Committees and Chairpersons

There are so many ways to help out UH PTA, such as chairing, co-chairing, or volunteering on a committee, participating in planning meetings, helping to promote programs and events from home, or simply lending a hand at events. There is a job for everyone who wants to help.  By donating your time and creativity to one of the committees, you can contribute to making University Heights Elementary School a welcoming community and help to create amazing memories for our children. Below are brief descriptions of some of the committees offered through the University Heights PTA. Please email us at Universityheightspta@gmail.com and let us know you want to help out!

A&M Mums

The A&M Mums Fundraiser is held in September and October.  This committee is responsible for planning the A&M Mums Fundraiser and organizing and executing all the work that needs to be done to make it a success such as creating, copying, and distributing the order forms, collecting and tallying the orders, placing the orders with A&M, scheduling delivery of the mums with A&M, and distributing the mums at the school.

A&M Pies

The A&M Pies Fundraiser is one of the school’s favorite fundraisers, providing convenient delivery of A&M’s delicious pies at the school right before Thanksgiving Break.   This committee is responsible for planning the A&M Pies Fundraiser and organizing and executing all the work that needs to be done to make it a success, such as creating, copying, and distributing the order forms, collecting and tallying the orders, placing the orders with A&M, and distributing the pies at the school.

Alumni Awards Committee

In years when the budget allows, UH PTA has made available two monetary scholarships to local high school students who attended University Heights Elementary School for a minimum of four years, are active volunteers in the community and/or school, and are planning to attend an institution of higher learning. This committee manages all the work that goes into contacting local high schools looking for eligible applicants, distributing applications, and collaborating with UH teacher committee members to review the applications and essays and select the two best applicants.

Anything Goes Drive

This committee plans, promotes, and runs this drive in the fall and spring to collect clothes, toys, and household items for people in need across the nation and overseas.

Applebee’s Flapjack Breakfast and Ice Cream Scoop Nights   

This committee creates and distributes flyers for these fundraising events which are distributed to the students' families through the teachers. The committee also finds ways to publicize the events to the school and community, as well as organize UH celebrity staff waiters, waitresses, and ice cream scoopers, and other volunteers for the events. Ice Cream Scoop Nights are held twice a year; once in the fall and once in the spring.  Applebee’s Flapjack Breakfast is typically held in March or April.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee conducts an audit every year by October to ascertain the accuracy of the books and financial records. All receipts, bank statements, cancelled checks, checkbook(s), and record books of the treasurer are examined and the audit committee signs off on an audit that is shared with various stakeholders, including NJ PTA.

Author’s Visits Committee

This committee reaches out to local authors or visiting authors who might be interested in visiting University Heights to read their books in our classrooms or at our school for an evening event.

Barnes and Noble Night

This committee will assist the chairs to organize this fun fundraising event in December. The volunteers will publicize the event, find and coordinate celebrity UH staff readers, work with the Music Teacher to schedule the 2nd-grade chorus, and recruit other volunteers to help run the event.  Some of the activities during this fun-filled night have included a scavenger hunt for the students, the 2nd-grade chorus performing holiday music, creating and offering a special UH drink for sale, and having teachers read some of the students' favorite books aloud.  We also have had book discussions on topics such as the Harry Potter series. New ideas are welcome!

Book Swap Committee

This committee organizes time during the school day or during a Read Aloud Evening for the UH students to bring a book in to swap out for another book.  This event is coordinated with the Librarian.  Some of the tasks include creating and distributing a flyer to promote the event and volunteering the day/night of the book swap.

Box Tops and Labels for Education

The committee will come up with creative ways such as quarterly contests to increase the number of Box Tops and Labels for Education that UH collects and sends in to be converted into cash that can be used for PTA programs and other PTA items included in the budget.

Budget Committee

Chaired by the Treasurer, a proposed operating budget is prepared by the Budget Committee and presented to the Board of Directors for approval, and to the general membership for adoption.

Class Party Committee

The chairpersons of the committee work with the Principal and teachers to determine what supplies are needed for classroom parties and to organize volunteers to purchase supplies in bulk for the school and deliver the supplies to each classroom ahead of the parties.

Dining Out Nights Committee

This committee will reach out to local restaurants to partner with UH PTA to donate a portion of their sales during specific dining out evenings throughout the school year.  Flyers will then be acquired from the restaurant or created by the committee to be distributed to the students through the teachers.

The committee will be responsible for staying in contact with the restaurant during the planning process, during the event, and collecting the portion of the sales donations after the event.

It is suggested that the restaurant also advertise the event with flyers and a sign on their door.

Display My Art

This committee works with the Art Teacher to collect students' art work that can be used to place on products that are available for sale such as mugs, magnets, and cell phone covers to name a few.

Family Bingo Night

This family event brings together the families of University Heights to enjoy an evening of bingo games where participants can win prizes while eating pizza or other foods, and enjoying the UH school community. The committee will be responsible for coordinating everything needed to plan and run the event smoothly such as creating flyers, coordinating volunteers, and reaching out to the school and business community to gather prize donations.  

Family Fun Night

This committee is responsible for planning and running a free fabulous night of fun and games for the UH community.  Some of the tasks the committee is responsible for include finding enthusiastic and creative volunteers to set up and help run games such as ring toss, egg throw, and toilet paper bowling, run craft stations, take pictures, and apply face paint and tattoos.

Family Valentine’s Dance

This is another one of our new favorite family events that is a great way to get the kids dressed up, moving, and out with their family and/or favorite person(s) to enjoy an amazing night of dancing while celebrating the important people in his or her life. The committee will be responsible for coordinating everything needed to plan and run the event smoothly such as creating flyers, coordinating volunteers, setting up music and/or acquiring a kid-friendly DJ, and reaching out to the school and business community for special Valentine’s food/drink donations.

Field Day

This great event is coordinated with our Physical Education Teacher. The committee is responsible for planning the day, finding and coordinating parent volunteers to help set up and run each event, and providing water and refreshments.  In addition to the thrilling circuit of physical activities set up by our Physical Education Teacher, the child’s special adults are invited to the school for a picnic lunch with their favorite student(s).

Fun Run/Walk Fundraiser

This new committee is forming to evaluate having a Fun Run/Walk or Color Run Fundraiser. 

Gift Book Committee

This committee works with the school's Librarian to acquire monetary donations to be used to purchase books and gift them to the UH library so that they may be loaned out to the school community.

Holiday Shoppe

This festive event requires many volunteers to plan, coordinate, and execute all the activities that are needed to make the children’s holiday shopping experience a success.  During this school-hours event children shop for holiday gifts for family and friends at prices ranging from $1 to $7, aided by parent volunteers. Committee members shop all year long to purchase gifts that the children will love to give their loved ones. Quality of gifts are kept high and prices low, so that everyone can afford something! In addition to shopping, committee members keep inventory, price items, decorate, put out inventory, run the cash register, aid in the selection of gifts, and help students wrap their purchases. A jolly time is had by all!

Ice Skating Party Night

The committee books a winter evening of ice skating fun for UH at Mercer County Park Ice Skating Center and coordinates any additional activities that are planned, which includes a 5th-grade group picture.

Kindergarten Orientation

This committee works with the Principal to help facilitate the Kindergarten registration process, provides refreshments to the children, and minds a PTA booth that contains PTA information, a PTA sign-up sheet, and spirit wear.  One of the PTA officers gives a short presentation to the Kindergarten parents about the wonderful support that UH PTA provides for the school community and all that PTA membership offers.

Kindergarten Scavenger Hunt

This committee works with the Principal to support the Kindergarten Scavenger Hunt that takes place about a week before the new school year starts. 

Legislative Committee

The members of this committee will attend school board meetings and report back important information at the monthly PTA Meetings. The committee can also attend PTA Legislature events with the intent to pass along the information learned to other PTA members on legislative topics and suggest ways for interested members to become more involved.

Library Volunteers

This committee will work with the Librarian to ensure that there are parent volunteers available to meet her needs. In the past, volunteers have helped reorganize the bookshelves and assisted the students during library hours.

Membership Committee

This committee is responsible for collecting membership forms and membership fees, entering and maintaining membership information in MemberHub, working with the Treasurer to ensure s/he has all the membership dues and information needed so that NJ and National PTA dues are paid on time monthly, and helping to drive membership within the school community by providing information on membership perks and incentives.

Movie Night Committee

This is another family-favorite event! A current family movie is shown while the attendees enjoy pizza, popcorn, treats, crafts, and music during this enchanted evening.  The committee will distribute flyers and bring all of the fun together for our UH family! We usually plan an outdoor movie night in late September or early October and sometimes have another movie night (inside or outside) in the spring.

Nominating Committee

The charge of the Nominating Committee is to recognize and recruit the most qualified people available for the coming school year’s PTA officer positions. It is one of the most important committees in our PTA. Members can volunteer to be on the Nominating Committee and must be elected/confirmed by general membership.

Committee work includes holding confidential meetings, reviewing nominations, and searching for the best-qualified candidates for leadership roles in our PTA.  Committee members must be impartial and have tact, integrity, discretion, and be someone who is capable of standing up for what they believe in. Sound judgment, familiarity with the needs of our PTA, and skill in evaluating possible nominees are essential.

Publicity

In previous years, UH had a Publicity Committee that had the responsibility to provide information about our events to the newspapers, HTV, and other public sources to promote our events to the public. If anyone is interested in starting up this committee again, please contact the PTA president at uhpta.president@gmail.com.

Red Hot Readers

This committee distributes the Red Hot Readers book selection lists to all participating students monthly. They keep track of how many books are read by each student. Additionally, they maintain a bulletin board for the program and assist with the end-of-year BOGO book fair.

Reflections

Each year, the National PTA Reflections program offers local, regional, state, and national opportunities for young artists in PreK through Grade 12 to be recognized for their creativity in the areas of dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and the visual arts. Students submit their original works to be considered for PTA’s highest honor in the arts.

The committee will promote student participation, distribute the guidelines to the students, and collect the submissions. Once all projects are collected, the committee forwards these submissions to the County PTA representative and follows the progression of the entries throughout the contest and keeps the PTA informed of the status of our entries. They also present certificates and awards to the participating students.

Scholastic Book Fair

This committee requires many volunteers to plan, organize, and work the book fair.  This week-long event is usually held during the fall teacher conferences so that the children can shop during the day and parents can shop during selected nights.  

BOGO Book Fair

This committee is an extension of the Red Hot Readers Committee and Scholastic Book Fair committee.   This two-day Scholastic Books event takes place at the end of May during the school day as a reward for our Red Hot Readers. Each Red Hot Reader will be given a coupon with their earned Red Hot Reader dollars that can be redeemed at the book fair for the reading they have done all year long. The book fair is open in the evening for the rest of the school who did not participate in the Red Hot Readers program.  

The committee is responsible for promoting the event, organizing volunteers for the event, and making sure all Red Hot Readers have their earned dollar coupons in advance.  

Special Education Committee

The committee works together to discuss and suggest what the school community can do to make PTA events and programs more inclusive for students and families with all types of abilities. 

Spirit Wear Committee

This committee works with spirit wear vendors to make University Heights Elementary School-branded items such as tee shirts, hats, mugs, stadium blankets, flannel pants, shorts, hoodies, and sweatshirts. They distribute flyers, gather the orders from the families, submit the order to the vendors, and distribute the items when they are delivered. 

Spring Fundraiser Committee

Looking for creative and fun people who can develop and help with a spring fundraiser such as Gertrude Hawk chocolates that is intended to raise money that goes directly to your children. 

Standing Rules (formerly Procedures and Bylaws) Committee

This committee reviews and renews UH PTA’s Standing Rules yearly and submits them to the Executive Board for approval and general membership for adoption.  The committee also reviews and updates the Standing Rules as needed and submits them to the Board of Directors for approval and general membership for adoption. UH PTA's Bylaws are the standard bylaws that all New Jersey PTAs must follow as part of NJ PTA.

Teacher Appreciation Week Committee

In the past this committee has given small gestures of appreciation to our teachers during this week-long celebration, which has included a breakfast to kick off the week. The week usually culminates with a raffle and luncheon for the teachers. 

Trunk or Treat Committee

Our first Trunk or Treat in 2015 was a huge success.  The committee will create sign-up forms for the Trunk or Treaters and for the UH community members who want to hand out candy from their trunks.  Additionally, the committee will plan and coordinate volunteers that will be needed to collect tickets and entrance fees, mind the food and games booths, schedule outdoor lighting to be provided, work with food truck vendors, as well as work with our business community partners to make the night unfrighteningly spooktacular.

Trenton Thunder Night Committee

Each year, the University Heights students and their families are offered a chance to participate in an evening of Trenton Thunder baseball excitement at Arm and Hammer Park.  The committee books, coordinates, and promotes the event to the UH school community and gathers additional volunteers to run a 50/50 raffle.  

UHPTA.com Website Committee

The committee chair(s) will be designated as the Webmaster(s) of the site and be responsible for updating and maintaining the website information which displays essential PTA information, links to other important sites, PTA officer information, committee information, announcements, and electronic flyers and forms that go home with students, This is a very important position since the website is available to the public on the internet and the information posted needs to be updated in a timely manner.  The webmaster can designate others on the committee to maintain or manage specific areas of the site.