How Can I, as a Parent, Help?
Clear Brook Speech & Debate is one of the most active organizations on campus. In order to continue to be successful, we need parent and community support. Here are a few ways that YOU can help! Feel free to give me more ideas to help this year!
Food, Food, Food!
When we travel, students are busy for hours on end. Therefore, their ability to leave a tournament site (chaperoned, of course) is limited. Recognizing this, we try to pack snacks, water or other drinks so that, rather than spending unreasonable sums of money at school concession stands, we can allow students to "grab and go" to their next round until we can go out to eat as a team or take students to purchase food.
If you find yourself at Sam's Club or Costco or the grocery store, please consider picking up a few boxes of 100 calorie snack packs, some cheese and cracker packets, a combination bag of chips, or other items that students can grab on their way to their next round of competition on these busy weekends. Cases of water are essential for the team as well. If you are dropping your child off to meet the bus one morning, feel free to drop off some fruit or a dozen donuts or anything that will help these students offset potential expenses individually and as a team. If you want to send items to school from time to time, I will store them and pack a few bins before we leave each weekend. Any help you can provide is appreciated!
Money
Although students are charged a fee to participate in Speech & Debate at Clear Brook (and this money helps to offset some of our costs), the amount of money that the team, collectively (over the span of a competitive season) spends ranges anywhere from $15,000 - $20,000 per year when all expenses are taken into account. We do fundraising throughout the year and support ourselves without the aid of a Booster Club like many other organizations have and we have, historically, done very well.
We've always had some degree of parent support and would love to retain that support and grow those networks. Some ways that you can help in this regard are:
1. If you work for an employer (Exxon and other petroleum companies are common), that offers educational grants or matching programs for donations or anything like that which would help funnel money into this growing and valuable program, please consider us a recipient that can benefit greatly from any of these proceeds.
2. Some parents have certain charitable contributions that they need to make for tax write-off purposes. I have receipts that I can offer to you for documentation purposes to aid in your filings or you can get them from our school bookkeeper, Sandy Garza.
Volunteering
Proceeds that we benefit from come from a couple of specific activities - namely our annual Speech & Debate meet we host on November 8-9 this year. When this time rolls around, we will be canvassing our email addresses, Naviance accounts, teachers, parents, co-workers of parents so that we can secure judges who can observe a few rounds of competition and submit meaningful and constructive ballots to return to the contestants. For those who are nervous about being a "judge", the rules are simple and we will begin putting out training videos and workshop times so that all volunteers feel as comfortable as possible. You can find information about judging on this site as well.
Judge recruitment is done through relationship building and while our kids are capable of reaching out securing judges, they may need your help. This volunteering of judges helps us out in the most essential way, otherwise we would be forced to spend proceeds to pay hundreds of judges who will serve for us over this period.
Homecoming booth sales is also an areas where you might find yourself needed. Details about homecoming will be forthcoming.
Food, Food, Food!
When we travel, students are busy for hours on end. Therefore, their ability to leave a tournament site (chaperoned, of course) is limited. Recognizing this, we try to pack snacks, water or other drinks so that, rather than spending unreasonable sums of money at school concession stands, we can allow students to "grab and go" to their next round until we can go out to eat as a team or take students to purchase food.
If you find yourself at Sam's Club or Costco or the grocery store, please consider picking up a few boxes of 100 calorie snack packs, some cheese and cracker packets, a combination bag of chips, or other items that students can grab on their way to their next round of competition on these busy weekends. Cases of water are essential for the team as well. If you are dropping your child off to meet the bus one morning, feel free to drop off some fruit or a dozen donuts or anything that will help these students offset potential expenses individually and as a team. If you want to send items to school from time to time, I will store them and pack a few bins before we leave each weekend. Any help you can provide is appreciated!
Money
Although students are charged a fee to participate in Speech & Debate at Clear Brook (and this money helps to offset some of our costs), the amount of money that the team, collectively (over the span of a competitive season) spends ranges anywhere from $15,000 - $20,000 per year when all expenses are taken into account. We do fundraising throughout the year and support ourselves without the aid of a Booster Club like many other organizations have and we have, historically, done very well.
We've always had some degree of parent support and would love to retain that support and grow those networks. Some ways that you can help in this regard are:
1. If you work for an employer (Exxon and other petroleum companies are common), that offers educational grants or matching programs for donations or anything like that which would help funnel money into this growing and valuable program, please consider us a recipient that can benefit greatly from any of these proceeds.
2. Some parents have certain charitable contributions that they need to make for tax write-off purposes. I have receipts that I can offer to you for documentation purposes to aid in your filings or you can get them from our school bookkeeper, Sandy Garza.
Volunteering
Proceeds that we benefit from come from a couple of specific activities - namely our annual Speech & Debate meet we host on November 8-9 this year. When this time rolls around, we will be canvassing our email addresses, Naviance accounts, teachers, parents, co-workers of parents so that we can secure judges who can observe a few rounds of competition and submit meaningful and constructive ballots to return to the contestants. For those who are nervous about being a "judge", the rules are simple and we will begin putting out training videos and workshop times so that all volunteers feel as comfortable as possible. You can find information about judging on this site as well.
Judge recruitment is done through relationship building and while our kids are capable of reaching out securing judges, they may need your help. This volunteering of judges helps us out in the most essential way, otherwise we would be forced to spend proceeds to pay hundreds of judges who will serve for us over this period.
Homecoming booth sales is also an areas where you might find yourself needed. Details about homecoming will be forthcoming.