DECEMBER 11, 2009

LAST FRIDAY LETTER OF 2009!
Winter Break December 21—January 1
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Dear SMASHing Families,
In this final Friday Letter for 2009, let me share musical, visual, and dramatic arts highlights from the last two
weeks. The Holiday Singers brought joy to the Farmer’s Market shoppers. (I am still singing the 12 Eco-Days of Christmas in my head.) Thanks to Dian for nurturing our students’ voices, building their self-confidence in public performances, and for spreading holiday cheer.

Core 1 began their Holistic Drama: Pirate and Fairy Project. Thanks to Kristy for connecting to student imaginations as the Pirates used their log book to prepare for their trip to hide their treasure and the Fairies' log book brought them news of the dying plant life on a nearby island that made them prepare themselves to travel and investigate the source of the problem.

Cores 2 and 3 began the “Art of Ecology” unit designed to deepen student understanding of the elements of art
and the design of the natural world. Thanks to Julianna, Marni, and Tamara who received a grant to fund this
partnership with the ReDiscover Center. Week 1 had students looking at microscope-enhanced photos of cells
and replicating them in paper sculptures. Be sure to look at the displays in the art room.

Core 4 with Kristy started to put Goldilocks on trial to support the classroom themes of evidence and controversy.
Stay tuned as one advisory will take on the role of prosecution and one defense. Week 8 will be their trial that will happen in real time with the audience as the real jury.

These creative outlets are made possible by PTSA and grant funding. Thanks to all of you, the generous families
and staff who make these engaging, exciting moments happen. Wishing you a very merry holiday season and a
happy new year. See you Monday, January 4, 2010!

Truly yours,
Jessica
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BACKPACKS NEEDED FOR FOSTER CHILDREN
Here's an opportunity to help foster children in Los Angeles area. Many of the children in foster care are in need of a
new or very gently used rolling backpack, bag or tote to carry their belongings. Often if children need to be removed
from their homes quickly, everything is gathered into a garbage bag. By providing a bog or tote to a child, that they can call their own, we are able to make a small difference in a child's life. There will be a box in the SMASH office for
your donation. Thanks - Jamee Tenzer
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SANTA MONICA YOUTH RUGBY DAY—SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12
At Webster Middle School at 11330 Graham Place, West Los Angeles (Sawtelle & National)
Santa Monica Rugby Club will hold an Exhibition & Registration Day for Youth Rugby program on Saturday, Dec. 12.
SMRC Youth coaching staff will be on hand from 10am until noon to greet new players and parents, answer questions,
and demonstrate skills. There will be a U14 Boys exhibition match at noon followed by both a men's team and women's team scrimmage vs. UCLA.
Interested families are encouraged to check out one of America's fastest growing sports. There will be an opportunity
for some hands-on experience as players learn basic skills and participate in a short game of non-contact rugby. Bring
shorts, cleats, and (for ages 10 and above) a mouthguard.
Parking is on the street, most conveniently behind the school on Butler -walk through the gate at Brookhaven St
Going into its eighth year, the SMRC Youth program consists of over 175 boys and girls from ages 5 - 18. U-8 and U-
10 play non-contact coed, while older teams either play boys tackle (U-12, U-14, U-16, & U-19) or girls tackle (U-14 & U-16). Current players come from Franklin, Roosevelt, Will Rogers, SMASH, Lincoln, JAMS, and Samohi (as well as other west side schools).
For more information, call 310-572-6010
or visit the SMRC website: www.santamonicarugby.com/youth.
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SANTA MONICA HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR WINTER CONCERT”
MOTUS PERPETUUS V
We are inviting our middle school students to join us at our Winter Concert on
Thursday, December 17 at 7:00 PM in Barnum Hall.
Middle school students and a parent may come as our guest, free of charge
please tell the box office which middle school you attend.
For all others, tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors (purchased at the door).
Motus Perpetuus V is Samohi's fifth annual winter concert of perpetual motion. Students sing from all corners of
Barnum Hall continuously and as soon as one group ends, another one begins. The audience holds their applause
until the very end for a unique concert experience. This year, the concert will feature the Missa Criolla, a folk mass by
Ariel Ramirez based on song and dance traditions of South America. We will also end with our traditional singing of
The Hallelujah Chorus where audience alumni choristers are invited on stage to join us.
Start the winter break on a musical note and bring neighbors, family, and friends.
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Dear SMASH Families,
As part of “Projects” we are donating to Boxer Rescue - a place where people rescue and take care of mistreated,
abused, unwanted boxer dogs. In the SMASH front office, there will be a box where you can put leashes, collars,
towels, blankets, etc. for us to donate to them. Sincerely, Devin Dempsey and Naomi Miller-Altuner (Core 3)
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To Everyone at SMASH -
Thanks for making our Holiday Singers program such a success this year. We are blessed to have your support and look
forward to the talent show in May! Love—Dian Andrews
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Corrections to SMASH Directory
Mari Pestana - Core 1 Julie Foxx - Mom
1942 Euclid St. #4; Santa Monica, CA 90404 Hm 310-314-7700; Cell 310-403-6305
Milan Ladman-Frykman, Core 1 Home #310-396-0310
Olin Burke - Core 1 & Ivan Burke - Core 3 - Mom, Michelle Burke cell #310-729-6519.
If you have corrections, please e-mail Janice at jwold@smmusd.org
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SPECIAL OFFER FOR SMASH STUDENTS FROM DRAMA TEACHER KRISTY PACE
MENTION SMASH AT THE BOX OFFICE
AND YOU’LL GET ONE FREE CHILD TICKET
FOR EACH ADULT TICKET PURCHASED
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Yours Truly Jack Frost: A Musical for Family Audiences. Jack runs things the old fashioned way and Evilina wants to change all that. Join the fun as Jack protects the spirit of Christmas for all.
December 12 & 19 at 11:00am
Crown City Theatre; 11031 Camarillo Street, N. Hollywood 91602 www.pocketfulloftales.com
$6 Kids; $9 Adults Call 310-746-8849 to reserve your seats today!
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Time to clean up the shared spaces on campus
Second annual
SMASH/John Muir Spirit Day
January 9, 2010
9AM to 2PM
We’ll dust, we’ll scrub, and we’ll paint.
We’ll also work in the garden.
We’ll have coffee and pastries and pizza and a little fun.
Please bring cleaning supplies (think green)
and tools (think mop, broom, sponge, gloves, paint brush, rake).
For more information, contact SMASH parent Helga Schier at helgaschier@verizon.net
or Muir parent Helene Seisay at heleneseisay@yahoo.com
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SMASH Site Council Agenda
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 5:00 PM - Core 2
Adopt Agenda

Approve minutes of last meeting

Community participation

Reports and Announcements (regular agenda items)
Principal’s Report
Student Reports

Community Organization Reports (to include but not limited to the following):
PTSA
Student Council
Other

Old Business

New Business

Review two proposed goals for 09-10 site plan
Math
Science
Homework Policy

Community participation (if applicable)

Adjourn
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CORE 1 NEWS
“Now I get it! When you put spaces between the letters, that means you make a new word!”
-Cole, Core 1 Partner during the “Morning Message” portion of Morning Meeting

THANK YOU to all of our beyond amazing Core 1 families. You have been supporting our program is
countless ways. From participating in the Holiday Boutique, to keeping our art studio organized, to collecting ink cartridges, to volunteering in the classroom, to running our errands and donating items, to giving books, to attending after school events, to supporting student learning at home. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you do!!!
REMINDERS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
•Temperatures are dropping. The change of clothes you providing for your child in the fall may not be
warm enough for the winter months. Please bring in a warmer change of clothes, if necessary.
•Speaking of clothes, there are a LOT of jackets and sweaters on the hooks. Please help your child get these
home. Also, please label all sweaters, jackets and lunch boxes with your child’s name. It really helps US to
help your child remember to take care of their things.
•Next week, we will go to the library on WEDNESDAY. This is just for next week.
•Also on Wednesday, a small group of Core 1 students will be leading the whole-school assembly first thing
in the morning. Feel free to join us.
•If you would like to lead a special winter project with the students on Friday, let us know.
•Please let us continue to improve our home-school communication. If you are a Core 1 parent reading this,
please send one of us an email and tell us if you are enjoying our blog, if it is hard to get around to checking
it, or if you have no idea what we are talking about. Thanks!
OH, THE DRAMA! The Fairy & Pirate drama group is full steep ahead with Kristy leading our way! Our
Pirate Ship sails have been raised, and the fairy cave will soon be ready to shelter all sorts of nymphs and
treasures! Holistic drama is new for all of us, and it is quite amazing to behold. We are documenting the
process, while we participated in it so we can share and learn from what the children are participating in.
Some children still are wondering when we are going on stage to perform. We’re not! The children are performing each and every Wednesday with Kristy. Each week, children put on their pirate or fairy costume
and join the fun!
SMALL MOMENT CELEBRATION At Literacy Night, the Bigs had the opportunity to celebrate publishingtheir small moment stories over hot cocoa and cookies, side-by-side with the people they love best.
Their books were out among the other published books in our classroom library, as they shared what they
have done as writers in the late-fall. It is amazing to see how all of our children are growing as writers!
Some of the minilessons, small-group lessons, and 1-on-1 writing conferences the children received (and
many tried out in their own writing) were: Writers zoom in on one part of a story; Writers take small moment
in their life, and stretch them out to make them big; Writers use tools, such as graphic organizers, to
help them organize their thoughts; Writers close their eyes, and think about what happened at the time of
their story; Writers think about what people said during their story, and write that down as dialogue; Writers
use punctuation to help their writers read their pieces; Writers help their readers read their piece by editing
for punctuation and spelling. Next up? This winter the Bigs will put all their imaginative ideas on paper, as
we begin writing fiction!
HAVE AN AMAZING WINTER BREAK WITH YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS!!
Candis, Chrysta and Jackie
Candis: cberens@smmusd.org
Chrysta: cwyse@smmusd.org
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CORE 2 NEWS
Dear Core 2 Community,
In Art with Julianna, the student artists shopped for repurposed material that was brought to us by
reDiscover. They are working on creating representations of cells that can be seen in marine plants under a microscope. We need pieces of cardboard to use as backgrounds for the artwork. The pieces of cardboard can be different sizes smaller than letter-sized paper. We will need 46 pieces.

In Geography, the children began a booklet this week moving towards the goal that all students will learn their Global Address: street address, city, state, country, continent, and planet. Some students still don’t know their home address. For their safety, please spend some time teaching them their address and at least one phone number.

Our next Stars of the Week presentation will be on Wednesday, December 16. The Stars will be:
Mike and Aurora. Our community snack will be provided by the Stars of the Week. Please consider
donating sustainable, starch-based utensils and plates that can be composted. We will also accept your generous donations to buy these products. We serve 46 children each week.

We hope you had a chance to stop by on Wednesday for our annual Literacy Night. Were you the one wearing the hot pink bunny slippers? Thank you to Ofer for coordinating the event. Our featured readers were great! Giulia read in Italian, Gala and Alie read in Spanish, and Abbie read in Hebrew. It was a treat to be read to! Thanks for the Book Fair donations. If you didn’t pick up Reading Tips for Core 2 Families, please stop by for a copy.

Are you missing your jacket or sweater? Please stop by and check our hooks for any missing items. If not collected by Wednesday they will be put into the school wide lost and found.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Laura & Graciela
lsherman@smmusd.org
gbarba-castro@smmusd.org
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CORE 3 NEWS
Literacy is a big focus at SMASH and in Core 3, and we spend a significant part of each day reading and writing. (We hope students spend a part of each night at home reading and writing, too!) Our literacy program is unique because we allow students choose their own books to read, as long as it is “just right” for reading and understanding independently—placing the emphasis on the joys of reading and the strategies we use to think deeply about what we read! And, in writing, the students use the writing process to create fiction and non-fiction pieces, where we guide the genre/style and they choose their own topics—placing the emphasis on expressing ideas and writing craft! Our goal is to develop life-long readers and writers who know how to organize and present their ideas effectively.

Thank you to all the families who joined us for Literacy Night on Wednesday! It was a wonderful, all-school event celebrating books, authors, and the reasons we love them. We hope you were able to browse the book fair and pick up some new titles for your home libraries (Thanks for your contributions to our classroom libraries, as well!)

Next week, Core 3 would like to invite families to a Writing Celebration on Thursday, December 17 from 11:00–12:30. Please come read/listen to the different things we have written so far this year. Our writers have gone through a few cycles of the writing process. They learned that writing is not a one-time deal, but a process over time-- with a lot of thinking, rereading, and reworking. The students have written two narrative pieces of writing, exploring the process of story writing. They’ve reflected on their own lives/experiences as fuel for written stories through personal narratives and realistic fiction writing. Our writers have also started a unit on non-fiction essay writing, learning it has a different process. We will also be sharing our Writing Notebooks, which should be filled with ideas that have been collected since the beginning of the year, along with comics, creative stories, journal-like entries, etc. We have been doing our best to live like writers and would like to take a day to honor all of our hard work! We hope you will be able to join us.

This is the last Friday Letter of the year. We hope you have a peaceful and glorious break, filled with lots of special family time. There is no homework. Of course, we have encouraged your children to read for pleasure (they
don’t need to log in their pages), write in their notebooks if they have an idea that needs to be captured on paper, and
to practice doing real-world math (cooking is a great place to use fractions).

Thank you for you donations of tape, glue, and wire for Arts with Julianna. Over the Winter Break, please look for an
email blast about supplies for projects so we can hit the ground running after the break with all the materials we need
to support our wonderful ideas!

Happy Weekend, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
Tamara, Genie, and Malaika
ghwang@smmusd.org
tmugalian@smmusd.org

A Note from Naomi and Devin
Dear SMASH Families,
As part of “Projects” we are donating to Boxer Rescue—a place where people rescue and take care of mistreated,
abused, unwanted boxer dogs. In the SMASH front office, there will be a box where you can put leashes, collars,
towels, blankets, etc. for us to donate to them. We will also be selling “Candy-Cane Grams” next week to raise
money for Boxer Rescue. They will be sold before and after school for $1 a piece—look for us outside Core 3.
Sincerely,
Devin Dempsey and Naomi Miller-Altuner
_____________________________________________________________________ CORE 4 NEWS
Hello everyone,
As your kids may have told you, Bailey is in Maui!!! It was a trip planned before I was hired. Sorry to miss class
time, but the kids are in good hands with Josh, one of our favorite substitutes. I will be back on Thursday
Dec 17.

We will be culminating our unit of Nation Building in Afghanistan. Everyone has been very engaged in
the discussions as we talk about Islam, women's roles, the oppression of the Taliban government and the difficult
decisions leaders need to make about how to help stabilize Afghanistan. Please talk about the policies, your opinions and feelings about the US course of action. Having Obama's speech recently focus upon our involvement in Afghanistan has made the study poignant. We spent this week talking about Transitional Justice models and nation building efforts. I have given the students a sheet that lays out three projects due on Thursday Dec 17. At the end of the letter you will find the assignment sheet for your information as well.

Reading is soaring in Core 4. The students are very connected to the novels about this region and time. I hope you encourage them to read more over the holidays. When we return in January we will start a unit on the "Making of the United States"- a form of nation building as well. We will look at controversies in the creation of the US government in 1770-1780's. If interested you may wish to watch some movies about the revolutionary era. 1776 and the HBO John Adams series are excellent. If you have avid readers they may read any historical novels of the 1770's.

Writers workshop just published their realistic fiction piece. For the remainder of the year 2009, they will
catch up on notebook free write entries and can embark upon a fantasy or science fiction piece if they choose.

Students are gearing up for the January 10-15 Yosemite Trip. Make sure you are keeping up to date on the
plans.
Have a wonderful holiday season. Stay healthy!
Bailey, Kelly & Kurt
Bailey: baileyfield@mac.com
Kelly: kkulsrud@smmusd.org
Kurt: kholland@smmusd.org
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Core 4 Afghanistan Projects
ALL Due DECEMBER 17 Thursday!!! Have 1 that you can present to the class!
1. BOOK REPORT – 3 paragraphs: 1 paragraph summary. 1 paragraph explaining the author’s purpose in writing the book. 1
paragraph of what you learned from the book. Give your opinion/ rating of the book , supported with details, examples.
2. Nation Building and Transitional Justice.
Look at the “Tool Box for Transitional Justice” pick one of the 8 categories for a project for culminating our study of
Afghanistan:
WHAT WILL STABILIZE AFGHANISTAN and make it a safe, thriving country again??? What needs to happen for it
to move forward productively!
IDEAS:
A)Write a one page letter to the US Congress stating what the US should do to help the Afghani people. Be specific
and give reasons for your ideas. Do research about the issue in the news. Ex: train police, create beauty academies ,
create jobs,
B) Create an artistic expression about a topic you feel strongly about for Afghanistan people: a mural, sculpture, song
lyrics, poem about the importance of education, religious freedom , women’s equality, safety, peace, freedom of expression
( music, dress, writing etc. ) The sculpture/ mural may be a drawing of it. THIS MUST HAVE AN ARTISTS
STATEMENT ABOUT THE PIECE OF ART and ITS MEANING!
3. Visual presentation on Afghanistan: Choose one: Use at least 12 by 18 paper
A. History Timeline and Map of Afghanistan and neighboring countries
In color with a compass rose. Label regions, countries and capitals.
OR B. Cultural /Photo Presentation of religion, food, dress,
livelihood etc. Get images from the internet.
PREVIOUSLY COMPLETED or DUE AFGHANISTAN ASSIGNMENTS:
If you have had it returned to you … keep it !!!!
1. Notes on the Power Point on Afghanistan Background (Student Handout #1)
2. Exit card- what learned about Afghanistan (Student Handout #2)
3. Afghanistan Culture – 6 topics: Grid (Students Handout #3)
4. 25 Question True/False Quiz (corrected False Q’s) and Exit card (#5 and 6)
5. WOMEN’S ISSUES- (Student Handout #7) ( due on Dec 8)
Pick a Role, Audience, Form and Topic
6. CURRENT EVENT- (due Nov 30) (Read/ write more as make up/ extra credit)
Find a news article about Afghanistan from this month.
Write a PARAGRAPH summary and PARAGRAPH personal reflection about what you feel about the issue, personal
opinions, ideas, thoughts and questions you may have.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, by Greg Mortenson will be released on December 1, 2009. In this dramatic first-person narrative, Greg Mortenson picks up where Three Cups of Tea left off in 2003, recounting his relentless, ongoing efforts to establish schools for girls in Afghanistan; his extensive work in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan after a massive earthquake hit the region in 2005; and the unique ways he has built relationships with Islamic clerics, militia commanders, and tribal leaders even as he was dodging shootouts with feuding Afghan warlords and surviving an eight-day armed abduction by the Taliban. He shares for the first time his broader vision to promote peace through education and literacy, as well as touching on military matters, Islam, and women—all woven together
with the many rich personal stories of the people who have been involved in this remarkable two-decade humanitarian effort. Visit www.stonesintoschools.com for more information.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>
Make a packet of your Afghanistan work:
Have it organized: Label/ title the assignments!
Have your name and Date on all your work !
RESOURCES:
NEWS websites are useful: once on the site, search for Afghanistan. Pay attention to the date of the article:
www.pbs.org
www.cnn.com,
www.nbc.com
www.latimes.com
www.nytimes.com
www. Wikipedia.com
http://www.islamfortoday.com/hijabcanada2.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week521/feature.html
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/humanrelations/womeninislam/whatishijab.html or
http://www.iiie.net/Articles/tabid/54/Default.aspx
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/afghanistanunveiled/women.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/july-dec01/afghanwomen_11-21.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/afghanistan/aug03/women.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/afghanistan/afghanwomen.html
www.threecups.com
Women in Afghanistan
An article that dispels the myth that Islam oppresses women. It argues that to understand Islam’s treatment of women it is important to distinguish the religion from the cultural norms of particular societies and countries.
http://www.islamfortoday.com/ruqaiyyah09.htm
From the same site, this link offers a collection of references from the Quran and Hadeeth about the rights of women guaranteed by Islam.
http://www.islamfortoday.com/womens_rights_references.htm
The Situation of Women and Girls in Afghanistan: Report of the Secretary General A United Nations report from 2003.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/12954335d77e0dddc1256cdf00482910
Academic Info: Resources on Women in Afghanistan Provides links to numerous different educational resources on women in Afghanistan.
http://www.academicinfo.net/afghanwomen.html
Youthink! The World Bank’s website designed specifically for youth. This link addresses the challenges Afghan girls face in receiving an education.
http://youthink.worldbank.org/issues/education/afghanistan.php
NATION Building sites:
http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr117.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/afghanistan/aug03/education.html
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.phphttp://
www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/speakout/mystory/afghanistan.html
http://www.usip.org/resources/the-afghan-elections
http://www.usip.org/events/justice-in-afghanistan


DATES TO REMEMBER
Wed, Dec 16 - 8:45am -Assembly lead by Core 1
Wed, Dec 16 - 5:00pm - Site Council mtg
Mon, Dec 21 - Fri, Jan 1 - WINTER BREAK (return on Monday, January 4)
Wed, Jan 6 - 8:15am - PTSA Mtg
Sat, Jan 9 - 2nd Annual SMASH/John Muir Clean-up Day
Wed, Jan 27 - Diversity Night and Potluck Dinner
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WEDNESDAY BAKE SALES - Healthy Treats & Fun Items Sales start at 2:30 pm (Muir dismissal)
CORE 1 - January 13, March 10
CORE 2 - January 6, February 3
CORE 3 - December, 16 January 27
CORE 4 - January 20
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THINGS TO DO!

Until Dec 14 - “Best Gift Ever” PAL Gift Drive.
Drop off unwrapped gift or cash donation for children ages 6-17.
Gift drop locations: SMPD Substation 1433 2nd St (between Santa Monica Blvd & Broadway)
Police Activities League 1401 Olympic Blvd (Memorial Park)

Thur, Dec 17 - 7:00pm - SAMOHI Choir Winter Concert. All Middle School music students invited to attend free of charge. Details in Friday Letter

Sat. Dec 12 & 19 - 11:00am - Yours Truly Jack Frost: A Musical for Family Audiences.
Mention SMASH at the box office and receive one free child ticket for each adult ticket purchased—thanks to
our visual arts instructor, Kristy Pace. Details in Friday Letter

Sun, Dec 13 - 3:30-5:15pm - Tallest LEGO Menorah - Franklin School Auditorium; 2400 Montana Ave,
Jewish Music, Kosher Food, Potato Latkes, Entertainment, Moonbounce, Arts & Crafts.FREE ADMISSION.
For info: 310-857-6892 or www.chabadonmontana.com

Until Dec. 18 - Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots
Woodlawn Cemetery & Mausoleum; 1847 14th Street (14th & Pico); 10am-3pm

Dec 11-18 - Sundown - Chanukah Menorah lighting ceremony every evening of Chanukah
1300 block of 3rd Street Promenade
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