Sister Cities

Idaho Falls Sister City Youth Approved Meeting Minutes This meeting was conducted using the platform Zoom March 15, 2021 Maggie Boring Charlotte Combs Laura Combs Jackson Corbridge Jackie Sugai Lucas Donaldson David Eaton Katie Eaton Abby Gallegos Lori Kidwell McKenzie McIsaac Max Medema Heather Medema Mike Medema Gabe Padron Jorge Padron Nathan Peck Kendra Peck Anna St. Michel Whitney St. Michel Stephanie VanAusdeln Carter Thompson Jennifer Thompson Approval of Meeting Minutes A motion by Stephanie VanAusdeln was made to approve the March 3, 2021 meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Abby Gallegos. The minutes were passed. Reminder The next Zoom meeting is scheduled for April 7, at 7:00. Please put this on your calendar. A reminder email notice will be sent out before the meeting. Upcoming meetings to put on your calendar are April 7th and 19th, May 5th and 17th, June 2nd and 14th, July 7th and July 19th if needed, August 4th and 16th, September 1st and 13th, October 6th and 18th, November 3rd and 15th, and December 1st and 13th. Treasurer’s Report The most current statement is from February 28th, 2021. It shows the checking $16,600.84, money market $3293.23, and savings $25.05. Since the statement there has been a twenty dollar deposit to the checking from the calendar sales. The treasurer’s report link is at the end of the meeting minutes. Student Exchange An email was sent to students who were invited for the exchange asking to respond to her if you are planning to go. If you were sent an email please respond to Kendra Peck. As of March 15th Tokai-Mura continues to have travel restrictions. The Tokai sister city group will make a decision on extending invitations for the exchange at the end of this month and let Kendra know their decision. Students asked about the amount required upfront for the airfare (assuming the trip will happen). Kendra stated that in 2018 students needed to pay about $1,400 for tickets. Laura Combs will look into costs of airfare at the time the Tokai-Mura decision is made. Once the price of the airfare is known, students and chaperones will need to pay the IFSCY treasurer the full amount to purchase their ticket. Students are reimbursed based upon the points they have accumulated since the last exchange. The actual reimbursement amount is based on the value of each point. The value of each point is typically about $5-7. The amount reimbursed to each student is paid to them after the exchange trip is completed. Kendra Peck did suggest that for those students who have been invited to check that your passport is current. Students who are going will need to show proof of insurance and will also be required to fill out a medical form. Students will fill out a host information sheet given to us by the Tokai-Mura group. This helps by connecting you with a Tokai-Mura host family. Students who have gone to Tokai-Mura before stated that most students and family members speak English. One student stated that there are several apps, such as Google Translate, to use if you need to translate English to Japanese. Student Activities Current Events in Japan Stephanie VanAusdeln gave a presentation, “This Week-A Quick Review” on current events in Japan. Cherry Blossom season started this week. On Sunday a video of a fireball was seen shooting through the sky. It was an unknown phenomena. Phrase of the Week March 15th’s phrase “Sayounara means “Goodbye”. “See you tomorrow” is “Mata Ashita” or “Jaane”. March 3rd’s phrase of the week is “shitsureishimasu” which translates to “please excuse me for the interruption”. February 15th’s phrase: Stephanie VanAusdeln gave a quick presentation on the phrase “Ohisashiburi”. Translated in English to “Long time no see” or “Nice to see you”. For more information see click on the link below: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yu7SjqtPKJYcxQq9m6OyZxzMkSGGA5Ky/view?usp=sharing Update on Website Stephanie VanAuslan thanked Max Medema for working on the IFSCY website. It is nearly finished. It can be found at ifsistercitiesyouth.org. The group will need to discuss the website’s name. One student asked: How does the money for the website get paid? Stephanie replied that she would get back to the group on that. Fundraisers The survey sent out revealed that students have the most interest in Bowling, car wash, and the carnival as fundraisers. 1. Bowling alley at Skyline Lanes fundraiser/student activity. The activity can take place on any Wednesday. Our group gets half the fees of anyone who shows up to bowl. A volunteer is needed to coordinate with the owner of the bowling alley. According to Laura Kelly money is given to the group when people come in and bowl on the agreed upon Wednesday. Flyers cannot be handed out at the door or in the parking lot. A date of April 14th to have the fundraiser was proposed. It will be decided at the next meeting. Nathan Peck and Sam Hawker both volunteered to create flyers which will be needed to get the word out. Flyers will be presented at the next meeting. 2. A car Wash was agreed on as a fundraiser. It will be discussed at the April 7th meeting. 3. Summer Carnival was originally discussed to take place in the summer. September might be a better time to plan on this fundraiser. Volunteers will be needed for a committee to start planning. This will be discussed at the next meeting. Student Presentation Maggie Boring presented on Valentine’s Day and White Day. Future Student Presentation Sam Hawker volunteered to present on April 7th. Anna St. Michel volunteered to present on April 19th. Next meeting At the next meeting the group will discuss the details of the student exchange to include airfare, spending money, passports, star card, proof of insurance, and medical forms. Students who have gone to Japan will answer questions from others. Date for bowling fundraiser and the flyer will need to be discussed as well as details for car wash and carnival. The naming of the website and payment for the website will also need to be discussed. discussion on naming the website and payment Next meeting will be on April 7, 2021. Motion to Adjourn Stephanie VanAusdeln motion to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Carter.. Below is the link for the Treasurer’s Report. Treasurer's Report 3/15/21