MONTGOMERY ELEMENTARY
HOME AND SCHOOL CHAIRPERSONS’
SURVIVAL GUIDE
(2014-2015 SCHOOL YEAR)
Thank you so much for volunteering your time to help make our school a great place for our children! Your time and dedication are greatly appreciated by all. Here are some helpful tips to make your time as a chairperson a little easier. As always, please feel free to call your VP rep or any of the board members with questions.
General Information
· The Home & School Office is located in the School Store where the VPs and Secretary have mailboxes. The key is located in the main office.
· The Home & School closet is located in the Kindergarten hall. It is the first door on the right across from the Library. The key is located in the Main Office. There are decorations, paper supplies, etc. in the H&S Closet. Please check supplies in the closet before purchasing items for your event.
· The Co-Presidents’ and Treasurer’s mailboxes are located in the Main Office.
School Contacts
· Please don’t hesitate to contact a Home & School board member about any special requests or new ideas. We’re very receptive!
· John Golden, head of custodial staff, will need to be contacted with specific set up procedures and dates/times for events. He has a mailbox in the main office (located with the teachers’ mailboxes) or you can call him at 215-853-1533. It’s a nice idea to send a thank you note to the custodial staff following your event.
· If your event requires set up while the Extended Care program is in progress (ex. Ice Cream Social, Grandparents Day, Book Fairs, etc.) you will need to contact Lorraine Oliver in the Main Office to put the event on the calendar. You will then need to send an email to the Extended Care program at Montgomery (the earlier the better) to let them know the date and time you will need to use the cafeteria, gym, bus lobby or library. The Extended Care Director, Jessie Richart, can be contacted at . Please cc Lorraine Oliver on any letters to Extended Care.
· If you plan to use any classrooms for your evening events (Family Fun, Multicultural Night, Science Night, Spring Fling, etc.), please ask the teachers assigned to the classrooms for their permission in writing and ask that they provide you with a sketch of their floor plan so furniture and desks can be returned to their original positions. Some classrooms may be restricted due to allergies or specific classroom needs.
· If you are planning an evening family event at school, check with Ms. Buzzanca to see if she has artwork to showcase. We are hoping you will include that in the flyers. (Ex: “Family Fun Night will be featuring the artwork of our 5th graders.”)
Decorating
· If you are decorating for an event please do not hang anything from the ceiling as the school has motion detectors which will be set off by ceiling decorations. ALWAYS CHECK THE HOME AND SCHOOL CLOSET BEFORE PURCHASING SUPPLIES. You might be surprised what you can find in there!
· If you are using balloons in the cafeteria please make sure they are secure. Please do not allow the balloons to be tangled in the fans.
· Home and School has a helium tank in the custodians’ office for any committee’s use. Contact the custodial staff to make sure the valves are operational and make sure the tank is full before your event. If the tank is empty, please contact Rebecca Tweed so she can arrange to have it refilled.
Food
· When purchasing food for an event, please avoid ordering through NP food services. Use outside vendors as much as possible and submit for reimbursement.
· Contact Carol Antonowski, head of the cafeteria staff, about storing any refrigerated or frozen items in the cafeteria. Carol’s number is 215-368-6614, ext. 1537.
· If your event requires bakers, or volunteers to provide food, Kim Strenger () from the Bucket Brigade will maintain the list of bakers for you to call and update the list with who baked to avoid overusing our bakers.
· Food vendors often used by Home and School: Rosenberger’s Dairies in Hatfield, Bakers Best Snack Food in Hatfield, Soft Pretzel Factory in Chalfont, Mystic Pizza.
Copying Procedures/Correspondence
· ALL Home & School copies are to be made on the second floor copier, across from the back staircase. This is a dedicated H&S copier.
· In the event you have a significantly large copy order that is a multiple page document, copy requests must be sent to the copy center.
· The copy room which is located between the Main Office and the Nurses’ Office is not to be used by H&S.
· All copy request forms are in the Main Office. The copy request forms are for large number of copies needed from the ESC building. Copy requests should be submitted at least two (2) weeks before the papers are to be sent home. The copy request forms and correspondence to be sent out need to be reviewed and approved by your VP representative before it goes to the Principal. Please call your board rep and let her know the form needs to be reviewed and approved and when the papers are to be distributed to students. You can email a copy of your form to the VP for approval. Someone will notify you when the forms come back to school, but please check as the due date approaches. If you are able to put the papers in the teachers’ mailboxes on the day your papers go out, it would be greatly appreciated.
· When you send your form or flyer for copying, also send it to UnChi McCoy at to allow sufficient time for website posting.
· If your event involves money to be collected, you will find any returned correspondence in the H&S safe in the school office. You will receive the combination from Rebecca Tweed, treasurer, before your event.
· If your event has any sign-up forms, etc. to be returned, your committee will have a drawer in the Home and School office (School Store).
Publicity
· H&S website: With more families utilizing the website to receive H&S information, it is most important to have all flyers emailed to UnChi McCoy at so they can be posted on the website.
· Montgomery Messenger: Monthly newsletter of H&S: Any articles for the newsletter should be submitted to Kelly McGarry at by the 2nd Wednesday of every month.
· For quick reminders via the email system, please send your reminders to Judy Beam at by Tuesday of each week so they can be attached to her weekly emails.
· Don’t forget to use the morning and afternoon announcements to promote your event! There are forms in the office to indicate when you’d like them to be read.
· Feel free to post any signs promoting your event. Some good places to post are the front lobby (during pick-up) and the cafeteria entrance (for extended care pick-up and drop-off). Also feel free to use the standing dry-erase boards. Please make sure to take down your signs once your event has taken place.
Folders & Reports
· All folders should be placed in your board rep’s mailbox 3 weeks following the event (4 weeks if your event is a fundraiser). Please complete the Committee Report Form and include it in the folder along with all other paperwork. This will be extremely helpful to future chairpersons.
· All chairpersons will be asked to give a report at the Home & School meeting prior to and after your event. You will be contacted by a board member regarding your report. If you cannot attend these meetings, please make sure your board rep has a written report so she can report at the meeting. You can send your report via e-mail. Following the Home & School Meeting, please email a copy to the Secretary at so she can include it in the meeting minutes.
Volunteers
· If your event was included in the Bucket Brigade, you’ll receive a list of volunteers who signed up at the beginning of the year. You will need to call them to confirm if they are still available.
· Volunteers are becoming fewer. Make all volunteer experiences positive (we want them to return!) and try to encourage any new families to volunteer.
· All chairpersons will need to send thank you notes to ALL volunteers following their event. Thank you notes are available in the Home & School closet. You may also create your own thank you notes. If the event is all year, thank you notes need to be sent out at the end of the year.
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