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"Approaches to Mindfulness, Relaxation and Focus"
Staff Event with Georgia Duncan
December 4th, 3:00-5:00
at 360 Colborne Ave. Mentors are encouraged to attend this event, in which Georgia and a few guest speakers will be demonstrating and leading the group in a number of experiential wellness and community-building activities. No matter what you're doing with a student, being familiar with these activities can give you even more options to engage kids. Please RSVP to Mallory at mallory.haar@spps.org.
Mentor Check-In January 29 at a New Location!
Our next mentor check-in will be held on Tuesday, January 29th, from 3-5 at Black Bear Crossings on Lake Como. We'll be meeting in the Michael Donald Glass Community Room. The address is 1360 North Lexington Pkwy, (651) 488-4920. Don't forget to RSVP to Mallory.
For more information about
THE LAB email Mallory Haar at mallory.haar@spps.org
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First Edition: Mentor Newsletter!
To our wonderful mentors, In order to keep you updated on news and announcements from The Lab, we've decided to create a monthly newsletter. Please keep an eye out for this in your mailbox; if you are so inclined, you may contribute to future newsletters, sharing anecdotes or announcements. We'd love that!
We have been so pleased with the mentorship support provided by our paid mentors and interns all year, and are absolutely impressed with the willingness and enthusiasm of our new volunteer mentors.
Keep up the good work! Peace,
Mary, Georgia and Mallory
You Are Invited to The Poetry Lab Celebrations!
As the holidays approach, we are nearing the end of The Poetry Lab's first semester. Students have written and recorded their poetry; the anthology is sent to the press, and CDs are being burned. Now it's time to celebrate! ALL mentors are invited to the end-of-semester Poetry Lab celebrations. At these events, students, staff and families gather to listen to the CDs of their recorded poetry, perform some selections, receive the poetry anthology and CDs and enjoy treats. Thursday, December 13 at 1:00
Central High School celebration Tuesday, December 18th at 9:20
Highland Jr. High celebration Thursday, December 20th at Noon
West 7th Transitions celebration These events provide mentors the opportunity to see the The Poetry Lab in action at a number of different sites. Even if you have not been directly involved with the writing circles before, coming to the celebrations will help you understand a different facet of The Lab's work. If you plan on attending a celebration at a school with which you're not familiar, email Mallory and she'll arrange to meet you.
Reminder: Blogs & Time Logs
New volunteer mentors, as well as paid mentors, are strongly encouraged to write a blog post by Holiday Break on our website. Look for the Mentor Blog section for current post examples. You might simply write about why you choose to volunteer, or why you chose to volunteer with The Lab. We hope to inspire others to reach out through volunteerism. As you become settled with their students and sites, write a quick account of how it's been going and email it to Mallory or post it yourself.
Also, please keep track of your volunteer hours (log sheets are in your volunteer manual) and submit them to Mallory by December 17th. This documentation of hours is critical for us to use in potential grant requests. Thank you!
Fun Facts about Minnesota Volunteers
You're in good company! Minnesota was recently ranked number one state for volunteerism. Check out these numbers:
- Percentage of Minnesota population volunteering: 67%
- Estimated number of volunteers 18 years of age our older in Minnesota: 2.4 million
- Average weekly hours served per volunteer: 3.62
- Estimated annual dollar value of adult volunteers in Minnesota: 7.9 billion
From the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration
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