Students win honors at robotics competition

Students from St. Thomas the Apostle (STA) were recognized

on April 5 for competing (placing fifth) in the 2016-2017

Wonder League Robotics Competition’s six- to eight-yearold

bracket. Four students took top honors and won programable

“Dash” robots.

The students, competing under the STA Tomcats team name,

learned creative problem solving, coding and robotics by competing

against more than 20,000 students split into collaborative

teams focused on designing solutions to science and technology

challenges.

On hand at the April 5 ceremony to honor the students were

STA Principal Judith Borelli and SF Assessor-Recorder Carmen

Chu, who presented a Certificate of Honor to the winning students:

four who won robots and five more who also earned honors

at the competition.

St. Thomas the Apostle School is located at

3801 Balboa St.

Playground at Sutro School to open weekends

The SF Shared Schoolyard project, which opens up school

sites on the weekends for the public to enjoy, will open a new

location, Sutra Elementary School, located at 235 12th Ave.,

on May 20. A grand opening celebration will be held

from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The playground project is supported by SF Supervisor

Mark Farrell and funded by the SF Parks Alliance.

For more information, go to the website at

www.SFSharedSchoolyard.org.

Volunteers needed to help students clean beach

More volunteers are needed as hundreds of elementary students

from the Bay Area will be making a difference at this

year’s 24th annual Kids Ocean Day Adopt-a-Beach Clean-Up

on May 17, sponsored by the Marine Science Institute.

For more information, or to volunteer, go to the website at

http://www.sfbaymsi.org/kids-oceanday or call (650) 364-2760.

Summer of Love exhibit opens at de Young

The M.H. de Young Memorial Museum opened a

“Summer of Love” exhibition on April 8, which “turned back

time” with music, film screenings art-making and other memorabilia

from the 1967 Summer of Love in San Francisco.

The exhibition features iconic rock posters, a “trippy” light

show, fashions from the ’60s- ’70s and more. It will be on display

through Aug. 20.

The event commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Summer

of Love and is part of a citywide celebration. For more information

about other events planned for the anniversary celebration,

go to the website at http://www.sftravel.com.

Music Center’s summer schedule available

The non-profit SF Community Music Center, with

a branch located at the Richmond District

Neighborhood Center at 741 30th Ave., has a revamped website

with available offerings.

The website has resources for finding the right teacher; music

making opportunities based on age and interests; and, “inspiring

stories and images from our community.”

For more information, go to the website at www.sfcmc.org.

Golden Gate Park Band back in session

This year marks the 135th anniversary of the Golden Gate

Park Band (GGPB), which presents popular concerts in Golden

Gate Park. It is one of the last big-city outdoor bands to present

a full season of entertainment in the outdoors.

The director of the band is Michael L. Wirgler, who has

been GGPB’s conductor since July 4, 1999. Before that, he was

a member of the band for 25 years. Retired from a 33-year career

as a music teacher, Wirgler continues as a performer, teacher

and composer.

The free Golden Gate Park Band concerts will continue until

early October. All concerts (unless noted) are on Sundays, at 1

p.m., and are held at the Spreckels Temple of Music at

the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park.

The schedule for May is:

• May 7 – Polish Constitution Day (Polish music, singing,

dancing);

• May 14 – Great concert band music (TBA);

• May 21 – Armenian Constitution Day;

• May 28 – Memorial Weekend concert (Patriotic and

American music).

For more information, go to the band’s website at

http://www.GoldenGateParkBand.org.