Scholastic Book Fair Warehouse Sale - volunteers needed

The Scholastic Book Fairs December BIG Event Warehouse Book Sale is quickly approaching.
This BIG Customer Appreciation Warehouse Sale will be held
Friday, December 9 through Wednesday, December 21, 2011.

The December Warehouse Sale hours are:

Weekdays 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Saturday December 10^th, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Saturday December 17^th, 8:00 a.m. - Noon

Closed Sundays, December 11^th & 18^th

As always, our volunteers are a much needed and greatly appreciated part of our success. We are in need of volunteers that are able to help during sale hours. We’re asking for a commitment of a minimum of 4 hours per shift. Some jobs you may be assigned to include: cashier/bagging, customer registration, and help desk.

Please check your calendar for availability & forward your reply by November 18^th with your available dates/times toVolunteerCLE@scholasticbookfairs.com (preferred) or fax (440-572-8522). We will be in touch to inform you which of your available hours match our staffing needs.

DATE	SALE TIMES	HOURS YOU’RE ABLE TO WORK
Friday, December 9	11am-7pm
Saturday, December 10	8am-4pm
Monday, December 12	11am-7pm
Tuesday, December 13	11am-7pm
Wednesday, December 14	11am-7pm
Thursday, December 15	11am-7pm
Friday, December 16	11am-7pm
Saturday, December 17	8am-Noon
Monday, December 19	11am-7pm
Tuesday, December 20	11am-7pm
Wednesday, December 21	11am-7pm

As a volunteer, you will be “compensated” for your time with a certificate voucher worth
$10 per hour volunteered in Scholastic Book Fairs merchandise. The certificates must be redeemed by the last day of this sale.

Please, also contact your own Friends & Family who might be interested in joining us as volunteers and receiving books! Keep in mind, we occasionally have more volunteers than available opportunities.

If you have any questions, email Gail Fader at VolunteerCLE@scholasticbookfairs.com .
We are looking forward to seeing you in December.

Thank you!

Gail Fader

Scholastic Book Fairs

ClevelandBranch Admin.

12850 Darice Pkwy., Suite A

Strongsville, OH   44149

(440) 572-4880, x225

gfader@scholasticbookfairs.com

Are you ready for some football?

A message from our tireless fundraising crew:

Browns Concession Stand Volunteer training - October 13, 2011 at 5:45 pm at the Grille and October 27, 2011 at 5:45 pm at the Grille.

Those who have not yet completed training and are already working at the games are HIGHLY recommended to complete the training. Those who are interested, and would like to start working at the games are encouraged to attend.


If you're able to help, please visit the Browns volunteer page of our website at https://sites.google.com/site/menloparkacademy/parent-central/cleveland-browns-concession-stand

Thanks!

Second Summer Newsletter

Please note: The Menlo Park Academy school office is currently under construction.  Because the work stations in this area have been temporarily relocated, you may experience some delays in reaching MPA staff members during the construction.  Please be patient and rest assured that the staff is returning all voicemails and email messages as soon as possible.

As a community school, Menlo Park Academy is highly dependent on parent participation and involvement.  In order to maintain a lean cost structure, Menlo Park Academy does not employ a management company but instead relies on parent volunteers and occasional part-time professionals to execute the primary functions of the school.  These include but are not limited to daily operations, marketing, development/fundraising, information technology, and academic/curriculum development. 

Volunteer opportunities exist on many levels, both inside and outside the school and during many different hours.  Whether you actively participate on one of the school operating committees or volunteer in the classroom or office, during recess or lunch, or assist with other school activities, we deeply appreciate and rely on your help.

Descriptions of the various volunteer teams and responsibilities will be sent out to parents later this month, giving you plenty of time to choose how you’d like to contribute before we ask you to officially sign up in late August.  In the meantime, here are a few volunteer opportunities available this summer:

We Want You (and your cleaning supplies)!

This Saturday, August 6^th, is an excellent opportunity for Menlo Park families to come together to help make the school a little nicer for our students.  Starting at 8am, we’ll be washing windows until they gleam, getting lockers ready for a new year of backpacks and brown bags, and vacuuming up all the dust bunnies that have accumulated over the summer.  Many hands make light work – and many squeegees, shop vacs, rags, buckets, and paper towels make everything go faster, too, so plan to bring some cleaning supplies with you.  We’d like to know ahead of time how many workers to expect, so please sign-up here to let us know you’ll be coming.  And don’t forget to log your volunteer hours online when you’re done!  You can find the link online here.

Go Browns! Go Volunteers!

This year MPA will once again be working concession stand #148 at all Cleveland Browns football games.  This stand is a great way for MPA family adults to get some volunteer hours AND help earn some money for the school.  Our first commitment is Browns Family Fun day on Saturday, August 6^th.  You do not need to have attended the concession stand training to attend this event, so it’s a great opportunity to get "on the job" training working in the stand.  Please click the link below to sign up and work this fun event.

Family Fun Day - Saturday, August 6, 2011

After this initial event, volunteers at the concession stand need to have attended the appropriate training in order to participate.  Luckily, the Browns have added additional training dates.  Just click a link below to register for a training time:

Returning Volunteers

Tuesday, August 9th, 6pm (arrive by 5:45pm)

Thursday, August 11th, 6pm (arrive by 5:45pm)

NEW Volunteers

Tuesday, August 2nd, 6pm (arrive by 5:45pm)

Thursday, August 4th, 6pm (arrive by 5:45pm)

Wednesday, August 17th, 6pm (arrive by 5:45pm)

Thursday, August 25th, 6pm (arrive by 5:45pm)

Training sessions last between 2.5 and 3.5 hours.  Visit our Browns Concession Page here to see all the details and to choose which games you can volunteer.  Just contact our team lead, Chris Harrison at 216.375.2117 or by Email here if you have questions.

Volunteer School for School Volunteers?

That’s right – we’ll be offering training for all MPA family adults who would like to volunteer during the school day.  This training is designed for anyone who is interested in working during arrival or dismissal, helping out with lunch or recess, leading an elective or club, working on the Thursday folders, or helping out in the school office.  Basically, if you’re going to be at the school during school hours and want the volunteer credit, you should attend one of these training times!

All training will take place on Monday, August 29^th.  There are four sessions to choose from: 1pm, 2pm, 6pm, and 7:30pm.  More information on this training will be sent out soon, as well as information on how to sign up for your session of choice.

Party Time!

Want to meet other MPA families, have some fun, and get first crack at signing up for all the volunteer teams? Then Lakewood Park is the place to be on Sunday, August 28^th, from 5-7pm.  We’ll be meeting in the Kiwanis pavilion – conveniently located near both the playground and restrooms – for a picnic and all-school playdate.  Bring dinner for your family, meet MPA teachers and parents, and get primed for a great school year!  Click here for a map to the park, which is at the intersection of Belle and Lake Avenues in Lakewood.

Coming Soon …

More information will be sent out soon on volunteer team sign-ups, the open house/supply drop-off on Monday, August 29^th, and Edison Club orientation (also on August 29^th).  We’ll also be letting parents know what to expect from the new Singapore Math curriculum, as well as introducing some of the new teachers.  In the meantime, enjoy your summer, and we hope to see you at the school (or at the Browns Family Fun Day) on August 6^th!

 

What can you do to help?

As we all know, families of students at Menlo Park Academy are expected to volunteer at least 10 hours a month to help improve the school experience for our students. 

It’s never too early to get started on your hours for this year – over the summer we need everything from maintenance/facilities help in the school building to paperwork help that can be done at home or in the school office.

Immediate needs include help for the classroom clean-up scheduled for Saturday, August 6^th.  If you can move desks, wield a bottle of glass cleaner, or shelve books, we need you!

Later this summer we’ll be sending out more information of the kinds of volunteer opportunities available during the school year, including leading electives, organizing fundraisers, and helping out with lunch or recess duty.  We’ll also be holding a training session on Monday, August 29^th, for volunteers who are interested in working during arrival, lunch, recess, or dismissal.  Contact the school if you’d like to find out more or be included in the training.

Marketing Team Notes

Looking for volunteer opportunities that don't require a trip to school during the day?  Have we got a deal for you!

The marketing team still has a number of projects that you can help on before the end of the school year.  We could use help with press releases, managing our facebook account, developing a video for use on the website, finalizing website updates, graphic work for brochures, copy for the newsletter, photography, and more.

If you are interested in helping with anything in particular, please contact team lead Jeff Gibeault.  You can reach him at jeffgibeault@hotmail.com.

The Science Department's New Grow Camp

I am pleased to share with all avid gardeners and lovers of the outdoors an exciting addition to our MPA science facilities. Delivered this afternoon from the Gardener's Supply Company (www.gardeners.com) is a new greenhouse that can accommodate dozens of plants of all sorts.

The timing for this is particularly good as the 4th grade is currently studying plants and the 5th grade is learning about ecosystems. Called the "Grow Camp", this sturdy 4'x8' greenhouse is fully collapsible so that it can be moved and stored if necessary. The base is made of rot-proof polypropylene and the plastic cover can be replaced with netting in the summer to let air circulate freely while keeping out pests.

With this new gardening site we now can conduct growth experiments, learning about the effects of pH, fertilizers, moisture levels, etc. on plant growth while also growing healthy vegetables for lessons on nutrition and planning a healthy menu. All we need now are a few enthusiastic volunteers who would like to help with gardening projects and general maintenance of the garden. If you are interested in helping out or have tools or seeds you can donate or share, please let me know. I hope to get the garden together and filled with soil by the middle of the month so we can have fresh lettuce by the end of the school year!

Happy Spring!

--

Janeth Eby
Science and Health Educator
Menlo Park Academy
14440 Triskett Road
Cleveland, OH 44111
(440) 478-5556 (cell)

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. - William Butler Yeats