Chairperson Guidelines

Welcome!  We’re very happy that you have decided to be a 2010-11 PTA Committee Chairperson.  We are looking forward to working with you this year.  Thank you for commitment commitment to the PTA.

If you are new to this position, the first thing you should do is contact the previous chairperson for your committee.  Past Committee Chairs List This person is your best source for detailed information about your committee’s responsibility.  See "Giving Back" below. 

PLANNING YOUR EVENT & AFTER-SCHOOL ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY

Coordinate the date & confirm space  See PTA calendar for events calendar.  If no date is shown, coordinate with PTA president.  For after-school enrichment programs, contact Nancy Buscemi in the Westbriar ES office to reserve a day, time and session length.  Limit your sessions to two per year (i.e. spring and fall or winter and spring) so that we can accommodate each program. At this time, you will need to confirm a space/room for your program. 

Event Planning Sheet  Fill out an event planning sheet detailing the needs for your event and return to the Assistant Principal (AP) at least two weeks prior to your event. Make sure the AP is kept informed of any schedule or location changes.

Note: If you need to use the cafeteria and or kitchen, you must also coordinate use with the Kitchen Manager (an additional fee may be charged for the food service specialist to oversee the event).

 

Additonal Information for people coordinating after-school activities:

NOTIFY TEACHERS  submit sumbit a roster to Nancy Buscemi ONE WEEK prior to the first day of the class.  The roster (preferably) should be  grouped by teacher by grade in ascending and alphabetical order and turned into Nancy Buscemi.

 

DISMISSAL  There needs to be some coordination at dismissal to take a roll of the students attending class – if a child is on the roster and is not in attendance, someone needs to check in the office to see if the child was absent that day - if not, the office should assist in tracking down the child so they don't go home by mistake on the bus.

It is recommended that you recruit a parent volunteer to help the staff person for the activity (i.e. parent to help Young Rembrandts staff, etc).  

PICKUP AFTER CLASS  The PTA is responsible for the children - not Westbriar.  You, or a designated committee member, will need to stay at school until all children have been picked up.  Please use the Parent Sign Out Form and have each parent, guardian or designated pick-up person, sign the children out.  Have a list of parent's phone numbers handy, in case a parent is late.    

CARE OF CHILDREN  Please advise your contact with the vendor that they should never leave the children unattended in the classroom.  Bathroom trips should be made in pairs, therefore allowing the staff person to stay in the class

EMERGENCIES  If a child becomes ill in class, they should contact the parent – not the office.  The Westbriar office closes at 4:30.

CHECKS        Check in the PTA Room AND the office for checks, permission slips, form, etc. that may pertain to your club or enrichment activity.

 

GENERAL

•    Membership in the PTA is encouraged for all chairpersons.  Join the PTA

•      “PTA Flyers and other PTA Communications (hereinafter “documents”)”      Westbriar Elementary School PTA should be printed at the top of all PTA documents. 

•       PTA data and files are generally produced in Microsoft Word or Excel format.  this is to permit ease of file review, email, and transitions for future committees.

•      Familiarize yourself with information information found on the PTA Website.  The more you know, the better resource you will be for your committee members.

•    PTA Room is a resource for you.  It contains items that are used for each program.  If you need supplies for a program you are helping with, please see what is in the room first - before you purchase new materials. You can view the volunteer room inventory from here! Please help us keep the room clean. 

•        If you are coordinating a new program, you must fill out a Community Use form that is found on the PTA website.  Click here Forms and Documents

•   Copy Procedures  “101” is the PTA code for the school copier.  Should you need to make copies of flyers to go into the Tuesday folders, you will need this code to use the Westbriar copier.  Committee Chairpersons (or designated committee team member) are responsible for making copies that will go home in the Tuesday Folders.  Submit copies to front office staff.  Whenever possible, only distribute to oldest/only.  There is a list taped next to the copier of all the teachers and the number of students in their class.  Make copies for oldest/only (O/O) and collate it by the teacher.  Put the teacher's name and "o/o" (or if you want to distribute to ALL students, just put the teacher's name and "all") on the top of the first sheet so that the office staff can distribute them to the right classroom.  Bring your stack of copies sorted by teacher and give to the office staff. There is colored paper in the copy room in the white cabinet under the sink. Please have your copies ready by Tuesday morning at 9:30 am to ensure that they go into the folders.

•       All contracts need to be reviewed and approved by the PTA President.  Also, remember that all contracts entered into by your committee must be signed by the PTA President in order to be valid.

•    If you need volunteers for your event or activity, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Elizabeth Keegan.  Volunteers are generally solicited in the summer and in the fall.

•    We recommend using an electronic method of "sign up" for volunteers, try SignUp Genius  THIS IS EASY - if you have ever sent an EVITE, you can use this system.  It will make your job a whole lot easier!!!  If you need assistance, contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Elizabeth Keegan.

•    If your email changes, please login and change it in your profile, and email Marcy P. Davidson immediately so that your webpage can reflect the change.

 

GETTING THE WORD OUT

 

The Falcon Express is the PTA’s electronic communication E-Blast that is sent every Tuesday to Westbriar parents.  It has a brief one or two sentenced description of the upcoming events and links to the Westbriar PTA website.  

• To advertise your event or program, please submit the following info to Trang Sabel by 5pm on the Thursday prior to the week you would like your promotional material to be included in the e-blast.  Late submissions will not be included in the Falcon Express.

 Items to be submitted for the Falcon Express:

 

1.  One to four sentence "blurb" that describe your event or call to action – this will appear on the Falcon Express email. (all "blurbs" will link to the relevant page on the PTA website as opposed to a file attachment)

2.  Word document containing all information pertaining to your program. This information will automatically be added to the Westbriar PTA website by the webmaster.  A link will be included in the Falcon Express directly to your program page.

 

• If you want a hard copy to be sent home in the Tuesday Folders through Westbriar, you are in charge of making copies. You should not send a hard copy home unless absolutely necessary to get attendance - no more than two weeks in a row will be permitted. Documents that are to go home in Tuesday Folders in the student's backpacks must be approved by the PTA President and Mrs. Goodwin via email.  Direct your email to Trang Sabel.  The PTA letterhead template can be found under PTA Business/Forms and Documents.  Forms and Documents
• On-line event registration is now going to be implemented for every program.  If not included in Step #2, include all registration information including prices, limit on registrants, etc. in an email to Marcy Davidson.  The link to on-line registration will appear on your program/event page as well as the Events Calendar. 
• To place an event on the school sign outside send an email to Lee Anne Ritter.
• To utilize the display case or bulletin board in the front lobby, check the schedule Here.  Priority will go to ongoing/upcoming events. Contact Trang Sabel to receive approval for using the bulletin board, and then create your advertisement. Materials to decorate the areas can be found in the Art Room.  Please be sure to remove items directly after your event.
• To announce an event on the closed circuit TV, email the Assistant Principal who will make sure your event is advertised to the students during the morning and afternoon announcements.

 

WEBSITE

Most programs and events already have a dedicated web page on the  used for communicating information to parents and students.  If you do not see a page for your activity, please contact Marcy P. Davidson to request one.  To maintain a consistent "look and feel" of the PTA website, all content, design and layout of each page is at the discretion of the webmaster.

FINANCIAL RECORDS

Keep a record of all your committee’s expenses.  Submit all reimbursement forms to the PTA Treasurer directly or via the steel drop-box in the PTA Room.  It is the responsibility of each committee member to fill out itemized deposit slips for each check and monies received.  Once the deposits slips are completely filled out, submit those items to the PTA Treasurer.  Both of these forms can be found under the PTA Business/Forms and Documents section of the PTA website.  Forms and Documents

The Budget for all PTA Committees will be finalized at the September PTA meeting.  It is available on the PTA website under PTA Business.  Please review the budget and contact the PTA Treasurer if you have any questions or concerns about your budget.  Also, please do your best to stay within the budget allocated for your committee.  Should you need an increase in your budget, please be sure to contact the PTA Treasurer immediately. 

COLLECTING MONEY FROM PARTICIPANTS

If your activity requires you to collect any type of fees, you should encourage online payment & registration as much as possible via your advertisement.  Online payment means the money goes directly to our Paypal account and to our books and you don't need to submit any forms to the Treasurer. If you allow manual payment (check or cash) prior to the event day:

- provide explicit instructions on your registration on how the check/cash is to be submitted ("Put your check/cash in an envelope marked Spanish Program and send in to school with your child"). Also note that space is not guaranteed until the payment is received.

- the office staff will collect the checks and place them in a black accordian file in the school office. Please check this black accordian file frequently (at least once a week). You may call the school office to see if anything is in your tab for pick-up

- You will need to update the registration website as "paid" in order to keep the count of registrants accurate (contact Marcy P. Davidson for help). 

- When checks are collected, please prepare them using the deposit slips as outlined under FINANCIAL RECORDS.

- Please the deposit slips and checks in the Steel Drop Box in the PTA Room. The Treasurer will check this box every Monday by 9am. Alternatively, you can contact the Treasurer to arrange mailing or drop off.

MONTHLY MEETINGS

PTA meetings will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Westbriar Library on the second Wednesday of each month.  The President will contact you in advance to confirm whether you will be available to give a report.  Please feel free to contact the President, if you would like an agenda topic added for discussion at each meeting.  (In December, a social gathering is held instead of a meeting, check the Events Calendar for more information)

GIVING BACK

As you go through the year, please remember to keep detailed records.  One day you will need to pass this important information on to the next committee chairperson -- should you decide to seek another committee position next year or move on to a new school.  Your records about your ideas for the future will be an invaluable item to share with the next chairperson that takes over your committee. 

 

FACEBOOK

New!  Westbriar PTA has a page on FB.  You are encouraged to join and use this venue as a resource to advertise your events, recruit volunteers and participate in discussions. Click on facebook to join the group.       

                                

Thank you for agreeing to volunteer your time to the PTA. We are looking forward to a wonderful year.  We’re so happy that you are part of our team. If at any time you are concerned about a PTA matter, please feel free to contact the Trang Sabel or any PTA Officer.