CHE PTO Handbook: In a typical year, we anticipate the following activities and items to be fully or partially funded by the PTO.

Transcription

1 CHE PTO Handbook: Our Mission: Work together to promote a school community encouraging involvement and support. To enhance the quality of education provided to our children through our support, volunteering and financial assistance. The PTO is a non-profit organization with an annual budget. The Walk-A-Thon, Literacy Book Fair fundraisers and the Silent Auction/Family Fun Night generate the funds. A cash donation is an option in lieu of participating in the fundraisers. The money raised stays in CHE and is typically used for the purchase of items that are not included in the school s annual budget. In a typical year, we anticipate the following activities and items to be fully or partially funded by the PTO. Beautifying the school gardens Spirit Day Popcorn Residencies Family Directories Safety Patrol Science Fair Grade Level Learning Trips Junior Great Books Student Enrichment I Love to Read programs Art Department Just For Fun Nights Wednesday Folders Peer Mediation Time For Kids PTO Information The Christina Huddleston Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (CHE PTO) would like to invite all CHE parents and guardians to participate in the CHE PTO. Please attend our monthly meetings and share your ideas and opinions about how the PTO can best serve our staff and student population. Have a say in how PTO funds are distributed and spent! This is also an excellent opportunity to meet other parents and gain an increased awareness of what is going on at your child s school as well to show your child that their school community is important to the family also.

2 Information and Opportunities at CHE Communications Christina Huddleston wants to ensure that families are well informed about all aspects of school life via frequent communications throughout the year. The goal is to create a spirit of community and fun that facilitate dialogue among the different entities of the school. Directory: The forms to complete to be part of the school directory will be provided at the Open House and the first Wednesday folder. Be sure to complete the form and turn it back in at Open House, or turn the form in to your child s teacher with the first Wednesday folder. Your household information will not be included without the signed consent form. Directories will be distributed at the first common conference night and will then be available in the office while supplies last. As a courtesy to the families listed, please do not use directory information for commercial solicitation! Yearbook: A yearbook is produced which contains photos by class as well as informal pictures of the students showing the school activities and clubs throughout the year. Parents are encouraged to take pictures and submit them to the coordinators. Order forms are sent home in the spring with delivery of the yearbook prior to the end of the year. Bulletin Board: Monthly CHE PTO Minutes and event updates are posted on the bulletin board and on the website to reflect upcoming PTO-sponsored events. The bulletin board is located to the left of the main door, outside of the school office. Wednesday Folders: Each Wednesday, students bring home a PTO provided folder that will contain communication from the school as well as other extracurricular opportunities. Volunteers are needed to come in to the office on Tuesday mornings to count and organize materials for students Wednesday folders, three to four times a year. Classroom teachers will then seek volunteers on Wednesday mornings to fill their classroom folders. Volunteer Coordinator The coordinator works with the chairpersons to enlist volunteers to staff PTO-sponsored programs and events. Please complete the Volunteer Form distributed in the first Wednesday Folder!

3 Educational Enrichment Field trips and Off-Site Learning Field trips and offsite learning experiences are an important part of the curriculum at Christina Huddleston Elementary. These are carefully selected and planned by staff and are intended to complement and extend the classroom instruction. Students are encouraged to participate in these activities. CHE PTO provides scholarships for students who may find the related fees a hardship. Inquiries for scholarships should be directed to the school office. Lyceums Special programs, speakers and lyceums funded in by the PTO in part or whole may be scheduled for the entire school at various times throughout the year. These are booked at the request of teaching staff to enhance and expand the students learning opportunities. I Love to Read Month: Celebrate the love of reading through special activities during I Love to Read month. Junior Great Books: Junior Great Books is a structured reading program that teaches children to be discerning and analytical readers. Not a gifted program, but rather a program that encourages all readers to be focused and contemplative in their reading. Students meet in small groups with a facilitator, training is paid for by PTO. Learning Specialist Helpers: Volunteers are needed to monitor halls during testing. Volunteers are also needed to assist the Learning Specialist as needed. Contact Mrs. Zidarich. Art in the Classroom: Parent volunteers needed to assist classroom teachers for art education. Book Fair Many volunteers are needed to help set-up, staff and take down the book fair! Social and Family Enrichment CHE Just For Fun Nights! CHE Just for fun nights are free events for the whole family to get together at school and enjoy themselves. Volunteers will be directed by the chair to help ensure the night runs smoothly and our community spirit roars! Spirit Day Popcorn: Volunteers are needed for approximately two hours in the morning to set up, pop, distribute and clean up. Popcorn is served on Spirit Day each month and at other school events as well. Spirit Days are the last Friday of the month.

4 Family Fun Night and Silent Auction The Family Fun Night/Silent Auction is an event created to unite families in our school community by gathering them together for an evening of food, music, and fun while raising funds for a designated educational/enhancement need. Many volunteers are needed to before the actual night for planning as well as the night of the event to oversee ticket sales, concessions, set up and clean up. There are various levels of time commitments. The core committee will be forming in the fall and the designation of funds determined. If interested in volunteering in the Family Fun Night contact the PTO people. If you or your employer is able to donate to the Silent Auction, please contact the Auction chairperson. Please help as many hands make light work. Room Party Coordinator: PTO collects an optional donation per student from families in the fall and distributes funds for student parties. Ten dollars per student is encouraged to help fund these special days. Volunteers are needed to help organize and run the parties which are typically in the fall, winter, spring, and year-end. Money is reimbursed by the treasurer. Classroom Representative Rep: Classroom representatives are assigned to each classroom and act as a liaison between the teacher and classroom families as needed, assist in special projects, and participate in Teacher Appreciation events in May. Representatives will also be in charge of coordinating the silent auction basket items, including sorting, valuing, and packaging them for the Silent Auction. No experience necessary. Spirit Wear Sales: CHE school spirit items are sold at open house and sometimes available at various times throughout the year. More information will come in the Wednesday folders. Picture Days: Volunteers help escort classes to school pictures, and assist students with looking their best and ensuring students return to class as soon as possible. Muller Family Theatre Fall Films Buy ticket packages for greatly reduced prices. See great family films while helping to support CHE! CHE All School Field Day MANY volunteers needed to help run an all-school, outdoor, end of the year event! Wellness Wellness is education and activities that will be offered to help families and students learn about healthy choices for a healthy lifestyle.

5 Staff Assistance/Appreciation Teacher Help Days: Volunteers are needed to help teachers prepare materials for student activities. This benefits both the teachers and the students. Whatever time you can spare on these days is appreciated! Takes place in the commons, children welcome. Supplies provided. CHE Gardens and Tree Maintenance: Volunteers are needed to help keep our gardens looking beautiful. Volunteers choose a week during the summer to weed and water the gardens in front of the school and the Friendship Garden by the Kindergarten doors. Common Conference Dinners Staff Appreciation Luncheons Meals are donated by parents or purchased at outside vendors and served to the teachers. Volunteers are needed for set-up, serving, clean-up and/or donating. Finance Fundraising We are unable to offer the many enrichment opportunities which PTO sponsors without fundraisers. We will be having an all-school walk-a-thon this year as our main PTO fundraiser. We hold several passive fundraisers throughout the school year (Target Take Charge, Box Tops, Movie Tickets, Market Day, Pahl s Flowers, etc.) and are thankful for your participation in all that you choose! As an alternative to raising money for the walk-a-thon or participating in any other of our smaller fundraisers, you are welcome to make a one-time donation payable to CHE PTO if you wish. Collection and reimbursement of PTO monies Basic Principle: All of us involved with collecting, spending or accounting for PTO funds are handling other people s money. Consequently, everything must be done strictly by the book. Responsibility: The responsibility for ensuring that procedures are followed for any given events rests with the chairperson of the committee producing the event. Committee chairs should make sure all of their members know and follow the procedures.

6 Cash Request/Reimbursement: Forms are available in the office for PTO expenditures. Please check with the PTO treasurer if you have questions about budgeted expense. Use the tax ID# when purchasing taxable items to avoid paying sales tax on school related items. Fill out the form and attach receipts and put in the treasurers slot in the PTO mailbox. (While some of the events listed above do generate funds, the primary focus may be social or educational and so descriptions are found in other sections. Below you will find descriptions of the main CHE fundraisers which we ask each family to consider participating in to assist our educational enrichment goals) Culver s Community Night: The first Thursday of every month (Sept. May) all day is CHE s opportunity to earn a percentage of sales from drive thru and walk-in customers who state they are from CHE. Most families will gather from 5:00-7:00 but don t forget the lunch hour if you can t make it at night! Money goes directly to the sponsoring CHE grade level classrooms and/or specialists for that month. All School Walk-A-Thon This is CHE s largest fundraiser. All CHE students will participate in the all walk-athon. Pledges will be collected. This is in lieu of a fall selling fundraiser. The revenue generated by this fundraiser supports requests from school staff, field trips, various reading programs, visiting authors, and other PTO sponsored items. Volunteers are needed to tally and distribute orders. Read- A- Thon: During I LOVE TO READ month (February) students will spend a week doing various reading activities. Families will collect pledges to support the school s reading goals. Target Take Charge of Education: Target donates 1% of your purchases made on the Target Guest Card to our school. Call the Target School Fundraising hotline at and give them your account number and school name. Let your friends and family know to designate our school. Cash for Trash: (Big G Tops, Kemps, Kwik Trip) Our school receives 10 cents for each General Mills box top and 5 cents from each Kemps proof of purchase we collect. All you need to do is turn these items in at school in the collection bucket by the school office. We need volunteers to occasionally trim, count and sort, which can be done at home. Pahl s Market Flower Fundraiser Pahl s Market generously gives a percentage of sales to CHE from anyone making purchases that bring in the custom coupons we ll provide during the school flower fundraiser. Pass them out! The effort is minimal and everyone benefits!