As always, Community Warehouse on MLK & Shaver has its estate sale open for business, and its wonderful blog of sale items ready for perusal. Check out what Community Warehouse donations are for, and what they accept:

Alberta Main Street: Designing Alberta: District Design Plan

Public Meeting on District Design Plan: Thursday, June 21st at 6:30pm-8:00pm. At Alberta Main Street office, 1722 NE Alberta St.

The Alberta Main Street Design Committee will present our draft District Design Plan for input, comment & feedback. The Design Plan is, in effect, our overall ‘master plan’ that will be used to visually communicate, the incremental change that has been planned for implementation over time by Alberta Main Street. The Plan will be approved by the Board in concept and amended from time to time.

Changes in PreK, Kindergarten and more!

Sabin School is currently winding down the school year and already looking forward to a great year ahead!  Following are a few changes that will take place next year.  Sabin will no longer be offering a Pre-K program. We are sad to see this program go, but glad our wonderful Pre-K teacher, Ms. Mahon, will be staying with us to teach 1st grade.  Due to changes in our Title 1 status, Sabin will also no longer be offering a free full-day kindergarten.  However, we are excited to again offer three kindergarten classes. All students residing within the Sabin School enrollment boundary will be able to attend half-day kindergarten for free or pay $335 to attend full-day kindergarten.  Income-based scholarship, reduced fees, and fee waivers are also available. Stop by the office at 4013 NE 18th Ave. for more information and registration forms.  If you haven’t yet registered your child, come on in!  Registration is open and registering early helps with classroom planning. 

If you haven’t yet heard, Sabin’s K-5 was officially recognized as an International Baccalaureate school this year. The Middle School hopes to receive its IB authorization soon too!  The IB program helps Sabin to create a curriculum that develops inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.  Students are encouraged to become inquirers, communicators, open-minded citizens and more, all while experiencing an education that exposes them to art, music, and world languages, in addition to fundamentals like reading and math.  To this end, we are very excited to announce that Sabin will be gaining a music teacher in the fall. All K-5 students will be receiving music education in addition to other “specials:” art, library, and P.E.

Those are just a few of the exciting things in store for next year.  To learn more about the school, please visit www.sabinschool.com or www.sabinparents.org.  Thank you to all community members for the wonderful, ongoing support!

How to Throw a Block Party in 5 Easy Steps
By Signe Todd

Neighborhood block party is an excellent way to enjoy a warm summer day, socialize with your neighbors and meet new people who live on your street.  When I lived in the Irvington neighborhood, my neighbor Dana Griggs taught me the nuts and bolts for planning a successful block party in 5 easy steps.

Step 1: Plan Ahead!
Block parties require a street closure permit and liability insurance from the neighborhood coalition. When selecting a date for your event, you will want to allow 4-6 weeks for completing the application and to ensure you give the City two weeks advance notice of your permit request.  The application process is not as daunting as it may sound and speaking from experience, the folks at the neighborhood coalition really support block parties and are available to help.  Other points to consider are: Permits are typically not issued for parties that are longer than 1 block or extend past 10 pm. You cannot have a block party on a street that is on a bus route, has a bus layover, or is a signalized traffic intersection. Also, the City won’t allow alcohol in the street, so plan for drinking to take place on neighbors’ private property. Finally, if you’re planning to have amplified music that someone could hear (and possibly complain about) more than 10 houses away, be prepared to also fill out a noise variance application, found at: tinyurl.com/noisepermit .

Step 2: Contact Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN)
Once you have decided upon a date, visit NECN’s website, necoalition.org (“Services” > “Neighborhood Social Support” > “Host a Block Party”) to download two sets of forms you will need in order to get your permit:

1. NECN’s Event Application Packet (This serves as a request for NECN to provide insurance coverage for your event. NECN requests a $15-35 sliding scale donation for insurance coverage.)
2. Block Party application packet. (This serves as your permit application)

NECN staff is available to answer questions about the application process. Call (503) 823-4575 or email or info (at) necoalition (dot) org if you get stumped along the way.

Step 3: Fill Out the Petition Continue reading →