Page 24 May 2015 By Jessica Morrison Jennifer Koeninger found her sense of community through the Arcadia Parents Google group she started four years ago, and more recently through the jewelry business she started with Tsega Woldemichael, a refugee from Ethiopia who was granted asylum in the United States in March 2013. Jennifer started the Google group in August 2009. For the past four years, the group – now at 945 members – holds a Holiday Giving Campaign, in part with the International Rescue Committee, to help refugee families in need. Through the campaign, Jennifer met Tsega, and discovered that her family was having fi nancial issues. Tsega and her husband, Atakelti Weldeobzgi, along with their four children, Anbesan, 15, Haben, 8, Semira, 6, and Merhawi, 3, were granted asylum in the U.S. after spending 10 years in an Ethiopian refugee camp. Shortly after they immigrated, Tsega became pregnant with her son Abner, now 10 months. Then, a car hit Atakelti as he left a meeting at the International Rescue Committee headquarters in Glendale. The accident caused Atakelti to lose his job as a groundskeeper. “They were in a really bad state. They were in a bad apartment, and they were going to get evicted,” said Jennifer. Arcadia Parents raised $3,600 for the family to avoid an eviction, allowing them to later qualify for Section 8 Housing. Jennifer, who does metal-smith work as a hobby, had been making wrap-style jewelry for friends. She saw that Tsega had similar skills after she observed the baskets Tsega wove, as well as Tsega’s own jewelry that she made while in the refugee camp. “She’s really, really skilled at this stuff, and I fi gured that she would be good at doing this,” said Jennifer. Jennifer plans to teach Tsega how to do metal-smith work. Currently, Tsega does the intricate beading required for the jewelry. Before Tsega began making the jewelry, Jennifer went to the International Rescue Committee, an organization started by Albert Einstein in 1933, that helps refugees with emergency aid and other long-term assistance, to help Tsega obtain a contracting license to begin making and selling the jewelry. They now sell the jewelry at school festivals, art shows and on humblejewels.com. “I came from not such great beginnings, and I fi gure that’s something that we both have in common,” said Jennifer Jennifer grew up in San Francisco as the daughter of a single mother. She has a history of helping people from other cultures. She lived in Japan for four years, and after her fi rst year, began teaching English there. She returned to San Francisco, where she attended San Francisco State University. She and her husband moved to Arcadia six years ago. Tsega’s son Anbesan speaks enough English to be an interpreter for his family. When asked what he likes best about his life in the U.S., he said, “Everything.” Anbesan said there were no jobs in the refugee camp, very little food and they had to construct their house from mud and tin they found. Anbesan shows Jennifer a photo album of their life in Ethiopia. “You look so sad,” Jennifer said to Anbesan. Anbesan nods his head slowly in response. Tsega works from home, making the jewelry, allowing her to be there when her children get home from school. Jennifer, who often fi nds items the family needs through Arcadia Parents, visits them frequently, and helps Anbesan with his homework. “This community is so awesome. There are so many volunteers.” Anyone who wishes to be a part of the Arcadia Parents Google group may request membership on Google or by emailing Jennifer at jkoeninger@gmail.com. She brings Arcadians together to support a family in need Jennifer Koeninger shared her knowledge of jewelry making to help create Humble Jewels. Neil Germundson Toyota Fleet Manager NeilG@RightToyota.com 7701 E. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. Scottsdale AZ, 85260 480-778-2200 Contact Neil today for your friendly neighborhood discount! 7875 E. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. Scottsdale AZ, 85260 480-778-2440 Craig Thorpe Honda Fleet Manager CThorpe@RightHonda.com Contact Craig today for your friendly neighborhood discount! Happy Mothers Day, Arcadia! 5

Page 25 May 2015 By Francesca Thomas On April 14, the Scottsdale Uni fi ed School District Governing Board convened for its monthly meeting. Here are some highlights of the discussion and action items from the meeting: • A decision was made to close all high schools to open enrollment on the tenth day of each semester. While there is a negative fi scal impact of $96,000 to this decision, it will allow for better staf fi ng and class size management, as well as align more consistently to the code of conduct. Speci fi c to code of conduct, currently it is stated that any student who misses 10 days or more of a class cannot be graded for that class, and so can only audit the class. Under the new policy, students will not be put immediately in the awkward position of not being able to get full credit for their semester of work. This policy change applies only to high schools; all other levels of school will continue to accept open enrollment students, as space is available, throughout the year. • The district is working on staf fi ng for next year, and the timeline has been moved up by 3-4 weeks this year over last. Due to the passage of the override, the district will be hiring 60 new teachers- some to restore specials in the elementary schools and some to reduce class size across all levels- and will additionally be hiring teachers to replace the teachers who are resigning and retiring. Already, 40 new teachers have signed letters of intent, which puts the district in a very good position moving into the summer months. The timeline for teacher placement requires first that all unassigned teachers be placed; that will occur on April 17. Then, new teachers will be placed. Finally, any remaining open positions will be fi lled. The district hopes to get contracts out to teachers by early May, before the end of the school year. • Information was presented about proposed changes to teacher evaluations and the code of conduct. The presentation speci fi cally focused on occupational therapists and physical therapists. The code of conduct presentation spotlighted the proposal to eliminate “revocation” for open enrollment students, and instead consistently apply of the code of conduct to all SUSD students. No action was taken on either of these issues. The board will be revisiting these topics at their next meeting. As always, a video of the entire meeting is available online, as are all the presentations made at the board meeting. To view them, simply go to the SUSD website under the Governing Board drop down: www.susd.org — Francesca Thomas is an Arcadia mom who has volunteered in SUSD schools for 15 years. d l i Decision on open enrollment SCHOOL BOARD 5432 EAST AVALON 4138 EAST PATRICIA JANE 5101 EAST FLOWER Walk to Veritas! Wonderful 2100’, 4 bed/3 bath home with incredible split master suite. Best buy in the neighborhood! $415,000 Absolute best location on a coveted street in Hopi Schools. Approx 2000’ 4 bed/2 bath with pool and oversized garage. $625,000 3200’, 4 bed/2 bath home tucked into a quiet cul de sac with a 900’ 3-car-garage and pool. $715,000 Kelly Knapp 602-882-1332 kellyknapphomes@gmail.com WE HONOR Your commitment to wellness. Your unique health needs. Your busy schedule. Your questions and concerns. Your right to feel empowered about healthcare. Making healthcare easier to navigate. Scottsdale Healthcare and John C. Lincoln Health Network are now HonorHealth. HonorHealth.com We are making healthy personal.