September Volunteer Opportunties & Upcoming Meeting

The Dolphin Volunteer Program is underway The two classes with the most volunteer hours will win pizza parties in December and ice cream parties in May. Remember to sign-in at the front desk to log your volunteer hours. There are three ways to volunteer – Classroom support, School-wide support, and PTO support. Here are some upcoming volunteer opportunities:

Classroom Support: Contact your child’s teacher by email or send a note to let her know the days you are available. Keep in mind  teachers need help, but not all teachers need the same help. Here are some ways to help teachers on a weekly basis: make copies, cut out instructional materials, help with learning centers,tear sheets out of workbooks, chaperon field trips (3rd grade field trip on September 28th), etc. Ask your child's teacher how you can help.

School-wide Support: Book Fair helpers needed (September 13-20), contact Sherry Cieutat NFES Media Specialist to let her know the days and hours you are available. Ms.Cieutat can be reached at cieutat.sherry@mail.fcboe.org

PTO Support:Volunteer to be a Room Parent. Contact your child’s teacher by email or send a note letting her know you will serve in this position. See the Room Parent blog for more information about Room Parent duties at http://nfes-roomparents.blogspot.com/

There will be a highly recommended Volunteer Committee/Room Parent Committee meeting on Wednesday,September 28th. You may attend the 8:00 am session or the 5:30 pm session. Both sessions will cover the same information and last no more than 30 minutes.

Remember to check the Volunteer Committee blog at http://northfayettevolunteers.blogspot.com/for Volunteer Dos & Don’ts, Committee information, volunteer opportunities,and Benefits of Volunteering.

Thanks in advance for your willingness to volunteer!

NFES PTO Volunteer Committee Mission & Duties

Mission: 

To promote and encourage volunteerism at North Fayette Elementary School. As a coordinating body of the school, this committee is responsible for matching the needs of the NFE students, teachers, and administrators with the parent and community volunteers.

Chairperson's Duties:

·        Collaborate with NFES Volunteer Coordinators
·        Maintain an active log of volunteers.
·        Facilitate committee meetings.
·        Designate volunteer lead & subcommittee for each event.
·        Update Volunteer Information on NFES Website & Volunteer Blogs
·        Provide ongoing feedback to the PTO President & Committee reports to the PTO.

Committee Members' Duties:

·        Assist with the planning & execution of events.
·        Chair or co-chair subcommittees
·        Recruit additional volunteers.
·        Volunteer in the classrooms, at school events, and PTO activities
·        Coordinate supplies for events.
·        Attend PTO meetings (August, October, December, February, April)
·        Attend Volunteer Committee Meetings (September, December, April)

Volunteering Dos and Don'ts

Do be flexible.

It is rare to find the "perfect" fit right away. Keep an open mind---you might discover something new that interests you!

Don’t bring preschool children to the school.

Parents are required to make babysitting arrangements for preschool aged children. While we want to support our children and the teachers, we do not want to distract the learning process.

 
Do be persistent.

Volunteer coordinators are often busy, so don't assume they're not interested in you if they don't call or email you right away.

Don’t pull the teacher aside to discuss your child’s progress.

Avoid discussing your student’s progress while volunteering in the classroom. Teachers prefer for parents to schedule conferences to discuss their student’s progress.

Do attend orientation meetings or training.

Keep in mind that informed volunteers are the best volunteers. These meetings will help you to do your best job possible.

Don't expect to do only fun jobs.

Every job is important. Take pride in everything you do to support the school, teachers, and students.

Do be responsible.

Show up on time and follow through with your commitments. People will be depending on YOU!

Don't think volunteering must be a group effort.

You can start your own individual volunteer effort and do it all on your own time.

Do expect to have FUN!

You will get plenty of personal enjoyment and satisfaction from your volunteer experiences.

Benefits of a School Volunteer Program

The Dolphin Volunteer Program is a year-long effort. Everyone is a potential volunteer. Here are the most important benefits of the program:

Benefits for Schools:
• Enriched curriculum
• Expanded use of tax dollars
• More involved and informed parents and community
• Improved school community relations
• Better staff morale through extra help

Benefits for Teachers:

• More individual instruction
• Help with non-instructional duties
• Lower adult-child ratio
• Closer working relationship with parents
• Lightened clerical load
• Broader support from community

Benefits for Students:

• Increased remedial help
• Greater enrichment
• Improved self-image
• Positive adult role models
• Individualized instruction
• Exposure to careers
• Diversity of Experiences
• Personal Attention

Benefits for Volunteers:

• Personal satisfaction
• Improved self-esteem, sense of accomplishment
• Opportunities to learn
• Knowledge/understanding of school systems
• Work experience

Benefits for the Community:

• Better-educated students
• Improved graduation rates
• Increased confidence in the education system

Source: School Board of Alachua County. “School Volunteer Coordinator’s Toolkit.” http://www.sbac.edu/~volprog/SchoolVolunteerCoordinatorsToolkitManual.pdf

Dolphin Volunteer Program

Goal: To build a collaborative learning environment through active parent involvement.

How the Program Works:

1. Check-in as a Volunteer: Sign-in as a volunteer through the computer in the school office or write your name on the Volunteer Log. If the work is performed off-site, submit a Volunteer Time Log to the teacher.

2. Volunteer: Donate your time by helping with school-wide events, PTO programs, or classroom activities.

3. Win a Class Party: The two classes with the most volunteer hours logged by November 30th will win Holiday pizza parties, and the two classes with the most volunteer hours logged by May 11th will win End-of-Year ice cream parties. 

4. Receive a Special Honor: The volunteer with the most logged hours for the entire school year will be the recipient of the NFES Volunteer of the Year Award. All volunteers will be honored for their service at the Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast in April.

Volunteer Opportunities (*denotes ongoing activity)

Classroom Support (Contact your child’s teacher)

Classroom Events*
End-of-Year Activities (May)
Field Trips*
Math Celebration (April)
Room Parent*
Teacher Projects*

School Support (See NFES Announcements & Flyers)
Book Fairs (September & March)
Career Day (April)
Fayette County Mentor Program*
Field Day (May)
Food Drives*
Holiday Meal Service (November & December)
Math Tournament (March)
Media Center*
Reindeer Workshop (December)
Saturday Academy (January – March)
Science & Math Day (May)
Tutoring*
5^th Grade Commemoration Reception (May) (4^thgrade parents)
5^th Grade Conference (October)

PTO Support (Contact PTO Board or Volunteer Committee Chair)
Bus Driver Appreciation (October)
Fund-raiser Order Pick-up*
PTO Board or Committee Membership*
Teacher Appreciation Lunch (May)

Contact Information:

Sheila Toppin, PTO Volunteer Committee Chairperson

Donna Putnam, NFES Volunteer Coordinator
Kathy Myers, NFES Title 1 Lead Teacher/Parent Involvement Coordinator

Send questions or concerns to: northfayettevolunteers@gmail.com

For volunteer Information: http://northfayettevolunteers.blogspot.com/                Rev. 8/11

Volunteers Needed

This year is off to a great start! We can make this a wonderful year for our children by simply supporting the school's programs and events. Volunteers are needed to assist with PTO programs, school events, and classroom activities. You are invited to serve on the PTO Volunteer Committee. Please sign up at the PTO meeting on August 25th at 6:00 or send a message to northfayettevolunteers@gmail.com  expressing your interest.We cannot be successful without your help!

Volunteer Committee Duties:

• Assist with the planning & execution of events.
• Recruit additional volunteers. 
• Sign-up & help with the following activities (*denotes entire year):
• Book Fairs (September & March)
• Bus Driver Appreciation (October)
• Career Day (April)
• Classroom Volunteer*
• Field Day (May)
• Field Trips*
• Fund-raiser Order Pickup*
• Holiday Feast Service (November & December)
• Math Celebration (April)
• Math Tournament (March)
• PTO Board & Committee Membership* 
• Reindeer Workshop (December)
• Room Parent* 
• Science & Math Day (May)
• Teacher Appreciation Lunch (May)
• 5^th Grade Commemoration Reception (May) (4^th grade parents)
• Coordinate supplies for events.
• Attend PTO Volunteer Committee meetings (September, December, and January, April)

Thanks in advance for volunteering!