Mission: The Valley Women’s Club is dedicated to community action, awareness and leadership in environmental, educational, social, and political concerns that affect the health and welfare of the San Lorenzo Valley and our community.
Mission: The Valley Women’s Club is dedicated to community action, awareness and leadership in environmental, educational, social, and political concerns that affect the health and welfare of the San Lorenzo Valley and our community.
Education CommitteeThe Education Committee provides scholarships for SVLHS graduates attending Cabrillo College. We also work on various education issues in SLV. Events Yard Sale for scholarship funds: June EDUCATION NEWS Spring 2009 Getting Students Ready for Kindergarten…or Graduation What Our Schools Need from You As reported in the last issue of the VWC newsletter, the Education Committee has been on a fast learning curve! We have had a very productive meetings with SLVUSD Superintendent Julie Haff; SLV High School Principal, Michael Arredondo; SLV Middle School Principal, Chris Schiermeyer, and Counselor Noreen Nolan, who oversees school-to-work programs at the high school. We asked them how the Valley Women's Club could help and got a long "wish list" from each of them. Some of the items on the list need immediate response and some will be needed in a couple of years (support for a developing music program and the new library, for example). One of the easiest and most immediate ways members of the Valley Women's Club can help our local schools is to volunteer our services and time…and money. The High School needs help in two areas. Right away they need volunteer after-school tutors to help students struggling in courses and/or needing help to pass the High School Exit Exam. Contact Counselor Annabel Rorden. Next year (but call now to volunteer), they will need panelists for Career Fairs (held in the Fall). You’ll be asked to talk to high school students about your career, how you prepared for it, the rewards and benefits. Coordination of this event is handled by Your Future Is Our Business (www.yfiob.org), housed at Cabrillo College. Contact Stacy Smith. Teachers at the Middle School listed a list of critical equipment and supplies they need, including an ELMO Document Camera, a Projector Bulb – In-Focus Model X-1, large outside trash cans and classroom trash cans, white printer paper, Astrobrite colored paper, Dixon Fine Point Overhead Markers, Staedtler Lumocolor Overhead Pens, laptop computers, ink cartridges for Cannon 4200 Printer, toner for Brother-Printer TN-350 and Brother Color Laser Printer TN-115Y, 115M, 115C & 115BK, industrial strength pencil sharpeners and staplers, 6-foot folding table and folding chairs, World/US Maps, sewing machines, tape dispensers, mat cutter for Art, rubber cement, Crayola markers, Prisma colored pencils…..and the list goes on!!! Even easier, to save shopping, make a cash donation and let them buy it! For more information or to make a donation, contact Principal Schiermeyer. Obviously, this is an especially difficult time for our already under-funded schools. And many parents are struggling to make ends meet while trying to support their children's educational needs. The Valley Women's Club membership includes a wealth of knowledge and experience. Let's put it to work at our local schools! We will update the "wish lists" on our website and in our newsletter, as needs change. If you are interested in working with the Education Committee, please contact Donna Ziel. You can help us meet our future goals as we focus on improving kindergarten preparation, support for our SLV/SV Cabrillo Campus, the upcoming Scholarship process, and the new kindergarten “Ready for School” bags. The focus on kindergarten preparation may include closer collaboration with our libraries and with the Child Care Planning Council, as well as preparting for the VWC’s second annual distribution of "Ready for School" bags in March, as students register for kindergarten, with major funding from the Carol Anicha Mihalik Fund. Each of these youngsters will receive a bag full of cool stuff that is intended to help them develop the skills necessary to be ready for kindergarten in the fall. The items selected were recommended by kindergarten teachers and include an age-appropriate book for parents to read to their child. We will also include information about services for parents and children at our local libraries and instructions about how to get a library card. We will meet regularly with school administrators to learn of their on-going needs so that we can post updates to our website to encourage our members to volunteer to help. Through our liaisons to the Cabrillo College Scotts Valley/San Lorenzo Valley Community Advisory Committee, we will continue to inform the VWC of Cabrillo's plans for the 5th District, and to provide input to Cabrillo as to our community's educational needs and interests. The Scotts Valley Campus may be threatened with the extreme budget cuts. Also, applications will soon be distributed to the High School and alternative high schools in the SLV to provide funds for their Cabrillo College expenses. A major source of funding the scholarships come from donations and from proceeds from our annual rummage sale, to be held Saturday, June 13th this year in Boulder Creek. Donations of items for the rummage sale that supports the scholarship fund will be accepted beginning May 30th. Contact Hilary Stanley for details: 338-2247.
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