All posts by Blaine Memorial UMC

Blaine Memorial Fall Festival welcomes families for Halloween fun

With Halloween on a Saturday this year, there’s plenty of day time to take part in more festive fall fun at Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church’s Fall Festival!

Come for lunch and enjoy kid crafts, crazy mazes, ‘Trunk OR Treat’ and more. Kids will trick or treat from ‘car to car’ rather than ‘door to door!’ Wear your costumes but please no masks or gore!

This is a free community event with plenty of parking. Adults and kids 12 and younger please! Saturday October 31, 12-3 p.m. (Trunk or Treat 2:15-2:45 p.m.) at Blaine Memorial UMC, 3001 24th Ave S, 206-723-1536.

Homework Help at the Library

Got a tough homework assignment? The Seattle Public Library offers free, in-person educational assistance for children and teens.

DROP-IN HOMEWORK HELP
Homework Help volunteers work with students one-on-one or in small groups to assist with general homework help support in all subjects for grades K-12. This is a free service and offered on a drop-in, first come, first served basis. The goal of Homework Help is for students to form meaningful relationships with volunteers while having a welcoming space to do their homework.
In-person tutoring for children and teens is offered at our branch:
• Beacon Hill Branch, 2821 Beacon Ave. S., 206-684-4711.
4 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

When should Beacon Hill schools start next year?

Seattle Public Schools needs to hear from YOU about when our neighborhood schools should start during the 2016-2017 school year. (Then they’ll be asking you again for 2017-2018…but first things first.)

The community pushed Seattle Public Schools to investigate helping improve teen health, safety & educational outcomes by scheduling middle/high school start times later. The Bell Times Task Force recommended that Elementary Schools (ES) “flip” start times with Middle Schools (MS) and High Schools (HS). The school district engaged in community outreach over the spring and summer and discovered that, mostly, respondents agreed this would be a fine idea.

The Superintendent’s Final Draft Proposal was revealed last week and included recommendations to move 20 elementary schools one hour LATER to accommodate the bus schedules the district anticipates would be needed to get all students to school under the new schedule. 17 of the schools recommended for this later start time are Title I schools with high populations of low income families.

In Beacon Hill, we’ll see two schools start one hour EARLIER (Maple and Dearborn Park Elementary, 8:50) and two schools start one hour LATER (Kimball and Beacon Hill International, 9:40). Van Asselt would start 10 minutes later than now. No one has explained why this would be either cost effective for transportation purposes or how the impacts on families would justify the benefit to middle/high school students. The district has not responded to family or staff concerns about the impact of this change on childcare, before/after school enrichment programs, or safety.

The Bell Times Task Force strongly recommended a “Two Tier” schedule, relying on buses to serve 2 schools and having two “tiers” of start times instead of three. The schedule changes recommended by the Task Force were based on research about health and safety. The Superintendent’s proposal is based on bus schedules.

The community engagement from last spring didn’t include any questions about elementary schools started later. If you participated in the surveys, you weren’t asked about a late start time. Now’s your chance to weigh in.

Email schoolboard@seattleschools.org and arrivaltimes@seattleschools.org to share your feedback about this proposal.

Please let your friends & neighbors know–if you have a child not yet enrolled in school this will affect your family next year, but you’re not getting the information.

Wells Fargo Mortgage Intervention Workshop

The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle is partnering with Wells Fargo. We are hosting a Mortgage Intervention workshop on October 29, 2015 from 9am – 4:00pm at The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle located at 105 14th Ave, Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98122.

During the workshop you will have an opportunity to meet with a housing counselor and a Wells Fargo representative who will discuss your mortgage payment concerns and options.

You can also find out about eligibility requirements for programs like the Home Affordable Modification Program. If you bring all necessary documentation, a Wells Fargo representative may be able to provide an on-site decision.

To schedule your appointment call 1-800-368-1455 or Info@urbanleague.org

Beacon Hill Merchants networking luncheon on Wednesday, 9/16

Do you have a business based on Beacon Hill? Here’s your chance to network with other business owners, spread the word about what you’re doing, and make important connections. Please join us for lunch on Wednesday, September Sept. 16, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.at Kusina Filipina, 2524 Beacon Ave S. http://www.beaconhillmerchants.com/networking-luncheon-this-wednesday-1130-100pm/

September Meaningful Movie: Watershed

Beacon Hill Meaningful Movies presents Watershed, another free monthly documentary screening with free popcorn, Friday, September 18, at the Garden House (2336 15th Ave. S. across from the Shell station). Doors open at 6:15, movie at 7:00. ADA accessible.

Changing physical conditions upstream are affecting the source of our watersheds at the same time land use and management decisions affect conditions downstream. What does the future hold?

The film Watershed asks these questions– Can we meet the needs of a growing population? Can we find harmony amongst the competing interests of cities, agriculture, industry, recreation, wildlife and indigenous communities with rights to the water? The current uses of Colorado River water (serving 30 million people) prevent it from reaching its outlet at the Gulf of California. Encroaching salt water into groundwater supplies endanger agriculture and wildlife habitat. Watershed highlights personal stories of water users along the river and presents a solution than may serve the needs of all.

Our special guest will be Mike Brent from the Cascade Water Alliance who will join us for a discussion of our regional water sources,current water supply conditions and plans for the future. This has been a tough season for those who depend on local rivers.

Watch the trailer at: www.beacon-arts.org

Volunteer opportunities available for Franklin HS robotics team

xbot robotics, the 501c3 founded to bring STEM to the students of Southeast Seattle, and sustaining organization for the Franklin High School robotics team, is looking for volunteers for the fall program. Students meet Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at FHS/S. McClellan office and Saturdays at Microsoft Research. Experience working with high school students mandatory. Experience with designing scoring mechanisms, JAVA, FIRST robotics organization is a plus.

FHS team xbot designs, builds and programs (JAVA) a robot September – December for the annual game challenge. Visit www.xbotrobotics.org to find out more information on this nationally recognized high school robotics team. Contact dylew@teamxbot.org for more information.
— Donna Lew, Beacon Hill resident (many years), founder and Executive Director of xbot robotics

Press your apples at the Tool Library!

Photo by Carters Collection, via Flickr/Creative Commons.
We have a cider press! Cider Press Fest this Friday and Saturday! Email seseattletoollibrary@gmail.com with requests for appointments. On the hour beginning as early as 9 am on Friday. If there is enough interest, we will extend to Sunday and….? As long as the fruit lasts or until I leave town on the 8th.

Will keep track of the appointments on the google calendar at the website. Look there to see what’s open! Members will be given priority if there is excess demand, so join online now and donate via Paypal (to the email address above) or bring donations to the Fest! Volunteers appreciated as well. Will accommodate walk-ins if possible. Bring your own apples, buckets for pomace (we will have a fruit grinder to get more juice out of your fruit). And bring jugs or jars or carboys for your juice. Happy fall season!! 202.780.7296, setools.org.

Meaningful Movie Next Friday, Aug 21

Some of our older publicity went out with the wrong date for our August movie. The trifold neighborhood Summer Events calendar listed tonight (Friday) as movie nite.

Please note, it is scheduled for NEXT Friday, August 21, 7:00.
Doors open for socializing with the neighbors at 6:15.