Walworth Parents Club

Lack of communication has been noted as a reason for lack of involvement in our school. We’d like to help change that. We need your help.

We’ve stopped sending home paper reminders and minutes. Since we have actually seen an improvement in involvement since doing so, we will continue sending electronic communications, unless we see it not working.

Let us know how we might help our communications with you, personally.

As you may know, Parents Club has been collecting Box Tops for Education and Walworth Sentry Receipts to raise money for the school. Box Tops are worth 10 cents each and we reap 1% of net sales on Walworth Sentry receipts that are turned into the office with a Funds for Friends sticker on them (small, green, square... you ask for them at the check-out.)

This year, we'd like to help the Student Council fund their activities by turning the Sentry receipt program to them. We are also giving the proceeds of the Box Tops collected by 7th and 8th graders to the Student Council.

Please turn your receipts into the office within 3 months of the purchase date. If you have Box Tops for the Student Council, send them with a 7th or 8th grader.

Thanks for your help!

Since the Walworth Walks for Wellness Walk where many available local activities were showcased, faculty arranged with Big Foot Rec's Zumba instructor to bring a few sessions to Walworth School.

Classes will happen at 4pm on Mondays and Wednesdays and will run an hour long in the Multi-purpose Room. You can purchase a pass for 10 sessions for $60 or just drop in to try a class or two when it works for your schedule for $8 each. Your pass will work for all of Mandy's sessions through Big Foot Rec.

Thanks to Melinda Peterson for helping this happen! Faculty, staff, parents and community members welcome!

Dance your way to wellness!

6100 – dollars raised in pledges
700 – dollars raised in Community Investor donations
185 - dollars raised in 50/50 and extra raffle tickets
149 -participants now registered in DoJiggy who either came to the walk or turned in an envelope with donations.
85 - percentage of profit we keep (as opposed to "stuff" fundraisers that yeild less than 45%)
60 – percent chance of thunderstorms/rain for our event, putting us in our indoor venue.
40 – the approximate average each registered participant raised
27 – local businesses represented in some way at the event
21 - number of volunteers who were not registered in DoJiggy but spent all day at the walk (and gave to general donation and raffles)
19 – Volunteers who brought in pledges (enough to earn a t-shirt) on top of volunteering all day
5 – HS Art Club face painters who donated their Saturday (and helped make event signs)
2 – local newspapers covering event as it happened
1 – State Senator at the event
0 - number of first aid incidents

Common questions -

I heard it was a great event but missed it, when are we doing it again?
Not until late winter, early spring of 2012. This was a very large project that took the hands and time of many people. We also do not want to overextend the generosity of the people of the community (businesses and citizens alike) who already give healthy sums to education via their taxes. One large fundraiser per school year is enough.

You say you do one fundraiser per year, what about all the notices that come home for Walworth Wildcat shirts, Original Works, School Kids supply kits, etc.?
The spirit wear is done as a service to the student body to raise school spirit and offer a way to get the items easily. There is very little profit from this. We simply rounded up the cost to make even numbered prices. (Last year's profit, $107.)
The Original Works art project is done in conjunction with the Art Department to promote students' work and raise money for the Art Department. (Last year, approx. $590)
School Kids supply kits are offered as a service to help busy parents. There is virtually no profit for this. (Last year, ~$43)

Can I still donate to the school?
Always.
Please make your check out to Walworth Parents Club and either bring it to the school or send it to 121 Beloit Street, Walworth, WI 53184.

What are the funds for?
Last year, funding for field trips was cut from the district budget. You may have noticed that the permission slips that came home had steeper fees per student than they did the previous year. They would have been much more had Parents Club not helped out by assisting with funds for transportation. Our goal this year is to allow every grade to participate in at least one (if not two) educational and affordable field trip. We need your help to do that.

Our playground is in need of repair and update. Parents Club been raising funds for this goal for some time, but with rising costs and rising needs, we’re still short. Having a better place to run and play will help our kids stay fit and healthy.

Why a Wellness Walk?
The rate of childhood obesity has tripled in the past 30 years.
Obese children have a 70% chance of being obese adults.

Obesity isn’t a childhood problem, it’s a community problem. We can all make changes to model better wellness behavior and teach kids to make healthier choices.

How can you participate?
~Gather a team or walk as an individual. Each individual who raises $25 or more receives a FREE event t-shirt after the walk. Online registration will begin at the end of August. Check back here for the Kick-Off of our registration site!
~T-SHIRT CONTEST: There will be an “Original Team T-shirt” contest as well, so gather your team and design your cool team t-shirts now! Your team needs to be present at the walk to win.
~Gather donations! There will be drawings for great prizes (like a family party at Woodstock Water Works, 2 Nights at Grand Geneva, Fontana Beach passes, movie passes and MORE coming in DAILY!) The more donations you receive, the more chances you'll receive to win!
~You do not need to be present to win the raffles- you just need to collect donations for our school. So - if you have soccer or dance or some other activity the morning of the walk, you are still doing wellness activities and you WON'T miss out! Turn in your donations by Sept. 17th and you'll still be entered in all eligible raffle drawings!
~Wellness Resource Fair: During the Walworth Walks for Wellness there will be a Wellness Fair with many educational booths to visit for resources. If you would like to participate as an exhibitor, contact Parents Club at walworthparentsclub@gmail.com.

To register your team or donate to Walworth Walks for Wellness, go to http://walworth.dojiggy.com/

Thanks for your support!

We need your ideas and your skills!

Please check back here often to see how you can help us make this year's fundraising event a smashing success!

So far we need:

• People to help with set-up/take down on walk day
• A couple people willing to bring laptops and do last-minute participant registration on site starting at 8am
• Donations for the raffles and participant prizes
• WALKERS to form teams and get their team t-shirts ready!

If you can help, email walworthparentsclub@gmail.com

Thanks!

Walworth Parents Club News
…teaming together to make Walworth Elementary a great place to learn and grow.

Happy End of the School Year! We hope this note finds you well and ready for summer. Following, you’ll find a few announcements and a few requests for each of you. Enjoy the summer!

Save the Date!
Walworth Walks – Family Fitness Fundraiser
Saturday, September 18, 2010 – Big Foot High School Track
This year’s all-school fundraiser will be a community event promoting wellness and team spirit. We will be collecting pledge donations for a wellness walk this fall. Teams can be made up of families, friends, classmates or others from the community. Each team sets both a fitness and monetary goal and on September 18, it all comes together in a great event! Team t-shirt contests, poster contests, “wacky laps” and more to be announced. Start gathering your teammates, creating your wild t-shirts and getting ready for a fun walk event!

All proceeds will help fund our school field trips, playground renovations and other needs that Parents Club funds throughout the school year. We will need many volunteers as well as participants. Visit our blog for more information throughout the summer or call Julie Ford with your ideas and questions. 262-374-3744

We Need YOUR Help!
Ways to help our school be all it can be – We need volunteers to: Come to the meetings (Every 3rd Tues @7pm), help with the Directory, contribute to or volunteer to help coordinate Fundraising efforts, collect Box Tops for Education or help coordinate Box Top Contests, Coordinate Original Works artwork sales, assist with Staff Appreciation Week, Coordinate the Ice Cream Social, help set up and serve at Graduation, Call Volunteers for various events, Donate needed items to the school, donate your time or skills… we’re open to all your ideas!

2009/2010 – Walworth School Family Directory
(…in your email box today!)
Most of you signed up with your information at registration. Our apologies for not getting the information to you sooner. As you know, we are all busy parents and even the best intended projects need many hands. We are grateful for the volunteers who have played a part in entering, organizing and formatting this information and hope to have the process down to a science for the 2nd edition in 2010/2011. You should have an electronic copy of the directory at the email address you provided in the fall. If you did not provide an email, you can let us know where to send your electronic copy by calling Julie at 262-374-3744.

We hope that with this directory, Walworth School District families can become more connected and together we can accomplish more for our kids.

How to Get Information:
Visit: http://walworthparentsclub.blogspot.com/
See what’s happening, view the minutes, volunteer, give suggestions, ask a question, take a survey and get involved!
Contact us at: walworthparentsclub@gmail.com

Your Parents Club,
Julie Ford, President
Mel Litton-Castellon, Vice President
Jeri Lynn Graunke, Secretary
Carolyn Holt, Treasurer

WELCOME!

The purpose of this blog is to keep our parents and faculty better informed about the activities and involvement of Parents Club at Walworth Elementary.

In the coming months, we hope to post upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, meeting agendas and minutes, and other useful information to keep parents better informed and hopefully increase the community awareness and involvement.

We truly realize that every parent is a busy parent. Our hope is that by increasing communication, offering more ways to help in a timely, convenient manner and offering suggestions of ways to get involved, everyone can find at least a small way to contribute to our school.

What would you like to contribute to our school? What are your talents, interests, hobbies that might interest the students or faculty? Are you or do you know someone in the community who might donate needed funds or supplies to the school? Do you know of a great low-cost, educational place for children to go on a field trip? We're always looking for more involvement. Together, we can really bring the children great learning experiences.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please, either comment below or email us at WalworthParentsClub@gmail.com. One of us will get back to you as soon as possible.

Julie Ford
parent