| Community - Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Briefs: School district goals topic of roundtable
The Menlo Park City School District's top five goals will be the topic of discussion at a roundtable set for Wednesday, April 11, at Encinal School, 195 Encinal Ave. in Atherton.
The meeting is from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m. Childcare will be provided for school-age children, and can be reserved by emailing cmetzler@mpcsd.org.
Last year, the district appointed five teams to focus on the school board's five goals, which address strategic planning and financial stewardship, student assessment, teacher selection, the English language arts program, and the Hillview Middle School construction project.
Participants in the roundtable will hear brief updates on the teams' progress, then may rotate among the teams' tables to ask questions and offer comments and suggestions, according to the district.
Fundraising drive for Ford Field
Community fundraising has begun for a $540,000 project to rehabilitate Ford Field, the Little League baseball diamond at the corner of Alpine Road and Westridge Drive in Portola Valley.
The Sand Hill Foundation in Menlo Park, on behalf of the family of Susan Ford Dorsey, is offering donors from the community an opportunity to match its $100,000 Ford Family Challenge Gift.
Visit tinyurl.com/PVfield123 for more information.
Talks: Raising backyard bees
Two talks — on raising bees, and on attracting beneficial insects into gardens — are set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, in the Community Hall at the Portola Valley Town Center at 765 Portola Road.
Commercial beekeeper Aidan Wing will talk about "The Joy of Backyard Beekeeping." Landscape designer and organic gardener Steve Masley will talk on "Build It & They Will Come: Attracting Beneficial Insects & Natural Garden Pest Control."
Go to portolavalley.net and click on the Sustainability menu for more information on the Tuesday Harvest series of talks.
Editor's Note: The story below has been modified to correct an error in describing the offense to which the defendant pleaded no-contest.
Menlo man sentenced for child abuse
A Menlo Park man was sentenced to eight months in county jail and other penalties on April 4 in San Mateo County Superior Court after having pleaded no-contest in January to one count of child abuse involving his 15-year-old daughter, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe's office.
Rasheed Brooks, 37, was ordered directly to jail, said prosecutors, who had asked for a one-year jail sentence.
In Mr. Brooks' defense, his attorney Kevin Allen said that his client had been disciplined with a belt when he was growing up, prosecutors said.
Service for Richard Tryce
A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 21, for Richard Stanley Tryce, a fifth-generation Californian and 57-year-resident of the Peninsula, who died March 15 at his home in Portola Valley following a long illness. He was 80. The service will start at 1 p.m. at Valley Presbyterian Church, 945 Portola Road in Portola Valley.
An obituary is online and will run in a future issue of the Almanac.
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