River Kids Meeting Friday

Hello all,

The RK Board met recently to lay out ideas for projects for the year.  It was a very productive meeting ending with each Board member taking on the task of leading a project or two.  At an upcoming meeting, those leaders will present their project ideas to the whole group and all members will sign up to work on one project as part of a planning committee.  (Schedule permitting, and with parent permission, kids may sign up to help out on more than one committee.)

It was our intent to have this happen at the next meeting, but I've heard from Mike Clark that he is able to reschedule his winter paddling workshop with the kids for this Friday.  SO mark your December RK calendar with these changes:

• Dec 4 - General Meeting - dedicated to presentation from Mike Clark
• Dec 11 - (Previously a Board Meeting) General Meeting - dedicated to project introductions and committee work

We will also be adding a new date for paddling with Mike.  We are planning to shoot for a SATURDAY now, or perhaps one of the days on Winter Break.  It gets dark VERY early these days, and Mike is trying to make the switch for us this time around.

A little more info on how the committees work:

RK Projects are driven by the work done in by the small groups who take charge and lead the way.  This is a great way for all the kids to participate in some of the decision making and problem solving that has in the past led RK to success.

We will have times during regularly scheduled meetings for these groups to work.  However, many of the groups will need more time to work between meetings.  We will set up afterschool meetings for those groups in the 3:30-5:00 range and will usually work in my room when it's available.  I work with each group to pick a day that seems best for most then we will publish those meeting days and times for all.

Some will not be able to make it to those additional meetings because of other commitments.  Those who can make it do their best to keep others in the loop as decisions are made.  There's really no other way to keep things moving, especially on some of the bigger projects.

I also work with teachers to set up meetings during recess when it fits. Sometimes there's a quick decision that needs to made, or some extra work to be done that can fit in that time frame.

So, NEXT WEEK - I will send out a list of all the committees ahead of time. Project leaders will give details at the Dec 11 meeting and we'll split into groups to work.

It's been a quiet fall after the benefit, but watch out...River Kids are on the move.  :)

Ben