We want our kids to know how to buy a bus ticket. We try to hold loosely without being foolish. I think that adds to brainpower. Our learning doesn’t begin at 8:30 and end at 2:30. Those are our school hours but we do so much beyond that.
Students in the Environmental Science, Conservation And Photographic Excursions, or E.S.C.A.P.E. Club, at Dejean Middle School are rolling up their sleeves and trading urban living for a day on Slide Ranch. The Club started in 1999 at Adams Middle School when three teachers took their students on an end of the year trip to Monterey Bay. Some of the students had never seen the ocean before. This inspired the teachers to create an after-school club focused on helping students experience…
In this video, Julia Marshall follows Stephanie Sequeira as she discovers that her daughter, Jackie, is being bullied. Bullying is different than normal conflict, and it’s not “kids just being kids.” According to Kidpower, a nonprofit focused on empowering kids, bullying is “a repeated oppression, psychological or physical, of a less powerful person by a more powerful person or group.” The West Contra Costa Unified School District offered a Kidpower bullying workshop at this year’s Parents as Partners workshop. There,…
Ivy League schools are known worldwide for their prestige, academic rigor and exclusive admissions. The Ivy League Connection funds trips to Ivy League summer enrichment programs to create that college-going academic culture in Richmond. Last Thursday, the ILC hosted a private dinner with Elizabeth Hart, the director of minority outreach at Brown University. “If we’re going to be a democracy we really need to give a voice to all segments of our society,” Hart said. “I really think education is…
With all that goes on in the adult world, relating to a miniature version of one’s self is a lot harder than the uninitiated might think. Something as simple as helping a 9-year-old with a writing assignment can be daunting after a day’s work; the “simple” one-sentence instruction often reads as if it were some kind of esoteric answer to the meaning of life. Even relating to educators, especially one who spends the day explaining long division, can be challenging…
The glassblowers at the Cohn-Stone Studios in Richmond make glass sculptures motivated by nature. They produce thousands of glass apples, pears, seashells, leaves, and in the fall, pumpkins. With the help of three employees, Michael Cohn and Molly Stone work year-round, but only open their doors for a few weekends in the fall to show the public how glass pumpkins are made. Check out this video to see how the process works.
Fans of children’s mystery writer Penny Warner will have a chance to get a signed copy of her new book The Code Busters Club: Secret of the Skeleton Key. Warner will be at the Richmond Library teaching kids how to create and decipher secret codes.
The West Contra Costa County School Board recognized Hispanic Heritage Month at its Tuesday meeting with lively music and dance performances that were a stark contrast to the usually formal board proceedings. The month is celebrated nationally as a time to recognize the contributions and culture of Hispanic and Latino Americans. Each year the board signs a resolution recognizing the month. This year they signed so close to the start of the school year that the celebration was postponed until…
A first grade class at Lincoln Elementary received new supplies Thursday morning thanks to Chevron and an online education charity.
The class’ teacher, Kaitlin Schiff, submitted a proposal requesting books, math games and other classroom materials.
The children of Saint Cornelius Catholic School have started the year with 25 new Apple computers in their multimedia center thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Atol Family Trust. Georgianna Atol, a teacher at Beverly Hills High School, was killed by a drunk driver in 1976. Her parents Elias and Genevieve Atol established the trust in her honor to help advance Catholic education, which had always been important to Georgianna Atol and her family. Sister Barbara Bray, the Oakland…
The Richmond Arts and Culture Commission is looking for short poems written by students or Literacy is for Every Adult Program members who attend school or live in Richmond. The annual October contest, called Richmond Writes!, celebrates national arts and humanities month. Participants will receive a certificate recognizing their participation and their poems will be published in a chapbook. The top three submissions from each bracket – elementary school, middle school, high school, and LEAP — will be honored by…
For the past three years, eighteen-year-old Vanessa Bejarano has sung in a choir that performs during ten o’clock mass at Saint Cornelius Parish. The group, mostly young women from the ages of 12 to 18, practices from seven to eight on Fridays in the parish rectory. Most of the songs are sung in Spanish with short solos, accompanied by drums, guitars and piano. The choir is more then a faith-based social gathering. It is a nurturing support system for young…