CLASS PARENT CORNER

1. INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO YOUR TEACHER
   Introduce yourself to your teacher via email and discuss your teacher’s ideas of what will be expected at parties in terms of length, activities, decorations, and the number of volunteers. Find out the teacher’s preferred method of contact and let them know the best way to reach you. Communication is the cornerstone of good relationships! Also, please ask your teacher if any students have allergies.

2. INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO YOUR CLASS
   Write an email/letter introducing yourself to the class (example provided later in this manual) and tell the parents how and when they should expect communications from you. Create an email thread for all parents in the class and share the contact list that will be provided on Friday with your class and PTO by 10/10/25.

KEEP PARENTS INFORMED (all year)
Let parents know about events for the month, give parents a chance to be involved in the classroom and share their feedback for improvements. The easiest way to do this is to simply forward PTO emails to your class - sometimes that's all it takes to make a difference!

• Please cc the PTO on any mass emails to the class as a whole (definopto@gmail.com)
  

• You will receive PTO emails throughout the year that simply need to be forwarded to the parents in your child’s class. PLEASE PROMPTLY FORWARD ALL EMAILS AS REQUESTED.
  

• Communication is the key to having a successful year, so make sure you “over communicate” rather than “under communicate.”

• Talk with the teacher about their wishes and do your best to get creative!

• Create and update, as needed, a class roster with parent contact information. Please remember that this information is to be considered confidential unless permission is given to share the information.

• Any note or flyer that needs to go home in backpacks needs to be approved by the teacher unless it involves a surprise for the teacher! If it is a surprise, please send it to the PTO for review.

• Don’t try to do everything yourself! You’re a class parent, not a one person show, and there are other parents willing to help. Reach out to them!

• If you find that parents aren’t being responsive to requests, reach out to the PTO for help.

• Attend PTO meetings monthly and share details with your class. 

• Help your teacher make sure that your room gets to 100% PTO membership!

• Communicate freely with the PTO; forward emails from the PTO to parents as requested in a timely manner.

• Keep an electronic or copy of all communications with parents, the teacher, or PTO so you can easily reference information.

• Attend as many school events as possible! If you cannot be there, enlist someone from the class to take your place. Invite and encourage parents to come to events as well!
  
  

PARTY FUND

• An envelope was sent home with each student a couple weeks ago asking for a $20 donation to the class party fund. The teacher will be giving one of the class parents all of the envelopes received. You can kindly remind all parents to send in their $20 if they have not already done so, but please be sure to state that participation is optional and do not send emails to individual parents. The party fund should cover your party costs for the year, but you are also free to ask other parents in the class to donate specific items for parties/events. Please do not ask that parents send in food for parties/events on the bus with their child. 

• K - 4th grade parents: There will be 4 class parties (Halloween, Winter, Spring & End of Year) 

• 5th grade parents: There will be 2 class parties (Halloween, & Spring) The 5th graders will also have a winter party and an end of year yearbook signing party to celebrate as an entire grade. NOTE: $10 per child of the 5th grade party fund will be used for the Winter & End of Year parties and will be due to the 5th grade committee.
  
  

YEARBOOK PHOTOS

You MUST take pictures of the students during class parties/events and submit them to the Defino PTO Yearbook Committee WITHIN 3 DAYS after each party for the candid pages for each grade.  This is a requirement of accepting your role as a class parent.  Please send the pictures (if there are only a few) to Basima Rum basimarum@gmail.com If you have many pictures, please share them digitally via a google folder or the like.  Please ensure that you only send the best pictures and please try to photograph all students in the class equally. 

HOLIDAY / END OF YEAR GIFTS

Many class parents ask if they can collect funds in order to present the teacher(s) and instructional assistants (if applicable) with a class gift.  This is fine as long as participation in the collection is communicated as being completely optional and the total collected for the holidays or end of year does not exceed the following: $10 per head teacher, $5 per assistant and $25 total. Please note that the gifts must be signed from ALL students in the class regardless of participation in collection – no exceptions.

BEFORE THE PARTY

It’s always a good idea to talk to the teacher before you start planning your party or purchasing party supplies. You may plan everything ahead of time and then come to find out that a student has an allergy or that certain decorations aren’t allowed. That’s no fun! Good questions to ask in your talk with the teacher:

Do any children have food allergies?
Please confirm that you get the official allergy list from the teacher. An email to the parents with a request to respond is not sufficient for the allergy needs.

Are there any food  or décor items that aren’t permitted?
Occasionally, certain foods aren’t permitted during classroom parties. Similarly, there may be certain décor that would cause issues.    

How long will I have to set up before the party? How long is the party?
Most of the time, you will have 5 or so minutes max for setup. Use this time wisely and plan ahead so the party can start on time. Parties typically run 30-40 minutes, the teacher will confirm all timing with you.

Are classroom supplies available to use for the party?
If you need to use items like glue sticks, tape, or scissors for your party craft, don’t assume that the teacher will let you use the class supplies. 

DURING THE PARTY

• Memories - Class parties are fun and memorable for kids, which is why it is so important to capture those memories with PHOTOS – these are a necessity for each party. The pictures will be used in the yearbook and can be shared with the teachers and parents as well. Please get 4-6 well lit, group photos (both full class and small groups) for us to use. 

• Classroom behavior - Please remember we are guests in the school. Do not roam the hallways to say hello to our other children, respect other classrooms that are not having their parties that day and need to concentrate. You are only to go from the office directly to the classroom.   Craft, game then snack is usually the recipe for success, but it's up to you as to how you want to plan it out. For the younger children, parties may work best in centers – have some do a craft, some play games and some eat snacks so that the kids aren’t waiting in lines for most of the party. 

• Watch that clock! Make sure that you are finishing up on time. Have a parent helper go around with a trash bag during the party to clean up after the kids. If you are doing a craft, make sure to write the child’s name on it so they don’t get lost or mixed up with other classmates.

HALLOWEEN🎃

WINTER☃️

SPRING🌷

END OF YEAR😎

Note: these will continue to be updated throughout the year. If you have a great idea you'd like to share, please email definopto@gmail.com with subject line: Pinterest Add and we are more than happy to share your creativity! 

Reminder: cc definopto@gmail.com and you must include the red text!

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the new school year! My name is PARENT NAME and I am CHILD'S NAME mom. PARENT NAME, CHILD'S NAME mom, and I are so excited to be your class parents! We will be coordinating the classroom parties, organizing teacher appreciation gifts, and organizing any other help required in the class throughout the year.

Attached you will find the class contact list.  Please note, this class list (or any information it contains) cannot be distributed or shared with anyone except the parents/guardians in this class.  The class list can only be used for classroom/student purposes such as homework questions, class party planning, play dates, birthday invitations, etc.  The class list cannot be used for business/solicitation purposes.

Thanks in advance for all your help and participation in our class events!

Looking forward to an exciting and fun year!
PARENT NAME