More than 2,000 people volunteer for Santa Fe Public Schools. They include artists, tutors, readers, mathematicians, and scientists. In the eyes of Helen Pacheco, volunteer coordinator for SFPS, they are heroes.

The district hosts "Take a Look at Our Heroes!" from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center on Marcy Street. It's a volunteer and donor recognition event that is free and open to the public. Scheduled guest speakers (at this time) include Gov. Susana Martínez, Secretary of Education-designate Hanna Skandera, Mayor David Coss, and various artists — many of whom will entertain.

To become a volunteer, you need to complete some paperwork (read the district's Code of Conduct, for instance), agree to a fingerprint and background check, and meet with a principal and/or teacher before being assigned to a particular school.

If you're interested in joining the team next semester, contact Pacheco at 467-2050 or hpacheco@sfps.info.

Youth filmmakers' showcase in Española

For the past seven years I've plugged Española Valley High School's annual video festival in my film column. Last year my film column ended and my education column began, which simply means I can still plug the event.

The videos — all 3 to 4 minutes in length — were all produced, directed, written and performed by Española students as part of their television and video class.

Under the tutelage of instructor Ellen Kaiper, the kids have once again come up with a sometimes fun, sometimes sobering, and always inventive mix of short films that include public service announcements (students talking about drug use), to silly comedies (going trick or treating two weeks early), to music videos (there's one set to the 1950s song "Stupid Cupid," of all things), and darkly funny satire (Four Ways To Annoy Us Mexicans).

The films are refreshingly unrestrained in terms of self-censorship. The entire program is less than 55 minutes long. It plays at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Northern New Mexico College Center for the Arts Auditorium, N. 921 Paseo de Oñate, Española, 505-747-2100. It's free, but donations are accepted.

Folding cranes to help high school in Japan

Japanese legend has it that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish in return. Students at Monte Del Sol Charter School joined students from Desert Academy and the Academy for Technology and the Classics to make 1,000 cranes and in doing so gave a wish by raising funds (a minimum of $1 a crane) to donate to a high school in Japan that was impacted by the recent earthquake and tsunami.

The project was initiated by Monte Del Sol's Japanese teacher, Shari Osgood, and her class. The students raised $2,565, to be converted into Japanese yen. According to Osgood, the funds will go Rikuzentakata High School and a nearby sports dome converted into a homeless shelter in Iwate Prefecture.

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.