Pleasanton Delays Vote On Wal-Mart Grocery - The Independent

12 THE INDEPENDENT • THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2012Pleasanton PTA to Honor Winners ofExcellence in Education AwardsThe Pleasanton PTA Council,in partnership with the PleasantonUnified School District, has announcedthe 2012 Winners of theExcellence in Education Awards.Honorees will receive their awardsat the 22nd Annual Excellence inEducation Awards Ceremony onMonday, May 21 at 4:00 p.m. atTrinity Lutheran Church, 1225Hopyard Road. Friends andfamilies of the honorees, as wellas community members, are mostLocal Student Honored at UCLAThree UCLA students have beenhonored with 2012 Charles E. YoungHumanitarian Awards for their outstandingcommitment to public service.The awards ceremony, a private eventfor family and friends, took place May3 in the Charles E. Young Grand Salonat UCLA’s Kerckhoff Hall.The Young Humanitarian Award,established by UCLA in 1986 as anannual tribute to recognize and encourageprojects that address communities’social needs, is one of the mostprestigious honors given to UCLAundergraduates. Each student received$700, to be donated to a public serviceproject of their choice.One of the recipients is KendraKnudsen, 22, of Pleasanton. She isa psychobiology major who willgraduate in winter 2013, developedthe Creative Minds Project at Step Upon Second, a nonprofit organization inSanta Monica that serves people withmental illness. The project utilizescreative art therapies to foster changeand progress toward recovery, stabilityand reintegration into society.In particular, Knudsen is an artteacher and coordinator of “Julie’sRoom,” Step Up on Second’s art studio,where she is bringing together UCLAundergraduate and graduate students tofacilitate creative art therapy groups.“Kendra’s attentive listening skills,sensitivity and thoughtfulness are agreat help to our members,” AaronCriswell, director of supportive servicesfor Step Up on Second, said inrecommending Knudsen for the award.“Many of our members are not onlyfighting the stigma of mental illness buthomelessness as well. Kendra’s sincereacceptance of the members and herpromotion of dignity and compassionmake ‘Julie’s Room’ a popular haven.”Knudsen plans to pursue a doctoratein clinical neuropsychology to investigatehow creative thinking may yieldhealth benefits for both mentally ill andhealthy individuals. She will use thehumanitarian award to buy art suppliesfor “Julie’s Room” to help implementthe visual art therapy component of theCreative Minds Project.Rocky Mountain College held its130th Commencement, Saturday, May5, 2012, at 1 p.m., in the Fortin EducationCenter. Among those who will begraduating is Morgan Elizabeth Boweof Livermore.Hansen Shi, grade 10, of Dublin,the son of Dr. Jianxiong Shi and Mrs.Manli Zhang, earned High Honors forthe winter 2012 term at Phillips ExeterAcademy.The following local residents wereamong 554 students who made theDean's Honor List at California LutheranUniversity for the fall semester:Danika Briggs of Livermore, a seniorand a communication major; SarahPeterson of Dublin, a freshman and anEnglish major; and Elizabeth Lopez ofPleasanton, a sophomore and a communicationmajor. Students qualify forthe Dean's List by maintaining a 3.6grade point average in their academicsubjects.Christina Joy Edholm of Pleasantonwas among more than 2,800 studentswho received degrees from the Universityof Nebraska-Lincoln at commencementexercises May 4 and 5. Itwas the largest graduating class in UNLhistory. Edholm received a master ofscience from Graduate Studies.welcome to attend the ceremony tocelebrate their achievement! Lightrefreshments will be served.The 2012 Honorees are as follows:Mark Aubel (Amador ValleyHigh School/Harvest Park MiddleSchool); Patty Bowser (Hearst Elementary);Tony Dennis (AmadorValley); Lisa Fulton (Foothill HighSchool); Tina Gerstenberg (FairlandsElementary); Debbie Harvey(Amador Valley); Diana Liggett(Lydiksen Elementary); Jim Rodgers(Valley View Elementary);Shannon Sos (Foothill High); PamThrone (Fairlands Elementary);Lori Vella (Foothill High); ReneeVerostek (Harvest Park MiddleSchool); Kendra Zierau (WalnutGrove Elementary).For more information, pleasecontact Adrienne Herz at 925-485-9401.The Pleasanton PTA Councilbegan in 2003 as an umbrellagroup for all PTAs in Pleasanton.The mission of the PTA is to representtheir members and to empowerand support them with skillsin advocacy, leadership, and communicationto positively impact thelives of all children and families.More information is available atwww.pleasantonpta.org.Grantham NamedPleasantonTeacher of theYearPleasanton Unified SchoolDistrict’s teacher of the year is JonGrantham, Amador Valley HighSchool Band Teacher.Grantham has been with the districtfor nine years. His colleaguesand parents of his students describehim as an amazing teacher who instillsconfidence and respect in hisstudents. He believes in the talentand skills of his students and expectsexcellence from them. He iscompassionate and understandingand masterfully engages students.“Mr. Grantham brings out thebest in people,” said SuperintendentAhmadi, “Observing hisstudents in the classroom and atcompetitions, there is no doubtthey take pride in what they do.Jon is a gift to public education.”Grantham’s name will be submittedto the Alameda County Officeof Education for the county’sTeacher of The Year program.The Rev. Joyce Parry MooreSt. Barts Introduces New RectorBy Laning ThompsonThe new rector of St. Bartholomew’sEpiscopal Churchbrings a potpourri of experienceas an opera singer, impresario,actress, dancer, teacher, cancersurvivorand long-distance-runnerto the pulpit in Livermore.The Rev. Joyce Parry Moore,who began her ministry at thechurch on April 16, says, “Thecommunity of St. Bart’s, Livermore,reflects the kind of diversityinto which I am called to minister— we serve people of many demographics,cultures, and walksof life.”Joyce comes to St. Bart’s fromSt. Paul’s, Oakland where sheserved as assisting priest for thelast year. Previously, she waschaplain of the Seamen’s ChurchInstitute at the Port of Oakland,which involved boarding containervessels to minister to seamen ofmany creeds.Originally from Auburn, WA,Joyce received a graduate degree inopera from the New England Conservatoryof Music and pursued acareer as a classical singer. In 1995,she moved from New York to Juneau,Alaska, to perform and internwith the innovative PerseveranceTheatre there.While working in Alaska’scapital city, she met and marriedan actor and teacher named PatrickMoore. They blended their families:“hers,” a son by a previousmarriage; “his,” a son and twodaughters, and “theirs,” a daughternamed Ariana. Now 12, Ariana isfollowing in her parents’ footstepsby studying acting at the OaklandSchool for the Arts. Her familyhas recently moved from Oaklandto Pleasanton to be near St. Bart’s.Joyce and her husband, Patrick,acted in many plays together inAlaska before Joyce formed herown non-profit opera company —Opera to GO! — that still travelsto rural areas of the state, providingentertainment, education andoutreach.During her 14 years in Alaska,Joyce received the call to thepriesthood and decided to attendseminary in California. She receiveda master’s degree in divinityfrom the Pacific School of Religion(PSR) at the Graduate TheologicalUnion (GTU), Berkeley, andis currently pursuing a doctoratein Pastoral Counseling at the SanFrancisco Theological School.In conjunction with her doctoraldissertation, which focuseson providing creative pastoral carefor women following cancer treatments,she will present a workshopentitled “Coming to Voice” on May8 at the Women’s Cancer ResourceCenter in Oakland.Mother Joyce, as she is calledat St. Bart’s, was raised in theMethodist Church, but becamea Catholic during her graduatestudies in Boston. She joined theEpiscopal Church after moving toAlaska, and has studied at severalGTU schools, including the FranciscanSchool of Theology andthe Center for Buddhist Studies.Her faith journey results in a veryecumenical outlook.Mother Joyce preaches and offerscommunion at 8:00 and 10:30a.m. services every Sunday at St.Bartholomew’s, 678 Enos Way inLivermore. She was preceded asrector of St. Bart’s by The Rev.Debra Low-Skinner, interim rector,and The Rev. Carol Cook.