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Health & Fitness

News from the Alameda Education Foundation

Alameda Education Foundation President Bill Sonneman shares news about summer enrichment camps, track & field and a good old-fashioned barbeque for dads!

The school year may be coming to a close, but educational opportunities for students are just beginning. I am very excited about our upcoming Summer Enrichment Camps. Our enrichment director, Sarah Olaes, has created some exciting opportunities for kids. We have everything from fun camps in things like drama, glee, circus arts, cooking, and dance to academic camps in Mandarin immersion, Spanish immersion, marine science and even math!

Studies have shown that students may lose from one to three months of learning during the summer. Our goal with these camps is to provide Alameda students with opportunities to continue learning, but in different, engaging and unique ways. To date, we already have over 300 students participating this summer.

You can learn more about our camps and register your students on our web site.  Also, check out this on the Patch about the importance of language immersion programs.  You can also get a preview of what a language immersion program is like at an open house Sunday, June 10th, 1:00 – 4:00 pm at Lincoln Park, sponsored by our Mandarin provider, Language Alive! More info is here.

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Track & Field
Soon we will be concluding our fourth year of running the Middle School athletic program. It is track season and so far we have held two “All Comers” (practice-type) meets. The Championships will be on June 5 and 6 (field events on June 5 at Encinal High School and running events on June 6 at College of Alameda). This year teams are based at The Academy, Nea/ACLC (combined), Lincoln, and Wood. We have had at least 200 student-athletes participating at each of the two meets so far.

We have been very fortunate to get assistance from the coaches at Alameda and Encinal High Schools. And I have learned that our program is having quite an effect on the high school track teams. An Encinal coach recently told me that this year they have the largest track team in recent history and that 80 percent of their students competed in AEF’s Middle School Sports program.

Find out what's happening in Alamedawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A big thank you also goes out to AEF’s athletic director, Marty Garchar, for coordinating our athletic program, which also includes coed volleyball in the fall and boys and girls basketball in the winter.

Beatles, Beer and BBQ
Finally, if you’re free on Father’s Day weekend, come on down to the Harbor Bay Club for a good old-fashioned concert on the green featuring our good friends, The Sun Kings. The concert is on Saturday, June 16, at 4 p.m. Besides a rocking concert, there will be beer, wine and barbecue available for purchase. All proceeds from the event benefit music, art and drama programs in Alameda public schools. Info and ticket info is here. It’s an event Dad’s sure to love!

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