Inside Numis Night: Fundraising, Community & Parent Involvement

In this episode of Hoplite Radio, we sit down with parent volunteers, Wendy Rankin and Stevie Daigneault to learn more about our annual fundraiser, Numis Night, and the Numis Committee that pulls this event together each year. Mrs. Rankin and Mrs. Daigneault share how Ridgeview Classical Schools’ biggest annual fundraiser grew into a can’t-miss community tradition that not only brings families together, but also funds real, visible improvements for students. Projects like playground upgrades, performing arts renovations, emergency classroom kits, outdoor program gear, and this year’s new upper school lockers. We talk honestly about why a single, parent-led gala works better than constant school fundraisers, how volunteering and book groups helped them find their people. Learn what makes the Numis dinner so much fun, from the themed attire and teacher experiences to the live and online auctions. You’ll also get a preview of this year’s celebration at Windsong Estate Event Center and simple ways to participate even if you can’t attend. The Numis dinner is a fundamental part of Ridgeview’s culture, supporting the classical education mission, and the powerful role of parent involvement. More information can be found on the Numis Page.

00:09:45 – What Numis Is & Why It Matters
00:03:22 – Why Parents Stay Involved at Ridgeview
00:16:21 – Where the Money Goes: Tangible Campus Impact

Read The Transcript:

00:00:00  [INTRO MUSIC]

00:00:15 Mr. Anderson

Hello, welcome to Hoplite Radio, an educational podcast by Ridgeview Classical Schools, which explores the importance of classical education in a modern era. Today, I am joined by Wendy Rankin and Stevie Daigneault, and we are going to talk a little bit about Numis, and what Numis is. I think for new families, this is another one of those Ridgeview institutions that probably seems more cryptic than we intended it to be and obviously hope that you will come to know what Numis is and perhaps tend Numis Night. So, without further ado, Mrs. Rankin, would you like to start by introducing yourself?

00:00:48 Mrs. Rankin

I would be happy to. I am Wendy Rankin. We came to Ridgeview in 2017. My oldest, Kirsten, was entering eighth grade and had been homeschooling since first grade. We attended an informational night with Mrs. Shunk, and she shadowed and knew immediately that she wanted to be here. We chose Ridgeview because of the classical education, because of the character pillars and really teaching the good, the true, and the beautiful. Over the next seven years, I think, eight years, we've entered the rest of our children at various times. One in second grade, one in eighth grade. Over the years, we've graduated two, and we have now a son in tenth grade and two boys in seventh grade. All right. Is it eight months?

00:01:58 Mrs. Daigneault

Hi, I'm Stevie Daigneault. We came to Ridgeview in 2016 when my son was pulled in the lottery, and he came in, I believe, and he went to sixth grade. Our daughter didn't get in until 2017, so she spent an extra year at a neighborhood school in South Fort Collins. But I thought it would be a more difficult adjustment, but they both settled right in. I was really pleased. I feel like they both really benefited from their Ridgeview experience, although I wouldn't say they're model students. I think they got a lot out of it. So, they are both graduated, yay. And they're both at Colorado State University now.

00:02:43 Mr. Anderson

All right. So, I think one thing that parents, when we start to get into this, are curious about is, I think, why have you stayed? And I think for Mrs. Rankin, that is why have you stayed? And you have two graduates and three students still in school. And for Mrs. Dagnott, why have you stayed involved in a school? Which is, I tell you often, when I see a book group, I am very glad that you still come to our book groups that you're still involved in a school. I wish that we had dozens of more parents like you who wanted to stay involved, but why have you why have you stayed involved? And what is it that keeps you at Ridgeview?

00:03:22 Mrs. Rankin

Let's see, I love being involved in education. And that's important for me to see what my children are learning and meet their friends and their friends’ families. And the community here is small enough and tied enough that I feel like I can get to know the parents, the teachers, the administration. And that's easier to get involved in volunteering. Yeah

00:03:49 Mrs. Daigneault

Yeah. I really enjoyed my volunteering experience at Ridgeview, and in fact, my husband said he thought there should be a 12-step program because I was volunteering too often for too many things. And for the same reason that Mrs. Rankin just detailed, it was good to get to know all the people who would be helping to raise my children during the day. And then I also participated in reading groups, and that has turned out to be much more meaningful than I thought it would. I thought it was at first a way to get more familiar with the curriculum and maybe even some of the books that my kids would be reading. And it has turned into a whole thing on its own, where I've really got to know some other really wonderful, interesting people. And yeah, that keeps me coming back.

00:04:42 Mr. Anderson

Okay.

00:04:43 Mrs. Rankin

I would also add that the environment of Riju, welcoming parents in the Open Door policy of come in to see any classroom we want you here, we want you involved is different than many places in the world. And I love that Open Door policy that we're appreciated, and they like us to help out. So, it's a good feel.

00:05:13 Mrs. Daigneault

I totally agree, and I have to say our original neighborhood schools for my kids were in Berthoud, where we were living at the time, and they were wonderful. My daughter, while my son was in his first year at Ridgeview, I mentioned that she was at a neighborhood school in Fort Collins. And when I tried to be in the classroom or help out in the library, they really actually seemed suspicious of my motivation. So, it was a very strange feeling. And I never got any of that at Ridgeview. So, agree.

00:05:48 Mr. Anderson

Well, that's good. I am glad that we hope what we have done is going to foster a kind of community of people who may not have otherwise known of one another at all, frankly. And so, it's good to be able to walk across the parking lot, I think, between the buildings and to see parents and to think, okay, why I'm in book group with that one, or I've been on a trip with that person and that person student I taught. And it's, I think, the smallness of that community is definitely like a felt and experience thing. And then what you said about book group, I think is hugely meaningful to me because that was kind of a part of what I'd hoped might happen with it when I sort of initiated that. But I think it's come to fruition in a way that I even has gone beyond what I had hoped for it, which is a great thing. I think because we've read is an unbelievable amount of stuff that we've read over the last almost decade now. And the conversations, I think there was a, there was a guy talking at one of the last book groups, we did, we did a piece on Ernest Hemingway, and he said, you know, I don't like Ernest Hemingway, I am not a fan of him. Hemingway is writing, et cetera, and he goes, and I came in one time, like four years ago, ready to just rail on The Old Man in the Sea. And he said, and then this other guy before I could speak gave this huge sort of monologue about how much the first time, he'd read The Old Man in the Sea to him. And he goes, and I realized I have to pump the brakes and go back and I thought, man, if you can have that experience as an adult with a group of other adults in the room, I think, man, people are missing that in life.

00:07:26 Mrs. Daigneault

I agree. And in fact, when my kids graduated, I thought it was, initially, I was sort of uncomfortable continuing to attend the reading groups. So, I joined two book groups in the community. And they were so profoundly disappointing that I just gave it up and just figured this is, this is my reading tribe.

00:07:49 Mr. Anderson

Well, back to Numis. So, I would say, I'm hugely thankful to both of you and all of the people who have helped you with Numis. And I will give a short preface to why is because at one point when I was trying to decide what seasonal events we would have in order to get all the parents together, I said, well, we're going to do this by season, which means that we're going to have a fall event. And that's going to be the turkey shoot, and we will have a winter event, which I had named the tongue twisting the post solstice solace. I had then said, Valborg will be in the spring. And in the summer, we will have a quote, hoplite, hoedown. And we only ever, I think, attempted that as an event without a actual committee one time. And there were parts of that that went well, mainly that I got a student, a former student to come back and speak, who was just a total gentleman about the whole thing. And he flew, he'd flown all the way back to the East Coast and he spoke very eloquently about Ridgeview and everything, but he might have been the best part of that night. And it really was not for the, you know, it wasn't because of anything wrong with the parents. It was just, I think, we were way under equipped to handle it. And then I remember being at the first Numis dinner, and I thought, man, we shouldn't even ever tell people that this came out of this other event because they have done it so much better. So I am, I am very proud of, I guess, the way that you guys represent us at that dinner. It feels again, like a big community builder, people are happy. They're at ease with one another, I would say. And it's just a genuinely fun night. But I would like for you to talk about what goes into this because it is a tremendous amount of work.

00:09:45 Mrs. Rankin

I didn't realize there was a summer program. I thought this came out of a fundraising dinner in like 2016. And then we wanted parents to take it over and became the hop, the hot light hotel, but it must have continued from this the summer program. That's neat. I didn't realize that. So, I went to my first one. I think it started in like 2017 as what I as I was looking back. And I didn't go to that one, but I went in 2000, maybe 2018 or 19. And knew immediately that it was just a fun night with everybody. And I went because I was invited by some parent that was in my grade and said, I've got a great table for you guys to sit at. And I need your help with games is how it started just help run a shooting game, a nerf gun. And. And then I had such a good time with the event. I wanted to help it again. Go for the next year. So, I started meeting with this great group of moms. I think there was three of us at the time. And learned how to put on an event. A lot of meetings, a lot of organization. And it really is a yearlong process. We start this in August and start getting our committee together. We have run it between with between three and 12 people on the committee. And we start meeting. Start getting the art and the PR and the flyers all together. Yeah, and that's weekly or twice a month meetings that we start.

00:11:46 Mrs. Daigneault

Yeah, I'm not sure. First of all, thank you for your nice comments about the event. And I wanted to say that I don't know if Wendy's aware that she was hand-picked to take over running the event when she was invited by the former coordinators of the event. So surprise surprise. Thank you, Amy. Yeah, I'm not sure what else you would like to know.

Mr. Anderson

So why a dinner? I mean, so I think that one of the questions from newer parents is, well, you are sending the kids out in the neighborhood? Are you having them do other fundraisers? Why aren't the kids, you know, a bigger part of this? And in the beginning years of the school, we were really hesitant to do that. And this was not all a lot of nobility or anything. And in part, the things that we needed were very we needed a we couldn't afford janitorial services, but we needed the school to be claimed. We couldn't afford electrical services, but we needed light bulbs changed and fixtures put in and labs built. So, most of the original parent volunteers were really not people doing so much cutting checks or donating money or certainly nothing is fancy and is fun frankly as a Numis dinner. It was a lot of just labor. In fact, the big joke was that the first year of teacher training mostly consisted of the teachers driving around the state collecting furniture from schools that had been abandoned so that we would have furniture all the way back in 2001, 2002. And so now we've kind of like transitioned to this era in which we are able to do this, but we are not sending the kids out to do it. We're not having them do things. We're trying our best not to sort of nickel and dye in parents and ask for donations all throughout the course of the year. We've kind of consolidated as a dinner, but why a dinner why do you think a dinner works uniquely well because I do think it works.

00:13:49

Well, first of all, we can have wine. Second of all, it gives parents a chance and faculty and staff. It gives everyone a chance to dress up should they choose to do so.

00:13:59 Mrs. Rankin

And traditionally fundraising galas have been a dinner and bring the community together celebrate where we are and kind of give us a pride in our school and how much work we have done and how much work the kids have done. And in a way to try to help the staff and the administration just take some of the burden off of them in scrounging budgets. Like if you don't have to go find used chairs and we could fundraise with a nice dinner, then let's do that as opposed to you guys having to work that much harder. A few years ago, we did add in the Penny Wars around numerous, which was been a fun way to have the kids get involved and the energy that comes with that Penny Wars is really fun to see the kids getting excited and man, it can get cutthroat. So, I like that they that they are brought in to have them help and have something in the game ahead in the game skin skin in the game. I am really bad at idioms, sorry. But I appreciate also appreciate not having to sell wrapping paper and candy bars. I would rather put my time and my energy into this as opposed to that. And it's also we can incorporate fun ways to make the money we can have games and really great auctions. The auctioneers have been fun. The online auction and the live auction is just a nice way for the parents to be able to support it that way. And I do like the community aspect it really gives parents the children in all different grades a chance to meet one another in like a not a school environment. I mean, I think the kids get to know one another in the classroom and on the playground. But without events like these the parents are just dropping them off and picking them up and as not being a neighborhood school, you know, they're not going to meet in their neighborhood mostly.

Mrs. Daigneault

So, there is a real community building element as well, although that is definitely not our primary. It's definitely not the primary thing that we're trying to accomplish with Numis night for sure.

00:16:21 Mr. Anderson

And so, let's go to that part. So, what in the past, what are some of the things that Numis has raised money for?

00:16:29 Mrs. Rankin

So, with the in August when we start meeting, we start talking about what we'd like to fundraise for. And we take input from students, from administration, from teachers as to what's needed in the school. So, we try to do a project. So, something that we can see finished has been the guideline that we've focused on. So, over the years, we have done, we've done a few things on the elementary playground. We've resurfaced it replaced the turf in it. We've upgraded the playground structure. We've helped with remodeling our performing arts center. We've remodeled the elementary cafeteria. We've purchased a first aid trailer for the outdoor program, which is used for heat and light on various trips and carrying gear. We've been proved the upper school outdoor space or R2 with a shade pavilion flooring for the Gaga ball pit and picnic tables. And then we've also been able to support different departments in the building. So, the athletics, drama, music, elementary reading groups, science and art. And those have been over the last eight years, I believe is how long Numis has been going.

00:18:00 Mrs. Diagneault

Last year we installed emergency response kits in the classrooms. If you said that, I missed it.

I did not.

And this year, we hoping to replace the upper school lockers because they're just suffering from wear and tear. And I think it's important something that Wendy said every year, we come up with a main project that we try to raise money for. Usually, it's something substantial and something that directly benefit all of the students. But then we always have this long list wish list from faculty and staff. And so, any extra money that we have really gets spread throughout the school. So, for example, this year we're replacing upper school lockers. But the lower school students will benefit from any extra money we have because we will put it towards all sorts of needs throughout the school. So even if the main thing that we're raising money for isn't important to you recognize that your students will still benefit. Does that make sense?

00:19:03 Mr. Anderson

It does. Yeah, which although I think the lockers are worthy cause. As someone who lives in this space for eight hours a day listening to kids try to shut lockers that are in pretty bad repair. So, thank you for choosing the lockers.

00:19:20 Mrs. Rankin

Yeah, as a parent of two seventh graders, I kind of put food that complaints about the lockers at first when they started in the school year. And then I heard parents and staff just ready to throw the lockers across the room just how frustrated they were they because they're old and have been abused. And so, we realized this was this was actually a real issue that needed addressing. So that's why we chose it.

00:19:51 Mr. Anderson

Good. I'm glad you did. So, with it with a dinner, what should parents come prepared for other than dressing up in fancy dress if they choose if you choose to so?

00:20:06 Mrs. Daigneault

Our dress code is very flexible. It's an elegant space. So, it's really inviting, but I don't want anyone to feel like it's too fancy because that's not the atmosphere that we try to create. So, some people dress in, for example, Greek costume because that's our theme this year. Some people wear evening gowns and some people wear business casual. So, really you can dress however you like. That's one of the big questions that we get.

00:20:37 Mrs. Rankin

And it's not necessarily a costume, but kind of dressing in the theme of the event. So, we've talked about like kind of drapey, neutral Greek goddess gold themes, which we're all kind of excited about.

00:20:54 Mrs. Daigneault

And for the ladies.

00:20:59 Mrs. Rankin

So, that's what we've talked about with for dress. And when you get there, you'll check in. You will get your seating arrangement, your seating table, a place to sit. You'll get your two drink tickets. The order of the events of the night in a program. Then there's time to donate for games to play and win prizes. We have some new games that are going on and you can purchase a wine pull. We have a wine pull where you purchase a cork and you'll get a great bottle of wine or liquor of some type. We'll have a social and cocktail hour, then dinner and then the auction and paddle raise and just a really nice evening at wind song event center.

00:21:55 Mrs. Daigneault

It's about four hours from start to finish. There's a lot of socializing. It's a pretty relaxed atmosphere. The live auction is very exciting. And there's an opportunity for dancing, if you like. So, it's just a fun time.

00:22:13 Mr. Anderson

All right. How many women? How many people? Do you have any men on the Numis committee?

Mrs. Rankin

We do not this year have any men.

Mr. Anderson

How many women are currently on the newest committee?

Mrs. Rankin

11, 10….

Mrs. Daigneault
12

Mrs. Rankin

12 actually.

00:22:28 Mr. Anderson

All right. Do you want to name them? Do you want to give them a shout out?

00:22:34 Mrs. Rankin

Oh, that's pretty the fun.

Mrs. Daigneault

I have a list.

Mrs. Rankin

Okay. Read them off.

00:22:39 Mrs. Daigneault

And no particular order is me, Mrs. Rankin,  we have Sarah Banzhaf, Sarah Jones is on and off the committee as she is able, there's Katie Johnson, Katie Gates, Lindsey Idem-Steele, Hanneke Boon, Heather Radzay, Megan Estes, Cindy Stark, Jackie Casper and Vanessa. Samarrabah. I'm not sure I'm pronouncing her last name, right? That's this year's team.

Mr. Anderson

Well, thank you all of these ladies for their help. What do you advise other people to do if they want to be helpful or contribute? Say they can't. Well, let's say they can. And then a second scenario is they can't make it to the dinner.

00:23:25 Mrs. Daigneault

Well, first of all, we offer sponsorships. So, if anybody really wants to help, they can write a check and we will be oh, so very grateful.

00:23:35 Mrs. Rankin

We have the event itself and a lot of giving happens there. But then we also have an online auction that is open to the public and has a wide variety of listings. And we're still accepting donations for the auctions through we'd like to have all the donations in by February 20th, but we will take donations for the auctions. The day of the event, we could have help setting up and taking down. So, get in touch with one of us to help with that. If you can't make the Greek Gala on the seventh, then look for the online auction, which will be open March 2nd through the ninth. And we'll have QR codes and links in the Numis and it'll be everywhere. So, you can bid on amazing teacher experiences this year. We have a few trips on the online auction and a great star gazing trip to the Grand Canyon on the live auction staying in a clear dome with your family. So those are really fun events that are fun items that are on the live auction and the online auction. The teacher experiences are always really a great thing for everyone to bid on as always build relationship with your teachers. But that's just so much fun.

00:25:07 Mrs. Daigneault

Yes, and moving forward, we do penny wars in the fall during Spirit Week and that's something we could always use a little bit of help with. You can help us with our committee if you're interested, anybody could reach out. And then another thing that we sometimes forget to mention is it is really helpful if you think and patronize the businesses who donate to our auction because they really make it possible. Yeah, and if we don't tell them that we're grateful, you know, that tends to go away.

00:25:40 Mr. Anderson

Yeah, what about beyond this dinner? What is like, what does Numis look like in five or 10 years? What is your hope for it?

00:25:52 Mrs. Daigneault

My personal hope is to be able to raffle off a large item, maybe a car or what have you a trip. Right at the moment, that's not something that we're able to do, but that's on my wish list.

00:26:09 Mrs. Rankin

I would love to make enough money to help widen the hallways.

00:26:15 Mrs. Daigneault

Oh, you're talking about actual projects.

00:26:17 Mrs. Rankin

No, that was just my dream as I was thinking about that just now. I'd love to have it just kind of be the whole school coming to this event. So, you have about 700 families or is it 700 kids or I would love every family member to attend the event and have a great night of building community with each other. So, you get to know each other and this that would be my dream.

00:26:47 Mr. Anderson

You don't want to auction off somebody's house that may or may not have donated it. All right. Have I left anything out?

00:27:03 Mrs. Rankin

I could talk about the auction items a little bit.

00:27:06 Mr. Anderon

Yeah, that would be nice.

00:27:09 Mrs. Rankin

This year is different because we are offering a few trips which have a bigger starting bid price that may take a little bit of forethought before you just spur. But it's not only spontaneously bid.

00:27:27 Mrs. Daigneault

Some of us have spouses who would do that.

00:27:30 Mrs. Rankin

Me. But some of us like to plan it. And so, you could take from your travel budget and your donation budget, your charity budget and put it towards these, these trips. We have the forementioned Grand Canyon trip and we have a great Nashville trip, which isn't just a trip to Nashville. You get two tickets to a Grand Old Opre show and backstage passes and tickets to a few museums and stays at a beautiful hotel in Nashville for I think it's three nights. And we also have a golf trip to Monterey where you get to play golf on the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi. And so those, those are just things that I'd like to plant the seed if you'd like to think about your travel budget. Then with our teacher experiences that we have are so great this year. We have a fly fishing with Mr. Ayers, Mr. Cole and Mr. Morone, which is a great day on the water and Mr. Morone will be cooking dinner and you guys will get to be in a boat. Mrs. Mahindroo was making her delicious Indian dinner for your family. You could bid and win on a Deputy Headmaster for the day where your child gets to help greet, help do what Mr. Hickey does. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Nichols are offering donkey and donuts, so you get to hang out with a donkey and the sweet treats. Lots of tickets to sporting events and arts.

00:29:09 Mrs. Daigneault

And one more thing that I would like to add is we've made the decision this year that the most valuable item on the auction will only be available live if you tend the event. And that is the dedicated parking spot in the review parking lot. We used to have one live and one online and now if you want to bid on that item you have to come to the event.

00:29:30 Mr. Anderson

All right. All right. Well, thank you both. You do make Ridgeview look great.

00:29:37 Mrs. Rankin and Mrs. Daigneault

Thank you. Thank you.

00:29:39 Mr. Anderson

Which is a ton of work. So, March 7th for those who didn't catch that part. 5pm to 9pm at Windsong Estate Event Center. Tickets are $80. It is a great night. And with that, thank you for listening to Hoplite Radio. If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio or you're preferred listening app. For more information about Ridgeview Classical Schools please visit our website at RidgeviewClassical.org.

00:30:13

[OUTRO MUSIC]