Many students spend more for college than they should because they’ve made some common mistakes when seeking financial aid.
Some people don’t bother to apply for financial aid because they don’t think they’ll qualify. But all students should submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to find out if they’re eligible for state and federal student aid programs. Not filing may hurt a student’s chances of getting more free money for college.
The 75 second graders at Bay Farm Elementary School have started work on new community service projects this year. The effort is called “We Love Our Town!” For their first project, the kids planted more than 600 spring bulbs in November around the school. Then, on Dec. 20, the kids collected hundreds of socks, hats, scarves, jackets and toiletries in support of the annual Christmas Eve Soup Kitchen held at Alameda’s Pappo Restaurant. The soup kitchen was again well attended this year with a line out the door of people in need of the kids’ and restaurant’s generosity.
Parents and students at Love Elementary School held demonstrations on various street corners the morning of Dec. 18 before school started. At the intersections of Willow and Chestnut streets with Lincoln Avenue and Chestnut with Santa Clara Avenue, the most dangerous intersections near the school, residents gathered with posters and signs to remind drivers of the school zone and to drive carefully.
Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Vice Mayor John Knox White and Councilmember Malia Vella all joined the demonstration.
Alameda Education Foundation (AEF) handed out donations to worthy Alameda teachers last month through its Adopt-A-Classroom program. Priorities this year included supplying $500 to new teachers and teachers-in-need at Alameda’s low-income schools, which include Love Elementary, Wood Middle, Encinal Jr.-Sr. High, Paden Elementary, Island High and Ruby Bridges Elementary schools.
On Nov. 7, AEF made 18 presentations at Love and Wood. On Nov. 14 representatives from the foundation visited Encinal, Paden, Maya Lin, Island and Ruby Bridges.
