Yuletide Fair Important Information
With the Fall Festival just around the corner, the Yuletide Fair will be here before you know it! The organizing committee, led by Elizabeth Coe, has been hard at work. Please support their efforts by reading through this News item!
The Hawthorne Valley Yuletide Fair
December 1, 2012
Dear Parents, Teachers and Friends,
I am writing this letter to help clarify aspects of the Yuletide Fair that will enable us to work together with greater clarity and peace. Please read the following information so that we can move through the Fair preparations with ease and understanding. Thank you for taking the time to do this!!
The Yuletide Fair is one of the greatest opportunities to experience the strength and unique beauty of our community as well as to present it publicly. It is a crescendo in the life of Hawthorne Valley that asks us to share talents and kindle friendships. Most importantly, through our work leading up to the Fair--as well as during the Fair itself--our children experience the strength, meaning and integrity of their school. The Fair is also the second most significant fundraising event of the year.
The following information explains how the activities within the Fair are organized and how you can be involved. Some involvement is expected and some is voluntary. Please read the following information and visit the Yuletide Fair Information page on the Hawthorne Valley School website for clarification. Classes are assigned a fair task in the first grade and will be responsible for that task through eighth grade. This enables the class to master their activity, and it relieves the stress of organization from year to year. The high school classes take responsibility for a different activity each year. One or more class parents, the “Fair Reps,” will organize their respective class parent community. The “Fair Rep” is not the same as the PTO Class Representative. These Fair Reps are self-selected or sought-out by teachers or Fair organizers. If you are interested in becoming more involved with the Fair, please speak with your teacher, other Fair Reps or the Fair Coordinator. Some Fair activities are more or less demanding, so we ask that parents responsible for the less demanding activities help other grades as needed.
All parents are expected to participate in the three main categories of creating the Fair: “Making, Baking and Shifting.” We ask that everyone make one or sometimes more crafts for your activity and/or the Community Craft Room, that everyone bakes for the Cozy Café and that every parent signs-up for at least one shift. Individual needs, which may limit participation, such as having multiple children attending the school, single parent households, or other personal needs, are respected and understood. Communicating such personal needs to your class Fair Rep in a timely way is appreciated so they can find alternative coverage. If you are not sure of your schedule the day of the Fair when the sign-up sheet is passed around, we ask that you take responsibility for a shift and later swap times with someone if needed to take this responsibility away from the class teacher of the fair rep. We also encourage extended family and community members to help with shifts or otherwise participate in the fair.
Crafting for the fair is an opportunity to use your hands, learn new skills, develop friendships and strengthen our community. Workshops will be organized and dates posted in the bi-weekly newsletter. Crafting will be accessible to all skill levels. Please join one or more groups, create your own group, or bring projects home. Our handcrafted “treasures” largely create the beauty and integrity of our fair.
Below and on the Yuletide Fair Information page, you will find a description of the primary Fair activities and how parents, students and teachers are involved. Please read all of the information as you may find ways to be involved beyond your specific class activity. We hope that all of this information will foster a sense of clarity and peace leading up to the Fair, which can feel complicated and confusing as it approaches. Please come forward with any questions to your Fair Rep, your PTO Rep, your class Teacher or the Fair Coordinator.
Your participation is so appreciated!
Sincerely,