Saturday Work Day (SWD) for May 9, 2009, 9:30 am - 1:00 pm

Hello All!

This coming Saturday is the scheduled Work Day for May! Heading up the "sprucing fun" will be myself as event chair and Ms. Sally Burns as Co-Chair.
We hope that some of you may take time out this Mothers' Day weekend to spend some time with Ms. Burns and myself; we promise good humor, warm weather,
and community spirit as we take on the following tasks:

* Garden/landscape planting (the bulk of effort on Saturday):
Courtesy of H.O.P.E. and Mr. Greg Dinsmore (husband of Kinder instructor Maren Dinsmore), who is generously donating some drought-tolerant landscape plants,
SWD volunteers will be planting these plants in beds alongside the admin building and in the garden area.
==> tools needed: hand-held and big shovels, rakes, and similar gardening tools

* Detailing one or both of the ISM vans:
Volunteers will be removing trash and debris, vacuuming and cleaning the interior. Once done, students will be reminded to respectfully use the vans and take
trash with them following fieldtrip use.
==> tools needed: buckets, car washing soap, sponges, perhaps an extra hose

* Copying effort for "Student Services Resource Manual" / Dr. Neli Volante:
Volunteers will be trained in the morning by Dr. Volante to make copies needed for several new/missing resource binders needed for 09-10 staff
==> tools needed: organizational skills... and a high degree of patience with the ISM copiers

* Cleaning MUR stage:
Sweeping, vacuuming, perhaps mopping the MUR stage (area not cleaned weekly by custodian) in prep for upcoming concert rehearsals / Spring concert
==> tools needed: wet/dry vacuum, extra brooms

--Standing monthly tasks:
* cleaning sinks in south pod classrooms with cleanser;
==> tools needed: buckets, safe cleaning agents, sponges, rubber gloves

* raking upper playground lot (belonging to Seaside) to ensure level areas;
==> tools needed: rakes

* campus trash pick-up
==> trash bags, rubber gloves (ISM provides)

Once again, the event begins at 9:30 a.m. (no earlier!) and concludes at 1:00 p.m., so that folks can head off to attend to other tasks.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday!

Thanks!

Regards,

Lisa Griffin Burns
ISM Operations / HR Manager
Tel: 831-583-2165
Cell: 831-521-4900
Email: lburns@ismonterey.org

April Saturday Work Day Cancelled!

Please note that in consideration of family travels / celebrations related to the Passover and Easter holidays this coming weekend, the April Saturday Work Day scheduled for Saturday, April 11th from 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. has been canceled.

We also want to give staff and parents attending Saturday evening's World Neighborhood Gala plenty of opportunity to prepare for the "big event". Congratulations to all the room parents, volunteer parents, and especially Gala Coordinator Carrie Miles, for their amazing efforts on behalf of ISM's biggest annual fundraising event!

Have a great weekend!

Regards,

Lisa Griffin Burns
ISM Operations / HR Manager

Saturday Work Day for March: 3/7/09, 9:30 am - 1 pm

Hello All!

Due to the upcoming Spring Break, we will be holding the March Saturday Work Day this coming Saturday, March 7th from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. I am pleased that Mr. Dan Simpson, father of Danielle (Gr. 3) and Ty (Gr. 5), will be hosting this Saturday's event! He is a veteran Saturday Work Day Chair, but please be patient with him as he manages the multiple volunteers and tasks on Saturday.

At the start of the event (close to 9:30-9:40 a.m.) on Saturday morning, volunteers are asked to assemble together for a "meet and greet" and to go over the tasks for the day.
⇒ Volunteers are asked to personally introduce themselves, to include mentioning their children's names and grades at ISM, and
⇒ mention what tasks they would like to do (clean, organize, rake, hammer, etc.), which will assist Dan in assigning folks to different tasks on the list.

I've provided the task/tool list below so that volunteers can better plan what supplies to bring on Saturday and the tasks to accomplish.

TASKS LIST PROVIDED BELOW IN PRIORITY ORDER

⇒ 1. CLEAN UP TRASH IN LOWER PARKING LOT: TASK REQUESTED BY ISM PARENT FRED HOFFMAN
⇒ TASK: Fred would like to have the help of at least two other men to assist w/ trash pick-up in the lower parking lot.
This lot is used routinely by soccer players/families who litter the area and do not pick up after themselves! I am trying to communicate the litter situation to MPUSD and Seaside PD…..
⇒ TOOLS: 2-3 volunteers, brooms, rubber gloves, trash bags

⇒ 2. CLEAN / SWEEP / VACUUM MUR STAGE
⇒ TASK: The stage is not as regularly cleaned as other parts of the campus. We try to address this on SWDays. Please have volunteer(s) sweep & vacuum the stage thoroughly to remove dirt and dust. Leftover uniforms can be put in lost and found and debris can be thrown away.
⇒ TOOLS: 1-2 volunteers, brooms, wet/dry vac or vacuum with a hose attachment

⇒ 3. SPRING CLEAN MUR BATHROOMS / ADMIN OFFICE 3 BATHROOMS
⇒ TASK: A SWD regular (Khang Nguyen) will hopefully be bringing cleaning tools (cleanser, buckets, etc.) to do some heavy cleaning of the bathrooms in the MUR (boys & girls) and the three bathrooms in the Admin building. This would include cleaning the sink, toilets, walls, floors. The bathrooms in the Admin office also have cobwebs dangling from the ceiling, which can be vacuumed.
⇒ TOOLS: 2+ volunteers, vacuum with a hose attachment, bathroom cleanser, buckets,
sponges

⇒ 4. INVENTORY LOGO CLOTHING IN CLOSET IN OPERATION MGR.'S OFFICE
⇒ TASK: Using inventory sheet provided by Nikki Madden (logo clothing coord.), please have volunteers INVENTORY the different types of logo clothing in my closet. Inventory sheet will be provided. Leave completed inventory sheet on my desk.
⇒ TOOLS: 1 volunteer, inventory sheet, pen

⇒ 5. CLEAN SINKS IN POD CLASSROOMS # 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
⇒ TASK: Using cleanser and buckets, please clean sinks in all pod classrooms
⇒ TOOLS: 1-2 volunteers, cleanser, buckets, gloves

⇒ 6. ORGANIZE DRAMA COSTUMES/OUTFITS ON NEW DOWEL ROD IN CLOSET TO LEFT OF MUR
STAGE
⇒ TASK: Using hangers provided, please have volunteers organize/hang costumes, etc. on hangers and place on dowel rod hanger in drama closet
⇒ TOOLS: 1 volunteer, hangers

⇒ 7. REMOVE PENCIL MARKS ON WALL OF POD HALLWAY
⇒ TASK: Using cleanser, please have volunteer(s) remove pencil writing/grafitti on right-hand hallway wall of pod hallway (location highlighted on map)
⇒ TOOLS: 1 volunteer, disinfectant cleanser, small bucket, gloves

⇒ MONTHLY TASK: The campus ALWAYS needs trash pick-up, especially in the area around the lower blacktop, and the area in and around the portables. This is a great task to get STUDENTS involved.
⇒ TOOLS: Rubber gloves and trash bags are in the blue Rubbermaid container in my office

⇒ MONTHLY TASK: City of Seaside upper playground: Please rake & level wood chips in the upper playground. This is a safety issue task that we try to do each month.
⇒ TOOLS: Rakes

Saturday Work Day (SWD) volunteers are reminded to log their hours into the PTO Manager software. For any needed assistance logging volunteer hours, please contact
"ptomanager@ismonterey.org".

As always, we appreciate the valuable help our parent and student volunteers contribute on Saturday Work Days! We are a stronger community for the efforts we all put into ISM!

Regards,

Lisa Griffin Burns
ISM Operations / HR Manager
Tel: 831-583-2165
Cell: 831-521-4900
Email: lburns@ismonterey.org

Work Day: Sat., 1/10/09, 9:30 am - 1pm

Happy New Year everyone!

We are gearing up for our annual Open House this coming Saturday, January 10th from 2-4 p.m. This event is designed to provide an opportunity for prospective applicants for the coming 2009 - 2010 academic year to come to our campus, learn more about our unique public charter school, meet and greet administrators, teachers, and existing parents, and tour the ISM campus.

As such, one of the primary thrusts of this coming Saturday Work Day will be to finalize preparations for the Open House... from cleaning up / setting up the Multiuse room for the event to tidying up the campus, classrooms, and pod area.

In addition, the following tasks are also on the "to do" list:

1) assessing repair work done (or not) by MPUSD to ramps for Portables 1 - 4.
==> volunteers with construction knowledge, power tools, plywood, wood screws, etc. needed;

2) blowing or sweeping loose gravel and sand off the basketball blacktop courts in preparation for an ISM hosted JV basketball game on January 20th
==> volunteers with large push brooms and/or blowers needed;

3) moving a medium-sized plastic storage shed currently located by Room #4 over to the Kindergarten classrooms (Rooms #25 & #26)
==> volunteers with brawn, moving dollies, and/or trucks helpful;

4) packing up and storing holiday decorations from the MUR
==> volunteers with organizational skills / ladder skills for re-storing decoration boxes in AV closet needed

Please join us for the Saturday Work Day on Saturday, January 10th from 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. to assist with these tasks. This is a great way to meet your volunteer commitment and get to know other ISM parents and students, while greatly helping ISM maintain our facilities and keep costs down.

Regards,

Lisa Griffin Burns
ISM Operations / HR Manager
Tel: 831-583-2165
Cell: 831-521-4900
Email: lburns@ismonterey.org

Saturday Work Day for December 13, 2008, 9:30-12pm

Hello All!

This coming Saturday is the Saturday Work Day for December!

As it is the holiday season and we all have a "to do" list overflowing with
shopping, decorating, parties, etc., we will be modifying Saturday's event to end at 12 noon (versus 1:00 p.m.), so folks can leave earlier to attend to other priorities that Saturday.

The thrust of Saturday's work day will focus on preparing for Wednesday evening's Holiday concert (Wednesday, December 17th from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., ISM multiuse room) and continuing to decorate the multiuse room for that event. A hardy group of parent volunteers, to include Janice Barker, Tim and Shuhui Berndt, Christine Reed, Socorro Venegas, and Natalie Webb took time out of their weekend last Sunday afternoon to decorate the multiuse room.

Tasks for Saturday, 12/13/08 will include:

* touching up decorations "off kilter" following the past week of school;

* hanging additional decorations;

* hanging Mr. Pearlstein's Dream Flags on the upper right wall of the
multiuse room;

* organizing the overflow of Lost and Found items in advance of Wednesday
evening.

We will be having a used uniform sale that evening, so if your children
need additional items, stop by that table in front of the multiuse room for
affordable, gently used items.

* and more!

Plan on stopping by at 9:30 a.m. (no earlier please!) on Saturday morning
for a few hours on Saturday morning, join together with other ISM members
to accomplish some needed tasks, make new friends, and earn several additional
hours of volunteer time.

If you have any questions, contact me at one of the numbers or email below.

Regards,

Lisa Griffin Burns
ISM Operations / HR Manager
Tel: 831-583-2165
Cell: 831-521-4900
Email: lburns@ismonterey.org

Saturday Work Day - 11/15 9:30am to 1pm

Just a reminder that tomorrow, Saturday, 11/15 is a work day at ISM. This day will be chaired by Marco Poehner and will be a general sprucing up and cleaning day around the campus. The hours are 9:30am to 1:00 pm so if you need to get in those volunteer hours, please join us at the ISM campus.

Thank you!

Big Saturday Work Day Thank You!

Good Morning Saturday Work Day volunteers!

I wanted to extend to each of you a sincere thank you for your efforts in making this past September Saturday Work Day a genuine success!

It started early with a Friday afternoon visit by parent and electrician, Mr. Cabanilla, who was not going to be available for the Work Day on Saturday as he was working. So, instead, he came by Friday to replace a cracked electrical outlet in Portable 3!

Noticeable improvements were made throughout the campus on Saturday, to include important several other safety-related tasks. Hours were spent shoveling sand from the lower blacktop and this was arduous work. Thank you to those of you who took on this challenging task and improved the safety of the blacktop for all of our students and staff. In addition, safety assessments were also done on the ramps for Portables 3 & 4.

Thanks, too, to the painting crew who greatly improved the attractiveness of the admin building by scraping, priming, and painting the wooden panels beneath the windows on the south side of the building. It looks super!

We do indeed have a great parent community here at ISM and the fourteen of you who took time out of your Saturday to volunteer your time are a prime example of that!

I would also like to express a special "thank you" to Bob Brown for serving as this month's event chair. He accepted the role willingly in early August and will be returning to host at least one more Saturday Work Day this school year! Thanks again, Bob!


Regards,

Lisa Griffin Burns
ISM Operations / HR Manager

ISM Saturday Work Day for September: 9/13/2008 9:30 am - 1:00pm

Saturday, September 13th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., will be a Saturday Work Day here at ISM.

The event is being chaired by parent Bob Brown, who comes well-equipped to the task as he serves as CSUMB's Director of Campus Facilities and Operations.

Tomorrow's task list includes:
(1) TASK: Removing sand from the lower playground as our top priority safety task.
Volunteers are asked to bring flat-bladed shovels, brooms, and wheelbarrows to assist with this task. We will need a good number of volunteers to complete this task.

(2) TASK: Repairing a cracked electrical outlet in Portable 3 (Arnow) (This task is for a volunteer with electrical experience only)

(3) TASK: Painting wooden panels on south side of Admin building (Using supplies provided by MPUSD, please scrape, sand, wipe down, and paint wooden panels underneath windows on south side of Admin building.)

(4) TASK: Assessing / Repairing ramps to both Portables 3 & 4: The tops of both ramps have wood damage, posing a safety and trip hazard. If possible, please secure wood ramp pieces to the support structure. Tools needed: larger power tools & wood screws

(5) TASK: Paint railings to MS Portables (Portables 1, 5, & 6) (Please sand, wipe down, and paint railings for Portables 1, 5, & 6.)

(6) POTENTIAL TASK: Assess Technology Server Room in Library:
(Under direction of IT staff or committee member, please test computer hardware (monitors, drives, mice, etc.) to determine functionality. Mark items for eWaste disposal and mark items for use.)

ONGOING MONTHLY TASK: The campus ALWAYS needs trash pick-up, especially in the area around the lower blacktop, and the area in and around the portables. This is a great task to get children involved. Rubber gloves and trash bags are available for use for this task.

ONGOING MONTHLY TASK: City of Seaside upper playground: Please rake & level wood chips level in the upper playground. This is a safety issue task that we try to complete each month.

ONGOING MONTHLY TASK: Sort "Lost & Found" items ­ in basket in library as well as the multi-use room -- to separate clothing with names from items that are unlabeled. Once sorted, items with names can be returned to students via classroom teachers.

So whether you are a long-time Saturday Work Day supporter or new to ISM and looking for an opportunity to meet your monthly volunteering commitment to ISM, please join us for this and every monthly Saturday Work Day.

So, bring your enthusiasm and your tools -- shovels, brooms, wheelbarrows, power tools, paint rollers, brushes, nails, and screws -- and we'll see you tomorrow, Saturday, September 13th from 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

For more information, contact Operations/HR Manager Lisa Griffin Burns at 831-583-2165.

Regards,

Lisa Griffin Burns
ISM Operations / HR Manager