1

Arrowhead PTA

Committee Chair Survival Guide

2016-2017

It takes many hands to make all of our programs possible

Let’s Have A Ball!

2

Table of Contents

Executive Board………………………………………..……………….3

Meeting Dates………………………………………..………………….4

Committee Chair Quick Points…..……………………………….5

Membership Form…………………………………………………….6

Budget Guidelines…………………………………..…………………7

Communication Guidelines………………………………………..8

ArrowHeadlines Newsletter Deadlines……...…………………9

Frequently Used Forms…………………..………………………..10

3

PTA Executive Board 2016-2017

President – Poppy D’Amico president@arrowheadpta.org

330.608.4099

1st Vice President – Michelle Neuhauser volunteer@arrowheadpta.org

330.241.8585

2nd Vice President – Tammy Buser fundraising@arrowheadpta.org

330.348.9534

Secretary – Mellany Shonk secretary@arrowheadpta.org

330.571.4200

Treasurer – Christina Whitlam treasurer@arrowheadpta.org

330.671.3157

Council Delegate – Cathy Riedel cathyriedel@hotmail.com

330.668.4748

Council Delegate – Amanda Lawhon lawhon.amanda@gmail.com

614.946.4055

Alternate Council Delegate – Leah Everett everett-leah@att.net

317.690.8775

4

PTA Meeting Dates 2016-2017

Held in PTA room, Arrowhead Primary School

Wed. Sept. 14th 9:30 am Wed. Oct. 12th 6:00 pm Wed. Nov. 9th 4:00 pm Wed. Dec 14th 9:30 am Wed. Jan. 11th 6:00 pm Wed. Feb. 8th 4:00 pm Wed. March 8th 9:30 am Wed. April 19th 6:00 pm Wed. May 10th 4:00 pm*

*Our May meeting may be rescheduled from the current date/time and combined with a Volunteer Brunch in the Tomahawk Room (Copley High School)

5

Committee Chair Quick Points

ü Be a PTA member. o All Committee Chairpersons are required by our by-laws to be paid PTA members. If you

have not yet done so, please fill out the membership form and return it to the secretary.

ü Sign off on all committee spending. o All Committee Chairpersons must sign all committee check and reimbursement requests.

ü Reserve any rooms you are planning to use. o Room Request forms must be completed for PTA events/room use (except PTA room) and sent to

Mrs. Fleming. Forms are available at: http://www.copley-fairlawn.org/Page/4995 (Facility Rental Form). Please also notify Poppy D’Amico president@arrowheadpta.org of all meetings and events. For committee meetings, use the PTA Room Google Calendar to reserve PTA room.

ü Get approval for forms/flyers. o If you are sending any forms/flyers through book bags, please send a copy to Mr. Capper

roman.capper@copley-fairlawn.org and Mrs. Fleming terri.fleming@copley-fairlawn.org for approval prior to distribution.

ü Send monthly committee updates on time. o During months when your committee is active (during planning, event dates, post-event),

provide a brief, quick update when contacted prior to meetings. Tell us what is coming up, some details others will be interested in, if you still need help, etc. After events are over, a quick recap of what happened is appreciated. For examples in past meeting minutes: http://copley-fairlawn.org/Page/4781.

ü Send committee info to the newsletter committee by due dates. o Similar to meeting updates, send a brief update to the newsletter so that all Arrowhead

parents can read what’s going on with your committee. See list of due dates later in this document. For examples in past newsletters: http://copley-fairlawn.org/Page/4782.

ü Ask permission for classroom events. o If you anticipate a PTA activity going into a classroom, first contact Poppy D’Amico with

a request so that she may gain approval from Mr. Capper. Examples include pizza parties, egg breakfasts, chicken duty, etc.

ü Write down how you do what you do. o Please keep notes on what you do this year and save in your Google Drive folder to share

with future chairspersons. You’ll find more info on Google Drive later in this document.

ü Keep track of volunteer hours. o Each month we’ll need information on how many volunteer hours you and your

committee members spent making awesome things happen for our school. We are required to report this information to keep our PTA in good standing. Please fill out the volunteer hours form monthly and submit to secretary@arrowheadpta.org.

ü Don’t be afraid to ask questions. o If you have any questions or need any help or guidance, please contact:

1st Vice President Michelle Neuhauser 330.241.8585 volunteer@arrowheadpta.org President Poppy D’Amico 330.608.4099 president@arrowheadpta.org

6

Let’s  Have  a  Ball!    

Arrowhead  Primary  PTA  Membership      

Welcome  to  Arrowhead  Primary  School!    We  are  proud  to  have  a  thriving  PTA  that  offers  many  exciting  programs  and  events  for  our  students,  but  we  can’t  do  it  without  you!    PTA  offers  parents,  relatives,  friends,  and  members  of  the  entire  community  a  chance  to  help  make  Arrowhead  the    best  school  for  our  children.    Membership  is  just  $5/person  and  we  have  volunteer  needs  that  fit  every  interest  and  schedule.    You  decide  when  and  how  you’d  like  to  volunteer!    Becoming  a  member  also  adds  you  to  our  email  list  so  you  can  keep  up  to  date  on  what’s  happening  at  school.    This  year’s  theme  is  “Let’s  Have  a  Ball.”    To  kick  off  the  school  year,  we  will  have  a  competition  to  see  which  grade  has  the  highest  percentage  of  PTA  memberships  by  September  23rd.    The    winning  grade  will  celebrate  with  gumballs  during  school!      PTA  Meetings  take  place  at  Arrowhead  and  are  on  the  following  dates  and  times:    September  14th  at  9:30am         February  8th  at  4:00pm  October  12th  at  6:00pm         March  8th  at  9:30am  November  9th  at  4:00pm         April  12th  at  6:00pm  December  14th  at  9:30am         May  10th  at  4:00pm  January  11th  at  6:00pm   We  look  forward  to  a  successful  and  fun  school  year!  If  you  have  any  questions,  please  don’t    hesitate  to  contact  Mellany  Shonk  at  Secretary@arrowheadpta.org.      

 ---------------------------------------------------Cut here---------------------------------------------------------------- Please  send  this  completed  form  along  with  $5/person  via  backpack,  Attention:    PTA  Membership!    Don’t  forget  memberships  for  relatives,  friends,  and  community  members  who  wish  to  help  make  a  difference  at  Arrowhead!  Additional  room  on  the  back  of  this  form!    1)   Name:      

 Email:      

 Number:      

 Child's  Name      

 Teacher:      

 2)   Name:      

 Email:      

 Number:      

 Child's  Name      

 Teacher:      

 3)   Name:      

 Email:      

 Number:      

 Child's  Name      

 Teacher:      

 

7

Budget Guidelines

Before you spend any PTA money……………..

ü Know the budget for your committee. o We cannot spend more than the budgeted amount on any committee without a vote from our

membership to amend the budget. Committee chairs will keep track of all spending for their committee as they will need to sign all reimbursement requests before they are submitted to the treasurer.

ü Save your receipts!! o All reimbursement forms must be accompanied by original receipts to receive reimbursement.

ü We are tax-exempt! o Please remember to take tax-exempt forms with you when shopping. Keep copies in your car or

purse so that you always have them with you. These forms can be found in the PTA mailbox in the office and online: http://www.copley-fairlawn.org/Page/3344. Unfortunately, we cannot reimburse for any tax that you have paid. This is the policy mandated by PTA Council.

o The only exceptions to this are Sam’s Club, Costco, and Amazon.com. We understand that in these cases items can be purchased at a cheaper price and/or with free shipping and they do not accept our tax-exempt forms. In all other cases, please only request the amount that was spent minus the tax.

ü Don’t forget the forms. o A deposit form, reimbursement request, or check request must always accompany your request.

These forms can be found in the PTA mailbox in the office and online: http://www.copley-fairlawn.org/Page/3344.

ü Turn in money promptly! o When collecting cash or checks for PTA, please make arrangements with the treasurer to deposit

the money promptly. People have requested that we cash the checks more quickly, and PTA guidelines state that we must deposit any money collected as soon as possible. Multiple deposits for events and fundraisers may be needed. There MUST be at least two people present to exchange money. We will not accept any cash through the book bags or left in the PTA mailbox.

ü Plan ahead. o If you know that you will need a check made out for your committee, or if you will need cash for a

change drawer, please put in your request with the treasurer a least one week in advance.

ü Get reimbursed! o We must insist that all receipts be turned in within 30 days of your event. After that time, you risk

not being reimbursed for your receipts.

ü Questions? o Please contact: Treasurer, Christina Whitlam 330.671.3157 treasurer@arrowheadpta.org

8

Communication Guidelines

An important part of chairing a committee is communicating with the school staff, potential volunteers & PTA members. This can be done in many ways:

ü Email Blasts o These can be sent out at any time by emailing your request to the secretary at

secretary@arrowheadpta.org Please allow 48 hours for emails to be sent out. These emails go to our list of paid PTA members only.

ü PTA Welcome Page Announcements o The PTA president can add announcements to the PTA welcome page at any time. Please email your

request to president@arrowheadpta.org and allow 24 hours for the announcement to be posted.

ü PTA Monthly Newsletter o The newsletter deadline page can be found in this document. Chairpersons are encouraged to

include updates of upcoming events in the newsletter.

ü PTA Monthly Meeting Committee Updates o The PTA president will contact Committee Chairpersons monthly for updates to be put on the

agenda for monthly meetings. Chairpersons are encouraged to attend the monthly meetings to give reports on upcoming events. Meetings are also great places to ask for any help still needed. Bring a sign up sheet to the meeting with you and pass it around.

ü PTA Facebook Page o To include photos and other posts on the PTA Facebook Page, please contact Stephanie Luecke at

stephieluecke@yahoo.com or Leah Everett at everett-leah@att.net. Please send information in advance and allow a reasonable amount of time for posting.

ü Flyers/forms sent home in backpacks o As stated earlier, all forms going home in backpacks will need to be approved by Mr. Capper and Mrs.

Fleming before being distributed. Please allow several days for approval in your timeline just in case. Additionally, please check with Mrs. Fleming to see if she has time to copy and distribute your flyer/form. If she does not, please plan to do your own copying and distributing after approval. You will be provided with the PTA ID and password to use for the copier in the hallway by the library.

ü APS Parent Weekly Bulletins o Dates of upcoming PTA events, reminders about forms sent out, etc. may sometimes be included in

Mr. Cappers’ weekly parent emails. Please forward your information for consideration to roman.capper@copley-fairlawn.org. If you are uncertain whether something is appropriate to be included, please contact Michelle Neuhauser volunteer@arrowheadpta.org.

9

DEADLINE PUBLISH DATE

Deadlines for Arrow Headlines 2016/2017

SEPTEMBER 16TH SEPTEMBER 19TH

OCTOBER 14TH OCTOBER 17TH

NOVEMBER 11TH NOVEMBER 14TH

DECEMBER 16TH DECEMBER 19TH

JANUARY 13TH JANUARY 16TH

FEBUARY 10TH FEBUARY 13TH

MARCH 10TH MARCH 13TH

APRIL 21ST APRIL 24TH

MAY 12TH MAY 15TH

…………………………………………………………………………………..

SUBMIT INFORMATION TO INCLUDE IN THE NEWSLETTER TO:

LINDA LOWE

EMAIL: NEWSLETTER@ARROWHEADPTA.ORG

1010

Your Toolbox Frequently Used Forms

• Check Request Form • Expense Reimbursement Form • Cash or Check Deposit Form • Credit Card Deposit Form • Tax Exempt Form • Dollar General Tax Exempt Form • Committee Volunteer Hours Form • Individual Volunteer Hours Form

These forms can be found on the PTA FORMS page of the website: http://www.copley-fairlawn.org/Page/3344

Important Documents • Arrowhead Primary PTA By-Laws • Arrowhead Primary PTA Standing Rules

These documents can be found at tbe end of the ABOUT US page of the website: http://www.copley-fairlawn.org/Page/4607

District Forms • Facility Rental Form

This form can be found on the RESOURCES/COMMON FORMS AND FILES page of the District website: http://www.copley-fairlawn.org/domain/49

Scheduling Software • SignUp.com (formerly VolunteerSpot.com) • SignUpGenius.com

These FREE easy tools are available online to help you create web-based sign up sheets to organize volunteers for parties, events, activities, etc.

Google Drive • Various files & documents

The 1st Vice President will contact you and provide you with access to documents created by past committee chairs to assist you with your planning.

1111

Google Drive

In previous years, all chairpersons received committee information binders. In 2015-2016, binder information was scanned to Google Drive in an effort to “go digital.” You will be given access to these files to assist with your planning this year. A few important points:

ü Please do not delete or remove any files or folders. ü Please leave all current files and folders in the drive unchanged. You may revise

documents, but please first download to your computer and resave them to Google Drive with a revision date or different name.

ü Please be sure to upload any newly created or revised files by the end of the year to help future committee chairs.

How To’s

ü To access your committee folder (once you have been given access) 1) Log into your Google account. (If you don’t have a Google account, you will need to set one up. You

do not need to have a gmail email address to create an account.) 2) Click on the "Google Apps" icon - 3 x 3 squares/cube shape (upper right corner) 3) Click on the "Drive" icon (colorful triangle - 2nd one down on the right) 4) If you don't see your committee folder automatically in "My Drive", then click on "Shared with me" in

the left side menu and you should see it there. 5) For quick access when you log into Google Drive, you can add your committee folder from "Shared

with Me" to "My Drive". Just right click on the folder you want to add and select "Add to My Drive". IMPORTANT: Please only add the top-level committee folder to “My Drive” – do not move subfolders by themselves out of your committee folder.

ü To download files or folders from Google Drive to your computer

1) Right click on the folder/file you want to save and select "Download". 2) File will be saved to your "Downloads" folder on your computer and you can move it from there to

wherever you need to and revise as needed.

ü To add new files or folders to Google Drive 1) Open the folder that you want the file to reside in. 2) Select the "NEW" button (upper left corner). 3) Select "File Upload" from the menu. Your computer file menu will open. 4) Select the file you want added.

1212

Files in Google Drive

ü Documents from Previous Years o These were saved in a variety of formats.

§ If the original document was available, it was saved in the original format – word, excel, publisher, etc.

§ When the original format was unavailable, pages were scanned as PDF documents • Which means just about anyone can view them – but you can’t edit the file unless

you are able to convert the files to a different document type. • Regardless, these files can still be helpful for ideas of what’s been done in the past.

ü To Change Document Format

o If you want to edit a PDF in order to use what someone else created previously, you can often change the format using a free converter on the Internet (doesn’t require downloading any special software).

o Here are a few I have used successfully: pdftodoc.com, freepdfconvert.com, zamzar.com. A quick Google search will uncover other options for you too. Note: While this works most of the time, if a file was scanned at an angle, the background was too colorful or it’s hard for the converter to recognize text, you’ll have to retype the document instead if you want to use it. Additionally, sometimes the formatting is a little weird, but it’s usually much easier than creating from scratch.

ü Documents that You Create

o I think most people are able to view, open and edit Word and Excel files. You may want to stick to those programs to create flyers, organize your committee and save your information. Of course, you are welcome to use whatever program is best for you! If it’s not a commonly used program (like Publisher or Photoshop, for example), please upload PDF files as well so that future chairs can at least view what you’ve created.

PTA Room Google Calendar You’ll be given access to the PTA Room calendar. Please use this for scheduling any committee meetings or activities needed in the PTA room.

ü When scheduling a meeting in the PTA room: o Open the PTA Room calendar o Click on the date you want to schedule the meeting o Type in the name of your meeting and then click “Edit Event” (not Create) o Uncheck "All Day" o Select the start and end time you will need the room to cover any set up, meeting time and clean up o Click "SAVE"

Because we have one room for over 30 committees, we all share the best we can. Some major committees may need the room for lengthy time periods close to or during their event (Holiday Shop, Father Daughter Dance, etc.), so adjustments may have to be made at times. You may also schedule committee meetings off school grounds at a place convenient to you (your home, a coffee shop, etc.).

1313

Tips for Creating Flyers Nearly all committee chairs have the need to send out flyers at school for one reason or another – to ask for volunteer help, save the dates, order forms, etc. If this isn’t in your comfort zone, here are some tips to help:

ü Break through the backpack clutter o Use a large font for your headline and be clear about what you need parents to know – Volunteers

Needed for XYZ Committee, Save the Date for ABC Event, etc. o Use bullet points and brief information when possible to make your flyer easy to read. o Use images when possible to add visual interest. Need some help?

§ Visit https://images.google.com. Type in what you’re looking for (save the date graphic, calendar image, money bag photo, children clipart, etc.)

§ Left click on the image you like – make sure the size is appropriate so that it can be enlarged or reduced to fit the space you have for it.

§ Left click View Image; then Right click to “Save as” or “Copy Image”; then Insert or Paste image into your document.

§ To be able to move your image anywhere in the document that you want, you’ll need to change its formatting. Hover over image with mouse, Right click and select “Format Picture”. Select “Layout” and then choose either “Behind Text” or “In Front of Text” to be able to drag the image anywhere you want it.

§ To change the size of an image, Left click to highlight it, then drag from a corner to make larger or smaller. Never drag from the sides unless you want to distort the image.

ü What is your “call to action”?

o What do you want parents to do once they see your flyer? Attend an event? Order something? Volunteer? Whatever it is, make sure it’s clear and that they know what to do or how to respond after reading your flyer.

ü Don’t forget major details

o What do parents need to know? o Date, Time, Place, Cost, Who to contact if they have questions, Why they should want to

participate or help.

ü Save paper when possible o When you don’t need a full sheet of paper to communicate, use a half sheet instead. Design your

flyer to have the same information twice on the same page so papers may be cut in half before they are distributed. Leave plenty of room in the middle to make it easy to cut.

ü Don’t forget to get approval

o As mentioned previously, if you are sending any forms/flyers through book bags, please send a copy to Mr. Capper roman.capper@copley-fairlawn.org and Mrs. Fleming terri.fleming@copley-fairlawn.org for approval prior to distribution.

1414

End of Year Chairperson Checklist

ü Upload documents created by your committee to your Google Drive folder. o Please keep detailed notes on what you do this year for your committee, as well as how

you did it, and any timeline information that would be helpful. Don’t forget to also mention what you would do differently. Save the information in your Google Drive folder to share with future chairpersons. No matter how easy you think your committee might be, step-by-step information and timelines will undoubtedly be appreciated. Please share your expertise and experience, as well as what you learned along the way!

ü Send final volunteer hours for all committee members to Mellany Shonk. o Each month we’ll need information on how many volunteer hours you and your committee

members spent making awesome things happen for our school. We are required to report this information to keep our PTA in good standing. Don’t forget to finish reporting hours for the year.

ü Submit information for the year-end newsletter. o Please submit a small blurb for your committee to newsletter@arrowheadpta.org. This is a

great way to end the year remembering all that we have accomplished. A simple 2 or 3 sentence summary would be great - unless you have more to say! We’d like to see all committees represented.

ü Get reimbursed for your expenses. o Don’t forget to turn in receipts and expense reports to Christina Whitlam by the due date

given near the end of the school year. You don’t want to risk not getting reimbursed for the money you’ve already spent.

ü Say “thank you” to your committee members. o They’re the people who had your back this year and helped you successfully get through

the to-do list and make wonderful things happen at our school. Don’t forget to let them know how much you appreciated their time, effort and enthusiasm. A kind email goes a long way to recognize their help for the year. You couldn’t do it without them – or at least you wouldn’t want to!