David Brown, the principal of Westburn School, comes along to meetings, as does at least one other staff representative. David gives an informal report about happenings and areas he believes the PTA could assist. This gives you a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ information about our school plus insight into what is coming up of interest to parents.

Our group is friendly and we all have children (of various ages) attending Westburn School. There is a role for everyone in our group, whether it is typing up a list, counting money, collecting notices, cooking sausages, any help is greatly needed and appreciated. We generally assist with projects such as; organising school discos, sausage sizzles, parent information evenings, we run the school uniform shop, we often issue sports uniforms, organise ‘friendships classroom lists’ and do some fundraising events etc. Our role changes depending on the skills and availability of members to volunteer their time. The school often have a ‘wish list’ and as a group we decided which projects we would like to support/assist with.

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GET INVOLVED IN OUR SCHOOL WITH FUN AND FABULOUS JOB OPPORTUNITIES!

Many parents offer to help in our school and the PTA would like to offer everyone a chance to be involved. Here are some of the jobs available for parents. You can work with a small group or on your own.

Discos
Westburn School has two discos each year, one in term two and one in term four. Organising the discos involves coordination of booking the DJ, lights and buying the snack food, and emailing parents to ask for help with supervision. You will receive an instructions folder plus contact details and support to help you get started. It’s great fun and the kids love the discos.

Sausage Sizzles
We need parents to create a sausage sizzle roster for terms 2 and 3 using the names of the PTA class representatives. Also, we need people who can pick up the bread and sausages on Thursdays in terms 2 and 3 and drop them in to the school hall. This takes one hour each week.  Another part of this role is checking the PTA cupboard from time to time and buying sauce and serviettes etc.  You will receive an instruction folder and support.

Raffle
The annual grocery raffle is a very successful fundraiser and each child is asked to bring in a grocery item that begins with the first letter of their name. Organising the raffle involves getting the raffle cards and notices printed and sent home. The children send their raffle cards to the office and then you organise a team of parents to help count and bank the money and you supervise the drawing of the raffle. You will get instructions for what you need to organise and run the raffle and support to help the team of people.

Quiz Night
This job involves writing or sourcing some quiz questions, organising tickets, selling them through the office, and planning some nibbles and drinks. You will get a folder of instructions for what you need to organise and support to do it. This would suit a group of fun-loving and organised people.

PTA Secretary
This administrative job involves attending two PTA meetings each term and taking the minutes as well as checking the incoming mail to the PTA and writing any necessary letters on behalf of the group. The job takes up about 4 hours in each school term. Instructions and support will be provided.

Walking Wednesdays (or Tuesdays)
This weekly job involves gathering the information from each class teacher on the numbers of children walking on the day Westburn School devotes to travelling by foot to school. This has been known as Walking Wednesday and has also taken place on a Tuesday for the senior school. Each term you tally the numbers to find the classroom with the highest percentage of walkers and then arrange a winners’ prize from the PTA. It takes one hour each week to liaise with teachers on email and to place their replies into a results table. Prizes are then purchased for the winning senior and junior class. Instructions and support will be provided.

Mobile phone campaign
Westburn School has been collecting used mobile telephones for recycling and fundraising through Starship Hospital. This job involves collecting the phones from the box in the school office and parcelling them up every few months.

PTA Treasurer
The Treasurer takes care of the PTA’s finances and attends the meetings to present the accounts. This job also involves paying invoices for the PTA. The role needs someone with a financial or accounts background to manage the spreadsheets. Instructions and support will be provided.

Library assistance
Helpers are needed to cover new library books and mend broken ones. This can be done in your own time at home or in the library in school hours. It involves as little or as much time as you wish.

PTA members
This involves coming to as many meetings as you can make during the year. There are two meetings each term attended by parents, Principal David Brown and teachers. It is a great way to hear about what is happening in the school and you can volunteer for any jobs you would like to take on. Bring in your ideas and a willingness to help implement them!

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RETURN SLIP: If you would like to help, please email the PTA Secretary Janine Ogier on janineo@xtra.co.nz or drop this note in to the school office.

I would like to help with the following job: ___________________________

Name:                                                

Phone number:                                      Email:

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PTA Parent Library

These books are available to borrow from the school library: