December 2018
Written by Mary Stephenson 12-15-2018
Christmas Party 2018
The week of December 9th started off with a bang.
Great Christmas Party. I wanted to thank Dave Simpson, Jeff Silva, and their wives (especially those 2 ladies) for putting on a wonderful party. And a big thank you to all that made this event happen.
For me personally, I needed that before starting the grueling week of Santa Shop at Sycamore School!
It was insane, as I had predicted. We will be going back to the PTA meeting in January to improve it for next year IF they want our participation. It is a great project and fun when it is run correctly and for the very reason we are involved with the school. I want to know everyone’s take on it and we will address all issues at the PTA meeting.
Don’t misunderstand me… I love this project and it can be a lot of fun. I see real value and want to continue with the Santa Shop for Sycamore. We had gone to the PTA meeting last January and gave our input, thinking that it would run smoothly this year. Not sure what happened between January and November but we dealt with the process as Lions do and just stepped up to the plate and gave back, even though it was insane.
Santa Shop 2018
I want to thank everyone that participated in the Santa Shop, especially Charlie Duncan. He had signed up for Tuesday only and came back Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We needed him, thanks Charlie!
The following people that helped other than Gary and I. Doyle, George, Ernie and Linda, Brian, Mike, Jim Walker, Charlie and Sue Duncan, Ava and friend Robert, Dave and Sharon, Jim and Judy Reimer, Ron and Janet, Charlie Follis and Dawn, and Andy. Total of 22 volunteers with 95.5 hours of time. Donations of roughly $600 from club members.
Thank you everyone for helping and making it a success.
4 Responses to December 2018
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While the Santa Shop was a worthwhile experience, there is ample room for improvement. FIRST AND FOREMOST, the students need to be more evenly distributed, with smaller groups being allowed earlier access into the room. The Santa shop can and should be more of a learning experience for these kids. They should be allowed to ‘shop’ throughout the day, NOT JUST from 11:30 till 2:00. They would benefit from more interaction from the adults in the room. ‘More time’ to shop is my main suggestion for improvement of this event
Totally agree. There was no time to spend with each child to help them make wise decisions on their shopping experience. With a huge influx of children, the energy is out of control. Many of us would have liked to have interacted with the kids. Taking the time to let them also have a selection of wrapping paper and pick out a matching bow. It became a process of hurrying them up and out of the room so they could catch the bus, etc. The other 2 years we helped with the event fifth graders had an opportunity to work in the store and this year it was taken away from them. Another great opportunity of learning missed. All children should be allowed to shop, even if they have no funds to do so. That is why many of us donated not only our time but our finances to the Santa Shop. It was for the benefit of those kids and this has to be addressed for any future Santa Shops at Sycamore School.
Need more time to process the kids – 6-8 at a time with more sent when we have completed the current group. We solicit donations from club members and parent to give a minimum buying power to each child.
Also return to the kids helping with the project as before.
Yes, we picked up merchandise throughout the year with the intention it would benefit the kids that had no money. If a kid has money to buy presents their parents could take them to the store. Would not consider denying any kid, but we are involved in the school for those that are not so lucky. The shop and learning experience for each child should be a positive situation. I don’t feel we had the time to make this happen. The whole situation goes much deeper than what I want to cover through the comment section. But we will be addressing the many flaws with our experience this year. Just wanted to know how others felt and if there was something I may have missed.