April 7, 2007

NEWS BRIEFS

San José Children's Faire 2007 April 28

"Watch Me Grow" is the theme of programs honoring the Month of the Young Child taking place at San José library branches throughout April and capped off by the 19th Annual San José Children's Faire. The Children's Faire features more than 50 activity booths sponsored by organizations and businesses with services and/or products for families with young children. Each booth offers a free, hands-on activity for children aged 2-12, as well as child development resources for parents and caregivers. Family entertainment, special attractions, exhibits and food are also offered.

The 19th Annual San José Children's Faire will take place on Saturday, April 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Discovery Meadow in front of the Children's Discovery Museum, located at 180 Woz Way in downtown San Jose. For more information, call (408) 808-2617.

San José Public Libraries Summer Reading Celebration signups June 16

On June 16, the first wave of an estimated 25,000-plus youth and their families are expected to queue up at San José Public Libraries to sign up for the annual Summer Reading Celebration. The eight-week program encourages recreational reading as a family activity, offering fun prizes as rewards for reaching each of five reading milestones for a cumulative total of 30 hours.

Each year program materials carry a new theme to spark the imagination and engage readers' sense of fun. This year, Get a Clue @ your library serves children (birth through grade 5) and YNK @ your library serves teens (grades 6-12).

For the first time this year, San José Public Library will offer an additional program component specifically for adults, Summer Sleuthing @ your library. Throughout the month of July, adults are invited to read books and win prizes through weekly drawings at all San José library locations. Prizes will include bookstore gift certificates, restaurant and coffee shop certificates, and other great prizes from local businesses. Several San José libraries will also host mystery author programs in July.

While the focus of Summer Reading Celebration is on promoting reading as an enjoyable, stress-free activity, there is a more serious underlying benefit for young people. Research has shown that student learning declines or remains stagnant during the summer months; phenomena often referred to as the "summer setback." However, research also shows that children who read or are read to at least three times a week have a higher rate of academic success than children from homes where they have less exposure to books. The Library's summer reading program has proven to be a great motivator to get families coming to the library on a regular basis and reading. Eighty percent of participants surveyed last year report that they both read more and enjoyed reading more as a result of the program.
San José residents may sign up any time starting June 16 and complete as many milestones as they wish. Family members may sign up for the youth programs individually or as a group, tracking progress with one reading log. Credit may also be earned for reading aloud to younger family members. Those who complete all five stages will take home a free book. Participants may complete as many logs as they wish, but only one for prizes.

For more information, call your neighborhood library or King Library Youth Services at (408) 808-2183.

District 8 Dumpster Day on April 14

The City of San Jose and Vice Mayor Dave Cortese invites the public to District 8 Dumpster Day, hosted by McDonald's at Aborn and White Roads on Saturday, April 14, from 8 a.m. - 11a.m. (or until bins are full). The cleanup is for City of San Jose residents of council district 8 only. Interested residents are advised to break up bulky items and separate items (i.e. wood, rubbish, metal, etc.) prior to arriving at the bin site. Due to the popularity of these clean-up events, expect to wait in long lines at all bin locations and expect to be diverted to any available bin. This clean up event will be held rain or shine and is for household use only.

For everyone's safety, it is strongly advised that everyone follow the directions of the bin monitors and traffic monitors; monitors will be wearing neon yellow safety vests. Photo ID with current address listed must be shown to the traffic/bin monitors in order to use the dumpsters. Residents must reside in Council District 8 with zip codes of 95148, 95122, 95127, 95138, 95121, and 95135 and are attended to on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Certain items will only be accepted at any one of the four sites for Dumpster day.

Site No. 1, at the McDonald’s parking lot, on S. White Road and Aborn Road will accept the following items:

- The rock box accepts the following only: clean concrete, brick, rock, and cinder block. Unacceptable items include: rebar and other metal reinforcements and dirt.

- Mattress/box spring/futon mattress

- Televisions and computer monitors (limit two per household)

- Refrigerators/freezers

- Air conditioners and other items with CFC gases

- Tires: should be smaller than 33/12.5 x 15 and a limit of two per household

Items only accepted at site No. 2, on Scotsdale Drive, Site No. 3, at Remington Way next to Boggini Park, and Site No. 4 on Silverland Drive/Greenland Drive:

- Rubbish

- Metal

- Wood only bin accepts the following only: lumber, fencing, wood, logs, wood with paint and varnish, and branches with no leaves. Unacceptable items in the wood bin: particle boards, laminate counter tops, hardware, glass, and branches with leaves

Note: all unacceptable wood items can be disposed at any rubbish bins, except branches with leaves

The following items are not allowed at the cleanups:

- Recyclable items, such as glass, cans, newspaper or cardboard of any sizes (can be recycled with regular garbage service)

- Wet household garbage, dirt, yard waste, and human waste

- Gas cylinders and tanks, such as propane or helium

- Gas powered motors, such as lawn mowers, with fluids (gas and oil)

Residents may also call the Santa Clara County Household Hazardous Waste Program at (408) 299-7300 to make an appointment for "free" disposal of paint, gasoline, car, alkaline and lithium batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, pressurized tanks such as propane, fire extinguishers, and helium, oil, railroad ties, chemically treated wood, chemicals, and other household hazardous materials.

For more information about district 8 Dumpster day, visit the District 8 Web site at http://www.sanjoseca.gov/district8.

Barnes & Noble stores to host special events for pre-k through
12th grade educators and media specialists

Barnes & Noble stores nationwide will host special events for Pre-K-through-12th grade media specialists as part of Spring Educator Appreciation Week, April 28-May 6. 
 
The Barnes & Noble store located at the newly renovated and expanded Eastridge Shopping Center will host their reception on Thursday May 3 at 4:30 p.m. 

Educators and Media specialists will have an opportunity to learn about Barnes & Noble’s services and programs for educators, including purchasing discounts, book fair fundraisers, and new titles available for library and classroom collections.

Those present will also be able to:

- Enter into a drawing to win a $500 Barnes & Noble gift card, a costume character visit, and other special goodies. 

- Teachers will also be able to schedule end of the year field trips with our store as well as sign their school up for end of the year Summer Reading fundraisers.

- Obtain information on Barnes & Noble’s Annual Summer Reading Program for 1st-6th graders.

For more information, call Barnes & Noble Eastridge at (408) 270-9470.

San José Children's Faire 2007 April 28

"Watch Me Grow" is the theme of programs honoring the Month of the Young Child taking place at San José library branches throughout April and capped off by the 19th Annual San José Children's Faire. The Children's Faire features more than 50 activity booths sponsored by organizations and businesses with services and/or products for families with young children. Each booth offers a free, hands-on activity for children aged 2-12, as well as child development resources for parents and caregivers. Family entertainment, special attractions, exhibits and food are also offered.

The 19th Annual San José Children's Faire will take place on Saturday, April 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Discovery Meadow in front of the Children's Discovery Museum, located at 180 Woz Way in downtown San Jose. For more information, call (408) 808-2617.

Open Space Authority appoints new director

The Board of Directors of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (OSA) at its March 8 meeting appointed Dr. Kulwant Gill (right) to serve as the Director representing District 7.

Dr. Gill, a 20-year resident of the Evergreen area, is a member of the San Jose Human Rights Commission, the Indian Sport Club and other community organizations. He holds advanced degrees in engineering and language and has been an executive in Silicon Valley's high tech industry.

"I believe we have a duty to our children and future generations in making sure the beauty of our valley is preserved through well thought out and planned open space," Gill said. Gill said would like to get the public more involved in OSA's planning process and looks forward to serving as a bridge between the agency and the community.

A visit to OSA's Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve helped Gill realize all that open space has to offer. "You can enjoy the whole of nature there," he said. "When I'm there I feel like a poet."

Gill will serve as the District 7 representative until the next general election, which will be held in 2008. He fills the seat vacated by the resignation of former Director Craige Edgerton.

District 7 encompasses an area in southern San Jose east of Monterey Highway that includes portions of the Edenvale and Evergreen areas.

Rock-it Science camp registration now open for summer sessions

Rock-it Science, located in Santa Clara at 2110 Walsh Avenue, recently announced an expanded schedule of their summer science camps. Camp sessions are still available for June 18-22, June 25-29, July 2-6, July 9-13, July 16-20, July 23-27, July 30-August 3, and August 6-10. Registration is open now at www.rockitscience.com.

The Rock-it Science summer camps utilize storytelling and innovative science experiments to capture the children’s attention and imagination. Camp themes run the gamut from experiments that fly to experiments that bubble and smoke! The camps serve children ages 5-12.

The goal at Rock-it Science is to spark, nurture and develop young people’s enthusiasm and ability to learn science successfully. Each camp day begins with a scientific concept introduced through a zany tale involving Jack, Jill, and The Evil Mr. Fred. Then the kids begin hands-on experimentation to determine possible solutions to the cliffhanger story.

Kids are encouraged to think creatively, to try things out, make mistakes, make corrections and discover how to solve problems. They don’t just reproduce a pre-determined result – they experience the joy of discovery for themselves.
To learn more about Rock-it Science and this summer’s camp offerings, go to www.rockitscience.com or call Rock-it Science at (408) 969-1900.