On Thursday, December 23rd, Starbucks' staff and Salem-Keizer Education Foundation board members arrived at Adam Stephens Middle school to surprise Winter Lunch Program participants with toys, books, and games. Volunteers also distributed toys at the other six Winter Lunch Program schools, Claggett Creek, Harritt, Houck, Liberty, Parrish, and Waldo. Salem-Keizer area Starbucks had been collecting toys for the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation since mid-November. Children participating in the program that day were able to choose a toy to take home with them.

The School Supply Depot has provided hundreds of items to our school children since September, but now as the first semester draws to a close, final exams are upon us, and state tests are just around the corner, many students and teachers need their supplies replenished.

Help us restock the missing items.  Items can be dropped off at our offices or any of the Salem-Keizer Starbucks locations.

Items most needed are:
Composition notebooks, dry erase markers, 3 inch three ring binders, staplers, 3 ring hole punches, tissue, colored markers and white 8 1/2 x 11 printer paper.

Where the Sidewalk Begins now is offering fabulous bargains on all of your favorite Christmas items. Sale items include santa and snowmen figurines, travel mugs, ornaments, books, soaps, and handmade greeting cards. Come in and visit this week for end-of-year bargains! 

Mardi Gras is just around the corner! This year Mardi Gras lands on February 21, so gear up for the celebration in style with a visit to Where the Sidewalk Begins. Come find colorful, feathered masquerade masks, crown ornaments, and fleur-de-lis ornaments, candles, and silver serving dishes!

Judson Middle School
8th Grade Language Arts
Teacher: Mr. Hughey

Students were asked to write a fictional narrative.  They were given a list of several possible prompts, but were permitted to create their own topic with the approval of the instructor.  In their narratives, students were expected to introduce, develop, and resolve a conflict within approximately three pages.  In addition, students were asked to write dialogue to develop the protagonist of the story. Students were scored based on their ideas and content, organization of ideas, sentence fluency, and conventions.

In partnership with the Salem-Keizer Public Schools and Sodexo, the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation sends a BIG thank you to our 70 volunteers who dedicated their time and efforts to the Winter Lunch Programs.

Over 2,000 Salem-Keizer students were served over the break at the participating schools. The program started on December 19-22 and contiues to run through the 27-30 of December. The program is held at Claggett Creek, Harritt, Liberty, Houck, Parrish, Stephens, and Waldo.

Thank you again to our 70 wonderful and gracious volunteers and Sodexo who provided the delicious meals. The 70 volunteers gave 1.5 hours every day for eight days; reaching 840 volunteer hours. The contribution equals $17,942.40 of in-kind donations through volunteer hours!

Again, thank you to those gracious individuals. We love our volunteers!

SKEF’s tutoring program is “Brilliant,” according to Phil Decker Principal of Four Corner Elementary School.  SKEF’s tutoring program revenues fund the Enrichment Academy after school Enrichment Academy for the school.  Decker said that 300 of his 510 students are eligible for tutoring.  The Enrichment Academy fees are waived for these tutoring students.  This means these students receive a hot meal after school and then they attend two activity sessions, each lasting one hour.  Two of these hour-long sessions per week are devoted to strengthening math or English skills.  During the rest of the week, students can choose to be tutored in a variety of subjects and activities that interest them, including computer labs, sports, Lego robotics, games, science, theatre, or homework support.  Another bonus to the Four Corners program is that the tutors are certified Four Corner teachers, who know the school, the kids, and the core curriculum.

Mara Addison, SKEF’s Enrichment Academy Tutoring Regional Manager, is passionate about the program.  She hires only certified teachers and carefully chooses the materials herself based on her years of experience.   Each child after getting parental agreement to participate is tested.  This pretest determines the tutoring goals and curriculum for that child.  The post-test gages progress.  Progress reports are shared with classroom educators, the principal and parents.

Enrichment Academy Tutoring is available for all students Kindergarten-12th grade in all content areas for a fee. To learn if your student is eligible for Free Tutoring, please contact SKEF at (503) 364-2933

• Toilet Paper tubes
• Newspaper
• Paper towel tubes
• 2 Carpet Squares
• Egg Cartons
• Dried Pasta

Tickets available at Where the Sidewalk Begins, 233 Commercial St. NE, Salem, OR 503.364.2933

by Kay Marikos

Last September Jan Carter was searching online for a volunteer opportunity and came across a link to SKEF’s newly opened School Supply Depot. The Depot, housed in a portable at Walker Middle School in West Salem, holds a myriad of donated school supplies – boxes of crayons, pens, pencils, paper, glue, scissors and more.

Jan, who had worked for a local accounting firm for 13 years, met with SKEF’s Director of Volunteer Services, Tammy McCammon, and was put to work in no time flat. She and another volunteer spent their first day applying shelf paper, and counting the inventory to help ready the Depot for its opening. She quickly recognized the valuable need the Depot fills for parents who cannot afford school supplies for their children and pledged to staff it every Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. to noon through January.

A Very Big Thank You to all our Amazing December Volunteers!

BECOME A SKEF VOLUNTEER

When the story of these times gets written, we want it to say that we did all we could, and it was more than anyone could have imagined. - Bono, U2 Lead Singer

It's the human factor that makes SKEF so successful. Volunteer your time to help make a difference to a student, a teacher, or another friend in the community. SKEF volunteers come from all walks of life, including senior citizens, retired professionals, service organizations, business partnerships, and students.

Volunteer opportunities can include clerical work, assisting with a class or workshop and preparing outreach class supplies, or working on one of our many great special events like the AWESOME 3000 or Crystal Apple Awards. If you have a special talent or skill you want to share, we will create an opportunity for you.

If you are interested in learning more about volunteering for SKEF, please contact us at info@skeducationfoundation.org or call (503) 364-2933.