The African American Academy African Dance Troupe were a blur of motion at a Martin Luther King celebration at Mt. Zion Baptist church, 2003. Photo courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives.The African American Academy (AAA) on South Beacon Hill will hold a Juneteenth celebration on June 19 focusing on the life, purpose, and accomplishments of the Academy. The AAA program has been discontinued and the Van Asselt Elementary program will be housed in the AAA building next school year, after a century at their previous site.
The Academy program first opened as a K-5 school in 1991 at the new Colman School (now Thurgood Marshall) and eventually became a K-8 at Sharples (now Aki Kurose). The current AAA building was specifically designed for K-8 use and opened in 2000.
The Juneteenth event, “Celebrating the Life of the Academy”, is on Friday, June 19 from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the African American Academy, 8311 Beacon Avenue South.
Please, only bring paper documents to be shredded! No animal shredding will be allowed. Photo by oddharmonic.Vivian Valencia, Regional Relationship Manager at Verity Credit Union down by the VA Hospital at 1660 S. Columbian Way wrote to let us know about an event coming up this weekend:
Identity theft is on the rise which means shredding sensitive documentation is critical. This Saturday, June 13th, 10am – 2pm, Verity Credit Union’s VA Hospital/Beacon Hill branch is sponsoring a community shred-a-thon. Everyone is welcome. A minimum $5 donation is requested. All proceeds benefit the Beacon Hill Food Bank. For more information, contact Courtney Ilsley, (206) 315-6717 or CourtneyI@Veritycu.com. On the day of the event, call (206) 762-0410
Seattle Parks and Recreation is holding community meetings on Beacon Hill next week. At the events, neighbors will have a chance to meet with the Superintendent, Tim Gallagher, and have a dialog with Parks and Recreation about how the department is serving the needs of the community. This is intended to be an opportunity to meet the local Parks staff, discuss with the staff what is working, and what can be improved, and talk with the Superintendent about your ideas to make the parks serve the community better. All are welcome.
The meetings are scheduled for Monday, June 15, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm at the Van Asselt Community Center, 2820 South Myrtle Street; and Tuesday, June 16
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South.
Seattle Seahawks Defensive End Lawrence Jackson surprised Beacon Hill International students with $20,000 worth of new books on Wednesday. L to R: Beacon Hill teacher Andy Pickard, Lawrence Jackson, Librarian Mary Thompson, and Principal Susie Murphy.Beacon Hill International School recently received $20,000 in new foreign language books for their library, as part of the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom MVP Award, which provides funding to enhance and support learning at Seattle schools.
Each year, schools compete for the MVP Award by developing program proposals to enhance student achievement. BHIS developed the “Heroes at Home” program, which empowers parents, especially non-native English speakers, to assume a more active role in supporting their child’s literacy learning.
The MVP Award funds have been used to purchase hundreds of new books and audio recordings in languages such as Chinese, English, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese for this program.
Heroes at Home will also feature new weekly Family Library Days, in which parents will be invited to volunteer in the library to help children with book selection and check out.
Congratulations to Beacon Hill International School!
Volunteers are building a better home for snakes like these in Jose Rizal park. Photo by benketaro.
Performances of Anton Chekhov’s The Lost Highway are tonight (June 6) and next Thursday through Saturday, June 11-13, at 8:00 pm. The venue is Art’s on Beacon Hill, 4951 13th Avenue South. (Thanks to Audrey Chesnutt for letting us know.)
Craig Thompson reports that, as part of today’s Seattle Works Day event, a team of folks was to help build a herpetarium (an environment for garter snakes) near the northwest side of the off-leash area at Dr. Jose Rizal Park. Additionally, volunteers picked up rocks and debris in the off-leash area to make it easier for Seattle Parks and Recreation to mow the meadow. (Garter snakes are not poisonous, so have no fear of the snakes!)
Inay’s beer/spirits/wine application has been approved. Inay’s Asian Pacific Cuisine is at 2503 Beacon Avenue South and the food is quite tasty. In other liquor license news, two local businesses have liquor license renewals coming up on August 30: Thai Recipe at 2609 South McClellan Street and Dahlak Eritrean Cuisine at 2007 South State Street. If you have comments or concerns about either of these renewals, send them to John McGoodwin at john.mcgoodwin@seattle.gov. (Thanks to Shelly Bates for the report.)
Tica enjoying Jose Rizal Park back in January. Photo by melissajonas.(Editor’s note: This is the first of what we hope will be many posts by Melissa, a new contributor to the blog. Please give her a hearty welcome!)
Howdy neighbors! I’m starting a new project on the blog, loosely based on my observations and adventures as I walk around Beacon Hill. We moved to Beacon Hill from the Central District in 2003. I grew up in Walla Walla and settled in Seattle in 1997. Our household includes me, my sweetheart, two cats, and a somewhat cranky 10 year old mutt named Tica. She’s been a major ice breaker in getting to know our neighbors. We’ve also met other dogs and the people who walk them from all around the neighborhood; there are lots of folks out there holding leashes and scoop bags. (There are also lots of cats watching all these dogs warily from living room windows, porch railings, and behind bushes.)
For six years, Tica and I have explored the neighborhood, from Pac Med to the stairs on Lucile Street, but we spend the most time between College and Spokane. The north-south streets are more gently sloped, but I also enjoy the east-west hills and stairs for the incredible views and great workout. We also frequently visit Blue Dog Pond (an off leash area on Massachusetts) and occasionally stop at the dog park at Jose Rizal or the informal dog run at Pac Med/Amazon.
Taking Tica for a walk is more than just exercise, for both of us. It’s a chance to check on construction progress at the light rail station, notice “for sale” signs, and admire gardens. It’s also a fantastic socialization opportunity for both of us. Often — especially on these sunny days — we wander slowly around a few blocks and stop to see neighbors in their yards. Tica is getting older and slower, and appreciates a chance to lounge in someone else’s parking strip while I stand at the gate and gab. She also looks forward to the treats and belly scratches many of our neighbors generously dispense.
When I’m with Tica, people smile and say hello. They ask what kind of dog she is (I don’t know, probably a Blue Heeler mix), where we live (McClellan), and how progress is going on our house (it’s coming along). These basic conversations helped established relationships in a neighborhood evenly mixed between old-timers and people who just moved in. Sharing pet stories opened doors — often literally. People will invite us in to see the latest progress on a project, or ask if Tica needs some water. Slowly, over time, these sidewalk conversations are turning into invitations to dinner and exchanges of phone numbers.
Walking the dog has given me the chance to see and appreciate my neighborhood in a way that I don’t take for granted. It’s a chance to catch up on the latest news (I get the latest void updates fresh from the source), get restaurant reviews, and celebrate (or commiserate) what’s going on in the lives of our neighbors. Even if you don’t have a dog, I encourage you to get out and walk a few blocks. Especially right now — all the flowers are blooming and everyone’s yard looks great!
I’m looking forward to sharing my pedestrian experiences on the blog. Thanks to Wendi and Jason for the opportunity!
The community discussed what to prioritize in the Jefferson Park expansion, at a community meeting on April 21 and also via an online poll. The results have now been tallied and are posted here. The city is using this process to set priorities since the funding for the project is not all available at once. (Thanks to Joel Lee for forwarding us this document to host.)
The Seattle Public Library system, including the Beacon Hill branch, will be closed from August 31 through September 6, due to citywide budget cuts. The library will also be closed September 7 for the Labor Day holiday. During the closed week, no materials will be due, nor will any fines be accrued. None of the library’s website services, such as the book catalog, will be accessible either. (Can’t they find a way to at least allow us to use the website during that week?)
We reported a couple of days ago that 15th Avenue South would be closed between South Atlantic Street and South College Street for repair this Saturday.
However, Marybeth Turner from SDOT reports that the plan was changed, and if you live in that area, you might already have noticed:
The plan for performing the paving work on 15th Avenue South this weekend fell through. When the crew chief found that he had the crews and equipment available today, he seized the opportunity and went ahead with the work. They expect to have the street completely open by 5:00 p.m. I apologize for the lack of warning about the schedule change.
In further street construction news, paving crews will work in the 5300 block of Beacon Avenue South on Saturday, starting at 8:00 a.m. The street will be closed to southbound traffic between South Bennett Street and South Brandon Street until 8:00 a.m on Sunday. A detour will be provided. The crews will repair pavement that was previously excavated for work on underground utilities.
BHIS students celebrated the opening of
the International School program last September with a parade of flags. Photo by Bridget ChristianVia Erin on the mailing list:
The kids at Beacon Hill International School (BHIS) need your help! As you all have heard, the Seattle Public School is facing some challenging times with their budget and many of our programs are being let go due to limited resources. Seventy-five percent of the students at BHIS are either on free or reduced lunch. Many of our families are bilingual and English is not their first language in the home. BHIS PTA pride itself on actively engaging communities and families to support and provide programs to our elementary kids that they would not otherwise have the opportunities to participate. For example, after school choir and cooking classes for the Kindergarteners.
You can help BHIS kids in several ways in your normal day-to-day purchases. The BHIS PTA funds many school extras such as the 4th grade music program, after school sports, and much more. There are many retailers who will make donations to BHIS PTA, with just a few simple steps taken by BHIS families and friends. Please share this information with grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors and other friends whose purchases may also be able to benefit your student’s school. You can start now and have your purchases benefit the school even over the summer time and then through next year!
Safeway Club Card
Log on to www.escrip.com and go to “Sign up†to register your Safeway Club Card number to benefit Beacon Hill Elementary PTA (8560956). You have the choice of registering 3 organizations, and if you do choose 3, then the donation made will be split between the 3, thus each would get just 1/3. If you’ve lost your club card you can call Safeway at 1-877-723-3929 to get your club card number using your phone number, and then enter your phone number at the store credit/debit machine to get your club card savings and earn a percentage for your school each time you shop. You can also register major credit cards with Escrip when you sign up. A percentage of all purchases made using your registered cards will be remitted to BHIS PTA, ranging from 1% to 3% depending on your shopping volume.
Office Depot
Use BHIS’s School ID #70107436 every time you make a purchase at Office Depot and a percentage of your purchase will be emitted to BHIS. This offer only works for purchases made at a store, and does not work for on-line orders.
Red Apple Grocery on Beacon Hill
Save and turn in all of your Red Apple receipts, and 1% will be donated to BHIS. The total donation by Red Apple to the school maxes out at $500 per year, but we have been far from achieving that goal for the past several years. We will be sure to let you know if we get there so you’ll know to stop saving receipts. This is only valid for receipts from the Hilltop Red Apple on Beacon Avenue. Be sure to keep saving receipts over the summer, and give it to Nancy Fujimoto at Beacon Hill International School, 2025 14th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144.
Box Tops for Education
Each Box Top for Education (the small pink symbol found on cereal, cracker, and other boxed products) is worth $0.10 to the school. If you’re buying products that have this symbol, please tear off the pink box top symbol and turn it in to Nancy Fujimoto at Beacon Hill International School, 2025 14th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144.
You can send your Red Apple receipts and Box Tops weekly or monthly – whenever they start to build up. Find a spot on the fridge or window sill to save them, and just staple or clip together. These are easy ways that your usual shopping habits can help earn money for our school without asking you to make any extra donations!! The PTA greatly appreciates your effort to take advantage of the opportunities above, so that your purchases can benefit BHIS kids through the programs funded by the PTA. Please also remember to share this information with friends or family who may be willing to do the same for BHIS.
Every penny you spend in your day to day purchases supports programs and services that help our kids reach their potential and build a stronger community. Thank you in advance for helping your school!
From Hazel (in response to a question from Quinton):
Yes, your donation is tax deductible. PTSAs are 501 c 3s
From Shelly, clarifying:
If you do choose to make a donation to BHIS, you should be clear on whether it is a donation to the school itself or the PTA at the school. It’s confusing, but they have their own individual tax ID numbers that are used for donation purposes. As current treasurer for the BHIS PTA, I’d be happy to answer any further questions regarding donations.
If you do have questions for Shelly, drop us a line and we’ll put you in touch.
