Remember the call for plant pots at Arbor Heights Elementary, for teacher Marcia Ingerslev and her farming first-graders – and the great response? The tomato plants – and some radishes too, we’re told – have been on sale after school this week and you’re welcome today as they sell plants one last time before Ms. Ingerslev has to haul the remainders off to be donated! The parent volunteer who shared the photo says it’s your chance to “be a proud new home to a grown-from-seed tomato plant (or radish) for a donation that goes fully to the farm program.” It’s a short sale window – about 3 pm to 3:30 pm, we’re told – but if you can make it over to Arbor Heights (37th and 104th), the plants await you, at a $2 donation each.

At Arbor Heights Elementary, they’re already “bubbling” with excitement about a new curriculum (our photo is courtesy of a parent volunteer, from a bubble-experimenting event on the playground last Friday afternoon). It was just last week that the school formally announced it will start moving to an eSTEM curriculum; that came late in the game for new enrollment – but it’s not too late for families to consider switching, and that’s why the school is offering a tour tomorrow (Thursday) morning! Elise Olson from the Arbor Heights PTA board says you’re invited to come learn about the new program and the school, which will in a few years have a brand-new building. All are welcome to join the school tour with principal Christy Collins – meet in the lobby at 9:15 am, 3701 SW 104th. You can also find out about “all the great things happening at Arbor Heights,” as Elise says, via their website or Facebook page.

ADDED TUESDAY NIGHT: Another message from principal Collins says the curriculum might turn out to be eSTEAM – adding an arts emphasis, too. It’s part of an overall message to families addressing multiple topics for next school year – you can see it here.

First, Lonjina‘s stolen truck is back, and might offer clues for other crime victims:

Was found by a friend of ours at 122nd and Ambaum in the Forest View Apt Complex parking lot. Full of possibly stolen gardening tools. We believe they were not done with the truck! Let readers know if they had their garage or gardening tools missing last night to contact the Burien Police Dept.

Updating the other incident in our earlier roundup – from Al’s wife Christine:

On Friday 4/26 at approximately 4:30 PM a suspicious vehicle was witnessed stopped in front of a home at 10XXX 37th Avenue in Arbor Heights. He was witnessed taking photos of the same car burglarized at the same location on Wednesday 4/24 between 11 PM and 6:45 AM. He sped off toward 102nd when confronted by a neighbor. The prowler’s vehicle was later spotted in the Arbor Heights area.

Vehicle Description: Mid 90s, Dark Green, Chevy S-10 pickup truck

As of Friday this vehicle was making a very loud rumbling engine sound as though it was out of oil.

Suspect Description: White man with an odd long face. Between the ages of 20 and 30. He is believed to be tall due to how he sat in the cab of the truck.

We have overwhelming evidence leading us to believe that this man is prowling the neighborhood with a radio frequency scanning device that allows him to “hack” into smart cars.

Be vigilant and watch out for this truck or suspects pointing tech devices (phones, laptops, etc.) toward cars and houses. Call the Seattle Police Department if you see the truck.

And Carolyn in Fauntleroy reports car vandalism, possibly a prowling attempt:

Just wanted to let you know that the passenger door window in my car was bashed overnight. The person didn’t hit the driver’s side, which was closest to the alley, but had to walked around my car and stand between the fence and my car to take out the window. My car was loaded for a community event but nothing was taken. In the past, someone has rifled through my car but not taken anything on the few occasions that I’ve forgotten to lock it. I’m in 8600 block of Fauntleroy Way SW.

Our silver 2007 Dodge Dakota was stolen from in front of our house between 1 am and 7 am this morning. We live in the Arbor Heights neighborhood on 105th St. behind AH Elementary. It is a 4-door with a rack and a large toolbox. Unfortunately it was stuffed with tools and fishing gear in preparation for a family outing today. License plate B18349G. Please keep an eye out for it!

And Al reports this incident from Wednesday night:

A UPS package was ripped open — the contents stolen — and the box was thrown on the front lawn of our home on the 10000th block of 37th Ave SW in Arbor Heights. In addition, the criminal burglarized our car and stole a jacket, a case of non-persishable food to be donated to a local school, personal items, and keys.

2:52 PM: Police and fire have responded to 31st and 108th in Arbor Heights – it’s an “assault with weapons” call – details as soon as we get them.

2:56 PM: According to SPD’s Det. Jeff Kappel, this appears to be self-inflicted. No word on the person’s condition; we’re told they are being taken to Harborview Medical Center.

P.S. As we always note in such cases – if you know someone talking about or threatening self-harm, Crisis Clinic is there to help – 24-hour hotline, 206-461-3222.

One more reason Arbor Heights Elementary can’t vacate its crumbling building a minute too soon – this weekend, a classroom flooded in bone-dry weather. We went over for photos after parents forwarded a note from principal Christy Collins talking about the damage suffered by Room 9 when a water filter burst over the weekend. The principal wrote in part:

It appears the water ran all weekend with several inches of water soaking all material on the floor. The water and warmth of the room appear to have caused significant condensation on the windows, thereby increasing the possibility of more damage to materials in the room. … a crew from Seattle Public Schools’ maintenance department have worked diligently to move furniture and absorb the standing water with machinery and fans. Unfortunately, it appears the flooring in room 9 is beginning to buckle, so the room most likely will not be habitable for a while. … Teacher and student materials were removed from desks and wooden shelves due to the risk of additional water damage from the accumulated moisture on materials within the room. Students’ personal supplies were transferred to room 19 by morning recess. We were able to salvage most all of the items in the students’ desks that were not made of paper. The classroom computers were turned off and appear to be working.

Here’s the scene in a hallway:

Arbor Heights’ aged facilities are a major reason why it was written into the Building Excellence levy in February for a rebuild – and why after community clamor, the rebuild has been moved up three years from the end of the levy list, to be complete in 2016. As reported here last week, the school is taking applications to be part of its Design Advisory Team – tomorrow’s the deadline.

Christina shared that photo of a scary but short-lived sight in front of the New Apostolic Church at 32nd and 106th in east Arbor Heights last night. The call was logged as “brush fire”; we checked this morning with Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Kyle Moore, who says that once Engine 37 got there, they had it “knocked down in less than a minute.” He adds that it’s believed to have been sparked by “improperly discarded smoking materials” – a reminder that it doesn’t have to be the dusty dry heart of summer for a tossed-aside cigarette (etc.) to cause trouble.

The Design Advisory Team will be composed of current Arbor Heights staff and families as well as neighborhood residents. Our goal is to form a working team of 10-12 individuals who can commit to six formal meetings over the course of April and May and two additional future meetings.

The meeting schedule is part of her letter; the application is here, and needs to be in by April 2nd.

Since its new school is being built on the same site as the deteriorating old one, Arbor Heights is expected to move to the Boren building on Delridge starting in fall 2014, SPS spokesperson Tom Redman tells WSB, remaining there for the two school years prior to the opening of the new building. The new K-5 STEM school is there now, with no timeline for a decision on its permanent home, but the Boren campus has room for hundreds more students, and improvements are planned this summer. The school board’s Executive Committee was briefed on those improvements last week; Redman says they would include:

1) seismic strengthening in the form of shear walls and roof-to-wall braces;
2) completion of the upgrades to finishes in the north wing;
3) selective demolition and “tenant improvements” for two child care rooms and Arbor Heights;
4) replacement of all exterior doors and hardware

P.S. If you’d like to know more about how a school Design Team is supposed to work – its part of the in-depth district manual.

Arbor Heights Cooperative Preschool, one of five West Seattle cooperative preschools sponsored by South Seattle Community College, is currently seeking a new location. After sixteen years of operating out of Hillcrest Presbyterian Church, Arbor Heights Cooperative is actively looking for a new site in the area.

The site search committee is seeking a new location, ideally sited on the grounds of a church or other nonprofit organization, that would provide the school with approximately 1500 to 3000 square feet. The current location at Hillcrest Church offers two classrooms, a storage area, and access to an outdoor area, and the reasonable rent offered by the church has enabled the co-op to keep tuition affordable for local families, and provide scholarship assistance to those who need it. Arbor Heights Cooperative preschool serves children between the ages of two and five, and operates preschool classes in the mornings and afternoons Monday-Thursday from 9:00–3:00, and Friday mornings from 9:15–11:30.

Affiliated with community and technical colleges, which provide a crucial parent education component, the cooperative preschools offer both parents and children a rich and stimulating developmentally appropriate environment in which to learn together during the early learning years.

If you have a lead on a new site that would fit the Arbor Heights Cooperative Preschool’s needs, please contact Judy Hall at 206-938-2278 or Jkatalki@aol.com

As first reported here last November, the church where the preschool has been housed is selling its campus to Westside School (WSB sponsor), which plans extensive renovations. At recent community meetings about the campus’s future, Hillcrest Presbyterian’s pastor explained that its congregation just doesn’t need that much space any more and is moving to a new, smaller location.

Westside School is planning to move to the Hillcrest Church facility in the Arbor Heights neighborhood, and we would like to share our vision and plans and hear your feedback.

Open House #1: Saturday, March 9th, 10 AM-11 AM, Hillcrest Church, 10404 34th Avenue SW [map]
Open House #2: Tuesday, March 12th, 7 PM-8 PM, Hillcrest Church, 10404 34th Avenue SW

You can see the flyer in its entirety here. Westside is in its third year of leasing the former EC Hughes Elementary campus in Sunrise Heights; Seattle Public Schools has not yet decided how to use that school after Westside vacates. Westside, meantime, has said it plans to renovate the church’s structures rather than demolish them.