If you are interested in any of these committees or events, please contact the committee’s leader or any member of the PTO Board. See descriptions of each below.
Classroom Clean Up: Help with publicity and implementation at the annual January classroom clean up day. Assist current chair with organizing room parent volunteers and making certain each classroom gets some attention. Prior to day, purchase supplies. Time Commitment: 4-6 hours prior to event in late January, 5 hours on the day of, a Saturday. Great for a working parent.
Creative Arts and Sciences: Aiming to enrich the school curriculum, this committee brings programs in music, dance, drama, the fine arts, and sciences to Zervas. Working closely with teachers, the committee selects and organizes a variety of programs for the entire school as well as specific curriculum-related activities for individual classrooms. Personal exchange between students and artists or scientists is developed whenever possible. The Zervas Creative Arts and Sciences Committee is part of a citywide Creative Arts Council which seeks out scientists and artists of high professional quality and merit who are interested in educating children. The Council maintains an extensive and current resource file. These activities are funded primarily by the P.T.O.
Color Day: Color day is a fund event held once a year each Spring where the kids We look for parents to help run stations for a shift or all morning.
Destination Dinner : A Fund Raising and Friend Raising annual dinner event, hosted by Zervas families.
Directory: The Zervas Directory is published every fall with the names, addresses and phone numbers of each student and his or her family. In addition, the Directory includes class lists and lists of Zervas Faculty and Staff. It is invaluable, and an important way for us to get to know and stay in touch with one another. It is distributed free of charge to every family at Zervas. The committee is responsible for compiling the information and for the production of the Directory.
Friends and Family Network: This volunteer program provides a tangible way to build bridges between Zervas’ Boston and Newton families. Cooperating families welcome new students and their families to the Zervas community,and provide a means to smooth their transition. Initiate and assist with relevant events designed to bring Boston & families closer together. Monthly commitment: average of one hour per month. Cooperating families from both Newton and Boston set their own levels of involvement and participation. For example, a Newton family might offer a place to stay during a snow emergency or an invitation home for dinner on the day of an evening event at school. This group organizes family activities such as skating or a trip to the zoo.
Family Events: This committee is responsible for organizing the many family events sponsored by the P.T.O. each year, including the beginning and end of-the-year family picnics, and family dance. The committee is looking for members and new ideas for ways we can gather and enjoy each other and ourselves.
Fifth Grade Graduation: This committee is responsible for fund raising (Bake Sales etc) in support of the 5th Grade Graduation celebrations.
Fundraising: All of the programs at Zervas School enrich our children’s education; some of these events and services require funding beyond that provided for in the annual school budget. During the year you will have many opportunities to help in such efforts to support our school. Our fundraising efforts include the gift-wrap sale in the fall, the Spring auction, and the Zervas Fair, which is an annual spring event when the community is invited for a day of games, entertainment, good food, and prizes. Other activities include the Kindergarten Soccer Program, bake sales, bottle/can drives,tee shirt sales, and the library gift book program offered during the December holidays and again at year’s end. We also collect and redeem General Mills box tops. There is a container for the box tops in the front hall of the school. You can order your gift wrap all year at www.innisbrook.com. Use our school number: 111905
Grounds: A committee for gardening enthusiasts, this group helps maintain the school grounds, and in particular, the area known as the “Nature Classroom.” The committee organizes people for fall and spring cleanup, planning and executing planting and helping to maintain current gardens. Monthly commitment: 2-3 hours each month during spring, summer and fall. The committee always appreciates help when planting and weeding.
Health and Safety: This committee focuses on issues of health as they affect your child. It conducts the fall lice check, and is concerned with other health-related issues. The committee also assists in monitoring and evaluating such things as building and playground safety and bicycle safety at Zervas. Monthly commitment varies from 0-2 hours each month. The Safety Committee informs parents on matters such as traffic, parking, the locked-door policy and playground safety.
Hospitality: This committee provides coffee and food for the many P.T.O. meetings, Coffee & Conversation Hour, and other gatherings such as the Teacher Appreciation luncheon.
Library: The Library Committee organizes volunteers to work in the school library. The volunteer’s responsibilities may include assisting the younger children when selecting and signing out books, shelving and processing returned books, and preparing new books to be put on the shelves. This is a fun way to be involved with your child’s class. Time commitment can be as little as one hour a week.
Library Gift Book Sale:
Manage the gift book sales in both fall and spring. The librarian selects books and parents are invited to purchase a book (perhaps to honor a specific person or event) for the library. The manager provides the marketing and administration of this important fund raiser by scheduling volunteers, creating bookplates and sending certificates to recipients. Time Commitment: 10 hours for each sale.
Mini Grants: The PTO makes grant money available to teachers so that a teacher may undertake a class project, program or professional development, work that would otherwise be impossible. Grants may fund, among other things, equipment, teacher workshops, or classroom materials. The teacher makes the plan and writes the proposal. This committee reviews the proposals and awards the grants. The work is done in the fall.
Newton Schools Foundation Liaison: Help the Zervas staff maximize their grant potential by educating them about the opportunities at NSF. Ideally, you will assist with grant writing and preparation and have some professional knowledge in this area. Depending on your current knowledge, you will need to educate yourself about the Foundation, then relay this to our staff. Time commitment: variable but at least 5-10 hours throughout the year.
PTO Board Vice President: Oversee a select group of committees and act as liaison with their chairs. Communicate to the board on matters relating to those committees and participate in board-level decision making at monthly executive meetings. Monthly commitment: varies from 2-10 hours.
Room Parents: Room parents are needed for each class. Their responsibilities include phoning parents, planning breakfasts and helping to organize class parties as requested by the teacher. This can be a good way to get acquainted with your child’s classmates and to help implement P.T.O. and school-wide initiatives.
Shoppers: Staples Shopper
Make contact monthly with the PTO Board and School Secretary to assess any supply needs. On occasion, may help with pickup and delivery of print projects. Time Commitment: one hour each month
Shoppers: Supplies Shopper: Responsible for maintaining an inventory of paper goods and safe snacks. Time Commitment: 4 hours over the year.
Social Action: The goal of the Social Action Committee is to plan, support, and enrich school-based activities that provide opportunities for our students and school community to participate productively in our society. As a result of these activities, our students will hopefully see themselves as responsible citizens who can significantly make our school, community, and world a better place. Some activities that this committee sponsors are a Halloween candy collection for a men’s shelter, making Thanksgiving placemats, a winter coat and boot drive, and food collection for the Failure to Thrive Clinic. Time commitment: 5-10 hours throughout the year, based on events.
Science Week: Make science related classroom presentation(s) during the week of November 12-19 (20 Parents).
Teacher Appreciation: Help to come up with innovative ways to show our teachers how much we value them. Run an appreciation luncheon in the spring. You may be called upon to help with various teacher focused events throughout the year. Time Commitment: 1 hour each month with a slight increase the month of the luncheon.
Understanding Our Differences: This award-winning curriculum teaches 3rd and 4th grade students what it is like to have a disability and how to be a good friend to someone who has one. The program was founded over 25 years ago in Newton and has been run by parent volunteers who value the lesson of empathy and respect that the program teaches. By helping the children understand certain handicaps and providing them with the opportunity for a frank discussion with people who have these handicaps, this program hopes to help children overcome their fears and to respect the humanity of each individual regardless of differences.
Volunteer Appreciation/Volunteer Coordinator: Help to maintain a database of available parents and match them with events and needs. Organize end of year volunteer appreciation luncheon. Time Commitment: 10 hours throughout the year
Variety Show: Students sign-on up to perform in front of parents and teachers in the Annual Variety Show.
Website Administration: Maintain the existing Zervas PTO website. You may be asked to add items and to update current information. Web design skills a must and experience with WordPress beneficial. Time Commitment: 1 hour per month. Most work is at the start of the school year.
Welcoming: This committee focuses on welcoming families new to Zervas School, helping them get acquainted with the school and with other families.
Zervas Notes: Zervas Notes is published every month and is the primary way parents will be informed about what is happening at school. Zervas Notes are distributed physically and electronically if parents elect to receive it that way. The editing, production and distribution of the Notes are the responsibility of this committee. Each editor will receive and compose the newsletter from articles and announcements that are provided. Some technical ability and an eye for detail would be helpful. This is a great opportunity for a working parent. Time Commitment: 2-3 hours, every other month.
E-mail Administration: A weekly email (Zmail: Next week at Zervas) is sent to parents informing them of major events happening in the upcoming week. This committee maintains the emails distributions lists, produces and and distributes the Zmail each week. The committee is also responsible for maintaining other Zervas emails accounts that are used throughout the year. Basic technological skills required. Time Commitment: 1-2 hours/week.
