FAMILIES AT CALVIN SCHOOL

The object of “FAMILIES AT CALVIN SCHOOL” (FACS) is to raise money for Calvin Christian School, thereby reducing the cost of Christian Education; and to serve the teachers and students in various other ways.  Our goal is to raise $50,000 which will then be donated to the school.

Each family is a member of FACS and is required to work 8 credits or pay a $400.00 fee at the end of the year.  We encourage everyone to be involved by working the 8 credits so that you can get to know other parents as well as the teachers.

The board consists of six officers:  President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Publicity Coordinator and Vicar.  Officer’s terms are three years.

Fundraising Projects
       Flower Bulb Sale        August (every other year)
       Wrapping Paper Sale       September
       Fall Auction                    October
       Fannie May Candy Sale       November
       Spirit Wear Sale         November
       Coupon Book Sale        March
       Family Fun Night          April or May
       Market Days                   September – June (One Saturday a month)

Year Long Fundraising Projects
       Target “Take Charge of Education” Visa Card
       Meijer Community Rewards
       Campbell’s Soup Labels
       Box Tops for Education
       Printer Cartridge Program
       Pennies for Playground

Service Projects
       Hot Lunches
       Crazy Hot Lunches
       Sweet Treat Day
       Kitchen Clean Up
       Grandparent’s Day – Refreshment Servers and Greeters
       Skating Parties
       Home Bulletin Staplers
       Vending Machines
       Teacher “Wish List”
       Library Stamps
       TRIP
       Gym Uniform Sales
       Sitting in Classrooms for the Teacher’s Luncheons (December & May)

FUNDRAISING PROJECTS

Each fundraising event has a Chairman and Co-Chairman.  All Co-Chairman positions serve 1 year as the Co-Chairman and the second year as Chairman.  Working either a Chairman or Co-Chairman position fulfills all of your credits.  For those of you who work, there are a variety of positions available on Friday nights or Saturdays.

Flower Bulb Sale – August
This fundraiser runs every other year and starts the first week of school.  The bulbs are supplied by Terra Cei Farms – C. VanStaalduinen & Sons and are guaranteed.

Wrapping Paper Sale – September
This is a great way to get started on your holiday shopping.  Not only is wrapping paper available, but also candles, gift bags, candy, items for kids, notepads and calendars.  On rolls of wrapping paper, Calvin receives a 56% profit.  Even after this official sale is over, you can still shop at www.Innisbrook.com and use our school ID #119086 at checkout and our school will receive a profit throughout the year.

Fall Auction – October
This event is always a great evening of fun and fellowship.  The evening starts out with a dinner and at 6:30 pm the Live and Silent Auctions begin.  It’s always fun to watch when time is running out for the Silent Auction and many people are at the tables scrambling to have their bid be the last bid.  At the Live Auction, everyone enjoys it when two or three people are bidding on the same item and the price just keeps going up.  This sows great support of Calvin Christian School.

Every family is required to work 1 hour for the Fall Auction, unless they are a Chairman or Co-chairman of another fundraiser.  This hour can be worked serving food, set-up/clean-up or working at the Live or Silent Auctions.

Fannie May Candy Sale – November
Since Christmas is just around the corner from this sale, many people use this as a way to either finish up their shopping or get a good start on it.  There is a good selection of candy available and even gift certificates for the family member or friend who lives out-of-town.

Spirit Wear Sale – November
This isn’t so much a fundraiser, as it is a way for everyone to show their school spirit by having a sweatshirt, t-shirt, pajama pants or even a hat to wear.  The2003-2004 school year was the first time this had been offered in awhile and was a great success.  An item from this sale would also be a great Christmas gift for someone on your list.

Coupon Book Sale – March
These books sell for around $5.00, but have a value of over $300.00.  Some of the places that offer coupons are Aurelio’s Pizza – South Holland, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jimbooo’s, Pizza Hut, South Holland Restaurant, Walt’s, Flowers by Michelle, Park Lane Hobbies, Calvary Book Store, Lansing Cleaners, South Park Hardware, Village Farm Stand and Wentworth Tire.

Family Fun Night – April
This is our last big fundraiser of the year and one of your last chances to work for you 8 credits.  The most popular game of this event is the “Goldfish Game”.  The kids are trying to see how many goldfish they can win by throwing a ping pong ball into a fish bowl while the parents stand in the back saying, “I hope they don’t make it!!”

Dinner is also available for purchase.

Market Day – September through June (one Saturday a month)
This is a great way to stock your freezer for those days that you just don’t have time to fix a big meal.  Most items can go straight from freezer to oven.  Around the holidays you can even get most of the items you need for your holiday meals.

YEAR LONG FUNDRAISING PROJECTS

Target “Take Charge of Education” Visa Card
Through this program, Target will donate an amount equal to 1% of Target Visa and Target Card purchases made at Target and Target .com and 0.5% of Target Visa purchases made elsewhere.  These donations are made twice a year in March and September.

If you don’t already have one of these cards, you can apply for one by calling 1-800-316-6142 or by visiting www.Target.com and designating Calvin Christian School as your school of choice.  Then shop as you normally would and Calvin will benefit.

Meijer Community Rewards
Earn cash for Calvin every time you shop at Meijer.  The more you shop the more you earn!  Each year Meijer gives at least 5% of their net profits back to the community – one of the highest levels in the industry.

Benefits:
*Earn up to 4% of your qualified purchases
*Your rewards can be applied to Calvin Christian School
*You never have to pre-purchase anything. Your Meijer Card is easily carried on your key ring or in your wallet.
*Use the Meijer Credit Card for the most benefits, or pay any way you choose – cash, check or charge.
*Receive rewards for almost all Meijer purchases – Groceries, toys, home fashions, jewelry – over 150,000 products!

To join, log into www.Meijer.com and click on Community Rewards.  You can then choose either a Meijer MasterCard or a Meijer Card.  If you already have a Meijer Credit Card, you can call 1-800-962-7011 to join the Community Rewards with your existing account.

Campbell’s Soup Labels
This is another easy way to raise money for Calvin by using things you already have.  Just take the label off the can, trim it down on each side of the logo and turn into the school.  It really is that easy.

Box Tops for Education
CLIP BOX TOPS FROM GENERAL MILLS PRODUCTS
Box Tops logos are found on more than 330 General Mills products.

SEND YOUR BOX TOPS TO SCHOOL
Turn in Box Tops to Calvin and we will submit them to General Mills.

OUR SCHOOL GETS A CHECK
Each Box Top redeemed is worth $0.10 and we can earn up to $10,000 each school year.

The average household buys dozens of General Mills products each year, so it can add up to big cash for Calvin.

Printer Cartridge Program
Save your empty inkjet and laser printer cartridges and place them in the marked boxes outside the school office or gym entry doors.  They will then be turned in for cash.

Be sure to ask family and friends to save theirs, too.  Maybe you know of a local business or church that can donate theirs as well.

We’re looking for name-brand cartridges like HP, Cannon, Lexmark, Dell, Xerox, Samsung, etc.  Sorry, but we CANNOT use cartridges that have already been re-manufactured or Epson brands.

Pennies for Playground
Are those pennies making your purse too heavy or your pockets sag?  Then bring them in to Calvin to help purchase playground equipment for our children.

SERVICE PROJECTS

Hot Lunches, Crazy Hot Lunches and Sweet Treat Day
Every Wednesday Hot Lunch is available to all students who fill out the order from at the beginning of each quarter.

Crazy Hot Lunches are available on the 3rd Friday of each month.

Sweet Treat Days are the first Friday of the month.

All of the above lunches and Sweet Treats are available to all full-time students.  Half-day Kindergartners are included for Sweet Treat only.  All students must have an order form filled out for each quarter, even if no Hot Lunch or Sweet Treat is requested.

Kitchen Clean-Up
Six times a year, the kitchen needs a good cleaning.  Guidelines are posted in the kitchen.

Grandparent’s Day
This special day for Grandparents and Grandchildren is held on a Friday afternoon in October.  Workers are needed to set up and serve refreshments before the program.  Also needed are greeters to show the Grandparents how to find the rooms of their Grandchildren.

Skating Parties
This is a fun evening for all students in Kindergarten – 8th grade.  These are held on a Monday evening twice a year.  This is a nice time for the students to hear some good Christian music and fellowship with their friends.

Home Bulletin (Blue Sheet) Staplers
Please stay informed by reading the HOME BULLETIN (blue sheet), which comes home every Wednesday with the youngest child in your family.  This is our main source of communication with you concerning all our projects and special FACS supported events.  This Home Bulletin can also be downloaded from the News and Events link on this web site.

On Wednesday mornings, two people go into the office, staple all the sheets together and then deliver them to the classrooms.  Each person is assigned on Wednesday per month.

Vending Machines
In the hallway by the gym is a pop machine and candy machine.  There are two people assigned to each machine and each month one of them makes sure that the machines are full.  Students are only allowed to purchase these items after school.

Teacher “Wish List”
Each teacher receives $75.00 in order to purchase item(s) for their classroom.

Library Stamps
When you shop at Family Book Store, be sure to ask for the Library Stamps.  Then turn in the stamps to school which then go towards the purchase of more books for our Library.

Gym Uniform Sales
Starting in 6th grade, each student is required to have a gym uniform which is a shirt purchased from the school and a pair of blue shorts (supplied by the student).  At the end of each year an order form is sent home with those students who will be entering the 6th grade the following year.  If a student has outgrown their uniform, a new one can be ordered by contacting the Vice-President of the FACS Board.

Sitting in Classrooms for the Teacher’s Luncheons (December & May)
Twice a year the FACS Board supplies the teachers with a luncheon.  We need people who are willing to sit in the classrooms or even cover a recess period so all the teachers can partake in these luncheons.