Each of the children in the building receive a book for their birthday, as a gift from the PTO. These books are theirs to keep and they get to choose the book themselves from the book vending machine, located next to the gym. We have been coordinating the days we do birthday books with the dates of Popcorn Fridays, when possible. 

Duties involved:

• - Gather children from each class in a specific birthdate range and allow them to pick a book from the vending machine

• - Keep the vending machine stocked

• - Monitoring book stock and notifying board when new books need to be purchased

• - Monitoring stock of bookmarks and miscellaneous birthday gifts and notifying board when new product needs to be purchased 

Gator Shop happens on the first Wednesday of every month and lasts the duration of all lunch periods. The kids love this one and it's super simple - we sell little trinkets during lunch. 

Duties include: 

• Be at the school by 11:30 a.m.

• Set up the designated Gator Shop area

• Tend to the Gator Shop during all lunch periods - lunches run from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

• May need to help the younger kids decide what to purchase

• Collect money

• Clean up Gator Shop area and return merchandise to the PTO closet

• Order new or repeat items when needed

Popcorn Fridays are typically every other Friday, starting in September and running through May. We try to have two Popcorn Fridays a month, schedule permitting. We like to have at least 5 volunteers for each popcorn day, but the more the merrier. 

Duties Include:

• Be at the school around 8:45-9:00 a.m. on popcorn days

• Direct other volunteers as needed

• Pop the popcorn according to the recipe (we have a popcorn machine)

• Open and fill bags, sealing them once filled

• Collect popcorn orders from the classrooms and count the number of bags needed by every classroom

• Fill and deliver orders to the classrooms

• Clean up once all orders are filled

• Maintaining stock of supplies: popcorn kernels, salt, oil, bags, and seals

We are lucky to have several businesses willing to pair with us for community Give Back Nights. We currently work with Hungry Howies, McDonalds, Zap Zone, the Rolladium, and Kalahari - Sandusky.

Duties Include:

• Contact businesses we pair with and nail out the specifics of the agreement - such as the dates of events and the percentage of profits that will be donated

• Make sure that information is sent out on Class Dojo as needed so Grayson families know about the event including dates, times, and locations

Our Glow Dance is an annual event and highly anticipated by the students. It happens in March of each year and we try to have it on a half day (schedule permitting). It takes place in the gym. Prior to the dance, order forms are sent out for items that can be worn at the dance. Additional items are sold in the hallway and fifth graders are often selling snacks as well, to fundraise for the Fifth Grade Promotion. We have also brought in volunteer middle school and high schoolers to work our booths when possible. We prefer as many volunteers for this event as we can get our hands on.

Duties Include:

• Leading Up To The Event:

  • Arrange for a DJ and photobooth to be at the event, if desired

  • Arrange for student volunteers (middle school / high school) to run the merchandise booth and miscellaneous activity booths

  • Send out order form for glow items to wear during the dance

  • Order merchandise as needed to fulfill orders. Extra items are sold at the merchandise booth during the dance

  • Pack up orders and give to students before the dance

• For Setup:

  • Arrive at the school after school has been dismissed for the day

  • Direct other volunteers, as needed

  • Set up tables for the merchandise booth and miscellaneous activities, such as face painting

  • Lay out merchandise and price tags

  • Decorate the gym. This includes but is not limited to: hanging lights, hanging wall decorations, placing lines on the floor with tap, creating a dancefloor with tape and poster board

  • Set up activities inside the gym. This includes but is not limited to: a large connect four sets, a coloring station for younger kids, hula hoops, a table for stacking cups

• During the Glow Dance

• • Supervise the merchandise booth

  • Supervise the face painters or miscellaneous activities (you're welcome to do some face painting of your own) and restock their supplies if needed

  • Security detail - making sure no children leave the building unattended

• For Cleanup

  • Put away all remaining merchandise and face painting activities

  • Put away any activities and supplies in the gym, such as connect four games, hula hoops, and markers/highlighters

  • Fold and put away table cloths. Put aside if they need to be laundered

  • Break down and put away tables

  • Pull up any tape or decorations on the floor and throw away

  • Remove wall decorations and either throw away or fold and put in storage

  • Take down the lights and put away

  • Sweep the gymnasium and hallway

One of our holiday season fundraisers, these Christmas ornaments make great Christmas presents for parents and grandparents. We schedule a day for kids to have their photos taken, with a scheduled day for makeup pictures in case of absences. Photos will be taken, edited, and printed beforehand. We need 2-3 volunteers to help put the ornaments together.

Duties Include:

• Send out and collect order forms 

• Take photos of all children who have ordered, as dictated by order forms (some families may want children photographed together)

• Order supplies, if needed

• Edit photos to ensure they are not too dark

• Print photos off for each ornament needed

• Cut preprinted photos into circles

• Open the ornaments and place the circular photos inside according to student order sheets

• Place the ornaments into padded envelopes

• Collect ornaments into orders to be returned to children

Kids. If there is one thing they're known for - it's losing things. It's no different here at Grayson! But we try to return the items when we can. We take pictures of all lost items and give families the chance to claim them. We try to do this every two weeks or so to avoid getting overwhelmed by the number of lost items.

Duties Include:

• Organize and take pictures of items - uploading pictures to our Lost and Found photos collection

• Return any claimed items to children's lockers

• Take unclaimed items to Top Laundry

• After items are laundered, arrange for them to be donated

Our students love this fundraiser and it really brings out their devious sides. For a week, students are encouraged to bring their pennies, silver change, and bills in. Jars are labeled according to grade and placed near the lunchroom. Any pennies and bills placed in the jars count as money earned, any silver change placed in the jars counts as money taken away. Students are allowed to deposit their money in the jars at the second half of lunch only, requiring them to eat first. Volunteers would be required to stay through all lunch periods.

Duties Include:

• Ensuring we have volunteers for every day that Penny Wars is running

• Be at the school by 11:30 a.m.

• Set up table in the designated Penny Wars area

• Set up jars on the table but be sure to cover them for the first half of lunch so the children don't get distracted.

• About halfway through each lunch period, reveal the jars.

• Supervise as the kids deposit their money. The younger kids may require some guidance

• Cover up the jars again between each lunch session, repeating the process

• Count the money to give us daily tallies, standings are announced daily, and put the jars in the PTO closet

• Once the event is over, break down the table and put all supplies away

• Stocking and delivering the treat cart to the winning grades after coordinating with staff on the best time and date

Taking place the week before winter break, our Holiday Shop allows the students to purchase gifts for their loved ones. A great opportunity for them to learn money management, as well as give them a sense of independence and pride as they choose gifts for family and friends. Prior to the Holiday Shop, we send sheets home for parents to fill out detailing who the child is allowed to buy for. The first few days the Holiday Shop is set up, we let the kids preview what is for sale. They have a designated day each class can come in to make their purchases with a make up day for anyone who was absent. We have several opportunities to work the Holiday Shop and prefer having as many volunteers as possible.

Duties Include:

• Prior to Set Up:

  • Schedule the dates for the shop, including notifying staff

  • Contact company and purchase merchandise to be delivered in time for set up

  • Distribute information and order lists to students

  • Send information out on Dojo as needed

• For Set Up:

  • Set up tables and tablecloths for the merchandise to sit on

  • Direct other volunteers, as needed

  • Set up merchandise according to price tiers. Price tier information will be provided at set up

  • Store extra products underneath the tables to be refilled as needed

  • Store boxes - which need to be saved for any unused merchandise to be returned in

  • Place prices in front of items

• During the Holiday Shop:

  • Assign positions to other volunteers

  • Volunteers are needed to help students shop for the people on their list. Students may need guidance to stay within their money allowance

  • Volunteers are needed to total the cost of purchases and cash out students

  • Volunteers are needed to place purchases in festive bags and label them with recipient names, returning purchases to students as they exit the Holiday Shop

  • Restock merchandise as needed between students

• For Clean Up:

  • Direct other volunteers, as needed

  • Remove price tags

  • Pack up any remaining merchandise in designated boxes

  • Remove tablecloths and place in PTO closet

  • Break down tables

  • Arrange for any unpurchased merchandise to be returned

We appreciate our teachers and staff, and we want to make sure they know it. Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week takes place in May and we try to make sure we have something each day to show our love.

Duties Include:

• Contact businesses to donate gift cards or services

• Arrange a lunch option for teachers each day. 

• Put together an Amazon wish list for families to be able to donate to a snack bar

• Make sure that meals are set up the day they are scheduled for and that some food is reserved for the later lunches so they don't miss out

Our annual talent show takes place at Mason Middle School, located just across the street from Grayson, sometime in the spring. The event is free to attend and allows our students to showcase the skills they are most proud of! 

Duties Include:

• Leading Up To Event:

  • Schedule dates and times for try outs and for the talent show, coordinating with Mason Middle School staff

  • Attend try outs

  • Arrange schedule of performers and notify families of when performers will go on stage

  • Coordinate with lighting, sound, and video departments

• The Night Of The Event:

  • Arrive at Mason Middle School by 5:30 pm

  • Direct other volunteers, as needed

  • Ensure that lights, sound, and video are operating correctly and are staffed

  • Check the performers in and make sure they know the order in which they are performing

  • As one person is on stage, bring the next performer out from the waiting area

  • After performers are finished, they are allowed to sit with their adults in the audience

  • Performers may need assistance with any props they require

  • Clean up after the event

Our READ-O event is held on a predetermined day in March, as part of the National Reading Month initiative. It is held in the lunchroom. We play bingo, and each bingo winner receives a free book (or sometimes more than one). There are usually fifth-graders with snacks available, fundraising for their Fifth-Grade Promotion.

Duties Include:

• Before Event:

  • Order bingo sheets if needed

  • Arrange for book donations

• The Night Of The Event:

  • Arrive to the school by 6:00 p.m. We cannot enter the lunchroom earlier than that

  • Direct other volunteers, as needed

  • Arrange the tables in rows if needed

  • Place cups of crayons on each table section for people to use on their bingo cards

  • Set the books out on the back tables so they are easily seen by students

  • Set up number caller, laptop, screen, and sound system, making sure that all are working properly

  • Make sure that the screen is displaying what is shown on the laptop correctly and pull up the bingo number tracking site

  • As families come in, distribute bingo books

  • After the READ-O event is completed, collect all crayons and clean tables

  • Return laptop, screen, sound system, and number caller

  • Store extra bingo cards and the number caller to the PTO closet

  • Stack up the books not claimed and store in the PTO closet

  • Wipe down all tables and sweep the floor

A favorite of parents and students alike, our annual Trunk or Treat takes place in the school parking lot just before Halloween. We take candy donations in the weeks before the event and on the night of, the kids (and adults) dress up to walk from vehicle to vehicle collecting treats and candy. There are two opportunities to volunteer, listed below. 

Duties Include:

• Arrive at the school no later than 5:30 pm to set up

• Directing vehicles where to park. Cars are not allowed to leave until the event is finished, for safety reasons

• Help vehicles set up as needed

• Directing other volunteers, as needed

• Set up a booth for the PTO: including setting up a table, tablecloth, and laying out the candy offering

• Pass out candy at the PTO booth

• Deliver extra candy to vehicles who have run out, if needed

• Break down the PTO booth and placing the table and tablecloth back into storage

• Help clean up the parking lot

Our big event at the end of the year is a playground gathering. Our Grayson families are encouraged to come out, socialize, and allow the kids let off some end of the year steam. We have food trucks come out, and we raffle off donated items. This past year, we raffled off lower valued items and did a silent auction for the higher valued items. We typically also have a 50/50 raffle. 

Duties Include:

• Prior to the event:

  • Find donations and enlist volunteers to find more donations.

  • Ensure that our raffle license is in good standing

  • Arrange for food trucks

  • Separate items into silent auction vs. raffle lists

  • Prepare information sheets for raffle items including value of the item and who donated it

  • Set minimum dollar amount for each item of the auction and minimum bid increase amount

  • Create information sheets for raffle items including value of the item, where it was donated from, and lines for anyone who bids. Bid lines should include name, phone number, and bid amount

  • Purchase raffle tickets if needed, both for the item raffle and the 50/50 raffle

• The day of the event: 

  • Direct other volunteers as needed

  • Set up tables and tablecloths for the raffle and auction items

  • Place raffle and auction items on the tables. If item is too big or not a physical item, place a description of the prize

  • Place boxes with the raffle items for tickets to be dropped into

  • Place pens and bid sheets with the auction items, describing the minimum bid amount and minimum bid increase amount

  • Enlist a volunteer to sell raffle tickets for the items and a separate volunteer to sell 50/50 tickets

  • Set up sound system with microphone

  • Enlist someone to draw tickets and announce the winners of the raffles and auctions

  • After the event is over, all boxes, tablecloths, and paraphernalia for the raffle need to be placed into storage

  • Break down the tables

All board members are expected to attend board meetings and participate in major PTO events if possible. Other duties include but are not limited to: 

• Being aware of PTO bylaws and ensuring they are followed

• Presiding over board meetings

• Organizing PTO activities and creating calendar

• Helping set up a budget for the school year

• Placing orders

• Take part in creating meeting agendas

• Drive membership

All board members are expected to attend board meetings and participate in major PTO events if possible. Other duties include but are not limited to: 

• Presiding over board meetings when president is not available

• Organizing board activities

• Helping set up a budget for the school year

• Placing orders

• Take part in creating meeting agendas

All board members are expected to attend board meetings and participate in major PTO events if possible. Other duties include but are not limited to: 

• Track PTO budget and finances

• Help to set the budget for the current school year

• Maintain tax documents and non-profit status

• Coordinate payments and reimbursements as necessary

• Prepare records for audits

• Prepares financial report for meetings

All board members are expected to attend board meetings and participate in major PTO events if possible. Other duties include but are not limited to: 

• Keep track of meeting attendance

• Take meeting notes and publish meeting minutes

• Create graphics for announcements

• Maintain communication through Class Dojo and other necessary avenues