incidents of the latter.

Santa Fe High reported 65 drug-related violations/incidents in 2010/2011, up from a reported nine the year before. Capital High reported five drug-related violations/incidents, up from a reported three the year before. Santa Fe High had three weapons violations in 2010/2011, and Capital had two — both reporting slight declines from similar incidents the year before.

What would happen if you took a group of media-addicted teens and put them in the middle of a lush forest to reconnect them to both nature and the concept of play? Norwegian director Tonje Hessen Schei's documentary, Play Again, playing at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Warehouse 21, 1614 Paseo de Peralta, may answer the question. The event is hosted by Bioneers.

The film makes a good argument that kids today have more access to information but have less affinity for nature and humanity. (The days of building tree forts are gone, it seems.) One teen in the film claims to send 300 to 500 texts a day — but only about 100 a day when she is in school. Another notes that he prefers video games to outdoor activities because he can control what's happening on the screen. Tickets are $6 and $8 and Schei will be on hand to answer questions about the movie. Call 986-0366, ext. 140 for reservations/information.