Families

Ravenna-area public school tour dates for new kindergarteners

January 21, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment

The first day of the 2013-2014 school year is still months away, but open houses at area elementary schools for incoming kindergarteners have begun.

What follows is a list of schools in the Seattle Public School District that Ravenna neighborhood students can attend, and the dates and times of their upcoming open houses. We are happy to include information for local private schools if it is available — just let us know in the comments below.

To search for your address’ specific attendance area schools, enter your home address into the Seattle Public Schools address look-up tool. And if you are curious about the transportation zones around these schools, they can be found here (listed as 2011-12 school year; Thornton Creek and Jane Addams not available).

Wedgwood Elementary (2720 NE 85th St)
Thursday, January 24, 6:30-8 PM

The tour will start in the cafeteria with an introduction by the principal of Wedgwood lasting 10 to 15 minutes, followed by parent volunteers escorting families around the building. At 7:15 pm, families will reconvene in the cafeteria where the principal will field questions for 15 to 20 minutes before closing. Please note Wedgwood will not be hosting tours during the school day in order to minimize disruptions and maintain a quiet, distraction-free learning environment for our students. If you have any questions about daytime visits, please contact our Administrative Secretary, Joann Sparks at 206-252-5670 or josparks@seattleschools.org.

Ravenna Blog staff will be attending.

Bryant Elementary (3311 NE 60th St)
Thursday, January 31, 6:30-8 PM

No RSVP necessary.

Green Lake Elementary (2400 NE 65th St.)
Tuesday, January 29th, 6-7:30 PM, in the library

6:00-6:15 pm – WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
6:15-6:40 pm – GENERAL QUESTIONS FOR KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS & PRINCIPAL
6:40-7:15 pm – TOUR OF SCHOOL
7:20-7:30 pm – CLOSING IN LIBRARY

For questions, please send an email to Caroline.

Thornton Creek School (7711 43rd Ave NE)
Thursday, January 31, 7-8:30 PM, and MANY daytime tour dates

The daytime tours will start off with a brief introduction about the school from principal John Miner, followed by a brief question and answer session. Parent volunteers will then lead small groups in touring the school and visiting some classrooms. The evening open house will include a brief welcome from the general and special education kindergarten teachers, an introduction to the school from principal John Miner, and a question and answer session. Visitors will also have an opportunity to tour a few classrooms and talk with current parents.

Ravenna Blog staff will be attending the evening open house.

Jane Addams K-8 School (11051 34th Ave NE)

Evening Sessions will start in the auditorium:
Wednesday, February 13 at 6:30 PM for All grade levels
Thursday, February 28 at 6:30 PM for Middle School information only

Morning Sessions will start in the Library:
Wednesday, February 13 at 8:30 AM
Thursday, February 21 at 8:30 AM
Wednesday, February 27 at 8:30 AM
Tuesday, March 5 at 8:30 AM

Pinehurst K-8 School (11530 12th Ave NE)

No information on school tours at this time.

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Disclaimer: This is our first real foray into the World of Public Schooling with children of our own (Intern No. 1 will be attending kindergarten this fall). We appreciate any and all information, encouragement, and/or advice you more experienced Northeast Seattle parents may be willing to share with us as we start the journey. We, personally, have not attended elementary school in…a long time, and a few things may have changed between then and now. A few.

Filed Under: Bryant Elementary School, Families, Green Lake Elementary, Jane Addams K-8, Kids, Meeting, Pinehurst K-8, Public Schools, Ravenna, Thornton Creek, Wedgwood Elementary School

Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center holiday Play Space and Tot Gym schedule

December 24, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment

Parents of tots, we have a Christmas present for you.

Did you know that the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6545 Ravenna Avenue NE) is OPEN on Christmas Eve? OH YES, oh yes.

The community center’s Play Space is open from 9:15 AM – 5:30 PM. And we can tell you, from personal experience, sending the small, unruly ones down there with a parent to get their wiggles out before dinner, is a FANTASTIC idea.

It’s only three bucks a kid. (But they could charge 10, and it’d still be a great deal.)

BUT WAIT — THERE’S MORE!

Here’s the Play Space and Tot Gym schedule through Saturday, January 5, 2013:

Play Space

Christmas Eve: 9:15 AM-5:30 PM
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Wednesday the 26th: 2-8:15 PM
Thursday the 27th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Friday the 28th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Saturday the 29th: 9:15 AM-1:30 PM

Monday the 31st: 9:15 AM-5:30 PM
New Year’s Day: CLOSED
Wednesday the 2nd: 2-8:15 PM
Thursday the 3rd: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Friday the 4th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Saturday the 5th: 9:15 AM-4:30 PM

Tot Gym

Wednesday the 26th: 10:15 AM-2 PM
Wednesday the 2nd: 10:15 AM-2 PM

Filed Under: Families, Kids, Northeast Seattle, Open/Closed, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

Candy Cane Lane 2012 (PHOTOS)

December 20, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 8 Comments

The Ravenna Blog staff walked Candy Cane Lane (NE Park Rd) on Thursday evening, and took a bunch of pictures (some with rather long exposures).

Enjoy.

Filed Under: Events, Families, Kids, Photos, Ravenna, Traffic, University Park

City Hall Chapel Cam live streaming on Sunday; watch it here

December 8, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 2 Comments

UPDATE (Sunday): Today’s events are also being live-blogged on the marriage.seattle.gov site.

And if you have an iOS device (and the Seattle Channel live feed below is causing you trouble), KIRO 7 has another live feed that should work for you.

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One hundred and forty weddings are scheduled for City Hall this Sunday, December 9 — the first of their kind in Washington State, thanks to the passage of R-74 which legalized gay marriage.

Four chapels have been made available inside City Hall (for those who RSVP’d in time) for weddings after the three day marriage license wait period. And outside city hall, there’s a party. For everyone. Via married.seattle.gov:

Come join the celebration at City Hall Plaza from 10 AM to 5 PM, on Fourth Avenue downtown between James and Cherry streets.

Congratulate and admire the newlyweds coming down the steps from City Hall and enjoy food trucks, coffee and festivities. Don’t miss this historic day in Seattle!

For those of us in the rest of the city unable to make it down to City Hall to take part in the celebrating, the Seattle Channel has a solution: “You can follow the day’s progress by watching livestreams of City Hall lobby and of the procession of new married couples exiting City Hall towards the plaza,” says the city’s marriage website.

Says the Seattle Channel: “We’ll have two views: a wide shot of the lobby with ceremonies in progress and close-up coverage with commentary from newlyweds via our ‘couple cam.'”

On Sunday, grab a box of tissues, and enjoy:

And if you ARE downtown — either for the parties or for your own wedding — learn how to share wedding day/celebration photos with the city here.

And if you’re from Ravenna, we’d love to hear about your special day, too.

Filed Under: City Services, Events, Families, Government, History, Live Coverage, Updates, Video

December Story Times for NE Branch; City Librarian reading on Tuesday (PHOTOS)

December 4, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson Leave a Comment

Straight from the Northeast Branch’s Children’s Services Librarian, Erica Delavan, here are the Story Times for the rest of the year (via email; emphasis mine):

Toddler Story Time (Geared for ages 1-3)
Thursdays, December 6, 13, 20 at 10:15 & 11:15 a.m.
(No Story Time Dec. 27 or Jan. 3)

Preschool Story Time (Geared for ages 3-5)
Tuesdays, December 4, 11, 18 at 10:30 a.m.
(No Story Time Dec. 25 or Jan. 1)

Pajamas & Puppets (All Ages)
Wednesday, December 19 at 7:00 p.m.

Special Guest on December 4!
At Preschool Story Time on December 4, we will be joined by City Librarian Marcellus Turner. (We just call him MT.) He is looking forward to reading one of his favorite picture books to everyone!

The Seattle Public Library’s Northeast Branch (6801 35th Ave NE) is located one block south of Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts (6845 35th Ave NE), an important fact that is not lost on any member of the Ravenna Blog staff.

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UPDATE (12:19 PM): City Librarian Marcellus Turner read “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” by Jon Scieszka (illustrated by Lane Smith).

Filed Under: Families, Kids, Northeast Branch, Northeast Seattle, Photos, Story Times, Updates

Parks and Recreation NE Winter Brochure now available

November 16, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson Leave a Comment
The Seattle Parks and Recreation Winter 2013 Brochure is out! You can find hard copies in your local community center, or click the image below to download a copy of the NE Seattle edition (2.1 MB PDF).

Click the image to download the Seattle Parks and Recreation Winter Brochure for NE Seattle (2.1 MB PDF).

Some highlights/items of note:

The course brochures hereafter will be published only twice a year: One issue for Spring/Summer, and another for Fall/Winter. This is a cost saving decision.

Summer is a looooong ways away, but the information about Summer Camps for 2013 is included in this Winter Brochure (open registration begins on February 5, 2013).

Two new classes of note at our Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center are Introduction to Improv (to be taught by a “seasoned member of the Jet City Improv cast,” and Adult Salsa Classes.

One special event to note is a SOUP SWAP* happening on January 26 (National Soup Swap Day, of course). You bring six quarts of frozen soup, and you go home with six different quarts of soup! Ravenna Blog itself (myself? herself?) is hosting this one, and we’ll have more information on this event as the date approaches. The event is free, minus the cost of whatever homemade soup you’re swapping.

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*The first official Ravenna Kale Festival** event!

**More on this later as well.

Filed Under: Events, Families, Food, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

Trick-or-Treat options around NE Seattle (UPDATES)

October 25, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment
Friday, October 26

Children’s Home Society of Washington’s 20th Annual Fright Night Trick or Treat Walk in Lake City

Trick or Treat Walk from 5:15-6:15 PM (starts at the CHSW’s North Seattle Family Center (3200 NE 125th St, Suite 2) or the Lake City Computer Lab (12536 33rd Ave NE), then party from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Lake City Community Center (12531 28th Ave NE); sponsored by Lake City Lions Club

Details

Saturday, October 27

Kids Safe Trick or Treat at Roosevelt Businesses
12-3 PM along Roosevelt Way NE and NE 65th Street (look for flyers in participating businesses’ windows); sponsored by Wayward Coffeehouse and participating businesses

Details

Crafts and Facepainting at The Moonpaper Tent
918 NE 64th St in Roosevelt
5-8 PM; FREE but donations appreciated

Details

Roosevelt Trick or Treat Trail and Halloween Bash
5-9 PM, Roosevelt neighborhood businesses; sponsored by the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association and participating businesses (Cafe Racer is one)

Details and a MAP of participating businesses

Wednesday, October 31
HALLOWEEN

Annual Wedgwood Business District Trick-or-Treat
4-6 PM along 35th Avenue NE; sponsored by the Wedgwood Community Council and neighborhood businesses

Details

University Village Trick or Treat

4-6 PM, many stores and restaurants participating (“some treats for parents, too!”)

Details

Filed Under: Businesses, Events, Families, Food, Kids, Northeast Seattle, University Village

Everybody into the [wading] pool, before it closes!

August 14, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson Leave a Comment
It’s August, and Seattle summer is chugging right along: Lots of sun, temperatures consistently in the mid- to upper-70s…this time of year is why we live here.

So, naturally, the city’s wading pools are all preparing to close for the season.

Our region of the Seattle Parks and Recreation map (the Northeast) has two wading pools and two swimming beaches open during the summer. Here are their remaining days of use:

Dahl Playfield Wading Pool (7700 25th Ave NE): open August 14-16, noon – 7 PM

Magnuson Park Wading Pool (7400 Sand Point Way NE): open daily from noon – 6:30 PM through August 26

Magnuson Park Summer Beach (7400 Sand Point Way NE): open through August 26

Matthews Beach Park Summer Beach (9500 51st Ave NE): open through September 3

At this time, NE Seattle does not have any of the unstaffed sprayparks, which tend to stay open later in the season. However, Sarah (raintea on twitter) would like us to mention the brand new spraypark at Northacres Park (12718 1st Ave NE). It’s open daily from 11 AM – 8 PM through September 3. It is technically in Seattle Parks and Recreation’s NW geographic area, but when you and the kids are too hot, who cares.

You can find the full list of Seattle’s wading pools, sprayparks, summer beaches and pools and their schedules right here (280 KB PDF; comic sans).

Filed Under: Dahl Field, Families, Kids, Magnuson Park, Northeast Seattle, Open/Closed, Seattle Parks and Recreation