What comes to mind when you close your eyes and hear the phrase “Fat Tuesday?” Probably visions of bustling streets in New Orleans during Mardi Gras the day before the Lenten season begins in March.
Ask a St. Simon the Apostle parishioner what they see when you mention “Fat Tuesday” and you might get a different answer.
“A band playing and our gymnasium full of local restaurants serving up food and drinks to over 500 Geist locals,” is the picture Angela Duggan sees in her mind.
For the past six years, Duggan has been orchestrating the Taste of St. Simon, renamed this year to “Bites for Bytes,” to benefit the Geist parochial school’s technology department. With the help of parent volunteers and faculty, Duggan goes door-to-door asking every restaurateur who will listen to participate in the annual event. Nearly 20 local restaurants are already on board for this year’s event which be held on Tuesday, March 8 from 6:00-9:30 p.m. at St. Simon the Apostle School.
“We have some new restaurants this year like Scotty’s Lakehouse and Good Fellas, but our event has been built around long-time supporters like Bella Vita, the Grill, Casler’s and Chef Suzanne,” said Duggan.
Her affinity for restaurants began early while working in the business growing up. Now a Geist area realtor and mom of two current St. Simon children (Katie and Riley), Duggan knows the importance of technology in education.
“The world is moving at a fast pace, and I want our kids to have every opportunity that life can offer them.”
While the kindergarten through 8th grade students are the ultimate beneficiaries, no one appreciates her efforts more than the teachers and faculty, including Vice Principal Laura Mates.
“She’s a real blessing to our parish,” said Mates. “It takes a lot of work and she’s really good at pulling it all together.”
Funds from previous events have netted flip cams, interactive whiteboards, document cameras, and hand-held response devices for the classrooms.
“We’ll have all of these technologies on display at the Bites for Bytes so that our parents can see what their children are talking about at home,” added Mates.
Nancy Hepp, a 5th and 6th grade science teacher, can attest to the need for technology in the classroom. In her 25 years of teaching, she has seen firsthand how the dynamic of her students has changed.
“Kids today are ‘techno-babies;’ they have been born into a technology world and we have to learn as educators how to reach them in ways that they have been raised to communicate,” she said. “We’re not going to reach them just through textbooks anymore.”
A recent weather project with Hepp’s students integrated textbooks and lectures with online videos, interactive whiteboards, and flip cams. Students became weather forecasters and recorded their live video reports on flip cams which were submitted via a storage card to Hepp for grading.
Across the hall in Jill Simonis’ 3rd grade class, students have their hands in the air as she lays her cell phone on the document projector and asks, “What are the different uses of this invention?”
“Without the document projector, students would be huddled around the teacher trying to see,” whispered Mates in the back of the class.
Stop by the library and you might find the lights dimmed as Sheila Voigt’s 1st grade class learns arithmetic on an interactive smart board. With a laptop, LCD projector, and a special suction-cupped whiteboard device, Voigt has students doing math problems with a ‘magic’ pen.
Mates explains that “We only have one of these devices, so teachers request the equipment based on availability.”
Like most schools, St. Simon the Apostle is feeling the budget pinch. St. Simon does not qualify for many of the state or federal technology grants like their public school counterparts, forcing them to look at either higher tuition or outside sources to keep their classrooms modernized. This is where the Technology Committee, a culmination of parents, teachers, and faculty, comes in.
Paula Pletcher, the technology lab instructor and mom of three St. Simon children, is fully immersed in the day-to-day technology needs of the classrooms.
“We try to take the resources allocated and implement the technology that has the biggest impact,” said Pletcher. “Our immediate need is to purchase projectors for all the classrooms. If teachers engage the students by projecting presentations or videos to a whiteboard, that’s a huge step forward for us.”
But Vice Principal Mates admits that buying projectors for all 30 classrooms is ambitious. With a price tag hovering around $3,000 per classroom, the school will need more than ticket sales from the Bites for Bytes.
“We’re always grateful for any donations we can receive to put toward this great cause.”
Duggan’s committee is optimistic about this year’s event and has already seen an increase in pre-sale tickets. Taking a card page from the popular Groupon.com playbook, Duggan had an email sent out to all the St. Simon parents during a recent snow day offering 25% off tickets for 24 hours only.
“The buzz and activity around those tickets was amazing. We sold over 100 tickets in one day!”
United Package Liquors will be hosting the open bar sponsored by Zink Distributing and Monarch Beverage, and local band “Anna and the Kings” will be performing throughout the night. To add to the technology showcase, GeistTV.com will be broadcasting live video online during the event, enabling those not able to attend the ability to share in the evening.
If you would like to attend the Bites for Bytes, pre-sale tickets are $30 each and available through www.atGeist.com. Contributions are also being accepted at the event or by mailing a check to St. Simon the Apostle School, Technology Fund, 8155 Oaklandon Road, Indianapolis, IN 46236.
- Apezza Pizza
- Bella Vita
- Casler’s Kitchen
- Chef Suzanne
- Cornerstone Bread Company
- Good Fellas Pizza
- Jonah’s Market
- Lincoln Square
- Michael’s Southshore
- Mama Bears
- Pearls and Ivy Catering
- Scotty’s Lakehouse
- Sundaes
- Texas Roadhouse
- The Bakery at Geist
- The Grill
Special thanks to Ginovus, Larry and Katie Gigerich, for their generous sponsorship.
“Bites for Bytes” committee:
- Amy Hershman & Amy Hruskoci: PFO Co-Presidents
- Sherri Cerar: Volunteer Coordinator
- Colleen Miller: Marketing/Raffle
- Dana Mullin: Marketing
- Chrissy Heim: Silent Auction
- Stormie Hopkins & Maria Knight: Decorations
- Laura Mates: Vice Principal and School Laison
