Volunteer Central

Volunteer Opportunities Available

The PTA has numerous volunteer opportunities available for the school year.  Please, take a look at the open committees and see how you help.  Find a friend and co-chair a committee (or two??).  If you have any questions, contact Rhonda Williams Parent at 425-788-5767, rhondaparent@hotmail.com or Nancy Bateman at 425-788-8412, nancy@thebatemans.com.

 Art Docent

Audit Committee

Classic Books

Cookie Dough

eScrip Coordinator

Emergency Preparedness

Fall Family Fun Night

Follies Night

Gardening

Kindergarten Bus Coordinator

Library

Math Club

Membership

Nominating Committee

Parent Education

Rebate, Recycle, Reuse Program

Reflections

School Spirit Sales

Science Club

Social Services

Spring Fling

Student Banking

Sunshine Committee

Volunteer Coordinator

WASL Snacks

Yearbook

NOTE: If volunteer support for a program is NOT available, the membership will be notified that the program will be canceled.
 
Art Docents
Each classroom needs their own volunteers to teach art! That is why we need you to help this year with art! As an art docent you will be in your child’s  classroom once a month to help students gain knowledge in art appreciation by presenting a print of a Great Master and leading a related art activity.  We will help to train you and there is a book to follow also.  Anyone can do this!  You don’t have to be an artist to teach kids about art-you just have to love art!  This requires 30-60 minutes of classroom time each month in addition to some planning time.  Art Docents lead discussions about the artist of the month, the print, and elements of art.  Complete curriculum and training is provided.  This is a FANTASTIC way to get to know the students in your child’s class; and the kids always love Art Docent days!
 
Audit Committee
Three volunteers are needed from which to coordinate two audits of the PTA financial information. Audits are required in January and in June. This is a one-time commitment of a few hours to go through a checklist provided by the State PTA and verify the integrity of the Cottage Lake PTA financial reporting. Meeting times are flexible. Financial and/or accounting experience is not necessary because the PTA checklist is a great guide!  We are required by our insurance company to have three people share this task.  Please offer us a few hours of your time!
 
Awards & Grants
This committee oversees the distribution of grant monies from the Curriculum Enhancement Fund in addition to soliciting nominations for, and selecting recipients of, the Golden Acorn Award and the Golden Sailboat Award.  The Awards and Grants expense line item is one of the largest in the PTA budget.  Play a role in deciding where our money goes and help to recognize those outstanding people in our school community.  This is a key committee within the PTA, and we invite you to participate!  Three or four meetings a year will be held to review grant requests and award nominations.
 
Book Fair (not a PTA program)
This fall & spring event offers books for sale to students and families. All proceeds will benefit the Cottage Lake Library. Volunteers are needed during the fair helping to process orders and distribute books to students, as required.
 
Breakfast Club (not a PTA program)
At least five volunteers are needed to oversee students eating breakfast.  This is a great way to interact with students of all ages and make a positive impact on the start to their day.  Volunteers will monitor the food line and clean up the tables and floor once breakfast is over.  Time commitment is one day a week from 8:45 a.m. to approximately 9:30 a.m., depending on how quickly you wipe tables!  The Breakfast Club program is administered by Cottage Lake’s cook, Rolla Pierce, and is served in the cafeteria each morning. 
 
Bulletin Board
This committee keeps our reader board up-to-date.  Works closely with the VP of Communications and with the school office.
 
Classic Books
Classic Books is an enrichment program offered to grades 2-6 during school hours (usually lunch, 45 to 90 minutes per week for six weeks).  PTA volunteers receive free training through the Community Schools program and then lead student groups in discussion of classic books.  Your time commitment involves getting the training in the fall and then leading as many or as few groups as you please.  It’s a great chance to see what the kids are thinking about and encourage a life-long habit of reading!  You read the books too!  The more volunteers we have, the more students can participate.
 
Enrichment Learning (After School Advancement Program / A.S.A.P.)
The Enrichment Learning committee develops and manages a schedule of optional before and after school classes for Cottage Lake students in areas such as art, creative writing, drama, gardening, physical fitness activities, etc.  Enrichment class instructors include adults in our community as well as Cottage Lake parents.  Volunteers can help with supervision, scheduling, record keeping, and many other components of this program.  The program for 2007-2008 is scheduled, we need someone to track students and give teachers sign-in sheets.
 
Family Fun Night:  Follies Night
This committee will work to put on our annual Cottage Lake Follies, the mid-winter talent show that packs the house!  Volunteers will be needed to help with paperwork, rehearsals, decorations, promotion, back-stage management of the performers, etc. 35-40 volunteers are needed to make this evening a success.  When? January/February, This is a great opportunity to work with the kids & have fun! The Follies is scheduled for February 2, 2008!
 
Family Fun Night:  Haunted Hoedown
“Be part of the fall family fun night at school just before Halloween!  On October 26th we’re having Line Dances in the gym for our free family night -- like square dancing, but in a line, with music and a square-dance caller!  Very lively with great music and lots of fun for all ages.  This is a fun event to plan and be a part of, so sign up!” 
 
Fundraising:  Cookie Dough
This is part of the first fundraising drive of the school year.  It runs in conjunction with the Gifts and Giftwrap Fundraiser.  Volunteers with work with Committe Chair and the Masterpiece of WA Cookie Dough reps to distribute information and collect orders; then distribute orders and manage prizes/recognition for the students.  This sales event is scheduled for September 18th through October 2nd.  

Fundraising:  Entertainment Books
Volunteers will work with committee chairs and the VP of Fundraising to coordinate distribution of information, sales of the Entertainment Books; then deliver the books and manage prizes/recognition for the students.  This sales event is scheduled for October 22th through November 5rd.  
 
Fundraising:  eScrip Coordinator
This person serves as the contact person for the Escrip Program.  Escrip is system where parent-supporters register their Safeway cards and a portion of the dollar value of their purchases goes to the Cottage Lake PTA.  Potentially, supporters could register their bank and credit cards so that we would receive rebates from other merchants both in our local community and online. There is no cost for this program to the PTA or the supporters andthere is not a lot of administrative overhead for the coordinator. Supporters just go around doing the stuff they always do and the PTA gets a nice fat check every quarter. The Escrip coordinator has 2 main jobs.  First they run the “10% Back to School” Safeway fundraiser.  Flyers need to be distributed, cute collection boxes for receipts made and emptied regularly, and finally a few hundred receipt codes need to be entered into a website so that we get credit for them (a few hours of mindless typing).   The second job is to set up a table at school social events, like the ice cream social, and recruit new parents to enroll their Safeway cards or even those of their relatives in the program.
 
Fundraising:  Grant Writing
Do you have experience in writing grants to secure additional funding for our school?  Or would you be interested in giving it a try?  There is lots of money out there, and this is one way we can raise money for Cottage Lake programs and/or equipment without asking parents to foot the bill!   There is no specific time commitment or timeline necessary to get started.  Any deadlines for grant request submissions would be set by the benefactors.
 
Fundraising:  Holiday Gift Shoppe
Cottage Lake Elementary is proud to announce that we have chosen to present a Children’s Holiday Gift Store this year.  Kid’s Korner will run from December 17-19.  We will need approximately 3-4 people to help children select and purchase their gifts.  This is a safe, affordable way to let children purchase gifts for family members and enjoy the holidays. 
 
Fundraising:  Popcorn Sales
Volunteers are needed to pop and sell popcorn to the students on the last day of the school week (usually Fridays), from 11:15 am to 1pm.  This is a great opportunity to interact with students from K through grade 6 and meet other parents.  Training on the Popcorn Machine is provided! 
Fundraising:  Sally Foster Giftwrap and Gifts............................. Barbara Roberts               This is the first fundraisers of the school year.  Committee volunteers will work with the committee chair to distribute information and collect orders; then distribute orders and manage prizes/recognition for the students.  This sales event is scheduled for September 18th through October 2nd.  At least 10 volunteers are needed.  Lots of fun and NOT a huge time commitment!
 
Fundraising:  Spring Fling Carnival
This Old Fashioned Carnival is set for May 16th.  This year, Cottage Lake has chosen Kids Karnival to present this event?  There will be ten booths, games, and guaranteed prize packages for everyone!  We will have bounce houses and food as well.  We will need approximately 30 volunteers to run this popular event.
 
Gardening Committee
The Gardening Committee will work with students and teachers to develop and maintain student gardens and the Waterwise Garden on the Cottage Lake campus.  The student gardens are located in the raised beds between the gym and Building B.  We’ll work with teachers and students on fun projects utilizing the garden space.  You can work with students or simply garden.  There are lots of things to do!  Design and planting ideas welcome! 
 
Health Screening  (not a PTA program)
Each year, students have their vision and hearing screened by a district representative. Volunteers spend a morning or afternoon helping to make the screening process run quickly and smoothly.
 
Hospitality Coordinator
Volunteers on this committee arrange for refreshments at general PTA meetings, PTA board meetings, the Welcome Back Parent Coffee and other special functions.  Yes, clean up is involved.  But it’s fun!  This is one of the best avenues within PTA volunteering to just meet other people at school – kids and parents!  You don’t have to come to everything, but sign up and help with just one event.  You’ll be glad you did!
 
Kindergarten Bus Coordinator
This volunteer rides the kindergarten bus during the morning trip home/afternoon trip pick-up for the first week or two of school.

Legislative Committee
The Legislative Committee works to provide PTA members with information on current federal and state legislative issues including the National and State PTA views on each.  Information can be disseminated through the PTA newsletters and at PTA meetings.  One or two representatives are invited to attend the State PTA legislative assembly in October and Education Focus Day in Olympia in February.   If you want to be involved in the big picture, this is the committee for you!
 
Leveled Reading Library Ad Hoc Committee
This committee will search out book bargains wherever they go!  (Shoppers unite!).  Garage sales, store sales, ebay, craig’s list, etc.  Additionally, may run a school campaign to collect gently used books.  The final component is looking up the leveled reading score on scholastic.com and putting a sticker notation on the book.  This committee would be great for two categories:  shoppers and data folks. 
 
Library Committee (not a PTA program)
The Library Committee assists the school librarian with various duties including:  coordination of volunteers to mend books, shelve materials, assist with book checkout, and help manage book fairs.  Regular library volunteers work set schedules for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours each week.  Being a library volunteer is a great way to get to know the kids!  The chair of the library committee organizes the volunteers.
 
Math Club/Math Olympiad  (not a PTA program)
Math Olympiad is a contest students. Several math teams are formed to prepare for the event. Competitive teams meet weekly for 1-2 hours for several months during the school year culminating in the March event. 1-2 coaches are required for each 4-student team. 
 
Membership
This committee plans and implements a membership drive, complete with theme, incentives, rewards, etc.  There are many, many resources available online from the State PTA Website to help with this.  (It’s simpler than it sounds!)  The committee is also responsible for online registration of all Cottage Lake PTA members and maintenance of the membership roster, membership forms and distributing membership cards and directories.  A fun committee to be on!
 
Newsletter
This vital committee, facilitated by our Vice President of Communications, will work all year to get PTA information out in the newsletter on a regular basis in a timely fashion.  We’re looking for people with a collaborative spirit to help in this important area.  If you like to network, write, proofread, or make copies and put them in boxes, just let us know!!  We can train you, and there are lots of ways to help!
 
Nominating Committee
Love to network?  Want a short-term commitment in the spring that would make a big difference to our school?  The Nominating Committee helps to identify parents for PTA positions for the next year, and is really important for launching the activities of the PTA.
 
Parent Education
This committee plans and implements speakers for our parent population.  Speakers will be at every general membership meeting and at least one parent education program per year (i.e. Love and Logic).
 
Picture Days (not a PTA program)
The Picture Day volunteers assist the school and students in preparing for picture day.  Love to see the kids looking like angels?  This is the one time of year to come and help out!
 
Public Relations Committee
Do you desire to see your name in print?  If so, come and join the PR committee as we endeavor to make the accomplishments of Cottage Lake students and staff known to our community.  We will be writing articles for submission to the Woodinville Weekly and other publications.  If you enjoy interviewing people and writing about their interests, please join us as we discover and celebrate just how talented our school population is.  Time commitment will vary as opportunities for positive publicity present themselves.
 
Reader Board
This committee keeps our reader board up-to-date.  Works closely with the VP of Communications and with the school office.
 
Rebate, Reuse, Recycle Programs
This committee is looking for people to help cut, count & bundle UPC symbols/lids from Campbell’s (we order balls, books, art supplies ect. from a catalog) & Box Top’s from General Mills & other participating product (we get cash for these. ).  We also collect used cell phones, pc, ink/laser cartridges (we get cash for theses as well.) This is a no brainer,  get the kids involved, sit in front of the TV  project. We turn “Trash into Cash”
 
Reflections
This is a National PTA cultural arts competition with four age divisions competing in four categories:  Visual Arts, Music, Literature, and Photography.  The committee will promote the program, set deadlines, offer a workshop or two for kids to create entries, and arrange for local judging, recognition of participants, and meet deadlines of PTA council judging.
 
School Spirit Sales
This committee organizes the purchase and sale of Cottage Lake logo items like t-shirts, sweatshirts, fleece, etc.  Volunteers will help to select the items to be offered for sale, market and sell them, collect money and distribute items ordered.
 
Science Club
Volunteers are needed to assist Pacific Science Center with their presentations and to attend meetings of the Science Club during A.S.A.P. (After School Advancement Program) classes.
 
Social Services
The Social Services Committee works with HopeLink and the student council to coordinate a holiday toy drive and/or food drive and usually does a Brown Bag Brigade coin drive in the spring.  Other social service projects may be undertaken at the discretion of the committee.
 
Staff Appreciation
This committee coordinates Staff Appreciation events throughout the year...quarterly lunches, recognition of staff birthdays and staff appreciation week.  We have a great time doing things for the staff and we are always looking for creative and fun ways to show them how much we value their efforts and dedication to our children.  So join this team and help us demonstrate how much we truly appreciation the Cottage Lake staff!
 
Stop-Help-Prepare, Emergency Preparedness
Being prepared is the best defense against an emergency.  What we cannot prevent we must prepare for to ensure our children are safe!  Just this past December, most of us in the community faced an emergency when the winds and rain started.  It caused power outages turning houses cold and dark for days & downed trees detoured or prevented us from getting around.  Even if you could get to the store, those supplies you so needed were in short supply or gone.  Help this committee by maintaining the supplies kept on school grounds in a container car for just such an emergency and informing our parents at Cottage Lake of emergency procedures by writing articles in the school newspaper.  We will set up displays, pass on educational opportunities for parents and help our staff when needed.     Do we make the mistake of thinking the chances of an emergency are “minimal” or do we just Be Prepared!
 
Student Banking
The committee chair interfaces with Washington Mutual Savings Bank staff to promote this program; and volunteers (including the chair) assist students in making deposits to their savings accounts.  Work for one hour each week on Wednesday, before school.
 
Student Directory
The Student Directory is created to unite and strengthen our school community and to better facilitate communication.  It includes information on students, guardians (both primary and secondary), teachers and the PTA (including officers and committee chairs).  It is distributed free of charge to PTA members or can be purchased in the school office.  The primary skills needed are word processing skills.  This job can be done at home.
 
Student Newsletter
This is a new committee to help our students start their own newsletter!  The Foghorn (that the PTA puts out) is written bi-weekly as a reliable resource for parents to get information about school and activities; but the kids REALLY want to create their own newsletter to reach their fellow students.  All last year they became very excited to write, illustrate, and interview for their own paper, and they just need some adult help (few hours a month with direction and editing) to get it going.  It will be great experience for them, and this is a low time-commitment chance to help our kids launch their own project that will build student community.  There are lots of kids ready to go on this, and they already have an outline to get started.  This will be a fun one!
 
Sunshine Committee
We are here to bring sunshine to Cottage Lake families who are going through trials of many kinds.  Please consider volunteering to help with sending cards to those who are sick and meals to families during crisis’.  If you enjoy preparing meals for others or reaching out to those in crisis, this committee is the place for you.  Time commitment will vary as needs arise.  Additionally, this committee organizes supplies and food for families in need.
 
Volunteer Corp
This list consists of volunteers willing to work, but not willing to commit.  :)  We’ll call you for help when we need it -- to bake, help with school pictures or health screenings, set-up for or clean-up after events, etc.  If you don’t wish to serve on a specific committee but want to be available on an as-needed basis to help, sign up for the Volunteer Corps, and we’ll call you when we’ll call you when we have specific tasks.
 
WASL Snacks
This committee will solicit contributions, purchase healthy snacks, and arrange delivery of the snacks to students during WASL testing.  WASL testing takes place in the spring.
 
Website
This one person committee will keep our website up-to-date!  Takes about 30 minutes a week.
 
Yearbook
The Yearbook Committee coordinates with Boldman photographers for the printed yearbook.  The committee handles the coordination, sales, and distribution at the end of the year.  If desired, work can be done during the year to capture memories and collect photos from school and PTA events, and then complete a layout for the yearbook.  This committee has the opportunity to define itself to a certain extent.  Go for it!

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Last modified: 11/03/08