Over a period of a few weeks we’d assemble about half a dozen times. Mostly we’d meet at the senior center, with a couple of sessions at the school. There’d be several tables of children with one or two seniors at each, along with a faculty facilitator. The semi-structured and free ranging discussions would culminate in topics for the homework assignments which the seniors were also encouraged to create: essays or poems to be shared at the next meeting.

While homework is not something for which people my age are generally accountable, I loved this opportunity to be creative and engage with such a different demographic, especially one so receptive and enthusiastic about the viewpoints offered by our group of senior volunteers. And the children’s viewpoints were insightful and heartening. This was definitely a win-win experience.

While I enjoyed all of the assignments, one that really stayed with me was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s statement: “We must become the change we want to see.” We were to write about one change we felt strongly about and were committed to implementing. It quickly became apparent that these children possessed a high level of social consciousness and awareness of disparities as their concerns included ecology, pollution, religious extremism, poverty and racism. Volunteerism was entrenched in their lives, and their passion to make a difference moved me deeply.

What I shared was my belief that lasting change ultimately hinges on our realization that we are innately connected to each other, to every living creature on the planet and to the planet itself, a connection that is as powerful as if we were joined by invisible cords.

Therefore, a primary universal change I would like to see is a heightened visceral awareness of that connection. We really are all in this together, just as all the cells in our body form one being. Think of our world and its inhabitants in that context, as one being. If one part of the body sickens and is left untreated, the consequences are far-reaching, and ultimately the entire body is affected. Imagine, for a moment, what an incredible world this would be if belief in such connection infused everyone’s actions.

On a very personal level, one specific change to which I’m committed is the eradication of cancer, and I strongly support the American Cancer Society’s efforts to de-fang and de-claw this killer. The Culver City Relay For Life, a 24-hour event that will take place this year on May 19-20 on the athletic field at Culver City High School, provides one such opportunity in our very own community to help change the world.

Although I’m a survivor, I’ve lost many I care about to various forms of cancer. It’s an equal opportunity disease, striking men, women and children of all races, genders and nationalities. Because people throughout the world are suffering and dying from this disease right now, I am abundantly grateful that I am alive and able to volunteer by speaking before groups, frequently participating in the Relay For Life in order to raise funds, and donating in the in between years. The discoveries growing out of research transcend borders.

When I was diagnosed in 1991, a dear friend who was raised in Chile and was tremendously supportive during my surgery and treatment, taught me the rallying cry of her country’s patriots in their war of independence from Spain. They were connected by purpose and vision, empowered by that connection to become the change they wanted to see as they encouraged each other by calling out “mano firme y triunfaremos” (“firm hand and we will triumph”). The power embodied in that phrase, coupled with the strength radiating out to me from the people in my life, helped speed my recovery.

When we truly feel connected, change is inevitable. Maybe those invisible cords between us are a manifestation of our essential humanity, just waiting to be recognized and expressed in that ongoing creative event we call life.

The children got it, and that gives me hope.

Editor’s Note – Culver City Crossroads is delighted to have Sandra Coopersmith as a contributor, and she will be posting for us on a regular basis.

If you happen to be in a swath of land running from Northern California to Texas, you’ll get a very special kind of partial eclipse: an annular eclipse, in which the rim of the Sun becomes a brilliant ring completely encircling the black silhouette of the Moon.

For Los Angeles area viewers, the Sun will be moving down the afternoon sky when a dark dent begins to intrude into one edge at 5:24 p.m. The dent is the silhouette of the new Moon traveling along its monthly orbit around the Earth. The dent will deepen, eventually turning the Sun into a thin crescent. Maximum eclipse will occur at 6:38 p.m., with the Moon covering 79% of the Sun’s area. The eclipse will end at 7:42 p.m., 10 minutes before sunset.

The eclipse will become annular (a “ring eclipse”) for parts of southern Oregon, northern California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and a bit of Texas. The annular aspect makes this the first “central” solar eclipse (meaning total or annular) to cross the United States since 1994. Untold numbers of people are planning to travel to the path of annularity for the grand event.

Americans are seeing the tail end of this eclipse. Its annular part begins at sunrise along the southern coast of China (where the local date is May 21st), then crosses parts of Japan, including Tokyo on the centerline. It then speeds across the North Pacific through much of the day before making landfall on the California-Oregon coast in the late afternoon of the 20th (local date).

“Annular” means “ring-like.” This is the kind of eclipse we see when the Moon is at its farthest from Earth, at which time it appears slightly smaller in the sky than the Sun does. The Moon will be practically at the apogee of its orbit—just two weeks, or half an orbit, after it was a “supermoon” (at perigee, or closest approach) when full on May 5th.

Only 88% of the Sun’s surface area will be blocked during annularity. “This will cause less change in the daylight than you might think,” says Alan MacRobert, a senior editor of Sky & Telescope magazine. “Moderately thin clouds would dim the sunlight more. And if you’re where the eclipse is only partial, the dimming will be less.”

PROTECT YOUR EYES!

The exposed part of the Sun will remain blindingly bright—literally so—and anyone viewing any part of this eclipse, partial or annular, must use a safe solar filter, such as a #13 or #14 rectangular arc-welder’s glass or an astronomer’s filter made specifically for Sun viewing. Ordinary dark glasses won’t do. Watching the Sun through an inadequate filter (or none) can permanently damage your eyesight.

Sky & Telescope’s website describes several recommended Sun-viewing methods:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/Safely-View-the-Upcoming-Eclipse-and-Transit-150863835.html

Other things to look for during this eclipse include a silvery or metallic quality to the light around the time of annularity or when the Sun is a thin crescent. Look for images of the crescent or ring Sun being cast under leafy trees; small openings between leaves make natural “pinhole cameras” that project images of the Sun on the ground.

COMING SOON: TRANSIT OF VENUS

Another sky spectacle is coming up soon. Just 16 days after the eclipse, on the afternoon of June 5th, it’s the planet Venus’s turn to cross the face of the Sun. The silhouette of Venus will be a small black dot with just 3% the diameter of the Sun, compared to the Moon’s 94% on May 20th. Read all about the transit of Venus on Sky & Telescope’s website:Eclipse graphics:

For an image of how the eclipse will look from Los Angeles:

www.griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/special/Special_Event_Partial_Eclipse_2012.html

The future scientists of America are here in Los Angeles and they’re ready to learn and compete! On Saturday, May 19th from 9am-2pm at STAR Education, located at 10117 Jefferson Blvd., curious young minds are invited to experience the wonder of STAR’s first S.T.E.M.topia. This unique, educational and competitive event celebrates all that is innovative and awesome about interdisciplinary scientific education, including interactive and futuristic demos, hands-on science projects and the first ever STAR Battle of the Brains. Participate in various “S.T.E.M.-Shops”, specialty workshops with hands-on projects like discovering the physics behind rollercoasters, riding a real hovercraft, learning the basics of programming a Robotic Mars Rover and creating sculptures and structures out of Zome construction tools. Experience demonstrations on the forefront of today’s technology from iPad controlled Hovering Helicopters, 3D Printing Machines, learning how to create your own iPad games and more! Registration begins at 8:30am to get your spot in these coveted workshops.

Also witness history in the making at our first ever STAR S.T.E.M. Battle of the Brains as students from our STAR classes from around LA County compete against each other using LEGO© Mindstorm Rovers they’ve spent 12 weeks working in teams designing, building and programming specifically for this event. Each team will be charged with multiple missions maneuvering a model Mars Scenescape to complete tasks such as saving astronauts and finding water on the “planet’s” surface, testing their rovers’ capability to perform skills such as independent path finding, terrain analysis, and directional sensing. Science doesn’t get more exciting than this.

The STAR S.T.E.M. Initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), has introduced thousands of students to cutting edge and innovative programs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. S.T.E.M. utilizes specialized, multidisciplinary curricula propelled by problem-solving, discovery, and exploratory learning, which encourages students to actively engage in a situation in order to find its solution. STAR S.T.E.M. programs aim to engage students to solve real world challenges and ignite their interest in college and future careers. S.T.E.M.topia is part of STAR Education’s initiative to support the growing trend in education to stress practical, hands-on, and innovative curricula. STAR is an active member of the S.T.E.M. Education Coalition and is at the forefront of promoting S.T.E.M. programs in California.

STAR Education, is a charitable 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization committed to helping students reach their full potential by offering affordable extended academic, recreational and enrichment programs; supporting and enhancing school curricula; inspiring student achievement; and expanding the cultural base of young people. For 25 years, STAR has partnered with schools throughout California to involve students in our innovative, quality programs taught by exceptional, highly-trained instructors.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 9am-2:00pm. Registration at 8:30am.

STAR EDUCATION, 10117 Jefferson Blvd, Culver City, 90232

Questions ? Call Laura Meisel 310.857.9288

Admission is Free, $5 for each specialty S.T.E.M.-SHOP

Registration is limited; $15 Preregistration includes all S.T.E.M.-SHOPs at a discount

stem.starinc.org – Pre-Registration, Images and Information Available Online

The Friends would love to have your help! Set up starts at 7:30 a.m. and they start breaking the sale down at 2:30 p.m. Sign up for 1st shift 7:30am-11:30am or 2nd shift 11:30-3:30pm. (Pizza lunch included!) or stay all day.

High School students and Scouts can receive community service credit. Lots of help is always needed. Clear our your shelves to donate and make room for some new books.

Email info@ccfol.org if you have questions or if you want to volunteer your services.

What is Motivation?

The urge to move forward.

Why do we lose it?

We’re tired.

How do we get it back?

We move anyway.

This week I’ve been exploring how we get motivated, how we lose motivation and how to get it back. Frank Tibolt says, “We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.”

In other words we move forward with intention to motivate ourselves.

When taking action it is important to set small yet attainable goals. Most people set goals too high and out of reach. When our goal is too high, we lose interest. We get tired. We lose motivation.

We are wired to set goals and fail. How many of us have started to exercise or diet and only tried a couple of weeks before we gave up? Well those actions and reactions are wired into our neural-pathways. We have to change our wiring to sustain, complete and reward a goal achieved.

When setting a goal, set something that is slightly out of reach, but attainable. You will hear those voices in your head tell you that your goal isn’t good enough. You might hear yourself putting yourself down for the goal you set as being too easy, but ignore the voices. Move forward anyway.

So let’s say that currently you are not exercising. You work all day and come home to eat, have a glass of wine and mellow out. You work very hard, longer than 8 hours and the last thing you think about is moving. However, you know that you need to move to either lose weight, help alleviate some mild depression or because your body needs the cardio movement. So you set a moderate goal of walking for 30 minutes two times a week.

Usually when we set a goal, we make it too big. We decide we’ll move 5 days a week for an hour. STOP. Because if your currently not wired to move 3 days a week, going from nothing to 5 days will be unsustainable. So slow down. We’re changing our wiring here, and that takes more intentional effort and patience.

You set your goal to walk 2 times per week for 30 minutes-small, attainable goal. So the first week you walk two times for 30 minutes. Hooray you think! Well that was fairly easy so this week you’ll walk 3 times. STOP. Don’t increase the goal yet. Walking 2 times a week isn’t a habit; you just accomplished one week.

The second week, you walk one time and then you put yourself down and think, “What’s wrong with me?” Or you think, “there I go again. I try but I usually fail.” STOP. This is a goal. A goal means that you aren’t going to hit it each week, you are practicing hitting it each week. The third week, you walk twice, the fourth week you walk twice. After about 4 to 8 consecutive weeks of walking twice, now it is a habit. Now you’ve integrated this new activity into your life. You wake up every Tuesday and Thursday, and you walk for 30 minutes. Isn’t that great?

But you still don’t increase your goal. Not yet.

Next you reward yourself for accomplishing the goal. You download some music on you computer, you buy some new sneakers, or you get a massage. You do something nourishing for yourself that honors your accomplishment. Those voices might try and come back. They might tell you, “Are you kidding? You only walk twice a week! What kind of reward do you deserve? Not much!” IGNORE THOSE VOICES. Keep moving.

You’re changing our wiring to acknowledge your success. This won’t feel comfortable because you may not be used to intentionally honoring your accomplishment, but just do it anyway. In time you will re-pattern how to succeed.

After you have completed your intentional reward for a job well done, then you increase the exercise. You either add 10 minutes to your walks or you add a third day and the process begins again.

Motivation works by staying intentional, moving forward and honoring your changes. Be patient and steadfast. Re-evaluate if the goal becomes too large. Break it down into smaller pieces and acknowledge your success along the way.

This is your life. You deserve to feel success!

We are announcing UNITED PARENTS OF CULVER CITY!
the first-ever, district-wide, democratically elected policy and political group for Culver City parents!

Please join us for our kick-off event on Thursday May 24, 7-9 pm.
Come meet the founding members of United Parents of Culver City. Get to know your new student advocacy group for Culver City parents, and get involved!

Parents of Culver City are working together like never before, across ALL schools, to increase the role of parents in education policy. We strive to be effective parent leaders who join together in a unified voice.

What: United Parents of Culver City Kick-off event
Date: Thursday, May 24th
Time: 7:00-9:00 pm
Location: Private Residence, 4443 S. Purdue Ave., Culver City, CA 90230
Website: www.UnitedParentsCulverCity.com
RSVP: unitedparentsculvercity.com/join-us/

…. WHY UNITED PARENTS OF CULVER CITY?
While PTA and booster clubs do great jobs, they are limited by internal rules from certain types of advocacy. We need a permanent organization- the United Parents of Culver City (UPCC)– that raises awareness of the issues facing our schools… and then raises and spends money to elect the best leaders for leadership in our district and our city. Parents– through UPCC’s political action committee aka PAC– need to shape school board elections to keep politicians away. And, we need to work together to let each other know the best practices and ideas from our own school sites so we can all benefit from the best of CCUSD. Finally, UPCC and its PAC will ensure that Culver City’s leaders and council members make our city the best possible one for families and kids.

…THE ISSUE THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER
The school board remains paralyzed by what should be an easy issue: supporting parents rights to support and fund our school programs that the District does not provide and in many cases has never provided. For many of us, a great part of the 2011-2012 school year has been spent writing letters, lending our names to the Parents Have Rights Petition (1, 177 signers!), attending school board meetings and advocating for these rights. Due to inaction and “political” considerations — the majority of our school board let this issue devolve into a mess.

While parts of the issue have begun to be hammered out, the status of our booster clubs and parent groups remain unresolved. We have joined together because we realized that no matter which school our children attend, our issues and concerns remain the same.

….WHAT PARENTS FINALLY LEARNED
Some members of this school board are having a hard time understanding and advocating for parent volunteer groups. Prior school boards failed to spend taxpayer authorized bond money to benefit students in a timely manner. It’s clear that we need our own organization to advocate for our views and the interests of our children. We are stronger together. Click here for issues that are important to us

….THIS IS WHAT PARENT EMPOWERMENT LOOKS LIKE
United Parents of Culver City members (YOU!) at each Culver City school will select parent members to represent them. Click here to read about our structure

…. OUR LEADERSHIP
Our elections will be held annually starting January, 2013. Until then, UPCC’s interim president is Steve Levin from Farragut. The interim president of its PAC is Scott Kecken from La Ballona. Certain interim leadership positions are still available. Click here to read about our founding members

We hope that you’ll check out United Parents of Culver City and be an even more effective leader in your child’s education. Please feel free to contact us and ask any questions. We hope to see you on Thursday, May 24 at 7 pm! This is exciting!

Sincerely,

Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin, Scott McVarish, Steve Levin, Scott Kecken, Paul Blechner, Anne Burke, Dan O’Brien, Bryan Tjomsland, Tom Crunk, and Jenny Manriquez, Beverly O’Brien

Teacher of the Year Kari Fretham

As we waited to get in to Sony Studios for the 2012 Tribute to the Stars, one those very stars- Kari Frethem – came over and suggested we’d better hurry in, the awards were about to start. Posing for a picture by a balloon column, she quipped, “It’s very nice to be honored.”

Deservedly so; the Sony Pictures Entertainment Teacher of the Year has a list of credits, credentials and inspirations that is a template for how the Culver City Education Foundation supports education.

Currently the chair of the English Language Development Department, Kari has received CCEF Teacher Grants to study ways to bring the arts in as part of the lesson plan. As the Arts Integration Coordinator with the Music Center, Kari schedules performances for the students. She also receives training through the Music Center Summer Institute, and was presented with the Bravo Award by the Music Center for her excellence in integrating the arts (music, acting, drawing) into her curriculum. For some of her students, it is their first exposure to the arts. Kari is also deeply involved with expertise about blues music and African-American history, and she is the author of the biography Sweetback Blues; the Twelve Bar Tale of South Side Slim. Students rave – colleagues exclaim – and star status is conferred.

The evening was so star-filled it might have been a night at the planetarium. Another “name above the title on the marquee” was Anissa McCullen, the Rotary Club Classified Employee of the Year, famous for holding the front office at Linwood E. Howe Elementary School. With a mega-watt smile, Anissa was almost above the reach of gravity as she floated through the evening. Juggling a daily schedule of registrations, budgets, calendars, field trips and answering every question that walks in the door, Anissa is considered slightly more essential to the success of Lin Howe than running water. She was beaming like a spotlight at all her fans and friends congratulating her on the honor. “Everyone works hard, we all want the kids to do well,” she said “I’m just really flattered to be here.”

The Superintendent’s Award went to the Fineshriber Family Foundation for their many contributions, but particularly for the Science Lab at El Rincon, which was the direct result of their offer to help the district. Cathy Hession of the Caro & James Collins Foundation was also given the gratitude of the CCEF with the President’s Award.

See’s Candies, which sponsors the Volunteers of the Year, gave some big boxes of chocolates along with lots of applause to Josette Trux of the Office of Child Development, Alisha Martin of El Marino, Ronni Kass of Linwood E. Howe, Steve Zee of El Rincon, James Sparling of Farragut, Nancy Richards Chand and Mohi Chand of LaBallona, Allison Brush of Culver City Middle School, Steve Stautzenbach of Culver City High School, Margaret Fujisawa of Culver Park High School, and Ronald Ruben of the Culver City Adult School.

Keeping all the stardust swirling was the premier CCEF contributor, Sony VP Janice Pober. Not only did she graciously thank many of the award recipients for their time, effort, funding and imagination, she reminded us that there was a crew of Sony folks waiting to get back into the Cary Grant Theater and get back to their post-production work on the next Spiderman film.

Spilling out of the theater into the Street Scene, the revelers were fed by the best of Culver City’s restaurants, with everyone from Akasha to Tender Greens offering some fine food.

CCEF leaders and event heroes Lise Friedman, Paula Wilson, and CCEF President, Marci Shulman can take pride in all the stars, and know that the community they work so hard to educate and enrich is grateful for all they do.