RE: Do you volunteer?

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mapachito13 -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/29/2008 12:35:08 PM)
Let's see I work 60 hours a week, (I have my own business) I have to get my two kids to two different schools, I help them with their homework, take my wife to her night classes at college, make lunches, cook dinner half the week.... Do I have time to volunteer? I actually do! I help on many field trips to chaperone. I give my son's teacher a case of copy paper a month because there are better things the school can spend money on. I help with their fundraisers as well. I am blessed that I can flex my schedule to make it all work but sometimes that means getting up at 2am to start the day that doesn't end until 10pm. Is it hard? Some days are harder than others. Is it worth the sacrifice? You bet!

garsyt -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/29/2008 1:12:46 PM)
It thrills me to see father's SO involved with their kids' schools! You are actually doing more then a LOT of parents that have less on their plates then you do! My volunteer hours start next week. I'm e-mailing the kindergarten teachers this week and we'll start the literacy kits in a couple weeks. I'm also e-mailing all my kids' teachers to let them know when I'm available, which right now is pretty much anytime they need me. I'm thinking I'll do literacy kits on Fridays, then volunteer in the classrooms Tuesday and Wednesdays whenever needed. Aryn's teacher has already asked me to come in on the Wednesday before back to school night to help her put together some parent packets. Blessings, Garsy

csl7037 -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/29/2008 3:20:48 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: mapachito13 Let's see I work 60 hours a week, (I have my own business) I have to get my two kids to two different schools, I help them with their homework, take my wife to her night classes at college, make lunches, cook dinner half the week.... Do I have time to volunteer? I actually do! I help on many field trips to chaperone. I give my son's teacher a case of copy paper a month because there are better things the school can spend money on. I help with their fundraisers as well. I am blessed that I can flex my schedule to make it all work but sometimes that means getting up at 2am to start the day that doesn't end until 10pm. Is it hard? Some days are harder than others. Is it worth the sacrifice? You bet! If you have any suggestions for getting dads (and working moms) more involved, let me know! On my volunteer forms this year, I tried to highlight jobs that working moms or dads could do. I did have a dad sign up to tutor and one to be the class' prayer coordinator. I was excited. In my dd's class, there seems to always be a couple of dads who do field trips and that's nice.

hoppersfan -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/30/2008 1:08:14 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: mapachito13 Let's see I work 60 hours a week, (I have my own business) I have to get my two kids to two different schools, I help them with their homework, take my wife to her night classes at college, make lunches, cook dinner half the week.... Do I have time to volunteer? I actually do! I help on many field trips to chaperone. I give my son's teacher a case of copy paper a month because there are better things the school can spend money on. I help with their fundraisers as well. I am blessed that I can flex my schedule to make it all work but sometimes that means getting up at 2am to start the day that doesn't end until 10pm. Is it hard? Some days are harder than others. Is it worth the sacrifice? You bet! WOW!! WOW!! I am speechless!! I have parents who complain about sending 1 pack (not case) of copy paper A YEAR!! You're awesome!! [sm=dance.gif][sm=funny.gif][sm=dance.gif][sm=funny.gif]

garsyt -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/30/2008 8:23:33 PM)
quote: I have parents who complain about sending 1 pack (not case) of copy paper A YEAR!! I'm not one that would complain - but I can understand. Have you ever seen the amount of JUNK that comes home printed on that copy paper that is completely wasteful? Then if you have more then one child in said school you often get several copies of the same stuff and 95% of it ends up in the trash. I'm not talking about actual worksheets, teacher newsletters and stuff like that. I'm talking things like lunch menus, copies of all the same stuff you already handed in at registration, and other stuff. Another thing that drives me TOTALLY batty is NOT using both side of a sheet of paper, when possible. Sure there are occasions where it wouldn't work but there is a great amount of waste as well. On a brighter note I have seen some improvements in this area at my kid's schools. One 7th grade teacher at the middle school level no longer has his social studies students hand it paper copies of reports they write on the computer. Instead they type them on the computers at school and send it to the teachers network e-mail and he grades them from there and sends it back to the student with his notes typed in red and a grade. No paper. The high school is not sending out paper mid-term grades any longer since all student grades can be viewed on-line. You can still get paper copies sent to you, but you have to request it. I'm thinking semester grade cards will be next. I like this! Less paper coming into my house and being used by the schools! Blessings, Garsy

hoppersfan -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/31/2008 12:35:50 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: garsyt quote: I have parents who complain about sending 1 pack (not case) of copy paper A YEAR!! I'm not one that would complain - but I can understand. Have you ever seen the amount of JUNK that comes home printed on that copy paper that is completely wasteful? Then if you have more then one child in said school you often get several copies of the same stuff and 95% of it ends up in the trash. I'm not talking about actual worksheets, teacher newsletters and stuff like that. I'm talking things like lunch menus, copies of all the same stuff you already handed in at registration, and other stuff. Another thing that drives me TOTALLY batty is NOT using both side of a sheet of paper, when possible. Sure there are occasions where it wouldn't work but there is a great amount of waste as well. On a brighter note I have seen some improvements in this area at my kid's schools. One 7th grade teacher at the middle school level no longer has his social studies students hand it paper copies of reports they write on the computer. Instead they type them on the computers at school and send it to the teachers network e-mail and he grades them from there and sends it back to the student with his notes typed in red and a grade. No paper. The high school is not sending out paper mid-term grades any longer since all student grades can be viewed on-line. You can still get paper copies sent to you, but you have to request it. I'm thinking semester grade cards will be next. I like this! Less paper coming into my house and being used by the schools! Blessings, Garsy I understand where you're coming from, but I am a kindergarten teacher. My students use more worksheets than children in other grade levels simply because they don't have textbooks. We do hands-on activities throughout the day, but we also have several copies to make for each day (I have 17 students in my class). And we get only 2 cases of copy paper from the school each year. Most of the parents did send a pack of copy paper, so I'm not complaining. But, it's always nice to have a parent like mapachito 13 who understands that many times the burden falls on the teacher personally to provide things like copy paper during the school year. Not to mention the myriads of other things that teachers already provide out of their own pockets. I don't keep a record of how much I spend on school-related supplies each year, but I'm sure it would raise the hair on my head if I did know! (Might give my husband a heart attack if he knew![;)]) I truly appreciate parents who are sensitive to the fact that teachers are not getting rich at their profession, and many times they have to personally provide supplies for students whose parents either can't or won't provide them. Mapachito 13, you are to be commended!![:D][:)]

csl7037 -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/31/2008 8:45:20 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: garsyt quote: I have parents who complain about sending 1 pack (not case) of copy paper A YEAR!! I'm not one that would complain - but I can understand. Have you ever seen the amount of JUNK that comes home printed on that copy paper that is completely wasteful? Then if you have more then one child in said school you often get several copies of the same stuff and 95% of it ends up in the trash. I'm not talking about actual worksheets, teacher newsletters and stuff like that. I'm talking things like lunch menus, copies of all the same stuff you already handed in at registration, and other stuff. Another thing that drives me TOTALLY batty is NOT using both side of a sheet of paper, when possible. Sure there are occasions where it wouldn't work but there is a great amount of waste as well. On a brighter note I have seen some improvements in this area at my kid's schools. One 7th grade teacher at the middle school level no longer has his social studies students hand it paper copies of reports they write on the computer. Instead they type them on the computers at school and send it to the teachers network e-mail and he grades them from there and sends it back to the student with his notes typed in red and a grade. No paper. The high school is not sending out paper mid-term grades any longer since all student grades can be viewed on-line. You can still get paper copies sent to you, but you have to request it. I'm thinking semester grade cards will be next. I like this! Less paper coming into my house and being used by the schools! Blessings, Garsy It's a catch 22 - people don't read the announcements because we send home too much paper; we send home so many copies of everything because people don't read it. We've batted around the idea of a PTF newsletter but haven't done anything with it. I'm going to bring this up again when we have our next monthly meeting this week - I want to create a PTF Announcements sheet to go home every Friday - if board members, administrators, staff have something to go in it, they need to get it to me by Wednesday to be copied and in the teachers' boxes by Thrusday afternoon. People sending home "flyers" with single spaced 10pt font on both sides (that's not a FLYER and nobody's reading that!) need to give me something I can put in a 4"x5" square - or I'll cut it down myself. We're going to have to get the new principal's buy in to make that happen - so the asst principals and staff will go along with it. We'll see.

garsyt -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/31/2008 12:21:34 PM)
quote: I understand where you're coming from, but I am a kindergarten teacher. My students use more worksheets than children in other grade levels simply because they don't have textbooks. We do hands-on activities throughout the day, but we also have several copies to make for each day (I have 17 students in my class). And we get only 2 cases of copy paper from the school each year. Most of the parents did send a pack of copy paper, so I'm not complaining. But, it's always nice to have a parent like mapachito 13 who understands that many times the burden falls on the teacher personally to provide things like copy paper during the school year. Not to mention the myriads of other things that teachers already provide out of their own pockets. I don't keep a record of how much I spend on school-related supplies each year, but I'm sure it would raise the hair on my head if I did know! (Might give my husband a heart attack if he knew! ) Oh I KNOW the number of copies that get made in those early grades and I know it tapers off as the kids get older. As much as I volunteer I spend ALOT of time in front of a copy machine, making copies for teachers in ALL grades over all subjects. I do understand, I would just appreciate it if the paper I did provide was used wisely. And from what I know it's not the teachers that send home the multiple copies of everything I get, it's the school office and other groups. Gotta have one for each child I guess. Makes for good fire starters tho![;)] blessings, Garsy

csl7037 -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/31/2008 3:52:24 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: garsyt And from what I know it's not the teachers that send home the multiple copies of everything I get, it's the school office and other groups. Gotta have one for each child I guess. Makes for good fire starters tho![;)] We'd love to do one per family. It's just to hard to track who gets it and who doesn't on the volunteer and teacher end. And, from a parent's perspective, I don't think I'd want to have to rely solely on my dd getting it home to me. With both of them getting it, it's more likely to get to me. But, ideally, that's how it should be done - one copy home with the oldest child. We could possibly make up a cover sheet for each teacher listing the kids who should get the copy (every oldest or only in the family, leaving off all the younger siblings). We could copy that every time and attach it to the top and the teacher would then only give a copy to those kids. That could be done for anything purely informational as long as it didn't have something to be completed, signed, and/or returned.

zoebob -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/31/2008 4:56:49 PM)
As far a newsletters, etc the school I work at uses a website called RenWeb and in the parents' handbook it says that that is the primary means of communication. If a family doesn't have email then a hard copy gets mailed home.

csl7037 -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/31/2008 9:08:27 PM)
That RenWeb is a neat site! We have just started using Edline; I need to look and see what else Edline can do for us. I have been thinking we'll need to rely on the church's IT people to get us set up with email lists (we've been asking for this for about a year!) and putting info on the website. Thanks for the suggestion because I'm thinking Edline can do a lot of that stuff for us instead. I'm going to look into it.

zoebob -> RE: Do you volunteer? (8/31/2008 9:18:04 PM)
The kids don't always like it though because the parents can check and see if they really have homework that night or check their grades at any time. I have a list set up so I can send emails to all the parents in my extended care program or all the faculty. Anyway, this is off topic so back to volunteering

mapachito13 -> RE: Do you volunteer? (9/2/2008 9:16:04 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: garsyt It thrills me to see father's SO involved with their kids' schools! You are actually doing more then a LOT of parents that have less on their plates then you do! My volunteer hours start next week. I'm e-mailing the kindergarten teachers this week and we'll start the literacy kits in a couple weeks. I'm also e-mailing all my kids' teachers to let them know when I'm available, which right now is pretty much anytime they need me. I'm thinking I'll do literacy kits on Fridays, then volunteer in the classrooms Tuesday and Wednesdays whenever needed. Aryn's teacher has already asked me to come in on the Wednesday before back to school night to help her put together some parent packets. Blessings, Garsy God has blessed me in my business and I really think investing in education is the best investment I can make in our country's future. It riles me that IMO our government (both national and state) puts such a low priority to education. Everytime there is a budget shortfall they cut education and the teachers are the ones to get their salaries slashed while our lawmakers still enjoy their cost of living increases, stipends for transportation and all their other perks. When a teacher's salary is slashed 10% or more they feel it. A lawmaker could take a 10% pay cut standing on their head!

garsyt -> RE: Do you volunteer? (9/2/2008 11:33:15 PM)
quote: It riles me that IMO our government (both national and state) puts such a low priority to education. Everytime there is a budget shortfall they cut education and the teachers are the ones to get their salaries slashed while our lawmakers still enjoy their cost of living increases, stipends for transportation and all their other perks. When a teacher's salary is slashed 10% or more they feel it. A lawmaker could take a 10% pay cut standing on their head! Oh I agree! You really don't want to get me going on that tho! It's either teachers take pay cuts or don't get much deserved and needed raises, or they end up cutting things that DIRECTLY affect the kids like PE, Art, Music or honors and AP courses at the high school level, or as in our case our science specialist right at the time the state has just started testing science standards. Last year I went on a field trip with my now 4th grader to the state house here in Indiana. I sat listening to the tour guide brag about how much our state puts into education and how important it is to them and I almost laughed out loud. It maybe more then other states but what has suffered the most with our recent state budget cuts and property tax caps? Education, of course. Teachers always seem to be expected to do more and with less. It is so irritating! But this is why I volunteer and give of my time. Anything I can do to make the job of the teachers even just a little bit easier, I'll do! I'd rather it be me taking care of the piddly little things so the teachers can spend their time teaching my child! Blessings, Garsy

mapachito13 -> RE: Do you volunteer? (9/4/2008 7:39:06 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: garsyt Oh I agree! You really don't want to get me going on that tho! It's either teachers take pay cuts or don't get much deserved and needed raises, or they end up cutting things that DIRECTLY affect the kids like PE, Art, Music or honors and AP courses at the high school level, or as in our case our science specialist right at the time the state has just started testing science standards. Last year I went on a field trip with my now 4th grader to the state house here in Indiana. I sat listening to the tour guide brag about how much our state puts into education and how important it is to them and I almost laughed out loud. It maybe more then other states but what has suffered the most with our recent state budget cuts and property tax caps? Education, of course. Teachers always seem to be expected to do more and with less. It is so irritating! But this is why I volunteer and give of my time. Anything I can do to make the job of the teachers even just a little bit easier, I'll do! I'd rather it be me taking care of the piddly little things so the teachers can spend their time teaching my child! Blessings, Garsy God bless you Garsy! If everyone contributed their little grain of sand (those piddly things) then we could have ourselves one beautiful beach for education. (And living in So Cal I know a thing or two about those! [;)]) Yes, the government wants more out of teachers than they are willing to give them. They want our kids to excel in math and science and then cut the very programs that would help them do just that as your example with the AP science teacher so aptly shows. Some teachers have remarked to me that the government prefers a "dumb" electorate. A smart one might just hold them too accountable and make them trim some pork to pay for more necessary things - like education!

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