Author Archives: Laura Ni

Grocer4U – Giving by Saving

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Grocer4U is an easy passive fundraising opportunity that any local PTSA can implement and it’s members will appreciate.

Let’s count the ways why your PTSA will be thankful for this fundraising opportunity:
  1. Grocer4U’s goal is to support building great futures by helping PTSA’s raise education dollars.
  2. Grocer4U is a FREE service that saves your members time and money with grocery shopping.  You can even login through Facebook!
  3. No more searching for grocery store sales.  Grocer4U aims to remove the necessity to sift through your local paper, online ads, and multiple retailer sites to find the sales you need.  Grocery4U brings the sales to you through your personalized portal.
  4. During registration you select your favorite grocery stores and create a “My Favorites” list of grocery items you normally buy. Grocery4U tells you not only the special at the stores you like to shop, but also shows ”My Specials”, highlighting items you have indicated in your “My Favorites” grocery list that are on sale. From there you can quickly add the ones you want to your shopping list.
  5. Quickly find BOGO free items at your favorite stores with the click of a button.
  6. Grocer4U allows you to either print or email your categorized grocery list, saving you time in the store. Email list will work on your smart phone or tablet as an interactive checklist.
  7. Grocer4U shows you your total savings by store, per shopping trip, and keep a running total so you can see how fast the savings add up.
  8. Whether you are a daily, weekly, or monthly shopper, Grocer4U will not only save you time and money, but allow you to keep an organized list of products that you can reuse.
  9. If you like to shop at only certain stores or buy only certain items, Grocer4U provides that flexibility.
  10. Part of the Grocery4U mission is to be an advocate for social responsibility. Grocer4U donates part of its profits back to the community, expressed by it’s slogan of “Giving by Saving”.  It’s a WIN for everyone involved!  The more you save, the more Grocer4U gives back to your PTSA.
Fundraising made simple;
  1. Get families and their friend across the USA to register on grocer4u.com using your PTSA unit-specific charity code.
  2. Encourage members to purchase through any of grocer4u.com affiliates (lots in Issquah).
  3. Encourage members to use grocer4u.com to manage their grocery purchases and print/email their grocery list.
Other FREE features that the site offers:
  1. One-stop to view many local grocery store promotions,
  2. Recipe options showing which ingredients are on sale,
  3. Personal grocery management system, and much more.
How does your PTSA make money?
  1. Every time new member registers with an annual cap.
  2. Every time registered member uses grocery print/email function with an annual cap.
  3. A uncapped annual based on percentage of member purchased product price made from grocer4u affiliates via grocer4u website click-through
Fundraising of $2700 for 500 members is estimated. Contact  Vivek Pathak with questions.
How does your PTSA get started?
  1. Communicate a desire to start up by contacting Vivek Pathak.  Click HERE for the easy steps Flyer
  2. Your PTSA will be provided a charity code* unique to your unit.
  3. Your PTSA will be given supportive material to use to communicate with your school.
  4. Monthly, you will be provided an update on the funds raised.  Use this information to attract more users resulting in greater benefit to your unit.
  5. Quarterly, funds will be distributed directly to your PTSA in the  form of a check.
*You can choose to modify their charity code at anytime while logged in via the “My Account” page.
In fact, you can see how it works by trying the sample charity code “YourCause”.

Click HERE for the easy steps Flyer

Grocer4U service can be used everywhere in our Nation, but was developed right here in Issaquah by Vivek Pathak, Issaquah Dad, Issaquah School District Teacher’s Husband, and education advocate.  Please call Vivek Pathak with your excitement and questions.  Visit the Grocer4U website to check it out – super cool!

Math Contest Fundraiser

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Dear Friend of Schools,

My name is Tom Clymer, and I want to help your organization administer an elementary math contest for your favorite district’s students.  I’m a big believer in school math clubs, and have been involved with them for the 28 years since I joined one in the seventh grade.  If my elementary school had had a math club, I’m sure I would have joined earlier.  🙂  Math Club isn’t for everyone, but it’s fantastic for the kids who finish their homework while the teacher is starting the lecture, the kids who do well after the lecture, and many members of an unexpected group: the kids who are not doing well in class because they find textbook work uninteresting.

I now have a daughter, and before she started school I’d already started a math club and joined the PTA.  As a PTA officer trying to raise money for my school, I hated trying to choose which catalog we’d send home with students so that they could pitch overpriced junk to their families.  I especially hated sending most of our families’ money to the company behind the catalog, rather than into classrooms.

Four years ago my math club and PTA worlds collided and I realized that I could “sell” a product that had educational value, rather than being sugar or plastic:  a beginner-level math contest for all the elementary schools in our district!  I created the Seahurst Elementary Math Bonanza and invited all the elementary schools in the Highline School District.  The next year, my friend asked if he could use my materials and copy my methods, and the Wildwood Elementary Math Bonanza began for Federal Way Public Schools.  Schools that sign up for our contests get practice materials ahead of time, enjoy the competition, and then get the solutions to the problems so that they can get excited for next year on the way home!  Most schools in our districts did not have math clubs when we started the contests, but many of them have now caught the bug…

So why am I writing to you?  After several years of success in Highline and Federal Way, my friend and I have realized that we can show other districts how to advance a culture of academic excellence while also raising money for schools.  We’re planning a series of informal meetings to show how easy, fun, and profitable it can be to run a beginner-level math contest, and we’re hoping you and others in your organization will attend.  Please invite them to:

Math Bonanza 101
Friday, January 18th, 5:30 PM
Bellevue Square Pagliacci Pizza
563 Bellevue Square
(425) 274-0472 (restaurant)

At this meeting, we will share our success stories and some pizza, then discuss what your organization could do to prepare for a successful contest.  We’ll also do some quick demos so that attendees can see how they might run a contest.  Afterwards, we’ll give them a CD with everything they’d need to run a great beginner-level math contest at a school, along with my e-mail address and phone number for the questions that will inevitably come up (actually, they’re below :-).

Please have them RSVP to tomclymer@gmail.com or 206-244-5214with their name and school, so that I’ll know how many pizzas and CDs to get.  They should feel free to ask me questions before the meeting.  Finally, please spread the word by passing this invitation on to others who might want to help their schools!

I hope that your organization will join us!

Facilitator Training FAQ

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What the heck is going on here?
As you probably all know, the district is revising its homework policy and has invited the PTSA’s to be involved in a conversation about the homework our children do (or don’t do, as the case may be). On the website under Homework there are links to the district’s timeline, its current policies on homework, and “guiding questions” it would like parents to consider as they weigh in on the process. The webpage also has a good (and GROWING) number of links to research on the value of homework, etc.  Check it out when you get a chance:
As the discussion has evolved, we have decided that we’d like to approach this issue by having each school will hold a “community conversation” meeting, on some evening before the end of March.
Why did I get the list of IEA reps?
The teachers are also a part of this process and are eager to join in on our conversation. As you can imagine, teachers’ opinions on homework vary as much as parents’ opinions do, so this is definitely not an “us against them” thing — we all want what’s best for our children and a conversation in which multiple opinions and viewpoints are aired and explained will benefit all of us. So please contact your rep(s) and involve them from the beginning of the meeting planning process — this is a team effort.
Why do we need facilitator training?
There is an art to managing a “group conversation” and we are tremendously fortunate that one of our own advocacy reps has training in this that she’s willing to share with us. At the program after the January Council meeting, presidents (and any advocacy reps who can come) will get the briefest introduction to facilitating skills (how to keep people from saying the same thing over and over, keep them from rambling, etc.), plus a discussion of how to wrap up the meeting so that everyone attending feels they had a tangible opportunity to weigh in. The full-blown workshop will be in the evening of Monday Jan. 14, exact time to be determined as soon as I book the room. If you can, please plan for whoever is facilitating your meeting to attend that evening.
Can we do a survey?
Sure, and if you do set one up, please share it with the rest of us in case other schools want to follow suit. Surveys are a great way to involve families that cannot otherwise attend your meeting, but it shouldn’t replace the meeting itself, as there is great value in having parents hear the differing viewpoints.
What are the next steps?
1. Presidents and advocacy reps, working together, should contact their IEA reps and invite them to weigh in on planning the meeting, including choosing a date and a facilitator. Keep in mind that the facilitator will not be allowed to be a part of the conversation/express an opinion. Let me know if you have trouble finding a facilitator.
2. Sara Niegowski has specifically asked us NOT to put this on the principals’ plates at all — they are up to their eyeballs in TPEP stuff and will not have the bandwidth to participate meaningfully in this.
3. If you are in a middle or high school, make sure your ASB knows about this, and let them figure out how they want to make the range of student voices heard (conducting their own survey, inviting students to attend the conversation, etc.)
4. As soon as you have a date set, let Sara Niegowski and me know. Sara wants to put the dates on the district website, and I will pass them to Lida Buckner to put on the Council website. That way, if one of your elementary school parents can’t attend, they can go to another elementary school’s evening, since the conversations are likely to be similar. I would love to have all your dates by the January 10 council meeting — let me know if you are having problems with this.
Thanks again, and don’t hesitate to let me know if you have follow-up questions.

Activist Training Jan12, 2013 – League of Education Voters

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Key Activists!

I hope each and every one of you is trying to come to our January 12th Training.  And, we encourage you to spread the word.  Attached is a flyer for the training that you can distribute at your meetings, or post in central places.
Bring a friend!  At $25 the cost can’t be beat!
We have one session that is just for you – from 8-9 we will do our invite only conversation with Frank about the legislative session.  It’s early, but its worth it.

We will have 3 workshops that cover:
  • Teachers and leaders from the Anacortes school district coming and talking about TPEP implementation (they are leading the state in this work)
  • Ross Hunter talking about the Ed Funding task force and what steps may or may not happen this legislative session
  • A session on parents and community influencing local bargaining
  • Linda Hanson will talk about McCleary and what it really means now
  • Childrens Alliance talking about why All Day K matters
  • Maggie and the LEV team talking about the Discipline issue
  • Robin Lake talking about successful implementation of Charters in Washington State
And we will have 4 – 10 minute “science fair” presentations – posters will be on the wall and you will walk to the presentation that interests you, we will have organizaitons like:
  •  DFER
  • Teachers United,
  • Cleveland Seattle Stem school
  • I Grad from Kent (a storefront program for recruiting and customizing programs for drop outs in Kent to graduate)
  • Federal Way Acceleration Policy
  • ELL certification in Kent
  • PBIS
  • Flipping the classroom (a teacher who is doing it)
And others who have not confirmed yet
Lastly, we will have a wine reception from 3-4 where we have asked people to have a resource table and a person manning the table.  The goal is to build relationships, meet new people.  We have asked quite a few groups, and expect quite a large number, so far we have confirmed:
  • PTA, Stand for Children, Parents Union
  • Roadmap Project
  • College Success Foundation
  • Black Education Strategy Roundtable
  • Our Schools Coalition
  • Excellent Schools Now Coalition
  • Plus, many of the science project participants will also participate in the wine reception!
To sign up:  Go to www.educationvoters.org and look for the button on the right of the screen!
I hope all of you can come!
—

Kelly Munn  |  State Field Director

Office: 206.728.6448

Mobile: 425.773.7878

Visit us at educationvoters.org

 

League of Education Voters

Working to improve public education in Washington State 

from cradle to career with ample, equitable, and stable funding

Questions for Parents

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Homework guiding questions

The Issaquah School District’s policy states:

Homework, as an extension of the classroom, must be planned and organized; must be purposeful to the students; and must be evaluated and returned to students in a timely manner.  Homework may be assigned for one or more of the following purposes: 

    • Practice – to help students to master specific skills which have been presented in class;
    • Preparation – to help students gain the maximum benefits from future lessons;
    • Extension – to provide students with opportunities to transfer specific skills or concepts to new situations; and
    • Creativity – to require students to integrate many skills and concepts in order to produce original responses.

The purposes of homework assignments, the basis for evaluating the work performed and the guidelines and/or rules should be made clear to the student at the time of the assignment.

With that foundation:

  • Do you believe this policy is in practice in our classrooms?
  • When is homework a valuable learning tool? When is it not?
  • Do you believe that currently the amount of homework your child receives is appropriate?
  • What weight should homework be given in a student’s overall grade?