As a parent of a Cerritos student, you are automatically a member of the PTO, so welcome! Our PTO is in place to support our teachers and help provide our students the best learning environment/school experience possible. All parents are invited and encouraged to participate in the PTO sponsored activities and events – moms, dads, working parents, stay-at-home parents, etc.! The PTO has various teams in place to support all the activities and events planned throughout the year. Available teams include:

· Welcome Team

· Hospitality

· Communications

· Yearbook

· Event Planning

· Fundraising

· Workroom/Administrative Team

· Spring Carnival Planning Team

To sign up for any of the above teams, please email volunteer@cerritospto.org or contact one of our PTO Volunteer Coordinators. In addition, the PTO needs volunteers to staff various events. Requests for volunteers are generally sent out via email through an online tool called SignUpGenius. If you receive a sign up request, please review it and determine whether or not it fits in your schedule and is of interest to you. Sign up is very easy and you almost always know exactly what you are signing up for (for example, 5:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. selling popcorn). To be added to our master volunteer list to receive these volunteer requests, please email your contact information to volunteer@cerritospto.org.

Teacher Workroom

If you volunteer in the classroom, you may find yourself needing to photocopy/prepare materials for the teacher. To be trained on the equipment in the workroom, please contact the office.

Watch D.O.G.S.

This is a program that encourages male role models in schools. We are very lucky to have a great partnership with Cerritos dads, uncles & grandpas that want to make a positive impact with our students. Our goal is to have our Watch D.O.G.S spend at least one day this year at the school to be a positive male role model and to provide an extra set of eyes and ears. Our Watch D.O.G.S get a glimpse of their child’s day at school and they get to be a hero of the hallway! In the Fall Watch D.O.G.S. hosts a pizza party to introduce the program and explain how to sign-up for a date.

PTO Events/Socials

The PTO sponsors several events and socials throughout the school year. This is a great chance to meet other Cerritos families and build a great Cerritos community! Below is a sampling of events the PTO has hosted in the past. Events for the 2019-2020 school year are still in the planning stages.

• Go Speedy Go! Donation Drive (mid-August through mid-September) – The Go Speedy Go Donation Drive is our major fundraiser of the school year. Rather than having our students selling products to raise money throughout the year, Cerritos PTO has replaced product-sales fundraisers with a direct donation drive. 100% of all donations go directly to Cerritos! We encourage all families to participate at whatever level you are able.

• Fall & Spring Book Fairs (September & February) – The Scholastic Book Fairs are a great time to purchase books for your child to read at home as well as an opportunity to purchase books from their teacher’s wish list for the classroom. All proceeds from the Book Fairs go directly to the Cerritos Library!

• Ice Cream Social (September)– Bring your entire family and enjoy make-your-own ice cream sundaes and enjoy DJ music. It is a fun way to beat the last of the heat!

• Family Dinner Nights (FDN) – The PTO partners with local restaurants that are willing to give back a percentage of their profits to Cerritos for a given night. If it fits into your family’s schedule, try to attend a few of these evenings throughout the year. It is another opportunity for our community to come together and raise money for Cerritos!

• Trunk N’ Treat (October) – This is a fun night for students to dress up in a favorite costume and participate in entertaining fall festivities. Bring a carved pumpkin from home for our special pumpkin walk. Pizza, drinks, popcorn, and water are typically served. And, of course, a DJ will be spinning the tunes!

• Gift of Time (December) – This is a day that parents donate some of their time to the teachers and staff at Cerritos. Teachers/staff bring in their personal unwrapped holiday gifts and the parent elves wrap and decorate the gifts for them. We all could use a little extra time in December and this is one way that we can “give back” to our wonderful teachers and staff!

• Spring Family Fun Night (February) – In the spring, we host an evening of fun for the whole family! Activities may include such things as movie nights, dances, family sporting games (kickball, ultimate Frisbee, foursquare, capture the flag, flag football, etc.), Twister, board games, bingo, bunco, crafts, and much more!

• Spring Carnival (April) – This is the BIGGEST event of the year! Inflatables, carnival games, petting zoo, pony rides, cake walks, raffle baskets, and much more are available for your family’s entertainment! Be sure to bring the whole family – there is something for everyone!

• Teacher Appreciation Day (May) – During the school year our hospitality team provides monthly Staff appreciation events. On Teacher Appreciation Day in May we do an extra special celebration to show Cerritos teachers and staff how much we appreciate them!

We hope that your family is able to attend some (or all) of these events! It is always a great way to “Sharpen the Saw”, meet new friends, and enjoy seeing old friends.