JCDS Parents' Association Volunteer Activities
If you are a parent of a JCDS student, then you are already, by definition, a member of the JCDS Parents’ Association and encouraged to get involved with any of its activities throughout the year.
Below is a list of Parents’ Associations activities for your reference including descriptions. Unlike PEP, you do not have to attend a JCDS training session in order to volunteer for any of these activities.
If you want additional information about these committees, we encourage you to attend a Parents’ Association meeting, which are scheduled on the second Tuesday each month during the school year, at 8:30 a.m. in the Kelly Fine Arts Center auditorium. Minutes from these meetings will also be made available on the Parents’ Association page of the JCDS website for those parents who want to be informed but are not able to attend in person.
Annual Gala & Auction
The Gala committee and volunteers plan, organize and run the annual Gala fundraiser which will be held on March 31, 2012. Planning begins in the summer and continues throughout the school year until the event in the spring, and for a few weeks after the event to finalize the auction. The time commitment for the chairs of the event as well as for some of the subcommittee chair positions is intensive. There are numerous volunteer opportunities for the sub-committees for decorations, communication, operations, food and beverage and auction procurement — these are very flexible as far as amount of time and when work needs to be done.
The Gala and the Fun Run are the two biggest fundraisers of each year for JCDS. Gala planning meetings will start after the beginning of school. Please look for announcements in the Thursday Reminder. Click here to sign up online.
For more information, please contact:
Pat Sonn
Co-Chair, Gala
Home: 280-2740
Mobile: 806-8067
patsfl@gmail.com
Carey Willis
Co-Chair, Gala
Home: 543-1976
Mobile: 891-1725
careywillis@comcast.net
Book Fair
This committee orchestrates both the annual Charity Book Drive (usually scheduled the week before the Book Fair) and the actual Book Fair scheduled for May 1 - 2, 2012. The co-chairpersons of this committee work with the book vendor and Amy Kucsak, JCDS school librarian, to determine details including timing, charity confirmation, guest author, theme, etc.
Volunteers will be needed starting in March to help coordinate the Charity Book Drive and décor, and to work one or both of the mornings during carpool to collect the donated books, count them and box them. For the Book Fair, volunteers will be needed to help set up, work during the Fair, and also help to break everything down and box any unsold books. Click here to sign up online.
For more information, please contact:
Carmina Aldana
Co-Chair, Book Fair
Home: 821-4986
ccmaldana@comcast.net
Melanie Boree
Co-Chair, Book Fair
Home: 997-7771
mboree7@gmail.com
Dea Sims
Home: 642-4589
Mobile: 537-7829
simsdea@gmail.com
Corporate Fundraising
Corporate Fundraising involves easy, ongoing ways for the school to raise money based on parents’ everyday shopping habits. Currently, the fundraisers include Scrip program, Box Tops/Tyson Labels, Funding Factory, Target RedCard, Lovable Labels and Sally Foster. Volunteer opportunities are available throughout the year and are flexible. Activities may include helping to run the Scrip program (collect checks, deliver gift cards); trim and package Box Tops in Oct, Feb, and April; package used ink cartridges and cell phone 2-3 times per year. The Target RedCard, Lovable Labels and Sally Foster are self-managed online.
Descriptions of the current corporate fundraising programs are as follows:
• SCRIP PROGRAM — Buy gift cards for personal use, special occasions, teacher gifts, or holiday gifts. Orders are placed the 1st of every month.
• BOX TOPS/TYSON LABELS — Collect box tops and labels throughout the year. Class prizes for top collectors. JCDS receives $.10 for each box top.
• PRINTER CARTRIDGES AND OLD CELL PHONES — Recycle used printer cartridges and old cell phones (in working condition, please). Help the environment while raising money for JCDS.
• TARGET REDcard — Apply for a Target REDcard, REDcard VISA, or REDcard Check Card. One percent of all purchases go to JCDS.
• LOVABLE LABELS — No more losing clothes, shoes, lunchboxes, or sports bottles. These are high quality, personalized sticker labels that are durable, machine washable, and dishwasher safe. Twenty percent of all purchases go to JCDS.
• SALLY FOSTER — Purchase chocolates, gift items, home decor items, and of course...wrapping paper. Forty percent of all purchases will go to JCDS.
For more information please contact:
Lori Pyle
Chairperson, Corporate Fundraising
Home: 646-0290
jaxpyles@me.com
Family Nights
Family Nights are organized by grade level and are held at different times during the year. The Family Nights Committee coordinates these events with the assistance of Homeroom Parents. Homeroom Parents will request volunteers to help for their specific grades and nights. Volunteers are needed to help with registration, food and beverage tables, clean up, and to help with providing small water bottles and placing in ice chests with ice.
Family Nights have been scheduled as follows:
September 22, 2011 — 6th grade
October 14, 2011 — Preprimary Grades – PJK, JK and kindergarten
October 21, 2011 — 4th grade
November 11, 2011 — 1st grade
January 13, 2012 — 2nd grade
February 3, 2012 — 5th grade
March 2, 2012 — 3rd grade
For more information, please contact:
Mariah Cheek
Co-Chair, Family Nights
Mobile: 904-445-0109
Grace Yu
Co-Chair, Family Nights
Mobile: 917-992-6446
Family Picnic
The Family Picnic provides JCDS families a chance to socialize with old friends, make new friends and have fun! It is the first major Parent Association event of the school year and is the official "Welcome Back to School" event. The Family Picnic for the 2011-2012 school year is scheduled for Friday, September 16. It is held on the JCDS campus with dinner being served in the cafeteria. Lots of fun events are planned for the students including: Cake Walk, Bake Sale, DJ, Jumpy House, and the pool will be open for swimming.
Homeroom Parents will coordinate volunteers from their assigned classrooms for this event. Volunteers are needed the day of the event for set-up as well as during the event for ½ hour shifts between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to help run activities, games and registration. Click here to sign up online.
For more information, please contact:
Caroline Ramsay
Co-Chair, Family Picnic
Home: 519-8207
carolineripley@hotmail.com
Rebecca Witt
Co-Chair, Family Picnic
Home: 363-6168
gatorwitt@comcast.net
Mariah Cheek
Mobile: 904-445-0109
jacksmom04@gmail.com
Fun Run
The Fun Run is a major fundraiser for the school sponsored by the JCDS Parents’ Association, with proceeds funding the teachers’ wish lists. It has been scheduled for November 17, 2011. Sponsors pledge a dollar amount for each accomplishment and activities will include running and other physical games. Many activities will be planned in addition to running. Volunteers will be needed the day of the event for set up as well as during the event for registration, managing different activities and clean-up. Volunteers may also be needed for the Pep Rally on November 10 to get students excited about the Fun Run. Click here to sign up online.
For more information please contact:
Yogita Badarinath
Home: 645-3340
Mobile: 233-8882
ysbadari@yahoo.com
Claudia Baptista
Home: 525-9578
Tammy Shumer
Home: 241-1576
Mobile: 434-2532
tlshumer@gmail.com
Hospitality and Greeters
Volunteers are encouraged to join this exciting and revamped committee for the 2011/2012 school year. Activities will embrace our slogan “Names with Faces…Going Places!”
This committee is responsible for providing tasty treats for the monthly Parents’ Association meetings as well as spotlighting various people/activities at the school to promote “Names with Faces…Going Places!”
Volunteers will also be using the Front Circle and 4th Grade Wing drop-off/pick-up locations to raise awareness of events at the school including Parents’ Association meetings, Family Picnic, Family Nights, Gala, Book Fair, etc.
All volunteers are encouraged and welcome to join this committee with your creative or culinary skills — or just bring your enthusiasm! Click here to sign up online.
For more information please contact:
Ritika Fedewa
Co-Chair, Hospitality and Greeters
Home: 686-1110
Mobile: 703-587-5050
thefedewa6@yahoo.com
Kim Skinner
Co-Chair, Hospitality and Greeters
Home: 645-5458
Mobile: 610-1671
kimcskinner@mac.com
Parent Ambassador Committee
The Parent Ambassador Committee is in charge of making sure prospective parents as well as new parents are welcomed into the JCDS community. In addition, this committee helps provide information on various programs throughout the school from a parent-to-parent perspective. Some of the single day events that this committee is responsible for include the New Parent Orientation in August, the New Parent Coffee in September and the New Family Welcome Party in May.
Current JCDS Parents can also get involved by calling prospective parents to see if they have any questions or want to talk to current parents of the school. Phone calls are a wonderful way for working parents to get involved as it is a small time commitment and flexible to your work schedule.
The Parent Ambassador Committee also provides parent-to-parent informational sessions that are single day events (for example, an informative tour through the new Cool Caf). Click here to sign up online.
For more information please contact:
Jan Cheek
Co-Chair, Parent Ambassadors
Mobile: 445-0108
jcheek32216@gmail.com
Katie Kight
Co-Chair, Parent Ambassadors
Home: 645-3514
Mobile: 591-8460
kkight@comcast.net
Mary Beth Hedberg
Co-Chair, Parent Ambassadors
Home: 647-8215
Mobile: 760-670-5554
mbhedberg@hotmail.com
School Pictures
Individual school pictures are scheduled for Friday, September 16. We will need 8-10 volunteers the morning of school picture day to help pass out combs, fix collars, retrieve classes to come and get pictures taken and to help keep the students organized and quiet in the auditorium. The time commitment is about 4 hours (8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the latest). The Chairpersons of this committee handle all other responsibilities including coordinating make-up pictures, class pictures, distributing the pictures, and managing money and payments. Class pictures are scheduled for February 3, 2012. Click here to sign up online.
For more information please contact:
Lee Johns
Co-Chair, School Pictures
Home: 329-3982
Mobile: 945-1146
merleejo@yahoo.com
Cindy Skigen
Co-Chair, School Pictures
Home: 645-0996
Mobile: 626-6376
clskigan@hotmail.com
Teacher/Faculty Appreciation
Volunteering with this committee is a great way to support the faculty and staff at JCDS and get to know more of them than you may interact with on a daily basis.
There will be three events during the school year — one casual fall event and one winter event in the Teacher’s Lounge and the Teacher/Faculty Appreciation Luncheon in May. Everyone can participate by dropping off food or beverage items either the day before or the day of the event. The chairpersons for this committee will send emails with details of the events a few weeks before so volunteers can plan what they may want to do — anything from purchasing water bottles at the grocery store to making a homemade dish for them to enjoy. The only time commitment is based on what you plan to buy or make. The committee would love to see as many people participate in this as possible!
The Teacher Appreciation Luncheon is scheduled for May 16, 2012. This is a big event that needs manpower to assist with food, beverages, decorations, serving, setting up and cleaning up as well as Homeroom Parents to help supervise the students in their classrooms while the teachers are having their special lunch. Click here to sign up online.
For more information please contact:
Jennifer Brown
Co-Chair, Teacher/Faculty Appreciation
Home: 642-1455
Pernille Lenger
Co-Chair, Teacher/Faculty Appreciation
Home: 651-3293
pernillekobro@hotmail.com
Uniform Consignment
The Uniform Consignment is another great way to get involved with the school. Uniform Drop-off is scheduled for May 21 and May 22, 2012. The actual Uniform Sale is scheduled on May 23, 2012. Volunteers will be needed those three dates to help accept uniforms, sort and organize, set up for sales, and facilitate the sales process. Click here to sign up online.
For more information contact:
Garrett Hiday
Co-Chair, Uniform Consignment
Home: 287-9394
brooksmanning@bellsouth.net
Kimberly Keene
Co-Chair, Uniform Consignment
Home: 534-5595
mwk2000@yahoo.com
Vision Screening
Vision screening for students is scheduled for Wednesday, October 12 from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. We will need about 20 volunteers to manage the flow of students and to assist with all steps of the screening process. The time commitment is about 4 hours (8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the latest). Click here to sign up online.
For more information please contact:
Darsi Edwards
Co-Chair, Eye Screening
Home: 645-5281
mrsdarsialisha@aol.com
Heather Fouts
Co-Chair, Eye Screening
Home: 280-5666
heatherfouts@me.com
Yearbook
The chairpersons for the yearbook committee are committed to this year long project and meet weekly in order to meet deadlines for the production of the yearbook at the end of the school year. Volunteers, however, can be very flexible with their commitment. You may be needed to sort through photos that have been submitted — especially for special events like Family Nights, shows, concerts, field trips, etc.
All parents and family members are encouraged to share their pictures as soon as possible after these events — either by saving them to a disk and dropping the disk off in the yearbook box in the front office, or by emailing them to one of the committee chairpersons. Click here to sign up online.
For more information please contact:
Mandy Gildersleeve
Co-Chair, Yearbook
Home: 363-3282
Mobile: 613-0502
tgildersleeve@comcast.net
Kim Watkins
Co-Chair, Yearbook
Home: 997-0099
Mobile: 233-7791
kimifw@aol.com
