By: Sara Chovan, Former Parent Association Co-Chair
Welcome to a new school year! For families who are new to the school, information about the events and festivals can be really important. The Parent Association is a great resource to families who want more detail about school-wide events and student – centered festivities. Your co-chairs this year are Jenny Nelson and Jennifer Hanson.
City of Lakes celebrates our community and raises funds for our school every year with our Bike – A – Thon. On Saturday, October 3rd at 10 am, students from every grade (and often the parents as well) gather on their bikes at the Lake Harriet Bandshell to bike around the lake. The Bike-A-Thon (often abbreviated to BAT) runs until 1 pm, and is a great opportunity for families to mingle, for classmates to enjoy a Saturday together, and for the larger community to get acquainted with City of Lakes Waldorf School.
The Bike-A-Thon is an all-school fundraiser. The school depends on donations during this event to fund important programming at the school. The Bike-A-Thon packet came home with your child, but you can also download it and print it here, or pick up another copy from Lorna Schmidt, our Development Director, in the office.
When you get to the event, check in at the registration tables on the stage. These tables allow you to drop off the funds you have raised (or the pledges you have solicited), and to get a racing number for your student. Every student is encouraged to ride and take part in the morning, there is no minimum or maximum required for attending the Bike-A-Thon.
There are two pay parking lots at the Lake Harriet bandshell where we hold this event. You are also invited to park along the street. Although most families strive to get to the BAT by 10:00 in order to be part of the grand send-off, the event itself has an “open house” feel. Come when you can, bike as long as you want to, and leave when you need to.
Bring your reusable mug because Pat’s Tap and Bread & Pickle will have coffee, hot chocolate and delicious treats at the band shell. As the students bike around the lake at varying levels of intensity, there are two lemonade stands along the bike path to ensure a safe place to stop, take a rest, and get some energy to get around the lake.
Younger grades students often ride around the lake with an adult in their family. There is a smaller mini-lap available for students in early childhood as well as the younger students who are not as confident riding a bike yet. It is quite a moment when your older child informs you that she will be riding around the lake on her own with her friends! There are so many people going around the lake at the same time that for these older students it is a secure ride.
This event is so fun! There is a great energy and it is such a positive way to support the school. It can not happen without the help of volunteers. Our volunteerspot sign up allows you to find a place to volunteer that will best suit your family and the time commitments you have for the rest of the day. We need people as early as 8:30 am to transport items from the school to the band shell. We need people to help set up the event between 8:30 and 10 am. We need people to serve lemonade and we need people to handle the registration tables. By volunteering you are helping this great event be a success, but you are also getting a chance to learn more about how our school operates. Some of the most informative conversations happen when volunteers are working together at an event!!
Please consider signing up for a volunteer slot. Everything you will need to know about any task at the Bike-A-Thon can be taught in under two minutes – and many hands make light work.
Did you miss t-shirt pre-orders? Don’t fret! A few more tees will be for sale at the event for $12 each, cash or check only please. Can’t wait to see you there!