Santa Monica, a Lifelong Learning Community
Lifelong Learning Community News - MARCH 2011
State PTA has this to say: “Extra Extra! The Budget Season has started in Sacramento - we need to be sure education funding is protected by putting a tax extension on the ballot .”
This is the million, make that 12 billion, dollar question of the moment: Will four Republican State legislators – two in the House and two in the Senate - agree to let the voters decide on whether or not to approve temporary tax extensions?
Passing an extension on existing taxes is the best we can hope for at the moment. If you have any friends, relatives, or colleagues with Republican legislators, please encourage them to urge their legislators to let the voters decide!
We will know by March 10th whether or not the tax extensions will appear on a June ballot....
I will wait until next month, when we at least know whether or not there will be an election, to write about some of the actions local agencies – our schools, city, college – are taking in response to the State funding crisis. We’ll have a better sense of where we stand next month, and bad news waits. Kindergarten, however, does not!
SMMUSD News:
Kindergarten Round-Ups
Kindergarten Round-Up is an opportunity for Santa Monica and Malibu parents of children entering kindergarten next year to meet the principal of their neighborhood school, visit classrooms, and register their children for kindergarten for the 2011-12 school year.
Resident parents should bring with them their child’s birth certificate, health records, and verification of residence in Santa Monica or Malibu (gas, water, or electric bill).
- Tuesday, March 1, 9:00 a.m.
Kindergarten Round-Up: Webster Elementary School
3602 Winter Canyon Road, Malibu - Wednesday, March 2, 8:00 a.m.
Kindergarten Round-Up: Grant Elementary School
2366 Pearl Street, SM - Thursday, March 3, 8am
Kindergarten Round-Up: Franklin Elementary School
2400 Montana Avenue, SM - Thursday, March 3, 8:30am
Kindergarten Round-Up: McKinley Elementary School
2401 Santa Monica Boulevard, SM - Thursday, March 3, 8:30am
Kindergarten Round-Up: John Muir Elementary School
2526 Sixth Street, SM - Thursday, March 3, 8:30am
Kindergarten Round-Up: Roosevelt Elementary School
801 Montana Avenue, SM - Thursday, March 3, 8:45am
Kindergarten Round-Up: Pt. Dume Marine Science Elementary
6955 Fernhill Drive, Malibu - Wednesday, March 9, 8:00am and 6pm
Kindergarten Round-Up: Will Rogers Learning Community
2401 14th Street, SM - Santa Monica Alternative School House, SMASH, is a multi-age K-8 alternative school located at 2525 5th Street in Santa Monica. Call 310.396.2640 for an application, enrollment information, and tour information.
- Edison Language Academy is a Spanish immersion K-5 school located at 2425 Kansas Avenue in Santa Monica. Call 310.828.0335 to arrange a tour, orientation, and receive enrollment information.
For more information on SMMUSD Kindergarten Round-Up, please visit the district website at www.smmusd.org
In other SMMUSD News.....
SAMOHI Team Wins Science Bowl!
Congratulations to the Samohi Ocean Sciences Bowl team for winning the Southern California Regional Ocean Sciences Bowl Competition at USC! Our team of four students, Zack Gold, Madeline Youngs, Mari LeGagnoux, and Dana Ritchie defeated twenty other schools. They will next represent California at the National Championships in April in Galveston, Texas! For more information on this great success, please go to http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2011/February-2011/02_18_2011_SAMOHI_Teens_Win_Science_Bowl_Honors.html
Superintendent Search Continues
March 10 is the deadline for applicants who wish to be considered as the next Superintendent of the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District. Consultants will review applications and do background checks in March. The Board of Education will interview finalists at the end of the month and, if all goes as planned, offered the job to the chosen candidate in April. The new superintendent will begin July 1. The schedule is posted at http://smmusd.org/board/SuperintendentSearch.html
Strategic Plan Moving Forward
In February, the School Board received a report on the updating of the district’s Strategic Plan. The presentation is online at http://smmusd.org/board/pdf/021711StratPlanUpdate.pdf
UCPlay at SMMUSD schools
United Cerebral Palsy of Los Angeles (UCPLA), in collaboration with the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District is expanding the UCPlay Project, a theatre and performing arts program dedicated to students with special needs.
The program brings a creative arts professional to work with teachers to build an understanding of how to use the arts to inspire learning. Together we focus on developing the student’s social interactions and social language, empowering them to play an active role in their own learning. Schools participating in the program include Grant, Franklin, Lincoln Early Childhood Centre, McKinley, Point Dune, Juan Cabrillo and Malibu High School.
For more information about the program please contact Olivia Karaolis at okaraolis@ucpla.org.
In other news....
The Women’s Partnership
The YWCA Santa Monica / Westside’s Women’s Partnership is establishing a community of boomers and beyond, - The Women’s Partnership – professional-level women who will be trained to support the new economy by serving as high-level volunteers with nonprofit organizations and civic offices. For more information and/or to sign up for the Partnership’s first offerings, three exhilarating, interactive learning weekends (beginning in early April) in private Westside homes, please go to www.smywca.org
SMC News:
SMC Small Business Development Center Wins Three Awards!
The Santa Monica College Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has won three coveted awards for 2010, including "Best Overall Center Performance," from the Los Angeles Regional SBDC Network.
The center also won for "Highest Number of New Business Starts" by assisting in the creation of 49 new businesses in the local community in 2010, and the "Highest Extended Engagement Clients" for service to clients on a sustained basis for more than a year.
Additionally, the SMC SBDC was recognized as the first center in the history of the Los Angeles Regional Network to meet and exceed all of the core goals mandated by the program's funding source, the Small Business Administration (SBA).
The college's SBDC counseled 797 distinct clients last year in its service area, which includes Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, Venice, Culver City, Malibu, Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles International Airport region. Started in 2007, the center offers no-cost, one-on-one business counseling and low-cost training seminars that are vital to start-up and established businesses. Topics of seminars range from business plans to corporate formation to business financing.
In all, the SMC SBDC offered counseling and training services to more than 1,700 entrepreneurs in 2010.
Congratulations to everyone at the SMC SBDC for this outstanding work!
Women Basketball Players Named All-Conference
Four players from the 2010-2011 Women’s Basketball team were honored by the Western States Conference. Sophomores Haley Henderson, Chiquita Thomas, and Haley Newell were both named First Team All-Conference for the South Division of the WSC Conference. Freshman Tashawn Mcghee received Honorable Mention.
The Santa Monica College Theater Department is pleased to announce that last year’s SMC Theatre Arts production of KING HEDLEY II has been invited to present a scene at the Region VIII American College Theatre Festival at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in downtown L.A. This is quite an honor!
The 6 actors who will be performing are Ellis Allen, Anthony Cloyd, Joette Marks, Celia M. Rivera, Jonathan Sherman, and Patrick Sutton.
For more information, go to http://www.kcactf-8.org/festival_info.html.
Two dance works from SMC's Dance Department will be presented at the American College Dance Festival's Southwest Conference at California State University Long Beach. This is an honor for Santa Monica College and the SMC Dance Department. Pat Taylor's "How Do Birds Hear Music and student Paulina Pulido's "Romulus Agustus" will be performed at the prestigious Carpenter Performing Arts Center in adjudicated concerts. In addition, student Lindsey Briggs will perform her solo "And So It Goes..." in an informal concert setting.
Please visit http://www.smc.edu/infoatsmc for more on these and other stories about news at SMC. Pictures too! Please click now and then come back to finish reading the LLC News. :)
LOTS of special events this month too....
Wednesday, March 2, 6:00 & 7:30 p.m.
Bonus Book Discussion & Author Talk: The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi Durrow
SM Main Library, Community Room & MLK Jr. Auditorium
601 Santa Monica Boulevard
Free
Like Wench, Heidi Durrow’s The Girl Who Fell From The Sky was a finalist for Citywide Reads and addresses issues of race, womanhood and personal identity. We thought it was special enough to share with the community, so we’re inviting those interested to read and discuss the book with us at 6:00 p.m., followed by an author talk with Ms. Durrow at 7:30 p.m. Patrons may attend either or both programs
Wednesday, March 2, 7pm
Thursday, March 3, 7pm
Friday, March 4, 7pm
The Threepenny Opera
Santa Monica High School, Humanities Center Theatre
601 Pico Boulevard
Adults: $15. Students: $10
You probably know the song "Mack the Knife." But you might be less familiar with its source. Well, now's your chance to experience the power of Brecht and Weill's groundbreaking musical "The Threepenny Opera."
Biting satire, incisive commentary, thieving scum, lovely damsels, corruption, song and dance make this the grandaddy of its genre, without which there would be no "Cabaret," no "Chicago." To Virgil Thomson, it was "one of the century's most powerful creations." And Jack Kroll of Newsweek called it "The greatest musical of all time."
Get your tickets now at www.samohitheatre.org. For more information, please call 310-395-3204, ext 71239.
Saturday, March 5, 10:30-12:30
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
Santa Monica Main Public Library, MLK, Jr. Auditorium
601 Santa Monica Boulevard
Free
Calling all Dr. Seuss fans! The Santa Monica Public Library invites you to Could You, Would You, Read a Book? A Seuss-tacular Day of Dr. Seuss, in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday. The celebration begins at 10:30 a.m. with a wacky juggling and magic show by Abbit the Average, with fun for the whole family! Seating for the show is limited and on a first arrival basis.
Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica. For more information, please visit the library website at www.smpl.org
Saturday, March 5, 7pm
“For The Arts” Benefit Concert
Santa Monica High School, Barnum Hall
601 Pico Boulevard
Tickets from $35 to $175.
The proceeds from this fabulous annual concert supports music programs in our public schools. This year AMERICA (Ventura Highway and Horse With No Name), RICHARD PAGE (Broken Wings, #1 hit song released in 1985),and VENICE (touring with Roger Waters The Wall) will perform with our SMMUSD students from choir, orchestra and jazz band during this extraordinary evening!
A Special Surprise Guest - a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - will also rock the house! The Education Foundation promises you'll be dancing in the aisles! For more information and to purchase your tickets, please go to www.smmef.org
Sunday, March 6, 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm
5th Annual Unity Resource Festival
Community Resources, Entertainment and Awards
Virginia Avenue Park
2200 Virginia Avenue
Free
This year's festival theme is "Mind, Body, Spirit" highlighting resources that strengthen the mind, body and spirit through family support networks including schools and colleges, employment, counseling, health services, after-school activities, art, businesses and more.
The event is presented by the City of Santa Monica, Santa Monica College and Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council. Attendees can contribute to the CommUNITY Spirit Wall by bringing a photo, drawing or copy of anything that reflects what spirit means to them. Music and dance will be featured throughout the day including the Luminaries, a seven piece conscious hip hop band and OPA OPA, one of Los Angeles' premiere ten piece jazz, Latin and salsa bands. Unity Awards will be given to outstanding community organizations that have made a difference in the quality of life in Santa Monica! Delicious food will be provided by Got Tacos and the Gourmet Quickie.
For the latest entertainment and event updates, visit our park's website at www.vapark.smgov.net or call (310) 458-8688. Parking is limited so please walk, bike or take the Big Blue Bus event shuttle from Santa Monica College just blocks away!
Tuesday, March 8th, 4:30pm
First Meeting/Registration: YMCA Model United Nations
Santa Monica YMCA
YMCA Members: $500; Non-Members $700. Scholarships Available.
The Santa Monica Family YMCA encourages middle school youth to participate in this extraordinary program: Model United Nations. Parents are welcome to attend the first meeting and registration session. Model United Nations involves over 500 middle school teens, called Ambassadors. Ambassadors meet weekly at the Santa Monica Family YMCA to prepare for a Summit in April. Each delegation will be assigned a country and the Ambassadors will choose different positions to role-play.
Ambassadors give speeches, run for statewide offices, debate international issues, meet students from around the state, attend social events, make new friends, and speak their mind.
No prior knowledge of international affairs or in public speaking is necessary. A desire to learn new things, have new adventures, and meet new friends is mandatory!
For lots more information, please contact Audrey Hollis, SM YMCA Youth & Family Program Director, at (310) 393-2721, ext. 123 or audrey@ymcasm.org
Wednesday, March 9, 7:00 p.m.
Bonus Book Discussion: The Help
SM Main Library, Multipurpose Room
601 Santa Monica Boulevard
Free
Bonus Book Discussion: The Help by Kathryn Stockett - In many ways similar to Wench Kathryn Stockett’s best seller about African-American maids in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi has captivated readers since it was first published in 2009. Join us for this special discussion where we’ll compare and contrast Wench and The Help.
Saturday, March 12, 10am & 11:30am
Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center
The Broad Stage
1310 11th Street
Tickets: $20
Any kid (or adult) who thinks classical music is uncool, will be changing their tune. The Broad is turning the classic childrenns’ concert into a multi-media mix of spoken word artists, virtuoso musicians and interactive surprises with Saturning Morning Mash-Ups @ The Broad. To get your tickets or for more information, call 310-434-3200 or www.thebroadstage.com
Saturday, March 12, 2- 4pm
Beach House Lecture #1: Marc Wanamaker and Cari Beauchamp
Ken Edwards Center
1527 4th Street
Free for Docents-in-Training; Donation requested from the public
The Santa Monica Conservancy announces “People and History of The Beach House,” a new docent training class and public lecture series in partnership with the City of Santa Monica.
This lecture is one of a series of three provided as training for volunteers who wish to work as docents at the Annenberg Community Beach House. For more information on the docent program including he application, please go to www.smconservancy.org, email info@smconservancy.org, or call 310-496-3146.
This first lecture features historian Marc Wanamaker on Hollywood’s Gold Coast and author Cari Beauchamp on William Randolph Hearst. If you would like to attend the lectures but cannot commit to the docent work, you are welcome to come but please make a small donation toward the Conservancy’s educational programs. Please RSVP to rsvp@smconservancy.org or 310-496-3146
Saturday, March 12, 7:30pm
Santa Monica Symphony
Pre-Concert Talk with Raymond Knapp, 6:30pm
Allen Robert Gross, Music Director and Conductor
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
1855 Main Street
Free
This concert features Peter Toth on Piano, Rossini’s Itlian Girl in Algiers Overture, Paino Concerto No. 1 by Liszt; and Symphony No. 6 by Shostakovich. For more information, please call 310/395-6330 or go to www.smsymphony.org
Sunday, March 13, 2pm
Evening of Song by Gale Oliver and Gregory Schreiner
SMC Performing Arts Center, Edye 2nd Space
1311 11th Street
Free
How better to get to know a country than by hearing its music? Come enjoy classical art songs covering almost two hundred years of music from England, Italy, Germany, Austria, and France. A diverse selection of pieces from Britten, Ravel, Schumann, Wolf, and Rossini take you from a boat race in Venice to various moments of love expressed by such wonderful poets and writers as Morike, W.H. Auden, and Heine. This event is part of the SMC Music Department Spring 2011 Concert Series.
For more information, please call 310-434-3005 or go online to www.smc.edu/eventsinfo
Wednesday, March 16, Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch & Learn: Strong Start, Strong Child
Westside Family Health Center,Annex Building
1705 Ocean Park Blvd.
Free, Lunch will be provided.
The Westside Family Health Center and The Women’s Foundation of California have teamed up to offer “March Lunch & Learns.” The first Lunch & Learn workshop will provide valuable information about the latest trends in pediatric health so that parents can make informed decisions that affect the health of their children. Facilitated by Pat Chatfield, WFHC Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. Please RSVP by calling or emailing Lisa Esparza at 310.450.4773 ext. 253, or email orlesparza@wfhcenter.org. Check in at the front desk when you arrive.
Please spread the word about this wonderful new series and take advantage of this opportunity to visit the Westside Family Health Center!
Wednesday, March 16, 7pm
Quality of Life Forum
Santa Monica Main Public Library, Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium
601 Santa Monica Boulevard
Free
Join host Kit Cooper for a roundtable discussion with some of the LA area's most respected psychotherapists and life coaches: Steve Hasenberg, writer and co-developer of the corporate video series Stress Management: A Positive Strategy; Jamie Greene, on-screen therapist for ABC’s “The Bachelor”; and Alissa Finerman, a motivational coach who inspires others to improve their quality of life.
The Quality of Life Forum is a quarterly series of discussions in which featured guests share the things they do and the perspectives they live by that enable them to live more enjoyable, purposeful and contented lives.
Saturday, March 19, noon - 5pm
Santa Monica Airport ArtWalk
Airport Avenue between Donald Douglas Loop S. and 23rd Street
Admission and parking are free.
More than 60 local artists and performers will have their private studios and works on view at the fifth annual Santa Monica Airport ArtWalk, including Santa Monica Art Studios, Santa Monica College Art Mentor Program and Ceramic Arts and the Ruskin Group Theatre. The airport arts community is a unique, cultural resource located in one of L.A. County’s oldest operating airfields. Painting, sculpture, ceramics, and mixed media will be represented. Galleries participating in the program’s converted airplane hangars are ARENA 1 and the Sherry Frumkin Gallery. Throughout the day there will be firing demonstrations of Raku Japanese pottery, highlights from the Ruskin Group Theatre’s popular monthly offering L.A. Café Plays, theater and art workshops for kids, live music and food from local restaurants and food trucks.
Wednesday, March 23, noon – 1:30pm
Lunch & Learn: Talking to Your Teen about Sex
Westside Family Health Center, Annex Building
1705 Ocean Park Blvd.
Free, Lunch will be provided.
In January, WFHC hosted our first Lunch and Learn about How to Talk to Your Teen About Sex, which went so well that we decided to keep the conversation going. Please bring your most pressing questions about how you can most effectively communicate with your teen so that they can have access to the information they need to make healthy decisions. Past and new participants welcome to attend. Lunch will be provided.
Facilitated by Julie Kirk, Director of Outreach & Education
Please RSVP by calling or emailing Lisa Esparza at 310.450.4773 ext. 253, or email orlesparza@wfhcenter.org. Check in at the front desk when you arrive.
Please spread the word about this wonderful new series and take advantage of this opportunity!
Thursday, March 24, 7pm
LWV: Women Who Shape Santa Monica
428 24th Street
$20
For more information and to join the League of Women Voters of Santa Monica, please visit http://www.lwvsantamonica.org/calendar.html
Saturday, March 26, 2- 4pm
Beach House Lecture #2: Elaina Archer and Kay Pattison
Ken Edwards Center
1527 4th Street
Free for Docents-in-Training; Donation requested from the public
This lecture is the second of a series of three provided as training for volunteers who wish to work as docents at the Annenberg Community Beach House. For more information on the docent program including he application, please go to www.smconservancy.org, email info@smconservancy.org, or call 310-496-3146.
This lecture features documentary filmmaker Elaina Archer “The True Story of Marion Davies” and docent Kay Pattison on William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies. If you would like to attend the lectures but cannot commit to the docent work, you are welcome to come but please make a small donation toward the Conservancy’s educational programs. Please RSVP to rsvp@smconservancy.org or 310-496-3146
Saturday, March 26, 3- 4pm
Saturdays with LA Opera
Santa Monica Public Library, Multipurpose Room, 2nd Floor
601 Santa Monica Blvd.
Free
This year marks the 11th annual series of LA Opera talks highlighted with a live concert! The series continues with a presentation on about L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato; Mark your calendars for April 30's live concert with the Domingo-Thornton Young Artists; May 21 is Behind the Scenes in Opera; and June 25 is Il Postino about the opera based on the popular 1994 Italian film about the poet Pablo Neruda.
This program series is free and all ages are welcome. Space is limited and on a first arrival basis. This is a collaborative event of: The Living Room …a place for adults and LA Opera’s Community Programs. For more information, visit www.smpl.org or contact the Santa Monica Public Library at (310) 458-8600.
For more events, and local news, please be sure to check out Santa Monica Patch at http://santamonica.patch.com/, and especially coverage of School News at http://santamonica.patch.com/school-news
Santa Monica Patch is interactive – use it to post your own organization’s events, and to keep up with local school news, or other news.
And please bookmark, visit, subscribe to the following:
- Santa Monica Public Library, (www.smpl.org)
- Santa Monica College (www.smc.edu/events)
- The Broad Stage (www.thebroadstage.com).
To receive weekly emails from the City of Santa Monica highlighting upcoming arts events, please subscribe to the Santa Monica Arts Palette at http://www.patronmail.com/pmailweb/PatronSetup?oid=902
At this same site, you can also sign up to receive emails about events at the Annenberg Community Beach House, at Miles Play House, at the Civic Auditorium, and Festivals. Please don’t rely on me. Sign up!
City Master Calendar: The City of Santa Monica now has a master calendar which is really useful! It’s sortable by locations, event type, and age group and includes a LOT of information. Please bookmark it and use it – use it to find out information for yourself but also to post your events which will make it even more useful!!! You can get to it from the City home page, upper right hand corner, or just go to http://calendar.smgov.net/city/eventcalendar.asp
The Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau maintains a calendar and lots of information about events of interest to tourists and residents. Please check out their site at http://www.santamonica.com/
SMMUSD press releases --- to keep up to date with at least a few of the many achievements of our local schools, please regularly visit http://smmusd.org/press/index.html . You can also sign up for Twitter announcements!
Santa Monica College special news items are regularly posted (including great photos) in an online newsletter, Info@SMC, that for the fourth year in a row, won first place in the statewide Community College Public Relations Organization competition. Stay abreast of SMC news at http://www.smc.edu/infoatsmc
The Lifelong Learning Community Calendar is posted at http://smllc.org/calendar.html
Lifelong Learning Community Links provide additional useful websites including local theatrical companies – listed under “Local Museums and Special Venues.” To stay current on upcoming events and to keep abreast of these wonderful local organizations, please bookmark Links at http://smllc.org/links.html
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading the Lifelong Learning Community News.
Onward,
Louise Jaffe
............................................................................
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For more information about the Lifelong Learning Community, contact
Louise Jaffe
lcjaffe@aol.com
310-450-2487
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