Whittier Elementary will not be getting a fourth Kindergarten class next school year, but could get one additional homeroom for a different grade, if needed. The Seattle School Board is looking at options to ease overcrowding in the school district and one of the options included adding a fourth Kindergarten class – an option that was opposed by the PTA.

In a letter sent to parents on Tuesday, Pegi McEvoy the Assistant Superintendent for Operations for SPS writes,

Our preliminary enrollment projections indicate we may need to add one additional homeroom at Whittier next year. The additional homeroom would NOT be for a fourth kindergarten class – we are still planning for three kindergarten classes. The potential need for an additional homeroom is based primarily on enrollment distribution across the grades. If enrollment is not as high as anticipated, we will not add an additional homeroom. However, we need to be prepared in case this need arises . We are looking at options in the building, given the fact we cannot place a portable on the Whittier site.

The school board is voting tonight on the Short-Term Capacity Management and the New Student Assignment Plan: Transition Plan for 2012-13. The Board will not vote specifically on adding a new classroom at Whittier. Placement decisions – moving or adding a new program to a school – will be made by the Superintendent. If a new homeroom is added, it is unknown which grade would get the additional class.

“These decisions are made prior to open enrollment to ensure that families can review their options for the next school year,” the letter states. “The Superintendent seeks guidance for these decisions from staff and community groups, such as the Special Education Advisory and Advocacy Council (SEAAC) and the Advanced Learning Task Force to provide input to inform these decisions.”

According to the letter, no changes in the Spectrum program or the Phinney Neighborhood Association programs are being considered at this time.

Individuals can email suggestions to: programplacement@seattleschools.org.

An East Coast health care company is shooting a commercial at Carmelita vegetarian restaurant at 7314 Greenwood Ave. N. today.

Here’s the equipment being set up outside.

And here’s a scene from inside, where the commercial is about a man proposing to a his girlfriend inside a nice restaurant.

Thanks to James and Linn for the tips, and to Kathryn at Carmelita for the photos!

The North Seattle French School is getting off the ground and will hold an informational open house from 1-3 p.m. Saturday at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., Room 2 in the Blue Building.

North Seattle French School is a new elementary school dedicated to bilingual education through excellent academics, creative learning and outdoor activities while promoting a rich multicultural environment.

The curriculum will be in both French and English with a strong majority in French.

NSFS is still finalizing its location, but it will most likely be in Phinney-Greenwood, Green Lake or Ballard. It plans to open in the fall.

According to the website, tuition will be $10,000 for the 2012-13 school year, and they plan to offer an after-school program for parents who need childcare. The first class will have around 15 students. The school plans to begin with one kindergarten-first grade class, then add a grade each year until it offers kindergarten through fifth grade.

Storyteller Susy Irwin of Have Story Will Travel is bringing her band of “Wild Puppets!” to the Phinney Center at 10:30 a.m. Saturday for stories and songs.

This family program has something for everyone: Adventure, with tall and true bear stories; Humor, with original pourquoi {why} stories written about the how and why of Puget Sound and its inhabitants; and Action in an interactive program of stories, songs, and maybe even a little dancing. Program recommended for ages 3+ however we won’t be checking I. D.’s.

Have Story Will Travel, is dedicated to broadening our awareness of various cultures, wildlife and environments through the sharing of stories.

Admission is $4 at the door, at Community Hall inside the PNA’s Brick Building, 6615 Dayton Ave. N.

The NW District Council will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Greenwood Senior Center, 525 N. 85th St. The meeting is open to all.

On the agenda:

• Chat with City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, who chairs the newly established Council committee on Parks & Neighborhoods.
• Sara Wysocki, from the City’s Office of Sustainability & Environment, who will provide a briefing on the Draft Climate Action Plan. Other staff from OSE will be on hand to describe the recently launched Community Power Works initiative.
• Update on the 2012 Neighborhood Projects Fund
• Update on the Neighborhood Matching Fund program
• Update on the 2012 District Council Enhancement Fund
• Update on the impact of legislative redistricting on neighborhoods in the Northwest district

Made Sewing Studio at 8408 Greenwood Ave. N. is one of the many places hosting a worldwide “Craftsy” party on Thursday night. Craftsy is on online crafting community which hosts classes and neighborhood gatherings in hundreds of cities.

Made Sewing Studio Owner Carisa Brunner says she’s expecting more than 40 people at her shop from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday. Everyone is encouraged to bring along their current projects, along with samples or pictures of recently completed projects. Any kind of crafting, from sewing to knitting or jewelry making, is welcome. Feel free to bring a snack or beverage to share with the group.

Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament and guitar maker Mike Lull have created two bass guitars that are currently being auctioned online at CharityBuzz, with all proceeds going to 826 Seattle, Greenwood’s tutoring and writing center hidden inside the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co.

As of Monday afternoon, “Green Noise” (signed and hand-painted by Ament, with an estimated value of $5,000) was going for $2,200; bidding ends at 12 p.m. (Pacific Time) Thursday.

“Red Splatter” (signed and hand-painted by Ament, with an estimated value of $5,500), was going for $2,450; bidding ends at 7 p.m. (Pacific Time) Thursday.

Next year, Metro Transit will begin a new bus system from Shoreline to downtown Seattle. The RapidRide E Line will replace Route 358 with buses stopping every 10-15 minutes most of the day, seven days a week.

RapidRide is a different type of Metro service that includes newly designed buses, shelters and signs. The distinctive red-and-yellow buses are energy efficient, low-emission hybrid vehicles with low floors and three doors for easier, faster boarding. Metro’s A Line between Tukwila and Federal Way debuted in 2010, and the B Line connecting Bellevue and Redmond rolled out in 2011. The C and D lines – serving Ballard and West Seattle – will begin this coming September.

The E Line will travel along Aurora Avenue N between Shoreline and Seattle, replacing Route 358. We’re considering two alternative paths in the Green Lake area between N 64th Street and Winona Avenue N, and want to know which option people prefer. We’d also like comments about overall route design and proposed stop locations.

Metro is hosting an open house about the options from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at Greenlake Presbyterian Church, 6318 Linden Ave. N.

You can also complete an online survey, email your comments, or call 206-263-9768 (English) and 206-263-9988 (Spanish).

The Phinney Ridge branch of Umpqua Bank is holding a food drive for the Greenwood Food Bank.

Sydney Pawlak, the food bank’s AmeriCorps*VISTA Community Outreach Coordinator, tells me that Umpqua felt “compelled” to help out after our story describing how the food bank would lose 4,000 pounds of groceries a week when the Greenwood Market closes in early February.

The food drive runs from today through Jan. 31. Umpqua Bank is at 7120 Greenwood Ave. N.

The food bank especially needs donations of:

• Canned & Boxed Meals (e.g. soup, macaroni & cheese, etc.)
• Individual-Sized Fruit Cups (e.g. apple sauce, fruit cocktail, etc.)
• Fruit Juices (e.g. canned, plastic or boxed) Peanut Butter & Jelly
• Cereal
• Beverages: (e.g. shelf stable milk, juice, etc.)
• Canned Meats (e.g. tuna, chicken, etc.)
• Snacks (e.g. Graham Crackers, Fruit Snacks, etc.)

The Greenwood Food Bank, at 9041 Greenwood Ave. N., serves more than 3,000 people a month; half are children and seniors.

If anyone else in the neighborhood is holding a food drive for the Greenwood Food Bank, please let us know in comments below.

Taproot Theatre opens its 2012 season with Molière’s “Tartuffe,” running Feb. 3-March 3, with previews on Feb. 1-2.

 Jesse Notehelfer, Frank Lawler, and Don Brady. Photo by Erik Stuhaug, Taproot Theatre.

Molière’s comic masterpiece brings us the imposter Tartuffe, a con artist extraordinaire who oozes piety and charm. Will his hypocrisy be discovered before Orgon’s household is turned on its head? This famous farce is a cautionary tale told with lightning-quick wit, complete with star-crossed lovers, a badgering grandma and a plot that could be ripped from the headlines C or a Saturday night comedy show.

Tartuffe scandalized many of Molière’s contemporaries and was banned in 1664. Molière himself believed that, “As the duty of comedy is to correct men by amusing them, I believed that in my occupation I could do nothing better than attack the vices of my age by making them ridiculous…” and in his first appeal to the King wrote that, “since hypocrisy is, without doubt, one of the most common, the most harmful, and the most dangerous of these, I thought, Sire, that I would render no small service to all the honorable men of your kingdom if I were to make a comedy that would discredit the hypocrites and present all the artificial gestures that these worthy folk display…”

“Tartuffe” is directed by Karen Lund and features a cast of Charissa Adams, Don Brady, Ryan Childers, Solomon Davis, Nathan Jeffrey, William Hamer, Frank Lawler, Ruth McRee, Jesse Notehelfer and Josh Smyth.

Life is getting back to normal after last week’s snow storm. Seattle Public Schools will reopen Monday morning, and Metro Transit has returned all buses to normal routes, after canceling dozens of routes last week.

Seattle Public Utilities is back on its normal pickup schedule for garbage, recycling and yard waste starting Monday.

Residential customers that had their collections missed last week can set out double their normal amount of garbage, recycling and yard waste on their regularly scheduled collection day at no additional charge.

Extra recycling that doesn’t fit in the city-provided container should be placed in sturdy bins or boxes next to your recycling cart. Remember to flatten empty cardboard boxes and do not put recyclables inside of bags.

Extra yard waste that does not fit in the city-supplied cart should be set out in one of the following ways:
• A 32-gallon can with handles. Label your can “yard waste,” and fill it loosely, so that it will empty easily when turned upside down.
• Bundles, tied with fiber twine, up to 4-feet long by 2-feet in diameter. Do not use wire, nylon cording, or plastic banding to tie these bundles.
• Kraft paper bags, available at many home and garden retailers
• Reusable yard waste bags, made of polyethylene.

No food waste is allowed in these extra units.

Extra garbage should be placed in plastic bags or your own garbage can (up to 32 gallons), and put next to your regular garbage.

Next Friday, Jan. 27, was supposed to be a day off school for students as a day between semesters. But, Seattle Public Schools just announced that it will be the first of three snow make-up days.

A determination on making up the additional snow days, most likely at the end of the school year, will be decided next week.

“It is important to get our students back in the classroom next week,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield. “We know some families may have made out-of-town plans for next Friday, and we apologize for any inconvenience this causes.”

There will still be a three-hour early dismissal on Tuesday, Jan. 24 for a scheduled furlough day for teachers and staff represented by the Seattle Education Association (SEA). That day cannot be used as a snow make-up day.