Vote Tuesday – Vote By Mail Ballots

Don’t Forget To Vote

If you, like me, are still holding your vote by mail ballot trying to figure out which AC Transit Director to vote for (or whether to vote on this subject at all), remember that ballots must be received by the Registrar of Voters by 8:00 p.m. on election night and can be turned in at any polling location or at the registrar of voters office (http://www.acgov.org/rov/faq.htm#return).

Havens During Construction?

What will Havens look like during the construction?  How are all the portables to be arranged?  Will they be able to fit all of the students on the space?  If not who will go, and where?  What kind of play space will there be?  Will there be a library?  Schoolmates? Where will assemblies take place?  Which entrance(s) to the school will be used and how will you get there?  Will Bonita be open, closed, partly open/closed?  Will all the kids be going to the tennis courts for PE?  The park?  What about when it rains? Have PUSD & the City discussed the use of City facilities?   What arrangements have been/will be made?

Interested in these logistical issues and more?

The “discussion” appears to be beginning next week when Superintendent Hubbard addresses the Havens Parents Club on this subject, this Tuesday (Election Day) at 9:00 a.m. in the Ellen Driscoll Theater.  The meeting is open to the public.

5th/6th Grade Boys Basketball

UPDATE:  I am informed that there is little chance that there would be 5th grade only boys basketball. Based on that we are reconsidering our son’s participation.

10/23/08

The Recreation Department combines 5^th and 6^th grade boys in one basketball league due to low enrollment. However, if there are enough boys in each grade level to field more than 4 teams, the league might be split by grade level. As of yesterday, I am told that there were only 26 fifth grade boys and 34 sixth grade boys signed up.

I think that a grade level split is important for all the boys to have a good time.  The size and skill disparity between the grade levels can be significant.  Also there are the different experiences and expectations of middle schools students and grade school students to consider.  

The evaluations begin the week of November 3.  Although sign-ups are technically closed, the teams won’t be chosen until after the evaluations and there may still be time to sign-up.  If your son is still interested in basketball, please contact the Recreation Department.  When you do, please mention to them that you’d prefer the grade levels to be split.

drew

Patio Gym HoopFeast! Sunday October 26th, noon-6pm

Sign your kid up today for free BBQ!

Celebrate the new floor in the Patio Gym, with an afternoon of basketball and barbeque.  Sunday, October 26th kids will hoop it up on the new floor in casual games for grades K through 8, while parents, players and friends all enjoy a barbeque and refreshment.  A veritable feast of hoops, and a feast with the hoops!

Piedmont Basketball Foundation will be orienting the games towards the different ages like this:

12-2pm  Up through 3rd grade

1-3pm    4th grade

2-4pm    5th grade

3-5pm    6th grade

4-6pm    7^th & 8^th grades

As there is a lot going on this weekend,  kids are being encouraged to come WHENEVER they can to try out the new floor.  Parents, too.  While the kids are playing, the BBQ will be grilling and the conviviality will be flowing all afternoon!

All kids signed up by October 22nd get their food and beverage free.  So RSVP by visiting http://piedmont-hoops.net/ and  clicking on “comments” to the HoopFeast blog posting.

And thanks to the Piedmont Basketball Foundation, the City and Schools for the new Patio Gym Floor.

Coaches Field to Become Tropicana Field West?

Tonight is the first hearing on Coaches Field, where the Recreation Dept is proposing changing the baseball field into an artificial turf surface. Plastic “grass” is something I endorse only in extreme cases where a playfield is required and a natural surface is not feasable because of terrain or high-usage. Beach is a perfect example. Coaches is not a good example.

The field at Coaches is great as one of the few natural playfields in Piedmont and admirably serves its primary purpose as a baseball and softball diamond. It also functions quite well in its secondary role as a field for soccer games and practices. Compare Coaches to Witter baseball, which is also primarily a baseball field, but also gets used for soccer practices and games. The difference? Maintenance and watering are better managed by PUSD on Witter.

I believe the pending addition of two artificial surfaces at Blair Park and one at Havens gives Piedmont enough artificial fields for soccer usage. I also believe that a rain-out every now and then isn’t going to ruin any kids life. I coach baseball, softball, and soccer teams and in the last two years, there have been no rainouts in Piedmont that I know about. It seems a shame to lay down plastic over a perfectly serviceable grass field just to get in a couple more games or practices every few years.

On the ecological impact of artificial vs natural, there is much pro and con for both sides. Overall, I believe that a natural field provides more benefits at a lower environmental cost than a field made of recycled tires crumb rubber and plastic. I understand that there are environmental costs for grass, such as water, fertilizer, etc, but with correct grass type selection and a switch to more efficient watering systems, we can reduce that impact. And the positive aspects of a breathable, natural surface go beyond “playabilty”.

Because of the financial, environmental, and aesthetic issues with the project, I oppose the artificial turf proposal.

I believe that lights will help the soccer program immensely, allowing teams to use the field for practices where currently they cannot because of fall darkness. I fully support the lighting project at Coaches.

Learn more on the Piedmont city website. Attend the meeting if possible. If not, send an email to Ann Swift at aswift@ci.piedmont.ca.us.

Piedmont Schools Walk-to-School Day is October 22nd

Here is a press release for next week’s Walk-to-School Day. Beach, Havens, and Wildwood elementary schools are all participating. Remember, “It’s cool to walk to school!”

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 22 IS PIEDMONT WALK TO SCHOOL DAY

Families from all three Piedmont elementary schools are being encouraged to walk, bike, scooter, and carpool to school on Wednesday October 22. The event is being organized by the “Green Committees” of the elementary schools’ Parents’ Clubs. The hope is to have sidewalks approaching all the schools filled with walkers, and the drop-off zones nearly empty of cars that day. Piedmont Walk to School Day also aims to encourage families to rethink how they travel over the long term, including the daily trip to school. Organizers believe that, for a community where so many of the families live within a quarter to half a mile of their schools, Piedmont really should be able to lower its rates of car use for school commute purposes.

Organizers are encouraging neighbors and families of classmates to make plans together ahead of time for how they can arrive at school together that day by foot, bicycle, carpool – or any other safe option that cuts down on the number of single family cars arriving at school. October 22nd is a “minimum day” for the Piedmont elementary schools, with all students on the same 8:30 a.m. start schedule (except for Piedmont Language School students, who start at 8:00 a.m.).

Already, some elementary families who used to drive are experimenting with forming their own “walking school buses.” A walking school bus is a group of children walking to school with one or more adults. It can be as informal as two families taking turns walking their children to school, or more structured, as a route with meeting points, a timetable and a regularly rotated schedule of volunteers. Families need to meet together ahead of time, decide on the safest route from their neighborhood to school, review pedestrian safety skills with the children, and set some basic guidelines for their “bus” (for example, that the “bus” does not wait for latecomers, and families who are running late must get their children to school by other means.) The Centers for Disease Control recommends adult to child ratios of 1:3 for children ages 4-6, 1:6 for children ages 7-9, and says that fewer adults may be necessary for children ages 10 and older. For more information about walking school buses, go to http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/guide/walking_school_bus/ or http://www.walkingschoolbus.org/

The motivation behind walk-to-school efforts at the elementary schools is not only to improve traffic safety at drop-off and pick-up, but also to promote exercise, encourage community building, and help families be more “green” – by decreasing their fuel use (and reducing their carbon footprint) and giving kids and families more time to be outdoors.

Piedmont Walk to School Day is part of International Walk to School Month. Across the United States and the rest of the world, communities are coming together to promote alternatives to driving to school.

For more information, contact the schools’ Parents’ Clubs’ Green Committee Chairs: Havens – Katherine O’Connor oconnorcrew@sbcglobal.net; Wildwood – Suzanne Lane suzannelane63@gmail.com; Beach – Margaret Ovenden movenden@sbcglobal.net

Carnival at the Home Front

Imagine how surprised I was to go to work this morning and find a carnival set up in our parking lot! Richmond is holding it’s annual Home Front festival this weekend.

We knew they were going to include a children’s carnival in our parking lot, but I think we assumed it would be set up on Friday afternoon, not Wednesday evening. It was pretty funny to see that it’s a big carnival setup with rides including a ferris wheel, not just a few small game booths.

In addition to the carnival, the Home Front festival features food, music, a USO-style dance, lots of boats and ships (it is right on the Richmond Marina), and a train exhibit. There will also be a play about Rosie the Riveter and a chance to tour the Red Oak Victory ship, a WWII vessel.

The Home Front festival kicks off the evening of Friday, October 3rd with a USO dance and runs through October 5th. Hours are 11-5 both Saturday and Sunday.