Get Involved with TEDxYouthPaloAlto!

Tremaine Kirkman, tremainekirkman@yahoo.com

TEDxYouthPaloAlto is coming! Inspired by the TED conferences, (www.ted.com), this unique TEDx event is organized BY youth ABOUT youth and FEATURING youth. TedxYouthDay, (www.tedxyouthday.com), is a series of TEDx events happening all around the world on November 20th, designated as Universal Children’s Day by the United Nation, (www.un.org/depts/dhl/children_day/)

This year’s event will focus on the theme of youth empowerment through education, featuring Teen Team presenters, as well as expert post-teens, a/k/a adults. Attendees will be challenged to find their muse, define their agenda and turn their ideas into action, in their own lives and in the community.

Get involved and earn community service: volunteer for the host committee, or as a photographer or videographer – or submit a proposal on a topic you’re passionate about and be a Teen Team speaker yourself, and end up on YouTube on the TEDx channel! For more information contact info@pasean.org.

Attendance is limited to 100 to ensure an intimate and interactive experience! Reserve your spot -- free registration, including continental breakfast and networking lunch, at (www.amiando.com/TEDxYouthPaloAlto).

Event host is SEAN, the Student Equity Action Network, a 501(c)(3) California non-profit corporation, whose mission is college readiness for all, in our community and beyond. SEAN works to close the achievement gap through outreach, advocacy and impact projects. For more information, see (www.pasean.org).

PALO ALTO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA’s 45th SEASON OPENING CONCERT

Kim Nguyen, paco_publicity@yahoo.com

October 23rd Concert features Palo Alto’s own Cello Virtuosa Michelle Djokic.
Benjamin Simon, Conductor

Under the direction of PACO music director, Benjamin Simon, the 2010-11 season opening concert will take place on Saturday October 23rd, 8:00 p.m. at the Eagle Theater, Los Altos High School, 201 Almond Ave, Los Altos. PACO’s first subscription concert opens with a joyous string symphony that Felix Mendelssohn composed when he was only 11 years old. Our wonderful cello soloist, Palo Alto's own Michelle Djokic, first joins the orchestra in Baroque rock star Jean-Baptiste Lully’s delightful "Piece de Concert". This will be followed by "Suites for Cello and Strings" by northern California’s own classical bard, Lou Harrison. Our program concludes with Franz Schubert’s great Death and the Maiden Quartet in a powerful version for the string orchestra. Tickets are $15 adults, $10 seniors, $5 students.
For more information call 650-856-3848 or visit
(www.pacomusic.org)

SELPA 1 CAC parent education event

Karen Mueller, mueller4@ix.netcom.com


Assessment, Diagnosis and Schools - Dr. Steve Newton is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the testing of school-aged children. In the past 23 years, he has conducted over 3,500 assessments and is recognized as a leading expert in child/adolescent assessment and diagnosis. He will address the following issues and then open the floor to questions. How do I know if my child needs to be assessed? How does a private assessment differ from a school assessment? How important is a diagnostic label? How can a family get an accurate diagnosis if they cannot afford a private assessment? Why is a comprehensive test battery important? (Gain an appreciation of the complexity of human behavior; for the fact that strengths and weaknesses often cluster and do not exist in isolation; and why a comprehensive test battery is the best vehicle to provide a detailed road map for educational placement and planning.) What will a comprehensive test battery tell parents/professionals? Eg. What does it mean if your child is functionally one year behind vs. three years behind? (Learn which test batteries are best suited for looking at specific areas of development and diagnosis including development, school readiness, academic ability, learning strengths and weaknesses, mood, and behavior.)

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2010 - meeting is 7 to 9 pm. Hospitality begins at 6:45pm. Covington Elementary School Multi, 205 Covington Rd, Los Altos.
This parent education event is sponsored by the SELPA 1 CAC (www.selpa1cac.org) All of our events are free and open to anyone who feels they might benefit. No registration is necessary.

TEEN JUSTICE -- WHAT PARENTS & TEENS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DRUGS, DRINKING, & DRIVING.

Sigrid Pinsky, Sigridkp@yahoo.com


TEEN JUSTICE -- WHAT PARENTS & TEENS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DRUGS, DRINKING, & DRIVING.

What can happen when juveniles make bad decisions? Come hear from our distinguished and expert "Law and Order" panelists:
• Judge Jacqueline Duong, Santa Clara County Juvenile Justice Court
• Public Defender Mary Greenwood, Santa Clara County
• Deputy District Attorney Julia Alloggiamento
• Chief Scott Vermeer, Mountain View Police Department
Bonus: The first 100 attendees will receive copies of the California State Bar publications: "When You Become 18: A Survival Guide for Teenagers" and "Kids and the Law: an A to Z Guide for Parents." (Copies available in English and Spanish.)
Wed Sep 29, Eagle Theatre, Los Altos High School, 7 to 9 p.m.
Location: 201 Almond Ave, Los Altos. (map)
Sponsor: League of Women Voters of Los Altos / Mountain View.
Info: Ellen Wheeler, 650-967-8743, or Lynette Lee Eng, 650-619-0884.

TEDxYouthCastilleja: Amazing Opportunity for your students

Jill Lee, jill@tedxyouthcastilleja.com

We are thrilled to invite your school to participate in an amazing opportunity for your students. A free, one-day conference for high school students will be held in Palo Alto at Castilleja School on November 20, 2010.

Modeled after the (TED conferences) TEDxYouth was inspired by a group of TED 2010 attendees in an effort to bring the “TED universe” to youth. Dreams have become reality and as part of a global launch, TEDxYouthCastilleja takes place on Saturday, November 20, 2010.

TEDxYOUTHcastilleja--Be the Change! will share and inspire both possibilities and solutions. Three
70-minute speaker sessions will be organized around the concepts of “hope”, “solutions” and “action”.
The day will include a mixture of fascinating thinkers and doers, youth and adult speakers, seasoned
experts and a selection of recorded TED Talks addressing technology,entertainment, design, science
and the humanities.

We anticipate 400 youth ages 13 to 18 in attendance. Participants will
represent a cross-section of our community population: dreamers,
megaphones, spark plugs, taskmasters and sherpas from over 25 schools and organizations.
Opportunities will be provided to meet, network, share and discuss new
ideas.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Gever Tulley, Tinkering Schools
Emily Olson, Entrepreneur, (foodzie.com)
Alexi Kenney, Violinist
Phil Zimbardo, Hero Project
Rhett Butler, Founder (MongaBay.com)
Estria, Graffiti Artist
Samuel Garange, one of the Lost Boys of the Sudan
Geoff Fox, Fox Racing /Clothing
Through Geoff, asking Ryan Sheckler, 3time X-Game winner, 19 years old and local
Binh Dahn, Artist
Chris Flink, IDEO partner
Ooshma Gary, Entrepreneur, (Anapata.com)
Brian Wong, Entrepreneur, (brianwong.com)
Twitter

Who are the participants?
Each participating school is allocated ten spots. Each school may decide how to fill the slots. Our dream is to have a variety of students participate. Schools need to provide their list of attending students to us no later than October 4th. We will hold 50 additional spots open for individually motivated students. Opportunities will be provided throughout the day for the participants to meet, network, share and discuss new ideas with each
other.

What we ask of you:

• Distribute this email widely to your team of teachers, counselors, and student advisors so they know about the event;
• Identify students (dreamers, thinkers, and doers) who will both contribute to and benefit from this amazing experience;
• Send us the names and contact information of your 10 students by October 4th;
• Inform all students that in addition to the 10 spots filled by your school, 50 places will be held for individual students from the area who are passionate about attending the conference.

What we ask of your students:

• Click on our (TEDxYOUTHcastilleja)website to learn how they can apply to speak, apply to attend, or participate in our video challenge. The top three videos will be shown at our conference.
• Click on Mailing List button on our website header and add their name to our mailing list;
• Submit application to be a speaker by midnight on September 20, 2010;
• For only those students applying independently, submit an application to attend beginning on September 20, 2010.

Words cannot express our excitement to partner with you with the shared goal of bringing 400 passionate students together to inspire each to Be The Change!

Thank you so much for identifying your amazing students to participate in
TEDxYOUTHcastilleja on November 20, 2010.

Christina McClure,TEDxYOUTHcastilleja Coordinator
and Jill Lee, School Liaison

Questions—big or small, please email:
Jill Lee jill@tedxyouthcastilleja.com

Gunn Family Service Day, October 16, 2010

Diane Downend, diane@edenbridgehomes.com

com·mu·ni·ty // [kuh-myoo-ni-tee]
–noun, plural -ties.
a group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists. Example: the Gunn community

October 16th is a day for the Gunn community to reinforce its ties and to help the broader community in just a handful of hours. YCS is sponsoring Gunn Family Service Day. Students and their families are invited to select one of three venues to volunteer their morning. Let’s join together to make a difference to non-profit organizations that make a meaningful and beneficial impact close to home. Just click on the listed Jooners link to volunteer for the venue of your choice. Gunn students, parents and siblings are encouraged to attend!

• Resource Area for Teachers (9am to Noon) (www.raft.net)
  Sign Up: http://www.jooners.com/guest?t=help&p=none&l=-6b400945:12a5c7c6341:-685f
  RAFT has developed extensive community relationships and an innovative process for converting commonly discarded business materials into learning activity kits with the help of thousands of volunteers. This supports teachers and preserves the environment. RAFT serves as a professional organization for classroom teachers, and community-based organizations engaged in learning activities. Gunn Parents Community Service Boosters Volunteer Contact:
  Diane Downend diane@edenbridgehomes.com
  
  This is the venue for green motivated, creative-minded Gunn students and families!



• Save the Bay (9:30am to 1:00pm) (www.savesfbay.org)
  Sign Up: http://www.jooners.com/guest?t=help&p=none&l=77c78bbe:128e9048802:-2dc0
  Save The Bay is the largest regional organization working to protect, restore and celebrate the great natural treasure of our San Francisco Bay by advocating for strong policies that protect the Bay from pollution and inappropriate shoreline development and restoring habitat to re-establish 100,000 acres of wetlands. Gunn Parents Community Service Boosters Volunteer Contact:
  Estee Greif esteeg@stanford.edu
  
  This is the venue for environmentalists at heart!



• Ecumenical Hunger Program (9:30am to 1:00pm) (www.ehpcares.org)
  Sign Up: http://www.jooners.com/guest?t=help&p=none&l=-6b400945:12a5c7c6341:-67ac
  EHP provides food, clothing, household essentials, support and referral services to those in need.
  EHP is a sustainable resource within the community working to break the cycle of poverty. EHP distributes clothing, furniture, appliances, and household essentials, such as blankets, sheets, and dishes. Gunn Parents Community Service Boosters Volunteer Contact:
  Wendy Kandasamy wendyk@gmail.com
  
  This is the venue for those of you with a passion to fight hunger & homelessness.

Come together to meet all participants and celebrate the morning’s accomplishments…
All volunteers are invited to a barbecue at Robles Park, 4116 Park Avenue from 1-3:00pm
RSVP: http://www.jooners.com/guest?t=help&p=none&l=7191903:12a66ee70b0:-799a

41 Development Assets and Upcoming Student Survey

Diane Downend, diane@edenbridgehomes.com


The Developmental Assets framework developed by the Search Institute has been adopted by the Palo Alto Unified School District, the City of Palo Alto and community agencies to provide a common vision and language for youth well-being. Developmental Assets are the experiences, values, relationships, opportunities and competencies that all youth need to thrive. Examples of the first forty of these assets as defined by the Search Institute can be found at http://www.search-institute.org/content/40-developmental-assets-adolescents-ages-12-18. Santa Clara County has added a 41st asset related to how comfortable our youth feel about their identities (ethnicity, faith/religion, family status, gender, language, sexual orientation). Research undertaken by the Search Institute has found that the Developmental Assets are powerful influences on adolescent behavior. Those whose lives are rich in developmental assets perform better in all aspects of life, feeling comfortable in their own skins, while those youth whose lives are deficient of development assets are far more prone to risky behaviors.

Palo Alto Unified School District will kick off the program in October by conducting a survey of Gunn and Paly students (survey will also be conducted with younger PAUSD students in grades 4, 5 and 7) to gain a sense of how our youth stack up in Developmental Assets. So that our students do not feel “over-surveyed” this year, PAUSD will not conduct the PARC that has been undertaken in recent years.

Where do parents fit in?

1. With respect to the survey itself all parents must provide positive consent for their students to participate in the survey. Look for the school to provide to you in the near future a consent form. Please sign and return the consent at your earliest convenience. The more students able to take the survey, the richer our data set will be.
2. Half of the Developmental Assets are externally founded and rely directly upon adults to be active asset builders in our youth. To grow your awareness of what this means and how you can help, a number of workshops are scheduled in coming weeks:

• September 22, 2010 from 7-9pm at 25 Churchill there will be a panel presentation by various community agencies to introduce the Developmental Assets to the community, to answer any questions about the student survey, and to help you become an asset builder for your students.
• An education program called Assets 101 that will go into more depth about the Development Assets and how we can help our children and teens acquire them will be offered on September 16th from 11am-2pm or October 9th from 9am to noon, both at the Lucie Stern Ballroom.
• A six week Developmental Asset training program will kick off at the YMCA Ross Road facility on October 20 from 7-9pm.