Calendar

Download the official Lagunitas School District calendar here (pdf format) >>

Open Class Upcoming Events:

Ninth Annual Parent University, Saturday, January 22

2005 Open Classroom Benefit, Saturday, April 2

San Rafael--The Ninth Annual Parent University, a parenting conference offered at no charge to the public, will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2005, at Redwood High School, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year's keynote address, "Media Literacy for Developing Critical Thinking and Self-Esteem" is by Peter DeBenedittis, Ph. D.

Peter DeBenedittis has keynoted at state prevention, education and parent and youth conferences in more than 40 states. He has been featured on CBS’s 48 Hours and was the keynote speaker at last November’s Peer Summit IX for over 300 Marin County middle school students.

The keynote presentation will be followed by workshops on topics such as anger and stress management, raising boys, navigating the teen scene, and parent/teen communication and many more. All workshops are designed to help parents of adolescents meet today’s challenges. Parents have the opportunity to attend two workshops during the morning conference.

Workshops will be led by experts on parenting skills who have solid experience and success with teens. They include; Trout Black, M.A., M.F.T., Bruce Chernack, M.F.T., Chris Kelly, teacher, Kimberly Kassner, author and workshop facilitator, Mary Jane DeWolf-Smith, founding director of APPLE FamilyWorks, Lew Tremaine, Dave Talamo, M.A., M.F.T., Berta Campos-Anicetti, M.P.H., Parent Project facilitators, Cara Carrillo, Marin Education Fund Community Outreach Specialist, Annie Fox, M.Ed., the “online Dear Abby” , Maureen Sedonaen, CEO and President of the Youth Leadership Institute, Susan Quigley, M.F.T., Associate Director for Huckleberry Teen Health Program, Max Yusim, M.F.T., Carol Normandi, M.A., M.F.T., co-founder of Beyond Hunger and Shannon Myers, M.A., M.F.T., Executive Director of Beyond Hunger.

Several workshops will be bilingual in Spanish and English and Book Passage of Corte Madera will offer a wide variety of books for sale on parenting topics.

For more information, contact Margaret Beyer at the Marin County Office of Education, (415) 499-5877 or Barbara Goodman at the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, (415) 507-4170.

Here is the link to Parent University >>

Here is an article from the IJ >>

2005 OPEN CLASSROOM BENEFIT
Spaghetti Dinner, Square Dance, Raffle & More!
Lagunitas Multi-purpose Room 5:00 PM
Saturday, APRIL 2nd, 2005

Our annual Open Classroom Benefit is coming up soon! Its time to SIGN UP FOR JOBS so we can make this years event fun and successful. For those of you unfamiliar with this Open Classroom Tradition, We will prepare and serve fantastic vegetarian or meat spaghetti, fresh, organic salad and hot crusty garlic bread. The New Blueridge Highballers will play lively square dance tunes, we will have a professional "caller" and all dances will be taught! The children will be learning some of these dances at school and fun will be had by all! We will have an exciting 10 item raffle geared to adults and children. We may continue our fun Kids' Silent Auction again this year, or maybe come up with some new Kid activities.(Let us know your ideas!) Our bake sale is famous for it's homemade baked delights. A free supervised Childcare room with different activities will be close at hand. It's a great night of family fun!

To make this happen, it is necessary for ALL of us to contribute our time and energy to various jobs. (This is part of your Open Classroom parent participation agreement.) Since this fund-raiser is an opportunity for our whole program to come together to work and play and it contributes greatly to our financial well-being, please, please share your energy and talents for this great historic family event.

This year we definitely need some new people on each of the organizing committees to keep new and seasoned parents working together and carrying on this fun Open community tradition. It's a great way to get to know people, get involved with other parents, teachers and kids and work together FUN-RAISING. If you had a job you enjoyed last year, please sign up to help in that area again. Your experience and memories of what worked and didn't will be much appreciated.

Everyone is expected to take on a couple of jobs listed below. Please look over the following job list and sign up now!! Those that lag will be assigned jobs that still need filling in mid February. We will start with a general meeting for all committees in early February. (The first Friday after school maybe-let me know your availability.) Thanks,
Maiya Finch

JOBS BEFORE EVENT

------1 PUBLICITY---Someone to write and send press releases to local papers and radio stations. Help us get the word out about this great family event.

------ 2 SIGNAGE PEOPLE Repair or touch up outdoor Benefit signs. Put the small signs up on the telephone poles 2 weeks before event (Large sign at bottom of White's Hill) Build a new sandwich board sign for the day of the event.

---- 1 CREATIVE, ARTISTIC COMPUTER PERSON---Create lively flyers to be sent to open classroom parents and general Lagunitas school community. This involves about 6 different announcements. Help post flyers around San Geronimo Valley and Fairfax areas.

-----4 PASTA AND SAUCE PREP COOKS----Chopping and sautéing up yummy meat and vegetarian sauce. Pre-cooking and bagging all the pasta. This usually takes from 2:00 until 6:30 on the Friday before the dinner/dance.

-----6 RAFFLE WORKERS----- Sell raffle tickets at school and in the community. Make signs, print tickets and make packets of raffle tickets for students and parents to sell.

-----8 IN CLASSROOM FOOD PREP--- Help children prepare garlic bread and wash and bag lettuce Friday morning before the event. Take food down to lower campus kitchen. 9:00--12:30

-----2 FOOD SHOPPERS AND SOLICITORS-----Pick up donated and other needed food and drinks from local grocers on the day or two before the event. Bring items to school and store.

-----2 RAFFLE PRIZE SOLICITORS----Find new and exciting raffle prizes (we hope to get ten altogether) These should be through our Open Families and their personal business connections. Do not solicit local merchants.

----2 KID SILENT AUCTION COORDINATORS \ OR OTHER $ EARNING KID ACTIVITY----Solicit our families (not local merchants) for new or nearly new kid inspired and kid friendly auction items under $10 that kids would love to bid on. Collect items and supervise set up on day of event.

JOBS ON DAY OF EVENT:

-----5 SET UP AND DECORATING---- Shift tables and benches for dinner. Put up posters and art. Put on table clothes and set tables. Put out water, silverware, napkins, cheese and serving tables.

-----2 KIDS' SILENT AUCTION ITEM / (OR OTHER KID ACTIVITY) SET-UP---- Work with auction solicitors to display collected items, and create bid sheets.

-----6 RAFFLE SELLERS------ Help set up raffle tables and display raffle items. 1 hour shifts to sell tickets. Set up in the morning and selling in the evening.

-----3 T-SHIRT AND SWEATSHIRT SELLERS-----Set up and take down of the T-shirt sales booth, display the merchandise and sell shirts, sweatshirts and canvas bags. 3 one hour shifts during dinner and dancing.

KITCHEN HELP
-----4 People to finish salad prep 9:00-11:30.
-----2 People to get pasta sauce cooking 9:00-11:30
-----2 People to get pasta water boiling, prepare salad and garlic bread for serving at 3:30-4:45
-----8 Dinner servers ---help serve dinner between 4:45 and 6:30
-----8 Kitchen clean up helpers 6:30 until done and sparkling.
-----4 Adults to assist older kids with table clearing in preparation of taking them outside.
-----6 Strong people to haul tables and benches outside to make room for dancers . This takes place right after dinner at 6:30.

----10 BAKE SALE WORKERS----1 hr. shifts. 1st shift makes coffee and sets up at 4:30. Last shift cleans coffee pot and tidies up. Two adults plus kids per shift.

----10 CHILDCARE WORKERS--- Two adults plus coordinator oversee kid activity room for 1 hr. shifts.

-----5 CLEAN UP CREW---- Attend to all end of event clean up jobs. This is usually at 10:30. Bring tables and benches back in, clean tables, sweep floor and tidy up. Multi purpose room has to sparkle before we can leave!

-----2 RECYCLING AND GARBAGE CREW----- Set up recycle and garbage containers before event. Follow through by emptying containers as needed during event. Make sure all garbage and Recycling is taken to appropriate bins on campus that night.

-----3 CASHIERS ---Add up people's bills for the raffle and the kid's silent auction. This is at the end of the event.

Print and fill out the form and bring it in to the office.