FRAUC met at Bergin Park at 8am Wednesday, 5/17/22 and covered a lot of ground…
FRAUC Membership. First, we emphasized that if you have a child at RAUC, then you are automatically a member! FRAUC is the organization of volunteer parents and caregivers. All are welcome at FRAUC meetings!
FRAUC Mission Statement. We reviewed the FRAUC Mission Statement. This spring we are living that statement by working cooperatively with RAUC to fund an array of fun events for students.
#RAUCBlockParty report from Lilli Smith. The planning for the Friday, June 24 event (rain date Tuesday June 28) is going very well! The timing and contracts with vendors have come together, and we have begun recruiting volunteers through a SignUpGenius (link available in weekly RAUC newsletter). We decided to distribute flyers to families about volunteering at this evening’s Unity Concert. Lilli will put a QR code to the signup on the flyer.
We will not have media releases (signed by students’ caregivers) specific to the Block Party, but we can send any photos of the event to Julia Ho, who can identify photos that are cleared by releases.
Meeting CHANGED: Meeting for volunteers is Monday evening, June 20, 8:30-9 pm. We also decided to hold a zoom meeting for Block Party volunteers, the week of the event, so they can see the layout of the field, where they will be and how they can help. For volunteers who cannot make the meeting, Lilli will communicate directly with them about their role.
Treasurer’s Check-in from Sean Peirce. Sean said that we will likely have in the neighborhood of $9,500 left to carry over to any summer needs, and to the 2022-2023 school year. This is close to our target of a $10K cushion.
We also learned that because of a discount from Revival Cafe for the Staff Appreciation lunch, there was a $365 surplus! FRAUC voted to make that surplus available to teachers by splitting it three ways to each grade-level team, in the form of gift cards to Pemberton Market. Team Leaders can use the $ to get lunch and snacks for the team and for meetings in the weeks ahead. Karen Soroca, the event organizer, will work with Deirdre to get that surplus to the teams.
Other Spring events and needs. Deirdre Logan is planning the 8th grade picnic for Saturday, June 18th. Details will be available in the RAUC newsletter.
We asked about any other needs the school might have and agreed to respond as we are able to anything that comes up.
2022-2023 School Year Planning–Activities and Volunteers. As outgoing Co-Chair, Deirdre Logan wrote up a great month-by-month timeline of typical FRAUC activities and tasks. It begins right out of the gate with the Welcome Back potluck the week before school, and fundraising planning for mid/late fall.
As to other key dates, typically we have them nailed down for school events in the summer, but due to the pandemic uncertainty, we may not know events until later. Either way, the timeline provides useful info for planning the budget, meeting agendas, and volunteer needs. The timeline can be found here.
Volunteers and leadership. FRAUC will also need volunteers to work on activities and to share leadership in the organization. This is a full list of the people resources FRAUC has put in place during past non-pandemic years:
- Two Co-Chairs (both Deirdre Logan and Tracy Walton will have stepped down at/by the June 16th meeting).
- Secretary. Lilli Smith is staying on as Secretary for the 2022-2023 year. This role includes updating the FRAUC website.
- Treasurer. Sean Peirce is staying on as Treasurer for the 2022-2023 year.
- Web/Technical Support. In the past two years, Aaron Nathanson has managed the creation of the new website, while contracting with a CRLS student for the development work. FRAUC will need to assess needs for development and technical support in the future, and whether that can be handled by the Secretary role.
- One or two Grade Level Liaisons. (This involves organizing one of three dances–which each grade hosts once per school year–and liaising with the grade level team for special events. Dance ticket revenue and concessions raise funds for FRAUC.)
- Fundraising coordinators/planning committee (Fundraising is especially important to plan beginning early in the fall if 8th grade DC trip resumes and funds are needed for deposits)
- Special Events Coordinators (Staff appreciation, Ask a 6th Grader, Block Party, etc.)
- DC Trip Captains to plan trip, work with vendors.
Looking ahead, it will be important to reflect on FRAUCs role, by-laws, mission, and funding projects, as well as how to encourage and increase caregiver involvement in the organization and in the school during the pandemic.
NEXT MEETING: Thursday, June 16, 8 am at Bergin Park (weather permitting). This will be the final meeting of the school year.