Category Archives: Volunteers Needed

Staff Appreciation Week

Staff Appreciation Week is May 3-7. There are many ways we can show our appreciation to the amazing teachers and school staff who have worked hard – and creatively! – to teach and support our students during this school year.  Read below or check out the flyer for details.

We love our teachers a Latte! Staff can stop by Hotwire coffee any day this week for a drink of their choice. How You Can Help: donate any amount via PayPal (paypal.me/dawnfranklin1) or Venmo (@Dawn-Franklin-6) 

Sign up here to help shower our staff with gifts of gratitude.  Deliver gifts to the school between Monday, May 3rd and 10am on Thursday, May 6th.

Teaching is a work of heart! How You Can Help: click here to head over to our Jamboard to have your student leave a heart filled note to our staff 

Let’s sing out our praises for our amazing staff. Snap a photo of your student with a note of thanks to be included in our video to staff. Send photos to Noirin at hapachik@mac.com by Wednesday May 5. Click here for photo ideas (video edited for student privacy). 

Virtual Lunch Bunch- Volunteers Needed

Dear Genesee Hill Volunteers,

Our school kicked off a Virtual Lunch Bunch for our students the first week of February. The teachers are seeking ways for kids to connect “outside” of class like you would at a cafeteria table of 6-10 students. We are building as we go with hopes to expand our reach as volunteers sign up. We also hope that when spring arrives and vaccines are further distributed, that we can take this program outside with brown bag lunches, classroom and cohort recess, scavenger hunts, geocaching, etc. I need your help facilitating this idea. Please help recruit too! Please send this to any Genesee Hill Parent or grandparent/caregiver that you think has capacity to help.

Objective: Connect Genesee Hill students, build community while online learning continues.

Who: Caregivers of 4th-5th graders, then 3rd, and eventually open to all grades.

What: You will be doing one of the following: 1) facilitating a breakout room (being the adult in the room to handle inappropriate behavior if need be), 2) “teaching” or helping your student lead a game or craft, or 3) facilitate outdoor activities (brown bag lunch, etc) if and when we can do this

Room size: We aim to have different break out rooms for kids to interact in that can hold 6-15 kids at a time.

Time: Presenters log in their room at 12:05, students enter 12:15-12:45. Start with 2 days a week, build to 3-5 days.

How: We have a calendar on google docs that is updated as new activities are created. Students are sent the calendar by their homeroom teachers each week. Students enter through provided Teams links to the breakout room of their choice. Volunteers are in a room awaiting kids to join. Then they facilitate the activity for 20-30 minutes. The rooms have an array of options. Here are examples:
o Interactive games – Escape Rooms, Minecraft, Among us, Gather.Town, etc
o Discovery – learn about animals or wonders of the world like the Pyramids or White Rhino through book read alouds or fieldtrips to museums and zoos
o Fitness themes – Yoga, Jump rope, Hip Hop dance, Go Noodle
o Enrichment options like crafting, fingerknitting, Genius Hour ideas, etc
o Social connections, connect new students through Kahoot, Gather.Town,etc.

Training: Asynchronous training will be provided to help guide online experience, online safety, teams features (leading teams/zoom meetings, sharing screen and other helpful tips).

Volunteer Commitment: One time, once a week or once a month, it’s up to you!

Timeline:
2/1-5: Roll out calendar with 2-3 options that week to 4th grade.
2/1-28: Build momentum with wide variety of options for all cohorts by last week of February. Continue weekly through school year as needed.

We can’t do this without a team of volunteers who can host the rooms. Maybe you have an idea not listed above? Or go through the below links to see if something appeals to you?

https://www.edutopia.org/article/13-virtual-games-play-your-elementary-classroom
https://www.thesuburbanmom.com/2020/05/01/virtual-escape-rooms/

Please go to this volunteer sign up (find the “start here” tab) if you are able to commit to any of the following, and include how often (one time, weekly, monthly, etc) …including if it’s to say you can join us when we roll out to the younger grades.

Have more questions? Check out the Q & A here.
Kelley O’Connor, Room Parent Coordinator, 102Kelleyo@gmail.com

Check the schedule, Q&A, and sign up here.

First Grade Cohort – Before School Recess Volunteers Needed

1st Grade Cohort, it is your turn for before-school recess and Volunteer of the Day! This group is responsible from Jan 3–March 3rd. Take a look at the Sign-up Genius and help when you can. Our priority is covering the before-school recess slots!

Before School Recess
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4cafa82fab9-before4 

Volunteer of the Day
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4babac28a4f49-2ndgrade

 

Genesee Hill Book Fair – Starts 11/18 @ 2:15pm

We’ve spent the day getting ready for the book fair and  – WOW! – it’s going to be amazing!

image1Book fairs are a great way to build an incredible home library and support your school library! All proceeds are used to buy new books for our school library.

Come by the book fair before or after your conference or in the evening with your family! Students are more than welcome to stay in the library during your scheduled conference time.

Book Fair Hours
Friday, Nov. 18: 2:15 pm–5:30 pm
Monday, Nov. 21: 8:00 am–7:30 pm
Tuesday, Nov. 22: 8:00 am–7:30 pm

 

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS to help us make this event a success!

Sign up to volunteer here: Book Fair Volunteers

 

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PTA Seeking Volunteers for Fundraising & Auditing

We still need a Fundraising Apprentice to work along side Lorie Bennett, Fundraising Chair for the 2015-2016 school year.  Please email fundraising@schmitzparkpta.org if you are interested.

And we are also seeking a few volunteers to help audit the 2015-2016 budget. The committee will meet for one afternoon in July. Please contact Michelle Wonder vicetreasurer@schmitzparkpta.org for further details.

The PTA Board Needs You!

Please consider joining the 2015-2016 PTA board!  There are OPEN positions that must be filled in order to keep our PTA running effectively. Help support the legacy Schmitz Park parents, students, and staff that have worked so hard to build. You can contact us at board@schmitzparkpta.org for a list of roles & responsibilities. Elections will be held at the next General Meeting on May 28th 

nominations

Also we will be presenting the new budget for 2015-2016 at the meeting on May 28th  however this year’s budget and finances must be audited by a Finance Audit Committee after the fiscal year closes on June 30th. This is an important process (and required by Washington State PTA Bylaws) and gives invaluable insight into what funds are being used for. It is a single task commitment and the committee will meet for one afternoon in July. Please contact Michelle Wonder at treasurer@schmitzparkpta.org to sign up.

 

Schmitz Park Science Night is Coming

Join us for the 2nd Annual Schmitz Park Science Celebration Night on Thursday May 14th from 6:30-8pm.

At Schmitz Park science is in every aspect of what our kids do — from composting in the lunch room and helping replant native plants in our own Schmitz Park forest. In the classroom, our teachers lead our students through many scientific discoveries from textiles, terrariums and soil in the lower levels to salmon cycles, Islandwood and Salish Seas at the upper levels.  Science night is an opportunity to celebrate our discoveries and learn more through science organizations in our Seattle community.

science 2

Image Courtesy West Seattle Blog

Last year’s Science Night was a great success with salmon from Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, squid dissection by Ms. Poole and robots from the Museum of Flight. They will be back along with others including Arduino boards from the Seattle App Academy, the Seattle Aquarium, Camp Long where you can compare your athletic abilities to our local animals… and so many more. Come celebrate this year!

For more information on Science Night, please click here.

We are in need of volunteers and have many fun ways to get involved.  Please sign up here

Seeking a Blog Manager

volunteersDo you like to be in on the latest news going on at school?  Can you create intriguing headlines, text, and photos that engage the school community?  Then we need you!  We are seeking a volunteer Blog Manager to partner with the Communications Chair on all communications for the Schmitz Park blog. Our school is growing and we need someone who can keep our parent community informed on all the latest happenings in and around the school.  Posts include school events, news from the PTA and WSPTA, legislative issues, and community news. Estimated time commitment is 1-2 hours per week.  Position can be done remotely from home.   WordPress experience is not required, we will train you.  Please contact secretary@schmitzparkpta.org if you are interested.