Walworth Parents Club

Happy New Year!

Cold weather is upon us now. If your child does not have hats, coats, snowpants and mittens, help is available at the school. You can also contact Parents Club and we'll get you to the right place for help. If you have gently used outdoor clothing that is not in use, please consider donating it to the school.

When the temperature and/or wind chill dips below zero degrees, policy states that the students will be inside for recess. This can get very old for everyone!

If you're cleaning rooms and closets after the holidays, remember that the school could use your games, movies (VHS or DVD) or other activities for indoor play. Please be sure they have the game pieces necessary to play before donating.

We sure appreciate your help!

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!