Update of the Week

Hello hello! I don't know why we say goodbye, I say hello!

1. First order of business: we have contacted most of you for interviews, which will take place this Saturday (6/1) from 2-5pm at Gracious Ark Church. Here is the address:

2129 Venice Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90007

If you did not receive a call or message from us, please contact us as soon as possible at arkschoolgac@gmail.com. Additionally, for this interview, please prepare any questions you may have as well as a brief introduction of yourself. Thanks!

Don't worry too much about the interview. It's main purpose is just for us to get to know you. However, please, please, please don't be late because it may affect other interview times.

2. Our orientation will be on June 8. The time is TBA, but will take place some time between 12-5pm. Please plan accordingly for attendance is mandatory. If you have a schedule conflict, let us know immediately or else we may leave you left for dead spank you kill you be unable to accommodations*.

*But actually, we might not be able to accomodate you even if you do let us know, so just make sure that you are there. #mixedsignals #thisain'ttwitter

3. If you have any friends who would like to volunteer, tell them to contact us now. Like, really. Now. Right now. Now. Now.

We especially need people who can teach specific instruments (i.e. clarinet, violin, guitar, etc.)

4. Finally, please note that we are quickly weaning out the name "Ark School" and replacing it with "The Apple Tree," despite our email address and the Ark School T-shirt I am wearing right now.

5. I'm more fun than Josh.

Weekly Update

1. The interview dates have been decided:

          5/31 (Friday), 4:00pm - 6:00pm
          6/1 (Saturday), 1:00pm - 4:00pm
          6/2 (Sunday), 3:00pm - 5:00pm

     We will be contacting you over the next few days to schedule your appointment, so pick up your phone if you get a call from an unknown number!

2. We have decided that we don't need a "volunteer training" per se, so we are finalizing a "volunteer orientation." During the orientation, we will go over some standard protocol, guidelines ("rules" is too mainstream), and have a Q&A session. Please please PLEASE prepare some thoughtful questions. Don't be embarrassed because there is no such thing as a stupid question.

          6/15 (Saturday), time is TBD, we will send out a questionnaire at a later time.

3. The day before the first day of Apple Tree (6/19), we are having a parent orientation. All volunteers must be present (especially those who could not make it to the volunteer orientation).

Weekly Update!!

Good news everyone! Jane is now done with school so we'll be finished with mostly everything regarding volunteers hopefully within the next week! Also, it's not set in stone, but we're 80% sure that there will be a total of 3 Apple Tree locations this summer: 1. "HQ" in LA, 2. the same Torrance church as last year, and 3. another church in Anaheim! As we approach 6/20, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the latest updates. You can expect a much more meaty update next week.

That time of week again..

First and foremost, I hope everyone's doing well. Finish up the school year with a bang, right? AP's and finals and all that good stuff. Well, I have some stuff for you guys today :).

Ark School's new identity is now 사과나무! That's weird Korean shorthand for 사랑과 나눔으로 크는 나무! For the English name, we're thinking of just calling it The Apple Tree. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below! (GASP yeah, you can use the comments :O)

Though we still don't know which churches will be joining us for The Apple Tree this year, our LAUSD campuses will begin on June 19 (Wednesday) and will be ending the first or early second week of August. Mark your calendars!

Volunteer interviews and training dates will be moving! Sorry! We're restructuring our schedule to better accommodate ALL volunteers from all over SoCal (ranging from the Valley to Irvine!).

Remember to keep spreading the word about Ark School/The Apple Tree! We're gonna be needing a lot of volunteers!

That's all for now, I'll keep you guys updated on all the details you need to know, as long as you keep checking the blog!

(Possibly) Big news, everyone!

So, this could be good news or this could be bad news, you decide haha. What's happening is Ark School finally has its big boy pants on; around 6 churches from all around LA and the OC are interested in hosting Ark School at their churches as well! What this means:

1. Ark School may have graduated from the name "Ark School." Once Ark School rolls out to become a bigger non-profit organization separate from Gracious Ark Church, we will be renaming the program to be more neutral, so to speak.

2. Volunteer interviews and trainings may be rescheduled to later dates to better accommodate all volunteers (we'll keep you guys posted, keep checking up on the blog every week!).

3. Volunteers may be given a choice of site. Simply put, if we have multiple locations running Ark School, you get to choose which one you want to volunteer at.

Once again, we are not yet sure how many of the interested churches will be participating, but this is just a heads up for things that might be happening! As stated under #2, keep checking the blog and we'll keep you guys updated!