PTA Chairperson Information Page
Thank you for volunteering to be a PTA Chairperson.
Click to view/print the
Oak Hill PTA Committee Chair Guide.
Below you will find information that will help you as the year goes on.
Forms can be found on the Forms Page.
PTA Insurance
The PTA does have an insurance policy through RV Nuccio & Associates, Inc. that helps to protect you, volunteers, board members and the organization. It is critical that you review the policy loss prevention guide and follow the advice contained within. You will find an electronic copy of this guide in the Committee Chairs section of the PTA website at www.oakhillpta.org. It can also be obtained by contacting the PTA 1st Vice President.
Generally, we are covered for PTA activities taking place on school grounds such as: babysitting at PTA meetings, bake or food sales, block parent programs, wrapping paper sales, craft fair, carnivals, enrichment programs, and walk-a-thons. Hazardous activities such as fireworks, aircraft, darts, moon bounces, animal rides, dunk tanks are not covered. Swimming parties and boating activities are not allowed by FCPS Risk Management. The insurance policy will not pay for medical expenses resulting from an injury from a sports event or dance, which is why liability waivers are required for these events. Questions should be directed to RVNuccio at 1-800-567-2685.
Some vendors offer to indemnify the PTA against potential legal claims or provide additional insurance. When negotiating contracts, you should request that the vendor?s insurance agent send a certificate of insurance listing Oak Hill ES and the Oak Hill PTA as additional insured. This is a very standard request than any vendor you work with should readily understand.
Click to view the Insurance Program Summary Loss Control Guide
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Building Use
The school building is in high demand by community groups during the after school hours, so reserving space for your activity is a high priority. Once dates and times have been established for your activity, you should immediately complete the correct Building Use Form, make copies for your records and for the 2nd vice president, and submit the original to Miriam Rutherford in the school office. FCPS Form ADM-24 is required for classes and clubs. FCPS Form ADM-20 is used for events or other activities. Be sure to complete all required sections the appropriate form. If you are coordinating a class or camp that will employ a FCPS employee, you must also complete another form (FCPS Form ADM-24a) after the activity wraps. FLEX is excluded from this requirement. Miriam is very helpful in answering questions, but please refer to the other resources outlined here first.
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PTA Supplies & Equipment
The PTA has an inventory of supplies and equipment that committees may use for their activities. Unless items are labeled for a specific activity, they are available for use. Please make sure that reusable items are put away neatly when you finish with them.
Gym Closet: The first closet in the gym has two sets of shelves that contain supplies that are more frequently used or that need to be protected from extreme temperatures. This includes most hospitality equipment: coffee urns, pitchers & trays, cash boxes, art supplies and tablecloths. The PTA keeps a supply of white plates, forks, spoons, knives and hot/cold cups. You are welcome to use them for your event, but lease check the stock of items you plan to use well in advance of your event and be sure to restock them or notify the hospitality chair if the supply is low. When the closet is locked, please request access from the custodial staff.
Oakie Costume: The PTA does own a full Oakie costume. It is stored in a brown cardboard box in the gym closet. If you use it for an activity, please ensure that the person who wears the costume is tall enough to avoid dragging fabric. When finished, the inside of the head should be cleaned with antibacterial wipes, and you should assess the costume?s condition and spot clean as necessary. Please report heavy soiling to the PTA president so that arrangements for cleaning can be made.
PTA Shed: The PTA has a shed behind the school. It is the middle of the three sheds located behind the K-1 pod. The key is kept in the office and can be obtained from Peg Zumbo. The shed is where most activity supplies are kept: Fall Festival games, Bingo supplies, and basketball game spirit items, for example. Please contact the chairs for these events if you would like to use equipment they have set aside. They can help you find what you need more easily. There are also some red, white & blue and beach themed decorations and other odds and ends that you are welcome to use.
PTA Desk: The PTA desk has some basic office supplies like pens, stapler, scissors and tape. Please replenish items that you notice are low or notify the PTA president.
Folding Tables: The PTA and school own approximately six 6-foot rectangular folding tables. These may be used as needed. They are kept in the cafeteria closet, which is located to the right of the water fountains. If the closet is locked, the custodial staff can give you access.
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School Supplies & Equipment
The school has many items it graciously shares with the PTA.
Copier: You may use the copier in the library workroom to make PTA related copies. During school hours, always offer to defer to staff members who may need to make copies. If you are making a large number of single-sided copies, you can also use the duplicator (the smaller machine across from the copier). It is much faster and less in demand than the copier, but the copy quality is not as crisp. Construction paper can be run through the duplicator but not the copier. If you?d like to learn to use the duplicator, please contact the 1st vice president.
Laminator: Trained volunteers or library staff do all laminating on Tuesday and Friday mornings. If you need to have anything laminated, leave it on the shelf just inside the library workroom door. Be sure it is labeled with your name and "Please leave on PTA desk". You can pick it up by the end of the day that you expect it will be laminated. Janet Smith, the library IA, can answer your questions about laminating.
Ellison Press: If you need to die cut shapes or letters, you will find dies and presses in the library work room. Please contact the 1st vice president if you need a hand figuring it out.
Audio/Visual Equipment: A/V needs should be addressed in your building use form. However, you should contact the school Media Specialist Jenny Henry about your specific needs well in advance to be sure that you understand what is available and how to use it.
Paper: White copy paper for the machines is stored in the library workroom. Blue paper purchased by the PTA for flyers can be obtained from Miriam Rutherford in the school office. Construction paper is in the supply closet across from the boys? restroom in the Grade 2/3 pod. You will also find several colors of roll paper appropriate for banners & bulletin board backgrounds. If you need a large quantity of construction or roll paper, please budget to purchase it from your activity funds.
Badge Maker: The school does have two machines that allow you to make customized pin-on badges. Committees should plan to purchase supplies for the machines and must confirm availability through Jenny Henry.
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Publicizing Your Activity
Activity organizers have many options available to them:
Bulletin Boards/Display Case: The PTA maintains two bulletins boards in the lobby, just outside the cafeteria boards. If you would like information included on one of these boards, please contact the 2nd vice president.
The display case above the PTA desk is maintained by the school. From time to time it is appropriate to request that space to display items associated with a PTA activity, for instance, school supply kits or spirit wear. If you would like to make use of this space, please make your request to Peg Zumbo in the front office. Do be aware, however, that this space is in high demand and carefully scheduled. If your request is granted, you must be sure to put up and break down your display in a timely fashion.
Signage: Posters and banners are certainly appropriate at the school, though they can get lost among student displays in the pods, so choose locations carefully. Places like the pod stairwell landings and the glass entryways are high visibility. Be sure to remove posters and signs immediately after your event ends.
Wolf Pack: The school/PTA newsletter, the Wolf Pack, is published monthly by the PTA corresponding secretary. She distributes a schedule of deadlines and publication dates to all chairs early in the year and will also send monthly reminders prior to the publication deadline. Please make sure that your article or ad is on time. The text can be in the body of an e-mail message or in a Microsoft Word document. Please include related graphics or photos in your submission. They will be included as space allows.
Marquee: The marquee in front of the school is changed at the request of the school office and PTA president and is reserved for important school-wide information.
WOAK: WOAK is Oak Hill's student run television station. Students hear the news at the start of each day. This is a great way to get the word out to students. If you would like to submit a commercial, please provide a written script (or a video commercial, if you prefer) and the dates you'd like to for your commercial to run to Media Specialist Jenny Henry at least a week before you would like it to appear on WOAK. This allows her to review it, gain necessary administrator approval and lets the students plan their newscasts. WOAK is also a great place to select drawing winners, announce and award prizes.
Flyers: See Distributing Flyers below.
Keep In Touch (KIT): FCPS' KIT system allows the school principal to send e-mail messages to all registered users associated with Oak Hill. The PTA uses this system to send a reminder to families each Wednesday. If you would like for your activity to be included in one of these messages, please e-mail the 1st vice president no later Tuesday evening of the week you?d like to be included. Because this deadline remains the same each week, you will not receive a reminder in advance of this deadline after the first few weeks of school.
PTA Meetings: PTA meetings are held most months. A calendar of PTA dates is available on the PTA website and notices are published in the Wolf Pack and sent via KIT. As your event approaches, please plan to attend PTA meetings to update the membership. If you are unable to attend, please contact the 1st vice president with your update prior to the meeting.
PTA Website: Please send flyers and forms to the webmaster at web@oakhillpta.org as soon as they have been approved by the PTA president.
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Distributing Flyers in Friday Folders
Each Friday, students bring home an envelope of papers from the school known as the "Friday Folder." All PTA flyers are now printed on light blue paper to help parents find them quickly. If you would like to include a flyer in a Friday Folder, please consider reducing paper waste by choosing to use half sheets, double-sided printing, or the "oldest and only" (one per family) distribution. The procedure for flyers is:
Design your flyer. Be sure that the date, time, admission information have been confirmed in advance by the PTA president or 1st vice president and are on the flyer. Also check for the contact person and e-mail or phone number. The contact person and/or committee name should appear on anything that should be returned, like ticket order forms, so that they will be routed to you without delay as they arrive at the school.
Be sure that you use the PTA logo on your flyer. It is available in the "For Chairpersons" section of the PTA website. Simply point to the logo at the bottom of the page, right click and select "Save Picture As" to save it to your computer for future use. Or you can choose "Copy" and then paste the picture into your document.
If you are taking registrations for a class or club that does not have a vendor provided form, please use the Oak Hill PTA Activity Registration Form. A copy is in the appendix of this guide and an electronic copy can be found in the "Forms" and "After School Programs" sections of the PTA website. If you send out a full page flyer, the form can be copied on the back. You are encouraged, however, to distribute a half-page flyer and direct registrants to download the form from the website.
Submit a draft of the flyer to the PTA president and 1st vice president via e-mail at least one week before you would like it to appear in Friday Folders. Once approved, you should e-mail or take a hard copy of the flyer to Miriam Rutherford, asking that she get administrator approval and let you know when an initialed hard copy is available for you to pick up. This process is usually quick, but you should allow up to a week.
Retrieve the approved hard copy from Miriam Rutherford. Request from Miriam blue copy paper and the "class count" list for all students or oldest & only, depending on your requirements. This will list every teacher and the number of students in each class. Counts do change during the year, so please make sure you are using the most recent copy.
Use the library copier to make the appropriate number of copies on blue paper. During school hours, make sure that you defer to staff members who need to use the copier. See School Supplies & Equipment for details.
Band or clip together the correct number of copies for each teacher. Write the teacher's name in the top right corner of the first sheet and "oldest/only" if you are distributing one per family. The office prefers that you group teacher bundles by grade level. Return counted copies to Miriam Rutherford or Katherine Andersen in the office by Wednesday of the week you want them to go home.
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Money Matters, Budget, Reimbursements & Deposits
Budget: Most committees have a line in the Oak Hill PTA budget. This budget is recommended by the board to the membership for approval each September. Committee chairs are responsible for submitting budget requests to the 1st vice president when contacted during the summer. If there is no committee chair or the board does not get a response from the chair, budgets are created based on the actual numbers from the prior year and any expected changes in priorities, costs or enrollment. If the budget appears inadequate for your activity, you must contact the board with additional needs as early as possible, as significant changes must be approved by a vote of the general membership at a scheduled PTA meeting. Track committee expenses carefully. Failure to gain approval for a budget increase before spending can result in a personal financial loss. Leftover funds do not carry over into the following school year.
Forms: Blank copies of financial forms used by the PTA are kept in the Forms folder in the PTA desk and can be found in the "For Chairpersons" section of the PTA website.
Reimbursement: Expenses for items used for PTA activities may be purchased by committee chairs and committee members, up to the approved expense budget. To be reimbursed for these expenses, the purchaser should legibly complete a PTA Request for Disbursement of Funds form and submit it along with all receipts. Note that you must list each receipt you attach and a description of each purchase on the form. Please remember that a legible and complete form will allows for faster payment. If you are submitting expenses for multiple activities, please submit them separately to ensure that expenses are debited against the appropriate budget items. Make a copy of your disbursement form and receipts and place the originals in the PTA treasurer's folder in the PTA desk. Your check will be returned via the means you selected on the form within two weeks. Questions about reimbursements should be directed to the PTA treasurer.
Checks for large purchases: For larger expenses, like equipment rentals or team competition registrations, the committee chair is not expected to advance personal funds and await reimbursement. To have a check made payable directly to a vendor, complete the PTA Request for Disbursement of Funds form with the exact amount needed and the vendor's name as the Payee. The treasurer can mail the check directly or return it to the committee chair. You must attach the original invoice from the vendor and/or a copy of the related contract. Make copies and place the original documents in the PTA treasurer's folder in the PTA desk. Plan for two weeks for the treasurer to turn around and mail the check. Questions should be directed to the PTA treasurer.
Additionally, the PTA does have a sales tax exemption that can be used when making purchases directly from PTA funds. Please contact the treasurer for a copy of the necessary form if you need it.
Deposits: Only elected officers of the PTA are insured against lost deposits. For this reason, all money collected by committees must be turned over to an officer, preferably the financial secretary, as soon as possible but always within 24 hours. You must complete a deposit slip (see Forms above), itemizing all checks, and submit it along with your deposit.
For events, make prior arrangements to meet with an officer at the conclusion of the event. You will both count receipts and complete and sign the deposit slip. The officer will take custody of the receipts and submit them to the treasurer.
Cash boxes: Most events need a supply of cash to give as change. Ideally, this cash is supplied by the PTA treasurer. Please contact her two weeks in advance of your event with the amount and denominations you require. It will be supplied by an officer the day of the event. Cash boxes must always be closely supervised, preferably by a PTA officer or two committee members during events.
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Donations and Sponsors
To supplement the PTA budget allowance and fees, it is sometimes appropriate to solicit businesses for monetary or in-kind donations or sponsorships. There are some important considerations in doing so, however:
The PTA does not want to overburden any local businesses with requests for donations. Please do not make such requests without first consulting the PTA president or one of the vice presidents so that we can monitor the volume of requests.
Though they may be designated for a specific activity, all monetary donations must be made payable to the Oak Hill PTA.
All reusable in-kind donations, such as computers and other equipment, become the property of the Oak Hill PTA. They must be labeled as such and stored at the school with other PTA supplies and equipment.
Although donations may be designated to a specific activity, no donation may benefit only one team of several that participate in a given activity. Donations must be shared equally among all of the teams participating in that activity.
In return for their contributions, the PTA should thank the donor/sponsor. This includes a letter on PTA letterhead (available electronically from the corresponding secretary or 1st vice president) indicating the donation and its value. Please prepare this letter for the treasurer and submit it to her electronically for signature. A handwritten note on PTA stationary is also appropriate. The corresponding secretary can supply fold-over notes for this purpose.
nager FrontPage Extensions Secure Server Server Information Set Site Editor Site BA thank you can be included in the Wolf Pack write-up for an event, on signs advertising the event, t-shirts and other materials. However, these publications must simply thank the donor/sponsor or list the business as a donor or sponsor. They may not make qualitative judgments about the sponsor or product or request that people patronize the sponsor's business without jeopardizing the PTA's tax status. Please direct questions and present drafts of such materials to the PTA president.
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Volunteers
The PTA provides several opportunities for volunteers to choose activities that interest them at the beginning of the year. To be included in these opportunities, make sure that you reply to the 1st vice president's request regarding your committees needs when you receive that e-mail during the summer. The names collected will be submitted to you by the volunteer coordinator as soon as they have been compiled. This is your starting point. You can also make use of activity flyers and KIT announcements to request volunteers.
Volunteers are critical to the function of the PTA and its activities. It is important that they have a positive experience. Be considerate of their time and effort. This means that you need to make sure that you communicate with your volunteers in a timely fashion, make scheduling and job descriptions simple and clear, be ready for them when they arrive to work, do not waste their time, and always follow up with a "thank you."
Make sure to use all your volunteers, rather than reaching out only to those you know. If someone has expressed interest in volunteering, include them in communications to give them the opportunity to participate. Be conscious to include volunteers you may not know, dads, and those whose culture and background may be different from yours. Oak Hill is a diverse community. The school and PTA want to foster an environment in which everyone feels included and actively participates.
At larger events, it is helpful to have a volunteer sign in table with a list of volunteers and their positions, name tags, a map of stations, and other information volunteers may need.
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PTA/School Logos
The following logos can be used by downloading to your computer. Place you mouse over the image, and right click, then select Save Image as or Save target link as...
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