Class Parent Handbook

2013-2014

Your Class Parent Coordinators: Rachel Fisher,
September 2013

Dear Class Parent,

Thank you so much for volunteering as class parent for your child’s classroom! This is a wonderful opportunity for you to make this school year extra special for your child and their classmates.

This handbook is designed as a guide to help you through the year. Enclosed you will find a list of your responsibilities as well as a description of what they entail. Also, you will find sample letters and flyers that you may use.

As a Class Parent, you are one of the most important links between the PTA and the parent community. PLEASE make every effort to have at least one Class Parent per class attend the general PTA meetings during the school year. The PTA Calendar of Events can be found at the end of the Class Parent Handbook.

You can keep abreast of any news and updates on our PTA website at sethboyden.com.

Thank you again for volunteering your time as a class parent. You are a critical asset for the teacher, the classroom, and the school. Please let us know if we can assist you in any way.

Rachel

How It Works

Classrooms generally have 3 class parents, one of which will be the Class Captain. Below is a list of activities that the class captain is responsible for.

Class Captain Responsibilities:

Liaison with the PTA and with the teacher.

Meet or email with the teacher to assess volunteer needs at the beginning of the school year and periodically after that.

Coordinate taskswith other class parents, including preparation of flyers and letters.

Obtain class list from the Class Parent Coordinator and share with other class parents. Establish class email distribution list and (if necessary) phone chain.

  • Update class list when children either join or leave the class based on information received from the teacher and/or Class Parent Coordinator.
  • Follow up with other class parents, teacher, and PTA for effective coverage and maximum participation.

NOTE: THE CLASS LIST IS A CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT. IT MUST BE USED ONLY FOR CONTACTING PARENTS FOR CLASS/SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND NOT FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SCHOOL DIRECTORY.

(this disclaimer should be on every email to the class distribution list)

In the beginning of the school year, the Class Captain should meet or email with the teacher to discuss:

  • How often she/he will need volunteers for class activities.
  • How many class events and parties the teacher expects to have during the school year and what level of involvement she/he expects from the parents.
  • Whether the teacher will be planning activities in the gardens.
  • If there are any children from non-English speaking families and in which language they prefer to communicate.
  • Whether there are any children with special diet restrictions or other medical conditions in the classroom, which need to be taken into consideration when planning events.
  • Reinforcing suggestions for healthy treats/snacks.

NOTE: For children with special diet restrictions, it might be a good idea to speak with their parents at the beginning of the year to let them know about parties so that they can decide how they wish to handle the food situation.

After meeting or emailing with the teacher, the Class Captain should delegate tasks to other class parents based on what they have expressed an interest in. Other Class Parent Responsibilities/Jobs include:

  1. Volunteer Coordinator: Recruit and coordinate volunteers for class activities.
  2. Treasurer: Collect money for teacher gifts and project/party supplies when necessary.
  3. Email/Phone Call Coordinator: Send emails/make phone calls to parents of class children to inform them about specific PTA/school events. Please do not just rely on emails, as not all parents will have access or check regularly. Communication preference should be collected early in the year.
  4. Party & Social Coordinator: Plan and coordinate class parties and plans a weeknight/weekend social event for families (optional).
  5. Garden Coordinator. Plan garden or outdoor activities with the teacher, organize and recruit volunteers for gardening activities.
  6. Photo/Publicity Coordinator: Take photos and/or video of class events and activities. Work with PTA Yearbook Coordinator. (OPTIONAL)

The Treasurer, Volunteer Coordinator, and Email/Phone Call Coordinator jobs should be done by one of the Class Parents and can be consolidated. If necessary, the other jobs can be delegated to other parents in the class who have expressed an interest in them.

Class Parent Checklist

Beginning of the School Year

Class Captain

  • Meets or emails with the teacher to discuss teacher needs, class calendar of events, and Back to School Night class parent introduction and Parent/Guardian Volunteer Form
  • Sends out an Introductory Letter to Parents/Guardians (example attached)
  • Introduces self and other Class Parents at Back to School Night
  • Circulates Parent/Guardian Sign Up and Volunteer Sheet at Back to School night and through backpacks (example attached)
  • Distributes CONFIDENTIAL Class List and Volunteer sheet information to other class parents
  • Communicates with Volunteer Coordinator and Party and Social Coordinator to satisfy teacher’s requests for class events that occur early in the year
  • Establishes schedule for representation at PTA general meetings

Email/Phone Call Coordinator

  • Creates class email distribution list (include disclaimer at bottom of every email)
  • Helps collect info for student directory. Follows up with parents/guardians via letters and phone calls to populate missing data
  • Collects communications and language preference data

Volunteer Coordinator and Party and Social Coordinator

  • Gets information from Class Captain to facilitate planning of class and PTA events that occur early in the school year. Some teachers may be able to let you know in advance what class activities/events will take place throughout the entire school year. If this is the case, you may devise a sign-up sheet for specific events asking for the number of volunteers and supplies needed specified by the teacher. This sheet can be used at Back to School Night.
  • If there is parent interest, Party and Social Coordinator begins planning a weeknight/weekend class social (optional)

Garden Coordinator

  • Meets or emails with teacher to discuss teacher’s goals for the garden in the upcoming year
  • Coordinates with Garden Committee

Rest of the Year

  • Assists teacher with class projects and activities as needed
  • Solicits feedback/needs/ideas and represents class to PTA and vice-versa
  • Emails or calls families for PTA/school events as needed
  • Plans and organizes parties in consultation with teacher
  • Collects money for parties, projects and teacher gifts

Volunteer Coordinator

Using the class list and the volunteer list compiled at the beginning of the year, the Volunteer Coordinator should contact parents to volunteer for class activities as needed. Try to give everyone a chance to volunteer. Your phone call may make the difference.

Please try to contact parents at least a week in advance of any activity.

NOTE: THE CLASS LIST IS A CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT. IT MUST BE USED ONLY FOR CONTACTING PARENTS FOR CLASS/SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND NOT FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE.

Garden Coordinator

The Garden Coordinator should be in touch with the teacher and Garden Committee to help plan and organize garden activities as needed. This may include offering suggestions, buying seeds or plants, creating a garden sign, recruiting parent volunteers, and overseeing planting or other activities with students in the garden. The Garden Coordinator is also responsible for overseeing the weeding and watering of the garden bed.

Tools are located in the locked garden shed. The combination for the lock is 3-12-5. Water is located near the ground to the left of the tool shed. It is behind a wood panel door and the hose is located on the ground near the shed.

Before beginning garden activities, please check with Garden maven Maggie Tuohy at or 973-762-3758 for guidance and assistance.

Class Party Coordinator

Every teacher has different ideas about class parties. Some teachers will have several class parties each year, some just one or two. Most teachers will have an idea of what activities they want to include, however a few will want you to plan the whole thing.

A few weeks before the party, contact the teacher and go over the specific needs for the planned party. Once you know the requirements, contact parents to volunteer their time and/or food and drinks. The volunteer list compiled at the beginning of the school year should be a good place to start when contacting parents/guardians. In addition, please try to contact parents/guardians who have not had the chance to attend any class activities or parties before.

If parents/guardians are to be invited to attend the party as guests, please contact them either by email, phone, or flyer.

Holiday Parties: When planning holiday parties in the past, teachers and class parents have focused on multicultural themes or general winter themes in order to make it an inclusive event for all children to enjoy.

Photo/Publicity Coordinator

Classes often give photo albums or DVDs of class events and activities to their teacher as an end of the year gift. If you will be doing this, you will need to regularly take photos and/or video, or collect them from other parents in the class.

Photos are also needed for the school yearbook. Photos and story ideas are occasionally needed for the school newsletter and school publicity. Photos and descriptions of garden activities are needed for the gardening section on the school website.

For the newsletter and the website, email any photos, story ideas, or project descriptions to Tia Swanson at .

Teacher Gifts

Classes generally give teachers gifts two to three times per year - before the winter holidays, during Teacher Appreciation Week (in May), and at the end of the school year. Gifts can consist of gift cards, cards, flowers, pictures that the children have drawn, cards or other artwork that the children have created, photo albums of class activities, DVDs of class activities, etc.

If you will be collecting money for a gift, send out a flyer at least three weeks in advance, requesting the money as it takes some time to receive it back. A sample gift money request is provided in the appendix. In the past, these requests have usually ranged from $5 to $10 per gift. Please consult with the class parents in your class in order to decide what amount to request. All requests must state clearly that it is voluntary to contribute towards the gift.

Also, if your class has a student teacher or an aide, please consider including something for them as well.

New Families

If a new child joins your child’s class during the school year you will be informed by the teacher or Class Parent Coordinator and given their name and phone number. The Class Captain should call the new family to welcome them, let them know who the class parents are, and tell them about volunteer opportunities and upcoming class events.

Non-English Speaking Parents

Please collect language preference information from the families in your class and pass along that information to Rachel at . We will be making efforts to translate key materials throughout the year.

Class Flyers & Letters

As a courtesy, show all prospective flyers and letters to the teacher for comments and revisions. In addition, all flyers and letters that are sent to students and their families need to be approved by the Principal.There are sample flyers in the Appendix, which have already been approved by the principal. For all other flyers, please email a copy to our school secretary, Marianne Faugno at and ask her to show it to Mr. Quiles for his approval. Flyers should be emailed to Marianne Faugno and cc’d to Mr. Quiles.

See “Seth Boyden PTA Copy Protocol” section in this handbook for making copies.
Weekend Family Social

If there is interest among the families in the class, class parents can organize a weekend social to give parents/guardians and their children the chance to get to know each other. It could be a potluck barbecue at someone’s house, a potluck brunch at a parent’s house, a picnic at a park, or something else that your class chooses.

If you would like to reserve a spot in a town park for a picnic, call the Maplewood Recreation Department at 763-4202 or the South Orange Recreation Department at 378-7754. Permits for school groups are free.

FundraisingEach grade level has been assigned one of the major events for the year (e.g., Harvest Festival). The events are for the entire community, but the grade level assigned to lead/”sponsor” the event will spearhead the planning, coordinating, and executing. Class Parents will be asked to take a major role in this. You will not need to do all of the work, but the PTA will ask you to help recruit volunteers.

Special Note to Class Parents:

One thing that makes Seth Boyden so special is the community feel of the school. To that end, the PTA is making an effort to increase the involvement of those families who have not been as engaged in the past (1 school, 100%!). Class Parents play an important role in this.

1)We are asking class parents to make an extra effort to give all parents/guardians in the class a chance to participate. Don’t make any assumptions about who can be available. Always ask everyone! A personal ask is the best approach.

2) To try and get a broader parent base, please use the class list to contact parents/guardians for all volunteer opportunities. Grandparents, aunts/uncles, and adult siblings may be able to participate when parents are not available. When you call parents/guardians for volunteer help, go through the class list in rotation.

Nuts and Bolts

  • Any questions should be directed to your Class Parent Coordinator or PTA coordinator for a PTA sponsored school event.
  • Always put your name, number and email on all class communications so parents/guardians have a way to contact you.
  • Give parents/guardians the opportunity to participate by giving them ample notification.
  • Be aware of any student allergies. If there are any food allergies, please notify parents/guardians prior to parties.
  • Any checks written to the school should be addressed to the Seth Boyden PTA.
  • Confidentiality – It is an important obligation to protect each student’s right to privacy. Information or observations about individual children are to be kept strictly confidential.

Discuss any specific problems or questions that arise only with the student’s teacher.

  • During the school year, you will have to send out flyers. Please see “Seth Boyden PTA Copy Protocol” on the following page.
  • Please show respect and care when in the Main Office conducting business. Do not use cell phones. Be sure to ask permission prior to using the copier. Make appointments to see Mr. Quiles or Ms. Horn, whenever possible. Take conversations outside of the office so as not to distract the staff and students.
  • Encourage parents to recognize and show appreciation to teachers beyond Teachers Appreciation Week. A quick email, note, or card goes a long way to encourage the faculty and staff!

If you are unable to continue the role as the Class Parent for any reason, please contact your Class Parent Coordinator so that they can ensure that a replacement is found.

Seth Boyden

PTA Copy Protocol

For copies of approved classroom flyers*:

1)For copies of 25 or less, please bring the material to be copied to the Main Office. Please ask Marianne or Catherine whether or not it’s a good time to have copies made. Marianne or Catherine will make the copies. Please limit the use of these copiers to between 10am-2pm. Copiers may NOT be used by parents. Copying will NOT be allowed before 9:15 am or from 2:50 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Even during allowed hours, teachers & staff copying needs take priority. Please understand, your copies may be put to the side until we are able to accommodate the request.

2)Go to the Board of Education office (525 Academy Street) and use their copier. You must call or email in advance to reserve time. Contact Sharon Rago at (973) 762-5600 ext. 1801 or . Our school’s PTA code is 8896. You can use whatever paper they have, there is colored paper in the cabinet.