Helpful Guidelines for all Volunteers Visiting the School
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You are encouraged to visit the Charlton Heights Volunteer Handbook provided by the school district, click here to view the CH Volunteer Handbook. Here are some general guidelines to follow:
School Sign-in: When volunteering in the school building during school hours, please use the Visitor Sign-In/Sign-out sheet in the lobby. Please remember to take a sticker and be sure you have permission to go to the area you need to be in before leaving the lobby.
Conduct: Please respect confidentiality issues and be respectful of each child's, and each family's privacy. Please be careful to act professionally and to not discuss PTA issues, problems or concerns in public areas (i.e. the lobby, the front office, etc.) as these discussion should occur in an appropriate setting. Remember that PTA exists to promote the welfare of all children and youth and to enhance their educational experience---don't lose sight of our purpose!
CHES PTA Newsletter: All volunteers are encouraged to contribute to the monthly newsletter. As volunteers you often have knowledge about a special classroom events or celebration, a success experienced by a particular child, an article that may be of interest to the school community, an educational speaker coming to our area, etc. Please include dates, time, contact info. and any other pertinent information and forward to the Newsletter Chairperson. Be aware that all articles and ads will be reviewed by PTA President(s) and Office Staff for approval before publication takes place.
Some Tips for Program Chairs
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Stepping up to become a program chair or co-chair is a lot of fun, very rewarding and a great way to meet the people in your child's life. You will find a host of past documentation on each program which will allow you to seamlessly get the program up and running again the next school year. Here are a few helpful tips and reminders about "chairing responsibilities":
Membership: All chairpersons must be members of the CHES PTA. Typically, a membership drive occurs in September in which you sumbit your membership form and payment to your child's homeroom parent. If you missed that opportunity and want to become a PTA member, you can register September - February by filling out the attached PTA Membership form and submitting your payment to your child's homeroom parent.
How to Volunteer: Take a look at the program descriptions to see what they are all about. Whether you are interested in Chairing or volunteering to help out - just contact the Program Committee Chairperson and let them know your interest. You name will then be forwarded to the appropriate person. By the way - the best way to really learn about the program is to call the current Chair, they would love to hear from you! You can offer to shadow them, but if if the program has already been completed there is always a strong paper trail to follow.
Program Folders: All committees are required to keep detailed files and notes to help future committee chairs understand what to do. Your program folder and all digital files should be turned in to the appropriate person within one month of your committee’s activities ending, you need not wait until June to turn in your file. Include as much detail as possible. If you are an experienced chair, try to remember all of the questions you had the first time you worked on the committee. Keep notes as you go along – it’s too easy to forget the little but critical steps later. Include all helpful paperwork (e.g. budget info, flyers, contact information, forms, etc.) and turn these in with your program folder. Click here to print out a blank End of Year Report.
Distribution of Flyers or Information through Back Pack Mail: Any school wide notices that go home via back pack mail need to be approved by the school principal prior to making copies. You can place a hardcopy in the principal’s mailbox or send an email attachment to seek approval. PTA business should be on PTA letterhead and national PTA programs should use the appropriate "logos". Once approval is received, you can make the appropriate amount of copies using the YO list numbers. The YO list stands for the “youngest and only” child so that families are only receiving one notice home to cut down on copying costs. The YO list is usually available by the end of October and is posted by the PTA copier in the school mailroom and Mail N' More also has the YO list numbers. You can then count out the number of copies needed for each classroom and place those in the teachers mailbox for distribution. Distribution of notices home should occur on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
PTA Meetings: Committee chairs are encouraged to attend PTA meetings particularly when their committee is active. This is an important way to share information and get questions answered. If you cannot make the meetings, please submit a report or update to an Executive Board member on your behalf.
PTA Photocopying Procedures: Whenever possible, the CHES PTA will be use paperless communications in the form of electronic newsletters, postings on the website, emails and school morning announcements. When copies need to be made, try to combine communication with other PTA communication. There are two locations in which copies can be made:
- Mail n’ More – you can have copies made at the store and charge the cost to the appropriate committee in the log book. Please be sure to write your name and the program legibily and keep track of the expense to remain within your program budget.
- CHES Staff Mailroom – you can make copies on the copier closest to the hall, the code will be provided to you when you being you Chair duties. Please try to make copies during times when the staff doesn’t require use of the copier and offer the staff the copier if you have it in use. If you need to make more than 20 copies you should be using the Mail N’More account. You do not need to track the number of copies made.
School Property Use: If your committee will be using any of the facilities at school, you will need to submit a "Building Use" form which is available through the main office. The "Builiding Use" form is a permit/license authorizing groups or individuals permission to use the school premises, properties, and materials whether it be indoors, outdoors, during school hours or after school hours.
Solicitation Policy: Solicitation letters must be approved by PTA President and the school principal before they can be distributed to parents, community members and others. All solicitation of local businesses need to be cleared by the PTA Executive Board. We want to maintain a strong relationship with community and avoid duplication so we need to be careful how and when we ask for donations.
Insurance Liability Issues: There are certain events that are considered to require additional insurance and will require parents to sign a PTA permission slip in order for their child to participate in an event or activity. For example, if the PTA offered a contact sport activity in an after school program, the provider would need to supply an insurance rider naming the school district and the CHES PTA as additional insured in the amount of $1,000,000. When in doubt, please ask the Executive Board about any activity that involves risk or posing any safety issues.
Program Expenses: Each committee program is either a fund generating program or is allocated a budget by the executive committee. As chair, you are responsible for keeping careful track of your program expenses as to not spend more than you were allocated. Most chairs find it helpful to use an income and expense form. The Executive Board will need to approve any expenditure exceeding the budgeted amount prior to incurring the expense. Tax exempt vouchers are available in the PTA mailbox. Take a tax exempt form with you whenever you are shopping for PTA items. As the PTA is a tax exempt organization we cannot reimburse for any sales tax paid.
Reimbursement/Check Request: If you need to be reimbursed for expenses or require a check cut from PTA funds, you can simply complete a check request form located in the PTA File Folder. You will need to attach original receipts to the request form for reimbursement. Per federal guidelines, reimburesments will only be made with original receipts not photocopies.
Deposits: You will need to complete a "PTA Deposit Verification Form" when making a deposit. Be prepared to deposit all monies collected within a 24 hours of collecting and all monies MUST be counted and verified by two (2) people. Checking deposit slips can be found in a supply folder in the school office.
Contracts: All PTA contracts must be signed by the PTA President.
Term Limits: According to our standing rules, no committee chair may serve more than three consecutive terms as chair of the same committee. We encourage you serve a 2 year term limit as chair. If possible, shadowing during that second year should occur so that the next chair can be trained to continue the work in a seamless fashion. The purpose of this is to spread the work – and the fun – around.
Safety-Wise Policy: We ask that there be two (2) unrelated parents present when working with children involved in a PTA sponsored event.
