September 2021 - Growing Up in Santa Cruz

Tom Jacobs

growingupsc — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 17:04:18 +0000

Tom Jacobs Local Artist After nearly two decades of a professional landscape photography career, Tom Jacobs discovered a passion for impressionistic fine art photography. His work expresses the hues, textures and rhythms in the world around us rather than the literal portrayal typically captured by a camera. Once Tom embarked on the path of multiple exposures, camera movement, and blending modes mostly done in camera, he found the creativity of this style to be liberating. The images he creates suggest, rather than tell. They blend what the eye sees into a new vision outside the boundaries of reality. He is inspired as much by painters such as Monet, Picasso, and Degas as he is by other great photographers. After all, painters have been creating art for centuries and have much to teach us. Currently his Spain series is featured in The Wit Gallery in Lenox, MA and his work is in both corporate and individual collections, and has appeared in art and photography periodicals. Tom has sold hundreds of images at high-end juried art fairs and local venues in the San Francisco Bay area. He performs all of the work from capture to print to framing using archival methods. Prints are sold as signed limited editions. Tom Jacobs Website Read More Local Artist Articles

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Contest winners 0921

growingupsc — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 16:26:04 +0000

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Summer Days Sept 21

growingupsc — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 16:14:52 +0000

Last Days of Summer Submit your coloring page for a chance to win tickets to the Boardwalk or the Santa Cruz County Fair! Send to Editor@growingupsc.com More Coloring Pages

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Everything Elderberry

growingupsc — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 15:44:14 +0000

Everything Elderberry by gretchen heimsoth It’s September, and for many of us, we are finding ourselves back to in-person school with our children, as well as most of us back at work in person. One can hardly check in to social media or turn on the television without hearing about the rise of the Delta variant. So I wanted to take a little time and talk about our dear friend, the Elderberry. Talk about Where it grows, its safety, effectiveness, constituents, and how to use it. Elderberry, or Sambucus nigra, Is a deciduous shrub or small tree. It is native from Oregon to Baja and Western Texas. It is rapid growing and loves to find moist soil near stream sides or seeps. It has been used by native people and frontier settlers for centuries. It is used for medicine, food, and dye, and the flowers are used to infuse flavors in syrups and liquors. Elderberry is considered safe in small doses. If you find wild elderberries, they are collected around September, and then they need to be dried and cooked. You don’t want to eat raw elderberries. Unripe or uncooked berries or flowers from the plant can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Larger amounts can cause more serious poisoning… If you buy prepared elderberry syrup or jam, you don’t have to worry about poison. And if you prepare items from dried elderberries, you also don’t have to worry. Elderberry is high in antioxidants and vitamins. The chemical constituents in the berries please may help tame inflammation and protect the cardiovascular system. A study from Israel has shown that it helps shorten the duration of the flu by up to half!!! The plant contains chlorogenic acid and neochlorogenic acid, as well as several forms of quercetin. Chlorogenic acid helps protect the heart and modulate glucose metabolism. Quercetin lower’s inflammation, helps fight allergies, also supports heart health, and helps fight pain. These compounds are what gives Elderberry Its magic. If you use Elderberry and syrup for food or a jam, you will use as you would use any other similar item. If you’re using Elderberry as a medicine, most common, and a honey syrup form, you generally give one tablespoon every 4 hours. Using Elderberry this way is usually considered safe. Some people are allergic, so if you’ve never consumed Elderberry and find you have any allergic symptoms after using it, the thing may be considered discontinuing. I’ve been using Elderberry with my children for several years now. I love to make the infused honey syrup with fresh Ginger, cinnamon stick, orange peel, and whole cloves. I’ll even infuse thyme in there for extra respiratory medicinal benefit. I use local honey to ensure its real honey and keep some of the subtler benefits of consuming local honey. The syrup is easy to make and can be modified to suit your needs it’s. If it comes up too thin, you can always add a little extra honey for viscosity. And you can add or subtract the Ginger or the herbs according to your liking. Cinnamon, Ginger, and cloves are also powerful good based antivirals. I encourage including them! Elderberry Syrup Elderberry is high in antioxidants and vitamins. The chemical constituents in the berries please may help tame inflammation and protect the cardiovascular system. 3 1/5 cups Water 2/3 cup Dried Elderberries 1 tsp Cinnamom 1 cup Raw Honey Pour the water into a medium saucepan and add the elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half. Remove from heat and let cool until it is cool enough to be handled. Mash the berries carefully using a spoon or other flat utensil. Pour through a strainer into a glass jar or bowl. Discard the elderberries and let the liquid cool. When it is no longer hot, add the honey and stir well. When the honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the syrup into a mason jar! Refrigerate. Can be kept for 6 weeks. Read More Healthy Eating Articles

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Road Funding

growingupsc — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 15:26:09 +0000

Overview of Road Funding and Where Your Taxes Go by zach friend, County Supervisor One of the most common service requests the County receives centers around the condition of a road or road repair. Often, we are asked, “where do my taxes go?” “Why are the roads in the condition they are in?” After all, many residents pay thousands every year in property taxes and want to know why those funds aren’t being used to repair roads (or repair more roads). Here is an overview of our local roads, the costs to maintain them, their current conditions and where your taxes go. How large is the road network?First, it’s important to understand the size and scope of the road network that County maintains. There are approximately 600 centerline miles in the unincorporated county. Centerline miles represent the total length of a given road from its starting point to its end point. Just to put it in perspective, this is about the same distance as driving Watsonville to Vancouver, Canada. What are the current conditions of our roads? Roads have different designations – such as arterials, collectors and local roads. An example of an arterial road would be Soquel or Freedom Blvd. Collectors would include Sumner or Clubhouse and local roads are the roads you most likely live on (residential roads). Most roads are local roads (comprising over half of the total centerline miles in the road network). Our district (the 2nd District) has 30 percent (the largest number) of centerline miles in the unincorporated county. The Pavement Condition Index (PCI) measures the condition of a road. Think of it as a test score on a scale of 0-100. Generally speaking, anything over 70 is a road in good condition. A road between 45-65 is in fair condition and below 45 is in poor condition. For arterials in the unincorporated county, the PCI is 64. The PCI for collectors is 54 while the PCI for local/residential roads is the lowest at 40. What does it cost to maintain or repair the roads?While construction costs are constantly fluctuating, one thing that is constant is that it’s much cheaper to maintain a road in good condition than to repair and rebuild a road in poor condition. According to Public Works, here are the costs per mile for doing road work on a road in good, fair, poor and failed condition. For a road in good condition, to do a single layer seal with no digouts, it costs approximately $141,000 per/mile. For a road in fair condition (with a PCI somewhere in the 50-70 range for example), it would cost about $352,000 per/mile for a multilayer seal with digout work. This is the average range for our arterial roads. For a road in poor condition, $563,000 per mile and includes a full overlay and digouts. Many of our local roads and some of our collectors fall into this category. For a road in failed condition, which includes many roads in the rural areas (including the Aptos hills) as well as some of the agricultural areas in Corralitos and some local/residential roads the cost for full reconstruction is close to $1.1 million per/mile. Where do my taxes go? The county has a different funding structure than cities. Over half of all county revenues come from the state and federal government. These funds are generally pass-through funds to provide mandated services such as health programs or jail programs. These funds are restricted in their use and generally can’t be used for local road repairs. Approximately 22 percent of the county revenue comes from local taxes. These taxes include property taxes, vehicle license fees, taxes paid at local hotels and sales taxes. And while property taxes make up about half of that 22 percent, only 13 cents of every property tax dollar goes to the County. This means, for every dollar of property tax you pay, only 13 cents goes to the County for services. So where does the rest of your property tax go to? The largest share, about 57 percent goes to schools while another 18 percent goes to local special districts, cities and the libraries. Why does such a small amount stay with the county? The distribution is determined based on what our county was collecting the year before Prop. 13 was passed. This means that some counties, such as Santa Clara and San Mateo, keep between 2 and 4 times what we can keep. What about Measure D and SB 1 funding? For our district Measure D funding (depending upon how sales taxes do in a given year) brings in approximately $900,000/year for local roads. This is a significant infusion that wasn’t available before its passage. As you can see on the cost for road work above, it makes it hard to do reconstruction work on failed roads but it does help improve roads that are at-risk or improve roads that are in poor condition. Since the passage of Measure D, a number of roads in La Selva, Rio Del Mar, Seacliff and most recently in Pleasant Valley/Corralitos were done via Measure D funding. Roads in other districts have been done as well. Measure D (county wide) is anticipated to bring in about $2.7 million in funding. While SB 1 (gas tax) funding is currently being used for major storm damage repairs, at its peak in a few years its estimated to bring in about $4 million in new money to the entire unincorporated area. Additionally, the County averages at least $1 million/year in state and federal grant funding and more funds come from a refuse vehicle impact fee and more. Overall, it’s estimated that about $8 million per/year on average will be brought in for the 600 centerline miles of road. According to Public Works there are currently about $267 million in needs for the local roads, which will grow as some roads have conditions that are worsening. If you have a pothole or non-emergency road issue you can submit service requests through the County’s free mobile app, My Santa Cruz County, available on the app store or Google Play, online via the Public Works Department’s website (found via santacruzcounty.us) or by calling 454-2160. As always, if you have any questions about this or any other issue please feel free to contact me at 454-2200. Read More County Scoop Articles

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Santa Cruz Passenger Rail

growingupsc — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 15:15:56 +0000

Santa Cruz Passenger Rail Show Me the Money By Sebastion “Seb” Frey Normally in this space I write about our local real estate market – but this month’s column focuses on what has become one of the most contentious pieces of real estate in Santa Cruz County: the Santa Cruz Branch Line Rail Corridor.Nine years ago, in October of 2012, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (the RTC) completed the purchase of the rail corridor from Union Pacific Railroad. The corridor had fallen into disuse after the rail line’s sole significant customer, the Cemex cement factory in Davenport, shut down in May of 2010. The tussle over the future of the corridor began even before the ink was dry on the final paperwork. The Santa Cruz RTC’s vision for the corridor is to provide passenger rail service alongside the Monterey Bay Scenic Sanctuary Trail (MBSST) – the “rail and trail” which is fervently pushed by both RTC staff and local supporters such as FORT, the Friends of Rail and Trail. There’s an alternative vision for the corridor as a “trail only,” where it would be used only as a multi-modal walking/bicycling trail. The groups most actively supporting “trail only” include Santa Cruz County Greenway and Trail Now. This past April, rail-and-trail advocates were dealt a major setback when the RTC failed to approve the business plan for the design, construction, and operation of a passenger rail system. At the same time, the commission rejected a motion to move forward with even a $17.1 million environmental review. So why, after nine years of study, did the RTC suddenly slam the brakes on the project? While I am sure each of the commissioners has their own reasoning, in the end, it came down to funding. Trail advocates, led by FORT, have repeatedly made public statements that the project will be paid for primarily through state and federal grants. In fact, numerous claims on social media have been made which state that the project is already fully funded! However, in fact, the project is far from fully funded and the RTC has not been able to clearly identify sufficient potential funding sources. And therein lies the rub: there simply is not enough money to build and operate a passenger rail system in Santa Cruz County. I have no doubt that the passenger rail project would indeed be funded in large part by federal and state grants – because there is no other way it could be built. However, “in large part” does not mean wholly funded. To obtain any such grant money, there would need to be local matching funds. These local matching funds would need to come from a new tax or bond measure. Passing a tax or bond measure is a high bar, requiring a 2/3rds majority of voters. In the case of a passenger rail project in Santa Cruz County, there simply is not that level of community support. For perspective, it’s helpful to look at the most recent effort to raise local funds for transportation projects: Santa Cruz Measure D. This sales tax measure was approved by voters in 2016, with 67.78% of voters saying yes. Measure D added a half-cent sales tax for thirty years, raising about $17 million annually for county-wide transportation infrastructure projects and maintenance improvements. Measure D barely squeaked by, even though it provided and paved the way for urgently needed funding across the entirety of Santa Cruz County. Passenger rail, on the other hand, would be used by, at most, a few thousand riders per day and would only be practical for about 50% of the county’s population to ever consider using for transportation. Given recent history, and the limited reach of the proposed rail system, it seems unlikely at best that 2/3rds of all county voters would approve funding for a project which will not serve county-wide needs. Everyone agrees that Santa Cruz County has a transportation crisis, but there is no consensus on what to do about it. However, the RTC’s own studies show that establishing passenger rail service would do little to improve transportation in the county. Their research shows that passenger rail service would have a negligible impact on freeway commute times, vehicle miles traveled, and greenhouse gas emissions. One question we’re always trying to solve for in real estate is to determine the “highest and best use” of property. The Appraisal of Real Estate, 13th Edition, defines highest and best use as: The reasonably probable and legal use of vacant land or an improved property that is physically possible, appropriately supported, and financially feasible and that results in the highest value. Whatever someone may feel about the merits of passenger rail in Santa Cruz, we simply cannot escape the fact that passenger rail is not a financially viable proposition. There is, at present and for the foreseeable future, no credible way to pay for it. Given this stubborn fact, nobody should expect to see passenger rail in Santa Cruz County any time soon. ◊ Seb Frey was the 2019 President of the Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS. He’s been selling homes locally since 2003 and is the author of Get It Sold! (available at TheSoldBook.com) and stars on his own YouTube channel on SebFrey.TV Read More Parenting Articles

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Youth Action

growingupsc — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 20:21:58 +0000

Bringing Youth to Where the Action Is United Way Helps Teens Find Their Voice By Suki Wessling Amanda Gamban Natalia Galdamez Andrea Magdaleno Once upon a time, Andrea Magdaleno was hesitant to get involved with youth groups. Now a student at Cabrillo, she’s a leader in Jóvenes SANOS, a youth group that promotes health and well-being in Watsonville. Natalia Galdamez says she was a “troublemaker” when she joined Salud y Cariño, a girls’ empowerment organization, in the fifth grade. Now she’s a youth leader in three groups who advocates for her community. Both young women are now on the Steering Committee for a new program sponsored by the United Way, the Youth Action Network (YAN). Leading the formation of this program, which is a reimagined, youth voice-focused umbrella organization for programs around the county, is Amanda Gamban. “Especially during these times, throughout Covid, the fires, all of the racial injustice that’s been going on and continues to go on, it’s so important to listen in and hear what youth have to say,” Amanda explains. YAN started as a county-wide Youth Violence Prevention Network, and the new name isn’t just window dressing. Andrea explains that they are rebuilding the organization from the ground up, using new research on how best to involve youth in their communities. One concept that organizers use is Hart’s Ladder of Participation, which spells out the different ways that organizations involve youth in decision-making. “At the bottom of the ladder is tokenization and manipulation, not creating those authentic relationships,” Amanda explains. “At the top you have youth leading the efforts, working in partnership with adults and creating change together.”YAN strives for the topKeisha Browder, CEO of United Way of Santa Cruz, and Rebecca London, Associate Professor of Sociology at UCSC, wrote a proposal for an institutional challenge grant which was approved this year. “The idea behind it is to challenge universities and community organizations to work together to make change within their respective institutional contexts,” Rebecca London explains. “We’re working with youth in the community to do some Youth-Participatory Action Research down in Watsonville and Live Oak with middle and high school students.” Youth-Participatory Action Research (YARP) is a model where young people are trained to do research in their own communities. The benefits are many, most specifically that the youth gain skills and make connections in their community, while also being more effective than researchers who come in from outside the community. “They will be the drivers of the process, supported by UCSC faculty and undergraduates to enact their research program, conduct data collection, the analyses, and then be prepared to use their voice, to be leaders in the community,” Rebecca says. Through Jóvenes SANOS, Andrea has already experienced firsthand how well the model works. Last spring she took part in UCSC student-led research, and found that she and her high school classmates were able to advise the college students.“I would tell my mentor student, maybe we want to soften the formal questions,” Andrea remembers. “You want to start off with the funny story. You want to start off with, ‘What’s your favorite celebration in Mexico in your town?’ Build that connection of trust, because if not, you don’t get the same story.” That’s a perfect example of what researchers have seen happen when they include young community members in their research, Rebecca London says.“What we know is that the students who are bilingual, bicultural, whose experiences are as first-generation college students—when they go out in the community they are incredibly effective research team members.” Why YAN?When there are so many different organizations throughout the county serving the needs of youth in different capacities, what is the need for an umbrella organization? Amanda Gamban says that it’s all about communication and sharing the wealth of information. “It’s an opportunity to share the work that’s been going on so that people can learn from one another. We want to provide workshops and trainings that could benefit everyone.” Natalia Galdamez offers an example from her own experience with YAN. Recently YAN offered a training on personal asset mapping, a process where students make a map of their personal assets to build an understanding of what they have to offer to their community. “When I went to the surf camp with Salud y Cariño I was able to bring that to the group and share it with the girls that hadn’t done that yet,” Natalia explains.A focus on community around the county YAN will include a Steering Committee of youth leaders throughout the county, General Members who are youth involved in organizations, and Adult Allies in the various jurisdictions. Capitola Mayor Yvette Brooks, who is involved as a jurisdictional representative, points out that ‘youth voice’ isn’t just a talking point, but contains valuable information. “When youth are given the opportunity to lead and offer their voice during their adolescent years, we are gifted with a perspective of the times,” she points out.Other jurisdictional representatives include Council Member Donna Lind for City of Scotts Valley, Director of Child and Family Services Robin Lucket for the County Board of Supervisors, and representatives still to be named from the cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz. “I volunteered because of my background including having started the City of Scotts Valley’s first Juvenile Program decades ago,” explains Donna Lind. “I served as Juvenile Officer for several years and developed various programs with local schools and in the community. I believe my experience as a police officer and with the Criminal Justice Council can be of value.” Just listen…then do itFocusing on Youth Voice doesn’t mean abdicating responsibility. When asked why it is so important for adults to listen to youth, Natalia Galdamez responds passionately. “Amanda and Theresa, my leaders for YAN and Salud y Cariño, are there to guide us if we need help,” Natalia explains. “But when we are leading, they’ll give us our space, take a step back.” And to hesitant teens out there, both Andrea Magdaleno and Natalia encourage them to find their voices. “For any youth out there, I know it’s tough,” Andrea says. “But look at what you have been able to do: get through school, get through Covid. You guys have been able to adapt and that is so great. Always try to get involved in youth organizations because they give you a space to be you and to create a better version of yourself.”“Just do it,” Natalia adds. “Trying to advocate for my community [made it] get better for myself.” For more information:Learn more at SCCYVPT.org. Interested teens can apply to become a YAN General Member or Steering Committee member, and adults are encouraged to volunteer as well. Listen to a interviews about YAN at ksqd.org/youth-action-networks-gives-young-santa-cruzans-a-voice ◊ Suki Wessling is a local writer, teacher, and musician. Learn more about her work at SukiWessling.com. Read More Parenting Articles

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the happening of giroo

growingupsc — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 19:50:39 +0000

Local Business Executive Spreads Message of Kindness What instigated your donation to Tech Feeds Hope? My mother lives in Santa Cruz and saw the long lines of families picking up food donations from Second Harvest at Thanksgiving, with kids in the car awaiting their turn. She suggested that we offer Girroo to instigate fun and healthy family conversation while they wait. I reached out to Susan Lovegren, one of our advisors at #NotMe who is on the board of Second Harvest, with a simple offering. She and the SH board came up with many different ways and places to distribute the book and stuffed animal so that local children could receive them for the holidays. It’s been awesome to see how one small idea snowballed into something beautiful when impassioned people came together. I’ve truly enjoyed all of the amazing staff and volunteers that I’ve met at SH through this, and so appreciate the awesome work they do in our community.What is the basic plot line of The Happening of Girroo, and what or who inspired you to a write a children’s book while attending UCLA? )My Grandmother came up with the idea. She was an amazing woman— mother of 10 and entrepreneur with her own toy company, Twinson, that she started with her twin sister in 1946. She approached me with the storyline, my cousin for the illustrations and was inspired by my grandfather, affectionately known as Papa. He had a huge heart and would stop to connect and smile with any and every child that ever crossed his path. The Happening of Girroo is about a giraffe named Jeff who is being transported to a zoo when he meets Katy, a kangaroo who helps him to escape. They become friends, fall in love and eventually have Girroo. It’s all about recognizing and celebrating our differences and the things that make us unique, while also united and connected..The Happening of Girroo is written in rhyme. Do you think that makes the message of belonging easier for children and adults to grasp? Funny enough, that was one of the reasons our book was turned down by so many publishers. Many said that rhyming wasn’t popular or “in” at the time, and encouraged us to resubmit without the rhyme. That didn’t make any sense to us. We disagreed and recalled our own childhood and the lessons we more readily remembered – many of which came from rhyme or song. So we stuck with it and I’m so glad that we did. It’s fun to listen to children who have read it multiple times that recite parts of it with joy and playfulness. The message of the book is a deeply important one, but it can be relayed – and better received – with a light heartedness that helps it to spread further and faster. As a mom of two young children, how do you teach your children about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging? Exposure and open conversation. Exposure can come in many forms. Ideally in personal interactions with all different types of people, but with the last year in lockdown, that’s been challenging all around. So exposure in what we read and what we watch and how we talk amongst ourselves. Our little guy just turned 1 and has barely met anyone or seen much of anything beyond our home, so it’s how we treat each other and talk to one another that is having its greatest impact. Our daughter is now 4. They both love books and I try to make books available to them that have diversity in representation, thought and messaging. And a fun thing we do as a family is watch The Voice. There’s a variety of contestants and the short vignettes on each of their stories that brought them to the stage are great. We welcome the very innocent, curious questions from our daughter about why someone looks, sounds or acts differently than we do. Those moments, which can be uncomfortable or even awkward in shared company, are usually only made so by the adults in how we respond. So we’re practicing meeting those moments with honesty, kindness and openness. You recently donated 300 copies of The Happening of Girroo and plush toys, to Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County to distribute to their partner organizations. Walnut Avenue Family & Women’s Center was thrilled to receive 50 copies. Executive Director Julie Macecevic said, “It could not have come at a better time because our Early Education Center is packing weekly bags of school activities for all of its’ ages 0-5 program families to use while homeschooling. The book is delightful and shares a message of love and acceptance of diversity, which perfectly aligns with Walnut Avenue’s mission and values. My own 5-year-old twins adore Girroo!! We are grateful for this generous donation at a time when families need all the help we can get providing stimulating and engaging educational materials.”Aww thank you, I love hearing this! And the fact that I wrote it 20 years ago and it’s still being appreciated reminds me of the saying that you learn all the most important lessons of life in kindergarten where the focus is on the golden rule of treating others as you would like to be treated. It really is that simple for kids, but as we get older, sometimes we forget the basics. As President and Chief Business Officer of #NotMe, the speak up and reporting solution that helps prevent misconduct, you are clearly passionate about diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging. What changes are you seeing in people’s attitudes towards making workplaces, schools, and organizations safer for all?Let’s first clarify that when we talk about making these environments safe, we are talking about making it both physically and psychologically safe. That’s growth in and of itself. Additionally, the two biggest changes that I have seen are 1) a louder verbal commitment by employers and organizations to do better in this area and say how their company values reflect this, and 2) a higher standard of expectation by individuals/employees/students who are calling out when those words are not backed by action, and who are no longer willing to accept that power – abuse in any form – is “just the way it is”. The next shift, which is truly exciting and happening with the most progressive organizations and leaders, is to go from saying the right thing to actually doing the right thing by listening differently, empowering their constituency to easily and safely report issues earlier, and by ultimately crowdsourcing – not simply claiming – a more inclusive, accountable culture all around. And I’m really proud to say that a handful of those companies are right here locally. If there are other non-profits in the county interested in an in-kind donation of this delightful book that supports differences and teaches the importance of compassion and understanding of others, please contact Josue Barajas, Chief Programs Officer at Second Harvest Food Bank, josue@thefoodbank.org. Read More Parenting Articles

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MusicalMe Turns 25

growingupsc — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 19:42:51 +0000

MusicalMe Turns 25 By Jeanette Prather Within three years we had 500 students, and over the past 25 years we’ve serviced over 75,000 students! “When MusicalMe first started, we had 35 students, then we went to 80 students the following session, and all the way to 150 students the next spring,” said Lizz Hodgin Weihrauch, Director of MusicalMe, Inc. “Within three years we had 500 students, and over the past 25 years we’ve serviced over 75,000 students!” MusicalMe, a local and family-owned business under the parent company Music Together, specializes in offering developmentally appropriate music classes for children from birth through eight years old. “Music Together has communicated its basic philosophy – that all children are musical – through developmentally appropriate, research-based classes,” according to MusicalMe.com. Originating in a roundabout way, Weihrauch explained how MusicalMe got its start from a friend’s referral. “I was a single mom who had a son with down syndrome and autism. I was doing a whole bunch of part-time jobs to support us,” she said. “After I graduated from UCSC in theatre arts, I moved to New York City. About six months after my son was born, a friend gave me a songbook and cassette tape to share with him. It took me nearly two years to finally listen to the tape – pretty much after getting so tired of hearing the same mainstream kid songs repeatedly – and since my son Daniel wasn’t walking yet, it made me thrilled that he got so excited over a song called, ‘Wiggle.’ After that, it really clicked. I was finally able to get out of my own way to be able to see what this was all about.” Immediately after this, Weihrauch went out to Princeton, New Jersey to participate in a four-day training program to learn how to teach Music Together curriculum, and then brought it to California. “I was offering classes for free in the beginning so that I could practice,” said Weihrauch. “Over the years I’ve had some famous students, like the jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck’s grandchildren, and the founder of Netflix, Reed Hasting’s, children.” Learning and practicing music with children isn’t just all fun and games, there is extensive research that talks about the benefits behind musical interaction, too. “Research has found that learning music facilitates learning other subjects and enhances skills that children inevitably use in other areas,” wrote an article published May 2012 on PBS.org titled “The Benefits of Music Education.” “Making music involves more than the voice or fingers playing an instrument; a child learning about music has to tap into multiple skill sets, often simultaneously.” The article goes on to explain how musicality helps to facilitate language development, increase IQ, encourage brain function and spatial-temporal skills, as well as improve test scores. “The many intrinsic benefits to music education include being disciplined, learning a skill, being part of the music world, managing performance, being part of something you can be proud of, and even struggling with a less than perfect teacher,” wrote the article. “There’s a part of the brain that is entirely focused on being musical,” said Weihrauch, “and when that part of the brain is lit up, it activates the whole brain. We are the only creatures on the planet that have this part of the brain whose job it is to process music through rhythm and tonality.” Weihrauch, who credits MusicalMe for her son’s (now 27 years old) fantastic rhythm and ability to sing and dance, says that she continues to learn and grow from instructing classes, too. “What I’ve learned from Music Together is really being able to share musicality with other people,” said Weihrauch, who is slated to be the lead role in Cabrillo Stage’s rendition of Candid next summer. “Who knows if I hadn’t been born into such a musical family, if I would have had that opportunity.” Despite the pandemic and in-person gatherings fluctuating, Weihrauch is continuing to offer MusicalMe programming through online as well as a handful of in-person classes. “We didn’t want children to miss out on a whole year of musical enrichment because we know what an impact it has,” she said. “A lot of speech therapists and pediatricians recommend our classes.” According to Weihrauch, MusicalMe classes and programming are continuing to “grow like wildfire,” and the company has even expanded its offerings. “We are offering Rhythm Kids for four through eight-year-olds,” she said. “They’re really seeing an impact and what an incredible foundation it’s giving to these kids.” Additionally, three years ago MusicalMe opened up Canta Y Baila Conmigo Spanish language immersion classes. “That has just been a super popular class, too,” said Weihrauch. “We had a lot of families go through the entire three-year curriculum and wanted more, so we added Canta Y Baila Conmigo and Rhythm Kids angled for musical classes from birth until eight years.” MusicalMe offers a complimentary first class to anybody wanting to attend, and Weihrauch encourages interested parents to visit MusicalMe.com or call the office to reserve a spot as they fill up quickly. “We cap the number of students in each class, so going online or calling the office to reserve your spot is highly recommended,” she said. Weihrauch, who attributes her reach and servitude to the help of an anonymous local mom who funded MusicalMe scholarships three years into the business when Weihrauch couldn’t afford to do so on her own, says that she’s been able to offer over $50,000 to local families over the past 22 years. “If children are given the opportunity younger to develop musical skills, they’ll be able to feel comfortable and confident about themselves,” she said. “It’s a gift that you can give your child.” Read More Parenting Articles

The post MusicalMe Turns 25 first appeared on Growing Up in Santa Cruz.

Good Shepherd Success

growingupsc — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 19:32:49 +0000

Story of a School’s Success Good Shepherd School’s Survival During the Pandemic By April A. Muzzio While public schools in the area were forced to close, our Good Shepherd School thrived based on 5 key factors: 1. Pivot The lockdown was mandated on March 13, 2020 and we were ready for full distance learning the following Monday, March 16, 2020. The 13th was a scheduled professional development day and we used that day and the weekend to prepare for distance learning. Our school didn’t miss a beat! Due to the small class sizes, we had a ThinkPad and/or Chromebook for every student!For the 2020-2021 school year, we were able to pivot to hybrid learning. We had students in-person and others for whatever reason, (ie. High risk family member living at home) distance learning. 2. Safety Protocols and GuidelinesDid Good Shepherd have an outbreak of positive COVID cases? No. Because we took all the necessary precautions, and then some, set forth by the Santa Cruz County Board of Education, we had zero outbreaks. We had to think outside of the box and be proactive in implementing our drop-off procedures, our first line of defense. Like local restaurants providing curbside options, faculty and staff with the Principal greeted our students with a temperature check and health screening questionnaire every morning with a curbside drop-off and pick-up on our track. 3. Local Principal CollaborationWeekly calls with the County of Office of Education, Superintendent, Faris Sabbah kept us informed of the latest news and updates from local and state public health and collaborating with other local principals to see what worked and what didn’t. This brought about camaraderie among colleagues. 4. Kids “in and out of the classroom” The first students on campus for the 2020-2021 school year were our preschool back in August. Then we progressively brought back students per grade in weekly stages. Middle school was on campus by the end of September. By the end of the school year, we were 99% in-person with no outbreaks. Morning assemblies were virtual ensuring participation school-wide. However, we took advantage of our 10-acre campus to maximize the social distancing by having classes outdoors with pop-ups and also using the life lab. Physical education was twice a week for K-8 but they had the ability to engage in reading and art outdoors. In April, students in grade 5-8 were able to participate in golf. 5. Service to the CommunityThe pandemic didn’t stop by us from serving our community. We held jog-a-thon to raise funds for our parish food pantries. Each grade ran together as a cohort and successfully raised over $5,000. We continued to serve with a canned food drive as well. The relative normalcy of being on campus has been healthy for all of our students especially improving their mental health. Our preschool earned the Sentinel Reader’s Choice Award for Best Children’s Daycare & runner up for Best Preschool in Santa Cruz County. Word got out about our overall successes and waitlists formed. For more information, please visit our website at gsschool.org or contact our office at 831-476-4000. Read More Parenting Articles

The post Good Shepherd Success first appeared on Growing Up in Santa Cruz.