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Another Book Fair is Coming
Another Book Fair is Coming By Sylvia Patience Book loving children and teens, their parents and teachers, are invited to meet local authors, hear them read from their works, and buy autographed books. The downtown branch of the Santa Cruz Public Library will host the SANTA CRUZ BOOK FAIR FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES on Sunday, April 28 from 1-3 pm. This year’s BOOK FAIR kicks off the hundredth anniversary of Children’s Book Week, the longest-running national celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading. Over one thousand schools, libraries, and bookstores will celebrate Children’s Book Week from April 29 to May 5 from coast to coast…
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Caring 4 Kids
Caring 4 Kids By Susan Wallace Anyone who has ever held a baby, cared for a baby or fed a baby is struck with the extreme vulnerability and innocence of such dependent beings. We know humans take decades to develop and mature into their adult selves with many challenges and struggles along the way. As a society, we keep learning better ways to improve child-rearing and parenting. Parents strive to support and listen with unconditional love regardless of the quality of parenting they endured. We all realize that love, appreciation and connection are much more powerful than correction or punishment. Many parents’ worst nightmares include being unable to protect their…
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Thrive by Three: Youngest Residents
Thrive by Three: Youngest Residents By Ryan Coonerty, County Supervisor Santa Cruz County has launched an effort called Thrive by Three to achieve break-through outcomes for local babies and toddlers facing adversity. The first three years of life provide the greatest window of opportunity to build a strong foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing. Exposure to chronic stressors like poverty or adverse childhood experiences such as abuse and neglect, parental substance abuse, or family violence can disrupt healthy brain development, creating lifelong negative impacts on learning, behavior and health. Too many young children are starting life at a disadvantage, leading to poor health and education out- comes which make life…
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Every Day is Kid’s Day for These Kids
Every Day is Kid’s Day for These Kids By Chip, Downtown Association of Santa Cruz Owning a business is a lot like being a parent; Sleepless nights at almost every stage of the process. Sure, there are plenty of books and lots of people will give you advice, but really, you have to learn as you go, and learn fast. Then there is this notion that there is a part of you, out in the world that has a life and a personality of its own. You work hard to instill your values, to provide the resources and to pay enough attention to be sure your baby is healthy and…
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A Band Revival
A Band Revival Led By One Energetic Teacher, The Branciforte Middle and Harbor High Bands Come Back from the Brink By Suki Wessling Nick Bianchini, band teacher at Branciforte Middle and Harbor High School in Santa Cruz, stands to the side as his band students perform. The Multi-Purpose Room at Harbor is filled to capacity. At the front of the room, horns, woodwinds, percussion, and strings cram into a space built for much smaller gatherings. An enthusiastic audience perches on chairs and benches and applauds each of the combos from Harbor and Branciforte. Someone who stumbled in from the outside might think that the bands were part of a long-running…
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New Squid on the Block
New Squid on the Block The New Radio Station KSQD Will Have Programming for Kids and Parents By Omar Guzman After years of work, a group of community volunteers is about to fulfill their dream of starting a new, local community radio station. KSQD at 90.7-FM, nicknamed K-Squid, with some staff who were previously at the much heralded and long defunct KUSP. The long-awaited ribbon cutting will be Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. at 399 Encinal. NEW WAVES after years of work, more than 100 volunteers have put together a community radio station that will open Feb. 15 at 90.7 Fm. There will be cake and local dignitaries including state…
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Student Artwork Goes Public
Student Artwork Goes Public Kathleen Crocetti and her Students Collaborate on Public Art Projects By Elaine Ingalls The Water Street and Soquel Av- enue Bridges are more than a route of travel, thanks to Kathleen Crocetti and her students. They are art. Crocetti has been the lead artist for 20 public art projects in Santa Cruz, including mosaics on the Water Street Bridge and the Soquel Avenue Bridge. Her students have worked on 16 of these projects. The Water Street Bridge features endangered species of the San Lorenzo River. She made mosaics with her students in class and took walking field trips to install them. Crocetti teaches sixth, seventh and…
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Dance Like Everyone is Looking
Dance Like Everyone is Looking A Mom Raises the Ballet Barre for the First Time By Ramona Pursley As we enter a New Year, I reflect on what I’ve accomplished during the past year both personally and as a parent. One of the best things I did in 2018 was stepping out of my regular Mom Role and trying a challenge I’d wanted to try my whole life—to learn ballet, a real challenge at the age of 57. As older parents of young children, my husband Bob and I find our selves running from one after school activity to another. Our two children ages 11 and almost 13 are involved…
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This Theater Group Delivers Miracles Every Week
This Theater Group Delivers Miracles Every Week By Brad Kava Every week a group of Santa Cruz performers meets to practice for a yearly show called “Miracles in Santa Cruz,” and if you’ve seen it or been a part of it, you know it truly is a miracle. The performers have an array of so-called disabilities, but when they take the stage, they light it up as bright as any Hollywood star. A blind woman sings several songs and you wonder, how did she memorize all the words, while everyone else reads them off a karaoke screen? A guy does spot on impersonations of Batman and characters from Doctor Who that…
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Salesian Students Work on Project Ocean
Salesian Students Work on Project Ocean Learning Conservation First Hand By Joey Silva For three years now, students at Salesian Elementary and Junior High School have been busy working on their 50-acre campus, in the school’s Life Lab, and along the Monterey Bay with gardening efforts for their Ocean Guardian Projects. Salesian is entering its third year being supported by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) via the Ocean Guardian School Program. OCEAN SAVERS Salesian students visit the Monterey Bay where they study environmental protection first hand. Through this program, Salesian students work to protect the ocean and watershed through smart practices and projects that promote healthy ecosystems through the…
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Halloween for New Borns at a Dignity Health Support Group for New Mothers
Halloween for New Borns at a Dignity Health Support Group for New Mothers We covered the first Halloween for new borns at a weekly Dignity Health support group for new mothers. You can’t make up this level of cute! Photos by Paris Lahman. “Ninja Turtle”Bret Segers: 8 weeks old Mother Amanda Segers “Charlie Brown” Arlo Ulbricht : 5 weeks old Mother: Megan Ulbricht “Yoda” August Juel: 8 weeks old Mother: Kirsten Juel “Candy Corn” Evan Stokes: 8 weeks Mother: Veronica Phillips “Scrubs Costume” Liam Cassaro: 11 weeks Mother: Lindsay Cassaro Baby: Finn McDonough: 2 weeksMother: Shannon Marie Kerr “Tiger” Sebastian Boe: 9 weeks Mother: Desiree Boe “Lion” Rylee Holyoak : 9 weeks Mother:…
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Why #MeToo is #MeAlone
Why #MeToo is #MeAlone By Chris Jackson With the #MeToo movement affecting public figures more and more, it’s important to understand why #MeToo is so often #MeAlone. If you want your kids to not be or feel alone when someone does something to them, read on. Think of the most shameful secret you keep. Something that happened to you. Embarrassing’s not the word; it’s worse than embarrassing. In school, kids picked on me, and I never told anyone–including my parents. In fact, this is the first time I’m mentioning it to anyone. You have one too. Why didn’t you tell anyone? Why didn’t you tell everyone? Why didn’t you tell…
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Local Student, 16, Gets His Shot on “The Voice”
Local Student, 16, Gets His Shot on “The Voice” Being a Baseball Pitcher Helped Anthony Arya Stay Cool in Front of 10 Million Viewers. By Jordy Hyman Anthony Arya, a junior at Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School, said his battle round on the singing competition show “The Voice,” was “a whirlwind, a rollercoaster of emotion” when he was saved from elimination by a steal from coach Jennifer Hudson. “It felt so good that she believed in me enough to use one of her two steals on me, out of all the incredible artists in the battle, it was really an honor,” said Arya. “She’s an incredible singer so I was…
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In Santa Cruz a Bar Mitzvah Isn’t Just a Party
In Santa Cruz a Bar Mitzvah Isn’t Just a Party It’s Giving Back, Repairing the World By Michelle Dennis People may be familiar with the idea of a Bar or Bat Mitzvah; the rite of passage for many Jewish teens symbolizing their maturation from childhood to adulthood. Although the word ‘mitzvah’ is more popularly used to mean a good deed, it actually means ‘commandment’. Photo by: Dan Ackerstein RIDE-A-WAVE Sae Ackerstein, 13, organized a team of 13 volunteers to help special needs children ride the waves. she also led three training sessions on kayak rescue and surf skills. Over 35 years ago, Temple Beth El began including a “Mitzvah Project”…
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The Super Stoked Surf Mamas of Pleasure Point Catch a Wave with Filmmaker Elizabeth Pepin Silva
The Super Stoked Surf Mamas of Pleasure Point Catch a Wave with Filmmaker Elizabeth Pepin Silva By Suki Wessling When filmmaker Elizabeth Pepin Silva was young, she made the conscious choice to forego having children in part because of her passion for surfing. “I didn’t know of any women who had been pregnant and kept surfing,” remembers Silva. “I think if I had met the Mamas during my childbearing years I might have made a different choice.” When Katie Loggins learned she was pregnant the first time, she didn’t hesitate to get back on her board and keep surfing. “Ashley was already pregnant, and Jenny and I found out we…
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The First Baby Picture on a Camera Phone was Taken in Santa Cruz
The First Baby Picture on a Camera Phone was Taken in Santa Cruz By Brad Kava On June 11, 1997, Santa Cruz in- ventor Philippe Kahn was waiting dur- ing his wife, Sonia Lee’s 18-hour labor when the idea struck. He wanted to send out pictures of his daughter Sophie, when she was born at Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center. He had a cell phone and a camera, but up to then, no one had thought to link them. He thought about how clumsy it would be to take the photo and upload it to a laptop to email it out, and with time on his hands, he zipped over…
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Local Restaurant Owners do Their Part for Families
Local Restaurant Owners do Their Part for Families By Suki Wessling When your family is welcomed into a restaurant by the staff, that doesn’t happen by accident. According to the managers of local restaurant mentioned by parents as particularly great with kids, there are simple things that let families know that kids are welcome. “I’m a relatively new parent, I have a 17-month-old, and I know the challenges firsthand of dining out with a kid,” says Yogi Shapiro, manager of Dharma’s in Capitola. “I can see now why having something as simple as a toy, a plastic dinosaur, actually helps. It keeps them focused.” Parents mention that Dharma’s is a…
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Kid Friendly Restaurants: Recommendations by Local Parents
Kid Friendly Restaurants: Recommendations by Local Parents By Suki Wessling In my years of taking kids to restaurants, I found that it was hard to predict which ones would be welcoming. One former beloved local institution, when we visited, claimed that their high chair was “broken.” It turned out that their high chair was always “broken”! One rather fancy Italian restaurant doted on our older child when he was a messy toddler and always had a clean chair for him. You can’t necessarily judge by the kids’ menu. “I’ve always found that even if there isn’t a kids’ menu, or if there is a lame one, just order sides!” points…
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September Student Art
September Student Art Ivory, 10, did this mixed media art on canvas at Cherryvale Art Farm. The underwater scene combines collage and acrylic painting. This 5 by 6 inch acrylic and water color drawing is by Mata Overby, 9, a third grader at Tara Redwood School as part of the Creative Compassionate Cultures program. Mata says “It Is the perfection of the colors in the rainbow and it reminds her of all the colors that are represented with the CCC,” according to her teacher Lisa Dreyer-Campiglia. Fifth grader Jianna Muzzio’s owl painting was done at Good Shepherd School and was on display at Cafe Ella in Watsonville. It will be…
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From the NFL to Soquel Dwight Lowery is Inspiring Soquel High Players
From the NFL to Soquel Dwight Lowery is Inspiring Soquel High Players By Bryce Stoepfel In Soquel Knights Head Coach Dwight Lowery’s office, two things may give a clue to his approach to coaching, after nine years playing safety in the National Football League. An Xbox, and a dry erase board bearing the names of 20 players ineligible to play. It’s a carrot and stick approach. There are consequences to not keeping up with grades, but, there’s also a place to relax, to laugh, and to learn about life and football. For Lowery, coming back to Soquel was his way of using what he knows, football and training, to give…
