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Aquaponics, LGBT, ‘Our Town,’ edutopia, scholarships for pre-teens

Education Roundup

I got a great heads-up from Sonoma Education Foundation Director Laura Zimmerman about the aquaponics program at Altimira. Students are growing tipalia fish underneath cilantro, peppers and onions in the school garden. It is super cool.  Right now Adrian (Dutch) Van Herwynen is getting some thermostat issues worked out on the greenhouse. The word is that his students are thriving in his enthusiastic ag program. 

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And Zimmerman also mentioned that, thanks to our own Kathleen Hill, who serves as the school garden leader, every single Sonoma Valley School garden site coordinator received a flat of fall plants, a bag of seeds and soil enrichment materials from Sonoma Mission Gardens last week. It is a huge donation and actually the third round of plants for our schools from Sonoma Mission Gardens.

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School districts throughout California are wondering how to carry out a new law requiring that California public schools teach all students, from kindergartners to 12th-graders, about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. The new law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, added LGBT Americans, European Americans and the disabled to groups whose contributions to U.S. history should added to the social studies curriculum. The next round of textbooks, which must now must include information on the role of LGBT Americans, as well as Americans with disabilities, won’t be required to be purchased in California until at least 2015 due to budget issues. We’ll let you know how this will play out in Sonoma.

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The Presentation School drama department presents Thorton Wilder’s “Our Town” on Thursday, Nov, 3 and Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door or available online at www.presentationschool.com. This full-length production of the classic play chronicles life, love and loss in a quintessential small town. The play is directed by Lauren Miller and an all-student cast of almost two dozen Presentation middle school students.

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The website Edutopia is run by the George Lucas Education Foundation. I just stumbled across it and I particularly like the stories on best practices at schools across the country. As they put it: “In this series, Schools That Work, Edutopia takes a deep look at what school successes are made of. How principals and teachers, parents and students and schools and districts collaborate to change the futures of their young people. We share with you the blueprints that the change makers used – the contracts, lesson plans, and teacher training tools that could be relevant to your school and your path to change.” Check it out at www.edutopia.org/schools-that-work.

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I don’t know of any local schools using it yet, but a new website that features student artwork is gaining popularity across the U.S. Urge your child’s art teacher to check out www.artsonia.com. Schools build a gallery of their students’ projects and the website enables family and friends to log on to see the children’s art. Twelve-and-a-half-million pieces of art from students worldwide is already stored there. Friends and relatives can sign up to get alerts when their students’ new masterpieces are uploaded. There is also a cool gift shop where you can buy mugs, coasters, tiles, T-shirts and dozens of other products featuring your child’s art at very reasonable prices. But best of all, schools earn 15 percent when parents purchase these custom keepsakes – which could be a great fundraiser for your arts program. Thousands of art project lesson plans have been submitted by teachers, and are available as a classroom resource. If your school doesn’t register with the site, parents can do it for their child on their own and it is free.

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Dozens of high school students made appointments to fill out their CSU applications at the College & Career Center earlier this month.  Every spot was filled every time the application “workshop” was offered.  All students who submitted apps were entered in a prize drawing and congrats to lucky winners Jessica Ramirez and Ky Newman. Prizes included tickets to Grad Night and all expenses paid for Senior Week.  Best of all, dozens of high school seniors already have their first applications to college completed and submitted!

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Does your student in grades fifth through 12 log a lot of hours volunteering? If so, I would love to see them apply for a Prudential Spirit of Community Award.  The deadline is Nov. 1. This program is the United States’ largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. Multiple winners at the middle school and high school level in each state receive $1,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. Ten of the state honorees will be named America’s top 10 youth volunteers of the year, and will receive an additional $5,000, and $5,000 toward the charity of their choice.  What is especially nice is that, if I am reading it right, every student who has devoted more than 50 hours to volunteering over the past calendar year will receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Volunteer hours can be accrued through Girls Scouts, 4-H, YMCA, etc. but must be certified by the organization.  Visit www.nassp.org/spirit.

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In honor of Día de los Muertos, from Oct. 19 through Nov. 2, the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art invites the community to visit and decorate a special altar, or ofrenda, by bringing photos, stories, poems, and mementos of a loved one or anyone they wish to honor and remember. Kids in grades kindergarten through 12 are free.

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“The Barn Store” sale on Oct. 8 and 9 was a huge success, raising more than $3,400 for our Sonoma Valley schools. Kudos to Holly Bennett, Basha Cohen, Kirsten Babic, Gail Diserens and Dan Casabonne for organizing, and to everybody who donated items. According to Holly, their goal is to rent a permanent space and have a sale the first Saturday of every month. The next sale is Nov. 5. Location and time to follow.  Please call Holly Bennett at 484-4747 with questions or to donate.

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Principal Maite Iturri shared that El Verano staged a very successful Jog-A-Thon earlier this month. They gathered more than $15,000 in donations and pledges, ran almost 9,000 laps with 450 students and staff participating. All money collected will go to field trip and classroom supplies for grades kindergarten through 2 and outdoor educations programs for grades 3 through 5.

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If your teen likes to write, there is a great website called Teen Ink that is a national teen magazine, book series, and website devoted entirely to writing, art, photos and forums for students ages 13 through 19. The site features a weekly newsletter, an online writing course, writing contests, book reviews, polls, reviews of summer camps and more. It is a great way for your teen to get “published” and to find a community of similarly interested students. www.teenink.com.

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Speaking of writing opportunities for teens … For a year or two, my daughter was a book reviewer for the Sonoma County Library System. They are always looking for teen book reviewers who get to read free copies of popular young adult books before they are even published. Reviews are posted on the teen blog for others to read.  Call Tiffany at 537-0162, ext. 5, for more inforomation or submit a form online at http://sonomalibrary.org/blogs/ya/become-a-teen-book-reviewer/.

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This is the season of testing. Oct. 15 was a primary PSAT test date for sophomores and juniors … and more than 120 students registered to take the test at SVHS. A handful of local eighth-graders also sat for the SSAT that same day. The Secondary School Admission test is used in the admissions process for selective private high schools such as Marin Academy, The Branson School and Sonoma Academy.

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I am hot on test prep because SAT and ACT scores can have a big impact on the aid a student receives for college. I found another cool prep site called www.grockit.com. You can try it for free for a few days and after that it is $10/month, but it is a lot more fun than most other prep sites as you can study, compete and practice alone or with a group online and they have some really creative features.

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There is a terrific site that outlines all the scholarships that are available to children under the age of 13. www.finaid.org/scholarships/age13. One of my favorites is the eco-hero award. This San Francisco-based nonprofit, Action for Nature, invites kids age 8 to 16 to submit self-initiated projects that concern environmental health and conservation for prizes of up to $500. The Davidson Institute invites any student under 18 to submit any “significant piece of work” in the fields of mathematics, science, literature, music, technology and philosophy. Twenty students are chosen each year to receive awards ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. There are also awards for the best linoleum block prints, robots, letters about literature, editorial cartoons, logos and more.

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Woodland Star is celebrating its 12th annual Sprites Night on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. The school will be transformed into a world filled with sprites, fairies and other fairytale characters in this annual fall festival. The evening features short performances based on fables, fairy tales, poetry, and stories from around the world, as well as face-painting, tarot readings, a hay-bale pyramid and more. (Rain date Nov. 5.) Admission is $5, children 4 and under are free. Tours begin at 5:10 p.m. and leave every 10 minutes. Children must be accompanied by an adult. The Haunted Café will offer hearty food, delicious desserts, and beverages.