A full slate of kindergarten open houses are on tap for next week. These open houses have some added significance for many with the limited number of spots at the Penn Alexander School and the recent news that enrollment in the school’s lower grades will be limited beginning next year regardless of whether a student lives in the school’s catchment area or not.

Some schools are putting more effort into this open house than in the past. For example, days of planning have gone into the open house at the Henry C. Lea School, where the group West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools has helped the school’s Home and School Association take care of everything from catering to publicizing the school’s May 23 open house. Lea’s catchment area borders Penn Alexander’s to the west.  Penn Alexander‘s open house is May 24 at 9:30 a.m. The Samuel Powel School will not have an open house.

The schedule for Lea’s open house (the only one where a full schedule was available) is:

8:20 – 8:40 a.m Meet and Greet with principal Dr. Lisa Bell-Chiles in the library
8:45 – 9:30 a.m. Kindergarten Open House, Rooms 101 and 102
9:35 – 10:00 a.m. Lea School Tour lead by Maurice Jones
10:05 – 10:20 a.m. Kindergarten teacher Ms. Mykytiuch will be free to talk to parents, Room 101
10:25 – 10:45 a.m. Meeting with Lea Home School Association President Maurice Jones and others in the library
10:50 – 11:05 a.m. Kindergarten teacher Ms. McCloskey will be free to talk to parents, Room 102

Other open houses in the neighborhood include (list courtesy of the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools):

A. D. Harrington School
5300-34 Baltimore Ave
(215) 471 – 2914
5/24, 9:00-10:00
Kindergarten teacher: Ms. Davis

Alain Locke School
4550 Haverford Ave.
(215) 823 – 8202
5/24 – 9-11 a.m.

Alexander Wilson School
1300 S. 46th St.
(215) 823 – 8206
5/24 – 9 a.m.
B. B. Comegys School
5100 Greenway Ave.
(215) 727 – 2162
5/24, 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Charles Drew School
3724 Warren St.
Phone: (215) 823 – 8204
5/26, 10:00-11:00
Kindergarten teacher: Ms. Gunderstorf

Penn Alexander School
4209 Spruce St.
(215) 823 – 5465
5/24 – 9:30 a.m.

Samuel B Huey School
5200 Pine St.
(215) 471 – 2901
NO OPEN HOUSE, Contact school to visit kindergarten individually

Samuel Powel School
301 N. 36th St.
(215) 823 – 8201
No open house

Lt. Brian McBride of the Philadelphia Police Department’s University City sub-division will be at the Calvary Center (48th and Baltimore) to talk to residents about crime issues in their neighborhood.

McBride’s meeting with residents last month proved fruitful when a resident’s tip led to the arrest of a man who had been stealing packages off of porches.

Meetings with McBride are held on the third Thursday of each month from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the large classroom on the lower level.

The Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative’s Youth Development Program is hosting its annual “Eats and Beats” event this Saturday beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Woodland Presbyterian Church (401 S. 42nd).

The event helps support the youth-led Rooted in Community Conference and some of this year’s proceeds go toward the expansion of the Mariposa Food Co-op. Rooted in Community, a national organization dedicated to empowering youth to take the lead in their communities to address food justice issues, is holding their conference in Philadelphia on July 27-31.

Tickets are available on a sliding scale for $15-$50 and are available online here.

Tonight starting at 8 p.m. at Danger! Danger!

We can’t vouch for the bands, but we can vouch for the Garden Court Eatery, whose sign inspired one of their names.

We are beginning a new twice-weekly feature today at westphillylocal.com called Adopt-a-Pet, which will feature a cat on Mondays and a dog on Wednesdays that are looking for good homes. We will put you in touch with the agency that is caring for the adoptable pet and the rest is up to you.

Today’s dog is Ruby (right), a female pit mix that was brought to the PSPCA’s Animal Care and Control Team (ACCT) after she was found in an abandoned building. A reader, Lulu Todorov, is Ruby’s “pen pal” and her job is to work with Ruby on manners and to help find Ruby a home.

Lulu writes:

Ruby, an apartment-sized sweet Pit girl, is looking for her happy ending! Ruby – much like her name implies – is gem! She is the right size, the right temperament and plain adorable.

Ruby was brought to ACCT after she was found in an abandoned house. This little girl (6 – 12 months) is energetic but once she got out the wiggles, she is snuggly and all about love. Playing with other dogs, playing with toys or goofing around are activities she enjoys. Despite her young age she isn’t jumpy or mouthy but very gentle when meeting new people. Ruby is absolutely great in the car (believe me, it’s important), has no problem with body  handling of any nature (you can grab her a little more firm, check her  teeth or ears) and is an incredibly fast learner. She knows “sit” and “down.” Next up we’re working on “stay”, “leave it” and staying in the crate.

E-mail Lulu at lulu_todorov [at] hotmail.com if you have questions about her or if you’d like to meet Ruby in person.

OK. So some people are “guaranteeing” the end of the world this Saturday. Apparently it will start at about 6ish.

This dude is trying to make a buck watching people’s pets so they don’t die “a slow death by starvation in the event that you get raptured.”

So all of this got us thinking … what would be at the top of your West Philly bucket list? If you really had three days left, what would be the one thing you would do around here?

This thing is due to go down in three days, which precludes a glorious trip around the world or kayaking the Arctic Ocean or something like that. So you would probably want to keep it local. What would you do? Maybe spend the night in the Woodlands Cemetery? Gorge on cherry walnut bagels at the Green Line or lamb shawarmas at Saad’s? Maybe you would help drink Fiume dry? Do the robot at Elena’s Soul?

You get ONE thing. It need not have anything to do with a local business. Whatever it is, let us know with a comment below.