October 2011 newsletter – Friends of Upper Noe Recreation Center

Giving Thanks in October

Fair Volunteers Help Parents Find Schools
Ladybug Gardeners Swarm the Park
Friends of Noe Valley Donate $Grand-ly
New Postcards and Posters
Basho and Friends Rock the Tots
New Coordinator on the Block: Thomas Iglesias

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Thanks to all those who made our September 25 Elementary School Fair a fabulous success. More than 300 families braved the foggy rain to learn more about local schools.

Representatives from the 35 participating schools remarked on the huge turnout.

Richard and Linda from the Friends of Noe Valley, Olga from Upper Noe Neighbors, and Amy, Masha and Elfi from our neighborhood set up tables and chairs and pointed parents in the right direction. Their calm and friendly support set the tone for a informative and productive—rather than frantic—-morning.

Thanks also to our corporate sponsor www.urbansitter.com.

The San Francisco Public Library and Parents for Public Schools also worked tables filled with helpful information. And what about that Book Mobile!

Organizer Kate Haug gets a special thanks for coming up with this great idea and seeing it through to every last detail.

Our website, www.noeschools.com, is still up and can hopefully serve as a resource for those interested in schools on the south side of town. We have sorted the schools by geographical area, by pre-K and by K-8 status. (Each school has a link.) Our Resources tab is filled with useful information. Good luck, parents, and thank YOU for coming!

See www.noeschools.com for more information.

Ladybug Gardeners Fly Weeds Away Home

Thanksto the 12—12!—Upper Noe Neighbor volunteers who came out and gardened with FNVRC’s Kate Haug September 10. The crew cleared the bed at the base of Joby’s Run on Day Street and much of the Sanchez Street side of the Recreation Center as well.In fact, all the beds around the Center got some attention that day. Teresa O’Brien, the head gardener for our area, was impressed and inspired by the work that the volunteers had completed, said Haug.That support translates into continued help from the Recreation and Parks Department, which cannot afford to send a Saturday gardener unless we have a significant number of volunteers helping each month.

Join us October 8 to ready the Sanchez beds for a November planting.

Friends with Benefits

Thanks to Friends of Noe Valley, which generously donated $1,000 of proceeds from last May’s Garden Tour toward our greening project on the Sanchez side of the Recreation Center. (The group has also donated funds to green the schoolyard at James Lick Middle School.) “We wanted it to be something that’s visible in the community,” said Linda Lockyer, event chair and board member of FNV.Thanks to ample advertising, this year’s Garden Tour attracted double the number of people in past years, bringing in $4,000 in all, Lockyer said.

Every year, FNV donates proceeds from the tour to public beautification projects in Noe Valley. The group is looking for folks who have proposals for next year’s proceeds. They will decide which gardens to tour and which projects to fund in January or February, Lockyer said. Please email suggestions for both to info@friendsofnoevalley.com

Dig the Design

Thanks to Mary Szczepanik of Valencia Design Studio, who responded to our plea for a volunteer graphic designer. She created our new postcards and posters full of information about the Center and our group.Szczepanik has been designing websites and promotional materials for two years, having switched careers from writing political content for election-time flyers. She knows how to target an audience.
“I tend to think about the hierarchy of what you want to convey,” said Szczepanik, who studies design at City College of San Francisco.She designed the postcards using FNVRC’s signature shades of green and its familiar logo, then added as much useful information as she could. For her, the job seemed a natural marriage of her interests and her work.

“I live in the neighborhood, and I was looking for something volunteer in and I design,” said Szczepanik, who is expecting her first child in the next two weeks.

We are looking for people to help distribute flyers at coffee houses and events like the Noe Valley Harvest Festival. If you can help, please contact molly (at) noevalleyreccenter.com.

Halloween Fun with Basho & Friends

Grab your costume and come on down to dance to the beats of BASHO & Friends Saturday, October 29, from 9 to 11 a.m.

Saturday’s show will feature a mixture of Spanish and English songs, supported by a Halloween theme throughout, said founder Basho Mosko, father of an 18-month-old son. Mosko started BASHO & Friends in 2009, creating music videos and compact discs in English, Spanish, French and Mandarin that teach everything from the alphabet to self-esteem.

He will be joined by his business partner and friend Ben Lybrand as the DJ and Tommy Shepherd as the beatboxer. Rap is part of their repertoire, but BASHO music spans the spectrum from bouncy pop to country twang, all with a positive message, says Mosko.His own experience spans the education spectrum, covering more than 15 years in the classroom as a credentialed bilingual teacher, writing for Sesame Street and Lango foreign language education company and starting an arts-based afterschool program for elementary school children in Oakland.Mosko likes to tell a story, and his lyrics don’t talk down to children.

“It’s very accessible,” said Mosko, who works in Cisco Systems’ corporate philanthropic department helping nonprofits structure their own compelling stories.

Listen to the music, see the videos and learn more by visiting www.bashoandfriends.com.Tot Rock is sponsored by the Friends of Noe Valley Recreation Center through community donations. All families with children under the age of 5 welcome. Thanks to Brad from the neighborhood who volunteered to greet people as they came to the concert, and you can, too! If you are interested in helping, please email m olly (at) noevalleyreccenter.com.

Hello, Thomas!,

Introduce yourself to our new Facility Coordinator, Thomas Iglesias next time you’re at the center. Thomas will be with us at least through January 2012, and he is eager to hear from neighbors what kind of programming they would like to see. You can also contact him by email, thomas.iglesias (at) sfgov.org or by calling the center at 970-8061.

Volunteers Needed

Serve a two-year term on Upper Noe Recreation Center’s Community Recreation Council and help shape programming at the center.

Please contact Thomas Iglesias at 970-8061. The form is available on our website and at the center. Please either drop it off or mail it to: Thomas Igelsias, UNRC, 295 Day Street, SF, 94131.

Tabling at our Halloween concert Saturday, October 29.

We need at least ten people each day Friday, November 18, and Saturday, November 19, to plant the Sanchez Street side of the Recreation Center. Grab your gloves and get dirty!

Distribute flyers at cafes, shops and events like the Noe Valley Harvest Festival and the Farmer’s Market.

Tabling on October 8 from 9 a.m. to noon. This opportunity is ongoing. We need volunteers to tell people about our organization during our free family concerts in the Auditorium the second Saturday of each month. Come meet your friends and neighbors and let them know about the Friends of Noe Valley Recreation Center!

Assist the Ladybug Gardeners on the second Saturday of each month. This opportunity is ongoing.

Help us find a solution to our sandbox woes.

Please contact us at info (at) noevalleyreccenter.com.

Community Events

October 8
Ladybug Gardeners
Saturday, October 8
9 a.m. to noon
Recreation Center grounds

The Ladybugs will descend on the section along Sanchez near Day Street, readying it for a November planting. Help turn this weed patch into a bed of flowers! Please bring gloves and a trowel. Lead Ladybug Joan Lionberger has gloves, projects and things to see for the kids, too.

October 12
Upper Noe Neighbors
Election meeting
Wednesday, October 12
7:30 p.m.

Props E and F (ability to repeal voter-adoped initiatives; requirements for campaign consultants) will be represented by Supervisor Wiener, with opposing views from Eileen Hansen.

Prop D (Jeff Adachi’s City Pension Benefits) will be explained by a member from that team. We have asked the Mayor’s Office to have someone speak on the alternate Prop C but they said no one was available. In the interest of having some sort of comparison of the two plans presented, we’ve asked the Prop D folks to explain the differences in the two proposals.

Candidates for Sheriff: Ross Mirkarimi will drop by; still waiting to hear if Chris Cunnie can resolve scheduling conflict.

October 29
Live Music in the Auditorium (tot room)
Basho and Friends
Saturday, October 29
9 to 11 a.m.

Don your costumes and hip hop to the beat of Basho and Friends. The Friends of Noe Valley Recreation Center is glad to sponsor Saturday morning live music in the Auditorium/Tiny Tot room at the Rec Center. Tot room open, too! Come by with your child and enjoy the music.

Outside the Center:

October 15
7th Annual Noe Valley Harvest Festival
Saturday, October 15
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
24th Street between Church and Sanchez streets

Hay rides, 14 bands on two stages, kid and pet costume contests, a pie eating contest, a pumpkin patch, face-painting—all of this fun among booths with crafts and art for sale.

October 19
Noe Valley Democratic Club
Wednesday, October 19
7:30 p.m.
St. Philip’s School
725 Diamond Street (at Elizabeth)

Public school forum with Hydra Mendoza, president of the SFUSD Board of Education, Ken Tray, teacher and political director of the SF Teachers Union and Heather World, a concerned and involved parent from Alvarado Elementary School.

Thanks for your interest and support of your park! Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Let us know about any community events you are planning at the park so we can promote them. Please forward this newsletter to your friends and neighbors who use the Noe Valley Recreation Center. We want this newsletter to help build the park community — please help us connect with members of the community.
Enjoy your Park!

Molly Sterkel (molly@noevalleyreccenter.com)
Friends of the Noe Valley Recreation Center
www.NoeValleyRecCenter.com