LumaCon! convention returning to Petaluma

Get Ready for LumaCon! The second annual Comic Convention for Youth takes place Jan. 30 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Petaluma Community Center at Lucchesi Park. More than 1,500 people attended the inaugural event celebrating creativity and literacy last January, and this year’s organizers have moved the free event to its new location to accommodate an even bigger crowd.

The LumaCon! Artists’ Alley will once again offer an opportunity to meet well-known artists, illustrators and writers of comic books and graphic novels, giving local youth artists a chance to display and sell their artwork alongside established artists. The LumaCon! FanFiction story contest for authors 21 years and under is a new addition this year. Original one-shot fan fiction stories featuring at least one copyrighted character from comics, graphic novels, books, movies, or video games can be submitted at http://lumacon.net. Prizes will be awarded the day of LumaCon! in two categories: authors 13 years old and younger, and authors 14-21 years old. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 18. LumaCon! is a project of the libraries of Petaluma, including the Petaluma High School library, the Casa Grande High School library, and the Petaluma Regional Library of the Sonoma County Library, who work together to celebrate and encourage creativity and literacy in our community.

-

St. Vincent Elementary School is counting up some impressive volunteer totals - 1,346 hours in fact. That is how many hours the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students of St. Vincent Elementary collectively contributed in community service in the first trimester of the school year. Each year, students in grades seven and eight are asked to complete 15 hours and students in sixth grade are asked to complete nine hours for the school year. Service hours are part of the schools commitment to Faith, Academics, and Service, according to principal Stephanie Fidler. Students volunteered at more than 40 different places, including the Petaluma Soup Kitchen, Little Shepherd Preschool, Cinnabar Theater and the Lakeville Fire Department. Students are asked to write a reflection paper based on their experience, and determine how their efforts in volunteering have had an impact on the community. Fiddler reports that reading these summaries is always an inspiration, and demonstrates the pride the students have in actively contributing to their own community.

-

Lincoln School recently received a Promise Grant, organized by Gary Corda, a member of Elks National Foundation in Petaluma. The goal of the grant is to make a positive influence in the community that builds character of local youth and partners them with a service project. The grant connected Lincoln school students with local veterans inviting them to share in the students’ Christmas production at the Petaluma Elks Club last month. Each student was given $30 to purchase a Christmas gift for a veteran they chose to sponsor. After contacting Michael Hamilton at the North Bay Veterans Resource Center in Northern California, established in 1980, principal Sandy Doyle requested the biographies of 14 veterans and allowed students to choose the biography that they felt most connected to. They were given a portion of the grant to purchase appropriate gifts based on the biography of the veteran they sponsored. The play was based on the writers of Declaration of Independence with a twist that Santa had his hand in editing it as well, according to Doyle. With a full cast that included George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Betsy Ross, Father Time, Santa and many other characters, students entertained a houseful of 150 guests ending with a production of an Armed Forces Medley followed by announcing guests. Each veteran was thanked for their service. “By the time the gifts had been distributed, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, and my students learned the true meaning of giving, respect, honor and what patriotism means,”

shared Doyle, who said there are plans to keep this connection going, and plans are being made for a barbecue in the next few months, with the same group so students and veterans may get better acquainted.

-

McKinley School is starting a brand new kinder class next year, to be expanded one year at a time until we return to a K-8 school. Principal Matthew Harris is currently working with a group of parents to create an ideal kinder program for the school and plans to have it ready to implement next year for the 2016-17 school year. McKinley staff is hosting an Informational Evening on Jan. 27 from 6-7 p.m. to talk about the transitional kinder program and kinder program. Petaluma Accelerated Charter School located on the McKinley school campus is adding an eighth grade next year.

-

All graduating Petaluma high school seniors note the annual Petaluma Educational Foundation scholarship application process is now open. The deadline to apply is Feb. 10. PEF manages 58 scholarships for donors who provide the foundation with clear criteria for selecting recipients. The PEF Scholarship Awards Reception takes place in late spring. Visit pefinfo.com to access the online application link where students are able to review individual criteria and learn more about the history of the scholarships being awarded as well as submit their applications.

-

(Maureen Highland is a Petaluma mother and executive director for the Petaluma Educational Foundation. She can be reached at schools@arguscourier.com)