March-a-Thon Winners

A huge thank you to all the students, parents and sponsors that made our 2011 March-a-Thon such an amazing success! Not only did we raise much-needed funds for our school, but we also had a great time doing it. In fact, we showed that we can work together on a goal to beat previous years' results and earn a multicolored Mr. Block! Together, Teach and Bishop's Peak earned over $30,000 during this event! Wow!

The boy with the most laps run, schoolwide is: Lucas Abroms with 26 laps.

The girls with the most laps run came in at a 3-way tie: Grace Hotaling, Carlee Turner and Emma Hotaling, each with 24 laps. These students' names will appear on the banner in our multipurpose room. Congratulations - great running!

The student who raised the most money is Kendall Schemmer with $235 raised! Holy Cow! Kendall will be principal for a day.

The class with the highest earnings (measured per capita to make it even) is Mr. Crabb’s class. Congratulations! You will enjoy a pizza party!

And to each parent who carefully supervised the collecting of pledges, worked at the event or cheered on our kids, Thank You. And to each business that generously supported us with funds, products or services, a huge thank you! Your support helps develop citizens who will be a credit and asset to San Luis Obispo county and the world! Please support our sponsors where convenient and thank them for their support. Sponsors and links here.

PTA Golf Tournament

 The Inaugural County-wide PTA Golf Tournament
Saturday, May 7, 2011
8:00 a.m. morning tee time
2:45 p.m. afternoon tee time
12-3 p.m. Awards Lunch & Auction

$120 per player/$450 per foursome (includes goodie bag and awards lunch)

The online registration isn't working right now, but please contact golf@24thdistrictpta.org for information.

The event will be held at the Dairy Creek Golf Course, and will be a fun time benefitting our local area PTAs.  If you'd like to play a little golf before our Dinner & Auction, get a foursome & sign up!

Please note that our school was invited to fully partcipate in the planning & volunteering for the auction and therefore receive a share of the proceeds.  However, since this is the same day as our Dinner & Auction, our Booster Club will not be able to participate in that way.  But it is for a good cause locally, and is the perfect opportunity to have a nice round of golf and support our local schools.  :-)

Applebee's Digi-Breakfast

Thanks so much to all our Teach Families and your fantastic friends! We made OVER our goal for this fundraiser, and had a nice time doing it. Special Thanks goes to Mr. Crabb for his great idea and hard work organizing this event.

March-a-Thon Info Page, Archived

March-a-Thon contest winners and funds raised coming soon!!

March-a-Thon is one of our school's two biggest fundraisers, and it's probably the students' favorite.

What is March-a-Thon?
Sponsorships & Pledges
Committee - Volunteers Still Needed
Donate products & snacks for the event

What is March-a-Thon?

March-a-Thon is a student event held in the spring (in March!) to raise funds for our enrichment programs at Teach Elementary School. Bishop's Peak and Teach put on the event together, and kids from both schools run laps to earn money for our school. What I like best about this event is that the students are direct participants in the fundraising. We are not selling someone else's stuff and we get 100% of the profits for our own school. This event raises funds in two ways: through sponsorships and through individual pledges. Local businesses, groups and individuals may sponsor at any level, but historically sponsorships of $100 or more are thanked by printing the logo or name of the sponsor on our t-shirts. The children all receive a free t-shirt that they wear to run that day and get to keep. These shirts are a nice reminder of their day on the green and are perfect for showing school spirit! Volunteers and sponsors also have the opportunity to order a shirt. Individuals contribute by pledging an amount per lap for a runner of their choice. After the run, the children collect their donations based on the lap pledge (or fixed amount) and the number of laps they ran. Last year, this event earned $4000 for Teach and $18,000 for Bishop's Peak. This year, we have a special reward to offer if we can raise $30,000 combined.

The march-a-thon itself is a morning on the grass, with the children excused from class to run their laps. Each class takes a little time out to run, and usually 3 or 4 classes run at the same time. The children seem to really like the friendly competition, and do their best to try to run as many laps as they can. The farthest-running boy and girl in each grade win a medal and get their name on the banner in the cafeteria. Classes with 100% participation (every kid gets at least one pledge and runs at least one lap) earn an ice cream party. In addition to these prizes, children receive a gift certificate to either Tom's Toys or Jamba Juice for every $50 in pledges they collect. And the child with the highest amount collected at each school gets to be Principal For A Day. The kids run around the field and their laps are counted by parent volunteers. We have volunteers distributing water and fruit too. Parents are invited to come to school to cheer their children on and also to have a picnic lunch with their kids on the grass afterwards. Last year, Custom House sponsored a hot dog stand, and we had the chance to buy a super yummy hot dogs lunch and eat with the kids. Custom House will be there again this year, so if you can come to school, the kids really like it. :-)

After the march-a-thon, kids collect their pledges and volunteers count the money, distribute the prizes and plan the parties. (woohoo!) This is a fun event to attend and it's fun to volunteer for. March-a-Thon will be held on March 11, with a rain date of April 8.

Sponsorships & Pledges (top)

Thank you for your continuing support of Charles E. Teach Elementary School. We are once again looking for sponsors to make this a successful event. Contributions are tax deductable.

The March-A-Thon finances many programs that benefit our Teach students. These programs include our 4th grade study trip to Astro Camp, our 5th grade study trip to Yosemite Institute and our 6th grade study trip to Catalina Island, as well as our digital media arts program (in coordination with Cal Poly), electives program, assemblies, Artist in Residence, dance and art classes, playground equipment, classroom supplies and library books. The March-a-Thon is one of our biggest fundraising opportunities of the year. Each $100 sponsor will have his or her name or logo printed on our March-a-Thon shirt, worn by students the day of the event and regularly throughout the school year.

Kindly send your contribution and your contact information to: 451 Jaycee Drive, San Luis Obipso, CA 93405. Your donation is tax deductible. All sponsorships must be received by March 1st to meet our T-Shirt printing deadline. Need more information? Please email Erica Stewart or call her at 215-0874. Make checks out to Teach Boosters. Logos can be emailed to Erica (above) or Sunshine (below).

Your children will be asking for pledges too. Encourage them to ask family and friends to sponsor them. They will have a great time earning money for their school. Anyone can sponsor a runner, and they may pledge by the lap or a flat amount.

Committee - Volunteers Still Needed (see descriptions below) (top)

Please contact Sunshine if you would like to volunteer your time the day of the event or if you'd like to help with planning, preparation or sponsorship. We'd love to have you join us for our meetings, even if it's just to share your input. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 9 at 1:00 pm in the staff room.

Help us to make this year’s March-a-thon the best ever!

Teach needs the following volunteers:

• Solicit T-shirt sponsors (contact old and new sponsors by letter, phone and in person) - follow up until all sponsors are obtained (25-30 sponsors) (Filled - Ali Alltucker, Jamie St. Cyr, Sandy Potter & Jackie Jensen)
• T-shirt logistics & distribution to students/staff (1 person, works with T-shirt chair John Rourke)
• Secure and coordinate coffee/snacks for volunteers and students on the day of the event (1 person, works with Wendy Dahl)
• Schedule volunteers for the day of the event (1 person works with Janine Marion)
• Emcee (Filled)
• Assembly and newsletter promotions (1 person)
• Create a slide show for the Assembly (1 person, works with Mukta Naran)
• Set-Up course, rest areas, tents and equipment in the morning (2 people, works with William Baxter and Dennis Martin)
• Take-Down and Clean-up of tents, equipment and course in the afternoon (2-3 people, works with Doris Kim)
• Prize & Awards coordinators to advertise contest, tally prize and award winners, obtain prizes, and organize parties, Principal for the Day and Banner (1 person, works with Jacque Evers)
• Money counters (filled - Jacque Evers, Doris Kim, Pia Laurie & Mukta Naran) to count and prepare the deposit for pledges and sponsor checks
• Lap Counters, Water Distributors, Kid Wranglers and Sundry Warm Bodies to be available the day of the event (AND the rain date) 
• Photographer to take beautiful photos of our beautiful children and volunteers on that day (or rain date) (1 person)

Please email Sunshine and let her know where you can help!  THANK YOU to our amazing, enthusiastic, and good-looking volunteers!!

Donate supplies or snacks for the event (top)

Want to donate supplies for the event? We need everything from 6x9 envelopes to sliced fruit for the runners. Please contact:

John Rourke for supplies (or 549-0857)

Rachel Morgan for snacks, water and beverages (or 544-2759)

• Dixie Cups (paper please)
• Cut-up Fruit (apples, grapes, oranges...durable stuff)
• Bottled Water (for lunch)

March-a-Thon

Thank You to all of our sponsors, volunteers and runners!

Congratulations to our school-wide highest lap runners:

Girls: 24 laps, Grace Hotaling, Carlee Turner, Emma Hotaling

Boy:  26 laps, Lucas Abroms 

Wow - a 3-way tie for first place for the girls!  We raised more than $30,000, so Mr. Block dyed his hair!

Lap winners for:
4th Grade:  Grace Hotaling (24) and Aaron Bloom (24)
5th Grade:  Carlee Turner (24) and Connor Jensen (23)
6th Grade:  Emma Hotaling (24) and Lucas Abroms (26)

We collected just about $5,100 from individual pledges and $2,300 from our very generous donors listed below.  Please patronize these businesses when convenient!  Thank you Teach supporters!

These generous local businesses and families donated money, products or services to our effort for our school.  Please thank them and let them know you saw them on the shirts and the website.

 

March-a-Thon Sponsors

Dr. Chris Manning, DDS	Boo Boo Records
Kathryn Eisendrath Rogers	Rejuvenation Medical Skincare
Ericson Education	CVS Pharmacy
Compass Health	Bill Gaines Audio
Go Westy Camper Products	Hal Sweasey, ReMax Del Oro Realty
Food 4 Less Rancho San Miguel	Trader Joe's
Peet's Coffee & Tea	Dr. Eric Alltucker
SLO Green Clean	Bay Area Youth Football
Culligan Water Conditioning SLO	First Bank of San Luis Obispo
Gray & Troy Insurance Serices	Carmel & Naccasha Attorneys
Diego Masonry & Design Jim Schemmer (805) 235-3633
BIG Images	Albertson's
Greenvale Tree Company	Coastal Cardiology, Dr. Lori Fletcher
Web Feet Image Management	Pacific Pediatric Dentistry, Dr. Dean Walker
Tom's Toys	PaigePeake-Wright, Unique Jewelry
Pacific Eye Care	The Spice Hunter
Nicholas Meyer, D.C.	Bravo Pediatrics
WestPac Development Corp.	San Luis Diagnostic Center
Central Coast Neurology Dr. Mary Amir	Paul's Dry Cleaners

Open Hose & Prospective Parent Night is March 10!

Next Thursday, March 10, Teach will celebrate our school year at our annual Open House. Teach's Open House is always early to coincide with the district's Open Enrollment window so that prospective families can also visit and learn more about our wonderful school. Here's the schedule for the evening:


6:00 PM Classrooms open for Prospective Families

6:30 PM Meeting for Prospective Families in MP Room

7:00 PM Open House for all current Teach families

Feel free to invite other families that you know might be interested in Teach for their children--this is the best place for them to learn more about whether Teach is right for them.

Teach Boosters Meeting March 4, 2011

Teach Boosters Club Meeting
March 4, 2011

Attendees: Erica Stewart, Sunshine Cowgill, Paige Wright, Riana Baxter, Altee Vigil, Nell Bennett, Tammy Haas, and Jocelyn Leonard

Meeting called to order at 8:47 a.m.

The minutes from the February meeting were presented. Erica moved to accept them. Riana seconded the motion. All were in favor. None opposed.

Financial Report: There is $28,795.73 in the bank account. The $19,000 check has cleared. We are getting the Applebee’s money coming in. We have approximately $1900 in donations for the March-a-thon. All the reimbursement checks have been paid.

Principal’s Report: The Electives went really well. In the newsletter, there is information about the Superintendent’s 10 Initiatives. They are also on the SLCUSD website. Take a minute to check them out. There are a lot of them that are performance based, which is not a problem at Teach. The goals are ambitious, but we are doing well. There is always room to improve though.

The talent show last week was phenomenal. Thanks to Kim, Eric, and Beth!

The fifth graders are in Yosemite this week with their teachers. They are coming home tonight.

Open enrollment continues through March 23. Thursday, March 10 will be the Teach Open House. At 6 p.m. there will be a tour of the classrooms for perspective students. At 6:30, there will be a perspective parent/student meeting in the Multi-Purpose room. At 7 p.m. the Open House for current students begins.

The enrollment at Teach has jumped from 65 students to 125 in the last three years. We are continuing to grow.

Class Representatives: Riana, representing the 4th grade, let us know that things are going well. The students are thankful for the Battle of the Books.

Teacher’s Report: Mrs. Jones came to talk to us about the Yearbook for this year. The 6th grade will handle the yearbook this year. They are getting started on it now. They are learning how to do the publishing. Bernadette and Charles Birdsong are helping with this project in the digital media lab. To move forward with this though, the class needs $2000 for the program, printing, and delivery. The students are making the order forms today. Paige moved that we agree to pay the $2000 for the yearbooks. Tammy seconded the motion. All were in favor. None were opposed. This money will be made up in the selling of the yearbooks.

There was a question as to how new students to the school would get their picture in the yearbook, since they were not here for picture day. All students who weren’t here on picture day will get their pictures taken against a similar background, so they can be in the yearbook too. Mrs. Jones will check if there is a way to get the new students’ pictures from their previous schools through Lifetouch.

The Pancake Breakfast will be on March 12. Tickets are still available. Sunshine and Erica will be selling tickets at the door also. The breakfast will be at Applebee’s. Paige and Riana will sell pancake tickets at Open House.

The Big Brothers/Big Sisters event will take place on April 9. We need parents and kids to help out on the day of the event. A flyer will be sent home soon.

The classes are loving the Battle of the Books that the Boosters purchased for the classrooms earlier this year. Next year we will work on labeling the AR/Lexile information more clearly.

Fundraisers: The Dinner/Auction this year will be on May 7 at the San Luis Obispo Country Club. The tickets will be between $65 and $75 each. We were able to get a good deal from the Country Club. We need live/silent auction items. Sunshine is getting a letter together for the parents regarding this. The event will have a Kentucky Derby theme. People can wear their hats. The entertainment will be decorating/racing a derby horse. There will also be a dessert auction.

Altee is looking at having a credit card machine onsite at the auction, to make it easier for people to pay. There is a $99 fee for the software, etc. The bank will lend us the machine for the night. We can then decide if we want to rent the machine for $25/mo, with a minimum of 2 months. Sunshine mentioned getting a PayPal account, which would be free. People would have to fill out their card number and sign for it though. Paige suggested that we could bring a computer and enter it manually at the country club. There is a fee for using your credit card. The fee is 2.2% plus a 30 cent per purchase charge. Paypal is free for a basic account, but $30 per month for an upgraded account. Riana moved to get a merchant processer’s account through PayPal and to pay the $99 to have the credit card machine there the night of the auction (provided the district doesn’t already have a credit card machine that we could borrow). Paige seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed.

New Business: The 6th grade play this year will be Alladin. The 6th graders are in need of a few items. The needed items are: “marketplace” booths, and costumes to be worn by the cast.

We have made $2110 from script so far this school year.

We need to start thinking about succession planning. We need to fill the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Classroom Representatives for next school year. We need to have a list go out including job descriptions, and a list letting working parents know what things that they can help with.

Meeting adjourned at 10 a.m.