School Choice Meeting 2012 

We love our neighborhood…but what about the schools? What are our options for City schools, charter schools and private schools? Where do parents in our neighborhood send their kids to school and are they happy with the choice they made? What is the enrollment process and where do I start?

If you’re asking yourself any of these questions, please join us for a conversation and informational meeting about school choice at both the elementary and secondary level. Meet students, parents, teachers, and administrators from a range of school options for families in the Highland Park and other southeast city neighborhoods. Our goal is to support families in navigating through the selection process, the opportunities and the choices! We encourage parents to come even if school is a few years down the road…

For more information, contact Meghan Delehanty-Reddington at meghandelred@hotmail.com or 244-6072.

Click Here for related Facebook Event

HPNA will be kicking off its new Block Leader initiative this Tuesday at the next General Meeting. Come hear from current Block Leaders and learn how you can get involved. Join us e!

Our dream is to identify someone on every block of our neighborhood who will keep neighbors in touch by maintaining a “street roster”, bring people together at some kind of annual social gathering, and act as the liaison with the neighborhood association.

Interested in finding out more about being a Block Leader? Already a formal or informal leader on your street and have ideas to share? Know someone who would be perfect for the job? Come to the meeting and bring them along!

We’ll discuss what makes a great street community, we’ll hear from established block clubs/leaders who will share what they do, we’ll brainstorm some more ideas, and we’ll have fun doing it!

Questions? Contact Mary at chair@highlandparkrochester.org or 461-0034.

This month’s Theme: “Expansion of the Park and Secret Spaces”

Come join us Saturday June 18th at 1  pm for the third in the series of Family Friendly Guided Tours of Highland Park co-sponsored by the Highland Park Conservancy and The Highland Park Neighborhood Association. Amy Priestley, who leads the tours, attended graduate school at Oregon State University’s College of Forest Science and her love of all that grows has extended to her business Labor of Love Garden Design & Landscape Artistry. If you have had the pleasure to take one of her tours you know they are also a labor of love shared by expert. Meet at the Log Bench outside Conservatory at 171 Reservoir Avenue. Wear Comfortable Walking Shoes. Children always and especially welcome. The tours are generally introductory but repeat attendees will find new content on each guided walk in the series. This is a free event!

Also: Saturday July Saturday, July 16 at 1 pm Theme: “Pinetum in Summer”

Come to the next General Meeting of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association on Tuesday April 5th and, after the refreshments, we will work together regarding the meeting’s agenda.   First we will ask you to advise us on plans for the next phase of  changes to Ellwanger  &  BarryPark…including  ideas for a kiosk, planters, entrance plaza and other  improvements.  Talk to your kids and bring their input to meeting: What new things would they like to see at the playground ? What would you like to see improved ? Next we will ask you to join us in designing a special related project – an artistic treatment of the street as an aid to Traffic Calming.   Get your green thumb ready or maybe just your rake as we will go over plans to spruce up Neighborhood Gardens   in the coming weeks.    Learn about our upcoming May Exhibit during the Lilac Festival called Flower & Ice that highlights the 20th Anniversary of the Ice Storm that brought  many of us together (And share your story and photos about that event).   Dust off your camera lens and get details on how you can participate in our upcoming “Picture the Neighborhood Days” competition.  You will be helping us design our 2012 printed calendar. And make plans to relax as we continue our Early Evening of Music Series this summer.  Oh yeah, there is a garage sale for which you will want to start getting ready. Plus something called “Neighborhood Spirit Day” where you can help us win money for our projects and have fun too.

Coming to the Gatehouse during the 2011 Lilac Festival: Flower & Ice

The subject of this meeting is all about our Spring  & Summer Neighborhood Community Initiatives including events you will want to know about and perhaps also participate in.   And we will even leave some time to socialize…because for some of these projects,  the conversation is just beginning .

Please join your HPNA Arts & Cultural and Traffic Calming Teams along with the board of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association for:

what:  Highland Park Neighborhood Association General Meeting
when:  April 5, 2011 starting at 6:30 pm for refreshments  - 
where: Artisan Church at 1235 South Clinton Ave.

For more info, email us at volunteer@highlandparkrochester.org

When: Tuesday, December 7, 6:30 – 9:00pm

Come ring in the holidays with your neighbors in the beautiful setting of Colgate Divinity’s grand ballroom!

The event will feature live music by the Beaus of Holly band who will debut favorites from their Bodacious Holidays CD. Rockingham Street neighbor Jonathan Feldman and his fellow musicians will treat us to their blues, R&B and jazz inspired renditions of holiday tunes.

During the business portion of the meeting (7-8pm), we will highlight our 2010 achievements, recognize the board members and volunteers whose contributions made them possible, and hold elections to vote in a new slate of Board Officers to lead us in the New Year.

Once our business is done, there will be plenty of time to relax, mingle, and enjoy holiday music and delicious desserts. You’ll also have a chance to do some holiday shopping at our goods & services fair featuring neighborhood artisans and businesses.

There is no charge for this event and it is shaping up to be a great time!

If you would like to sell your goods or services at this event, please contact Marcia Zach at 473-0026.

The next Highland Park Neighborhood General Meeting will be held on October 26, 7:00 PM, at the Artisan Church, 1235 South Clinton Ave. (across from Field St.).  This year has seen a lot of different projects in our area and a number of organizations are involved in making them happen:  SEAC, SWPC, ESCAPE, NSC, HPC.  We hear these acronyms a lot, but do we know what each group does?

At this meeting these groups will report on what is going on with local developments such as South Clinton Ave, the Childrens’ Pavilion, Erie Harbor, and Mount Hope, how they are involved, and how you as a community member can contribute to their efforts.

• South East Area Coalition
• Mark Siwiec’s website
• The Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning

Elizabeth McDade of the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning provided a great deal of information.  If you are planning on any home improvements or are in the processes of renovating we would strongly encourage you to visit the Coalition’s website and learn about the safety precautions you can take to protect yourself and your family.

Our next general meeting will be held in October.  Stay tuned for more information.

• Jenn Teremy:  SEAC Housing Program Director, will discuss grant options for home owners.
• Mark Siwiec:  Realtor, will discuss improvement options that will add the most value to your home.
• Elizabeth McDade:  Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning, will talk about lead safety, protecting children, and our older homes.

Feel free to join us at 6:30 to mingle and meet your neighbors.  The meeting will officially start at 7:00.

Please Note:  The County Parks building has been undergoing renovations.  If we are not in the upstairs meeting place, you may need to enter from the back to access the basement meeting room.

On March 23, 2010, Our next General Meeting will focus on changes to Our Playground: Ellwanger & Barry Park – The Center of Our Neighborhood. This is your chance to get an overview and to give us feedback. Your Neighborhood Association requests your presence and, especially, your commentary on the plans we will present to you.

1935 Map Showing Playground

The volunteers in your neighborhood have been working for months to create these plans to add to the quality of life in our part of the city . But we need your opinion to make it happen. Look for an agenda over the weekend on this site and a more detailed email as well.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 7:00 PM
WHERE: Monroe County Parks Administration Office 171 Reservoir Avenue, Rochester

( Come in the back door from the parking lot, the meeting room is now in the lower level)

• Learn about the History of the Park and its Renaming

•  Meet the Artist Craig Wilson as he share his vision for the art work.
• Hear about our Traffic Calming Initiatives
• Listen and Comment on Other Planned Changes for the Park: Signage, Lighting, and other suggested improvements
• Light Refreshments served with time reserved for discussion.
• Share your thoughts on what we are planning!