Lutz Keep In Touch

Welcome to the

Lutz Keep In Touch

Christmas Card Exchange

The purpose of the Christmas Card Exchange is to provide a fun way for Lutz Families to connect with friends in the Lutz Community during the holidays. Not only will this offer an opportunity to participate in the act of giving, but at the same time offer a diversion from some of the chaos in the world that weighs heavily on our minds.

This exchange is open to all Lutz Keep In Touch Facebook Group members as well as any past or current Lutz family or staff member. Basically if you go to Lutz, have gone to Lutz, work at Lutz, have worked at Lutz, have visited Lutz, or plan to visit Lutz sometime in the near future — you can join. Cards may come from past or current students, parents/guardians (as many of you are very active in the group as well), Lutz family members, or Lutz teachers and staff.

Members are invited to create or buy physical cards (yes that means actual cards you can touch and feel — not virtual). They can be as creative as you’d like. There is no “set” size for cards so use your best judgment. Please keep postage in mind when deciding about the card size to save money.

Cards can be personally designed and decorated by drawing, coloring, or painting or use store-bought cards and maybe add an artistic flair by drawing on the inside of the card or using color to brighten up the presentation and making it a bit more personal. Notes or letters can be included and of course each card should be signed with first and last names of the member and/or their family. A little bit of information about the sender should be included: if it’s a current/past student with completion year, relationship to student, teacher/staff member…make sure the recipients know who is sending the card. Sometimes just signing a name isn’t enough, so share a little something to introduce yourself or your student.  This offers a great opportunity to possibly meet some members of the Lutz Community that you may not know or connect with an old or current friend. The goal is to bring a bit of holiday cheer to the students (past and present) and let them know that even though we may be separated from many of our friends from the Lutz family, we are still here for them. Be sure to include holiday greetings!

Not everyone celebrates Christmas, but I certainly wouldn’t be insulted receiving a card celebrating the traditions of someone that are different than my own and hope that if you sign up for this exchange, you would appreciate receiving holiday cards regardless of which holiday greeting is sent.

How many cards will you need to send? This was a hard one. Not knowing how the response is going to be to this activity, I have set the minimum at two (2) cards. If you are willing to send out more than two, please indicate that on the registration form below. It isn’t the quantity of cards that really matters here, it’s that we are reaching out and connecting during this holiday season.

Can I sign-up just to send cards but not to receive? Absolutely. I will be signing Zack up for the “exchange” portion of this activity, but personally I will be on the SEND ONLY list. The SEND ONLY list is for any member that wants to send out cards to students (past/present) but does not require or expect to receive anything in return. I am asking that you still include your address on the sign-up however, just in case an elf happens to want to send you a special greeting. Obviously, teachers and staff may not be comfortable sharing their home address, so you can certainly opt out of this request by typing “Staff” in that field or use the school address.

Note: Parents and staff may think that they should only sign-up for the SEND ONLY list, don’t. Many of you are active on the Facebook group or in the Parent Group and know many of the students and obviously the Lutz Staff is loved by all. This exchange not only offers you an opportunity to send holiday greetings, but many students would also love the opportunity to reciprocate as well. Do what you are comfortable with.

What if I can’t send out cards? This has been a difficult year all around. Not only has this challenged all of us emotionally and psychologically, but for many financially and physically as well. With all the new challenges that are being confronted, finding the time and/or resources to do this may not be possible.  So, in an effort to include all of our students, whether they are able to reciprocate or not, I am including a RECEIVE ONLY option in the sign-up form. This option is open for any Lutz Student (past or present) that would like to receive a holiday greeting. As far as how many cards Receive Only participants can expect, I can only guarantee that they will receive at least one (from Zack). Depending on how many families sign up to send out more than the two (2) required cards and/or sign up for the Send Only list, will determine how many cards these students receive. (UPDATE: With just the few people who have already responded to this event, I’m pretty confident that each Receive Only student will receive at least 2…probably more! Just another example of how wonderful our Lutz Community is.)

How many cards will members that sign-up for the “Exchange” receive? Ideally each member will receive two cards. If you sign-up to send out more than two, this does not guarantee that you will receive more in return. If possible I would like to have each participant receive at least two cards regardless if they send cards or not. Cards from those that volunteer to send out more than two or sign-up for the Send Only list will first be used to fulfill students that are on the Receive Only list. I will do my best to keep this exchange as even as possible, but at the very least, each member that signs up should receive two.  If we have a large number of volunteers to send more than two and/or want to Send Only, this number could definitely be more.

Note: I cannot control the US mail service or be responsible for any member that does not fulfill their obligation to send out cards.

Summary:

• Registration/Sign-Up ends November 30, 2020. See Registration form below.
• Number of cards required to send is TWO. If you are willing to send out more, please indicate this on the form below.
• If you are unable to send out cards (for any reason), a Receive Only option is available.
• Names and addresses of members that you will be required to send cards to will be forwarded to you by December 2, 2020.
• Deadline for you to mail out cards is December 7, 2020. This may not seem like very much time, but once you sign up, cards can be prepared for sending. Once you receive the names and addresses of the members you are assigned to send cards to, all you need to do is add any final personal notes, address the envelopes, add postage and send. With the postal service as iffy as it is right now, allowing a little extra time for cards to arrive by Christmas is absolutely necessary.

Did I forget anything? Probably. This is my first attempt at doing something like this, so please bear with me. I’m bound to make a few mistakes. Feel free to contact me at dukicinclan@gmail.com with any suggestions, comments, or gentle disclosures of the error of my ways.

I have tried to include as many students, families, and staff as I could based on the email addresses I have, but please feel free to forward this information on to anyone from the Lutz Community that you think would be interested in participating in this exchange. As indicated, it is open to all current and past students and their families as well as all teachers and staff at Lutz School.

As always, stay safe and let’s

 

Lisa Dukicin, Zack’s Mom

Christmas Card Exchange Sign-Up Form

(please fill out all fields and click Submit)