Sequiota Elementary PTA Glossary of Terms 2010-2011
Sequiota PTA meetings are held once a month on a Thursday at 7:00p.m. Every parent is always welcome at PTA meetings. In addition to discussing upcoming programs, budget allocations, and school events, our principal gives a report. Attending PTA meetings is a great way to meet other parents, ask questions, get to know the teachers and principal and find out what's going on at Sequiota.
Glossary of Sequiota PTA Terms
There are many volunteer opportunities at Sequiota. This list of terms will give you some idea of what our PTA does. Sequiota prides itself on the involvement of our families. Most of our programs rely on the help of volunteers. There will be a Volunteer Fair at Open House to inform those who wish to get involved.
Artist In Residence: In conjunction with our art teacher and a local artist, students are presented with and participate in a specific art medium.
Birthday Club: Around the time of your child's birthday, you will be offered a chance to donate a book to the library in your child's name. Your child can be the first to check out the new book!
Book Fair: Held in the fall and spring, the Scholastic Book Fair offers a great opportunity to purchase books. Your child will have the opportunity to “browse” during the week and bring home a “wish list.” You are not obligated to purchase anything. There are also chances for parents to shop on their own with their child. The fall book fair is a library fund raiser, and the spring book fair is “buy one, get one free” for the students; it is not a fund raiser.
Box Tops: Save the small Box Tops coupons from specially marked packages of food. Send them to school with your child and he/she will get to visit the Box Tops Store once a quarter. Sequiota gets 10 cents per Box Top.
Bulletin Boards: Check the bulletin board in the lobby and the one in the cafeteria by the stage for important information.
Cards and Flowers: This is a position that assists with “thank-you's” and “get-well's.”
Capital Campaign: Every PTA has to fund raise! At Sequiota, we conduct a Capital Campaign in the fall asking for a one-time donation to the school (rather than asking students to go door-to-door 2 or 3 times a year). This money is used to improve our classrooms, improve our school, sponsor great programs for our students, assist with field trips, and fulfill requests and much more. For example: we have raised over $50,000 for our school in the past 3 years and now every classroom has a Smart Board! Watch for information in September about our Capital Campaign.
Clothing Bank: New or gently worn children's clothing is always needed at the Springfield PTA Clothing Bank. Sequiota holds a clothing drive once a year for this program. Volunteers are needed from time to time to help work a shift when it is our turn to participate.
E-Mail Contact: Drew Sparks is our E-Mail contact person. E-Mail him at sequiotaweekly@gmail.com if you wish to receive weekly information about Sequiota. Additionally, if you have information you would like to include in our weekly e-mail newsletter, you may send it to Drew as well.
Fifth Grade Contact: The fifth grade parents always do something special at the end of the school year. If you have a fifth-grader, consider getting involved with this special committee.
Fun Night: Held in the spring, this is an all-school carnival for students and parents to enjoy! Each classroom sponsors a game that the homeroom parents coordinate. Dinner can be purchased that night, and we traditionally have a basket raffle that involves each homeroom putting together a themed basket to be raffled off. A used book sale is also held that night.
Health Screening: Held during school hours, our nurse coordinates a screening of vision, hearing, blood pressure, height, weight and dental care. Students in grades K, 1, 3, and 5 are screened and results are sent home.
Holiday Baskets: Sequiota traditionally adopts families to support during the holidays each year. We have a lot of fun with themed donations days and special wish-lists during December. Participation is voluntary, of course.
Homeroom Parents: At the beginning of the school year you will be invited to serve as a Homeroom Parent. The homeroom parents plan and host 2 classroom parties, the Holiday Party and the Valentine's Day Party. Homeroom Parents are also in charge of Fun Night for their room's Fun Night activities. Each room will need coordinators, parents to help and attend the parties and work a shift at Fun Night and/or parents to provide items or cash for these events. Homeroom parents are also in charge of their room's raffle basket for Fun Night.
Hospitality: This position mainly focuses on Kindergarten Registration and any city-wide PTA meetings Sequiota may be required to host. Kindergarten Registration is an event that is held in the spring for incoming Kindergartners. It is a great way to meet new parents.
Library Volunteers: Volunteering in the library is a great way to help Sequiota and stay involved.
Marquee: Check our wonderfully worded marquee, located to the left of the parking lot when you are pulling in, to see upcoming dates and events.
Membership: No PTA would be complete without its great members and for the past 2 years, the Sequiota PTA and Dr. Cauldwell have prided themselves in our membership by winning the much coveted PTA Membership Award. An award is given to the school with the highest percentage of PTA memberships. Our PTA Membership Drive begins at Meet the Teacher and goes through Open House. Your membership benefits our school.
Newsletter: You can access classroom news by using the Sequiota website at www.sps.k12.mo.us/sequiota
Open House: Held in September, this is a chance to visit your child's classroom, chat with his/her teachers, and learn aspects of your child's day. PTA offers an affordable dinner at school that night.
Pasta Express: Once a month, we have Pasta Express night. Sequiota families are invited to dine at Pasta Express and a percentage of the night's earnings are given back to our school.
Parent Volunteer Coordinator: This is a PTA position that involves educating and keeping track of our many volunteers.
Reading Program: Volunteers receive training, and then individually tutor K-2 students who need extra help in reading as identified by their teachers.
Reflections: Held in the fall, this National PTA contest is held school-wide, with winners advancing to city, state and national competitions. The categories include: music, visual arts, literature, and photography.
RIF: Three times a year, the Reading Is Fundamental program gives new books to students in the lower grades.
Site Council: A way for our school to keep in touch with Dr. Norm Ridder, the Superintendent of Springfield Public Schools.
Spirit Days: Once a month, students get to come to school dressed for a particular theme. Some of these themes include: Crazy Hair Day, Favorite Sports Team Day, Pajama Day, 60's Day, Pirate Day, etc.
Sports Day: (Sometimes referred to as Field Day.) This is a full day of indoor and outdoor fun and games held toward the end of the school year on a school day which requires oodles of parental help. Our kids really look forward to this day! Dad's can volunteer for the pie-throwing contest!!
Student Directory: Each year, (with permission) PTA publishes a student directory; a very helpful tool for parents and students.
Teacher/Staff Appreciation: This committee honors our teachers with meals and “goodies” throughout the year.
Teacher Birthdays: Our teachers are also honored for their birthdays.
Teacher Wish List: Each teacher makes a list of needs and wants at the beginning of the school year for families who would like to provide extras to the classroom. Look for the wish lists at Open House.
T-Shirt Sales: Sequiota-wear is available for purchase throughout the year.
Volunteer Fair: This new program was created by Gayle Hoogstraet and is designed to help families, especially those that are new to our school, become more educated about the availabilities of getting involved at Sequiota.
Watchdog Dads: Dads, grandfathers, uncles, etc. are invited to schedule a day to spend at school assisting with a variety of routine activities. These “watchdogs” are positive role models and provide a lot of great help.
Yearbook: Throughout the year, the yearbook committee takes pictures and puts together a special yearbook that is available for purchase towards the end of the year. Parents are given the opportunity to create a special message to go in the yearbook for their child.
If you are interested in volunteering for one or more of our committees and/or programs, please fill out the form below and return it to the office as soon as possible.
Program or Committee:_______________________________________________________________
Name:________________________________________ Phone(s):_____________________________
Name and Teacher of Child(ren):_________________________________________________
