October 18th in Altadena

Big doings in Altadena this weekend! What to do, what to do? Here are a couple of things not to miss. I'd say go to the rally first, then head off to Eliot School because:

Altadenish must vote Yes on Measure A November 4th—that is, if the Altadena Libraries are to survive. This Saturday there will be a rally at 9am. The rally will last about 20 minutes and from there volunteers are encouraged to go door-to-door in the neighborhoods around the Branch. I wish I had this on my ballot, but Pasadenamanians do not get to vote on this one.

More info at www.AltadenaAlliance.org.

An equally worthy cause needs your attention on the same day!
Pasadena Rotary's "Done In A Day" Move-In for Room 13 at Eliot School begins at 9am Saturday, too. Room 13 has outgrown its original studio and is moving to the south side of the campus. Enter the parking loto on Boston Street and lend a hand.

Eliot School's first Room 13

Volunteers are needed:

For cleaning, we need help sweeping and mopping floors, washing windows, (there is one wall which is basically all windows), and everything needs a good wipe-down. 

For building, we need people with carpentry skills to help build shelving and tables. Also to paint the furniture, gesso canvases, put up organizers and wall hooks, curtains.  

For sorting and setting up, we need lots of help organizing supplies into their various centers (painting, drawing, clay, fiber, printmaking, library, photo and digital arts), and furniture put into place. 

Not handy? How about some in-kind donations?
Room 13 needs fabrics, digital cameras, clay, paint, sketchbooks, beads, sewing machines, t-squares, turpentine, canvases new or used, oils, watercolors, acrylics, dressmaker forms, pins and needles, yarn, thread—anything you can make art with.

Please call Patricia Hurley to let us know how you can help. Share this with your company, family or friends. Phone (626) 590-1134 with questions or just show up. Thank you!

Eliot School: Room 13

At the door to Room 13 at Eliot School, Principal Peter Pannell told our tour group, "I don't know what we're going to find in here."

We found creativity in process, where the students were running their own show (or would be, as soon as school let out and they got back into the space). Room 13 is a unique, international arts program where the kids have to be entrepreneurial as well as creative because the program has to sustain itself. There are only two Room 13 chapters in the US, both in the LA area.

Local professional artists are welcome to mentor (hint hint). Or, if your talents don't swing in an artistic direction, you can help out with the wish list:
If I hadn't already been impressed with Eliot School, Room 13 would have done it. I love that combination of creative freedom and business acumen. I had an excellent arts education but I entered the adult world without any business training and I needed it, even back in the goodle days.

Many classes at Eliot combine disciplines and invite professionals from the community to participate. For example, we witnessed a fun program in the gymnasium led by pro dancers. One of the math teachers is developing a robotics class with the help of Caltech and JPL personnel; he was extremely enthusiastic and it was exciting to hear him talk about it. (His Caltech connection is filming a documentary about the program's development.)

Eliot School principal Peter Pannell answers parent questions in Room 13.

I could go on, but Room 13 is a good place to finish our tour of Eliot School. I enjoyed myself, and it made me wonder if other Pasadena and Altadena schools are just as interesting. They probably are. Many thanks to Principal Pannell for the tour, and to Susan Savitt Schwartz of PEN for inviting me.