Life has gotten busy. A new puppy, two children in two schools, a job, a house that wants to be cleaned on a regular basis and an ever growing stack of books to be read.
We had our second PTA meeting two weeks ago. I sat down, called the meeting to order and then immediately started to wish for someone to swoop in and take over my duties. It was intimidating to run a meeting and to have 20 people looking at me somewhere on a spectrum of eagerly to indifferently.
The meeting was a success. Short, sweet and productive. We re-alloted some money from one fund into a new line item for our 6th grade camp. We talked about plans for our Fall Festival. Our treasurer taught us how to properly fill out the forms for reimbursement or petty cash. We talked about perhaps celebrating Pi Day on 3.14 with a breakfast for students and their fathers.
It was a great meeting and I am glad it is under my belt.
Our first major activity of the year was on November 1st. It was the Fall Festival and it was terrific! One of the added bonuses of hosting this Halloween themed event the day after Halloween was the sales. We got so much for cheap or free on the day of the festival, it really helped to keep costs down. It also helped families who are busy in the weeks before Halloween to not have conflicts with their schedules. So many families came! Our team leader was new to Fall Festival and did a bang up job on planning and preparing for this celebration. She was nervous but gained confidence.
One of the ways I saw our team leader gain confidence was through conversations that we had. Both the PTA VP and I are Bingley's. (Think Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Bingley is quick to approve of everyone and everything he sees.) VP and I know that in the scheme of things nitpicking and micromanaging are useless in creating a team atmosphere. We approve everything as long as it is inclusive of everyone at the school.
Be a Bingley. Find your one sticking point (ours is inclusiveness) and don't worry about anything else. Purple pumpkins at Fall Festival? GREAT! A child who can't paint the pumpkin because his wheelchair won't fit in the door? Unacceptable!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Fundraising.
Our school does one big fundraiser a year. Always at the start of the school year, we have a walk-a-thon. Students are asked to raise $40 each with the hopes that our school will raise about $10,000 to be used as PTA funding.
Our walk-a-thon was last week and it was terrific! Our students brought in $9720 and local businesses helped us out with donations of water and fruit for the kids to enjoy during the event.
We find that this style of fundraiser works so much better than the traditional selling of "things." No one has to organize orders and get them out to the correct students. There is no begging. Grandma and Grandpa are generally happy to toss a $20 at their precious grandchild for school. Our school really benefits from this fundraiser.
We also do Scrip, Market Day, and store reward cards. Those bring in another $2000 or so each year.
Our walk-a-thon was last week and it was terrific! Our students brought in $9720 and local businesses helped us out with donations of water and fruit for the kids to enjoy during the event.
We find that this style of fundraiser works so much better than the traditional selling of "things." No one has to organize orders and get them out to the correct students. There is no begging. Grandma and Grandpa are generally happy to toss a $20 at their precious grandchild for school. Our school really benefits from this fundraiser.
We also do Scrip, Market Day, and store reward cards. Those bring in another $2000 or so each year.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Type B.
I tell the parents in our PTA that I am "type B" all of the time. Type B meaning that I am not one for details. I live for creativity, flying by the seat of my pants when I need to, and the big picture.
I love to take a step back and to think about how my decisions as PTA president will affect the future of our school. I love to do large scale painting projects in the school building knowing they will be there for years to come.
I do not love spreadsheets, counting anything, or exact details. I want to hear that you got a special glue to make XYZ craft project work but I don't want to know what it was called, where you bought it or how much you paid.
I think that my type B'ness is paying off. There are so many type A's in our PTA. These parents really have it all together. They know how many bottles of water we need, what we did with the leftovers last year and where they are located in the school building. They make sure that everyone has the size and color of shirt they need for our fundraiser day. They keep the PTA machine running.
I have run into just a little push back from some parents who are married to "how we always did it" as an action plan. For instance, we planned our "Fall Festival" for AFTER Halloween this year. Revolutionary! A few were upset with me for changing it up but we want to try it this way this year and see how it goes. Maybe there will be less schedule conflicts. Maybe we will be able to get some good stuff on sale for our festival the day of! I will let you know!
I love to take a step back and to think about how my decisions as PTA president will affect the future of our school. I love to do large scale painting projects in the school building knowing they will be there for years to come.
I do not love spreadsheets, counting anything, or exact details. I want to hear that you got a special glue to make XYZ craft project work but I don't want to know what it was called, where you bought it or how much you paid.
I think that my type B'ness is paying off. There are so many type A's in our PTA. These parents really have it all together. They know how many bottles of water we need, what we did with the leftovers last year and where they are located in the school building. They make sure that everyone has the size and color of shirt they need for our fundraiser day. They keep the PTA machine running.
I have run into just a little push back from some parents who are married to "how we always did it" as an action plan. For instance, we planned our "Fall Festival" for AFTER Halloween this year. Revolutionary! A few were upset with me for changing it up but we want to try it this way this year and see how it goes. Maybe there will be less schedule conflicts. Maybe we will be able to get some good stuff on sale for our festival the day of! I will let you know!
Friday, September 20, 2013
First PTA meeting.
We had our first PTA meeting last night before curriculum night in the gym. We allotted 30 minutes to:
Introduce ourselves
Go over the mission of our PTA
Approve the last meetings budget
Approve the 2013-2014 budget
Announce the next meeting
Receive a donation from the local Jaycee's.
We got it done in 16 minutes. Woot! One of the teachers later commented to me that maybe we will see more attendance at our meetings if people think they will be quick!
I never thought that I would love being PTA president but I do. I love being in the hub of what is going on at the school. I love being able to make a difference. I love talking with other parents about our school. #winning!
Introduce ourselves
Go over the mission of our PTA
Approve the last meetings budget
Approve the 2013-2014 budget
Announce the next meeting
Receive a donation from the local Jaycee's.
We got it done in 16 minutes. Woot! One of the teachers later commented to me that maybe we will see more attendance at our meetings if people think they will be quick!
I never thought that I would love being PTA president but I do. I love being in the hub of what is going on at the school. I love being able to make a difference. I love talking with other parents about our school. #winning!
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Open House/First day of School.
Last Tuesday was the first day of school for Kat. It was my mission as PTA president to ensure that the day went smoothly and that the children and their families felt welcomed. We started the morning by hanging out a banner that read, "Welcome to {the school I am PTA president of.}" As students began to congregate outside of the front door of the school many parents took pictures in front of our banner. It was very cute! We bought the banner using a Groupon deal for VistaPrint. Only $10 for a large vinyl banner. Good deal and we can use it again and again.
After the first bell rang we welcomed parents into the gym for coffee and doughnuts. We had about 40 people come and mingle, it was nice! We spent about $70 on the refreshments.
Once everyone cleared out, the PTA executive board and I got to work on the Open House. We had it planned that the PTA would have tables set up in the gym for different activities that go on throughout the school year. There were booths for:
PTA membership
Spiritwear
PTA reflections
Green Club
The local public library
Box Tops for Education
Scrip
Girl Scouts
Enrichment (our lunchtime clubs that are run by parent volunteers.)
Science Fair
We also had a sign up wall where parents could add their names to lists of activities they might like to volunteer for.
We created a scavenger hunt and placed signs around the school with sheets of stickers attached. Once students found the locations listed on their scavenger hunt cards, they were able to add a sticker. Once their cards were full they went to the front door and were given a prize. We had leftover pencils, highlighters and school buttons to choose from. It was a really popular activity and mostly free! I bought sheets of stickers from the Dollar Store and made copies on the school copier. It was less than $10 for the whole school to participate.
We ran our Open House for 90 minutes and it was the perfect length. Just long enough to feel like an event but short enough to not overwhelm. The PTA was able to present the information we needed to share and teachers were able to meet families. No one much liked having it on the first day of school logistically but it was nice to do it right away and have it DONE by the second day of school.
After the first bell rang we welcomed parents into the gym for coffee and doughnuts. We had about 40 people come and mingle, it was nice! We spent about $70 on the refreshments.
Once everyone cleared out, the PTA executive board and I got to work on the Open House. We had it planned that the PTA would have tables set up in the gym for different activities that go on throughout the school year. There were booths for:
PTA membership
Spiritwear
PTA reflections
Green Club
The local public library
Box Tops for Education
Scrip
Girl Scouts
Enrichment (our lunchtime clubs that are run by parent volunteers.)
Science Fair
We also had a sign up wall where parents could add their names to lists of activities they might like to volunteer for.
We created a scavenger hunt and placed signs around the school with sheets of stickers attached. Once students found the locations listed on their scavenger hunt cards, they were able to add a sticker. Once their cards were full they went to the front door and were given a prize. We had leftover pencils, highlighters and school buttons to choose from. It was a really popular activity and mostly free! I bought sheets of stickers from the Dollar Store and made copies on the school copier. It was less than $10 for the whole school to participate.
We ran our Open House for 90 minutes and it was the perfect length. Just long enough to feel like an event but short enough to not overwhelm. The PTA was able to present the information we needed to share and teachers were able to meet families. No one much liked having it on the first day of school logistically but it was nice to do it right away and have it DONE by the second day of school.
Learning to accept what I cannot change.
I feel like I am caught up in a funny test of some sort. The universe is "just checking" to see how tolerant I really am.
Back before I had children I would look at stories of LGBT people and internally shame their families for not accepting them. I would say, "Of course we will continue to love our child if s/he is gay."
Well, the universe threw us a curveball and gave us an atheist. I have been running through the gamut of emotion on this one. What have I done wrong? How did I fail my child? How can I "fix" this?
I have tolerance for and acceptance for people who are gay. I've basically ignored atheism but when it comes down to it. I want to change atheists into a believer of any kind. Jesus, Mohammed, the universe, nature, pick a deity and we're good. This not believing in anything thing kind of freaks me out.
I am learning acceptance and it isn't super comfortable. I want my child to believe what they believe because it is important to them and it feels right. Not because I drill it into them.
(These are my preliminary thoughts on this topic. I will add more as time goes by.)
Back before I had children I would look at stories of LGBT people and internally shame their families for not accepting them. I would say, "Of course we will continue to love our child if s/he is gay."
Well, the universe threw us a curveball and gave us an atheist. I have been running through the gamut of emotion on this one. What have I done wrong? How did I fail my child? How can I "fix" this?
I have tolerance for and acceptance for people who are gay. I've basically ignored atheism but when it comes down to it. I want to change atheists into a believer of any kind. Jesus, Mohammed, the universe, nature, pick a deity and we're good. This not believing in anything thing kind of freaks me out.
I am learning acceptance and it isn't super comfortable. I want my child to believe what they believe because it is important to them and it feels right. Not because I drill it into them.
(These are my preliminary thoughts on this topic. I will add more as time goes by.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)