The Adult Community Center hosted a number of special programs, trips, and events in February including a Valentine’s Day Luncheon, Pancake Social, Park View Café Monday Lunches, gambling trip to River Rock Indian Casino, and a San Francisco Crime Tour. The ACC was a polling place for the February 5th elections, bringing many new faces to our Center. The Center continues to see many daily drop-in participants in our numerous clubs and activities, giving our community opportunities to socialize and build relationships.
Facilitate Community Problem Solving
COMPOSTING WORKSHOP:Why throw away leaves, grass clippings, vegetables, and other organic waste when you can easily compost them into a soil conditioner richer than anything you can buy? Topics will include backyard composting, work composting and organic gardening. Your garden will thank you for using non-toxic methods. Instructor: San Carlos Green Task Force Member and Certified Master Composter, Margaret Desmond;March 10, 6:30-8:30pm, Adult Community Center. For more information, call 888/442-2666, e-mail info@RecycleWorks.org, or visit www.Recycleworks.org
Promote Health and Wellness
Hot Salsa Dancing continues to sizzle with participants on Wednesday nights at the Kiwanis Building.No dance experience is necessary to get a great workout, as instructor Vera Quijano puts students through their paces to that sultry Latin beat. Is Dancing with the Stars next for San Carlos?Other popular adult dance classes provided by Personal & Family Development include Jazz, Tap, Line Dancing, Hip Hop, and Social Ballroom.
Adult Basketball players are headed into league playoffs for the winter session. Nineteen teams competed in three leagues for the prized championship t-shirts. Registration packets have been released for the upcoming spring/summer Adult Softball League. Approximately 50 teams are expected to participate in the City’s longest running adult athletic program. Teams will fill Men’s, Coed, and a 50+ league scheduled to begin action-packed play the first week of May.
Foster Human Development
Our new, young staff members at the Youth Center are learning the importance of their jobs on a daily basis.Trainings conducted on the importance of asset building, team relations, emotional intelligence, nutrition, physical activities, street drugs, and our profession’s VIP are being conducted bi-monthly.Most of the staff are in the early stages of their college careers and are trying to figure out their career goals.Mentoring and exploratory discussions surrounding career choices are encouraged daily by the Youth Development Supervisor and the Youth Center staff.All levels of mentoring happen daily at the Youth Center, from the young participants to the young staff members.
The Youth Advisory Council and Youth Center participants volunteered at the Special Olympics Invitational Basketball Tournament held in Foster City on Saturday, February 16th.Seeing first hand the beauty of a special child running and having fun, understanding the importance of playing and de-emphasizing winning, spending the afternoon watching heartwarming incident after heartwarming incident gave our young volunteers a new perspective on life and the importance of “giving from the heart”.As one of our Youth Center volunteers, Ghui Paludeti, Carlmont freshman and basketball player said, “It’s an honor to volunteer for the Special Olympics.”Teaching our children the importance of caring for others is an important lesson in life as well as an important asset to be gained.
The Special Needs Program held their 4th annual Valentines Dance with the ARAP Program (Accessible Recreation Activities Program) from the Redwood City Recreation Department.The event was held at the Veteran’s Building in Redwood City and 60 participants attended.The goal was to create a social environment and to introduce the Special Needs Program to ARAP participants.
Long-time Healthy Cities tutor Rose Naumowicz was acknowledged by the California Park & Recreation Society at its annual recognition evening on February 7 with a Volunteer Citation Award for significant contributions to the Healthy Cities Tutoring Program. Rose has been a volunteer with the program since 1998 and has been a steady contributor ever since. In addition to tutoring several students each year, Rose has also served as a Healthy Cities Liaison at both Heather and Tierra Linda schools, providing leadership and direction to the volunteers at those schools. Rose is compassionate, talented, organized and very deserving of this honor.
Recently we checked in with some of our Healthy Cities volunteer tutors for some program feedback:
~Tutoring is going great! I am seeing my student improving in math every week. I give his teacher e-mails weekly about my sessions with my student. The teacher feels that I am helping my student a lot and is very glad that I am tutoring him. I am very glad to help out and I am enjoying tutoring more and more each week. Thank you so much.-D.S.
~Everything has been going great with my student. I usually talk to his teacher every week. I'm enjoying it and I'm looking forward to tutoring him for the rest of the year. D.A.
~ My student and I are doing great. The teacher is very supportive of the whole concept and shares with me the results she sees as well. Thank you for checking in with me. I appreciate it! J.B.
~Things are going great! Love working with my student and her teacher. Things seem to be progressing.
The Youth Basketball League wraps up a season of play on March 8th at the Youth Center Gym. Nearly 300 children from grades K – 6 participated in learning the fundamentals and strategy of this favorite Winter sport.
Increase Cultural Unity
What philosophy did Gautama inspire? What are the Four Noble Truths?India is this month’s cultural challenge at the Youth Center and the schools are studying Siddhartha simultaneously. The tutors at the Youth Center have created a fun and engaging way to utilize the internet while teaching our participants needed research skills for their academics.“Scavenger Hunt Fridays” are conducted every other Friday in the Homework Lab, which typically has a low turnout right before the weekend.The students are asked five leading questions that they have to research, site, and present at the end of Friday afternoon.Correct usage of the internet is a constant question asked by our parents of young teens.By engaging them in a creative activity, they are learning and having fun at the same time.
Protect Environmental Resources
The Adult Community Center is phasing out all Styrofoam products and replacing them with environmentally friendly products.
San Carlos Green is undertaking a project to revive Vista Park with the help of volunteers, San Carlos Parks & Recreation, local residents and corporate sponsors.Already, a sizable group of interested parties have expressed interest in participating in the project as well as providing resources.San Carlos Green is very excited at the prospect of making Vista Park a jewel of San Carlos and a model for other parks in our city, the county and beyond.
Objectives:
- Reclaim the original vision for Vista Park as a native landscape which is self-sustaining, provides a functional, enjoyable and educational resource for the community and reinvigorates the natural environment including plants, insects and wildlife.
- Build a native landscape that reduces the use of water, eliminates the use of chemicals, acts as a pollinator garden and can be used as a model for other San Carlos parks and beyond.
- Develop an environment that will serve as an educational setting for schools and members of the community who are interested in learning about the native landscape and wildlife and sustainable gardening practices.
Project participants include Margaret Desmond, Tina Murphy, Ann Iverson, Lucy Sanna, Native Plant Society, Acterra Consultant, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Carlmont HS students, Crestview residents, Gachina Landscapers, and Master Gardeners.
Facilitate Community Problem Solving
Divorces, melded families, relocation to strange schools and neighborhoods are a fact of life for some of our young Youth Center participants.Fear, anger and confusion are feelings that our young people have to deal with on a daily basis.Failing in school, low self-esteem and self- mutilation are common for those youth who do not have good support systems.Our partnership with the Middle Schools and High Schools has been an invaluable service to our troubled teens and their families.Being at the Youth Center after school with understanding, caring and compassionate Youth Center Mentors is a safeguard for the youth and their families.Continued monitoring from school, to Youth Center, to home is a valuable asset for our youth to help them get through the rough spots in life.
Provide Recreational Experiences
Personal & Family Development has been hard at work completing the details for the upcoming publication of the spring & summer Activity Guide, which will go out to the community on March 7th.Due to budget cuts, the decision was made to combine the spring and summer session information into one activity guide covering April through August 2008.There will be a follow-up postcard mailing in May to remind residents of the many outstanding classes, programs, events and camps available to them during the summer months.
Valentine’s Day was in the spotlight in Personal & Family Development’s “Language of Love—Wines & Chocolates” class on February 14th.Participants enjoyed gourmet chocolates from around the world paired with special sweet, red, and sparkling wines.Leave it to Parks & Recreation to create opportunities for fun, connection, and celebration.
Cost Savings / Revenue Enhancements
Due to budget cuts and staffing shortages, all field trips and special events at the Youth Center have been cancelled until further notice.
C.W. Wright Construction and Peninsula Demolition and Hauling have teamed together to remove the old Burton playgrounds in preparation for the installation of brand new “inclusive playgrounds.” It is estimated to be a savings of more than $30,000 to the City.
