NEIGHBORHOOD NOTE | 5th Annual “We Love Our Presidents” walk to be held February 16

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Each year the number of walkers increases.  If you’d like to find out why, then put on your scarves and boots and join your neighbors on February 16 in an informative and fun walk through the Northeast neighborhood to learn about our nation’s leaders at the annual “We Love Our Presidents” Walk. Northeast Minneapolis happens to be the area in the city where many of the streets are named after United States Presidents so it seems only fitting that Northeast mark the day in a special way with a walk through the neighborhood.This year’s theme is presidential pets and White House animals. Walkers will gather at 10 am at the Edison High School and walk to Central Ave. The route continues up Central to 29th then to Northeast Middle School.  The NE Urban 4-H Club and Northeast Royalty will once again lead the group, reading interesting trivia on the presidents at designated stops along the route. There will be a hot chocolate stop at the Eastside Food Co-op.  At the end of the walk, neighbors will enjoy a hot lunch along with a program which will include trivia, a drawing, and prizes awarded to the coloring contest winters (last year they received close to 1,000 entries from Waite Park, Marcy Open School and other area schools and daycares), along with a short speech or two.   Community groups are welcome to participate in the walk and a presentation of the 2013 Northeast Presidential Seal will be awarded to the group with the most participants. Continue Reading

NEIGHBORHOOD NOTE | Winter Warm Up Scheduled for January 25

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The fifth annual Winter Warm Up, the primary source of funding for the Northeast Middle School after-school theater program, is set for Friday, January 25 from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. at the Grace Center (1500 6th St NE). All are invited to attend.The event will feature music by Buster Phelan (a local band that performs a mix of rock, pop and R & B music, food from local restaurants, beer, wine and a silent auction.All proceeds from ticket sales and the auction directly benefit the Northeast Middle School theater program, which puts on two shows each year: a winter play and a spring musical.  For this year’s fall play the Middle School students combined with the Edison theater group and performed a Shakespearean double feature.  The middle school students performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Edison group performed Romeo and Juliet. Usually 10-15 students participate in the fall play but this year more than 40 students worked on the performance.For their spring musical, Northeast Middle School is staging the full two act version of Peter Pan on April 18 and 19.“Although this is an ambitious undertaking the middle school program has grown to the point where they are ready to tackle this classical musical,” Chris Pratt, chair of the Winter Warm-up committee said.“In keeping with the spirit of Peter Pan, we would really like to be able to “fly” a group of students above the middle school stage,” he said. Continue Reading

NEIGHBORHOOD NOTE] Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page to Speak at 7th Annual Harvest Gathering

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Alan Page, founder of the Page Foundation and Minnesota’s first African-American Supreme Court Justice, will be this year’s keynote speaker at the 7th annual Harvest Gathering on November 19th at 7 pm at the Northeast Middle School.The Northeast Harvest Gathering is an annual event dedicated to celebrating and fostering the Northeast community, by encouraging conversation among neighbors of diverse backgrounds and cultures in order to learn about each other.  In addition to Justice Page’s speech, the event will feature music, table discussions and dessert.This year’s Harvest Gathering theme is “Many Faces One Community.”  Table talks will explore questions like:  With the changing faces in our community, how can we individually and collectively, build a better community? How can neighborhood schools and education in general help build a better community?  And how can we make everyone feel more welcome?Along with providing a speaker, The Harvest Gathering is an opportunity for neighbors to meet one another and to talk about the community they live in.“It’s all about bringing neighbors together, learning about them and breaking down barriers,” Diane Langer, chair of the Harvest Gathering’s planning committee said.According to Langer, there has been a lot of enthusiasm and energy in planning this year’s event.  Each member of the 10 member committee has worked towards getting the word out to areas that may not have heard about the event in the past including using social media to attract more of the younger population. Each committee member has also visited various neighborhood organizations with flyers to talk about the event with the community.Although an average of 200 people attend the event each year, Langer would like to see more. She hopes that this additional effort in publicity will attract a diverse population who are interested in celebrating and building the fabric of the Northeast community.A recipient of the Page Foundation Scholarship and a graduate of Edison High School will also be at the event to participate in the conversation.You can find out more information about the event by going to the Harvest Gathering Facebook page. WHAT: Northeast Harvest GatheringWHY:  To Celebrate communityWHEN:: November 19, 2012,  7 -9 pmWHERE: Northeast Middle School,  2955 Hayes St NE, MplsADMISSION:  FREE Neighborhood Notes are updates about what’s happening in Twin Cities neighborhoods, submitted by our volunteer neighborhood correspondents (and neighborhood residents), and not edited by the TC Daily Planet. Continue Reading

Are Minnesota schools supporting black students? Minnesota Alliance of Black School Educators hears parent, community distress.

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About 30 community members, including several former educators, attended the August 8 community public hearing sponsored by the Minnesota Alliance of Black School Educators.  Some expressed anger and disagreement with the effectiveness of current practices and strategies in Minneapolis Public Schools. They were confused as to how new programs would help and just how their involvement would increase effectiveness as they’ve not really been given the voice that MABSE is promising them.The August 8 hearing at the Minneapolis Urban League was hosted by Minneapolis Public Schools superintendent Bernadeia Johnson, Minnesota Department of Education commissioner Brenda Cassellius and MABSE president Francine Chakolis as speakers. As the Minneapolis Public School district is a member of the National Alliance of Black School Educators, Johnson spoke of the district’s connection and ongoing partnership with MABSE. The hearing was the first of three in a series titled “Reclaiming our Village from the Pipeline to the Penitentiary.”Community members at the meeting had a variety of connections with Minneapolis Public Schools. Continue Reading

Help make MayDay

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MayDay for 37 years has always been the first Sunday in May. For 2012, the 38th MayDay, the date is May 6. MayDay is the collective product of a very large and diverse community. It is many people assisting in a common celebration of spring and each other. Continue Reading