Volunteer Programs
Longfellow Elementary School
2010 – 2011
Volunteers are an essential part of Longfellow’s comprehensive educational and enrichment programs. Together, the staff and parents of Longfellow Elementary School work hard to inspire our children with a love of learning and to provide them with the environment and tools to learn successfully. Without volunteers to lead activities and fundraise, many essential programs would not exist.
Maintaining Longfellow’s tradition of academic excellence requires a commitment FROM EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US. Whether the amount of time and resources you have to share is small or large, there is a valuable contribution that you can make. Volunteering is a wonderful way to participate in your child’s education and show him or her that you think school is important.
Please read the following packet carefully and check as many areas as possible where you can participate. Feel free to volunteer in as many areas as you wish. Join us in the work, and in the pleasure, of helping all our children to grow and thrive.
Erica Ingber
Principal
Katherine Flores
PTA President
PTA President
If you have any further questions about any of the volunteer opportunities, please contact Maria Maldonado at 396-5720, or mmaldonado90@pusd.us.
ONGOING OPPORTUNITIES
These jobs require an hour or two a week or less, to be done at school or at home.
ROOM PARENT – Each K-6 classroom needs one room parent to help coordinate with various fundraisers and school activities. Additionally, two to three other parents are needed per classroom to assist the room parent. Responsibilities include: getting out all important information via email to all parents, helping the teacher coordinate field trips, special classroom events, and alerting parents about all school events. Room parents are a vital link between teachers, parents and the PTA. This is an ongoing job that will continue throughout the school year. Hours vary, but most work can be done via email.
LIBRARY – The school’s library needs volunteers! Volunteers help the librarian by re-shelving books, helping children find books, notifying the teachers of overdue books, and assisting with the lunch program. During lunch recess several days a week children have the opportunity to come to the library to do art projects or play games quietly.
PTA - The Longfellow PTA is a very active non-profit organization. Our mission is to represent our members and to empower and support them with skills in advocacy, leadership, and communication to positively impact the lives of all children and families. To achieve this we fund classroom supplies, field trips, campus beautification, and school community-building events, such as parent blacktop coffees, family movie nights and spring festivals.
BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE – We are always looking to make our school look as wonderful on the outside as it is on the inside. If you’ve got a green thumb, love gardening, or you just plain love to roll up your sleeves and get dirty, then this committee is for you. We are also looking for incoming Kindergarten parents to keep up the Kinder garden specifically.
PARENT WORK PARTIES – This is the perfect volunteer opportunity for the commitment-phobic. Our monthly work parties require no specific time commitment or specific skill, just the desire to help. You can help for five minutes or for three hours; the decision is yours. The idea of these “parties” is to help the teachers with copying, cutting, stapling, collating, etc. Please pop in and help. You can even bring your morning coffee.
REFRESHMENTS – This committee provides refreshments to various meetings throughout the year.
LONGFELLOW FRIENDS – Longfellow Friends are parents who volunteer time to provide support to new families at Longfellow, and by acting as friendly “ambassadors” for families with questions about Longfellow.
ONGOING FUNDRAISING – Make money for Longfellow while you shop! Sign up your Ralphs, Vons, and Food for Less club cards at eScrip.com, and a percentage of your purchases will go to our school.
TEACHER APPRECIATION – We appreciate our teachers at Longfellow!!!!! We demonstrate this by providing lunch during Teacher Appreciation Week and special snacks throughout the year.
TRANSLATORS – On occasion, we need translators for a variety of written notices that go out to the student body. Oral interpretation is needed periodically at school meetings and at conferences.
TUTORING – Tutors work one-on-one with students at school for ½ hour or more a week to improve reading and math skills. Volunteers work directly with teachers and students. This tutoring program takes place during school hours. Training is provided.
WEBSITE – A Website chairperson is needed to help coordinate tasks, review and update material as needed, and serve as the liaison between the school administration and the PTA. Web design or programming skills are not necessary.
FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES
These events occur once or twice a year and require a week or more of concentrated effort. Some of the work must be done during the day, however each event has jobs that can be performed during the evening for those who are not available during the day.
FALL FUNDRAISER – The Gift Wrap drive begins in Sept. Volunteers are needed to distribute materials and help process orders.
FALL FESTIVAL – Friday, Oct. 23rd, Longfellow will have a costume parade, pumpkin sale, and movie night. Volunteers are needed for set up, pumpkin sales, and clean up.
BOOK FAIR – Our school greatly benefits from the Spring Book Fair. Every year this even raises money for new books for our library. Volunteers are needed to help set up and break down the book fair as well as to spend one or two hours selling books at school during the week. This is a great way to help the school and meet a lot of people in the Longfellow community!
T-SHIRT SALES – Longfellow Elementary T-shirts are sold year round at school events. Sales help is needed for these times. Also, we’re looking for a “shadow” to follow the current chairperson in charge of T-shirt sales and take over this position in 2010-2011.
SCHOOL EVENTS
KINDERGARTEN ROUND-UP – Held in the spring, this event for prospective families is an informative conversation about the Kindergarten program at Longfellow. Help is needed in publicizing the event ahead of time, organizing refreshments and warmly greeting parents on the night of the conversation.
STARGAZING - A great family event where local astronomers set up telescopes on the Longfellow blacktop and local restaurants provide food. Assistance is needed in event coordination. It is usually held late February early March.
SNOW DAY - Twenty tons of snow is created on site with sled runs and snow men. A great school spirit builder. Volunteers are needed for event coordination, staff the ticket counter, fluff the snow, and help kids on sleds for the sled run.
RESOURCES
We know that our Longfellow community is a creative and talented group. We would like to establish a bank of parent talents, services and resources that the school can utilize. If you have friends or relatives who can participate, please include information on their talents and abilities as well.
GRAPHIC ART – We always call on the same one or two talented people for our multitude of graphic arts needs. We need signs, posters, invitations, and flyers for many of the events we sponsor. If you are a graphic artist with a computer, WE NEED YOU.
LARGE VOLUME COPYING – Although the school has a powerful copying machine, we often have copying needs that exceed its capability. During the year parents produce the contents of this opening packet as well as all the flyers that accompany each event. We are always looking for free or extremely low-cost copying.
ADDITIONAL SKILLS AND TALENTS – Did we forget something that you would like to contribute? Do you have a skill but you aren’t sure how to apply it? Let us know. Grant writers, artists, florists, caterers, fundraisers, videographers, whatever – let us know where your talents lie!
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