Our very own, Jonas Hansen (CRLS ’19) won a Gold Medal at the Summer National Fencing Tournament, in Division 1A (Men’s Epee) – he is the official National Champion for that category!
Jonas Hansen, CRLS 2019, wins big in a field of 163 competitors!
Congratulations to gold medalist Jonas Hansen and his coach Daniel Hondor
Dear Friends,
I am excited to share that as Roberta Goto and I step down on June 30th as FOCA Secretary and President respectively that we have a skilled and robust group of new and returning board members. To date these include:
Offering important continuity is Sean McDonnell returning as Treasurer
I’ll also extend tremendous appreciation for the contributions of At-large board members stepping down: Roxann Hymon, Gary Dougherty, Joe Avin, and Alice Heller.
There are still board openings – as well as many other ways to contribute so keep an eye out for further announcements – and please be in touch if you, or someone you know, may be interested in joining our efforts. I can assure you that the rewards gained from this volunteer endeavor will consistently exceed any seeming loss of family time, sleep, brain band-width etc…!
For me the past 5 years have been wonderfully full.…full of: inspiration from the friendships, satisfaction as we maintained a FOCA 18-year tradition supporting coaches and teams, learning as we improved our internal systems, curiosity as we explored and advanced many collaborations, and… challenges especially as we all grapple within a society/city still sorting out how to shift old school thinking about sports to a better integrated vision of athletics as an educative process for developing strong social competencies. Achieving this with greater consistency is one important goal that relies on broader engagement of families, school staff and the community. To that end FOCA events and activities will continue to serve as a significant support.
Though ‘aging out’ of this parent volunteer role while making way for new leaders I welcome your suggestion and participation in this important period of FOCA transition. Of course also feel free to contact Kevin and Nadia. You can also refresh your familiarity with FOCA by visiting our website.
In the spirit of learning and community,
Larry
Larry Childs, President
Friends of Cambridge Athletics
www.friendsofcambridgeathletics.org
Join/Support the 31st Annual Cambridge City Run/Henrietta’s Walk on April 2nd – Please consider attending/supporting this Friends of Cambridge Athletics-coordinated event which attracts hundreds of runners/walkers from Cambridge, surrounding communities and CRLS sports teams. CRLS Athletes through FOCA are the lead beneficiaries with proceeds supporting student scholarships and the needs of athletic teams. The City of Cambridge Recreation and Athletics Departments as well as Marathon Sports are co-sponsors. The Andrea Harvey Fund is another co-sponsor with some proceeds supporting their senior scholarships awards program and domestic violence awareness (Andrea was a CRLS graduate and East Boston High teacher). Notable changes this year are in the venue as it takes place at Danehy Park rather than Fresh Pond and the distance: It is 5k rather than 5 miles. To run, walk, volunteer and/or donate see information below. Click ‘Racewire’ and/or ‘Donate’ icons. Address questions about group discounts, sponsoring, or volunteering to: focacityrundirector@gmail.com!
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The Cambridge City Run is only 1 month away! This flat, fast, 5k run & 5k walk course is on the picturesque foot paths of Danehy Park. Hurry, race t-shirts to first 500 only! Race Fee: $30, Students: $20, Under-18 free (Day-of: $40 / $25)
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Our winter social is open to one and all and is a few short weeks away. Please join us on the 28th of January for food fun and drink! For more details, please click here.
After a successful conversion of the fall FOCA Walk-a-thon to Serv-a-thon, FOCA is coordinating a similar CRLS Winter Sports Teams Serv-a-thon. By sponsoring an athlete, donors help teams and FOCA raise additional funds required to meet important supplemental needs falling outside of the current school department budget. Meanwhile the athletes provide valuable services to our community, build relationships within the team and earn community service hours required for graduation. Some projects include coaching elementary school age youth during their respective after school and weekend programs, visiting elderly, and clean-up/maintenance of Danehy Park, Fresh Pond and Alewife Reservation. To donate one can respond to individual athletes as they seek support, hit the ‘Donate’ button on the FOCA website (note Serva-a-thon and team in the note section), or contact Larry Childs lchilds@comcast.net for further information.
winterserveathonfocainfosheet2016
FOCA Winter SocialCelebrating our Students, Investing in our Future
Thursday, March 30, 2017
6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Friends of CRLS 10th Year Birthday Bash!
Google Cambridge, Kendall Square
Join us as the Cambridge community comes together to celebrate the students of our dynamic public high school, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, on the occasion of the tenth birthday of Friends of CRLS (FoCRLS), and the launch of the three-year InvestCRLS initiative.
Dance and mingle to the groove of live jazz (and more) provided by our talented student musicians, enjoy a Google-catered buffet and drinks, and catch up on “CRLS Today” from special guests!
Proceeds of this fundraiser go to support the programs of FoCRLS. Tickets go on sale in January. For more information, contact info@focrls.org.
The Friends of Cambridge Athletics (FOCA) annual ‘Walk-a-thon’ fund raiser was transformed this year into what all experienced as a more meaningful ‘Walk & Serve-a-Thon’. Over 350 athletes and coaches representing all fall CRLS athletics programs gathered Sunday morning at the Fresh Pond Water Treatment Facility. After mingling and turning in pledge sheets to eager parent volunteers, the athletes fanned out across the western and northern ends of the city lead by staff/volunteers, coaches and their team captains.
A majority of the Serve-a-Thon work was to assist in the cleanup of open space areas which are frequently used by the Teams and the community. Clean-up occurred at the Alewife Brook Reservation by the Crew and Sailing Teams, at Russell and Rindge Fields by the Football Team and at Danehy Park by the Soccer, Volley Ball and Fencing Teams, where the Park was strewn with litter because of a windy Danehy Park Day on Saturday. Other Serve-a-thon efforts included the Cross Country Team assisting with a road race in Central Square, the Novice Crew Team spreading mulch from Glacken Field to Fresh Pond, and the Golf Team assisting with maintenance at the Fresh Pond Golf Club.
One highlight of the Serve-a-thon was a small group of football players practicing open field tackling techniques with the seniors at Neville Center. Another was extracted items from the Alewife Brook Reservation such as a DVD player and sofa (which seem to go together rather well). The athletes also found so many coffee cups found that they discussed the idea of an appeal to vendors to encourage the elimination of the use of Styrofoam cups and to take action to discourage littering.
Aside from providing needed service to area parks and facilities, the athletes and coaches embraced what could be a new norm and culture in which CRLS teams come together not only for camaraderie, fitness and competition, but also to benefit the our community in addition to having a great deal of fun.
