Did You Know?

Registration for the Youth Baseball League starts this month?

Sat
11:15a-4:30p

Friends Rotate Duties
Winter Class Registration
Sports for Girls
Spring Baseball League Registration
Holiday Hours
Center gets a Spruce Up
Canine Corner
Volunteer Opportunities

Chris Faust and Kate Haug accept an award on behalf of Friends of Noe Valley Rec Center at the Cinco de Noe celebration.

Friends Rotate Duties
by Chris Faust

Change is coming. Kate Haug has decided to step down as co-chair of FNVRC and remain on the committee in a non-administrative volunteer role, focusing more on the Ladybug Gardeners.

Kate has been marvelous for our community, and we appreciate her years of service. Some of the Friends’ accomplishments that Kate steered to success over the past three years include regular Tot Concerts, community events like LitQuake, regular website updates and e-newsletters, two applications for the Community Opportunity Fund, and two very successful school fairs. In addition, during this time the Community Recreation Council developed with Friends' support and we were able to solve some needs with purchases like the sandbox cover and picnic table.

I will continue my tenure as co-chair with Molly Sterkel that began last summer. I’ll also make sure that the newsletter gets out each month and that our website remains updated with reliable, quality news and information.

While I’ve been with Friends for over five years, this past year has seen an increase in membership and activity that redoubled my commitment. The committee has been revitalized and reorganized with new membership and new goals. We have capitalized on the success of our Movienights, Tot Concerts and other events; our ability to lobby effectively for maintenance has improved; and we have worked well together to identify and fund improvements.

The success of Cinco de Noe in September was the icing on the cake. FNVRC received kudos from Rec & Park, the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor’s Office for our outstanding dedication to this community. I am so grateful to our neighbors and local merchants who recognize the importance of Upper Noe Rec Center to the neighborhood and gave generously to support our mission.

An integral part of the Friends network is the Community Recreation Council. We meet once a month. (Check our calendar for dates.) Everyone is welcome. Those who represent an organization, group or business in the neighborhood are particularly encouraged to join us to help Rec & Park be more responsive to the needs of the community.

Winter Class Registration
 
Registration for winter quarter starts Saturday, Dec. 14, at 10 a.m., and Upper Noe is offering something for all ages, from skateboarding to senior tango.

There are cooking classes for tots, tweens and adults, martial arts for kids and adults, tot indoor soccer, acting, and tennis—lots of tennis.

New this term will be an all-girls tennis and basketball class called Hoops and Racquets. (Read more below.) 

See the list of classes (listed by day and including descriptions) on our website. Registration can be done online or at any recreation center for any class. Click here to view the entire winter catalog.

Sports for Girls

Upper Noe will host two girls-only sports classes called Racquets and Hoops that combine tennis and basketball.

Girls ages 8 to 9 will play Thursdays from 3:30 to 5, and girls ages 10 to 12 will play Saturdays from 3:30 to 5.

Girls interested in basketball only might want to try the 9-week course offered at Eureka Recreation Center on Tuesdays. Girls ages 5 to 9 will practice from 4 to 5:30, followed by ages 10 to 14 from 5:30 to 7.

See the list of classes (listed by day and including descriptions) on our website. Registration can be done online or at any recreation center for any class. Click here to view the entire winter catalog.

Spring Baseball League Registration
 
Registration starts Dec. 5 for the San Francisco Youth Baseball League, which starts the week of March 4. Children are divided into teams based on their age by April 30, 2014, and all games are played on Saturdays.

Upper Noe is scheduled to field three teams. The Shetland Tball division is for children ages 5 to 6, Shetland Coach Pitch is for ages 5 to 7, and the Pinto division—which includes some kid pitching—is for ages 7 to 8.

If a class is full at a particular location, you can wait list and we will try to form other teams with practices at or nearby that location.

The $82 fee includes a uniform, a coach and entry into the SFYBL Baseball league. Register online here.

Holiday Hours
 
The center will close early—probably at 5 p.m., says Facility Coordinator Cheryl Woltjen—on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. All centers will be closed for Christmas and New Year’s Day.
 

Some lucky buyers just snatched up prime real estate next to Joby’s Run with this lovely view.

Center gets a Spruce Up
 
Upper Noe’s hallway, auditorium and playground are in the process of being re-painted and re-sealed, with the work extending into the first week of December. Call the center at 415-970-8061 to double check tot free play hours. The painter will cordon off sections of the playground so that it’s not all closed at once, said Facility Coordinator Cheryl Woltjen.

Canine Corner
 

The recent Federal shutdown gave us a glimpse of what will come if the Golden Gate National Recreation area’s plan to remove traditional dog walking activity from on our local beaches goes through. With Fort Funston and Crissy Field closed, McLaren Park and Bernal Hill became so packed with pooches that dog walkers started to overflow into and overcrowd tiny Joby’s Run. Inadequate consideration of the impact on local parks has moved the Board of Supervisors to oppose the GGNRA dog policy.

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 contact us at info (at) noevalleyreccenter.com.

• Garden at the Park. Help keep the park beautiful by volunteering with the Ladybug Gardeners on the second Saturday of each quarter. The last date of 2013 will be December 14. All ages welcome, no experience necessary, community service hours credited. Even an hour would be a big help! Please contact us at info (at) noevalleyreccenter.com.
 

Community Events

December 14
Ladybug Gardeners
9 a.m. to noon
Recreation Center grounds

December 19
Community Recreation Council
6:30 p.m.
Recreation Center kitchen

Help shape programming and priorities at Upper Noe.

Outside the Center

December 1
Chanukah Wonderland
3 to 6 p.m.
Noe Valley Town Square

Bounce around, build the menorah and grab a latke—this year's Chanukah celebration happens at the new town square on 24th Street between Sanchez and Vicksburg.
See complete calendar of events here.

December 1-24
HoliDAYS on 24th Street
(times vary)
24th Street

December 5
84th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting
4 to 8 p.m.
McClaren Lodge, 501 Stanyan Street

Train rides, entertainment, activities for kids, Santa, and the big tree in front of McClaren Lodge will be lit. Free! Donations of new, unwrapped toys accepted for Operation Dream.

December 5
Noe Valley Democratic Club
7:30 p.m.
St. Philip Parish, 725 Diamond Street

Presentation from the new Chancellor of City College of San Francisco, Dr. Arthur Tyler, followed by Q&A. Co-sponsored by San Francisco for Democracy and Upper Noe Neighbors.

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