Mini-courses: We need you now!

Minicourse Sign-ups

Here is a link to the Mini-couse signup form.

What: Chugach parents teach students how to play, create and learn something new, strange, wonderful, gross, intense and inspiring. Minicourses put parents into classrooms, playgrounds, ice rinks, trails and other environments for two consecutive mornings to share their knowledge, no matter how newly acquired! Previous topics have included everything from making jewelry and Nordic skiing to building benches, playing broomball and studying chocolate.

When: 8:15 to 11:15 a.m. Thursday and Friday, Feb. 24 and 25

Where: Chugach and other locations like Westchester Lagoon, ski trails or local businesses

Who: Chugach parents and students

Why: Because parents and students build confidence, knowledge and a sense of community by hanging out and learning from each other. Kids love the change of pace and mix-up fun; grown-ups dig the free coffee…and the hilarity of unexpected mishaps and inquiries.

Updates

We need 35 or more courses to support the program, so sign up now. ONLY parents and guardians can fill out the minicourse forms. We need a commitment from a parent or guardian to run, oversee and be present for the entire minicourse period from 8 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 24 and 25. Each course runs both mornings. Adults outside Chugach can participate, but a parent must present for the duration of the course.

Important dates

Sign-ups will take place now through February. Fill out a form and drop it in the envelope, or email all the information requested in the form to Dawnell at Chugachminicourses@gmail.com.

o Feb. 4 is the deadline for the school committing to minicourses. We will need a firm commitment for at least 30 classes in order to put on the show.

o Feb. 11 is the drop-dead deadline. All minicourses forms must be turned in and details firmed up.

Call-out for a minicourse apprentice

I’m going into my last few years at Chugach, and the school can use another person willing to organize minicourses in the future. If you’re interested in helping out this year and learning the ropes, give me a shout. Best to you all,

Dawnell Smith (Sawyer’s mom)

Minutes of Chugach Parent Coordinators meeting

Friday, January 21, 2010; 8:30-9:30 a.m

In attendence: Anne Predmore, Michelle Bittner, Deb Mole, Lisa Paesani, Mallory Hamilton, Olena Kalytiak Davis, Michele Hoffman, Aspen Perkins, Lisa Earnhart, Randee Liles, Carina Howe, Jenny Loudon, Sarah Weise, Charles Wohlforth, Martha Robinson, Angela Palmer, Dawnell Smith and Anne Salzer

1. Welcome: Charles and Martha
Great to have so many Parent Coordinators attend the meeting. Your volunteer time and commitment are remarkable and greatly appreciated.

2. Feedback on the year so far: All
Parent Volunteerism feedback from teachers is outstanding.
Most of the PCs liked having fewer PC meetings.

3. Mini-courses (Feb 24 & 25): Dawnell Smith, feral@alaska.net
Sign ups for Minicourse instructors and assistants is slow - 8 courses as of Jan 21. Total courses needed to have Minicourses is 30.

PCs were asked to inform their parents about Minicourses and to encourage their participation as instructors or assistants.

Minicourse forms are available on the bulletin board and will be put on the Blog.
(Charles emailed Minicourse information from Dawnell to all the PCs)

4. Science share (Mar 15-17): Angela Palmer, palmerfischer@gci.net

PCs were asked to inform their families about Science Share and to encourage parents to volunteer as “Way Cool Scientists” for the Science Share evening on Thursday, March 17.
(Charles emailed Science Share information from Angela to all the PCs)

5: Memory book pictures needed: Martha (for Cathy Easter, ceaster@acsalaska.net)

Cathy Easter needs a photo person contact for each family group. PC’s were asked to provide their photo person’s name, if known. If not known, PC’s were asked to either find a photo contact for their family group or to be the photo contact themselves.

Cds with photos from family groups can given to Diane at the front office for Cathy to pick up.

5. Other issues, announcements (skating, etc): Charles, Martha, all

Skating volunteers are needed to help tie skates and supervise kids on the ice rink. Skating has had to be cancelled several times for lack of parent volunteers.

Upcoming Dates

Lottery Deadline: March 24
Please make sure your families know they have to submit a Chugach lottery application for any incoming siblings. Siblings are not automatically submitted.

Spring Fling: April 15

Art Night: April 29

Next PC meeting: Friday, March 25

Mini-course recruitment

Mini-course info from Dawnell:

Here's a list of courses from 2009 and 2010 to give folks an idea of what parents have done in the past.

Right now, I've got at least three knitting/fiber art classes and a few cooking classes. The more we can branch off from there, the better.

Some of the classes I'd like to see include:

Nordic skiing
Some sort of sport in the gym (volleyball, basketball, dodgeball, whatever)
Some kind of dance
Some kind of game like Chess, Quoridor, Monopoly, etc.
Something academic in a playful way, like math puzzles, spoken word, calligraphy, printmaking, etc.
Some kind of community-minded project (Stellar students painted fire hydrants, for instance; but there are opportunities for learning from kids coming from other countries, contributing to the school's well-being, etc.)

The idea is to get a broad cross-section so all kids find something they like.

Okay, so here's that list from the past two years:


Ice fishing

Building & decorating benches

Paper arts: rockets, airplanes oh my

$$ smarts through Monopoly

How to create a Web site & other tips

Cross stitching for beginners

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks

Rockets!

Snow, avalanches & wilderness skills

Ice skating

Chip'n 101: Golf like the pros

Drawing with beads & sequins

Felt necklaces & recycled wallets

Patchwork quilting

Volcanos

Knitting for all skill levels

Gingerbread houses

All holiday crafts

Drawing people

Jam making

Basketball

Climbing your family tree

Making pasta from scratch

Cooking in a commercial kitchen

Basic French

Ollivander's Wand Shop

Learning lacross

Soccer

Cupid's Cupcake & Valentine


Alt Energy & Electronic Recycling

Basketball: Skills, drills and thrills

Book publishing in the digital age

Building snow caves

Calligraphy

Chess for beginners

Chugach Spirit Banner

Climate Change in Alaska

Cooking: Two days, two dishes

Cross country skiing

Digital photo greeting cards

decoupage cans

Drawing and sculpting people

Exploring Fighter Jets

Fantastic origami paper crafts

Felted ornaments

Fencing

Geneology: Discover your Family Roots

Ginger bread structures

Ice skating

Iris folding: paper art

Knitting hat/scarves w/o needles

Mask making

Musical Dance Theater

Necklace and bracelet making

Pinecone wreaths

Remote controlled monsters

Rockets: To Infinity and Beyond

Snow science & avalanche safety

Super gonzo granola

Ugly dolls

Woodshop: A step stool/tool box

Science share

Dear Chugach Families,

It’s Science Share time! It’s time to start thinking like a scientist and develop that idea into a measureable question for a science fair project.

The Chugach Science Share is a noncompetitive science fair held the week after Spring Break:

* Tuesday March 15 to Friday March 18.
* Family Science Share Night is Thursday March 17th 6:30 pm. That evening students get a chance share their findings, and interact with a “Way Cool Scientist” who will give them feedback on their project.
* The timing of our science share is to accommodate the state Alaska Science and Engineering Fair for K-12 http://www.alaskasciencefair.org/ , which is the following weekend: March 18-20. See their website for rules and regulations.

Resources for Families

* January talks from Parent Scientists in classrooms. Inquire with your child about this classroom discussion.
* Watch for weekly scoop articles (also available online)
* Chugach Web Site. Click on Chugach Science Share for electronic handouts, timeline and links http://www.asdk12.org/schools/chugach_optional/pages/Chugach_Optional_Website/Chugach_Science_Share.html
* Bulletin Board in multipurpose room has paper handouts, timeline, and links
* Last week a handout went home in mailbags. It is also available online and at bulletin board.

Call for Way Cool Scientists

* Parents with science backgrounds are highly encouraged to be Way Cool Scientists and help review projects the night of Thursday March 17th. Please contact me. This is a very rewarding experience!

If you have questions, comments, or are available to help, please contact: Angela Palmer-science share coordinator palmerfischer@gci.net .

Remember, it’s the process, not so much the final result that is important.

See you at the Science Share!

Angela

Happy New Year, PCs!

Hope everyone had a fun holiday break with plenty of R&R. Our upcoming PC meeting will be next week on Friday, January 21, at 8:30am, however there are three items that need to be addressed before then.

Minicourses are coming up on February 24 & 25 and parents are needed to sign up as Minicourse instructors. Dawnell Smith, the Minicourse Coordinator, is looking to have at least 30 classes by Friday, Feb 4. Minicourse forms have been emailed to all PCs and can also be picked up from the bulletin board in the Multipurpose room. Please encourage your parents to share their talents/interests with our kids.

The ice rink is ready for skaters, but parent volunteers are needed to help tie skates and monitor the kids on the rink between 11:30 - 12:30 every day. Please invite your parents to sign up on the skating calendar and help our kids enjoy this great outdoor activity.

Yearbook pictures are needed ASAP.
Cathy Easter is putting our Chugach yearbook together again this year and she needs pictures of our kids. Please gather 3 pictures that have been taken of each child in your family group from your camera savvy parents/teacher/class photographer, put them on a disk and drop the disk off with Diane at the front office where Cathy can pick them up. Photos of schoolwide events are also needed for the yearbook, like World Celebration, We're Writing the Constitution, etc. (Cathy already has plenty of running club and Halloween pictures) It would help Cathy to have a person from each family group to contact directly regarding photos, so please email your class photo person's contact info to Cathy, ceaster@acsalaska.net.

Thanks!
Martha and Charles