2008 Activities Committee Report
As a committee, we decided to divide the leadership for each of the planned events. Six people (3 graduates and 3 parents) worked on the Senior Banquet. Most of the other activities were organized by one parent and one graduate.
The Fall Outdoor Party was a good time for the graduates to enjoy some outside sports (volleyball, football, fishing, riding 4 wheelers) and some time around the campfire to visit and get to know each other. It was attended by about 25-30 graduates and a few families. Each graduate was assigned items to bring for the cookout. I would definitely do this again.
The Game Night was held in January at a church. The kids brought snacks, and we provided drinks and paper goods. We played several “get acquainted” games, volleyball, basketball, group games (Steal the Bacon–they loved playing it and didn’t want to stop), and board games. I agree with last year’s committee that it would have been good to have had two of these activities. About 20-25 graduates attended this event.
I thought the Senior Showcase was well planned and organized, enjoyable, and showed off some great talent in our graduates. It was a good idea to have it on the same night as the senior meeting, so as to not ask parents to come out another night of the week. The written program was a nice addition to the event.
The MPE Senior Class Potluck Picnic was on MAY 3 at 5:30pm at Shawnee Mission Park
(7900 Renner Road in Shawnee – HYPERLINK “http://www.jcprd.com/park_admin/pdf/smp-map.pdf” http://www.jcprd.com/park_admin/pdf/smp-map.pdf)
In shelter #2. There was a pond close if anyone wanted to fish (park permit & state fishing license required). Every family brought main dish to share (with serving utensil), side dish and/or dessert to share (with serving utensil), paper products, eating utensils, & drinks for their own family, and any outdoor sports and activity equipment they wanted. After we ate, we started fire in the fire pit and people stayed till dark. It got chilly so the fire was a very welcome addition and we roasted marshmallows! Some of the adults played dominoes while the students and siblings played football and Frisbee. NOTE: Reserve the shelter you want ASAP (months before). It cost 40.00 to reserve the shelter but the MPE senior class finance committee was able to reimburse us for that expense.
We tried to do a Service Project but it never happened. We got snowed out the first try and ran into basketball tournaments and SAT tests in the spring. I still think it is a good idea, but should be planned for the early fall. Here are a few ideas: diaper drive for the Crisis Pregnancy Center Overland Park, sort clothes at a clothing closet (New Life Center-Shawnee Church of the Nazarene), or check with your pastors for other ideas.
Senior Chat & Chow times were offered after each planning meeting. We simply designated a different location each time – Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, McDonald’s, etc… and the interested seniors went there to continue fellowship.
The Bowling Night was not a great success. Three-Four kids arrived on time and started a game of bowling, then 6 or so arrived really late. I’m not sure if there wasn’t enough interest in the particular activity or if it was just on a bad night…?
For the Graduation Celebration we chose a restaurant in Olathe fairly close to Mid America Nazarene College Church which would be open past 10:00PM on rehearsal night. We chose that night instead of graduation night so that people could spend time with relatives that day. We chose Perkins Restaurant on Sante Fe and called to reserve their atrium section so we could all sit together. There were only a dozen attending, three parents, and nine graduates. It may have been better scheduled a week before or a week after graduation, since graduation week was very busy for everyone.
Notes on Senior Showcase:
After polling those attending the September meeting, we decided to have the showcase after a monthly meeting instead of on a separate night. That idea was well-received. I would suggest giving advance notice to families that the actual meeting will start at 6pm and the showcase at 7:30pm. Make sure the committees know they need to be there to do their business (sign-ups, meetings, etc.) by 6pm. Work closely with the graduation chairs on this. Find out what additional communication needs to be done with the church, especially regarding clean up and early/late access to the building.
We chose a showcase instead of a talent show to provide opportunity to those with a variety of gifts. Students could choose to display their handiwork, perform, or do both. Sign-up sheets were circulated during the October graduation meeting. Emails were sent to those students to confirm and collect additional information. (Responses to emails were not great. Direct contact was more useful.)
It’s important to get an amount of time needed for each performance act—not just an estimate. If you want the show to run from 7:30-9pm, let the students know have room for 15 performers to sign up. (That is based on a ballpark figure of 5 minutes per act, plus transition time.) Have the students tell you the type of act, the title of the song, the time needed, the people involved, etc. It’s good for you to know ahead of time what the student will be doing. You should listen to the songs (You can usually do that on YouTube.com.) to make sure they are appropriate. Also, knowing what each student is planning allows you to print a program (which I think people liked) and schedule the acts to provide variety and continuity.
Check first with the church about: 1) any limits they have on the type of performances (magic acts? dancing?); 2) instruments available for use (piano?); 3) sound equipment available for use (microphones, mic. stands, music stands, speaker system, etc.) We strongly recommend having a knowledgeable person meet ahead of time with a church representative to learn how to operate the church’s sound equipment, lighting, etc.
Individual families should NOT contact the church to schedule rehearsals before the event. The showcase is an MPE event, but that doesn’t give every MPE member license to use the church’s facility at will. Announce this in the beginning to head off problems and maintain the good favor of the host church.
An activities committee member (student) created the program. Another student hosted the event, announcing each act and making sure the performers had the microphones, stands, chairs they needed. We had members of the activities committee donate cookies and one generously donated punch (to serve 150). She could have been reimbursed, but didn’t want to be. Ask your finance chair if there is money available to pay for the refreshments. Also make sure your refreshments arrive before 6pm—not at 7:30pm.
We purchased napkins and cups (for 150-200 and had leftover cups) and limited the snacks to items that could be balanced on a napkin and eaten without a fork. We brought punch bowls and ladles to serve the punch.
We used the plastic tablecloths and table skirts from the prior year’s graduation reception. They were stored in the MPE office. Check to see if they were salvaged from this year’s reception. We covered 6 (8 ft.) round tables with plastic cloths, stacked empty (large) boxes (upside down) on top and draped them with more cloths to create multi-level display surfaces for the handicraft exhibits. Students brought photos, paintings, sewing projects, creative writing, and other items.
Be sure to include enough time for folks to look at the displays. Consider placing the refreshments in the display area, (if the risk of spilling on the work is minimized) to encourage people to spend time at the display tables. Since we didn’t have time for an intermission, we asked people to get their refreshments and look at the displays as they arrived at the meeting, and as they had time between the meeting and the performances. A more dedicated time for that would have been better, in my opinion.
If you can find out ahead of time how much display space each student needs that will help you decide on the number of tables needed.
This is information we provided in an email to the kids who signed up to bring display items:
On Tuesday, February 19th, please arrive at Emmanuel Baptist Church by 6pm* to set up your items for display. We will be in the lower level fellowship hall.
Bring at least one table tent with your name and a description of your item(s). You may include any other information you feel is appropriate. For example:
John Doe
Digital Photography
“Nightscape”
OR
Jane Doe
Wedding Ring Quilt
If you have special stands that will aid in the display (plate stands, quilt racks, etc.), please bring them. We plan to cover the table with cloths, and create some vertical space with some draped boxes. We’d love help, so come at 6pm, please.
Any questions? Let us know, and please respond to verify your email address and amount of space needed.
*If you start the meeting at 6pm, ask exhibitors to arrive by 5:30.
You can advertise the Senior Showcase in the MPE newsletter if you meet the deadline. Check on this ahead of time, especially if you have the showcase in February like we did.
Seniors and their families are very busy getting ready for graduation once spring arrives. I recommend having the showcase in late January or February.
Senior Banquet Report 2008
We had a Director of Events & several committee members to accomplish this event!
Place: Ritz Charles (Convention Center, Overland Park, KS)
Cost: $32 per person
Month: April
Guests: 75 attended (senior graduates & guests)
Budget: $250 (ended up needing more—see notes)
Theme: “Let Your Light So Shine” Matt. 5:16
Speaker: Bill Wilting, Desoto Youth Ministries
Music: Classical & Jazz CD’s (no lyrics/singing)—through Ritz sound system
Photographer: We used our own cameras & had a decorated photo corner
MC : William (Bill) High
Event Order:
Started 6:30 pm
Mingling, ice breaker games, & photo taking
Prizes given for games
Dinner served
Group game & drawings for prizes
Musical number – violin duet
Guest speaker
More mingling, photo taking
Ended about 9:45 pm
Invitations: Nice paper & envelopes, delivered at a planning mtg.
Decorations:
We supplied—(a lot was donated or brought from home): 2 archways (entrance, photo corner), 9 faux green trees & a few bushes, white lights for trees, 2008= banners (3), centerpieces (9), signs (2), blue/silver balloons (18), confetti, name tags, seating assignment place cards, centerpieces, plants, & artwork for sign-in table & table in front of speaker.
Ritz supplied – hanging supplies (tapes, pins), ladders, extension cords, table clothes, table centerpieces, beautiful table settings for 75, stage, speaker podium, prize table, punch bowl table, seating, & photo corner armchairs.
Prizes: (8) mostly donated from businesses, we also bought small flashlights
with “Let Your Light So Shine” printed on the side to give to each senior as a souvenir.
Dress Code:
Girls—Best Sunday dress or formal wear. Dresses need to be knee length or longer. All shoulders must be covered with a jacket or sweater. No low backs, low fronts, slits above the knee, or bare shoulders.
Boys—Two piece suit, or long-sleeved dress shirt with dress slacks or a tuxedo. Must wear a tie, dress shoes, and dress socks.
Senior Banquet Planning Notes:
The Ritz –It was a beautiful place to hold a banquet like this, it accommodated a lot of people nicely & was a great place to have a guest speaker & program. The atmosphere with the chandeliers and beautiful place settings was very elegant and formal. The management was pleasant and experienced to work with. BUT…everything was so expensive!! Anything we wanted to do or add ended up being really costly. The food was very expensive and they wanted $25/gal for punch. We dropped the soup from our meal order and they ended up throwing in the punch in its place. We figured out the cost but in the end were unpleasantly surprised to find that not only was a 20% gratuity a part of the bill (which we knew about), there was also state tax added to the entire bill which threw us over budget by about $150 dollars. After charging everyone $32 a plate for dinner, we didn’t feel we could ask for anymore from the guests, so the budget committee found us the extra needed funds.
Guest Speaker—This was hard to decide on for many reasons. Remember that you will need to throw in the cost of their dinner, plus their spouse’s meal if they come, plus a thank you gift for speaking, and maybe even some travel expenses. Also, trying to find availability and someone good for a senior crowd was a challenge. We like who we chose though and it all worked out just fine. Some of the speakers names we narrowed it down to are listed here for future banquet planning reference.
Jon McGraw, *Bill Wilting (2008) , Drew Hiss, Scott Lewis, David Frisbie, Jim Shelton, Pastor Bob Cave, *Jon Dunning (2007), Gary Spani, William High
Menu—the meal at the Ritz comes with 4 courses; soup, salad, main entrée, & dessert, with basic drinks (water, tea, coffee), punch is extra. You are allowed 3 entrée choices and 2 dessert choices from a very large selection menu list. This year we chose chicken parmesan, blackened Tilapia, & vegetable lasagna. Most of the guests chose the chicken dish. The food was very good, but not outstanding.
Planning—start planning early, hold meetings as a committee on a regular basis, delegate the responsibilities early on, do lots of follow-up, have someone very responsible in charge of collecting all the money, make sure the invitations include all the details of the event including the dress code, notify the guest speaker about 3 months in advance, graduation supplies become available to purchase around the second week in March, get as many things as you can donated, remember to include as much fun & wonderful memory making things as possible, some guests didn’t want a dance, but a lot of the seniors were disappointed that we didn’t have one, remember to send out thank you cards to all who helped, divide the graduate list and make personal calls to remind & to make sure all the info has been received, keep & turn in all receipts, keep track of your expenses, make announcements about the banquet at every monthly planning meeting, be clever & have fun!!
