Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy

Help Raise “Milk Money!”

admin — Fri, 07 May 2010 06:39:22 +0000

The first ever Harvey Milk Day was celebrated on May 22, 2010. Friends of Harvey Milk is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization which raises money solely for programs for students at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy. Donate any amount to help us reach our $80,000 goal!

Many Ways to Support Our School TODAY

christinavelasco — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:55:18 +0000

We are well into our third week of school and I want to remind parents, guardians, and everyone else in our community of the many things you can do to support our beautiful school. Our Fall Pledge Drive is ON and we greatly need and appreciate your donations large or small, but there are many other ways YOU can support us today:

With your time – You can volunteer your time to the classroom, to the office, or to many of the events that we put on at the school. See our Volunteer page for more information.

While shopping – Give your Safeway card number (or other card numbers) to eScrip and select the school when you sign up. eScrip is an easy way to shop and have a percentage come back automatically to the school. All you have to do is sign up yearly, choose our school, and everything else is done for you. We also partner with Zazzle and other online stores. Find out more about eScrip and other partners here on the Fundraising Partners page.

By company matching – Friends of Harvey Milk has a company match program. Check with your company today: Your company may match funds automatically as you donate from your paycheck.

By donating directly — Any amount, large or small, helps. You can donate in whatever way is easiest for you. Donate online through PayPal, Donor’s Choose, or to Friends of Harvey Milk with your credit card. Ask your friends and friends-of-friends on Facebook to donate via our Causes page. You can even send us a check if you prefer.

Lastly, for parents and guardians, showing up at school meetings and events is an excellent and important way to support our school. Tonight is Back to School Night, 6-8pm at the school. Our Home-School connection is really important and we would like to see 100% attendance tonight. New and continuing parents are encouraged to join us! It is a direct opportunity to get information from your classroom and the school as a whole.

Thanks for your support, and I look forward to seeing you all tonight!

Peace,

Christina Velasco, Principal

On June 9, Principal Velasco took to the airwaves on Comcast Newsmakers to discuss school funding and the way the school incorporates teaching standard core curriculum along with empathy, kindness, social and emotional intelligence, being advocates for others, being a learner, and use of “families” of mixed grades/ages so kids can learn from each other. If you missed it, you can watch it here.

Welcome to Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy!

christinavelasco — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:04:21 +0000

Welcome Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy students and families! I am excited to be a part of a beautiful community as I enter my second year as principal. This year’s theme is “Together We’re Better!”

We are most effective as a team when we compliment each other without embarrassment and disagree without fear – Unknown Author

This year as we come together we will be both learners and leaders in helping our children be successful. We have a fantastic consistent staff and they are working fervently to make it a great year. We need every member of our community to work together and participate in helping create the best justice learners and leaders of the 21st century. I encourage each of you to find a way to get involved. There is something here for everyone.

Since the day this school year began on August 16 and before, teachers and staff have been taking the opportunity to reflect and create an image for our indoor paper mural – T.E.A.M. The images and words express ways the staff contribute to our school community. All students will be asked to contribute an image and words to this mural. Please plan a time as a family to read the school’s newsleter and regularly review the documents that we send home in the Wednesday folders.

Peace, Ms. Velasco

If you missed it over the summer, check out this video of Christina Velasco on ABC 7’s View From the Bay talking about teaching civil rights to kids:

Researching Online Auctions for Fundraising

moyawatson — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 03:22:46 +0000

Like many schools, we put a lot of effort into our annual silent auction, and this single event is not only the primary community event of the year, but is the most important in raising critical funds for our school. But organizing these auctions takes enormous effort.

We’re investigating the potential of online auction tools to relieve some of the manual effort, and perhaps combining an online with a live silent auction. We need help to sort through what works and what doesnt. Have you any experience with online auction tools for fundraising, or with the online / offline auction combination? We’d love to hear about it. We’ve put together what we know here:

Researching Online Auctions

Please reply to us via Twitter @HMCRA with any tips or contact us by email to share what works and what doesn’t! Many thanks!

Back 2 School DRAG SHOW!

moyawatson — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:17:40 +0000

Join proud performing parent Ivy Drip and us on Friday, August 13 at the Back 2 School DRAG SHOW!

You do not want to miss this adults-only, star-studded drag extravaganza! The fun takes place on Friday, August 13th, right before school starts! A slew of San Francisco’s finest drag performers have teamed up to raise money for the Parent Faculty Club of Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, which helps fund arts education, before & after school programs, healthy food programs and whatever else the little darlings might need. This is an ADULT ONLY event! $20 per person or 2 for $30! See you there!

When: Friday, August 13, 8:30-11pm (Doors at 8pm)
Where: Cafeteria, Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy — 4235 19th Street
Tickets: $20 for 1; $30 for 2, at the door. It’s for the children!

*** All proceeds, including performers’ tips, benefit our school! ***

Kelly Clark Completes Cross-Country Ride!

moyawatson — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:37:03 +0000

On behalf of the faculty, parents, community, and especially the students of Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy and across the country, we congratulate our fifth-grade teacher Kelly Clark and her team at WE RIDE for completing their 3,200 mile bike ride across the United States just hours ago. We’re proud to announce they arrived at Washington Circle Park in Washington, DC today — July 17, 2010 — at 4:35pm Eastern time.

WE RIDE 3000: The Early Days

It was 44 days ago that Ms. Clark embarked on the ride with much fanfare from the school yard on the last day of school, June 4th. She considered the long, winding, and critical journey a matter of urgency to bring awareness to public education across the country. Along the way, she and her team kept in touch with us via text message, Facebook posts, pictures, and the WE RIDE blog.

At times exhausted, bruised, and in pain, Ms. Clark would always pick herself back up and ride on when she considered the importance of the mission of public education. “We made sure to keep focused, to smile, to appreciate this beautiful Earth, to be kind to all those we met,” says Clark, “Public education, well it seems this ride is needed. There is so much work we need to do…everywhere and together.” Yesterday, she was honored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Pelosi Statement on San Francisco Teacher’s Cross-Country Bike Ride for Public Education:

Kelly Clark and the “We Ride 3,000″ team have embarked on a cross-country journey to support our nation’s public schools. As they travel, they are meeting with people across the nation to raise awareness of the value of our public school system. San Francisco public school students are fortunate to have Kelly Clark riding for their future. … We have a moral responsibility to educate our children, give our young people the tools and skills to compete in the global economy, and raise a new generation of well-prepared students to meet the challenges facing our nation. Congress must take further action to ensure that America’s students do not pay the price for the recklessness of Wall Street.

Bravo, Ms. Clark and team, for your great work on behalf of a brighter future for public education and for our children. We are all so proud of your incredible, inspirational work. Just one small request from us: Could you please take the plane home? School’s starting soon and we NEED YOU!

If you’d like to donate to the WE RIDE 3000 team’s flights to bring them home, please visit their Paypal account.

Principal Velasco Talks Teaching Civil Rights to Kids

moyawatson — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:54:10 +0000

Principal Christina Velasco appeared live on ABC 7’s View From the Bay today to talk about teaching civil rights to kids. Watch this six-minute video of her talk:

From View From the Bay’s Web site:

Think first grade is too early to teach about civil rights? Think again!

The following 10 statements come from the Harvey Milk Academy’s first grade class and they speak truth to power. Kids teaching kids about what it means to be tolerant.

Accepting Everyone
Rights for All
Violence is hateful
Everybody wants to be loved
You are the one to make the world a better place
Make peace everywhere
Including everyone in friendship
Loving people that are different
Kindness for those who are hurting
Hoping for Human Rights.

In addition, it is important that parents take action to these statements in the following ways:

Parents need to make sure their children’s and their friends include a diverse group of people. Allow kids to have experiences beyond your own family experience. Make “play dates” intentionally diverse such as playing in a different neighborhood and extending play to schoolmates beyond your own classroom.
Making sure kids and families have opportunities to learn from primary sources. Parents should select multicultural literature that is culturally relevant and meaningful. Selecting books that speak to social just issues.
Empowering kids to give back to a community and people that may be struggling. Teaching them that their empathy can actually support others.
Teach your children to be non-violent. Teach them to be problem solvers that use their words impeccably.
Teach children to advocate for others.

Harvey Milk Day 2010 T-Shirts & Gifts on Zazzle.com

shawn — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:17:52 +0000

The first Harvey Milk Day was May 22, 2010. Personalize your very own one-of-a-kind Harvey Milk merchandise. Click on any t-shirt and choose from 350 style and color options – including men’s, women’s & kid’s hoodies, tank tops, coffee mugs and more! Visit the Custom Sections to add your own images and text! Proceeds benefit the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy.

Visit: http://zazzle.com/hmcra*

“Crayons for Kids” a Benefit for HMCRA – Thursday, June 17th @ 7pm

shawn — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:53:59 +0000

Thursday, June 17th @ 7pm
TRIGGER
2344 Market St, San Francisco, CA
$10 at the door

Featuring:
Sister Crayon & Magic Bullets
All proceeds benefit Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy – sponsored by Herth Real Estate, Jungle & Trigger

Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy is seeing Stars!

lwaldal — Wed, 26 May 2010 23:48:17 +0000

News Alert: Small SF Public School Dances with the Stars

CONTACT: Wendy Lee
School Volunteer, Parent and Dance-A-Thon Coordinator
(415) 205-5967
barcelonafamilyyahoocom

San Francisco’s Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy is seeing Stars! The public school recently hosted its First Annual Dance-A-Thon to raise funds for the school by getting kids, teachers, staff, parents and friends to get up and dance! Two Star Dancers from the hit TV show, Dancing with the Stars, Alec Mazo and Edyta Sliwinska, are making time in their busy schedules to support the cause. Alec and Edyta have invited 20 winners from the Dance-A-Thon to a private dance class lesson at their SF studio on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 6:00 pm. They have also invited the entire school to their Ballroom Showcase Performance at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley on Sunday, June 6, 2010 at 5:00 pm.

The school, like all other public schools, is facing massive budget cuts that threaten to eliminate core programs. As part of the Dance-A-Thon efforts to help raise necessary “Milk Money,” the school volunteers contacted and received donations from many beloved SF Castro neighborhood merchants including Cliff’s Variety, Spike’s Coffees & Teas, Buffalo Whole Foods, Escape from New York Pizza, and BiRite Creamery. And in a special effort to find dance-related prizes, the volunteers contacted and received an outpouring of donations from many Bay Area dance studios and teachers including ODC/Rhythm & Motion, Beyond Blues, Cheryl Burke Studio, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, Lizz Roman Pilates, and Dance SF Salsa Academy.

The private lesson from Alec and Edyta at their Genesis DanceSport Academy along with the free tickets to their Zellerbach Performance the “2010 Genesis Ballroom Showcase” was icing on the cake! It’s not often that these city kids get to connect with TV royalty. And to attend an event by special invitation makes it even more sweet. The 20 kids that won the private dance class all logged dance time during the week-and-a-half-long Dance-A-Thon helping raise money through sponsors who donated dollars per minute for dancing. The Zellerbach tickets were offered to everyone who participated in the school’s event – which is the entire school – since the school’s Principal Christina Velasco authorized a daily morning circle dance for each of the eight days of the event. Every morning the kids danced along to a daily dance which included some standard moves like the hokey pokey, some classic dances like the electric slide, and some cultural experiences like a Hawaiian hula performance. These dance moves were taught by parents, teachers and the principal (photos and video of the kids dancing on the schoolyard are available upon request). From the beginning, the focus for the event was not only to raise money, but also to celebrate dance for its’ art, exercise, and community-building aspects. The eight-day event finished with a three-hour dance party where the winners were awarded their prizes to a room full of parents excited themselves to get a chance to meet some dancing superstars. Judging by all standards – the event was a huge success – and obviously dancing stars have big hearts for struggling public schools.