| November News
Swing for School
Whack a Weed
Youth League Basketball
Classes Still Open
Classes to Come
Ping Pong, Poker or Painting? What Do You Want to Play?
Grant Application Update
No CRC Meeting in November
Volunteer Opportunities
 Swing for School
Grab a partner and join us Saturday, November 10, from 5 to 8 p.m. for our Ice Cream ‘n Swing Social Party to benefit Junipero Serra, a public elementary school in Bernal Heights.
Don’t know how to swing? Dance instructors Lisa Gonick and Cheryl McBride will be on hand to show us the moves, and J. P. & the Rhythm Chasers will set the beat.
Take a break and enjoy lemonade, ice-cream and popcorn topped with special toppings created by Bow Wow Baking and Food in Jars teacher John Rutherford.
Volunteers from J Serra will help scoop and pour, and the suggested donations of $5 per family and $1 per scoop of ice cream will directly benefit the school’s PTA. Three-quarters of the J Serra’s students are classified as English Language Learners, and part of the swing-dance funds will help the PTA pay for translation equipment and books that help children practice their English at home.
The event is organized and sponsored by Upper Noe’s Community Recreation Council, Friends of Noe Valley Recreation Center, and SF Recreation and Parks Department. It was the brainchild of Recreation Coordinator Levi Johnson and Stacy Kaiser, an intern with the department.
 Whack a Weed
Want a free course in native plant gardening?
Join Ladybug Gardeners Saturday, Nov. 10 at 9 a.m. at the corner of Sanchez and Day streets, and lead Ladybug Joan Lionberger will show you what to pull and what to protect.
The Ladybugs will be weeding the native plant gardens along Sanchez and mulching the area next to the 30th Street steps.
Youth Basketball League
UNRC will field two co-ed basketball teams—one for kindergarteners and one for first- and second-graders—in the Recreation and Park Department’s 2013 All City Youth League.
The League is comprised of teams from recreation centers across the city. Players practice once a week and then square off for seven games on Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights from January through mid-March.
Practices start the week of January 7. Upper Noe will lower the adjustable baskets and pull out the larger balls to host Wednesday practices. Kinders bounce the ball from 4 to 5 p.m., followed by the first- and second-graders from 5 to 6 p.m.
Registration begins Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 10 a.m. in person at Upper Noe or online at www.sfreconline.com. Existing teams can also join the league but must call Cortez Espinoza at 415-695-5006.
Classes Still Open
Calling all actors, bakers and baby art makers!
Some classes at Upper Noe still have lots of room: acting and cooking for tweens on Friday evenings, combat athletics for kids and adults on Wednesdays and Fridays, the Friday sessions of Petite Bakers and Baby & Me, and the Tuesday sessions of Express It! and soccer.
You can register at the center or online by visiting www.sfreconline.com. To see course offerings at Upper Noe specifically (or any one recreation center), click the “Browse Programs” tab. Go to the bottom of the lefthand column and choose “Advanced Search.” Select all courses. When the listings pop up, you will be given an option to narrow choices by facility.
Classes to Come
Winter classes start January 8, and new this term will be Food in Jars, a comprehensive canning class taught by Petite Bakers instructor John Rutherford.
Drop in Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m., or take all six lessons. Rutherford teaches canning that can be done with basic cooking equipment.
Each week focuses on a different topic: pickling vegetables, fruit preserves, citrus curds, relishes and condiments and whole fruits, plus a first-week basics class.
Or, if you prefer to make something for your best friend instead, drop in to Bow Wow Baking on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to noon and learn to bake delicious, nutritious and natural treats for your dog.
You can register for winter term at the center or online, starting at 10 a.m. on December 15. To register online, visit www.sfreconline.com. To see course offerings at Upper Noe specifically (or any one recreation center), click the “Browse Programs” tab. Go to the bottom of the lefthand column and choose “Advanced Search.” Select all courses. When the listings pop up, you will be given an option to narrow choices by facility.
Ping Pong, Poker or Painting? What Do You Want to Play?
What would you like to see offered at Upper Noe Recreation Center? Badmitten? What about volleyball? A Bridge night? A board game afternoon club? Email or call Facility Coordinator Cheryl Woltjen at cheryl.woltjen@sfgov.org or 415-970-8061 and let’s try to get it going.
Grant Application Update
 Last July, Friends applied to the park department’s Community Opportunity Fund for a grant to re-design the Sanchez Street side of the building. Winners were to be announced in September, but then two members of the volunteer selection committee had to resign.
“Unfortunately two of them realized that they didn’t have the time to commit to the program,” said Jake Gilchrist, the Recreation and Parks Department project manager for the COF grants. The department spent July and the beginning of August searching for two replacements.
The department spent July and the beginning of August searching for two replacements.
“We had them in place when, in the last week of August, another member had to resign because he’d been hired by the City and it could have become a conflict of interest for him to serve,” Gilchrist said.
There are 25 applicants requesting $3.55 million who are vying for the $1.25 million in this third (and final) round of grants from the 2008 parks bond, Gilchrist said. He estimated the winners would be announced in late November or early December.
No CRC Meeting in November
There will be no Community Recreation Council meeting in November, but join us Wednesday, December 19, at 7 p.m. for the next opportunity to help shape programming at Upper Noe Recreation Center.
Volunteers Needed
• Help advise the city on what classes should be offered at the Upper Noe Rec Center. Serve a term on the Upper Noe Recreation Center’s Community Recreation Council and help shape programming at the Center. A teen member is still needed! Please contact Cheryl Woltjen at 970-8061. The form is available on our website and at the center. Please either drop it off or mail it to: Cheryl Woltjen, UNRC, 295 Day Street, SF, 94131.
• Distribute our new Friends of NVRC postcard. This newsletter is distributed to nearly 1,000 “friends.” Make sure interested neighbors know about our group by helping distribute our informational postcard around the neighborhood. Please email molly (at) noevalleyreccenter.com if you know of a good shop or cafe to distribute the postcards. Or you could help put them somewhere frequented by park users.
• Lead a new event. Are you interested in organizing a new event at the Center? Maybe a game night or movie night? Please let us know.
• Garden at the Park. Help keep the park beautiful by volunteering with the Ladybug Gardeners on Saturday, November 10, at 9 a.m. All ages welcome, no experience necessary. Even an hour would be a big help! Please contact us at info (at) noevalleyreccenter.com.
Community Events
November 10
Ladybug Gardeners
9 a.m. to noon
Recreation Center grounds
Turn weeds into plants with the Ladybug Gardeners. Please bring gloves and a trowel. Lead Ladybug Joan Lionberger has gloves, projects and things to see for the kids, too.
November 10
Ice Cream ‘n Swing
5 to 8 p.m.
Recreation Center auditorium
Grab a partner and swing by for a scoop of ice cream!
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 |
