All about CAM Academy Parents and activities

Purpose of CAM Academy Parents (CAP): To support CAM Students and staff, fundraise to allow purchase and financial support of teacher requests and student activities that help build community at CAM Academy.

Roles and typical activities:

CAP Executive board consists of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.  CAP is a non-profit organization that acts as a PTO.  Any parent, grandparent, support system of a CAM student is welcome to join and plan various fundraising and student or staff activities.  

 

Common CAP sponsored activities:

Pizza Tuesday (time commitment: Every Tuesday set up/clean up and add’l 1 hr/ wk to order pizza, send reminders to volunteers): Every Tuesday, CAP has traditionally organized having pizza delivered by Pizza Hut.  This takes place during student lunches and the cost of the pizza is offset by students purchasing individual slices of pizza for a small price.  There is usually one volunteer who coordinates pizza (and breadstick) delivery from the beginning of student lunches around 10:30 until the final lunch at 12:10.  The coordinator tracks inventory and decides what to order, and handles payment with the treasurer.  They encourage volunteers to assist in pizza serving on a monthly (or more frequent) basis and reaches out for additional assistance and backup volunteers as needed. In year 2020, pizza was sold by the slice for 1.25$ or by pizza punch cards (prepaid cards sold by CAP). 

 

Restaurant Fundraiser (about 1-2 hours to connect with restaurant, share info with CAP, and advertise): One volunteer has worked with local restaurants to pick a mutually agreeable day to share a percentage of sales/orders with CAP.  They communicate the day with CAP and work on advertising for the fundraiser.  As an example, Mod Pizza has given 20% of sales for a day (after a minimum purchase).  Staff, teachers and community members then visit Mod pizza on the specific fundraiser day, indicate they are a part of the fundraiser, and later on, CAP receives a check from Mod Pizza.  Other restaurants that participate can include Chipotle, Red Robin, etc. 

 

Surprise Student Treat day (about 1-2 hours for planning and 1 hour each quarter to organize and deliver treats depending on what they are): About 4 times throughout the school year, CAP likes to surprise students with a treat.  Typical months are October, December, February, and April or May.  In the past, treats have been provided on campus during student lunch or at the end of the day . Lunch treats have included popcorn made by CAP in the bistro, and hot cocoa or cider.  End of day treats have included candy or otter pops.  The coordinator for treat day usually organizes the purchase of treats, and getting volunteers to help hand treats out.  Considering our current constraints due to Covid, treats will be handed out exclusively outside and after school if allowed by our district.  For 2021-2022, treats will be packaged and handed out exclusively outside as long as allowed due to district and state covid rules.

 

Wednesday Fun Day (2-3 hrs of planning and one Wednesday with several hours of fun) : In the spring on a Wednesday, a volunteer coordinates a day of fun for the entire school.  In the past, fun day has been held at G6 trampoline gym (now dissolved), at Salmon creek soccer club, and more recently, by coordinating an outdoor scavenger hunt with prizes for participants. 

 

Game Night:(time commitment: approx: 5 hrs planning, one evening of games)  Sometime in the evening during late winter, students are invited to visit the Commons and bring board games to play with others.  Usually, a treat is provided for all attendees and in the past has included a couple pieces of licorice, a bag of chips, a beverage, and a baked goodie.  A scavenger hunt and selfie challenge has also been included. The coordinator for this event picks a date that works for the school, advertises the activity, purchases (and gets reimbursed) for the treats and prizes. 

 

Teacher appreciation (10 hrs planning/purchasing/decorating, one week of delivering gifts, coffee, etc depending on what you choose): During teacher appreciation week, typically the first full week in May, the coordinator organizes treats and volunteers to deliver treats or small gifts (funded by CAP) to the teachers and staff at CAM.  In the past, CAP and the coordinator has sponsored something different each day.  The coordinator has a budget and decides the best way to show our appreciation to our teachers and entire staff.  The coordinator is able to recruit different volunteers to assist in sharing appreciation each day of the week when possible.

 

Senior Grad Night coordinator (monthly meetings through the year with action items as needed, chaperone all night party): A parent or guardian of a current senior organizes a group of volunteers to plan an all night party for CAM Academy seniors that takes place after the graduation ceremony.  They coordinate additional fundraising activities to support the cost of the party and advertise the event to the seniors. 

 

8th Grade Recognition (January through June, monthly meeting with action items as needed): A parent or guardian of a current 8th grader heads a committee of volunteers to plan an 8th Grade recognition ceremony for CAM students.  In the past, there has been a ceremony followed by a dance for 8th graders only in the CAM Commons from 7pm-10pm.  The past 2 covid years have moved the ceremony to a drive through experience, however we are hopeful we can go back to a more traditional ceremony in the near future. 

 

Payback Book Coordinator (Beginning of the school year for 3-4 weeks) This is a major fundraiser where the coordinator sorts and labels envelopes and delivers payback books to each student.  They collect money and track returned books; they keep a count of payback books and order more books as needed.  They work with the Payback book representative to get books and envelopes, return extra books, and get compensation for payback sales.

 

Website Coordinator (approx. 1-2 hrs/wk) Work with CAP executive board to publish agendas, meeting minutes, and update information regarding upcoming events and links to community partners.