Carmel Boy Scout Eagle Project benefits Carmel High tennis courts area

Adam Morrison, a junior at Carmel High, completed his Boy Scout Eagle Project at the Carmel High School tennis courts last month.

A starter on the Carmel High School boys tennis team and a member of the Carmel Valley Boy Scout Troop 127, Adam planned, organized and led 23 volunteers in over 200 hours of a community service project benefiting Carmel High School. The project involved the restoration of the tennis court viewing area and replacing worn out railroad tie steps with concrete steps matching Carmel High Schools amphitheater.

Although the program is complete, donations are still being accepted as the total cost was paid by Adam's family, according to Ric Morrison, Adam's father, assistant tennis coach at Carmel High and assistant Boy Scout troop leader.

The cost of project materials was $2,000 and donations may be made to “Padre Parents” with a memo “Eagle Scout Project” and sent to: Carmel High School Padre Parents, 3600 Ocean Avenue Carmel, CA 93922.

Jennifer Gerard gets award for food program at MPUSD

Jennifer Gerard, nutrition chief at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, just received a 2015 California Food for California Kids Innovation Award for the program “Bay2Tray” local seafood procurement program.

The epicurean, whose programs and ideas we've extensively covered at the Herald, worked with local fishers to identify a new protein source: Grenadier, a by-catch that is usually discarded. This light and flaky fish made its way into the lunchroom in various forms: fish tacos, a chipotle-fish and cilantro-lime rice bowl, and fresh fish & chips. Students are responding enthusiastically, according to the Center for Ecoliteracy, which bestowed the award.

“We are privileged to honor the great work of entrepreneurial leaders like Jennifer Gerard,” Zenobia Barlow, executive director of the Center for Ecoliteracy, said in a statement. “And, thanks to the California Thursdays network, these innovative ideas are ‘catching.”

The idea for Bay2Tray began when Gerard noticed something problematic in her district. The students looked out over the Monterey Bay each day and then went back to the cafeteria for lunch to eat frozen fish sticks from who knows where. “It's a disservice to our fishing community,” Gerard says.

The California Food for California Kids Awards was presented to five school districts at a ceremonial dinner in San Diego. No word if they awardees were served grenadier.

All Saints School welcomes the fall with a festival

The annual All Saints' Fall Festival is a community event for the entire Monterey Peninsula featuring attractions, food and other surprises. The festival is both a community builder and a fundraiser for the Parents' Organization supporting the school's financial aid program.

Our Hot Lunch Dads will be cooking up burgers and hot dogs, and Hot Lunch Moms will be offering Allegro Pizza. The attractions will include Jacobs Ladder, Big Baller, Human Foosball, face painting, petting zoo, cupcake walk, zorb ball track, 27’ slide, pony rides, My Museum’s Wheelie Mobilee, train ride, bounce house, dunk tank.

Admission is free. Wristbands available for purchase to participate in the attractions.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, at All Saints' Day School, 8060 Carmel Valley Rd. For more information, click here.

CSUMB gets $1 million grant to train students in biomedical data science

Cal State Monterey Bay just received $1 million from the National Institutes of Health  to train students in biomedical data science.

There is a growing demand for new ways to store, manage, analyze, and use the massive amounts of electronic data being generated, especially medical data. The five-year grant will help to train professionals for that field and will target students from historically underrepresented and low-income backgrounds.

The grant will be used for three major efforts:

• To establish a summer research program for CSUMB students at the Center for Big Data in Translational Genomics at UC Santa Cruz. The center works to help the biomedical community use genomic information to better understand human health and disease. Visiting CSUMB students will spend the summer working side-by-side with UCSC scientists and data specialists, learning research skills to manage and interpret genomic data.

• To develop new programs, such as an interdisciplinary statistics major, that will include math, statistics, biology, behavioral and computer sciences to prepare students for graduate school and careers in research or industry.

• To create opportunities to extend CSUMB faculty training and research in biomedical data science in collaboration with UCSC faculty members and researchers.

Should students stand in the classroom? Come to Pacific Grove to find out

Should students increase in-class physical activity to help their health and performance? “Kids Are Meant to Move!” a panel with several experts -- including the representative of a standing desk manufacturer -- will address this topic.

Presenters:

Juliet Starlett, San Francisco Crossfit Founder, StandUpKids.org: Impact of sedentary behavior on mobility, range of motion, ergonomics and posture, and the importance of NEAT (UPDATE: Starlett won't be able to attend due to a scheduling conflict)
Bob Hill, Ergotron Education Manager: Research overview as it relates to introducing standing into the classroom
Joy Colangelo, author Embodied Wisdom: · Habits for a preventative lifestyle:
Joey DiPuma, District Technology Innovation Coordinator, Flagler Schools: Real classroom experience with standing desks:

WHAT: Kids Are Meant to Move!
WHEN: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 21.
WHERE: Pacific Grove USD’s Robert Down Elementary School Auditorium
485 Pine Ave, Pacific Grove.

Fremont Elementary gets $5,000 grant from Barona Band of Mission Indians

Assemblymember Luis A. Alejo (D-Salinas)recently presented a $5,000 Barona Education Grant to Fremont Elementary School on Sept. 24.

This grant from the Barona Band of Mission Indians, is awarded to one school in each legislative district in California. Schools must apply and have the official endorsement of their State Legislator to be considered for the grant.

The grant is being awarded to the largest school in the Alisal Union School District, where all students participate in the free or reduced lunch program. Fremont Elementary School submitted its application underlining the need for musical instruments for their afterschool music program. Funds will be used to purchase percussion line instruments.

The Barona Band has awareded $2.6 million to 528 schools since 2006, according to Alejo. 

Hartnell students host candidate debate

Candidates running for election to represent Trustee Area 1 (Demetrio Pruneda and Manuel Osorio) and Trustee Area 4 (Bill Freeman and Aurelio Salazar) will appear to make opening statements and answer questions submitted by the audience at a candidate debate hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Salinas Valley and the Hartnell College Political Science Club.

When: 6:00 – 7:30 pm Thursday, October 15.

Where: B-208 (The Meeting Room), Hartnell College

Supported by: The Associated Students of Hartnell College