BANTI
Tiriac assuring the courts will be improved, but the dye will not change.
05/12/2012
Roger meets Kaka the Brazilian Footballer in Madrid
Good fun meeting fellow Gillette ambassador and Brazilian football
star Kaka after match tonight in Madrid!
star Kaka after match tonight in Madrid!
05/10/2012
05/05/2012
05/04/2012
Venus and Serena Williams disagree on Madrid’s blue clay
Madrid tournament owner Ion Tiriac (far right) has made headlines with a controversial new clay color. (EPA)
As the Madrid Open continues to fight the public-relations battle over its controversial use of blue clay, tournament owner Ion Tiriac can count Venus Williams as an ally.
“I think the blue clay is a real fashion statement,” Williams said during a pre-tournament appearance in Madrid, where she will begin her clay season next week. “I think it’s really in, bright colors are in. I wish I thought of it myself. I think it’s a good idea.”
That sentiment puts Venus at odds with her sister Serena. When I asked Serena last month about the blue clay, she rolled her eyes and described the move as “ridiculous.” Serena continued her criticismthis week, telling Tennis Panorama News, “No one likes it. I’m on the council, we all voted against it. It’s interesting to see that they just did what they wanted. I just wish they hadn’t asked us and wasted our time.”
Serena is not the only top player who feels her voice wasn’t heard. Last month, Novak Djokovic said the top ATP players never agreed to the change.
[Beyond The Baseline: Players react to blue clay]
“I’m not really too happy about it,” Djokovic told reporters in Monte Carlo. “All the credit to the tournament. I’m not blaming them. They fight for their own. But definitely there is a certain rule within the ATP that the president is able to make decisions by himself without having players agree. That rule has to be changed because it’s not fair.
“I understand that we all want to see a certain change and improvement in our tennis world. But, on the other hand, you need to hear what the players say, especially the top ones, because we need to feel that our opinion matters. That was not the case this time.”
Madrid’s PR fiasco is the consequence of ignoring the players’ concerns. Of course, this could all be part of Tiriac’s grand scheme anyway. Any publicity is good publicity, right?
05/01/2012
04/30/2012
Fortunes reverse for Montclair's Kaiser Elementary
Kimathi Bradford-Cuff, 5, works on a writing exercise in Jessica Banks' kindergarten classroom at.Henry J. Kaiser Jr. Elementary School has happily survived quite a reversal of fortunes this school year. When students arrived last fall their school had been placed on a list of possible closures within the Oakland Unified School District. Eight months later, the school finds itself on another list, as one of California's Distinguished Elementary Schools.
The school of 11 classes and 278 students is easy to miss, nestled as it is in the Oakland hills. But while it sits in a residential area, only 10 percent of its students come from the neighborhood. That combined with its small size and out-of-the-way location placed it on the potential-closure list.
Kaiser Elementary's reprieve is based on the elements of what makes a school really work -- a caring school community, devoted parent involvement, strong academics with innovative programs, a close-working staff and the ability to affect changes when needed.
Though not within the flatlands of Oakland, Kaiser Elementary is Oakland. The school's students come from European-American, African-American, Asian, Hispanic and gay-lesbian families, along with a large percentage of biracial families.
"We pride ourselves that we are one of the most diverse schools in Oakland," said Principal Darren Avent. "Our diversity is a strength because it prepares students for the real world."
This diversity is as important to the school community as is creating an environment that accepts and nurtures.
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An integral part of the school is its strong parental involvement, from fundraising that supports several school programs to the large number of parents who serve as volunteers. "A day never goes by that there is not a parent volunteering in the classroom," Advent said.
The school's arts and music integration program is also a critical factor in its success, with art and music incorporated into cross-curricular, thematic projects at every grade level. This includes movement and dance classes for kindergarten through third grade, all third-graders being taught to read music and all fourth- and fifth-graders getting instruction in playing an instrument. In Haruyama's first-grade class, students explore journeys by reading maps, making papier-mâché globes, by songs and through body movements.
Susy Hovland, the school site council chair, has a son in first grade and believes that incorporating the arts into every subject provides an easy, tactile and personal way for children to understand. "The enthusiasm about school opens up all my son's enthusiasm," Hovland said. "It allows him to investigate his curiosity and ask questions."
Avent and his staff have also implemented programs for social-emotional learning, including Second Step, a district program; a newly formed conflict mediation program; and a Canadian program called Roots of Empathy. "Once a month a three-to-four-month-old baby comes in to teach the third-grade classes," Avent said. "Through the baby the children learn about empathy."
One of Kaiser's greatest assets, and one of the factors that identified it as a Distinguished School, is its persistent efforts toward ongoing collaboration. Being small aids in this process as every staff meeting becomes a round-table discussion of what is best for the school. The small size also works toward the strong sense of community shared among the staff and families and toward flexibility to do whatever benefits students. "We're able to think outside the box and do things a little differently," Haruyama said.
Principal Advent is very proud of the school's recognition but feels it's important to spread that recognition to the principals who served before him and set the stage for the distinguished school award, including Katie McLane and Mel Stenger. "They laid the groundwork and a lot of the credit should fall on their shoulders," Avent said.
Right now, it's business as usual at the busy Oakland school, though all concerned are rightly very proud. Advent sees the award as an affirmation that they are all on the right track and that their hard work is finally being recognized. "I think there was always a feeling here at Kaiser that no one knew we were here," he said. "But finally everyone's starting to take notice that we're a good school and we're doing what we need to do."
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