Vol. 5, Issue 4, October 2011

Neighbor to Neighbor Newsletter
Volume V, Issue IV
STWNA
MEETING
Wednesday,
November 9
6:30pm - 8:00pm
Payne Elementary
Multi-Use Room
3750 Gleason Ave.
Everyone
Welcome!
Log on to the STWNA
website for the
complete agenda
www.SanTomasWest.com
Inside this issue:
Board of
Directors Message
P2
2011 Calendar
P2
Supe. Mark Barmore
P2
Payne Update
P3
Available Committee
& Board Positions
P3
BBQ Photos
P4
PLEASE
SUPPORT OUR
SPONSORS
xx
October/November 2011
S.C County Fire Chief Parker - Keynote Speaker
Santa Clara County Fire Department Battalion Chief Joe
Parker is our keynote speaker for the November STWNA
Neighborhood Association meeting. Chief Parker has been
with the department for 30 years and currently oversees
stations and operations in Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte
Sereno and unincorporated areas in Santa Clara County.
He previously served as the Emergency Medical Services
Coordinator and was detailed to the Saratoga Fire District for
three years to facilitate an emergency services agreement
between the two departments. Chief Parker also lived in the
vicinity of San Tomas West neighborhood for fifteen years
and his children attended area schools.
We hope you will join us for an interesting and informative
session with Chief Parker at the Payne School Multi-Use
room on Wednesday, November 9 at 6:30pm.
Payne School Update
Payne Elementary School is off to a great start to
a new school year! We started the year with
something to celebrate; once again our API and
AYP scores have increased. Our 2011 API
score is 881. Our Payne Panthers, their families,
and their teachers worked diligently
last year to provide us with another
opportunity to be proud of their effort
and determination. Across the campus, exciting things are going on at
Payne again this year.
located at 3750 Gleason Avenue. For more information or to schedule a tour of the preschool,
please contact Gizzele Linayao at 408-8743745.
Our fifth graders recently spent a
week away in Aptos for their annual
trip to Science Camp. They returned
with stories about nature, campfires,
and adventures with friends. The
experience is one that students look
forward to from they moment they
enter Payne, and remember for
many years after.
Moreland Preschool, located on
Payne's campus, is full of laughter
and learning. The Moreland PrePayne announces All of the classes, preschool through
school mission is to provide a wellfifth, have started a new program
rounded early education program
new Panther
called Panther PAWS (Positive Acthat is child-centered and committed
PAWS Program
tions, Words, and Self). The goal of
to creating the foundation for a lifePAWS is to encourage positive
time of learning and is recognized as
choices and good citizenship. So far
on Outstanding Contributor to Child
this year the students have talked about The Gift
Care by the City of San Jose. The Moreland
of Listening and The Golden Rule. Our Payne
Preschool is available to all children ages 3-5
Panthers are becoming more safe, responsible,
years old. Registration forms are available at
and respectful everyday!
www.moreland.org or at the Preschool Office
(continued on page 3)
Page 2
Board of Directors Message
Have you ever
considered looking in
unusual places for
advice? The usual
ones are friends,
relatives, teachers,
and fellow employees,
to name a few. But
there is one source
that I would guess you
never thought of and
that is your GPS. Yes,
your Global Positioning System.
Welcome to Moreland
Mark Barmore
The Moreland School
District is pleased to
welcome our new
Superintendent Mark
Barmore. Barmore
comes to Moreland
from Mill Valley
School District, where
he served as the Director of Student Support Services. Most
notably in his time there, Mark developed
effective intervention programs for special
education and English language learners.
Mark started his career as an attorney with
the city of San Francisco and was the
general counsel for the San Francisco
Unified School District for nine years. There
he gained a great understanding of public
schools, as well as a passion for student
achievement. Switching gears to follow his
passion, Mark got his teaching credential
and became an elementary teacher, teaching third, fourth, and fifth grades before
becoming a principal.
Mark’s focus is strongly centered on students. He has proven to be a collaborative
leader, active and visible in the communities he’s served, and possessing strong
interpersonal skills and a sense of humor.
It’s with much enthusiasm that we welcome
Mark to the Moreland School District. Join
us for the STWNA November meeting to
meet and welcome Mark to our community.
STWNA 2011-12 Calendar
11/09
STWNA General Meeting
12/03
STWNA Caring & Sharing
Seeking VOLUNTEERS for our 5th
Annual Caring and Sharing Event.
Email us if you are interested:
santomaswest@yahoo.com
01/11/12 ANNUAL MEETING
All general meetings and information
nights will be held in Payne School’s
MU room unless otherwise noted.
Check the STWNA website for other
events and STWNA Restaurant
Nights during the year.
Si usted quisiera recibir una copia del boletín de noticias en español, por favor email nosotros en santomaswest@yahoo.com.
CLIP AND SAVE
Consider Recalculating!
You use your GPS when
going from Point A to Point B
and need directions on how to get
our first reaction may be to get angry
there. Your GPS patiently waits while
or react in some negative manner.
you put in the parameters, primarily the Wouldn’t it make more sense to just
address. Then it asks how you want to “recalculate” and consider other options?
get there. Freeways only? Shortest
You get cut off on the freeway and want
route? Fastest route? Scenic route?
to yell at the other driver. Recalculate!
With that information, it comes up with
Maybe he just didn’t see you or is
a suggested path of travel.
unfamiliar with the area. You get into an
argument with your spouse and you want
On the way, it will remind you before
to react with harsh words or some other
each turn with instructions, such as “In actions. Recalculate! Listen to what
300 yards, make a right turn”, or “At
they are saying. Come to a compromise
the next fork in the road, bear to the
or some other solution and avoid conflict.
right”. But it really proves its worth
You get the idea!
when you make a wrong turn or bypass a turn it told you to do. What it
Try this, the next time you are in an
does NOT do is be judgmental about
argument with someone. Tell them
your mistake. It doesn’t say “You
“Excuse me a moment. Before we condummy, you missed the last turn”. All
tinue this discussion, let me ‘recalculate’
it says is “Recalculating!” Then, in a
my response”. See what they say!!
few seconds, it portrays a new route,
Remember that January is our annual
based on your present position. It will
do this, no matter how many times you meeting, and we need volunteers to
oversee the running of the Association
miss a turn or deviate from the suggested route. It will never be critical of for 2012. Check out page 3 where you
will find the duties of each office outlined.
your actions.
We are hoping, for the continuity of the
Couldn’t we all take a lesson from this
Association, that volunteers will step up
attitude? In our lives, when things go
and take over each of the open positions.
wrong or we get upset with someone,
The office of Treasurer has been spoken
for, but the others are still
open. If you haven’t
thought about volunteering, consider
“Recalculating!” your response. Surely, among
the 2000 homes that this
Newsletter goes to, there
are a select few who
would be willing to offer
their services for a few
hours every couple of
months. We hope so.
www.santomaswest.com
santomaswest@yahoo.com
Page 3
Volunteer to Serve on the STWNA Board or on a Committee
The following STWNA Board of Directors positions will become vacant
in January. Candidates will be
elected at the Annual Membership
Meeting in January, 2012.
positions as listed above and remove the
committee chairpersons from the actual
board of directors. The actual bylaws revision will be posted on the STWNA website
and distributed in the January Newsletter.
President duties of the President:
 Arrange for meeting Speakers
 Set meeting Agendas
 Oversee Committees (will not
need to attend meetings. Committee leaders will report progress)
 Board Message (this could be
written by any of the board
members)
Committee chairpersons will be responsible
for running each event and are invited to
but not required to attend Board Meetings.
Committees
“Last month many of us had a tight schedule so
our meeting was rushed. Sally, please read the
seconds of our last meeting”
Vice President duties of the Vice President:
 Support President
 Oversee newsletter printing and distribution
Secretary duties of the Secretary:
 Record and distribute Board meeting minutes
 General Meeting minutes
 Coordinate website and assist with updates (ideally
this person would also serve as Web Master)
Treasurer duties of the Treasurer:
 Financials (balancing checking and savings)
 Membership
 Payables & Receivables (ad revenue & membership
dues)
The board will present legislation at the meeting to revise
the association bylaws to reflect the current duties of the
ADVERTISING – Call on the businesses
within the STWNA borders and follow up
with form that will go to Treasurer for billing
purposes.
RESTAURANT NIGHT – Hold 1 or 2 meetings to choose restaurants
and arrange dates for up to five restaurant nights throughout the
year.
BLOCK PARTY – Hold 2 or 3 planning meetings and put on event.
GARAGE SALE – Hold 1 or 2 meetings and put on event.
RIVER / COASTAL CLEANUP DAY – 1 coordinators meeting (1 hour
long) and 4 hours on the cleanup day for the event.
DUMPSTER DAY – Hold 1 planning meeting and put on event.
CARING, SHARING AND GIVING – hold 1 or 2 planning meetings
and put on event.
The past board and committee members have worked diligently
to make the STWNA one of the most honored and respected
associations in the Bay Area and we hope our neighbors will step
up and volunteer to serve in our community. Without dedicated
volunteers for the Board and Committees, the meetings and events will no doubt be cancelled. That
would be a darn shame! If you are interested in
serving as a member of the STWNA Board or as a
Committee Chairperson or Committee Volunteer,
please email the Board at santomaswest@yahoo.com.
Payne Update
(from Page 1)
To see some of our class work in action, head over
to the Moreland School District Office where work
from each grade level is displayed on the wall in the
entryway. You can see how the classes have all
been "Reading and Responding" together. The
work shows the creativity of the teachers, bright
ideas of the students, and the general effort that all
the students show at Payne. We know that this
work is just the start of another amazing year for
Payne!
Are you or do you know our local business owners? The STWNA is developing a business partners program for local
companies. Contact the STWNA today to explore the possibilities and assist in the development of our unique program.
2011 Volunteer Barbeque Photos
Volunteer for a Committee, Block Captain or Board Position and join us at
next year’s BBQ. Thank you to Warren Campbell, STWNA President, and
his wife Elizabeth for hosting the event!
Coastal Cleanup Recap
Thank you to all who participated in Coastal
Cleanup Day!
There were 43 sites in Santa Clara County. 1,639
volunteers removed 32,390 pounds of trash and
7,773 pounds of recyclables from over 78 miles of
creeks and shoreline. This event would not happen
without you and your efforts are greatly appreciated.
If you have never been to a cleanup day, plan on
joining us in May 2012 for the National River
Cleanup Day. Where you to can explore the creek,
find all kinds of neat trash and have a great time
exchanging stories of your adventure during the free
lunch after. Stay tuned to the STWNA newsletter
and www.cleanacreek.org for the next great event.