Talented Puppeteer Visits Alamo

British puppeteer, Robin Stevens visited RDASC Alamo site to perform an engaging and imaginative puppet show for the RDASC youth. As part of the Richmond District After School Collaboratives's art component, Alamo students have been working with Michele Menard, a visual and puppet artist, this past semester on the art and craft of puppetry. Students have been making their own puppet characters and creating stories to illuminate the personalites of their puppets for their final culminating event happening on Decemeber 16th at 5pm in the Alamo auditorium.

Students were completely enthralled with Robin's presentation and his impressive background. As a British puppeteer, actor, director and writer Robin Stevens has worked for children's TV for nearly 30 years, and has done many successful programs. These include The Teletubbies, Pob, Rosie and Jim, Tots TV, Boohbah & Blips. He worked for Ragdoll Productions for about 20 years, at times co-writing scripts and originating content with Alan Dapre, before that working for the BBC. He trained with John Blundall the world famous puppet master. Currently in the USA and worked in Hattersley tugging the old rag doll from 1990 to 1993.

For more information on Robin Stevens, please see his website at http://www.robinstevenspuppets.com/

Lotus and the Golden Pearl - a Young Girl's Peace Odyssey

Children's Book Author Libby Pink presented her new book, "Lotus and the Golden Pearl - a Young Girl's Peace Odyssey" to the After School Collaborative in Novemeber.

Students and families at Argonne, Alamo and Lafayette got to meet and hear book author, Libby Pink, read from her new book. The story about a young girl's quest to find peace aligns with our anti-bullying theme at the After School Collaborative and also supports the San Francisco Unified School District's balanced scorecard goals. Youth participated in activities exploring ideas around world peace and the benefits of working together as a community. All children were able to get a free bookmark. There also was book signing opportunities and a juice and healthy snack social for all to enjoy.

Some wonderful photos included of the event.

For more information on the book, please go to Libby Pink's website at http://lotusandthegoldenpearl.com/

Announcing Winter Arts Showcases!

Without a doubt, 2009 has offered change and challenges for all of us. It also has been filled with opportunity to create new ways of working together toward a more collaborative and innovative future for our youth, staff, families and communities. At the Richmond District Neighborhood Center’s After School Collaborative, 2009 has brought hope, change and new possibilities.

With your participation, the After School Collaborative will continue to bring you, your children and future generations some of the best and most diverse visual arts, dance, drama and music classes and performances in the city for school-aged youth!

Indeed, the Richmond District After School Collaborative is prepared to take the leap forward into 2010 but we can’t take this leap without you. This December as you attend the Winter Arts Showcase at your school’s site (see below for schedule) and contribute to our healthy potluck initiative, please join in supporting us with a donation!

For over fifteen years, the After School Collaborative has been a safe, fun, arts enriching, academically ehancing and culturally relevant after school environment for youth. Though we are faced with different challenges each year we grow, we have no less of an opportunity to achieve lasting and meaningful experiences for you, your neighbors and your neighborhood!

Let’s do this together!
Warmly- Anne Mannes, RDASC Director

Join us this December for our annual winter art showcases at 5pm! Don’t miss out!
· December 9, 2009: George Peabody showcases dance.
· December 10, 2009: Argonne showcases poetry readings.
· December 17, 2009: Lafayette showcases music performances.
· December 16, 2009: Alamo showcases visual arts puppetry.

Snack Time!

Have you noticed the new healthy snacks your children are eating now at the sites?

In September 2009, we were given notice that our Richmond District schools no longer were eligible for snack through the San Francisco Unified School District. This change in our funding caused to us to turn to our families for support and come up with different solutions for our snack program.
Well, the After School Collaborative never turns down a good challenge! We want to thank our Lafayette families who contributed by donating snack items for October. We also will be turning to ALL OF OUR FAMILIES in the month of May to donate healthy snacks to their sites. Between now and then, however, we have hired Revolution Foods to supply healthy fruit and dried goods to the students. Revolution Foods sets high standards for food quality and we are very excited to partner with them!
We are committed to boosting healthy behaviors and choices for our youth! Thank you in advance for helping us achieve this important goal!

Spotlight on the Artists!

Meet the Artists
SPOTLIGHT ON RDASC ARTS INSTRUCTORS

Every semester, we are happy to offer your students quality arts instruction by a member of our team of professional artists. In addition to building their own curriculum, addressing the academic and literacy needs of participants through the arts, and collaborating with staff on improving the all-round experience of RDASC kids, the RDASC artists teach students to use arts as self-expression. They give real meaning to our mission of improving the quality of life in our community, not to mention a space for our students to have a whole lot of fun!
That said, we very proudly present to you...


This is Liz Tenuto’s first year as a Resident Artist with RDASC. Liz grew up dancing and continued to study improvisation and modern dance at UC Santa Barbara and in Granada, Spain. Since arriving in San Francisco, she has had the pleasure of working with Anne Bluethenthal and Dancers, Scott Wells and Dancers and Laura Arrington Dance and also teaches creative movement and world dance through Performing Arts Workshop. Liz's classes are process-based with an emphasis on improvisation and student choreography. By using imagery, physical theater and world music, Liz encourages RDASC students to move freely while guiding them into the theme of the day.


Claudia Dudley, poet and storyteller, has been with RDASC since 1994. She began school-day teaching in 1990, through California Poets in the Schools, and was poet-in-residence at Cabrillo Elementary School for many years. She uses world myth cycles to inspire "the big picture" in students, while in poetry-making encouraging them to believe (as she does) that "imagination is power." She's set RDASC poetry to music and had it performed, has published a volume and a chapbook of poems, and is at work bringing forth a a new volume with accompanying songs for soprano and piano.


Susan Appe has been a resident artist with RDASC since 2005, and has been teaching music to kids for ten years. From a musical family, she plays many string instruments, drums from all over the world and loves to sing. Her curriculum is a very rich mixture of music exploration, drumming, homemade instruments, movement, games, 'green music', literacy, singing, song-writing and tons of laughing. Susan is a certified Orff and Music Together teacher. She currently sings with the rock opera "Exit Sign" and drums with the women's taiko drumming troupe "Taiko Sister". Susan recorded a CD for children called "moon+pie" which can be heard on her website: web.mac.com/susanappe.




Michele Menard is a working artist with experience and education in theater arts, puppetry/masks, musical performance, creative writing, illustration and visual art and crafts. Her expansive inspiration for cultural exchange and understanding has led her abroad to study music/theater and puppetry in Eastern Europe in 2008. Her classes explore interdisciplinary studies that touch upon storytelling, clowning, theater arts/mime, puppetry , stage craft and creative writing. She is an accordion player, a beginner in washboard and spoons and an aspiring vocalist in world music.

Diary of a RDASC Kid!

As part of RDASC’s ongoing effort to give youth a space to exercise their voices, we will begin featuring a bi-monthly section in our newsletter for one of our 5th grade students to talk about our program. Please enjoy this first installment and help us in congratulating and thanking 5th grader Rama Dajanji from Lafayette Elementary on such a great article!

Hello! My name is Rama Dajanji and this is what happens to me at RDASC. I started RDASC at fifth grade. I was a little nervous at first, but then I started feeling happy and proud that I’ve joined RDASC. I found it pretty wonderful. First I come put my things away and go for the tables to get some snacks. Soon I hear a gong ring. That means that we all have to stay silent and pay attention to the speaker so we can all go out to recess.
Recess is my second favorite part of RDASC. That is because I get to finally play handball outside with my friends. We get a lot of time to play so I enjoy myself during recess. After some long 30 minutes of play I hear one of the staff members calling “RDASC” to line-up.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have recreation. That is when I get to run laps, do stretches, and play long fun games. That is my favorite part of RDASC. I like playing capture the flag at recreation time with Frank. I come back inside really tired. Then we can play or do homework.
On Fridays I come back from recess and I sit down for a meeting with my group, “The Dragons.” We talking about what fieldtrips we should go to. Plus what we should cook or make for cooking class. Later after we play games it is time to clean up.
At the end of the day I get picked up by my parents. As I drive home, I wonder what we will do at RDASC tomorrow. I also wonder what we will do on the next meeting on Friday. I just love RDASC. But sometimes the students don’t listen, and I think we can improve that by paying a little more attention. But the staff members are vey nice and funny. I can stay in RDASC for the whole year!
By Rama Dajanji, 5th Grade, Lafayette Elementary