Thank you!!!!

Thank you all for making the Playground benefit auction such a huge success! I am so happy to let you all know that we now have raised enough cash and worked enough volunteer hours to be able to qualify for the full matching grant from Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods. Does this mean we are done? No, not really. As with all large projects there will be ongoing changes and challenges, but it means we will definitely be seeing some big and much needed changes to the playground. We are working to make every dollar count and get the most out of this renovation.

We have been meeting regularly with Site Workshop, the firm we have hired to design the new play area. We will be sending out finalized plans when we have them.

Some time in the Winter, we will also be surveying staff and families when the time come to choose new play equipment!!!

There will be opportunities for volunteer work parties in the spring and summer, so be ready to lend a hand to help us keep costs down.

Site Survey next week

A big holiday thanks to Julie Brandt and Parametrix. They will be doing a site survey for the playground improvement project at a greatly reduced cost!! FYI, they will be on the playground Monday and Tuesday the 21st and 22nd. If you are planning to be around that week give them a big thanks.

Last Chance for Friday's Auction Tickets!

Online Catalog Now Available for Auction Items!Get your Auction Tickets Online by Thursday at noon for Friday's event; tickets will not be available at the door.  This Adult Event is 7:00-10:30pm and includes buffet dinner, adult beverages, auctions and social time.  Dress is sporty casual - favorite team jersey or sporty chic.  Event is at Wallingford Boys & Girls Club and friends and neighbors are encouraged to come.

This event benefits next summer's playground renovations. Don't miss out on a chance to bid on one-of-a-kind auction items (silent & live) AND to come away with some great deals.  Check out our pre-bid auction catalog!

You are welcome to "prebid" by emailing jsisplayground@gmail.com with the item and your bid amount right away. Bids can be submitted upon until Thursday night. 

Latest Concept drawings for the playground

Due to concerns raised by several families and SPS ,The Torii Gate will not be an option for the playground.

We will be exploring other ways to introduce artistic elements into the playground that beautify and reflect the language immersion nature of our school.





We have been working with Site Workshop, a local landscape architect to revise the set of plans that were created several years ago through a series of workshops and surveys of JSIS families.   They will be providing some drawings which we will send out as soon as we have them.

In the mean time, Dennis Poon, one of our many generous parents has created some fantastic conceptual drawings to show what our playground could look like based on the current ideas!!

Full disclaimer, these are not the final plans.  The final set of plans may change due to a variety of factors.

If the budget allows, we will be exploring ways to add some artistic elements that reflect the international/language immersion nature of our school.

One idea would be to add a Japanese style entry gate to the playground.

Another idea to incorporate a Latin America based element comes from Jalisco Mexico.  It is the home of our sister school and the home of a local art form using mosaics created with tiny beads.  The idea would be to create a mosaic or mural in the same style on one or more of the play border walls.  Here are some examples:

Here are the drawings created by Denis Poon for us.  They show several important improvements.  The play area is moved slightly to the south to open up the narrow corridor between the basket ball court and the play border.  The large unnecessary ramp and railing will be replaced with a curved open set of stairs to better utilize the space, improve access, and improve safety.  The sloping mud ramps along the east side would be replaced with planters, benches and a boulder garden with stone steps.

Buy a shower curtain to support the playground

Buy a Shower Curtain to support the JSIS Playground Evolution!

Buy a shower curtain (or 2)!

My friend owns the company TILCO (tilco.com) which sells foreign language shower curtains (Japanese and Spanish, and other languages). She has agreed to give the JSIS playground improvement fund 50% of the sales price of each foreign language shower curtain, while also giving you all a 10% discount on the price (which means JSIS will make $10.80 per foreign language shower curtain sold). Here's how it works: go to the TILCO website, select your shower curtain(s), and enter the discount code "JSIS" when you are checking out. The 10% discount will be applied to your order, and use of the code will let TILCO know to share the proceeds of the order with JSIS. Note: TILCO also sells non-foreign language shower curtains (e.g., English grammar), but JSIS will only get 10% of the proceeds of those sales (which means JSIS will get $2.16 per non-foreign language shower curtain after applying the10% discount). Any questions? sorella30@yahoo.com

Dump Run Fundraiser!

Have you accumulated a pile of stuff you need to get rid of? Have you been putting off going to the dump? Well, now you can get rid of your trash and support the playground improvement project at the same time!

Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18, volunteers will pick up your trash and transport it to the Shoreline Transfer Station.

Not sure how much trash you have? Here is our handy pricing guide:

• $25 - Mini-load – What you have would fit in a wheelbarrow.

• $45 – Medium load – what you have would fit in a car/SUV

• $60 – Big load – what you have would fit in a pick-up truck.

Leave your trash at the curb by 8:30am, Saturday, October 17. Most pick-ups will occur Saturday, with some falling to Sunday depending on the number of stops and amount of trash.

Please, no appliances or hazardous materials (fluorescent bulbs, automotive products, paint, etc.) or recyclable items. These materials will be not be taken.

Want in on this great deal? Contact Janel or Julie to purchase a ticket or to volunteer to help out (kids welcome!).  Tickets on sale through Wednesday, October 14; pay by cash, check, or Paypal (via the link in the left sidebar).

All proceeds will benefit the JSIS PTSA Playground Fund, working to bring our school & community a better playground. Thank you for your support!

Many thanks to Black & Pickett for donating the truck!

Community meeting rescheduled! Oct 5th 630pm

Please come to our first community meeting to discuss the Playground Evolution!

Monday, October 5th at 630pm in the Cafeteria.

The playground improvement committee will be discussing the history of the playground improvement project.

We will be presenting the current plans for improvement and discussing how they were developed.

We will go over the matching grant process, and what we need to do to maximize our funding.

We want to hear your ideas and feedback!

Please come and show your support!

I promise to keep it short so we can get back to watching the Seahawks!

Auction Items Needed!

We will be holding a fundraising event for the playground and we're in need of items and experiences for a live and silent auction.  If you're stumped about what you could give, some of the most popular auction items, in addition to cabin rentals, sporting event tickets, etc., are unique experiences.  Is there something you or your family can offer? Ideas include hosting a themed event, personal photography lessons, a wine or liquor tasting, babysitting once a month for the school year, being a designated driver for a group of adults going wine tasting, hosting a dinner party & teaching the guests how to make sushi, securing a tour of an interesting place you work or are connected to, etc.

You also don't have to donate alone! Join with another family, challenge your child's class, etc.  

If you are interested in donating something, or have an idea you'd like help developing, just contact us & we'll be glad to talk it through with you.

Thank you!

This Monday Meeting CANCELLED

I was asked to cancel/reschedule this Monday evenings meeting due to the strike.   The concern is that staff could not attend the meeting.  

Sorry for the confusion.  We will reschedule.

Show your support for JSIS to the City Council.

Monday, September 21st at 2pm,  the City Neighborhood Council will formally present our Playground improvement project to the Mayor and the City Council for final approval.  

If you would like to show your support for the project, and witness a bit of City government in action, we are welcome to attend. 

The meeting will be in the City Council Chambers, at City hall.

Seattle City Hall
600 Fourth Ave. 2nd Floor
Seattle, WA 98104

Community meeting Sept 14th

Please come to our first community meeting to discuss the Playground Evolution!

Monday, Sept 14th at 630pm in the Cafeteria.

The playground improvement committee will be discussing the history of the playground improvement project.

We will be presenting the current plans for improvement and discussing how they were developed.

We will go over the matching grant process, and what we need to do to maximize our funding.

We want to hear your ideas and feedback!

Please come and show your support!

Buy a Shower Curtain to support the JSIS Playground Evolution!

Buy a shower curtain (or 2)!

My friend owns the company TILCO (tilco.com) which sells foreign language shower curtains (Japanese and Spanish, and other languages). She has agreed to give the JSIS playground improvement fund 50% of the sales price of each foreign language shower curtain, while also giving you all a 10% discount on the price (which means JSIS will make $10.80 per foreign language shower curtain sold). Here's how it works: go to the TILCO website, select your shower curtain(s), and enter the discount code "JSIS" when you are checking out. The 10% discount will be applied to your order, and use of the code will let TILCO know to share the proceeds of the order with JSIS. Note: TILCO also sells non-foreign language shower curtains (e.g., English grammar), but JSIS will only get 10% of the proceeds of those sales (which means JSIS will get $2.16 per non-foreign language shower curtain after applying the10% discount). Any questions? sorella30@yahoo.com

tilco.com

Volunteer needs

Contact Greg Lewis or Darla Rhodes if you're interested in helping out.
OR go to our Signup Genius  


Here is a list of areas we need volunteers to help with!
All volunteer hours spent on these projects count towards our grant match!  
Each hour you donate to the project generates 20$ in grant funds!

Playground Fundraising Event/Auction
*We already have a growing team of volunteers for this project!
*If you would like to help this plan this fun event, or if you have items to contribute to the auction, contact Darla Rhodes or Julie Wittman.


Dump Run fund raiser
*Lead coordinators for this project are Julie Wittman and Janel London
*Advertise to neighborhood and community
*Sell tickets
*Obtain Truck(s) and coordinate food and beverages for volunteers
*Organize Volunteers and track matching hours


Coordinate choosing new play equipment
* Meet with SPS staff to determine allowable choices of equipment
* Meet with Vendors to evaluate choices of new equipment
* Coordinate meetings with community to solicit input on new equipment

Communication Coordinator/Lead
* Help design flyers or posters for fundraisers and community meetings
* Write blog posts to Wallyhood and other information sites.
* Coordinate printing of flyers.
* Distribute flyers to residents around the neighborhood
* Distribute flyers/posters to area businesses for posting

Community outreach Organizer/Lead
* Assist with scheduling and organizing public meetings
* Coordinate meeting set-up & clean-up
* Coordinate food, beverages, and materials for meetings

Work party for dismantling old play equipment Coordinator/Lead
* Organize a team of volunteers to dismantle and dispose of old play structure
* Coordinate transportation and disposal fees.
* Track volunteer hours for Grant matching

Work party for Site preparation and assembling new equipment. 
* Organize a team of volunteers to prepare site,  assemble/install new play structure
* Coordinate delivery of new equipment and disposal of packaging.
* Coordinate with Vendor for onsite professional supervision of assembly
* Provide food and beverages, and clean up
*  Track volunteer hours for Grant matching

Create a small Tori Gate
* Design and build a Tori gate over one of the entrances of the play area like this

* Solicit reduced cost or donated materials.
* Coordinate with SPS to ensure Tori meets safety standards and fits site specifications.
*Organize work parties for assembly and installation.

Add international themed tiles
*Explore options for student created tiles to be installed along raised border of play area
*Develop fundraising plan for families to sponsor creation of tiles
*Recruit artist or SPS staff to guide classrooms in creating tiles
*Coordinate work party for installation of tiles
* Fleur De Lis garden Art in Fremont has indicated they are willing to create cast concrete tiles made from student sculpted plaques at reduced cost!  Details of this project would need to be worked out!

WE GOT THE GRANT!!!!

I am very pleased to announce that we have been recommended for a $100,000 matching grant from Department of Neighborhoods!!!

This is an amazing opportunity to improve our playground!

These grants are extremely competitive.  We were one of 12 approved out of a pool of over 30 applicants.    There are many many worthy projects in the city.  Because of this, the Department of Neighborhoods would be unlikely to approve our school for another grant like this for quite a long time.

Did you know Seattle Public Schools does not provide any funding for Playground improvement?

Did you know JSIS has one of the smallest playgrounds in the district?

Our playground is used by over 450 children per day.

Our older playground equipment is now 20 years old and has required many repairs.

Our older playground equipment is designed for children 5-8 years old and does not meet the needs of our older children.

The design of our raised play area creates barriers to access, takes up valuable space on our crowded playground and has been a source of injuries.

Did you know the children circulated a petition to improve the playground and obtained over 300 of their classmates signatures!

This Grant represents a once in a decade opportunity to improve the playground.

Lets make the most of this!!

The next step will be fundraising!

To make the improvements needed, our goal is to raise at least $50,000 by November 30th of this year!