e-Newsletter: February 2008

IN THIS ISSUE
Million Dollar March
PSCS Students in the News
Gym Day!
February - What's Happening

MILLION DOLLAR MARCH
by Andy Smallman
“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” – Napoleon Hill
“A journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

I began this article with two quotes. Please go back and read both again, then try to consider them the parents of the Dream Site project. If it’s not too crazy for you, try to imagine what their offspring might look like. Me, I think their first-born looks very much like PSCS moving into our dream site in September and his name is the Million Dollar March.

I started thinking this way after sending out a community-wide message last Friday. I mentioned having met with a real estate expert who told me that if the school had $1,000,000 in its control by March 1 that PSCS could acquire the site I’ve been promoting and be moved in by September. That’s the “deadline” quote parent.

Within minutes of sending this message I received a reply from founding PSCS parent William Wittmann pledging $1000 to the Dream Site project. Buoyed by this, my creative juices started flowing. 1000 is a special number. It’s big enough to be significant but not too big to grasp. And it’s part of the quote by Lao Tzu, that means, frankly, nothing will ever happen if you don’t get off your duff and start.

I realized then that the Wittmanns had provided for us the blueprint for having $1,000,000 by March 1. William took the first of a 1000 step journey, 1000 x $1000 equaling $1,000,000. Do you see?  He got us off our duff financially, so to speak, by taking the first step, each one defined by someone pledging $1000 to the Dream Site project. And with that we have the “1000 miles” quote parent.

Can you do it, can you take another of these steps for us by pledging $1000 to the Dream Site project? Can you take three or four, or five or ten? Totaled, it’s the Million Dollar March, 1000 $1000 steps by March 1. And these funds need not be donated, although that sure helps. They could be loaned to us at no or a low interest rate. We can get creative as we take these steps!

Digressing a bit and offering another example of the “magic” that has surrounded PSCS since before the school started, how amazing “coincidences” seem to happen at critical times in the school’s history, allow me this story. The real estate expert I mention above came to me through staff consultant Anoo Padte’s husband, Vamshi Reddy. It turns out this expert is a childhood friend of mine, someone with whom I used to play in grade school. We met and had a great time both reminiscing about the past and envisioning the future of PSCS.

And since I’m offering up quotes that I hope serve to inspire, I’ll close with one more.

PSCS STUDENTS IN THE NEWS
“The only thing that you could eat that was vegetarian was cheese pizza.” PSCS student Tamlyn Zawalich was so quoted in a recent article in the Seattle P.I. Tamlyn and fellow students Josie Olney and Murren Kennedy accompanied staff member Nic Warmenhoven to Olympia in mid-January to learn about lobbying, specifically around the idea of bringing locally grown food into school lunches. Tamlyn’s quote above was about the variety, or lack thereof, of the food in the school lunches at the public school she attended prior to coming to PSCS.

As we reported last month, Nic was planning on taking interested students to Olympia to talk to state legislators about what Nic calls the politics of food. That they met with a reporter and got quoted in the newspaper made the trip all the more educational, interesting and worthwhile. And we’ve just heard that a local TV station is interested in doing a news story with interviews of our students. We’re all very proud of them for their dedication to a topic that has such important implications.

GYM DAY!
Last Friday the students and staff spent the morning reviewing our community contract – a “check-in” about how we as a community are ensuring that everyone is getting full value from being a part of the PSCS community. Full of warm fuzzies for our community, after the review we walked to the Wallingford Boys and Girls Club where we proceeded to spend the next 3 hours running, screaming, sweating and scoring in the gym. 

After warming up on the walk to Wallingford, the events started off with a rousing full court basketball game that got everyone’s heart pumping.  Playing to 21, the red team slaughtered their opponents by at least 10 points!  After a quick water break, a game of floor hockey broke out with beginners and experienced hockey players all vying for the perfect shot on goal. This game was much closer than the basketball game, and proved to be a nail biter right up to the final shot, which pushed the winning team to a 10-9 victory.  After lunch – and a debate about the name of the game – the floor was cleared and balls put in place for dodgeball (or soak ‘em, depending on what your elementary school PE teacher called it)… We played several rounds, and involved probably the highest number of students with this game, which brought a smile to everyone’s face – competitors and spectators alike! At the conclusion of dodgeball, folks were starting to get tired, but that didn’t stop people from pulling out the jump ropes or partaking in a game of H-O-R-S-E.  The final game, which saw everyone but 6 people riding the bench, was a quick game of football. We cooled off with the walk back to school and had a touching downstairs checkout to complete the day.

FEBRUARY – WHAT'S HAPPENING

VISITATION DAYS
Our next two visitation days are Wednesday, 2/6 and 2/27. It is difficult to understand PSCS without coming to school and observing our activities and student life. Seeing the school in action can make the difference between having a basic appreciation of our philosophy and the aha! of really "getting" how it works. For more information visit PSCS Admissions.

OPEN HOUSE
PSCS is holding an admissions open house for prospective students on Sunday, 2/10, 1-3pm. Come find out more about the school. See the wonderful opportunities PSCS has to offer. Meet staff, students, and other community members. Tour the school. Pick up an application for 2008-09. For more information visit PSCS Open House.

BOARD MEETING
Tuesday, 2/12, 7pm.

NO SCHOOL MID-WINTER BREAK
Monday-Friday, 2/18-22. Staff In-service days 2/19-22.

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