Santa Monica, a Lifelong Learning Community
Lifelong Learning Community News - JULY 2010
Save Our Schools for the next school year!
The Santa Monica Malibu Education Foundation (SMMEF) is coordinating a SAVE OUR SCHOOLS campaign.
We have until August 15 to restore programs lost due to State funding cuts! The local school funding measure designed to replace those cuts - Measure A - did not pass and the SMMUSD Board of Education was forced to cut $7.1 million.
School supporters are doing everything possible to raise funds that will keep class sizes small, libraries open and restore counseling and music programs.
The Save our Schools campaign is in full gear right now. Will you help?
Here are three things you can do today to help Save Our Schools:
- CONTRIBUTE online at www.smmef.org (Contributions are tax-deductible.)
or send a check to SMMEF. Use the handy donation form at:
http://savesantamonicamalibuschools.org/SOSdonationform.pdf
to designate your contribution. - VOLUNTEER - even an hour will make a difference in a student's life.
Contact Devin Osiri at osiridevin@gmail.com or http://tinyurl.com/saveourschools - MAKE 4 PHONE CALLS - to friends and colleagues who might not have children in the schools, or who might not think of giving. Help them understand how important it is to save our schools now.
Please donate today!
For more information, please visit www.smmef.org or call the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation at (310) 396-4557. You can read more about the Save Our Schools campaign and progress at http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2010/June-2010/06_28_2010_Fundraising_Effort_Continues_for_SMMUSD.html
State PTA joins in lawsuit against California
A lawsuit has been filed against the state of California declaring that the current education finance system is broken and unconstitutional, and, as a result, students are being denied the opportunity to master the educational programs the state requires.
Maya Robles-Wong v. the State of California was filed in Alameda by the California State PTA, the California School Boards Association and the Association of California School Administrators. Plaintiffs include nine school districts, as well as individual students and their families. Plaintiff Maya Robles-Wong is a 16-year-old 11th-grader at Alameda High School.
This lawsuit seeks to remedy the broken school finance system by (1) declaring that it is unconstitutional and (2) requiring state lawmakers to uphold their constitutional duty to design and implement a school finance system that provides all students equal access to the required educational program.
The lawsuit declares that the "unsound, unstable and insufficient school finance system is neither aligned with required educational programs nor with student needs."
The California State PTA “weighed this decision to participate in the lawsuit very carefully. The unprecedented step of initiating legal action is necessary given the serious deficiencies of the current school funding system, and the utter lack of meaningful action taken by the Legislature and Governor to address it.”
For more information on the lawsuit and to read the complete complaint, please visit www.fixschoolfinance.org.
Samohi Students are US Champions and headed to their own World Cup in South Africa!
Congratulations to the Samohi Regional Occupational Program SAGE Entrepreneurship Team on their title as National Champions! The team of Santa Monica High School students will now travel to South Africa for the international competition for SAGE, Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship. Good luck and have a wonderful trip! For more information on this impressive and exciting achievement, please go to http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2010-06-20-69829.113116_Samohi_entrepreneurs_headed_to_South_Africa.html
Santa Monica Public Library PSA Wins STAR Award
Santa Monica Public Library’s public service announcement (PSA), The Living Room: a place for adults, took first prize in the Promotions category at the STAR Awards this year. Santa Monica’s CityTV was presented this award on June 3 at the 14th annual STAR Awards ceremony (www.scannatoa.org/2010STARwinners.html). The STAR Awards recognize excellence in government programming in California and Nevada.
Created by CityTV under the management of the grant project director, The Living Room PSA was designed to promote the Library as a cool place to be—a sort of vibrant community living room—with the goal of enticing the boomer generation, and all adults, into the library. The ad can be viewed on the Santa Monica Public Library’s website: www.smpl.org
The Living Room Series was a project of the Lifelong Learning Community Older Adult Task Force. Congratulations to everyone involved!
Santa Monica College students in Washington, D.C. this summer
Four outstanding Santa Monica College students have been selected for the prestigious Dale Ride Internship program and are serving this summer in Congress and with various organizations in Washington D.C. The interns – who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and interests – will gain valuable experience through the eight-week summer internship program, unique for a community college. This year’s interns will be working for Senator Feinstein, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Financial Responsibility, and People for the American Way. Each intern receives funding to cover housing, transportation and $2,000 in spending money. SMC has sent 93 students (excluding this year's group) to the White House, Congress and other agencies in the past 18 years. Congratulations to these outstanding students!
Applicants sought for City Commissions
Currently, there is one vacancy on the Commission on the Status of Women (COSW) beginning July 1, 2010 and the COSW is seeking an individual interested in serving. The candidate must be a resident of the City of Santa Monica and must be committed to improving the status of women through advocacy, education, and related efforts. Meetings are held every second Wednesday at 7PM, and the public is invited to participate.
There is also a vacancy on the Disabilities Commission. Members must be residents of the City who have significant experience in the disability community. At least six of the eleven members shall be persons with disabilities.
To apply: Application forms and information are available at Santa Monica City Hall, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, Information Booth (lobby) or in the City Clerk’s Office, Room 102. You may request an application by mail by calling (310) 458-8211, or you may apply through the City’s website at www.santa-monica.org. Applications must be received in the City Clerk’s Office by Noon, Monday, July 12, 2010 to be considered for this vacancy. Applications are also accepted on an ongoing basis for future vacancies. Only the candidates appointed will be notified.
Applications for senior exemptions for Measure R due July 31
Owner occupants 65 and older are eligible for an exemption from Measure R, a voter approved parcel tax which helps fund our local schools. The deadline for new applications and renewals is July 31. For details on how to apply, please go to http://smmusd.org/fiscal/senior_exempt.html
People in the news...
Former SMMUSD Superintendent John Deasy has been appointed as the new deputy superintendent of LA Unified. This is a major appointment. John was definitely a change agent here, sharply focused on instruction, student success, and equity. I’m sure he is determined to help LAUSD improve schools. Congratulations John and good luck. Welcome back to the neighborhood!
The Santa Monica History Museum has a new Executive Director
Stuart Laff is the new Executive Director of the Santa Monica History Museum and is charged with ensuring that the museum becomes one of the top destination attractions in Santa Monica. Mr. Laff will help usher the museum into a new home and a new era. For more information on this appointment, please go to
http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2010/June-2010/06_23_2010_Executive_Director_Appointed_for_S.M._History_Museum.html
The Santa Monica History museum is still accepting contributions toward its new home adjacent to the Santa Monica library. For more information and to make a contribution, please go to http://www.santamonicahistory.org/PermanentHome.htm
Doors drummer John Densmore’s commencement speech at SMC
If you were unable to attend this year’s wonderful commencement at SMC you can still hear John Densmore’s speech at http://vimeo.com/12649000 Enjoy! Highlights of the commencement and the full video are available online at http://foundation.smc.edu/Page.aspx?pid=283
Following are a few highlighted July lifelong learning community events:
Sunday, July 4, begins 9:30am
Santa Monica July 4th Parade!!
Main Street, route begins at Main and Pico
Free
This is the fourth anniversary of this home grown Independence Day Parade, hosted and organized by the Ocean Park neighborhood association. It is a great event! For more information, please go to http://www.opa-sm.org/parade. Also, please note that sponsorships are down this year – money is tight for every organization and every effort this year. If you would like to make a contribution to this year’s parade, please do! Info on how to contribute is also available at http://www.opa-sm.org/parade
Thursday, July 8, 7pm
Twilight Dance Series begins!
Santa Monica Pier
Free
We know it’s summer when the Twilight Dance Series begins. This is the 26th year for this great Thursday night series which continues throughout the summer to September 2nd. The July 8 concert features Konono No. 1, Congolese Trance Dance-tronica. For the full schedule, please go to http://www.santamonicapier.org/
Saturday, July 10 to Sunday, July 11, 9am to 9am
Relay for Life
Santa Monica College, Corsair Field
1900 Pico Boulevard
Donations
Join the Santa Monica Relay for Life – a 24 hour American Cancer Society event to raise funds to fight cancer. You can participate by creating or joining a team, sign up for a one hour commitment or stay longer, or by making a donation to the American Cancer Society. For more information please go to http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=20561&pg=entry or hit reply and email me. I know several people who are putting together teams for this event that I am happy to refer you to; I am sure they will welcome your participation and contribution.
Friday, July 11, 2pm – 4pm
Celebrate Santa Monica’s 135th Birthday!
Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club
1210 Fourth Street
Tickets $30 in advance, $35 at the door. Children under 12 are free.
Happy Birthday Santa Monica! Join the celebration for the City of Santa Monica’s 135th birthday hosted by the Santa Monica History Museum at the landmark Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club!
Festivities include a Journey into the Past history exhibit, entertainment, a film, and cake for everyone.
Checks may be sent to Santa Monica History Museum , P.O. Box 3059 , Santa Monica , CA 90408 . For seating purposes, please indicate the number of children who will attend.
For more information, call (310) 395-2290.
Saturday, July 31,
Applications for Measure R senior exemptions due!
For application process information, please go to http://smmusd.org/fiscal/senior_exempt.html
Now.... for all those things I didn’t manage to include…Please bookmark, visit, subscribe to the following:
The Santa Monica Public Library, (www.smpl.org,) Santa Monica College (www.smc.edu/events,) and The Broad Stage, (www.thebroadstage.com) have many, many engaging events scheduled every month. Please check these websites now and regularly for more information!
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City Master Calendar: The City of Santa Monica has a master calendar, sortable by locations, event type, and age group. It 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!!! 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
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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!
To receive emails about upcoming events at the Santa Monica Pier, please subscribe at http://www.santamonicapier.org/subscribe.html
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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/
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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. You can also sign up for Twitter announcements!
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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
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Santa Monica Youth Collaborative is using facebook to try to establish a community dialogue and community bulletin board for youth-related events and concerns. Please become a fan/member of the Youth Collaborative by signing up at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Monica-Youth-Collaborative/10150154725825414
If lots of individuals and organizations begin using this very easy-to-use tool, who knows, maybe we’ll know what’s going on!!! Please give it a try.
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Special events continue to be listed on the Lifelong Learning Community Calendar 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
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That's all for now. Enjoy the summer and please support the Save Our Schools campaign.
Thanks, Cheers, and Onward,
Louise Jaffe
Thank you for forwarding this email to others who may be interested.
Louise Jaffe
If you would like to receive Lifelong Learning Community eNews, please go to http://smllc.org/subscribe.html
To post an event, please fill out and submit the form at http://smllc.org/inform.html
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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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