Greetings from the President!

~~~~~  August 2024  ~~~~~

Hello Niskayuna High School Friends, Families and Guardians. 

My name is Jennifer Hanson and on behalf of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), I wanted to welcome you to Niskayuna High School for the 2024-2025 school year!

Wait. The high school has a PTO?

Yup, we sure do.  We’re a non-profit organization consisting of student parents and guardians from all four grades along with teachers, school staff and administrators. 

Oh, cool.  So, like, what does the PTO do?

Basically, we are a group of “do-gooder volunteers” that raise a bunch of money and then spend it doing fun things to enhance the experience of students and staff.

Sweet!  How do you raise a “bunch of money”?

We host a huge PTO Craft Fair at the high school every fall (Oct 26, 2024).  This is our biggest fundraiser all year and an exciting day.  Dozens of vendors fill two gymnasiums and hallways while hundreds of community members purchase food, household items, holiday gifts and raffle tickets.

What do you spend all that money on?

• New Families Ice Cream Social – held each September to welcome freshmen and transfer students’ families and/or guardians.

• Scholarships – for graduating seniors and grants to staff with cool ideas for student programs.  Awards are funded by the PTO and selected by the school administration.

• Junior After Prom – provide fun activities and a safe space for juniors and their dates following the end of the prom dinner/dance.

• Staff Appreciation Lunch – cater lunch alongside parent donated deserts and drinks to express our appreciation to the staff at the end of the school year.

• Senior Gala – support the senior class gala with funds to help defray the cost of individual attendee tickets.

Do I have to be a member of the PTO to help out?

No, all are welcome to participate!  In fact, we would love to invite aunts, uncles, grandparents and family friends to be a part of these events as well.  However, there are benefits to your becoming a PTO member:

• Every penny of your annual dues will go towards our “do-gooder” mission.

• Signing up lets us know you have at least a minimal willingness to consider volunteering for leadership roles as well as day-of-event volunteer positions.  We might just call you, but we know… no promises. 😊

Oh!  Are you looking for volunteers now?

Thanks for asking!  If you know of any potential vendors/crafters who might want to setup a booth at our annual Craft Fair, we still have openings.  Please have them reach out to Millie Gnatek at NiskyCraftFair@yahoo.com.

Also, keep an eye on Parent Square for a Sign-Up Genius invite from the Craft Fair committee to help with parking, bake sale items, raffle ticket sales and other day-of-event volunteer positions in support of our October 26th Craft Fair.

Where do I learn more?

Visit the Niskayuna High School PTO google-site.

Follow us on Facebook.

Email us at info@niskyhspto@gmail.com

Email the Craft Fair Chairperson, Millie Gnatek, at NiskyCraftFair@yahoo.com.