Every year, the cross country team plans several optional social events to foster team bonding and to simply have some fun before the school year begins. This year we are planning a pancake breakfast at the Alfords’ home this Friday, August 10, immediately after practice. In addition, we plan to have a team bonfire and beach day at CdM beach (Big Corona) on Wednesday, August 22 and a Disneyland trip on Wednesday, August 29th.
There is no fee for the beach trip (kids will bring food etc.) and the pancake breakfast. As for Disneyland, you are responsible for purchasing tickets, so you can do that on your own or purchase a group ticket that we will be ordering. The student group rate is an excellent deal, with two-park (park hopper) tickets costing $69 instead of the regular price of $125. If you are interested in purchasing a group ticket we will be doing so in advance this year, so you will need to submit the $69(CASH only) no later than Monday, August 13th so that we can have the tickets to distribute before the 29th. There WILL be practice on the 29th and students who miss practice that week will sit out the first meet. I do not really want to collect money at the park, as we did last year, so I will submit a money order for however many tickets we want to purchase. They do NOT accept personal checks. Coach Gates will arrive at Disneyland at Noon but will not be staying all night, so parents need to understand that there is no way for a coach or two to supervise 30+ students at a theme park. The kids will be on their own, so if you are not comfortable with that, by all means do not have them go. I will meet several times with the kids to check-in but will not be making them stay together, obviously. They will also need to arrange their own transportation for Disneyland and the beach trip. Carpooling is advisable and always available if a student needs a ride.
As for the bonfire at CdM on 8-22, Coach Gates and/or Coach Muniz will be there from 4-7PM, so if you want to be certain that your son or daughter is supervised, those are the drop-off/pick-up times. If you have any questions about these activities, please email me at Coach.Gates@NHSCrossCountry.org or charlesgates@iusd.org.
We still need water/Gatorade donations and snack sign-ups, as well as a parent to organize this effort, or it may not happen this year, so if anyone would like to be the team parent please contact me. Also, please submit our raffle ticket stubs and cash ASAP, as this will be our only fundraiser of the season. Today is the last day for gear orders, as they were due August 1st. Thanks again for your continued support. This is shaping up to be another outstanding season for NHS XC!
Coach Gates
