Santa Monica, a Lifelong Learning Community
Lifelong Learning Community News - FEBRUARY 2008...
Saturday, February 2, 10am-5pm
Sunday, February 3, 10am-2pm
Walk for Measure R!
Meet at 1508 18th Street
Last chance to put on your walking shoes and walk neighborhoods to protect our local schools and help pass Measure R. The weather should be good so bring your kids, friends, dogs.... take a walk and drop off Get Out The Vote literature. For more information and to volunteer, please contact Jayme Mechur at 310-463-7194 or email her at larayne@gmail.com.
Tuesday, February 5 is Election Day. Please be sure to vote!!!
Along with the very interesting presidential primaries, there are two items on the Feb 5 ballot that will greatly impact Santa Monica Malibu schools.
Prop 92 is a statewide measure designed to strengthen community colleges by making changes in state funding formulas and governance, and by lowering student fees.
Please read SMC Board Chair Rob Rader’s letter to the editor “Prop 92 Ensures College Education for All “at http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-
2008/01_24_08_LETTERS_Prop_92_Ensures%20College_Ed.htm
For more information on Prop 92, please visit http://www.prop92yes.com, your Official Voter Information Guide, or the legislative analyst’s summary at http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2008/92_02_2008.aspx.
Measure R is the very, very last item on your Feb 5 ballot and its passage is essential for our local Santa Monica Malibu schools to maintain their high quality.
State funding alone does not and will not provide for many of the academic programs and excellent teachers we have in our local schools. Without passage of Measure R, all Santa Monica Malibu public schools will face significant and painful budget cuts to academic programs and teachers.
Measure R requires a 2/3rd vote to pass so every vote is critical. For more information, to see the long list of endorsements, and/or to volunteer to help the campaign, please go to www.YesonRforOurSchools.org
Polls will be open on Tuesday from 7am to 8pm. I understand that some polling places have been changed and that the polling location information on your sample ballot may not be correct. To confirm your polling location, please go to www.lavote.net
Information on petitions being circulated:
Two local groups will begin circulating petitions this month.
Here in Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Coalition for A Livable City (SMCLC) has filed the "Residents' Initiative to Fight Traffic." Volunteers will be collecting signatures from registered SM voters to place the measure on the November ballot. According to the petitioners, the measure is aimed at controlling traffic by amending the city's general plan to establish an annual limit on commercial development. Residential development would not be affected. If you would like more information about the initiative, please go to www.smrift.com or call 310.395.8044.
In Malibu, Malibu Unified School Team (MUST) is collecting signatures to petition the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) to study and make a recommendation to the State on the feasibility and advisability of creating a Malibu Unified School District that is separate from our current Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District. In this case, the verification of signatures triggers an in depth study by LACOE, followed by another in depth study by the state and an environmental impact analysis, and eventually, if all goes as the proponents hope, a local election. This is a process that will take years but is beginning now with the collection of signatures in Malibu.
Wednesday, February 6 & Thursday, February 7
Public Input Sessions for SMMUSD Special Education Program Review
Lou Barber & Associates has been selected to conduct an independent review of SMMUSD's Special Education program and practices. As part of the study, Dr. Barber and his team would like to hear from the parents/guardians of both Special Education and general education students.
In order to ensure that as many parents are available to participate as possible, four public input sessions have been scheduled. Below are the dates, times, and locations of the sessions:
Wednesday, February 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
District Office Boardroom
1651 16th Street
Thursday, February 7, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
District Office Boardroom
1651 16th Street
Thursday, February 7, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
District Office Boardroom
1651 16th Street
Thursday, February 7, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Malibu High School Library
30215 Morning View Drive
If you are unable to attend any of the sessions, but would still like to provide input for the independent review, please feel free to email Dr. Barber at lou.barber@smmusd.org
The school district encourages parents/guardians to attend one of these sessions to ensure that the study is as complete as possible.
Saturday, February 9, 9:00 am registration (9:30 start time) - 2:30 pm
LUCE Workshop – Santa Monica’s Boulevards
John Adams Middle School, Cafeteria
2425 16th Street
(entry gate on 17th Street)
The next public meeting for updating Santa Monica’s Land Use & Circulation Element is a "Building Block" workshop on the topic of Santa Monica's Boulevards. Your participation will help to make the LUCE a useful document that provides a blueprint for tackling the City's toughest problems, ensuring that future development in the City is guided by the community's principles and brings community benefits, rather than taking the form of piecemeal projects with negative impacts.
You are cordially invited and strongly urged to attend this important event. RSVPs are requested for planning refreshments and lunch, but feel free to come even if you have not RSVP'd. You can also call us at (310) 458-8341 to RSVP or receive more information.
Saturday, February 9, 2:00pm
Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
Santa Monica Main Library, MLK, Jr Auditorium
601 Santa Monica Boulevard
Free
Fasten your seatbelts for a 26,000 light-year journey to the center of the Milky Way with Dr. Susan Stolovy. Dr. Susan Stolovy will show amazing images and present fascinating results from the Spitzer Space Telescope. NASA launched this telescope in 2003 and it was the most sensitive infrared telescope ever to be launched into space. The Spitzer images reveal evidence for massive star formation, swarms of stars surrounding a super-massive black hole, and fantastic filamentary dust structures.
Dr. Susan Stolovy is a Staff Scientist at the Spitzer Science Center at CalTech in Pasadena. She has been working on the Spitzer Space Telescope since 2000.
Thursday, February 14, 7pm
Friday, February 15, 8pm (also Feb 22)
Saturday, February 16, 2pm and 8pm (also Feb 23)
Bye Bye Birdie
Barnum Hall Theater
Santa Monica High School
601 Pico Boulevard
Tickets $10 for students and seniors, $15 general admission
Please call the box office for tickets 310 458-5939 or go to www.smclo.org.
Santa Monica High School Theatre Presents Bye Bye Birdie. This Tony award winning musical is a satire done with the fondest affection, and tells the story of a rock and roll singer who is about to be inducted into the army. The music is unforgettable and you'll leave with that good "old-fashioned" fun feeling. Full orchestra! Great entertainment!
Friday, February 15, 6-8pm,
Opening Reception Art Show: “Endangered Species”
Pete & Susan Barrett Art Gallery
SMC Performing Arts Center & Music Academy
Santa Monica Boulevard at 11th Street.
Featuring images that range from darkly dramatic to beautiful, from a butterfly alight a skeletal hand to a majestic ocelot, Santa Monica College presents "Endangered Species," an art show designed to present the plight of our threatened wildlife and ecosystems in a fresh and engaging way.
"Endangered Species" includes drawings, paintings, film and sculpture, all with an eye on showing the devastating potential loss of flora and fauna throughout the world.
Saturday, February 16, noonThe “Endangered Species” exhibition runs from Tuesday, February 12 to Saturday, March 8. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. For more information, please call (310) 434-3434.
Panel of “Endangered Species” Artists Discussion
Second Space
SMC Performing Arts Center & Music Academy
Santa Monica Boulevard at 11th Street.
Saturday, February 23, 11:00am
What’s Happening with Our Weather?
Santa Monica Fairview Branch Library
2101 Ocean Park Boulevard
Free
Join SMC science professor Bill Selby for this update on the science behind climate change and global warming.
Saturday, February 23, 7-9:30pm
Comedy Night at JAMS
John Adams Auditorium
2425 16th Street
Tickets: $10 in advance, $15 at the door
Adults only!
Will Rogers and John Adams are joining forces with favorite funny mom, Janine Hayes to host Comedy Night 2008! Refreshments on the lawn before the show donated by our generous sponsors, Trader Joes and Arrowhead water. For advance tickets, please call 310.450.9460 or email LWhite6397@aol.com
Tuesday, February 26, 11:15am
SMC Literary Series: "Writing & Publishing Your First Novel"
Santa Monica College Main Campus
Art Complex Room 214
Free
Michele Matheson, author of the critically acclaimed "Saving Angelfish," leads the discussion.
Thursday, February 28, 11:15am
African American History Month: Benjamin Ajak
Santa Monica College Main Campus
Art Complex Room 214
Free
One of the "Lost Boys of Darfur," Benjamin Ajak -- who co-authored "They Poured Us from the Sky" -- will talk about his extraordinary life and the genocide in Sudan.
Thursday, February 28, 7pm
The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market in Conversation
Santa Monica Main Library, MLK, Jr. Auditorium
601 Santa Monica Boulevard
Free
Local chefs and farmers discuss seasonal produce, food trends, and recipes.
Thursday, February 28, 7pm
LA Opera Talks: Verdi’s Otello
Santa Monica Main Library, 2nd floor Multipurpose Room
601 Santa Monica Boulevard
Free
This is part of a once-a-month, Thursday evening series running through May.
Please check out the lifelong learning community calendar at http://smllc.org/calendar.html - reformatted to make less work for me but still provide you with quick and easy access to the amazing range of lifelong learning opportunities available right here in our very own community.
Happy New Year!
Thanks, Cheers, and Onward,
Louise Jaffe
Louise Jaffe
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