With the last few years the way they were, we are REALLY hoping we will be able to get back to in person events with kids and families on a regular basis. We hope to really build that community feeling again, with parent get-togethers, summer playdates for kids, fun STEM & Literacy events, Math Challenge, After School Enrichment, etc.
Over the last couple years, many of our "seasoned" PTA leaders have already moved up to middle school - or will at the end of this year. We will need to really think about what we want to do next school year! Time to come up with fresh ideas and get new families involved.
We also have LOTS of new families joining Canyon Creek for the EAP program - and we would LOVE to get those families involved in our PTA and community! The more volunteers we have, the more amazing programs/events we can have and the more cohesive and robust community we can build.
NEW IDEAS REQUESTED!! If you are remotely interested in getting involved OR have ideas about programs/events you think we should bring to our school, please fill out the "Volunteer Interest Form" and we will contact you to talk about your ideas, your interests, etc. We really will need lots of help to make next year great...and we hope you will join us!
Your interest in NOT a commitment!
We will contact you and discuss what might be the best fit.
HIGH PRIORITY!! Membership: Become our Membership Chair and work with the board to establish our annual membership goal - and strategies to meet that goal! We have ideas we can share from prior year, but are definitely open to NEW ideas you might have. Our Membership Chair works on campaigns (3 per year) to try to maximize membership among our school staff as well as student families and our community. The Membership Chair is responsible for keeping the member data updated (training provided). Co-Chairs are definitely a great option. Lots of ways to divide the work!!
Advocacy: Our Advocacy Chair reports on current and upcoming information & events that help educate and mobilize our membership and community. As Advocacy Chair, you will be on email lists for advocacy topics from National, State and Council level PTA. This position will usually provide an update at board & general membership meetings about what's coming up in the advocacy world as it relates to our mission & goals. In additional, provide a monthly update for our website (and in the newsletter) with things that are about policy, changes that affect students & families, etc - like school board meetings, PTA legislative assembly, etc. Ideally, Advocacy Chair would attend the annual PTA Legislative Assembly as a delegate and report back.
Fundraising: Take on the development and implementation of new fundraising opportunities. This is a great opportunity for a group of passionate individuals! This could be an auction, bingo night, or other ideas! Great opportunity to get a committee together to come up with ideas.
Hour of Code: Help us bring programming to students via "Hour of Code" (www.code.org) events. This can be done once year, or multiple times a year. Evening events, weekend events, or work with school to see if we can have an hour of code during class time.
S.T.E.M.: Work to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education/enrichment in the Canyon Creek community by organizing events based on STEM. Ideas might include STEM Fair (project-based student work), STEM Night (hands on event with stations to explore).
Spelling Bee: Coordinate and manage the Scripps National Spelling Bee. This has historically been for 3rd-5th grade students, but if we can find a way to do it with our younger grades, we could discuss that. Work with teacher volunteers and students! See what we did 2018-19. (This was done via online tests the last 2 years - no decision yet on how 2022-23 will work.)
HIGH PRIORITY!! Back to School Ice Cream Social: Coordinate the Back to School Ice Cream Social on Thursday, August 25th. PTA portion of the event consists of providing a single serve ice cream treat, as well as spirit wear sales and PTA event/program information tables. We also coordinate the New Family Tours and provide volunteers to lead them.
Community Outreach: Develop community outreach ideas with the PTA Executive Board - and then plan, organize and implement these ideas! How can we reach more of our community? Help with finding those who can help with translation of flyers and/or would volunteer to help with translation at meeting as necessary.
Community Culture Event: Plan, organize & implement an event that celebrates our entire school and community. This would entail coming with ideas and working with the executive board, and potentially the DEI committee to find ways to include our ENTIRE community in a fun Culture/Community event. Likely requires a committee.
Community Serve Day Liaison: Help at the annual August event to get Canyon Creek ready for students. Assist the Canyon Creek coordinator at this annual August event (on 8/21/2022) by helping get people signed in and let them know where they have been assigned to work! Distribute snacks to volunteers. Take photos to share (with permission).
DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion): There are so many ways this can be approached and the committee would work with the executive team. This could be something like a community sharing event, or a book drive to supplement classrooms, and/or focusing on different key themes each month. (Check out our webpage and see what we did a couple years ago).
Family Fun: Plan and organize fun (and free) community family events. In the past we have done Game Night and Glow Dance. New ideas are welcome! This might also include things like Pumpkin Decorating Contest or Earth Day Art Contest. Fun ways to engage students in different ways.
Special Education Representative: Serve as a liaison between PTA and our community's special needs families and teachers. Keep abreast of district and state initiatives, programs, and events of potential interest to the Special Ed community. Work with other Special Ed. Reps from across the district and Northshore PTSA Council.
Sustainability: Work with Canyon Creek staff/students to help keep and increase the school's Green Status (recycling program, etc). Also, provide communications with ideas to share with students & families about how to live sustainably and help the earth. During the school day work.
Emergency Prep Liaison: Act as PTA liaison to the staff e-prep coordinator and assist in inventorying, organizing, and maintaining Canyon Creek Elementary's emergency supplies.
Health Room Liaison: Act as PTA liaison to the school nurse and assist with health screenings. This is mostly focused on the screening day in October - but also might have smaller projects over the course of the year.
Student Council Liaison: Act as PTA liaison to Canyon Creek's Student Council, supporting their community outreach efforts and assisting the staff advisor as needed. Share information with exec board and communications about what we can do to help the Student Council. You might help with the logistics of events like food/clothing drives, etc. Ideally would attend Student Council meetings (usually either right before the school day or during the school day), take notes about how help them - and also bring PTA event updates that apply to students so they can share with their respective classes.
Feel free to read our Volunteer FAQ page to help answer questions about PTA volunteering!!
For more information about opportunities, please submit our volunteer interest form and someone will be in touch to discuss your ideas. We LOVE seeing new people get involved in helping Canyon Creek PTA fulfill our mission & goals!
