COMMUNITY AND EVENTS

Noise Lab is dedicated to helping families give their children the gift of music.

Noise lab is passionate about providing unique and innovative opportunities for learning music through creativity and improvisation. Research suggests that childhood is a key time for music learning. By providing a music rich environment, your children can improve aptitude, musicianship, and develop instrument readiness and music literacy.

Classes offered Saturday and Sunday mornings. Please check with the organisers to confirm the schedule: mynoiselab@gmail.com

Join today!  www.noiselabmusic.org

Noise Lab is led by dedicated Bay Area parents, musicians, and educators with doctoral degrees in music education.

Meet the Harts

Leslie Hart is an active freelance horn player and professional educator in the San Francisco bay area. She is currently the music specialist at the Bing Nursery School at Stanford University and completed a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Performance and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music. Leslie has several published works on learning music with creativity and improvisation and she performs regularly as a member of Emerald Brass Quintet, Frequency 49 Woodwind Sextet and with Opera San Jose.

David Hart a native of California, leads an international music career focusing on both education and performance. Passionate about teaching and learning, he completed a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music. David focuses his education research on ways to improve creativity and improvisation in the music learning process. Currently, David is director of instrumental music at the Harker Middle School and teaches jazz band, orchestra, and choir. He helped create the Harker Concert Series and is currently co-artist director. He performs as a freelance jazz trumpet player throughout the Bay Area and is on faculty at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

Rentals are available to GMCA members for up to three hours any day of the week, for up to 25 guests.  Please note that the pool will be shared with other pool users, but there will be a reserved grass area for you and your guests, with shade, use of the barbecue and additional lifeguards. Event guests may use the bathrooms in the clubhouse, but may not gather in the main space. The host may use the kitchen area in the clubhouse. Please make sure to keep it clean.

You may bring in your own cake, food and drinks, but please no glass on the pool deck.

Pool only: $75/hour starting Jan. 1st. Deposit required: $100.

Please contact us to enquire about availability.

Reservations are required for all GMCA members wishing to hold space in the Greenmeadow Community Park.

Up to 24 guests : $50/hour. Parties of 25 guests or more: $75.00 per hour fee.  Maximum of 50 guest unless approved by club manager.

Contact us for more information.

The community room (room behind preschool) is free for members to reserve and cost $50 an hour for non-members to reserve the room. Rentals are up to 8 hours. Room holds 25-30 people. 

Click here to see the community room calendar, and contact us to request a rental. 

Community Room Rules/Checklist

Community Scholarship Fund (GMCSF) is a unique community-based scholarship program, and an example of what defines our community and makes it special.  It seeks to acknowledge and honor graduating high school seniors who demonstrate the qualities of potential for achievement, service to the community and worthy character. Winners get scholarship awards and textbook stipends to support further education.  

There are two parts to the GMSCF.  The Greenmeadow Community Scholarship is for students whose families are part of the Greenmeadow community at large (members of GMCA; residents who live in Greenmeadow, but are not members of GMCA; Associate members). The George Ebey Scholarship is for Menlo-Atherton High School students and is awarded in collaboration with the Menlo-Atherton College and Career Center.

The GMCSF has been in continual operation since awarding its first scholarship in 1964. The Scholarship Board is staffed exclusively by volunteers with roots in the Greenmeadow community who believe strongly in the value of recognizing and supporting young people in our local communities. The scholarship continues to exist because of the generous contributions of Greenmeadow community members.  The Scholarship Fund is non-profit and donations are tax deductible.  GMCSF would like to thank its donors for their commitment to the ideals of this scholarship which remains a unique and cherished Greenmeadow tradition.

Click Here To Donate Now to the GMCSF

 

The 61st annual Greenmeadow Community Scholarship Fund Awards Reception was celebrated on Sunday, April 27.
On this day we gleaned some wonderful insights about these students and the Scholarship Board would like to share these stories.

 

George Ebey Scholarship—Menlo-Atherton High School

Paulina Cisneros Arreguin (Scholarship Winner)
Paulina is headed to Cal Berkeley where she’s determined to follow her passion for child development and pursue a career in education. These interests grew out of her favorite high school course, AP Psychology, and a summer Child Development course taken at De Anza College. She expects to become a teacher. Paulina is co-president of the Care Bears Service Club which makes an annual trip to Calexico. She’s responsible for overseeing fundraising, organizing weekly meetings, sorting out immigration issues, and making sure the logistics of the annual trip are properly scheduled. This year’s trip included preparing and delivering care packages for children, an Easter egg hunt, and coordinating a local thrift operation. Paulina’s experience has taught her team building and leadership skills, as well as deepening her connection with her immigrant parents. 

Angeleah Fayette (Award of Merit)
Angeleah introduced herself to us as someone who wanted to come out of her shell. That desire led her to cheerleading where there’s no place to hide. You’re on display in front of hundreds of people. Angeleah said she was terrified at her first game, but her passion for dancing, the crowd clapping, and her trust in her teammates allowed her to emerge and she’s never looked back.
Angeleah discovered that leading service projects awoke an interest in exploring law in college. She may have gotten a
healthy taste for debate when she wrote articles for the M-A Chronicle website, but none were more controversial than her ranking of Taylor Swift albums, which likely started more arguments on school grounds than any other article all year!! She’ll attend CS Fullerton.

Marlyn Palafox-Valdez (Award of Merit)

Marlyn will be enrolling at UC Santa Cruz this fall. It met her criteria: a reasonably close location to her family and an opportunity to make connections, feel comfortable, and feel independent. She intends to study psychology which she’s known she’s wanted to do since 7th grade when a cousin of hers was struggling. This was further bolstered by her summer internship at Kaiser Permanente. Marlyn would ultimately like to be a psychiatrist, bringing both analysis and medical treatment to help people who are misunderstood. You’d probably guess that AP Psychology would have been Marlyn’s favorite class, but it turns out it was her History classes due to her teacher (shout out Ms. Bradbury!). She has been on a long journey of self-discovery, from feeling alienated upon first arriving at M-A, to a lengthy self-examination of her roots, and what it’s been like living in the US. Now she’s proud of being both Mexican and American.

Giselle Martinez Landa (Scholarship Winner)

Giselle comes across as a confident young woman, always with a smile. She’s a student rep on the Site Council, which is comprised of the principal, 3 teachers, 3 students and 3 parents. For the past 2 years the Council has focused on student achievement, graduation rates and career prep. Giselle’s favorite volunteer activity is to support her East PA community. She started with the Ecumenical Hunger Program on Saturday mornings, summer before 9 th grade, where she handed out fresh fruits, veggies and dairy in her East PA community. And then worked the M-A Canned Food Drive. When Giselle was 11 years old, she was in the hospital without her Mom. She perceived that the nurse was rude and mean to her. This experience opened her eyes to the importance of quality care and compassion for those in need. She plans to study nursing in the Fall to further her passion to help others.

Genesis Gomez (Award of Merit)

Genesis is currently taking AP classes in Chemistry, English and Psychology. But she is most proud of her improved Spanish language skills. Going into M-A her Spanish was lacking. She was most terrified of making mistakes when visiting family in Mexico. Starting with Spanish 2 her teacher helped her gain enough confidence to advance to Spanish 4, and to eventually complete AP Spanish. Genesis’ favorite job is working at the Ecumenical Hunger Program, where she receives, organizes and packs donations: clothes, houseware, anything that is nonperishable. She really enjoys working with her fellow employees and sprucing up the displays. But most of all she likes cleaning the warehouse Genesis will study Biology at UCSC and then perhaps Biotech in grad school. Her interest in biology stems from her middle school science class where she had the most fun dissecting a cat and trying to identify the various muscles.

Yandel Hernandez (Award of Merit)

Yandel is a young man on a mission: His journey began at an early age playing recreational soccer where he felt bullied by the better players. His determination and perseverance to be a better player ultimately enabled him to make the varsity team as a sophomore and he was later elected captain. Through all this, Yandel learned to be humble, to lead by example, and most importantly, to not give up. As he says, “I learned to be resilient”.  Yandel started at a small high school of 150 students where he felt unchallenged. He wanted to grow and learn more, both in academics and sports. So he took a chance, leaving friends and the comfort of a known situation behind and transferred to Menlo-Atherton. It was a tough transition and he often asked himself, “why did I do this?” His decision was rewarded when he attained excellent grades while leading his varsity soccer team to the playoffs. These experiences taught him “the importance of confronting uncomfortable environments.  In college he plans to study kinesiology. His interest in kinesiology stems from the sport injuries he has sustained and the lengthy physical therapy he had to go through to be able to continue playing soccer. Yandel will start at Skyline College and then transfer to a 4-year college.

Luis Licea Fuerte (Scholarship Winner)

Luis has distinguished himself through hard work, intelligence and grit. He’s committed to community work, mentoring kids from various middle schools as part of the Robotics Outreach program. His athletic endeavors as part of the volleyball team were especially rewarding. He also served as a leader within the Intercambio Club, helping his peers with 2nd language development. He was afforded a great opportunity to develop and showcase his product development skills at a Google incubator for young talent. Not too many years ago Luis’ family came to this country to seek a better life. He was challenged by the financial hardships they experienced along the way, and most significantly the death of his father.

Ana Guzman (Award of Merit)

What struck me most in our conversation with Ana was her incredible strength, her sincerity, and genuine warmth despite enduring the kinds of hardships that she’s faced around housing insecurity. Given this situation it’s impressive how she’s dedicated herself to giving back to her community. She’s worked at a canned food drive for all 4 years, providing meaningful/material relief for her own friends and neighbors in East Palo Alto. And she’s even showing love beyond her immediate community with the Care Bear club, organizing support for migrant communities in southern California. But what was most special about Ana, was her love and commitment to her family. The admiration for her mother was clearly evident in her essay and our interview. And while her mom has given Ana so much, she’s responded in kind with financial support, babysitting her siblings, and helping with English translation for her grandmother.

 

Greenmeadow Community Scholarship

Catherine Feira (Award of Merit)

Catherine attends The Thacher School in Ojai, CA. It’s a boarding school which provided a different kind of high school experience. She was Residential advisor of the school’s junior and senior girls’ dormitory of 44 girls and served as the school’s afternoon athletic program director. And, she completed a design and communications internship with the Green Valley Project, where she authored a children’s picture book about Ventura County’s ecosystem, and lead restoration projects, and redesigned the Ojai Gardens.
Catherine has come to recognize the good and the bad of her uber competitive nature. Now she sees winning isn’t her only goal and aims to empower herself and others. Biology was her favorite class and she hopes to go into medicine. Her plans for next year are to take a gap semester and then start at Middlebury College in Premed in Feb. 2026. During her 6 months gap, she hopes to do some backpacking and take an EMT program with biotech.

Morgan Germanow (Award of Merit)

Morgan will be graduating from Gunn H.S. before heading off to the University of Denver—Majoring in Finance, accounting, or math. Morgan has a lot of experience around the water, in particular, as a camp counselor and lifeguard at Run for Fun overnight camp, and as a lifeguard here at the Greenmeadow pool. It is here at the Greenmeadow pool where Morgan has learned how to be a role model, interacting with different types of people, honing the skills that it takes, understanding commitment to a job, and the importance of “community.” )

David Kass (Award of Merit)

David has evolved during high school. He’s good at STEM and planned to pursue “Hard Sciences”, i.e. Biology, physics and math. He built his own computer and did some computer advising/troubleshooting. But then in 11th grade he decided to take AP US history. He could see patterns in history. It meshed with his interest in cognitive science. He found himself wanting to get to the bottom of a theoretical problem and found himself more interested in less concrete models. So, he shifted from math and physics to cognitive science which he’ll study at Occidental College. David has also come to love photography and writes artistically about picture taking, the process as well as the result, and interpretation of the final product.

Riley Hill (Award of Merit)

Riley is an extraordinary young woman deeply embedded in the Greenmeadow community and as an advocate for helping young people reach their potential. She’s been honored with the prestigious President’s Volunteer Service Award for 2024-2025 by the City of Palo Alto and Youth Community Service. Driven by a genuine interest in child psychology, she actively seeks opportunities to connect with children in diverse settings, eager to learn and understand their development. Her roles at Greenmeadow have provided invaluable hands-on experience in guiding and mentoring young individuals. This passion truly shines through in her work with the Greenmeadow Guppies Program, which provides swim education to neurodivergent youth. Recognizing that traditional coaching methods could be overwhelming for her nonverbal students on the spectrum, Riley innovatively developed new strategies to create a psychologically safe and welcoming environment. She learned to communicate through repeated words and numbers, positive reinforcement, and assisted movement, tapping into her students' strong sensory awareness.

Rose Dampier (Scholarship Winner)

Rose’s four years on her robotics team have been nothing short of transformative. From building towering 4-foot robots to leading the mechanical committee, Rose isn’t just participating; she’s driving innovation. As a junior, she mastered 3D design and then empowered 30 students by teaching them CAD, even launching a nine-week workshop to build foundational skills. Her impact is undeniable: Rookie All-Star as a freshman, Outstanding Mechanical member every year since, and a Dean’s List nomination speak volumes about her technical prowess and dedication. Now, as Project Manager, she coordinates robot deadlines for the entire team, ensuring they stay on track to achieve their ambitious goals. As a two-year president of the Clean and Green Club, Rose doesn’t just preach sustainability; she creates engaging, educational activities and networks with community experts from Hidden Villa to local compost enthusiasts. Her initiative led to proposals for a school garden and composting, demonstrating her proactive approach to environmental stewardship.

Adrian Grantz (Award of Merit)

Adrian Grantz is a senior at Saint Francis High School and a true renaissance student. Academically, he thrives in a rigorous AP course load across both arts and sciences and has a clear passion for STEM, particularly computer science. Outside the classroom, Adrian lives life at full speed—he’s a competitive alpine skier, an avid sailor on the SF Bay, and a well-known lifeguard at Greenmeadow.
Adrian’s curiosity also drives him beyond school and sports. He’s a self-taught computer builder and recently interned at the Lane
Fertility Institute, where he completed his project work in record time. He has a long-standing interest in finance, even winning an
investment competition—though he humorously admitted to losing it all in riskier trades soon after. He’s still deciding where he’ll attend college, but plans to study computer science.

Nina Rodwell (Scholarship Winner)

Nina’s a senior at Gunn High School known for her warmth, drive, and deep sense of purpose. Her positivity is evident the moment she walks into a room, and her ability to connect with others—whether peers, coaches, or pets (she’s a longtime pet sitter!)—is a consistent theme across her activities. Nina’s commitment to swimming is extraordinary. A former Marlin and PASA swimmer, she was Gunn’s team captain and MVP for three of her four high school years. But what truly sets her apart is how she’s used her experience in the pool to serve others. Nina co-founded the GMCA Guppy Academy, a swim program for neurodivergent children and underserved families. From designing teaching methods to recruiting volunteers and managing operations, Nina helped build the program from the ground up—and it’s still growing. An excellent student with a particular interest in arts and humanities, Nina is considering Anthropology as a major. She’s heading to UC Davis this fall.

Sophia Dong (Award of Merit)

Sophia, a senior at Palo Alto High School, is driven by a deep commitment to building inclusive communities. Her experiences as a sibling to an autistic brother have inspired much of her advocacy—she’s led workshops on sibling connection, served as a leader at Hand in Hand Farm, and is an active member of PALY’s Best Buddies Club. She’s passionate about destigmatizing neurodivergence and creating spaces where all people can thrive. Sophia also founded Notes For All, a musical collective of 180 student musicians who perform monthly at senior living facilities around the Bay Area. For her, the joy comes not only from the music but also from the conversations and relationships formed afterward. In the classroom, Sophia is masterful with impeccable grades. She also tutors her peers at the PALY Peer Tutoring Center. Her intellectual curiosity, empathy, and drive will serve her well as she heads to Carnegie Mellon University this fall.

 

 

 

   

 

The Montessori School of Los Altos at Greenmeadow is located at 303 Parkside Drive, Palo Alto.  The preschool was built in 1954 as part of the original Greenmeadow development, and is located next to the pool compound.  The preschool is operated by the Montessori School of Los Altos.

This innovative preschool offers a 3-year Montessori Primary curriculum that explores many key areas of learning through small group and individual lessons.

In addition to the core elements of the Montessori Program like Language, Mathematics, Practical Life, Sensorial and Geography, the preschool offers Science and Music enrichment programs as well as both Mandarin and Spanish language programs.

At the Montessori School of Los Altos at Greenmeadow, a child’s development is rounded out with lessons in grace and courtesy, art appreciation and hands on projects, movement and dance, rhythm, song and an introduction to musical instruments as well as the chance to participate in many cultural activities and celebrations reflecting their diverse parent community.

Each child will thrive in this program, building strong academic skills, a cooperative approach to working with their teachers and peers and a love of learning. Please contact the preschool to join a tour; smartkids@sbcglobal.net  or phone 650.493.7200