What is Project Graduation?

Project Graduation is a national movement started by a group of parents who wanted to establish an alcohol and drug-free set of celebrations for graduating classes.

What does Project Graduation sponsor?
     » All night celebration for the graduating class
     » Senior picnic and transportation
     » Senior T-shirt

Who makes Project Graduation happen?
A group of senior volunteer parents in coordination with the NCHS staff coordinator. All senior parents are invited and encouraged to attend meetings. Meetings are the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m., in the school library.

Who pays for the Project Graduation events?
» Senior students pay a Project Graduation fee.
» Fundraisers

What are the goals for Project Graduation 2013?
» Have 100 percent student participation at the sponsored events
» Provide a safe, alcohol and drug-free environment
for students to celebrate their accomplishments and reflect on the supportive and nurturing environment that Nolan Catholic High School has provided them.

We appreciate your support of our fund raising efforts to make Project Graduation a huge success for our students.

Thanks again for your continued support!

Project Graduation Guidelines

Project Graduation is a safe and drug- and alcohol-free event for graduating seniors that is sponsored by Nolan Catholic High School through funds raised by student fees and fundraising opportunities.

A Nolan Catholic staff person is the NCHS Project Graduation (PG) coordinator. The parents of the senior class will be the fundraisers and committee persons who will make the event happen. If there is not a senior parent to volunteer for the position needed, the event will not happen.

STRUCTURE
Picnic:
Chairs:
Coordinate food, volunteers, activities, transportation and miscellaneous logistics of picnic. NCHS PG ’12 liaison to Camp Thurman. Coordinate with Spirit Store and NCHS PG coordinator regarding senior t-shirt design, production and distribution
Lock-In:
Chair:
Coordinates and oversees events and activities for the lock-in on graduation night. Establishes and oversees sub-committees for set up, security, food, entertainment, gifts/prizes and other miscellaneous items related to the lock-in.
Liaison to Alley Cats.
Treasurer:
Responsible for all financial matters of Project Graduation including, but not limited to, check requests, cash boxes, monthly reports to coordinator and collection of student fee. Must send all requests to NCHS PG coordinator to approve.
Secretary:
Keeps minutes of monthly meetings; posts minutes to parents; assists with mailings;
responsible for thank you notes, tax acknowledgements and eligibility forms.
Senior Show:
Chair:
Coordinates and oversees all activities involved with the talent/fashion show including, but not limited to, venue, student acts, coordination with fashion merchants, box office, decorations, set up, take down, publicity, auction items.
Communications:
Coordinator:
Responsible for publicity including preparing correspondence for coordinator to send to parents and students regarding Project Graduation events and activities; responsible for information (meeting dates, activities, forms, etc.) for Project Graduation web page on the NCHS website.
All communications must be approved by the coordinator.
Volunteer Coordinator:
Creates and maintains database of volunteers for all events. Confirms Keeping Children Safe certification for all volunteers.
Treat Sales:
Coordinator:
Coordinates and oversees sales of treats (Smoothies, brownies, hot chocolate) and volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the fall semester.
Senior Wall: Coordinator:
Maintains and keeps current the “Senior Wall” with photos of seniors in current events and activities.
Senior Video: Coordinator:
Develops and produces senior video for lock-in.

PERSONNEL

•  See information above for positions and committee needs.
• All chair persons will be approved by the NCHS administration.
  

* NCHS employees will not hold chairperson positions, but can and are encouraged to serve on committees and volunteer for their senior.
* Senior Class Moderator Liaison to the senior class liaison for student meetings, picnic (teacher involvement), students’ gift to school student gift
MEETINGS
* Meetings will be held the first Tuesday of the month.
* All chairs will report to the PG coordinator on the last Tuesday of the month prior to the PG meeting on the first Tuesday.
* Committees will meet outside of the regular PG meetings.
KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE
* Keeping Children Safe certification must be completed by Jan 31.  If you have not taken the class, it will be offered at Nolan on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2013 AT 6:00 P.M.  Call the front office to register for the class.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
* All monies collected for Project Graduation are collected in the name of Nolan Catholic High School. Any funds that exceed the budget of the Project Graduation goals will be part of the Nolan Catholic High School funds and will be allocated at the discretion of the president of Nolan Catholic High School.
* All requests for funds will be approved by the committee chair then by the NCHS PG coordinator. No funds are permitted to be approved by volunteers.
* Student fee will be determined by NCHS administration with advisement from PG executive committee.
* Financial reports and minutes will be produced monthly for the NCHS administration.
CONTRACTS
* All contracts must be approved by the Diocese of Fort Worth and Nolan Catholic High School and signed by their designee.
SENIOR GIFT
* The senior gift will be based on the amount raised by the senior class during their senior year in collaboration with the NCHS administration.
* Senior gift information will be disseminated to the senior class in an appropriate and timely manner.
SENIOR SHOW
* An event for all seniors coordinated by the senior moderator. This is a fundraiser for the picnic and lock-in activities.
DONATION REQUESTS
* Donations will be solicited using the NCHS approved donation letter. Donation requests will be approved by the coordinator in collaboration with the administration.
* All donations must be recorded by the NCHS database manager and acknowledged. The form to complete the information for the acknowledgment can be found on the NCHS website in the forms toolkit under General School Forms>Donation Form: http://www.nolancatholichs.org/Current/forms-toolkit.
NCHS will provide the following to Project Graduation:
* NCHS PG Coordinator
* Constant Contact and/or Edline for communications
* Access to copier and postage machines (Postage fees to be reimbursed to the school.)
* Contract approvals
* Facilities for meetings and events – some at a cost
* Webpage on the website which will be monitored and updated by a Project Graduation volunteer.
PICNIC
* The picnic will take place on the Thursday prior to graduation day at Camp Thurman (Arlington) unless class numbers and/or approval by the NCHS administration or the Diocese of Fort Worth deem it necessary to find another option.
* Students are allowed to attend the picnic with permission of the student’s parent(s) and NCHS administration.
* A parent will be contacted if a student with signed permission to attend the picnic does not attend.
* Students will be transported to and from NCHS. No students will be permitted to drive themselves or ride with a parent to the picnic.
LOCK-IN
* The lock-in will be held the night of graduation at Alley Cats (Arlington) unless class numbers and/or approval by the NCHS administration or the Diocese of Fort Worth deem it necessary to find another option.
* Students are allowed to attend the lock-in with permission of the student’s parent(s).
* The event will begin at 10:00 p.m. All students with parental permission must be at the location of the lock-in by 11:00 p.m. A parent of a student with permission to attend the lock-in will be called if the student is not at the location of the event by 11:00 p.m.
SIGNAGE AND ADVERTISING
* All signage must be approved by the administration. The guidelines for signage are noted in the school directory.
* Approved logos and formats are mandatory for use in collateral materials. Please consult the Director of Communication with questions and/or clarifications regarding branding issues.
COMMUNICATION
* Approval of Communication Pieces – The Advancement Office must approve all major communication items. Please allow two weeks for approval. This does not pertain to simple things such as reminders for committee meetings, etc. We encourage pre-planning (including a timeline) for all communication pieces to be approved in advance.
* Website – Project Graduation will have a web page on the NCHS site. A designated person within your committee will be responsible for updating and editing.
* Daily Bulletins / Broadcasts - A designated person within the Project Graduation committee is responsible for writing and submitting information appropriate for the daily bulletin and/or broadcasts (pending previous approval).
* NCHS Publications – Information appropriate for the e-Trumpet, Alumni e-News and/or The Shield must be submitted in final format for approval. Please consult with the staff liaison for print deadlines.
* All communication to the senior class will be done via Constant Contact or Edline from NCHS. No emails will be released to any parents and/or communications persons outside of the NCHS community. Any and all communications will be sent to the NCHS PG coordinator for approval and then sent to the class.
* The Project Graduation email account is: projectgrad@nolancatholichs.org
Patricia G. Pierret, Aug. 18, 2011