March is the month for open houses at many local schools. Recently, local public schools held Kindergarten open houses. Here’s some info on upcoming open houses at some local private schools.

Friday, March 15

HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy
4400 Baltimore Avenue 
from 9-11 a.m. or 1-3 p.m.

Learn more about the school program by visiting and talking with the administrative staff, faculty and students. The open house includes:

• Touring the school’s state-of-the-art residence
• Seeing some cutting-edge assistive technology in action
• Speaking with current parents to learn from their firsthand experiences with HMS

Please RSVP to Annie Oberfield, 215.222.2566, ext 207, or aoberfield@hmsschool.org

If you are not able to attend on this date, please feel free to set up another time to visit.

Thursday, March 21

Spruce Hill Christian School/City Center Academy, Elementary and Middle School Campus
4115 Baltimore Avenue
9:30 a.m.

Spruce Hill/CCA offers a private k-12 education in the heart of Philadelphia. The school is committed to making a college-preparatory education accessible for all families. The generous financial aid policy welcomes families who may otherwise be unable to afford a private education. You’re invited to visit the school for an Open House to learn more about its mission.

For more information, call 215.382.7839 or visit the school website at sprucehill.org.

Hundreds of tools will be available at the 5th annual tool drive and sale. (Photo courtesy West Philly Tool Library).

On Saturday, March 16, the West Philly Tool Library, a community-based tool lending library, invites neighbors to its 5th annual tool sale and tool drive. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 1314 S. 47th Street (between Woodland and Grays Ferry Avenues).

This is a great opportunity to pick up tools at super low prices (starting at just $1) and to support the Tool Library. A large selection of tools will be available, including circular saws, screwdrivers, hammers, gas-powered lawn care tools, wrenches, pliers, and many more.

Also, if you have tools you don’t need, bring them to this event and Tool Library will put them into productive community service. All donations are tax deductible and Tool Library staff members will be on hand to process your donations and provide receipts for tax purposes.

Coffee and light refreshments will be served.

For more information visit westphillytools.org or email: Peter@WestPhillyTools.org

If you live in the University City area, your participation is requested for Penn’s 2013 Retail Market Survey conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services. The survey has received a lot of responses from students and staff, but more input is sought from neighborhood residents.

The survey is designed to gather ideas and opinions for a new retail real estate master plan – information you share will be used to “evaluate retail opportunities on and off  campus and plan for future needs.” Just to clarify, the survey’s interest is retail businesses on Penn property, a sliver of the University City District. “We’re hoping some UCD residents utilize the Penn retail offerings as well,” says senior research associate Abbey Becker.

To access the survey please follow this link. Respondents who provide their email address will be entered in a drawing to win a gift certificate from a Penn merchant. NOTE: The survey closes after this Friday (March 15).

Farmer’s market, soccer and Shakespeare … now get ready for some cold beer!

Hey, you heard it here first (unless you read about it on the Friends of Clark Park website over the weekend): Clark Park will be home to its very own (if only temporary) beer garden this Spring as part of the citywide “Spring into Your Park” event on May 18. Apart from the beer, the event will include food, music, games and other activities for adults and children alike (we’ll have more info about this later). The goal is “to promote the well-being of West Philly’s beloved green ‘town commons’ together.”

In order to make this neighborhood celebration a success Friends of Clark Park is seeking volunteers who can contribute in the following areas:

Advance work: graphic designers, sponsors, raffle-prize donors.

Event-day work: licensed bartender, decoration setup crew, security staff, acoustic musicians, membership-table workers.

If you’d like to volunteer, please email Anthony West (anthony.abbott.west@gmail.com) and let him know how you can help.

Confused about the new property tax system? Curious about how your property taxes or rent will be affected by the Actual Value Initiative (AVI)? There’s a good opportunity to learn more and have some of your questions answered at a neighborhood meeting on the property tax overhaul that will take place this Wednesday, March 13, at 7 p.m. at the Griffith Hall of the University of the Sciences (Woodland Ave & 43rd St). The meeting is organized by Cedar Park Neighbors, Garden Court Community Association, Spruce Hill Community Association, Walnut Hill Community Association, and Woodland Terrace Homeowners Association.

The meeting will include: a representative from the Office of Property Assessment (OPA), Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s Office, Dr. Kevin Gillen, Economist, University of Pennsylvania, Patrick Kerkstra, journalist, moderator.

The AVI was devised as a way to make the tax burden more fair citywide: Some residents’ property taxes are going up, others are coming down. The initiative included a mass reassessment of the city’s building stock.

S. Epatha Merkerson.

Law and Order and Lincoln star S. Epatha Merkerson will be in West Philly on Tuesday, March 12, to present her first feature film, The Contradictions of Fair Hope, at International House. Ms. Merkerson is an executive producer and co-director of the film. The event is part of Scribe’s Producer’s Forum Series, which brings distinguished independent filmmakers to Philadelphia.

The documentary, narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, covers a little-known aspect of American history; it examines how newly-freed slaves throughout the South formed “benevolent societies” to respond to hunger, illness, and the fear of a pauper’s grave. The film traces the development, struggles, and contributions of one of the last remaining African-American benevolent societies, known as “The Fair Hope Benevolent Society,” in Uniontown, Alabama.

The Contradictions of Fair Hope was released in 2012 and won Best Documentary awards at several film festivals, including the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival and the Festival International du Film PanAfricain in Cannes. S. Epatha Merkerson and writer Rockell Metcalf who will also participate in Tuesday’s event, believe that the film is, “an incredibly important teaching tool and a powerful call to action to return to a community of benevolence, mutual care and concern in America.”

Screening of The Contradictions of Fair Hope (2012, USA, 78 min) with Co-Directors S. Epatha Merkerson and Rockell Metcalf
Tuesday, March 12, 7 p.m.
International House (3701 Chestnut St)
Tickets: $10, $8 students/seniors, $5 for Scribe and IHP members
For more information and tickets click here.