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Best of 2023
We asked you to share your favorite places to take your kids and places you enjoy as a family. We wanted to know what businesses you consider the Best in Santa Cruz, and man, did you ever respond! Thanks to everyone who answered our survey. Camps Day Camps Kennolyn Day Camps kennolyncamps.com Runners up Henry Cowell Girl Scout Day Camp Farm Discovery at Live Oak Residential Camp Kennolyn kennolyncamps.com Runners up Mount Hermon Mission Springs Dining Bakery Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria 504 Bay Avenue, Capitola 831.462.1200 gaylesbakery.com/ Runners up Companion Bakeshop The Buttery Coffee Shop Verve Coffee Vervecoffee.com 4 Santa Cruz locations Runners up Lula Carpenter’s Cat & Cloud Breakfast…
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Building a Foundation for Resilience
These days you might find Ginhee Rancourt, 38, owner of Young Art in Santa Clara, jetting around the world bringing art lessons for free to kids in developing nations. Or maybe you saw her win this year’s Minority Women Lead award for entrepreneurs or YWCA Silicon Valley’s Tribute to Women Award. But that’s not where she expected to be at 16 when her youngest sibling was born and she was planning a career in ballet. And her successes are definitely not what she wants you to take away from this story.Ginhee founded Young Art as a for-profit art studio in 2013 in Oregon, and she opened studios in California soon…
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Don’t Forget to Breathe
Summer is a time families can enjoy quality time together; BBQ’s, adventures and it can also come with a lot of stress for busy working parents trying to juggle it all. Which means we can be wrapped in chaos and forget to take a moment to breathe…and enjoy all the fun! Most of us on average spend over six hours per day on technology devices. In order to lead by example, we parents need to work on limiting our screen time so we can support our kids doing the same. In addition to that, focus on one of the simplest ways we can calm our stress. What if there was…
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Students Receive Scholarships
Santa Cruz Community Credit Union is thrilled to announce the winners of its three inaugural scholarship recipients for 2023. Each scholarship is for $1,000 and was available to graduating seniors in the Pajaro Valley School District.The following are the recipients of the SCCCU scholarships: “This is the first of many years that Santa Cruz Community Credit Union will provide scholarships to exceptional graduating seniors in our community. We were privileged to attend the three ceremonies and present these outstanding students with a scholarship to help them further their educational journey,” stated Beth Carr, President/CEO of SCCCU. The Credit Union scholarships were awarded to deserving students who did not have a…
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Why Are Students Taking So Many AP Classes?
Parents and students mistakenly believe that taking AP classes is equivalent to taking college courses, and that taking a full load of them will improve their chances of getting into selective colleges. People hear rumors and spread inaccurate information. Here is the real scoop on AP courses and how to get into top colleges: Problem with AP Courses:AP Classes are NOT college-level:Some students believe that by taking AP classes in high school they will be able to skip the same subject introductory courses in college. While this may sound good, AP classes only cover about a third or a half of what is taught in college classes. When entering freshmen…
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One Over the Top Grandmother
As I write this, I have: I’m pretty sure this makes me one over-the-top grandmother. I didn’t even mention the things I’ve found for free. Was I supposed to leave the hand-crafted doll bed and highchair on the side of the road just because I don’t know if my granddaughter will like dolls or even be tall enough to play with them for another three years? My husband thought so. There is also the abandoned Radio Flyer rocking horse, almost as big as a real-life pony, currently living in my garage. Every time I walk by, it whinnies at me, as if to remind me how ridiculous I am. Am…
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Birthday Party Guide
Birthdays—especially in this town of beautiful vistas and welcoming community—are a great moment to reflect on all the good in a child’s life and all the hope of another year despite the worries that swirl around us. A birthday also provides the perfect opportunity to celebrate the special things that make each kid tick and share their unique spirit with friends and family. (As an October baby myself, my many pumpkin-filled costume parties through the nineties—Casper and corn mazes galore!—cemented a lifelong love of spooky season.) There’s something distinctly uplifting about launching another trip around the sun and having a festive day that’s all about YOU, these days more than…
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Simple Summertime Ideas for Kids and Families
When I was a child, Summer. Lasted. For. Ever. I remember long days that usually began with picking beans and then weeds in the hot sun, followed by endless hours of playing (and bickering) with my siblings in the hot sun. By the end of the summer, I was ready for school to start. Now that I’m an adult, it seems like summer is over in the blink of an eye. I’m enjoying having both of my young adult kids living in my house for the summer – I know that one day I will truly have an empty nest, so I’m trying to remind myself to pause, enjoy the…
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Coloring Contest Winners
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Coloring Contest
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Symphony a Great Night Out for Kids
I took my 7-year-old to his first symphony last month and he loved it. So did I. Our first was the Santa Cruz Symphony’s pop concert, which was devoted to music from the movies. I was worried he wouldn’t have the patience to sit through long, complicated classical pieces. You can tell by the smile on Parker’s face in the picture–this music lit up both of our hearts. Keep in mind, the program was kid friendly, consisting of music from Up, The Pink Panther, James Bond, Mission Impossible, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Batman and more. Conductor Danny Stewart brought the songs to life in his explanations, but the…
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19-Year-Old Has Got Social Media Wired
Scotts Valley High graduate Austyn Crispell is the founder of Santa Cruz-based Makhai Media, a company that helps other companies do their social media marketing.He spoke at a recent local business forum, where Growing Up was amazed at his successes, as was everyone in the room. Growing Up: Your bio says you make $100,000 per month…really? You might be the top earning teen business person in the county or the whole country. My business revenue at the moment is $100,000 per month but that will increase within the next few months. I don’t live a lavish lifestyle so I just reinvest all of the money back into the business. Growing…
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Hate Speech Doesn’t Belong on Campus
We are deeply disturbed by the fact that some UCSC students held a birthday party for Adolf Hitler complete with a cake filled with Nazi symbols. It’s something we didn’t think could happen in this time and place and it’s seriously frightening that it did—and that the university has done nothing about it. But it also tugs at our gut in another way. We believe in freedom of speech at almost all costs. It’s one of the things that makes this country a bastion of liberty. The right to speak freely is protected in the Constitution and the protection isn’t for speech we agree with but for all speech, especially…
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Where’s the Best Place to Celebrate Graduation?
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Summer Self-Care for Families
Summer means: school’s out, kids are home and routines can go out the window. One of the greatest things you can do for your family this summer is map out some FUN ways to practice self-care. Just a refresher: self-care is all about taking responsibility for our wellness. It’s about making time to nourish our body, mind and spirit every day. As a parent, I believe the greatest gift we can give to our kids is leading by example when it comes to our health and well-being. The good news is you can still have all the FUN this summer and practice self-care. Not to mention, all of these tips…
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Treasure Hunting in Monterey
Ready to hunt for some undersea treasure in Monterey? Treasure Hunt: The Ride will soon open on Cannery Row, taking riders on an interactive, pirate-themed adventure as they battle not only friends and family to score the most booty, but also against ghosts, skeletons and other creatures that lurk in the “newly discovered” caverns. Located near the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the ride will feature hand-crafted set pieces, animatronics and special effects blended with interactive media. Riders will use onboard interactive “Treasure Collector” devices (think Ghost Blasters at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk) to rack up a score. Treasure Hunt is the brainchild of manufacturer Sally Dark Rides, known for its…
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Elemental Tree Network Offers Natural Help for Trees
Over 300 years have passed since California first felt the effects of colonization, but a key victim’s story is still unsung. Siena King, 32, and Sprout Weinberger, 26, are tree specialists tending to Santa Cruz and the greater Bay Area with one thing on their mind: restoration. Siena and Sprout founded Elemental Tree Network, a queer women-owned company, in 2021 inspired by regenerative action and traditional ecological knowledge. Sprout, a soil scientist, oak specialist and arborist was born and raised in Malibu. She moved to Santa Cruz to study Biology and Horticulture at Cabrillo which led her to Santa Cruz Permaculture Program in 2018, where she met Siena: her partner…
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Celebrating Kids Helping Others
Maybe it’s the salt air, the towering redwoods, or the sparkling ocean – who knows? But there is something about growing up in Santa Cruz that does a kid good. Santa Cruz kids know how to do good by contributing to their community and beyond. Please meet Vivienne, a third grader at Santa Cruz Montessori and a kid who is growing up doing good. She recently started a month-long donation drive in her classroom and neighborhood to raise money and gather supplies for the Santa Cruz Animal Shelter and for the Santa Cruz SPCA. We had a chance to sit down with Vivienne and chat with her about her experience…
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COE Announces Educator of the Year Awards
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education announced the recipients of the 2023 Santa Cruz County Educator of the Year Awards, honors awarded to staff from across the county who exemplify educational excellence and embody the values of our school community. Honorees received a plaque recognizing their service to Santa Cruz County and their names will be engraved in the Educators of the Year perpetual plaque hanging in the foyer of the Santa Cruz COE.A selection committee reviewed nominations using the California Standards for the Teaching Profession, the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, and the following criteria: 2023 Teacher of the Year Recipient: Maria Ferreira, Special Education Teacher, Post…
