December 5, 2005

The warm autumn afternoon was the perfect setting for the second annual Cultural Care Au Pair open house hosted by Sandi Bohner and Bill Webster in their beautiful country home on November 20. Sandi is a local childcare coordinator for the group and has recently returned from a trip to Sweden with husband Bill, which she won in their incentive program. Bill and Sandi's most memorable moment in Stockholm was a banquet dinner held at the magnificently restored Vasa Viking Ship museum. The warship, which sank 333 years ago, was raised from the floor of the Baltic Sea and restored. A museum is actually built around the ship.

The couple also visited Europe's oldest university, Uppsala University in Stockholm. Another highlight of their trip was when they were given instructions on making authentic Swedish meatballs with the executive chef of a local restaurant, Café Diana.

Sandi and Bill's warm candlelit home that afternoon was filled with approximately 80 guests, which included the au pair's and their host families. All the guests brought a dish from their home country and the buffet lunch was a great way to try unique and interesting dishes from several counties such as Brazil, Germany, Sweden, South Africa, Czech Republic, Panama, Columbia, Mexico and Austria. Also attending the event were Cultural Care Au Pair's local childcare coordinator, Audra Ruthruff and Regional Development Coordinator, Dale Dubowy.

And of course, there was plenty of wine being served that day as well. Sandi and Bill are also owners of Little Valley Vineyards and they were pouring their new wine, Pure Decadence Port, Sandi says, "It will be ready for the holidays". In fact, Sandi said that when they attended the banquet at the museum in Stockholm they were surprised to discover that they were serving Tempranillo wine, which is Little Valley Vineyards signature wine.

Sandi's new venture is Little Valley Lavender, and you could not help but notice as you ascended the long driveway to their home, the 3077 lavender plants that were just planted. Sandi offers every kind of lavender product one could imagine, from bath salts, sachets and lotions to pet shampoo.

Sunol Glen students are busy helping to make this holiday special for those less fortunate by collecting items for a shelter in Fremont. Organizers are calling it "Operation Sunol Glen Cares" and are asking families of the middle school aged children to donate shoeboxes filled with everything from books and toys to office supplies and new hygiene products. They are also collecting jackets, blankets, sleeping bags, tarps and non-perishable food items.

It is with great pleasure to announce Sunol Glen Schools 1st Trimester Honor Roll. Fifth grade honorees are: Ashleigh Anderson, Casey Bolls, Gabriela Cordova, Jenna Hamze, Miranda Heaney, Talya Miller, Hannah O'Toole and Elena Pardi;

Sixth grade honorees are: Cali Bachelder, Devin Corcoran, Madison Craig, Alexa Hylas, Dylan Jeffrey, Kelsey Kruger, Beau Lawrence, Emily Madden, Kelsi Ocon, Grant Perry, Elise Savoy, Cassi Scoggins, Alfonso Vergana and Gabrielle Wu.

Seventh grade honorees are: Kyle Bachand, Chase Beck, Becca Brown, Mary Chambers, Jordan Craig, Lauren Freeman, Bola Gbadebo, Stasia Hylas, Katelyn Merrill, Callie Milligan, Melissa Morgan, Ian Player, Anthony Primer, Matthew Reisenthel, Mason Robertson, Zachary Savoy, Samatha Strachan, Adriana Sutalo, Bowie Twombly, Aris Vlacos and Kekoa Wu.

Eighth grade honorees are: Gena Banducci, Nicola Barnes, Jeffrey Bettencourt, Caitlin Carter, Jessica Christian, Gregory Monson, Hayley Nielsen, Kyle Scroggins and Daniel Zinna.