Bethel Christian School

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Bethel Parent Fellowship

News from the meeting on September 11, 2008

 www.bethelchristian.net

Welcome back, one and all.  It’s hard to believe that summer slipped away so quickly and it’s time for school to begin.  By the Grace of God, here we are again.

At the recent BPF meeting, the following items were discussed:

What is BPF?

The Bethel Parent Fellowship (BPF) is a parent organization that supports and encourages the teachers, staff and administration at Bethel.  We do this in a variety of practical ways, such as assisting with fundraisers, providing help at various functions like picture day and the ACSI Art Festival, and providing refreshments to students and their families at events such as the Fall Praise Program.  Throughout the year we also do special things for the teachers and staff like bringing in treats around the holidays.  In May we celebrate Teacher & Staff Appreciation week and coordinate daily treats and host a special luncheon.

Please consider getting involved and making a difference in your child’s education at Bethel.  Both men and women are encouraged to participate.  Don’t worry men, you won’t be alone – we already have a few Dads participating but would love to have more.  You will meet some wonderful people and have fun along the way.  Your kids will also be proud that you’re involved at the school.  Attached is a Calendar of Events listing the dates and events for the year.  Please review it and see if you are able to help.  To make things even easier, this year we have a binder with a sign up sheet for each event.  Stop by the school office and sign up for an event or two, and remember to take the “reminder stub” with you so that you can put the event on your personal calendar.

BPF meets once a month on the second Thursday, at 2:00pm in the High School Library.  Our next meeting is Thursday, October 9^th.  After each BPF meeting a summary like this will be prepared and sent home in your child’s test packet to help keep you informed.  It will also be posted on the school’s website, under News & Information. 

Check it out at:   www.bethelchristian.net

If you would like a copy of the BPF by-laws, they are available in the front office.

EMERGENCY SUPPLIES

Returning families will notice that the school is handling the Emergency Supplies differently beginning this year.  Rather than have each child bring in individual supplies, the school is gathering and storing supplies in a central location, and they have almost everything they need.  There are just a few more needed items.  Would you be able to help out?  We still need the following items:    6 new blankets (regular blankets, not the silver disposable ones), 6 flashlights with batteries, 5 boxes of small trash bag liners, 3 boxes of large trash bag liners, and 2 boxes of Benadryl (individually dosed).  If you are able to help out, please bring the items to the school office by October 3^rd.  If you do not have time to purchase items but would like to help, you may bring a monetary donation to the school office with a notation that it is for “Emergency Supplies”.  Items not otherwise collected will be purchased by BPF.

JOG-A-THON

The children are ready to run! The jog-a-thon will take place on Friday October 3^rd. Please help your child find sponsors, and also watch for your child's teacher to post a sign-up sheet for help during that day.  Remember:  100% of the funds raised during Jog-A-Thon go directly to the school, benefiting the kids!

WASTE MANAGEMENT TOTAL TRASH OUT

Total Trash Out, sponsored by Waste Management, is an aluminum can collection contest between local schools to help raise money, teach children about the importance of recycling and promote keeping our environment clean.  They have various award categories, including pounds per student, so even though we are a small school, we can still compete with the big ones. 

What to do:  collect, rinse and smash aluminum cans.  Collection bins will be on campus for a few weeks in October (dates to be announced later).  Bring the smashed cans in a trash bag with a tag identifying you child’s name, his/her teacher’s name, grade, and the number of cans in the bag.  We’ll have a class contest to see who collects the most cans.  Watch for a flyer with more information on collection dates and times.  This is a great way to recycle and help the school raise money, too.  Last year we earned about $486, which is pretty good for just bringing in empty cans!

PLASTIC BOTTLE RECYCLING

Designated recycling trash cans are placed around campus, including in the class rooms, for the collection of plastic bottles at the school so that recycling can continue year around.  You don’t need to bring in bottles from home – this is just to recycle on campus, reduce waste and raise a little money.  BPF representatives will continue to collect them each week and turn them in at local recycling centers.  Please remind your children not to put trash in the designated recycling trash bins.  This recycling raised over $603 last year!

PLASTIC BAG RECYCLING

Start saving plastic shopping bags.  We plan on participating in the Wal-Mart Plastic Bag Recycling again this year.  This fundraiser runs from the fall through the spring, and all we need to do is bring in plastic shopping bags, dry cleaning bags, newspaper bags, etc.  Remember, all paper needs to be removed (receipts, etc.), and no black bags.  Collection bins will be placed in the office and in the pre-school building.  Watch for a flyer with more information.  Last year we earned about $187 on this fundraiser.

SHOPPING 4 STUDENTS at the AV MALL

We plan on participating in the AV Mall Shopping 4 Students fundraiser which runs from October 2008 through February 2009.  Watch for a flyer with more information.  Last year we came in 2^nd Place and won $1,500 in mall gift certificates, which was used for a variety of classroom and school needs.  How awesome is that?! 

SIGNATURE

The Signature fundraiser is coming soon this fall.  Watch for the brochure in your child's take home papers. We appreciate your help with this fundraising project which has been highly successful in past years.

BOXTOPS FOR EDUCATION

Have you been collecting BoxTops over the past summer?  Last year we raised $708!

Class contests are underway for this “year ‘round” fundraiser, so please turn in your BoxTops to your child's class with the teacher's name and grade labeled clearly on the envelope (you do not need to count them).  Grades 7-12, please label with your grade.  BoxTops may be turned in anytime during the year.  Please ask your family and friends to participate. 

Watch for fliers with more details on products that carry the BoxTops label.  Please pay special attention to the flyer details on how to earn DOUBLE POINTS through October.  We have to mail them by October 31^st, so please turn them in to your child’s teacher well before that.  Since we just found out about this great opportunity, BoxTops already turned in this year will be processed for Double Points with appropriate adjustment to the class competition totals.

PRINT CARTRIDGE & CELL PHONE RECYCLING

Please continue to bring in your recycled print cartridges, cell phones, etc.  Class contests will begin again this year, so be sure to write the name of your child’s teacher and the grade on the bag when you bring them in.  Items may be dropped off throughout the school year in your child’s class, in the computer lab with Mrs. Eggerth or at the front office.  Please consider asking family, friends and businesses to save them for our school.  Watch for fliers with more details.  Last year this raised about $178 for the school’s computer lab.

 
COOKBOOK

Cookbooks are available - featuring treasured family recipes from our Bethel families.  At only $15 they are a bargain gift for yourself or someone you love.  We have had a lot of positive feedback from those who have purchased them, so if you haven’t gotten one yet, or would like another one, just stop by the office.

 
BETHEL GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

The school believes that it is important to give back to the community.  Last year the staff and students participated in several events, and rose over $5,000 for Muscular Dystrophy, Breast Cancer and Leukemia.  Many thanks to all of those who participated by giving funds for these worthy causes.

BPF DONATION TO THE SCHOOL

Each year the BPF tries to donate something to the school.  At the end of school last year we donated about $1,500 that was used to purchase some needed sports equipment.  We were thrilled to learn that the new equipment helped attract even more student participation in the sports program this year.  Go Bethel!

 
NEXT MEETING

Please join us for our next BPF meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday, October 9th at 2pm in the high school library.  Monthly meetings are held on the 2^nd Thursday of each month at the same time and location.  We hope to see you there!

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR BPF CHAIR

If you have any questions or comments about BPF, or would like to help with our activities, you may contact Jill Ward, Chair at:

E-mail              jill.ebean@verizon.net            Please put “BPF” in the subject line