New Semester, New ideas

We are well on our way to completing our first, school-wide community service project. So far, we have raised over 4,500 dollars and gotten nearly every class involved in some way. I’m proud of the effort you have put forward, particularly for your self-organized projects. The project has been marked by many successes and a few learning moments. As we begin to look for new ideas for the upcoming semester, we will want to reflect on what we have done and how to improve. 

We did a good job at organizing committees and keeping track of money. Our basic fundraising was well-done. We did a great job of introducing the project, getting students interested and involved. We struggled to keep that momentum going though. We lack the ability to keep publicity up and to keep announcements on point. Several promising ideas never materialized. These sorts of things should be part of our overall reflection, as they indeed are part of my own service journal. What did you think went well? What needs to be worked on? What opportunities did we miss? 

As for suggestions for the coming semester, I have posted some links to help give you sense of what kinds of projects to consider. My own research leads me in two directions. The Great American Bake Sale is an opportunity to raise money for American children who go without enough to eat. The money raised goes to a national campaign that redistributes the funds to local and community charities. The pros are that it is a national campaign to offer balance to this semester’s international focus, it reaches into local charities, and it is an issue that is very close to home for many of our students. The cons are that it is a circuitous way to raise money for local charity, it’s a program that relies heavily on corporate sponsorship (C&H and Domino Sugar, FoodNetwork, etc.) and it will require more organization from clubs and classes. 

The second option that I find intriguing is the Invisible Children of Uganda project. This project is trying to raise money, collect books and educate Americans about the war in Uganda that has finally come to an end. It is a group of American travelers than made video and started to raise awareness of the situation in Uganda. Pros are that it is well-organized with a lot of multi-media information, it is international, it focuses on education and peace (an ongoing theme it seems), it helps students understand a part of the world they are most likely unfamiliar with, and it allows for other types of donations besides money. The cons are that is might look a lot like our current pennies for peace campaign, it doesn’t allow for an obvious activity, it’s an informational campaign more than a campaign of action. 

These are just two of a multitude of choices. In addition to another school-wide service community, we need a weekend project that we can all participate in. Something to build our own CAS community. I’d also like to plan a lunch potluck (maybe we can convince some 4th period teachers to let you out early) to celebrate the close of pennies for peace. 

This is where we stand at the moment. In the comments, write your reflections, answer to the questions and thoughts on new projects. Good luck on your upcoming IB assessments and thanks for all your hard work.

Updates

We’ve followed through on several of our ideas. The assembly was a success. Students seem to have a grasp of what we are doing and why. We collected a total of 602 dollars that Friday. Our first collection day was also a success. We collected a total of 508 dollars that day. With the few community jars we had out and some other donations, our total collection as of Friday was 1,193 dollars. We’ve also ironed out a lot of the kinks in the process, though we’ll need more people to commit to collecting and counting. However, we were able to count, tally and return everything by seventh period. 

Then, we had the dance. The juniors particularly did a great job of helping plan and set up. They went out and got donations for decorations and ran the door. They also made balloon arches and signs for the walk over rally. All in all, it was a great success, with over two hundred students attending. Mrs. Zody and her yearbook class and Ms. Sciaqua’s journalism class took pictures, hopefully to use in the documentary as well.  Councilman Blong Xiong walked over to the stadium with Mr. Reyes and the students. We raised a over 550 dollars at the door, with a final count available on Monday. This doesn’t count the money made on concessions, sold by Mr. Valenzuela’s Academic Decathalon and Ms. Schimmel’s third period class, or the tatoos or glowsticks sold by the sophomore class and Latin club.  We also had great support from the JROTC and the band who led the march to Ratcliffe. We owe Ms. Uriarte a huge thank you for being our admin support at the dance and during the walkover.

Overall, you guys are doing a good job of getting things done, but now we enter the next phase where it is more student driven project. Michael is working on his music show and needs help. We’ll need to keep publicity and advertising going. Also, there are two large projects in the work that require some student support and help. Mr. Rivera would like to have a city wide car wash with is his National Guard Unit. Also, a movie night was suggested, and that has been approved. Also, CAS students need to be making contact within the community, putting out jars or looking for matching donations. If you need a copy of the fundraising letter, please see me. 

Overall, we find ourselves in the midst of a successful project, with the need and responsibility to keep it going. Please keep your good ideas coming.

Meeting

There will be a meeting for Pennies for Peace at Fresno High in Ms. D’s room on Monday, August 4th from 10am to noon. I am aware of the ASB meeting, but schedules being what they are we’ll have to overlap. Come prepared with ideas and plans. Tell your friends!

New Link Category, New Ideas

As you look over the site, I hope you notice that there is a new category for posting articles about other people who have positively impacted their community, country or world through service. I hope these stories serve as inspiration, but also as a reminder that one person can make a difference through thoughtful problem solving. 

As you enjoy your summer break, I urge you to continue to think, to serve and to act. If any of you come across an article or website that you think would make a good addition to the site, please email me. Also, I will set up a category to post our current, individual summer projects and suggestions for those of us who might need some inspiration ourselves. 

—ibdossetti

Risk and Failure

As I read Three Cups of Tea, I’m always impressed by Greg Mortenson’s response to failure and his ability to risk what most of us would not. As you read, think about what risks Mortenson takes in his life, and how his failures affect him and his goals. Post your responses, thoughts and ideas in the comments. 

If you still need copies of the book, email me and we’ll work out a way for you to get one. 

 

Onward!

A few things we need to get started on right away. I’m going to meeting with Mr. Reyes on Tuesday. I’d like to settle on a date for the Penny Dance and get things rolling on that, so it’s time to start posting ideas for that fundraiser.

Also, teachers have been asking me what kind of competition there will be and what incentives we will use. Frankly, other than a pizza party for the class that collects the most (which seems uninspired) I’m not sure what we should do. There are at least two types of prizes to consider: one for classroom/period that collects the most and one for club or team. I’d like to talk to Mr. Reyes about how what kind of incentives were talking about so that we can start to secure some funding, though I’m thinking we might have to start this summer to get community donations. 

In the comments below post ideas about the incentives, competitions and the dance. 

—ibdossetti

Brainstorming Results

How to introduce the project: 

• assembly
• show documentary (use closed circuit tv)
• contact authors of Three Cups of Tea
• Create a myspace page, add to school profile
• Tea themed day at school, penny themed days
• Penny week, like pig week. 
• Make posters
• Hand out buttons or bracelets to make project visible on campus
• Articles in the Owlet
• Make it a competition
• Contact clubs/organization sponsors
• Penny Dance
• Students go into classes to share project.
• Post large pictures of Pennies and Peace signs on campus. 
• Set up a booth during club expo

How to keep students aware and involved: 

• constantly replace banners and signs.
• chalk the ground with facts, announcements
• Collect pennies from classrooms weekly
• Announce class winners, keep an ongoing tally
• Use a piggy bank or pig graphic to keep students aware of how much they’ve done
• Use rhymes and use it on the announcements
• Movie/documentary night in Royce Hall. 
• Subject Oriented art/talent show
• Sell cookies decorated like pennies. 
• Use lunchtime activties
• Small groups do lunchtime skits
• Handout homemade pennies bracelets
• Use incentives
• Create ongoing comic for Owlet
• Penny day once a week 
• Share facts about pennies, value, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• Skits during rallies.
• Pass a bucket during rallies
• Create a penny mascot
• Create shirts for students to wear when they collect
• Closed circuit TV, run tallies and “penny news”
• Got to kid’s day, walk in the parade, work the crowd, have a booth.
• Art hop, sell student art to raise money
• Fundraising dinner. 

After you’ve read this list, comment on what you think you’d like to help with, or what you think you can do. Let’s start getting some committees formed and some plans made. I’ve talked with Mr. Zinn and he’ll support a penny dance. If any new ideas occur to you, include that in the comments. 

Welcome

Welcome to Cuppa Tea, the Fresno High Community Service Blog. This site is intended primarily for the use of students as they coordinate, organize and design community service projects. The title of the blog is derived from our first (and current project) fundraising for Three Cups of Tea.  

If you are student, please leave a comment so I know who’s caught up with us, and who needs to be guided to our site. Also, in a few days, you’ll find a post summarizing our brainstorming for our last meeting. The next step is to beginning planning when we will start planning certain activities. This space will become more and more important as we begin to coordinate and plan. Please check in weekly, at least. 

If you haven’t gotten a copy of the book Three Cups of Tea, please do. It really helps you understand the purpose and the motivation behind the project. The secondary purpose of this blog will be to discuss the book. That discussion will be started in a separate category as soon as I finish the book. Look for it next week or so. If you can’t get a copy of the book, let me know via e-mail and we’ll work something out. A trade around perhaps?

Finally, please browse through Greg Mortensen’s website: http://www.penniesforpeace.org/home.html. You might find that many of your brainstorms and ideas are supported, refined or added to at this site. 

I hope you are all enjoying your summer and remember to log time spent thinking and posting on the site for your CAS logs! Cheers!

—ibdossetti