Bunco For Backpacks - pictures and final results

February's bunco game was a special game hosted by Amina, Hannah Esquibel, Eve, and Deborah as a fundraiser for Amina and Hannah's Girl Scout bronze award.

Instructions and FAQs were posted online before the game. We had a total of 48 players at Cimarron Montessori School's gymnasium. The theme was "Valentine" and tables were decorated with red table cloths and Valentine themed centerpieces. "Goody bags" were filled with Valentine candy and other table favors included mini backpacks and notepads from the Food Bank.

Rhys volunteered to sell girl scout cookies before and after the game.

Players snacked before the game on chicken salad sandwiches, salad, pinwheels, bacon swirls, chips/queso, seasoned pretzels, chex mix, brownies, cookies, veggies/dip, and lemonade.

Carla Burdick, field executive for the Tumbleweed Service Unit of Girl Scouts spoke followed by Gail Wynne, volunteer for the Food 4 Kids program.

A writer and photographer from eTown magazine also attended and interviewed Amina for an upcoming article.

The game started at about 7 pm with a single head table controlling all 12 tables.

Players sitting on specially marked chairs got to take home the table centerpiece.



Game Stats

Most Wins (winner of handmade trophy): Larry Janzen
Most Losses (winner of handmade trophy): Jina Kapka
Most Baby Buncos (winner of 2 boxes of girl scout cookies): LaDonna Long
Most Wipeouts (winner of 2 boxes of girl scout cookies): Nikki Johnston
Most Buncos (winner of the grand prize, home-cooked Chinese dinner for 2): Bev Schneider

Amina and Hannah raised almost $600 (after expenses) and will use the money to buy food items for the Regional Food Bank's Food 4 Kids backpack program and donate the items to the Food Bank. Special thanks to everyone who helped plan, buy, set-up and cook for our game and to everyone who donated extra money making this fundraiser even more successful than we had hoped!

In March, Eve and Lisa will be representing our bunco group at the World Bunco Championships in Las Vegas. Our next game will be on Tuesday, April 14th at Beth Young's house. Karen will be co-hosting. The theme will be "Teddy Bears' Picnic" so bring your favorite furry friend and dress "Casual, picnic wear".

Bunco for Backpacks - FAQs

1. When is the big event?

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

2. Where will the game be held?

Cimarron Montessori School - 419 West Maple. The game will be held in the gym. The entrance is on the West side of the school. Limited parking is located on the North and West side of the school. Parking is also available on the South side of the school.

3. Why are we playing?

This event will be a fundraiser organized by Amina Switzer and Hannah Esquibel as a part of their Girl Scout Bronze Award.

The Girl Scout Bronze Award, the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can earn, requires her to learn the leadership and planning skills necessary to follow through on a project that makes a positive impact on her community. Working towards this award demonstrates her commitment to helping others, improving her community and the world, and becoming the best she can be.

4. What will the money be used for?

The proceeds will be used to purchase food items used in the Food 4 Kids backpack program through the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.

An emergency food assistance program of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, Food 4 Kids is designed especially for elementary age children. Chronically hungry children identified by school personnel receive a backpack filled with non-perishable, child-friendly food for over the weekend or a school holiday.

Amina and Hannah will purchase food items to be donated to the program and will travel to Oklahoma City to visit the Food Bank and to participate in assembling the backpacks for distribution.

5. What time does the game start/end?

Our event will start at 6:30 with light snacks and drinks. Game play will start at around 7 pm. We will likely play 3 games of 5 rounds each and hope to finish by 9 pm.

6. How do you play bunco?

The official game instructions/rules for our game are posted here: http://kidoctr.blogspot.com/2009/01/bunco-for-backpacks-official.html During the game, Amina and Hannah will be in charge of the Head Table and Eve will be the official referee.

7. How much will it cost?

Players are asked to make a minimum donation of $10 but may donate more if they wish. Even if you can't play, donations are certainly welcome.

8. What do I need to bring?

Just your donation and fun-loving excitement! Cash is preferred. We'll take care of the food, drinks, and game supplies. Bunco is an easy game to play and especially fun with an enthusiastic group.

9. Will there be prizes awarded?

Prizes will be awarded for the most wins, losses, baby buncos, and wipeouts. The grand prize of the evening will be a Chinese dinner for 2 at the home of Eve and Seth Switzer (date to be determined later) for the player who rolls the most buncos. In the event of a tie, there will be a roll-off.

10. How do I get on the confirmed players list?

Call 580-237-9939 to RSVP or email: kidoctr@hotmail.com

11. How many players will there be?

We will have 4 groups of 3 tables each - 48 players total.

12. What if I can't make it or have to cancel?

Please email Eve (kidoctr@hotmail.com) as soon as possible.

13. Can I bring a friend?

Game seats will be limited. Players are encouraged to bring friends but must have their friend's name confirmed as a player by 9 February 2009 to guarantee a seat. We may not be able to accomodate walk-up players.

Bunco for Backpacks - Official Instructions and Rules

Bunco for Backpacks

12 February 2009

Rules of the Game

Players are seated 4 to a table. There will be 12 tables total: 4 groups of 3 tables each (high, middle, and low tables). One Head Table will control all 12 tables. Select a player to keep score for the entire table. A game will consist of 5 rounds (2's thru 6's). Players earn points by rolling the three dice. In each round, players are trying to roll the target number. During the first round you roll for 2's, second round 3's, etc. The OBJECTIVE is for you and your partner (the person sitting across from you) to roll more of the target number than the other team when the Head Table rings the bell.

To begin - someone at the Head Table rings the bell to start the round. All tables begin rolling for the target number.

One point is awarded to the TEAM for each target number rolled successfully. Five points are awarded to the TEAM for rolling three of a kind of any number except the current target number (a baby bunco). For example, rolling three 5's in round 3 earns 5 points. BUNCO! is called when rolling 3 of a kind of the target number. For example, rolling three 3's when the target number is 3. Rolling BUNCO is worth 21 points for the TEAM, but the player has to yell it out to get credit for it. Record all Buncos and baby Buncos on the bottom of only your scorecard (not your partner’s). Rolling three 1’s is a WIPEOUT. All points accumulated during that round for the TEAM are wiped out and play rotates to the next player. Record all wipeouts at the bottom of your scorecard.

A player’s turn ends when they no longer roll (1) a target number, (2) a baby bunco, (3) a bunco, or (4) when they roll a wipeout.

As soon as a team from the head table reaches 21 points, they ring the bell ending the round for EVERYONE. Players currently rolling finish their turn. The winning team is the team with the most points at the end of the round. Record the round as a win (W) or loss (L) on your scorecard.

Players will ROTATE after 5 rounds (after numbers 2 – 6 are played). The LOSING team from the HIGH TABLE leaves and goes to the low table. The WINNERS stay. The LOSING teams from the middle and low table STAY at their tables & the WINNERS move up a table.

You cannot have the same partner twice in a row. So switch when you switch tables.

Prizes will be awarded for the most wins, most losses, most baby buncos, and most wipeouts. The grand prize of the evening will be awarded for the most buncos. In the event of a tie, a roll-off with a single die for the highest number will determine the winner.

Bunco For Backpacks

Plans for Amina's Bunco For Backpacks fundraiser are well underway! We currently have 26 of 48 players confirmed to play and have 1/2 a dozen people lined up to be "backup" players in case we have any empty seats. The big event will be on Thursday, February 12th, 6:30 pm at the Cimarron Montessori School gym. We're planning on 12 tables - 4 groups of 3 tables. Players will be asked to make a minimum $10 donation. We're planning on having snack foods (sandwiches, girl scout cookies, fruit/veggie trays, brownies, cookies, etc), punch, and water. Tables will be decorated with a Valentine theme and each player will receive a "goody bag". We're planning on playing 3 rounds. The grand prize for the most buncos will be a Chinese dinner for 2 at our house (Amina will help cook, of course). Boxes of Girl Scout cookies will be the prizes for the most wins, losses, baby buncos, and wipeouts.

Amina is planning on taking the proceeds from her fundraiser and buying food for the Backpacks for Kids program through the OKC Food Bank which also provides backpacks full of food for Enid area children. We're hoping to take the food to the Food Bank and then helping them put together the backpacks. Amina designed an invitation and invited our bunco group as well as teachers and students/parents from Cimarron. I've contacted 2 other bunco groups in town as well as my FaceBook friends and invited others via email. Amina and I have worked on her "game plan" and we still have a lot of planning/legwork to do before the big game. We also found out that Etown magazine is interested in attending Amina's event and doing a story in the March issue about bunco. Amina's pretty excited about that.

Update - 2008 Tulsa Marathon

The results of the Tulsa Route 66 kids' marathon was released a couple weeks ago:


School Name/# Participants/ Elementary Enrollment/Percentage participating/Award

Cimarron Montessori/19/30/63.33%/ $500.00

Eisenhower/38/300/12.67%/ $250.00

Sequoyah/22/328/6.71%/ $150.00

Hoover/27/500/5.40%

Our school won $500 and a trophy!

2008 Route 66 Marathon Tulsa

16 November 2008

The 3rd Annual Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa was a fun event that I took on to involve Amina and Rhys' school in a simple and healthy fundraiser. We had 18 children from Cimarron Montessori School registered for the event although a couple of kids couldn't make it in the end due to the Enid Soccer Club end-of-season tournament finals (Amina and Brock). The school also had a team running the 5-person full marathon relay.

The CMS students participating in the Route 66 Kids' Marathon logged 25 miles before race day doing a variety of activities including walking the school playground, walking at home, swimming, and soccer. They completed their last 1.2 miles on race day and received t-shirts and a medal for completing their first marathon. The elementary school with the highest registration based on total elementary enrollment would win $500. I'm sure we're in the running for this prize and will be contacting the coordinator to see who won the prizes. The students who participated in this year's Kids' Marathon were:

• Kaitlyn Davis
• McKenna Chatterji
• Rachael Chatterji
• Karson Cribley
• Allison Hensley
• Anne Kapka
• Brock King
• Chase King
• Grace Reid
• Ryan Reilly
• Sara Reilly
• Jackson Slayter
• Jacob Slayter
• Amina Switzer
• Rhys Switzer
• Chaney Tucker
• Piper Tucker
• Ryan Wilson
  
  Our 5-person relay team included Robi Chatterji (10 km leg), Debbie Cribley (5 km leg), John Hensley (12 km leg), Seth (6 km leg), and myself (9 km leg). My personal goal was 50 minutes and our team goal was 3:30. Our final results:
  
  bib number: 9514
  location: Enid, OK
  overall place: 16 out of 93
  division place: 7 out of 40
  gender place: 5 out of 52
  time: 3:35:56
  pace: 8:15
  10k: 49:00
  15k: 1:22:02
  half: 1:46:46
  27k: 2:11:04
  33k: 2:42:55
  net time: 3:35:35