Flood Preparedness for GRCC

We have all seen the news about the possibility of flooding in the valley. At GRCC we are doing our best to also prepare in case of an emergency. Here is a link to the plan. Please take time to read this whether you think it applies to you or not. There is good information that may help you or a neighbor in case of an emergency. We are also creating a reverse phone tree for you to use in case there is an emergency in your household that we need to be aware of. If your last name begins with A-H, Please call Heathers emergency cell number. If it is I-O Please call Terri's, and P-Z please call Cyndi's. I will be sending the numbers out as an e-mail to all of you. It would be a good idea to put them in your cell phones, just in case. Please keep in mind that these are to be used for an emergency only, and Heather and Terri will only have them on during arrivals each quarter or during a catastrophic event like the valley flooding.

Campus Safety Alerts

Subscribe to GRCC Safety Alerts and keep informed of campus emergencies, safety issues and inclement weather emergency closures. This FREE service is available to all GRCC students, employees and their families. You can subscribe for cell phone text messages, emails or both. Please sign up for Safety Alerts today.

Letter From Another Proud Host Parent, Heather.

When my 3 children were small, it seemed like I was forever taking them to activities, shuttling them back and forth to dance, soccer, softball, volleyball, cheerleading, marching band, piano lessons. As they grew older one of them always had a friend over, so I opened a home preschool and childcare collecting over 100 kids over the 10 years we were open. Once they all grew up, went off to college, I assumed those days were over.

One day a friend of mine who is a staff member at GRCC asked me “would you like to host a French student?” My daughter was home from college for the summer, and she was minoring in French so I said sure! I was asked if I wanted a boy or girl and I chose a girl, after all, I had only had girls living with us in the past. I didn’t hear from my friend about this again for the next month until…one day I received a letter in the mail saying “congratulations, you’re going to host a French intern – his name is Pierre Andre and he will be here next week.!” He had already been contacted and given our families information, it would be complicated to change and I didn’t want to disappoint, so I decided to go with it. What a summer we had. He was charming, helpful, very good friends with my daughter (much to my chagrin) and he LOVED sports which made my husband very happy. We still keep in touch, and even though it wasn’t my ideal choice initially, it ended up working out in the end.

Since then I have been a host mom to several other students, from Denmark, China, overnighters from India, Pakistan, Bangledesh and I haven’t yet met a student I don’t like. So much so, that I decided to make my career working with kids from all over the world and helping to match them up with host families who will take good care of them. Some of my experiences haven’t ended up how I thought they would, and at times issues have come up that have been hard to deal with. Even in those situations I find there is often growth for me, as I learn how other cultures experience life. Collecting kids is like any collection – precious because each one is rare and unique.

Submitted by: Heather Koontz

Short Term Programs Update

In January, 21 Danish students arrived at GRCC from Horsens Business college in Denmark for a 4 week instructional program. Many thanks to all faculty and staff for their support of this program.

Student Change of Address

It is to your benefit to help your students change their address before leaving your home. Most things can be changed on line now, banking, the students address for GRCC, and even DOL for Wa ID and drivers licenses. For the P.O. it is a $1 charge to change their address on line. We have had many host families still receiving mail for a student LONG after they have moved out. If you do get mail for your student after they have left, please call them first, asking for them to pick it up. You can also drop it off in the IP office and we can e-mail them to come and get it.

Metro Bus Passes

UPDATE on King County Metro bus passes. You can no longer get a bus pass here on campus. Individual bus tickets can still be purchased at the cashiers office. It is located on the 2nd floor of the Lindbloom Student Center (LSC building). We are encouraging the students to buy an ORCA card from King County Metro. They can find out about it on line.

Refer a Friend

If you know someone that has been thinking about becoming a great host family like you, please tell them about our program. The first thing they would need to do is come to a host family orientation. Heather will be conducting them about once a quarter for now. The next meeting is in April. They can call the information line at 253-833-9111 ext. 2129 to find out about the next meeting time if they miss one. Thank you for referring quality host families!

Upcoming Events

Are you looking for things to do with your students?

Tacoma Glass Museum

Are you looking for something really fun to do with your students with the weather getting nicer? I just took my student to the glass museum on Sunday. It was a really fun day and we learned alot about how glass is formed into art. If your student has a student ID from GRCC, or anywhere else, they can get in for Free on Sundays. They even let you take pictures inside the glass studio while they are making things. It is also free on the third Thursday of every month for everyone from 5pm to 8pm.

You may purchase tickets by contacting Student Life at extension 2400. Performance times are 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights with 3:00 p.m. matinees on Saturday the 20th, Sunday the 21st and Saturday the 27th. All tickets are $10.00 per person, including children and seniors, with all performances on campus in the Performing Arts Building. Advance purchase highly recommended. Festival seating and doors open one-half hour before the scheduled performance time.

Did you know? For walking and jogging enthusiasts, Green River maintains a beautiful 1.2 mile trail throughout the campus. A portion of the trail is paved and accessible for wheelchairs. There is also a great view of Mt. Rainier from the trail!

Terri's Trivia Challenge

Do you know what the new building on campus is going to be when it is finished? E-mail your guess to Terri.

The correct answer will be published in the next HostPost  eNewsletter.

Last trivia answer, The top two Universities that our students transfer to are Indiana U., and the University of Washington. Go Huskies!

Contact Information