Superstars Working for all Haas Schools
 Stay-at-home Gala Adds to Matching Grant Funds

Our thanks go to the following school personnel for their help with the Stay-at-Home Gala and Online Auction that wrapped up earlier this month. Preliminary reports show that together these efforts raised over $14,000 for the Matching Grant fund for this year.

Those who served on the Stay-at-Home Steering Committee:

Richard Jones, Prairie High School, Committee Co- Chair Wendy Ross, East Valley High School, Travel Procurement Heath Tayon, Mt. Vernon High School, Sports Procurement

Haas Educator Ambassador Program (HEAP) members who served as Stay-at-Home Area Captains:

Kate Cook, Reeves Middle School
Tracy Cusack, Jefferson Middle School
Shawn John, PACE High School
Richard Jones, Prairie High School
Rod Luce, Quincy High School
Sharon McConnel, Squalicum High School
Wendy Ross, East Valley High School
Gene Schmidt, Bridgeport High School
John Welsh, Mt. View Middle School, Sheridan Campus
Debbie Williams, Columbia School District

School fund coordinators who served as Stay-at- Home Area Captains:

Dawn Asbach, Anacortes High School
Jim Kowalkowski, Pomeroy Junior/Senior High School
D’Arcy Rowe, A.C. Davis High School

The Stay-at-Home Gala captains came up with great ideas for their events. A few examples are:

• Making a presentation and showing a video at a superintendent’s meeting and SUWASA dinner
• Hosting superintendents and school board members from four school districts in their home for dinner. The hosts told stories of students that have been helped, and showed the Haas Foundation video
• Presenting Haas Foundation information at a parent advisory committee for student services luncheon, and via e-mail to the staff at school
• Inviting friends and relatives for a home-cooked Mexican dinner

Finally, we wish to thank the generous sponsors who provided items for the gift bags that were given to each dinner guest:

L'ecole No. 41
Dry Soda Company
Starbucks
Packaging Specialties
Glaceau Vitamin Water

 

 Haas Recipients Sing at Ground Zero Site
 

We appreciate Barbara Lock from St. Joseph School (Seattle) who recently submitted this thoughtful story:

"The school chorus was invited to be a featured chorus at Carnegie Hall, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The group performed admirably there, but the highlight for the students, which included Haas fund recipients, was visiting the church across from Ground Zero (the World Trade Center site). The church caretaker invited them to sing, and they filled the little church with beautiful music. Many people walking by heard the singing and came in to sit in the pews for a few moments of musical refreshment. It was a very moving experience for everyone."

 

 New Reporting Criteria
 

There is a new criteria box on the Foundation’s extranet (password secured) website. We are now asking you to report the grade level for each student served. This is to insure that only secondary students are being assisted through the Haas fund, in keeping with the definition of a secondary school that the Board approved at their May 12, 2006 meeting. A secondary school is defined as a middle, junior high or high school, with students in grades six through twelve. Students in K-8 or K-12 schools are also eligible for assistance, down to the sixth grade level.

Please check out the Acceptable Purposes information located in the lavender-colored information area on the website. You will find information on the purpose of the Haas Foundation, the timeliness of assisting students and determining their eligibility for assistance, and evaluating whether their needs fit with the acceptable purposes listed by the Foundation. You can click on each individual purpose to find more detailed information.

One way you can conserve resources and free more money for urgent needs is on yearbooks. Although yearbook purchases were covered for students in all grades in the past, our Board of Directors asks that yearbooks be purchased only for graduating high school seniors from now on.