Scrip

Who won the Scrip Contest?

Scripmaster Rebecca McFarland has submitted the results:

Current Scrip on Demand available for : Stop-n-Shop, Lands End, LL Bean, and Shaw’s/StarMarket

I’m a little cross-eyed from filling so many scrip orders this month so excuse me if I forget to acknowledge everyone who has helped to make this a successful contest.  Scrip is fundraising through your shopping and it’s meant to be an enjoyable experience all around.  I hope that many families have had fun with this game this month and will continue to participate in the program.  Your class may have had a cheerleader or two working/pushing/encouraging you to play.  Please remember that their intentions are always to support the good of the school and the success of your class.  Having a sense of humor can take you a long way . . . .

And the winner is . . . . . Grade 6 at 105% of families participating (no it’s not a typo, the reason for 105% is because not only did every family place an order, so did the class teacher).  Hats off to Mrs. Giles and the families in the Class of 2014.  Janet Elsbach and Tracy Fernbacher deserve a high five for their unwavering cheerleading and encouragement.  Remember, even when they pushed hard, their intentions were always good.  Plus, neither one of them want to bake potatoes for the next 2 years!  The amount of the prize has yet to be calculated because the Scrip Coordinator has been filling so many orders that she hasn’t been able to calculate the final amount.  Stay tuned for next week’s update when the prize amount will be shared.

Here are the final standings for the runners up . . .
Grade 4 made a valiant effort to gain second place with 59% participation, followed by Grade 8 with 56% with their final attempts coming in strong at the end.  Next in line we had Grade 1 at 30%, Grade 5 at 275, Grades 7 & 2 tied with 22% each, Grade 3 reached 15% and the Early Childhood classrooms achieved 11% participation.  Everyone deserves a huge pat on the back for taking on a new way of either buying your groceries, paying online, reloading your gas card purchased through shopwithscrip.com and more.

Of worthy note is the comparison of how this program expanded in the month of February by all of our efforts.  The chart below shows information since this program was passed over to Rebecca McFarland, volunteer scrip coordinator.  You’ll see the huge growth in number of orders, number of families participating and amount of scrip cards purchased.  Our goal is to keep this program simple, easy and manageable while earning some money to support the school.

Scrip Update 29-Feb-12 Jan-11 Dec-11 Nov-11 Oct-11
# of orders  84  28  46  32  31
# of families  57  17  29  20  19
$ ordered  $25,925  $7,580  $9,175  $7,600  $8,300

Special thanks to the class teachers who distribute scrip orders when they are delivered to your mailboxes even though you already have plenty of work to do.  Many thanks to the ever reliable student in Grade 6, Adelaide McFarland who often delivers the filled orders to school and brings home the orders that are dropped off at school.  Thanks to Tony LaBrasca, parent of Joey Grade 8, who picks up the orders at Guidos in Pittsfield and to Maria Crespo, parent of Tessa in Grade 8 and office manager extraordinaire who picks up the orders at Hawthorne Valley Farm Store.  Thanks to Michelle DiSimone and Cindy at the Co-op who always issue the scrip cards with a smile and compassion even when I come in during the busy lunch time hour.  Thanks to David Pott who doesn’t seem to mind an interuption now and then when someone stops by our office in town to pick up or deliver scrip.  Thanks to Jaime Minacci and the PA Reps who share the scrip news with their classes.  And to you . . . . thank you for your support of GBRSS!

Do you still have questions about how to play?  Contact Janet Elsbach at janetelsbach@gmail.net or 413.229.2003 or Rebecca McFarland at mcfarland135@verizon.net or 413.528.1954and they’ll help along the way.

What is Scrip:

Scrip is a way to give to GBRSS through your normal shopping methods. Certain local stores including:

sell gift cards to the school at a reduced (discounted) amount. You purchase the gift cards from the school for full face value and then use them at the store. Your unused balance remains on the card for your future use.  The school keeps the difference between the face value of the gift cards and the discounted price offered by the store.

How it works:

Order & pay today, Receive within 48 hours, Go shopping.

There are two ways to place an order for scrip:  

1. You can use a paper form, available at the front desk at school or downloadable here.
2. You can set up an account here and use the code 8921332621922 to link your account to our school.
There are two ways to get your scrip in your hands:
1. You can ask that it be given to your child to bring home to you.
2. You can pick it up at the front desk at school.
There are two ways to pay for scrip:
1. You can write a check for the total.  Make the check out to GBRSS and put “scrip” in the memo line.  Bring this check to the front desk.
2. You can set up a PrestoPay account on the shopwithscrip.com site.  Under “My Account,” follow the prompts to link your scrip account to a checking account, and all future purchases can be debited from that account or you can elect to write a check instead.
There are two ways to shop with scrip:
1. Shop locally.  That is the best way to shop, and we all aim for it.  Support our local retailers and the school at the same time by using scrip to buy groceries, gas and shoes & clothing. Once you create an account at shopwithscrip.com and log in, our local stores will appear on the grocery, gas and department store pages.  YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN TO SEE THESE LOCAL OPTIONS.
2. Shop online.  This is an unavoidable reality, whether you are booking a hotel or rental car, or buying items you cannot find here.  Using scrip is the only way to keep some of this cyber money in our local community.
There are two people to call or email with any questions you still have.  Feel absolutely certain you are not the first person asking whatever question that may be, and equally sure that we would rather you ask the question than not buy scrip!

2. Rebecca McFarland mcfarland135@verizon.net or (413)528-1954

Monthly Orders*:

Place an order that gives you scrip on a monthly basis.  Pre write post dated checks and receive your monthly order regularly. Your checks will not be deposited until the check date.*Monthly standing orders can be scheduled for the 1st or the 15th of each month.