June 3, 2006 - Final Wrap Up

Thanks to the amazing efforts of our Courreges families,

Jog-A-Thon 2006, “Running on the Wild Side,”

beat every expectation.

The stats for 2006 are:

Total Pledges and Matching Funds Collected: $69,127.18

Matching Funds Expected for 2006: $11,216.75

Record Breaking Grand Total for Jog-a-thon 2006: $80,344.53

Average Raised per Student: $132.80

Top Ten Fundraisers:

1. Amber Bragdon $4,000

2. Ryan Sparno $2,100

3. Seth Frolichman $1,445.00

4. Ashley Masuda $1,127

5. Elizabeth Black $817.25

6. Jasmin Yao $803.50

7. Daniel Black $750

8. Audrey Lansdown $734

9. Brianna Giuntoli $720

10. Ryan Foster $682

You, the Courreges Families, raised an awesome amount of money this year. Be sure to come to the PTA meetings and have a voice in how this money is put to use to benefit our kids.

The Jog-A-Thon Committee would like to thank all the volunteers that made this year’s event such a huge success, including (but not limited to): Sharon Fish, Melinda Lynch, Ken Curtiss, Annette Gilbert, Sharon Yao, Carolyn Wang, Karen Fields, Karen Glassman, Lisa Sanders, Laurie Klotz, Gussie Lacher, John Yao, Stacy Rochow, Collette De La Ossa, Shelly Martinez, Andie Jacobsen and Kristie Bannister. These dedicated parents made possible the awesome flyers that kept you informed, water for our runners, and an amazingly efficient prize selection day.

IMPORTANT: As of yet, no one has stepped up to chair Jog-A-Thon 2007. If no one volunteers, 18 years of effort and $75-80,000 of your PTA’s budget will disappear. All the flyers are now on the computer with an easy to follow step-by-step guide. Please find a friend and consider taking on our only fundraising event. This year’s committee will still be around to offer lots of help!!!

Contact: Carolyn Wang (848-0504) or Laurie Klotz (962-9735)

Finally, please review the attached sponsor list. These businesses supported our school by donating supplies and/or prizes. Be sure to patronize these businesses whenever possible and let them know you appreciate that they supported the Courreges Jog-A-Thon.
 

May 8, 2006 - Jog-A-Thon Prize Day Help

We need parent volunteers to help out between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24th. If you can spare a couple of hours, or have any questions, please contact Libby Frolichman @ 962.3620. Thank you.

March 20, 2006 - Wild Thing - Jog-A-Thon 2006

There’s still time to help the Jogathon.

         Over the past two weeks 25 Courreges families have either come to the scrip table on Friday afternoon or sent in the order form below.  Thank you, thank you!

       All your donations to Jogathon are tax deductible.  We will return a tax receipt to you in your child’s next Monday envelope.

Child’s Name:____________________________ Room: _______

Thank you for donating to the Jogathon!

March 20, 2006

What wild Jog-a-thon
prizes will our Cougars
choose from this year?

You have read in the Jog-a-thon packet about the incentive prizes each child can earn by bringing in a certain amount of pledges. But it is the Prize Selection Day and those exciting prizes that get our children really fired up. And as always that is the biggest challenge facing the Jog-a-thon Committee: getting those prizes. Here’s how you can help!

Jog-a-thon as Clutter Buster!

Take a look in your closets or under the bed. Are there toys that you purchased because you would give them to “someone someday”? No time like the “present”.

Did you purchase a gift for your child, hide it away and find it two years later and now it’s no longer appropriate?

Please consider donating it to the Jog-a-thon.

Do you have left over holiday gifts that were just not a hit with your kids? It will be a hit with one of our Cougars.

Super Shoppers to the Rescue

Are you a lucky shopper that stumbles across bargains? Consider picking one up for the Jog-a-thon.

Do you buy in bulk: a bag of plush toys, a bundle of books, a huge set of markers, a double set of squirt guns? An item out of the pack could be used to make a great gift basket.

************************************************************************

The Jog-a-thon Committee welcomes any and all donations. Just drop them off in the box in the school office with your name & child’s room number and an acknowledgement letter will be returned to you for your tax records.
 

March 20, 2006

We’re Wild About

Our Big Fundraisers!

How will we raise $70,000 again this year?

1. Be lucky enough to have a group of dedicated parent volunteers to chair the Jog-a-thon.

2. Add 600 enthusiastic Cougars.

3. Motivate them with great prizes.

4. Support them with generous family and friends

5. Set a goal of an average of $125 per student.

6. Let our Cougars go “wild”!

Impossible? NO! IT CAN BE DONE!

Last year one child broke the $2000 barrier, a few more brought in over $1000 and several reached the $800-$900 range. The following Cougars shared their “secrets of success”:
 

• Ryan Sparno, 2nd grader was our first student to surpass $2000. Both of Ryan’s parents work for companies that do matching gifts. Using both matches, his family was able to triple their donation. Ryan didn’t stop there. He also got pledges from family and friends to set an all-time record.

• Seth Frolichman, 3nd grader, is one of our “$1,000 Cougars”. Seth’s dad wrote a master e-mail about Seth and the Jog-a-thon and sent it to all their friends and family. His parents keep a copy of his pledge card to make sure Seth follows up with a “thank you” to each person and to ensure that they reciprocate in kind if someone solicits them for a fundraiser. All these extra touches ensure Seth (and Courreges) a very lucrative future.

• Sarah Yao, 4th grader, has been a top finisher since Kindergarten. Sarah’s family uses the matching gift program to raise extra funds for our school, but neither of her parents work for a company that does matching gifts. However, a very good friend of the family does. He supports Sarah’s efforts in the Jog-a-thon and matches his donation through his company. Sarah and Courreges both benefit.

• Nicole Goehring is quite possibly the most successful fundraiser in Jog-a-thon history. (Unfortunately for us she is now at Fulton.) Nicole averaged close to $1,000 for each of her 6 Courreges Jog-a-thons. Her secret: hard work and determination. Nicole raised her money $5 at a time. She walked her neighborhood and called friends and family until her pledge card was pages long.

So, take advantage of matching gifts (any way you can), create a clever method of contacting people or hit the pavement and phone lines. This is the one time of year that

WE NEED EVERYONE’S

BEST EFFORT ON BEHALF OF OUR KIDS!

March 15, 2006

Cougars Running on the Wild Side

JOG-A-THON 2006

Thursday, March 30th

Dear Courreges Parents, Family and Friends:

Today, your student participated in our JOG-A-THON 2006 Pep Rally!  The Jog-a-thon is Courreges’ major fundraising event.  Each year our children, families, and community make an outstanding effort in support of this event and our school.  Monies raised by JOG-A-THON pay for “extras” not otherwise possible with regular school funds:  field trips, our computer lab aide, supplemental instructional materials and books, assemblies, school enhancements and much more!  This year, Courreges needs us as much as ever as state and district budgets remain uncertain.

Many generous parents and community businesses have already begun donating time, funds, and prizes.         

SPONSOR/PLEDGE SHEETS  -  due March 28th

§         Sponsors may be parents, relatives, friends, neighbors and/or businesses.  Please remember to be safe and always have a parent with you.  Never go alone to solicit sponsors. 

§         Pledges can either be per lap or a fixed dollar amount.  (FYI: students in grades K-2 average 20-30 laps; students in grades 3-5 average 15-34 larger track laps.)  

§         Some employers - check with yours! - will even donate monies to match charitable gifts made by their employees (YOU!).

§         Please be sure to complete ALL of the information on your sponsor/pledge sheet!

JOG-A-THON 2006 -  March 30th (modified day) from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m.

All students will run, jog or walk around the school track as many times as possible in a one-hour period.   There is a 15-minute warm-up prior to the event. Joggers can stop to rest at any time…and plenty of water is provided.  Parents are welcome to attend and many volunteers are needed!

§         Students are requested to wear comfortable “tennis shoes” and clothing for running.

§         For fun and team spirit, students are encouraged to wear Courreges colors or spirit-wear OR classroom “team-wear” such as caps or bandanas.

§         Morning meals should be light.

PLEDGE COLLECTION - due April 20th

On JOG-A-THON day, your student’s Sponsor/Pledge Sheet will be returned to him/her with a Collection Envelope.  The sheet will indicate how many laps were run and the amount(s) due:

§         Pledges should be collected as soon as possible.

§         Checks are acceptable and should be made payable to “Courreges PTA.”  Families are encouraged to collect all cash pledges then write one check to the PTA for the total amount.

§         All monies are due by the above deadline in order to be eligible for prizes.  NO EXCEPTIONS!

   While this is a fun, non-competitive event, students earn fantastic individual and class prizes as reward for their participation…and invaluable contribution to their school!   A prize list will be sent home prior to the prize selection day.

Thank you…Jog-a-thon Committee 2006

March 15, 2006

Jog-a-thon 2006
 

Running On The Wild Side

INDIVIDUAL INCENTIVES
 

Each participant will receive an Air Head candy and various gift certificates
from local businesses as a thank you for all their hard work.
 

Each participant that brings in pledges totaling $25.00 - $49.99 will receive
the above and a Courreges Cougars Pencil.
 

Each participant that brings in pledges totaling $50.00 - $74.99 will receive all
of the above and a Courreges Cougar Paw Antenna/Pencil Topper.
 

Each participant that brings in pledges totaling $75.00 - $119.99 will receive all
of the above plus a Courreges Cougar Paw Key Tag.
 

Each participant that brings in pledges totaling $120.00 and above will receive all
of the above plus a Courreges Cougars 20th Century Historical Facts Playing Cards.
 

CLASSROOM PRIZES
 

The classroom that brings in the highest pledge average in K-2 lower core and
3-5 upper core wins a PIZZA PARTY.
 

Each class that meets the pledge collection goal of $120 average per student
wins a FREE P.E. and POPSICLE TREAT.
 

The class in each grade level that runs the most laps will win an
ICE CREAM SOCIAL.
 

The TOP lap runner in each class wins a
PIZZA LUNCHEON WITH THEIR TEACHER.
 

March 14, 2006

Jog-a-thon 2006
$$ The $70,000 $$
Cougar Jeopardy Quiz
And the answers are…

A: The fundraiser that pays for our $4,000 Art Masters program.

A: The event that provides over $6,000 to cover the costs of our assemblies and field trips.

A: The annual fundraiser that raises over $23,000 needed to pay for our computer lab aid and computer lab supplies.

A: The yearly event that funds our Best Paw Reading program and donates $2,000 a year to the library.

A: The once-a-year fundraiser that made it possible to install $12,000 of new upper core playground equipment and $10,000 to upgrade our disaster preparedness bin.

A: The fundraising mechanism that allowed our PTA to provide $6,000 in classroom enhancement monies.

Q: What is the Jog-a-thon?
Last year’s Jog-a-thon raised about $70,000.
Let’s do it again this year!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 

A note about the Jog-a-thon for our new Courreges Families:

From its humble beginnings 18 years ago, the Jog-a-thon has grown into a fundraising powerhouse for our school. The reasons for our success are two fold: 1, an amazing group of dedicated parents miraculously step forward each year to run our Jog-a-thon, and 2, our Cougar families value and expect excellence in education and are generously willing to pay for it. (To hit the numbers we hit last year each student brought in on average $125.) The programs mentioned above total more than $60,000 and are only a portion of the budget items our PTA financially supports. We depend on the Jog-a-thon to raise the “cougar’s” share of our PTA funds. (Complete budget information is located at www.couregespta.org.)

On Wednesday, March 15, students will attend the Jog-a-thon Kick-Off Assembly. They will be bringing home a variety of information about the different contests and prizes they can win along with their pledge card. The Jog-a-thon itself is a school-wide event. Mark your calendars for the

 
Jog-a-thon on Thursday, March 30 from 8:45 AM – 9:45 AM.

You are encouraged to come out and cheer on our runners and even jog a few laps with them if you like. It is truly a wonderful day of Cougar Spirit.

Arleen Baskin and Libby Frolichman
2nd Vice Presidents-Jog-a-thon Co-Chairs