Ride for a Reason a Great Success
Ride for a Reason raised $207,000 this year, with over $12,000 going to each beneficiary school! Here’s an excellent write up by Jo Zulaica and our own Sophomore Donovan Smith!
We woke up at 5am, ooooh, so early…and drove to the Starting Line at Oakland Tech. It was still dark out, and volunteers were in down jackets and headlamps, talking quietly as we checked in riders, collected day bags on a tarp for the finish line, and loaded bikes into panel trucks for those shuttling to shorter mileage routes.
Fast forward to mid-day, and riders are streaming into rest stops at scenic parks, with music pumping, lake views, and random peacocks(?!) Riders refueled with hot roasted potatoes and trays of bananas cut in half, lots of peanut butter n’ jelly, and coolers full of iced drinks.
By the end the air was filled with the smell of sunscreen, the bike paths in UC Davis were alive with ‘Picnic Day,’ and a party atmosphere grew at the finish line. We had a rally where a Dad and his 9 year-old stoker finished on a tandem, kids completed the 9 mile ‘family ride’, true biking faithful rolled in like no-big-deal-I-do-Century-Rides-all-the-time, and just about everyone else felt relief and elation to arrive after completing 112, 68 or 45 miles. (Regardless of mileage, everyone finished at the State Capitol.)
We took a huge group photo and departed by bus, amtrak and personal cars back to the Bay Area, full of pride and optimism for what a community can do when we come together with a common purpose: celebrating and supporting public schools!
Here’s what Sophomore Donovan Smith (volunteer and rider for Encinal) had to say:
“I was scared to start it, didn’t have a lot of confidence in myself, I was really wondering, ” Can I do it?” I had never ridden my bike that far before. But then I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I want to do it for many years. I felt so accomplished doing the 45 mile option, and think “I can’t wait to do the longer option next year!”
Mom Jo said: it was fun to see Donovan riding and singing to himself, having just the best time gliding around the orchards and finishing with a huge smile.
Come and join us next year. We need volunteers, support drivers, fundraisers and riders to make this great event happen! EMAIL jo@joleader.com if you’d like to be on the list to hear more about Ride for a Reason 2025!
Merci MoMA!
Thank you for the lovely card, Ms. Krautler and French 3 class. We’re glad to hear you had a great time on the SFMOMA field trip.
PTSA Sponsors First Library Party
(By Heidi Swensen) On April 3rd, 2024, we hosted our first library party featuring Encinal parent and local author, Kate Schatz. This event served to bring our school together in community over our shared appreciation of literature. One highlight of our library party is that it was an opportunity for public dialogue on both the process and reasons for writing. Students and staff alike came prepared with thoughtful questions to support community-led conversation. We discussed measuring success as a writer, public figures represented in Kate’s books, and addressing the challenge of writer’s block. Kate urges us to consider that writer’s block is simply working through difficulty as we would through any process.
Kate Schatz is a feminist author, activist, public speaker, and educator. Kate’s books include Do the Work! An Antiracist Activity Book (co-written with W. Kamau Bell), Rad Girls Can, Rad American Women A-Z, and Rad Women Worldwide. Through the support and generosity of our PTSA, we were able to provide giveaway copies of Kate’s books from Books, Inc., along with other fun prizes. PTSA support also gave us the opportunity to order new books and library supplies to develop a new featured books section.
It was an honor to bring people together in recognition of the value that good books can contribute to our lives. Community engagement around meaningful dialogue is foundational to the role libraries serve. We are deeply appreciative for Kate Schatz joining us in conversation. Our library party was an excellent way to celebrate National School Library Month!
Mean Girls – So Fetch!
The PTSA is thrilled to support our Arts and Drama program by providing essential AV equipment, making our school’s spectacular spring production of Mean Girls an unforgettable event!
Latest: PTSA Supports Library Book Refresh, Sophomore San Francisco Field Trip, College & Career Field Trip to Santa Clara University and San Jose State University