121Reach

Hello everyone!

As a way of showing our love and support to the many people who have been affected by this, 121Reach is holding a fundraiser to show how much we care for the people of Haiti. It’s simple! We ask that everyone (tutors & tutees) brings just $1 (an actual one dollar bill) to tutoring this Thursday, January 21. On the bill, everyone will write a short note of support for Haiti (i.e. “I’m praying for you,Haiti!” or “Stay strong, Haiti!”, etc..) to add a personal stamp of endearment toward Haiti. 

We will collect all bills by the end of tutoring on Thursday and send them to the American Red Cross! Even with our small contribution, we will show how much 121reach cares 

***********************Update!!!************************

We have raised $50.75 for Haiti! Thank you 121Reach tutors & tutees for your words of kindness and donations. Every little bit you give will be appreciated.

>> For photos of Help for Haiti, click here

>> Or check them out on Facebook!, click here

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a great holiday season . With the new year come new things in store for 121Reach! This semester, we’ve made a few changes regarding both tutors and tutees that we believe will help tutoring run even more smoothly and be even more fun!

Tutors:

The first change we’ve made is the tutor contract. Instead of the usual paper contract that tutors sign and turn in, we are now using an electronic contract! All tutors have to do is open up the contract on their computers, read through it, type their electronic signature, and click submit! This is not only more efficient for both tutors and 121Reach staff, but this also saves a great amount of paper We’ve also changed a few of the guidelines in the contract. These include:

1. Tutors are now required to give just a 24 hour absence notification rather than 48 hours.

2. We included some tips about what tutors should do with their tutees after they’re done tutoring.
For the new contract, go to http://121reach.org/register/tutor/

Tutees:
We have two major changes this semester for tutees. The first is that we will be having more events! A big part of 121Reach is the bonding experience between tutors and tutees, therefore, we have decided to give tutees more opportunities to have fun while bonding with their mentors. Some of the events we have coming up are Letters to Michelle Obama, Movie Day, a Picnic, and another Game Day!

The second change we have made regarding tutees is the Tutor Treat Exchange policy. In another effort to build relationships between tutors and tutees, tutors and tutees will now bring treats for each other instead of 121Reach staff providing treats for tutors. With this new policy, the treat exchange will become much more personal and meaningful.

Parents:
In order to increase parent awareness of what exactly goes on during tutoring and what is expected of each child, we have developed a list of tutee guidelines which spells out behavioral expectations for tutees. For this form, click here.

In addition, we are implementing Reach Reports! A Reach Report is a folder that each tutor/tutee pair uses to record what was worked on each day at tutoring. Upon request, parents have access to their child’s Reach Report to be aware of their child’s strengths, weaknesses, behavior, etc at 121reach.

Check back often for more updates and news about 121Reach in 2010 and visit our photos page for pictures of the Holiday Party!

To celebrate the end of a super successful semester of 121Reach and the coming of winter break, tutors and tutees gathered one last time at the Taylor Road Media Center for some fun, food, and gifts. There was more than enough of food (thanks to everyone for bringing something and thanks to Mrs. White and Mrs. Sheppard for organizing the table!). The beginning was pretty relaxed, as we all mingled and ate some food, but as the cart in the middle of the room became loaded with gifts, we soon got pretty excited for the gift exchange! Both tutors and tutees were asked to bring in a relatively cheap gift for a modified “White Elephant” exchange. Numbers were given out (there were almost 60 participants!) and the game began! The first number was called, and this lucky person chose a randomly wrapped gift on the cart to open. If the following participants really liked someone’s gift, they were allowed to steal it. The popular steal were some Cookies and Creme chocolate bars, much to my surprise. Although it became a little hectic, I enjoyed myself immensely, especially watching some boys picking gifts that were totally geared towards girls (body mist??). Anyways, it was great fun and I hope everyone else who came enjoyed themselves, too! Don’t forget to check out the pictures!!!

>> For photos of the Holiday Party & Gift Exchange, click here

Tags: exchange, gift, gift exchange, holiday, holiday party, party

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, had a very shiny nose!…

As it was getting closer and closer to Christmas day, four daring 121Reach officers, Fan Fan, Lydia Atangcho, Stefan Koshy, and Daryl Halima, sought out to conquer the neigborhood, one Christmas carol at a time.

Singing holiday favorites, We Wish you a Merry Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing, the four spread the holiday spirit while also spreading the word about 121Reach at the Estates at Wellington subdivision with 121Reach holiday cards. Many were surprised to be serenaded by carolers and awfully watched and listened as they sang their cheery hearts out.

121Reach hopes everyone had a happy holiday and new year!

To watch the carolers as they sing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, visit our Video page!

The Monday before Thanksgiving Break was the perfect time to have 121Reach’s first Game Day! There wasn’t a lot of homework, and we were all ready for a break, so tutors and tutees brought in their favorite board games to play! There was quite a variety of activity going on all throughout the media center.

Some of the book-lovers played Scrabble and the dexterous engaged in a suspenseful round of Jenga. Not only was everyone having fun, tutors and tutees were sharpening some key skills as well. Taboo forced us to think outside of the box as we strained to describe “Taboo”ed words we could not say; Monopoly touched up our mental math as we counted out our colorful bills. Who said board games were too old-fashioned? Tutors and tutees had TONS of fun!

A big thank you to Hasbro Games and Youth Venture for providing many free games for us!

>> For more photos of Game Day, click here

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When Lydia, Ms. White, Ms. Sheppard, & I woke up on Thursday morning, we were all a tad nervous… At 8:00 we’d have to be ready to present 121Reach before an audience of principals and PTSA chairs from across our school district!

The four of us had met about a week before in Ms. White’s office to talk about what we were going to say and what sort of supplementary materials we should provide. We decided on a few talking points and on passing out manila folders with a brochure, information for starting 121Reach, a newspaper article about us, and stories from our tutors.

On the morning of November 12th, we arrived bright and early at Abbot’s Hill Elementary school, the site of the LSC meeting. The butterflies in my stomach faded away when I saw one of the district principals greeting and shaking hands with the tiny elementary school children that shuffled by. Seeing such open love and warmth made me realize that there was nothing to be nervous about because all the principals really wanted was the best for their kids, and what we were about to present that day was something that could help.

At 8:00 a row of smiling faces watched as Ms. White and Ms. Sheppard introduced me, Lydia and the program. Lydia and I then proceeded to talk about how we run the program, what an average tutoring session looks like, our traditions (tutor treats, events, etc.), and how we get both middle and high school students involved. Mr. Williamson finished up our presentation with an anecdote: He had recommended 121Reach to a student’s parents. When the student found out she jumped for joy and gave Mr. Williamson a hug because she was so excited to join the program!

This was such an exciting opportunity to share with administrators and parents what 121Reach has contributed and what it will continue to contribute to our community in the future. This was a great start to one of our long-term goals — spreading 121Reach across the county, state and nation.

Thank you to Mr. Williamson for giving us this great opportunity, and thank you to the principals and PTSA chairs for listening!

Lydia and I had to leave for school, but according to Mr. Williamson, all of the principals at the meeting were abuzz with excitement at the prospect of starting their own 121Reach programs in the future!

>>For more photos of the Local School Council Meeting, click here

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Tutors already meet Mondays and Thursday after school every week for tutoring sessions. However, the officer team found it necessary to have a little time just with the tutors to talk about the program and share experiences and ideas for improvement. Thus, Tuesday after school a bunch of our awesome dedicated tutors came out for a meeting that I felt was very successful! =) Some topics touched on were tutor treats, events, the tutor contract, and service hours. Although all this management may seem too stringent, we tried to stress that with so many tutees and tutors, we need to know that all the tutors are committed and responsible. After going over the technical stuff, Stefan emerged from the crowd and introduced the tutor discussion with a story of his own experience with his tutee. The themes were recurrent in all the stories we shared. There is frustration and confusion, but in the end there is that rewarding feeling you get from helping someone out. Pretty cute stuff.

Here are some excerpts from the meeting that are very important for all tutors to understand:

• Responsibility of checking in and out (only if you leave early).
• Absences and Hour Deductions: Tutors are allowed one excused absence per month. If more, there are hour deductions. The only reason for this is to make sure people are not taking advantage of the club as only a place to get the few hours required by Beta or NHS. Much like someone part of a sports team who is mandated to come to every practice five days a week to stay a part of the team, this allows us to make sure only the most committed tutors are coming out.
• Don’t forget to come to events!!! We have two coming up. Any ideas for low maintenance events are extremely welcome.
• Make sure you are getting all e-mails. If not, please e-mail 121reach@gmail.com.

You guys are awesome and really help make the experience at 121Reach fun and exciting!!! =)

-Sara G.

If you’re a freshman, sophomore, or junior, and you’d like to be an officer of 121Reach, come to the meeting in the little theater (D109) on October 27 after school. You can learn about becoming an officer of 121Reach there.

For more information and forms, go to our application section.

Hey everyone! 

>> For more photos of the Panda Express Fundraiser, click here

At the feast and fun that was the Taste of Johns Creek, we planned to have a fun booth for 121Reach, at which kids could get their faces painted with fierce animals, ornate flowers, or other shapes, and hair transformed into crazy designs. Unfortunately there was another group that had conferred with the organizers of the event before 121Reach and our plan fell to pieces.

121Reach had purchased supplies and posters and assigned volunteer hours for participation. Some volunteers went home, we had all of these face paints and hair ties, but no way to use them. The initial loss of enjoying talking to interested attendants of the Taste of Johns Creek turned into a chance to hand out flyers and participate in the tasting ourselves. In fact, all of the volunteers that stayed (Fan, Lulu, Sohan, Stefan, Savannah, and myself) got a chance to meet D.J. Unk da Funk!!!! And those supplies that 121Reach purchased… well, the officers decided that we will have a Carnival event, when and where?? still looking. But we all had fun and we handed out flyers.

fun, food, friends, and flyers!! It’s a FIESTA!!! What more could you ask for??