OlyKids4Cispus.org

WE'VE DONE IT!

The Olympia School District (OSD) is currently in a budget crisis situation. After long debates and community input, the OSD has made the difficult decision to eliminate most of the funding for outdoor/environmental education, referred by many as Cispus after Camp Cispus, the organization that hosts it. The program will continue this year due generous donations from individuals and community groups.

The rest of the funding balance needs to be secured soon.
Our current goal is $58,500.00 and we are asking that you share this information with any and all resources you think can help.

Meeting Minutes and Notes

November 29, 2004
November 22, 2004
January 12, 2005
January 19, 2005
January 31, 2005
February 16, 2005
March 17, 2005

Downloads

Letter to District Families (Word or PDF)
Penny Drive Label (Word or PDF)
Pledge Form (Word or PDF)
Pledge Sheet (Word or PDF)
Take Over Red Robin Flyer - December 7th and 8th (Word or PDF)
Raffle Announcement (Word or PDF)
Fundraiser Application (Word)
Fundraising Instruction Sheet (Word)
Jar Candle Checkin Sheet (Word)
Jar Candle Tally Sheet (Word)
Master Order Form (Word)

News

2-1 NEXT meeting: 6:00 Wednesday, February 16th at Garfield Elementary

1-31 We will be meeting at 6:00 tonight at Garfield. Please plan to attend and discuss our plans to raise the remaining $14,060.00.

1-25 Camp Cispus Receives Reprieve

1-24 Olympia School District Board Meeting at Capital High School

11-23 Olympia Extends Cispus Deadline

11-08 Poineer will be having a school-wide Cispus walk during school hours in PE classes

11-08 There are donation cans at several local businesses and many more will be displayed within the next week.

10-18 The Olympian published two articles about Cispus on Monday, October 18th.

About Outdoor School

The Cispus Outdoor Education Program has proven to be successful in providing an opportunity for elementary students as well as high school student counselors to gain knowledge in plants and animals, trees, local points of interest, stars and heavenly bodies, outdoor behavior and etiquette, geology and soils, leadership, and communication. It is difficult to describe is what both the elementary and high school students share in common after they have had the Cispus Experience. Parents and teachers comment on the transition of the students understanding themselves and the world around them in a different perspective and how Cispus prepares them to enter the next phase of their life, whether that be junior high school, high school, college or the work environment. We believe this transition does not take place during the normal school day and the Cispus Outdoor/Nature Class room is vital to preparing today's youth to being tomorrow's concerned citizens.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Assurance of Donation Collection

All monies collected will be properly documented and tracked through The Garfield PTA and deposited into an account specifically established for this project. If our goal of $58,500 is not reached by January 2005 and an extension is not granted, the monies will be returned upon request from the donation source or distributed evenly throughout the 11 elementary schools in the Olympia School District to be used for outdoor education regardless of the collection source.
TO CLARIFY: All monies will go into one location and each school will share evenly with the outcome of our efforts.

Thank you for your help in keeping this unique, quality educational experience alive for our kids.
For matters concerning this web site contact Scott Le Duc, scott_le_duc@yahoo.com

How money will be dispersed if goal is not achieved

If all of the money is not raised, the fund raising money (Take over Red Robin, raffles, wreath sales, car washes) will be dispersed amoungst the schools according to school population of students with the exception of monies that are donated. The donated funds will be returned to the donor. This may sway someone to participate if they know the money will come back to the school for other outdoor learning activities if the goal is not acheived. To an outsider of the immediate group it may seem that the fund raising money will stay with the Garfield PTA, but it will not.