Angels in Our Community - The Spectrum Magazine

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Inside The Spectrum: Cover Story Photo Shoot The Spectrum Mag AD 4/2/08 4:23 PM Page 1 Spectrum Publisher Steve Penna assigned this month’s cover shoot to photographer James Kaspar and asked him to capture images at the downtown outdoor skating rink and at the Ice Oasis indoor facility on Bay Road. This is the first year that the City of Redwood City has offered this activity to our community and visitors. To all appearances, it is already a success. The cost to bring the rink to Redwood City was $40,000, not including operation costs, according to Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services Chris Beth. Local businesses have contributed $30,000 and the expectation is to raise $10,000 through skating sales. Another indication of how partnership between government and private industry can work. The Ice Oasis is located at 3140 Bay Road in Redwood City and serves as home ice for the Stanford hockey team. Kaspar took some photos during a practice of one of the youth hockey teams that play at the facility. He took shots from different angles as well as an outdoor picture of the facility. The facility also offers its annual Nazareth Ice Oasis Holiday Show — “An Elf Christmas” — on Dec. 17 & 18. Information about the show can be found at www.iceoasis.com. Kaspar visited the outdoor rink on several occasions, and it was decided to use multiple images on the cover to show just how responsive the community has been to the activity. Penna happened to drive by on one of those occasions and captured Kaspar in the photo seen here. Redwood City is fast becoming the entertainment spot on the Peninsula, and this winter’s activities and the year-round rink prove to be valuable contributors to that image. The Spectrum salutes the efforts made to bring our community together. Thank You for Supporting the Uccelli Family Through the Years We urge you to contribute and support our local non-profits who do outstanding work in our community. Painting, moving, gardening or construction needs? Hire a Reliable Worker through the A non profit organization Call: (650) 339-2794 Or go to: www.mionline.org All wages go directly to workers Donate Your Vehicle 650-363-2423 Peter and Paula Uccelli Foundation 650-366-0922 Proceeds support Kainos Home & Training Center Providing quality residential, vocational and support services to developmentally disabled adults, enabling them to become active, contributing members of the community. Maximum Tax Deductions – We handle paperwork www.SpectrumMagazine.net
RCSD Corner: News From the Redwood City School District TCommunity Committee Grapples With Enrollment Challenges, Program Offerings he Redwood City School District has had record enrollment over the last several years, with especially strong demand for several of the district’s four Schools of Choice — schools that have no neighborhood boundaries and to which all students in the district can apply to attend. Besides strong demand for enrollment at these districtwide schools, several neighborhood schools throughout the district have had more kindergarteners register than the school can accommodate. Hawes School, for example, one of the smallest schools in the district, had 150 students register for 60 kindergarten seats. In addition, several K–5 schools have expressed interest in expanding to offer sixth grade, or sixth through eighth grade. Recognizing that issues of enrollment, space capacity, grade configuration and program focus are interrelated and that proposed solutions must align with the needs and desires of the local community, the Redwood City School District board of trustees recently approved Superintendent Jan Christensen’s recommendation that the district form a committee made up of parents, teachers, principals and community members to study the issues connected with grade configuration, enrollment and school programs and make recommendations for the next steps needed to address the district’s challenges. “As with past decisions that have the potential to impact the broader community, we wanted to engage a cross section of our parents, staff and local citizens to analyze our challenges in the context of our community and our current program offerings,” said Christensen. Christensen explained that since the Redwood City School District opened its first school, Central, in 1895, it has made continued adjustments to its academic offerings depending on the number of students enrolled, the needs of the community and ongoing evaluation about how to best prepare students for high school and the workforce. Over the years, the school board has made many important decisions on school openings, closings, program offerings and grade-level configurations. In 1990, for example, the district formed a Citizen’s Advisory Council that worked over a period of several years to form a magnet school plan that resulted in each school forming a themed focus that enabled the district to win a large federal grant. The federal grant, awarded in the 1995–96 school year, resulted in the implementation of program choices such as a two-way Spanish immersion program at Adelante, a marine science focus at Clifford, a performing arts focus at John Gill School and the formation of North Star Academy, available to students who academically qualify to participate in a program that compacts curriculum in order to make time for students to participate in multi-grade, specialized, elective enrichment classes. When the federal grant funding ended in 2004–05, the district transitioned to its current Schools of Choice program. The Grade Configuration, Enrollment and Programs Committee, comprising 33 members, held its first meeting on Sept. 27 and met three times subsequently. The meetings were moderated by Chris Maricle, an administrator with the California School Boards Association who assists school districts in strategic planning. At the first and second meetings, members were briefed in detail by Chief Business Official Raul Parungao on the space currently available at each school throughout the district and the factors that influence use of space at any given school. Parungao showed participants an interactive spreadsheet that demonstrated the long-term impacts of adding classes at any given grade level at any school. For example, participants could ask what happens to space availability at Hawes if the school adds an additional kindergarten class in 2012–13, or if a K–5 school were to expand to K–8. In a few keystrokes, Parungao was able to show how the total classrooms available at any school would change over time as a new kindergarten class moved on to grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, or as a new sixth grade moved on to grades 7 and 8. Parungao was also able to show what happens if the state restores funding for K–3 class sizes of 20 students per teacher in 2014, as the state has suggested it may do. K–3 class sizes in the district currently stand at 30–31 students. “It is daunting how complex [space capacity] is, not only in terms of considering the situation right now, but there are so many unknowns, such as whether the district will be able to return to class sizes of 20 in the future,” said Julie Brodie, a parent participant on the committee. “It is tricky and complicated to figure out the right direction, as well as where needs are versus where the space is.” During the third meeting, Deputy Superintendent John Baker, who oversees the district’s Schools of Choice program, presented a history of the program choices in the district. Interestingly, Baker, who has been employed with the district since 1981, served on the 1990 Citizen’s Advisory Council. During the fourth meeting, Baker presented information on the trends and evolution of educating sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students in the United States. A panel of principals from a variety of schools in the district shared the differences between 6–8 and K–8 schools in Redwood City. “Over the years, I have seen the district adapt to the needs of the community by changing or altering the programs at a number of schools,” said Baker. “I’ve had the privilege of seeing schools grow and thrive based on decisions made in the mid-1990s. After 20 years, it is a good time to reexamine current community needs, and revisit earlier decisions to see if adjustments need to be made or new programs offered.” Members of the committee were selected through an application process that ensured that every school had at least one parent or staff member represented. The committee will continue to meet and will begin to formulate recommendations for the superintendent at the next few meetings. Redeemer Students Take on Washington DC As part of Redeemer Lutheran School’s biannual week in Washington, D.C., seventh- and eighth-graders were chosen to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Below: Cameron Cosentino, Daniel Hayes, Amanda Hawley and Katey Zimmer were given final instructions by the U.S. Army Honor Guard. These four students were selected based on a blind judging of their essays on what it would mean to them to lay a wreath at the tomb. They were both nervous and excited to be a part of this very special privilege. The wreath-laying happens after a changing of the guard at the tomb. The entire ceremony is both awe-inspiring and emotional to witness, especially as the bugler plays taps to end the ceremony. The Spectrum 5
Page 2 and 3: Season’s Greetings The DMB Saltwo
Page 6: As I Was Saying… Publisher | Stev
Page 9 and 10: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel It is impo
Page 11 and 12: Cultural Events The Main Gallery 10
Page 13 and 14: Angels in Our Community In November
Page 15 and 16: people discover restaurants and oth
Page 17 and 18: Real Estate: Michelle Glaubert at C
Page 19 and 20: Upsize your LIFE A choice of floor
Page 22 and 23: Never late for the Theatre when you
Page 24 and 25: 6 5 0 368-2660 Corrin Rankin 234 Ma
Page 26 and 27: A Minute With: Shawn White Shawn Wh
Page 28: Happy Holidays from our family to y

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