Matthew Wong, BPTA webmaster mjwong59@comcast.net

Space for all Berkeley PTA sites  have been generously donated by transbay.net

PTA Community Calendar

July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June

October, 2005

Several organizations joined together in 1994 and declared October as National Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual History Month (LGBHM). The celebration is modeled after and is similar in purpose to Black History Month and Women's History Month. LGBHM is designed to "promote the teaching of LesBiGay history in secondary and post-secondary academic setting, as well as within the LesBiGay community and mainstream society" (Lesbian and Gay History Month press release, June 24, 1994). The theme for 1998 is "Find the Facts, Know the Truth".

October was selected because the first and second Marches on Washington for lesbian and gay rights were held in this month in 1979 and 1987. National Coming Out Day (October 11) provided an additional reason for choosing this month. Finally, since October also falls during the academic calendar year, educational institutions are able to participate in LGBHM related activities. (From the Kansas U. Medical Center Diversity Calendar)
 

1 Birthday of Jimmy Carter, 39th President (biography) and Vladimir Horowitz, musician (biography)
2  Birthday of Mohandas K. Gandhi, father of non-violence (biography)

3  Birthday of Gore Vidal, author (biography) and Dennis Eckersley, athlete (biography)

4 Ramadan. Ramadan is the most sacred holiday of the Muslim year and is mandated by the Qur'an (2:183). It occurs in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is the holy month of fasting. Fasting is considered to be the third pillar or religious obligation of Islam and provides many benefits including learning self-control. This results from a lack of preoccupation with satisfying bodily appetites during the daylight hours. Ramadan is a time of worship, reading the Qur'an, charitable acts, and the purification of individual behavior. This is also the time in which the Qur'an was revealed to Mohammed as guidance for the people. (from the University of Kansas Medical Center)

Rosh Hashanah is a solemn celebration of the beginning of the Jewish year. The new year begins at sunset before the first day of Tishri in the Hebrew calendar and lasts for two days. However, Reform Jews usually celebrate Rosh Hashanah for one day.

Rosh Hashanah is a time of introspection when Jews examine their relationship with God. During this period, prayers are said for God's forgiveness, a good year, and a long life. The Ten Days of Penitence begin on Rosh Hashanah (the Day of Judgment) and end on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). During these days, God decides who will die and who will live in the coming year.

Synagogue services are held on Rosh Hashanah. During the services, the shofar, a ram's horn that has been hollowed and straightened, is sounded after each of three groups of prayer. The first group of prayers is a reminder that God rules the world; the second group reminds people that God listens and responds to the sound of the shofar; the third group tells people that God remembers the deeds of people. The use of the shofar comes from the time that Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac, but was stopped by God and instead sacrificed a ram.

On the first night of Rosh Hashanah, special dishes are prepared. Many of the dishes contain honey which symbolizes the desire for a sweet year. A special bread and many fruits are also included in the meal. (from the University of Kansas Medical Center)

Birthday of Buster Keaton, actor (biography) and Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President (biography)

5  Birthday of Pablo Picasso, artist (biography)

School Board of BUSD Meeting. 7:30 pm. 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING DATE: Wednesday, October 5, 2005 TIME: 8:30 p.m. PLACE:  District Administrative Office    Council Chambers  2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way Berkeley, California 94704-1180

This is a public notice announcing that there will be a PUBLIC HEARING on October 5, 8:30 p.m., regarding the K-12 Textbook and Instructional Materials Compliance for Fiscal Year 2005-06.

The governing board is required to make a determination, through a resolution, as to whether each pupil in the district has sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both.  The governing board
will also determine the availability of science laboratory equipment as applicable to science laboratory courses in grades 9 through 12.

The Board is required to hold a public hearing, in accordance with Education Code 60119, at which time the governing board encourages the participation of parents, teachers, bargaining unit leaders and members of the community who are interested in the affairs of the district.

6 Birthday of Le Corbusier, architect (biography)

7 Birthday of Niels Bohr, physicist (biography)

8  Birthday of Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist (biography)

9 Birthday of John Lennon, musician (biography)

10  Birthday of Giuseppi Verdi, composer (biography) and Thelonius Monk, musician (biography)

Staff Development Day (no school)

11 Columbus Day was first celebrated on October 12, 1792 to honor the day Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492. One hundred years later, it was celebrated again at the urging of President Benjamin Harrison. Since 1920, it has been celebrated annually and, in 1971, became a federal legal holiday to be celebrated on the second Monday in October. The traditional Columbus Day in the United States includes a parade down New York's Fifth Avenue. Parades and pageantry are often featured in smaller towns and cities. In recent years, the holiday has been rejected by many people who view it as a celebration of conquest and genocide. In its place, Indigenous Peoples Day is celebrated.

Many Latin American countries celebrate this day as Día de la Raza (Day of the Race). This day celebrates the Spanish heritage of the Latin American peoples and includes brightly colored fiestas. (from the University of Kansas Medical Center)

Birthday of Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady and social activist (biography at about.com)

12 Birthday of Virgil, Roman Poet (biography)

13 Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement") is the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. It is the holiest day of the Jewish year. On this day, G-d seals our fate for the coming year, therefore, the entire day is spent fasting and praying to G-d for forgiveness and a good year.  (From Torah.org)

Birthday of John Wooden, basketball coach (biography) and Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President (biography)

14

15  Birthday of Frederich Nietzsche, philosopher (biography)

16  Birthday of Noah Webster, lexicographer (biography)

17  Birthday of Jerry Seigel, co-creator of Superman (biography)

18  Birthday of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, PM of Canada (biography) and Wynton Marsalis, musician (biography)

19 Birthday of Ivan "The Terrible", Tsar of Russia (biography) and Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, athlete (biography) 

School Board of BUSD Meeting. 7:30 pm. 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way

20  Birthday of Charles Ives, composer (biography) and Micky Mantle, athlete (biography)

21  Birthday of Alfred Nobel, inventor (biography) and  Dizzie Gillespie, musician (biography)

22  Birthday of Franz Liszt, composer (biography) and Timothy Leary, psychologist (biography)

23  Birthday of Pele, athlete (biography) and Michael Crichton, author (biography)

24  Birthday of Denise Levertov, poet (biography) and Kweisi Mfume, leader of NAACP (biography)

25 Birthday of George Bizet, composer (biography)

26 Simhat Torah(Tishri 23) literally means "rejoicing in the Torah" and represents the culmination of Sukkot  and Shemini Atzeret. It is a joyous celebration which concludes the annual cycle of the reading of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.(from the University of Kansas Medical Center)

Birthday of Domenico Scarlatti, composer (biography) and Mahalia Jackson, singer (biography)

27  Birthday of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President (biography) and Dylan Thomas, poet (biography)

28 Birthday of Edith Head, fashion designer (biography) and Jonas Salk, scientist (biography)

29   Birthday of Edmund Halley, astronomer (biography) and Fanny Brice, actress (biography)

End of first grading peroid.

30  Birthday of John Adams, 2nd President (biography) and Charles Atlas, body-builder (biography)

Daylight Savings Time Ends

31 Halloween,also called All Hallows' Eve  or All Hallows' Evening a holy or hallowed evening observed on October 31, the eve of All Saints' Day. In modern times, it is the occasion for pranks and for children requesting treats or threatening tricks. In ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic festival of Samhain eve was observed on October 31, at the end of summer. (from the Encyclopedia Britannica)