Alissa, Age 10 Flower Lady | Grand Prize Bookakery Box March coloring COntest Our March contest was sponsored by The Bookakery winner Alissa, age 10, won this incredibly fun box filled with silly books and a baking activity! Thanks, Bookakery for bringing adventure to our readers! Do you want your chance to win great prizes? Entries for our April Coloring Contest end March 20. Your kiddo could win four tickets to ride the train at Roaring Camp
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March Winner
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Santa Cruz Housing Market HOT
Santa Cruz Housing Market: Hot, Hot, Hot! By Seb Frey It’s no secret that right now the real estate market in Santa Cruz is hot. Actually, you could say it’s overheated! There’s no shortage of stories of homes receiving dozens of offers and selling hundreds of thousands of dollars over asking price. But in a way, that’s yesterday’s news. The thing to know about the real estate market is that it’s dynamic. What’s true yesterday may not be true today, or what’s true today may not apply tomorrow. For example, interest rates have risen substantially over the past several weeks – up about 0.75% give or take. That might not…
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Creating Positive Childhood Experiences
Creating Positive Childhood Experiences By Nicole M. Young, MSW April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, which makes me pause to think about all the hardships and trauma children and families have experienced this past year. COVID-19. Displacement due to wildfires. Racism. Social isolation. Hunger. Lost jobs. Financial instability. Struggles with remote learning. Hate crimes. These multiple “storms” have left their mark. Communities across the nation have reported increased calls to domestic violence and mental health hotlines. Recent results from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Household Pulse Survey, suggest “the proportion of U.S. adults with symptoms of anxiety disorder and/or depressive disorder have quadrupled since before the pandemic,” especially…
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Mom and Son Artists
Zephy Pfotenhauer and Dante Clark Mother and Son Duo Mother and son Zephyr Pfotenhauer and Dante Clark (11) have been working together creatively for as long as Dante can remember. A professional artist and designer, Zephyr is often inspired by Dante for her own work and regularly enlists his help in completing various projects, from murals to printmaking. Dante is a longtime member of Art Lab in Boulder Creek and particularly enjoys building in Lego, Minecraft, wood and clay in worlds both real and virtual. A 6th grader at the Nature Academy, he is looking forward to returning to school, seeing friends and exploring the county with his classmates. Until…
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Playing Music
Nurturing the Teenage Musician by Susan Willats For music students, who often spend a lot of time practicing and playing alone (especially those who don’t have a school music program available), playing with other musicians can be a true game-changer. We all know it’s not easy being a teenager. (It’s also not easy parenting a teenager, but that’s a topic for a different article.) Teenagers who play musical instruments face additional challenges: finding time (or motivation) to practice on a regular basis, worries about disappointing their instructors, and possible stigma or labeling from other kids at school. Research continues to show great advantages to those who play music, but it…
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Book Review 2020 Hindsight
Book Review Local Photographers Create Living History By Brad Kava When two of the top local news photographers looked back on last year, with its traumas, disasters and a community that fought to come together, they realized they were seeing a huge piece of history, something people would be interested in seeing for years to come. So, Kevin Painchaud, of Lookout Santa Cruz and Growing Up in Santa Cruz, and Shmuel Thaler, of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, decided to pack 2020 into a special edition glossy book. The resulting work—“2020 Hindsight: Looking Back on a Tumultuous Year in Santa Cruz County”—is the kind of keepsake most everyone in this county…
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Life After Covid
We polled kids around town about what they most want to do when shelter in place orders are lifted and we got a lot of answers. What do you think they miss most? Read on! Polled at Seacliff Skate Park Weslie Rose10 years old – Fifth grade Soquel Elementary“I’m looking forward to going to amusement parks again. I just love the rides and always have fun. I miss my friends too, and really want to go back to school.” Caleb Gregory10 years old – 4th GradeTwin Lakes Elementary “I’m looking forward to the arcade at the Boardwalk. Me and my dad play games there and I really miss it.…
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Which Parent Are You
Which Parent Are You? by Chris Jackson One parent steps in and prevents the child from failure and negative outcomes. The other parent says, “I’m not doin’ that. Either (the child) does it, or it won’t get done.” Which one seems healthier? Are you surprised it’s the second parent? Healthier for the parent and for the child. “But, if I don’t help her register at the DMV, I’ll be the one driving her around.” No you won’t. Don’t do it. “But she’ll miss her classes and lose her job.” Yup. “But then I’ll have to pay more to support her.” Well, you could consider other options for that too.The term…
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Where are they now Caleb
This Kid has Grown Up with Growing Up by linda kay Over the years so many kids have graced the cover of Growing Up in Santa Cruz. We are curious about what’s become of them! Caleb Malabuyo, now a junior at Scotts Valley High School, was featured on the August 2012 cover of Growing Up in Santa Cruz. He remembers the photo shoot. “I was totally trying to seem nonchalant about it, but I was actually really excited to be in a magazine.” He remembers when the magazine came out. “I had mixed feelings at first because in all the photos we took I had this cool new Sharks hat…
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Santa Cruz Surf Contest
Santa Cruz Surf Contest Photo Story by kevin painchaud High school kids from Aptos, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, Soquel, Santa Cruz Mountains, and Marin competed on Saturday March 20 in the Santa Cruz Scholastic Surf League contest at Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz. Read More Extremely Sports Articles
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Summer Camps
Yes Virginia, There will be Camps! by Jeanette Prather As things open back up and promise for better days, summer camp facilities and institutions are scrambling to reopen safely after one year of silence or minimalism for most of them. As things open back up and promise for better days, summer camp facilities and institutions are scrambling to reopen safely after one year of silence or minimalism for most of them. “UCSC canceled everything last spring, and we tried to wait as long as we could, but since we’re dictated by the university, we had to follow suit,” commented Rusty Kingon, boating supervisor at UCSC Community Boating Center. “We’ve opened…
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Students Helping the Environment
Students Helping the Environment Kirby School In its fourth year, Kirby School’s Community Involvement program faced a big challenge: how to help the community when you are restricted from being around people by a pandemic. In the past, students spent a combined 1,000 hours with various service organizations. This year, they spent three days and thousands of work hours helping the environment, as well as organizations, safely distanced. “COVID-19 has touched every community in the nation and around the world,” said Christy Hutton, the Head of School. “On a very personal level, every student knows this, because they have felt the impact on their lives or their family or their…
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Green Living Earth Day
It’s Time to Set Your Earth Day Resolutions! by ethos Santa Cruz Earth Day is the perfect time to set your earth-loving resolutions for the year! It’s like New Years Day for citizens of the earth when we set our actionable goals and envision sustainable steps forward in our climate-conscious lives. So, it’s Earth Day, and you’re wondering how to use your powers for the good of Mama Earth, not just today but every day of the year. Consider this your call to action to get your hands dirty in protecting the environment. Earth Day is the perfect time to set your earth-loving resolutions for the year! It’s like New…
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Dealing with Godzilla
Dealing with Godzilla By Jim Booth, owner, Jim Booth Swim School We teach kids swimming and we believe we’ve got a pretty great program. But, included in our swim teacher training is the concept that we have to be open to change, we have to be adaptable. I say to them in our meetings, “What would we do if Godzilla shows up someday? Would we go on as usual? Well, in February 2020 Godzilla showed up. At least the buildings are still standing, but for a small service businesses like our swim school the creature was about to rip up the foundation of our existence. One cannot, after all, do…
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Growth Spurt & Milk Supply
Growth Spurt? By Laura Maxson, LM Resolving an unexpected dip in an established milk supply includes recognizing frequency days, decreasing pacifier use, increasing nighttime nursing opportunities, and possibly temporary breast pump use to help build the supply.. Once breastfeeding is established, most parents breathe a big sigh of relief. Got this! Then one day, the baby is suddenly inconsolable and wants to nurse all day and all night, too. A quick check for anything obviously wrong most often finds no fever or symptoms other than a baby who wants to be at the breast constantly. Before hitting the panic button (is it colic, reflux?), it’s good to remember the supply…
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The Scare
The Scare By Lisa Catterall It’s that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s showing us how very, very dark the tunnel has been. – Kate McKinnon I began class yesterday swinging a perfectly balanced, forged metal axe into the top of a thick cut of firewood. I was wearing hot pink Minnie Mouse footsie pajamas and singing at the top of my lungs, and my teenager was holding up a Zoom camera, streaming it all live. I was going completely insane, on record. It all made sense, in my mind. My engineering class needed a demonstration of a simple machine, and I had…
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Inside Ed April 2021
Cooking and Racial Justice Are you a community member who would be interested in getting an in-depth look at our local education system? Contact Les Forster at [email protected] to join Inside Education’s next round. Every year, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education welcomes a diverse group of locals—businesspeople, educators, government employees—to come together monthly and learn about education in Santa Cruz County. The program serves as a bridge between public education and the wider community, promoting understanding and connections to benefit both sides. This month’s Inside Education started with an important subject for parents to hear: the hot topic of “learning loss.” Debi Bodenheimer, Associate Superintendent of the County…
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Cabrillo Extension Youth Camps
Cabrillo Extension Youth Program Returns Popular Youth Summer Camps Will Open for Registration April 1st Resuming the Cabrillo Extension Summer Youth Program is another important part of the College’s commitment to help meet the community’s needs. This summer, Cabrillo Extension will again be offering its dynamic Summer Youth Camps program. They will continue with many successful virtual camps, and are working with instructors and local partner organizations to bring back the most popular camps for in-person on-campus learning. Current planning includes in-person camps including Cabrillo Athletics sports camps like basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball. Kuumbwa Jazz, Seafloor Science ROV, and PlayWell TEKnologies’ LEGO Engineering are also being planned. In addition,…
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Maria Cadenas Focuses on Love
From Chilaquiles to Community Development Maria Cadenas Focuses on Love by suki wessling Welcome back to our monthly feature of moms who have faced the task of pandemic parenting while also continuing their work in our community. Research has shown that women have suffered greater economic and personal fallout from the pandemic, losing jobs or having to work while also caring for children. Maria Cadenas’s 12-year-old daughter is “not a morning person,” so that’s Maria’s prime time for work. And work she does: On top of her primary job as Executive Director of Santa Cruz Community Ventures, Maria has run for office for Santa Cruz City Council and State Senate.…
