Memorial Park Tree

This poor tree in Memorial Park lost a big branch this week. Earlier this summer it lost an even larger one.

Need a Place for a Wedding?

On Saturday my string trio played a wedding held at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden, a place I've strolled through many times. It had never occurred to me that one could have a wedding here, but it was a beautiful setting. The Garden has staff on hand to bring people up from the parking lot on trolleys. This particular ceremony took place in the California Natives Container Garden. Upon chatting with some staff, I found out that information on rentals are on the RSABG website.

Indian Hill Villas

Yesterday morning we experienced a time warp. We had signed up to help our new associate minister move into her new apartment, and we found out that she will be living in the same complex we started out in when we moved to Claremont 25 years ago. With the exception of the vaulted ceiling in the bedroom, her apartment was the exact floorplan of our apartment here, and all of a sudden we remembered living here with a one-year-old as newcomers from the midwest.

Friday Night in the Village

Here are a few shots from last night's wandering through the Village. People were out in droves, enjoying the eateries, the free music and the lovely weather.

Theft at Vista

When I went into Vista today, I noticed that the "Snowball Mac" that usually sits in the staff room was missing. I wondered where it had gone, and the office manager told me that someone broke the window on Tuesday night, reached in and took it. Because they didn't actually enter the room, the motion sensor did not activate the alarm. I usually use that Mac to print out stuff for the classroom, so I'll have to find another computer somewhere on campus.

Vista del Valle Elementary in the Courier

Today's Claremont Courier has a big article about the improvement that Vista has made in state testing scores. After being placed in Program Improvement last year, Vista del Valle turned a negative into a positive in improving its Academic Performance Index score by 50 points (770 to 820) during the 2009-10 school year. The statewide target score is 800.

I can't help but think that one of the many factors that lead to this success is the opportunities the students have to learn music - not only in the classroom, but also the instrumental music in which many upper graders participate.

Things Kids Say

This is the week the music teachers go around to the elementary schools to promote our program. We gather the 4th-6th graders in the multipurpose room or outdoor stage and tell them some information about the program and play the various instruments as an example of what they can learn.

Despite the fact that I start the assembly by saying that we don't teach piano or guitar, we always have students ask about these instruments.

The funniest thing I heard today, though, was one of the students asked the jr. high music teacher his name, and he said, "Mr. Johnson." Another kid remarked, "You're married?" That's better than last year when the student asked me if Mr. Ryan (the high school teacher) was my son, and then I found out that I WAS old enough to be his mother! (Read the original post from one year ago today.)

Music Rug Update

We've reached exactly half of our goal for the music rug today! Keep those donations coming! Tell your friends.

Interfaith Worship

This morning in church, we welcomed our local Imam, Shamshad Nasir and members of his congregation to read from the Qur'an. Not knowing much at all about Islam, I found it interesting to listen to the chanting of the holy text, in Arabic.

The Particular Blahh of Weird Magic Realism

When I first heard about this book, Amy Bender's The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, about how the protagonist can taste the emotions of the person who made the food, I thought about the magical realism in books such as Like Water for Chocolate. It's not like that at all.

Without giving away the strangest part of the book, the main theme seems to be isolation, and I'd much rather read Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men if I'm going to read about that.

At least it was a very quick read.