Waiting...

Volume 1/Issue 1 of Fried Eagle has been hot off the press ever since the beginning of September, but we have yet to sell it.

The zine is getting pretty cold. Freezing, actually.

The hold-up is technology (oh, that lovely technology). Regardless, we have a seasonal zine on our hands with articles that will become irrelevant all too soon.

What's there to do?

Push forward and throw technology to the wind. The sales order forms might not be printed, but we have kids who are capable of writing their names and teacher's name on envelopes.

The process will most likely turn out clunky, but our zine will forever be cool.

Long live the eagle.

Thank You Fall '12 Sponsors!

It took more than an idea and hard work to get volume 1/issue 1 of Fried Eagle to fly.

Quite honestly, we needed cash. Not much, but just enough. The hope is that all the behind-the-scenes work by the kids will generate more money out of our seed money. And just like that, we'll have a large sum to donate to our school by the end of the year.

(Well, not just like that. There's work involved, too--and an incredible learning experience for the kids.)

But none of this could have been realized without those sponsors. Our wonderful community sponsors who had faith and believed in us even when we held onto a few food-stained, wrinkly articles and an impossible idea. They came through.

As much as we'll try, we can't thank them enough.

Karen Wehrman

(971) 506-3239

Your Community Connector

2012-13 Master Calendar

Please mark those calendars of yours! Here's the drumroll...


9/28:  School Carnival!--no meeting

9/30:  Bioplastics at Mustache, Cash, Stash's house (2:00pm)

10/5:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30; generate interview questions for Paul Gerald and Senator Burdick)

10/12: No School--Breakfast with Paul Gerald, the "Breakfast Guy" (9:00am; location TBA)

10/17: Late Opening--Interview with Senator Ginny Burdick (9:00am; Main Office)

10/19: Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

10/26: Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

11/2: Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30) FINAL ARTICLES ARE DUE!!!

11/5: Turn in zine to principal for approval

11/9:  No School--no meeting

11/11:  Assemble personal zine at IPRC (time: TBA)

11/12-11/16:  Photocopy zines at Documart

11/16:  Celebration & Wrap-Up Party! (2:15-3:30)

11/23:  Thanksgiving Break--no meeting

11/26:  Sales of Winter Issue Fried Eagle Begin!

11/30:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30; brainstorm and assign articles for Spring Issue)

12/7:  School Gift Show--no meeting

12/14:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

12/17-1/1:  Holiday Break (Psst! Great time to work on articles!)

1/4:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

1/11:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

1/18:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

1/25:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30) 

2/1:  No School--no meeting

2/8:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30) 

2/15:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30) FINAL ARTICLES ARE DUE!!!

2/19: Turn in zine to principal for approval

2/22:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30; Brainstorm and assign articles for Summer Issue)

2/24:  Assemble personal zine at IPRC (time: TBA)

2/25-3/1:  Photocopy zines at Documart

3/1:  Celebration & Wrap-Up Party! (2:15-3:30)

3/4:  Sales of Spring Issue Fried Eagle Begin!

3/8:  Eve of School Auction--no meeting

3/15:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

3/22:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

3/29:  Spring Break--no meeting

4/5:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

4/12:  No School--no meeting

4/19:  Run for the Arts--no meeting

4/26:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

5/3:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

5/10:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30) FINAL ARTICLES ARE DUE!!!

5/13:  Turn in zine to principal for approval

5/17:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30; Brainstorm and assign articles for Fall Issue)

5/19:  Assemble personal zine at IPRC (time: TBA)

5/20-5/24:  Photocopy zines at Documart

5/24:  Celebration & Wrap-Up Party! (2:15-3:30)

5/28:  Sales of Summer Issue Fried Eagle Begin!

5/31:  Field Day--no meeting

6/7:  Fried Eagle meeting (2:15-3:30)

6/14: Final Day of School!--no meeting

The Equation to (re)Solve

While we wait for the school district's approval of a classroom, we try to get our weekly business conducted outdoors in a beautiful area known as the Green Space. It's peaceful out there. There's a stairway that leads down to a gulley below. There's a footbridge overhead. There's a flat grassy area with stone benches on which to sit. There's an abundance of natural materials for the kids to explore. Just looking around, you'd wonder why we would even consider moving indoors to a classroom.

Quite possibly due to an ongoing equation that needs to be solved (or resolved, for that matter), none of the girls showed up to our meeting last week.

Boys + Sticks = 0 Girls

Hush-Hush

In order to give the kids an extra special something, they will receive their very own Fried Eagle I.D. badge.

For this year, the I.D. badges were designed by two Fried Eagle boys.

It's pure secret agent stuff. Super slick 007. And to share any of it would be a serious breach of Fried Eagle ethics.

However...

Above the image of the eagle, is the name of the student--or the name they chose to assign themselves. In some cases this means Mr. Man, Mysterious Person, Mustache Cash Stash, or Mr. Monkey Butthead.

Below the image of the eagle is the student's secret identity code. Some chose numbers. Some chose symbols. And a few chose an interesting combination of words, such as "Cash, Cars & Steak," "1520005 Kitties," "U.S. Gymnastics," and "Hunk of Poo."

It's all very serious. And it's all very hush-hush.

Here's the 99 Percent

"What it boils down to is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."

--Thomas Edison

And here's our perspiration--peeled, minced and boiled down into little doable tasks:

Blog Writer & Photographer:  

Be our historian, our record keeper, our voice for the community; update the blog regularly and write for an audience who is interested in creating their own zine in their classroom or at their school. 

Parent & Student Recruitment:

Recruit new parents and students; orient and integrate them into Fried Eagle. 

Accountant:

Document all spending and keep receipts; sort sponsorship money into petty cash envelopes; safely keep petty cash and disperse when necessary; safely keep zine sales cash until it can be deposited; have interested students deposit zine sales cash into a bank account through the Umpqua banking program at school; at the end of the school year, withdraw all zine sales cash and donate to the school.

IPRC Contact:
Contact IPRC to schedule date/time for students to assemble their own personal zine; notify students and parents of relevant educational workshops and sign up those who are interested.

Principal Contact:
Communicate with our school's principal regarding zine updates and special requests; schedule quarterly meeting with principal to review final copy of Fried Eagle for approval; have editors present the final copy of the zine to the principal for review.

Documart Contact:
Contact Documart to publish two rounds of zines per quarter within budget; collect petty cash from accountant and give accountant receipts; pick up zines and place in storage closet.

Supplies Contact:
Shop for and replenish supplies as needed and within budget (8.5 x 11 paper, 11 x 17 paper, #10 manilla envelopes, double-sided tape, regular and ultra-thin markers, flip chart paper, large paperclips, pencils and erasers); collect petty cash from accountant and give accountant receipts; place and organize supplies in storage closet

Snacks Contact:
Organize snack sign-ups; identify allergies; email reminders to snack providers.

Sponsorship Facilitator:

Organize sponsorship request field trips with interested students; collect money and digital logos from sponsors and give money to accountant; work with students to create sponsorship advertisement pages in zine; work with Blog Writer to place sponsor's logos on blog; think "outside the box" for new ways to generate revenue through sponsorships.

Celebration Party Facilitator:  

Facilitate the wrap-up party with a group of interested students; have students create certificates and plan party within budget; shop for supplies or have students ask local businesses for sponsorship of party in exchange for advertisement in Fried Eagle (if latter, work with Sponsorship Facilitator to place advertisement in zine).

Editor Facilitator:

Work with editors to review and approve articles; collect and safely store final articles in storage closet; have editors create Letter from Editors and Table of Contents; have editors number pages and add "final touches" to zine; work with Principal Contact to schedule date/time for editors to present final copy of zine to principal; give approved zine to Documart Contact for the first round of publication.

Zine Sales Facilitator:

Organize and schedule classroom presentations for students; give list of presentations to Principal Contact for approval; assemble individual student sales sheets and envelopes for the Fried Eagle staff; print out Fried Eagle envelope order forms for the student body; have responsible students collect orders and give money to accountant; have students organize ordered zines and place in teacher's in-boxes.

Lead Facilitator:

Ensure that the zine machine keeps rollin'; ensure that all articles and tasks are accomplished within deadline; email updates and reminders regularly to the group; lead weekly meetings or schedule facilitators to lead meetings based on the zine's needs.

Learned & Earned

(The attempted explanation of city commission government to recently graduated first-graders.)

Oh, this wouldn't be service-learning without those hard-earned lessons, even for the parents, now would it? It should be no surprise that the making of Fried Eagle had many.

There were lots of minor lessons--hurdles, really--to get through. When added up, it makes everything feel like a huge accomplishment (in addition to the exhaustion that accompanies that satisfaction; but it's all okay because, hey, we're parents and we're used to it).

However, the major lessons were a bit of a revelation. Specifically, the photocopying and hands-on assembly of the zine. Who knew that photocopying a mere 100 zines could last an entire evening and blow through dinner? And who knew that the collation and stapling of those zines--with children, mind you--would take nearly three hours? Not to mention the anxiety and heart attacks (and the admiration for those mellow parents; this author not included) from the constant redirection of those beloved children armed with long-armed staplers and those who squirreled away favorite tacks, staples and nails inside tight fists.

Oh, yes.

(Maybe we shouldn't mention the wrestling that occurred on the carpet of IPRC's zine library, either.)

In the end, Documart saved the day. For just $1 per zine, Documart, photocopied, collated and stapled 100 Fried Eagles, and all we had to do was pick them up in a sturdy box.

Does this mean that IPRC is out of the picture?

No way. There's much to be had at this center. Far more than just zine production. Besides, the children learned a great deal from their experience.

And it shows.