PARENTS - Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers are an essential part of Westwood’s comprehensive educational and enrichment programs. Together, the staff and parents of Westwood Charter School work hard to inspire our children with a love of learning and to provide them with the environment and tools to learn successfully. Without volunteers to lead activities and fundraise, many essential programs would not exist.

Maintaining Westwood’s tradition of academic excellence requires a commitment FROM EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US. Whether the amount of time and resources you have to share is small or large, there is a valuable contribution that you can make. Volunteering is a wonderful way to participate in your child's education and show him or her that you think school is important. Please find at least one area where you can participate. Feel free to volunteer in as many areas as you wish. Join us in the work, and in the pleasure, of helping all our children to grow and thrive. If you have any further questions about any of the volunteer opportunities, please contact the appropriate committee chairperson (Click here for a list of committees.) or Michelle Jones, W.I.S.E. Membership, at fishwej@aol.com.

ON-GOING OPPORTUNITIES
These jobs require an hour or two a week or less, to be done at school or at home.

ROOM REPRESENTATIVE - Each K-3 classroom needs one head room representative and each 4/5 classroom needs two head room representatives (one for each grade) to help coordinate with various fundraisers and school activities. Additionally, two to three other parents are needed per classroom to assist the head room representative. (Please note that you can only be a room representative to one class/child per school year. i.e. If you have two children, you can only be a room representative in one child's class.) Responsibilities include: getting out all important information via e-mail to all parents, help the teacher coordinate field trips, special classroom events, and alerting parents about all school events. Room representatives are a vital link between teachers, parents and the WISE committee. They also serve as a contact between the school and the parent body in case of an emergency. This is an ongoing job that will continue throughout the school year. Hours vary, but most work can be done via e-mail.

TRAFFIC ROOM REPRESENTATIVE - The Traffic Room Representative is a liaison between their classroom and the Traffic Chairperson. Each classroom needs one parent to fill this position. The Traffic Room Representative will be responsible for getting sign-ups for all the slots. It is best to fill the slots at the beginning of the year. Each representative must make sure that ALL time slots are filled, so that traffic in the morning and in the afternoon runs smoothly. During the week of traffic duty, the representative will then oversee that each position is filled.

LIBRARY - The school’s library needs at least two parent volunteers for every classroom. Each classroom visits the library once a week for about 1/2 hour and parent volunteers are absolutely essential. They help the librarian and the teacher by scanning books back into the computer system, re-shelving books, helping children find a book (especially kindergarteners), notifying the teacher of overdue books and finally checking books out using the computer system. Working in the library provides an opportunity to work with children, teachers and other parent volunteers. On-the-job training is provided. Careful attention to detail is a must. Contact your child’s teacher if you are interested.

WESTWOOD INVOLVEMENT SUPPORTS EDUCATION (“W.I.S.E.”) - W.I.S.E. is the parent organization at Westwood Charter that oversees both fundraising efforts and various service programs for the school community. A nine-member Board of Officers manages the activities and business affairs of this non-profit (tax-exempt) organization. Please support the service and fundraising efforts of W.I.S.E. For more information, please contact any W.I.S.E. officer.

SBM REPRESENTATIVE - SBM is the governing body of Westwood Charter School. The board is made up of Principal Judy Utvich, faculty members, a staff representative, and parents who are elected. Every parent at Westwood Charter School is eligible to be an SBM representative. The parents who serve have diverse backgrounds and a variety of skills -- the main thing they have in common is caring what happens to our children and Westwood Charter School. If you have any questions, or are interested in running, please contact any SBM member whose phone numbers are listed on the back of the Westwood Window.

BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE - We are always looking to make our school look as wonderful on the outside as it is on the inside. If you’ve got a green thumb, love gardening, or you just plain love to roll up your sleeves and get dirty, then this committee is for you. We are also looking for incoming Kindergarten parents to help keep up the Kinder yard specifically.

GREAT BOOKS - Carefully trained volunteers lead small groups of children in discussions of selected short stories. Group leaders work with the grade level of their choice (usually their child's own classroom). Time commitment is flexible: working closely with the classroom teacher, leaders create a timetable that works for them, usually an hour or two per week for periods of six to eight weeks. We are looking for people to be trained as Great Books leaders for the 2009-2010 school year.

GREEN TEAM - Help our wonderful students learn to make our school 'green' by participating in one or more of our programs. Green Team plans to start a 'waste-free' lunch program that teaches kids to recycle and reduce waste. Help launch this exciting program by volunteering for a lunch hour shift (or two) this September to help teach our kids how to recycle at lunch. We are also looking for new ideas how to improve recycling at the school and reduce waste. A few meetings throughout the year will be held to brainstorm ideas. Finally, we need help planning a fun Earth Day celebration. Join us for a few preliminary meetings this spring and celebrate Earth Day with us on April 22nd.

HOMEWORK CO-OP - This after school group meets to allow students to assist each other while they complete their homework. Parents are needed to help students and proctor if necessary. For two sessions of six to eight weeks, the Homework Co-Op meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:45 to 3:45 pm. You can volunteer for one or both days. This experience is rewarding to all that love the warm feeling of helping a child succeed. Good “basic” academic skills and a big heart are all that is required. We are also looking for a “shadow” to follow the current chairperson and take over this position in 2010-2011.

PARENT WORK PARTIES - This is the perfect volunteer opportunity for the commitment-phobic. Our monthly work parties require no specific time commitment or specific skill, just the desire to help. You can help for five minutes or for three hours; the decision is yours. The “parties” are held the first Friday of the month beginning in October. The idea of these “parties” is to help the teachers with copying, cutting, stapling, collating etc. Please pop in and help. You can even bring in your morning coffee.

REFRESHMENTS - This committee provides refreshments to various meetings throughout the school year.

SCRIP PROGRAM - Make money for Westwood Charter while you shop! It's simple. Scrip, simply put, comes in the form of gift cards that you buy from us and then use when you shop at many of your usual stores around town: Peets, Whole Foods, Bed, Bath and Beyond and many more. Westwood makes anywhere from 2% to 12% profit on every gift card you buy from us. We will be selling gift cards in front of school Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8-8:30. You can also register your Ralph's Rewards, Vons and Pavilions cards online and contribute to Westwood while you grocery shop. It's the easiest way to give back to your school!

TEACHER APPRECIATION/SWEET FRIDAY - We appreciate our teachers at Westwood Charter!!! We demonstrate this by providing a Back-to-School lunch, Sweet Treats every Friday, lunch during Teacher Appreciation Week and special snacks throughout the year. TRANSLATORS - On occasion, we need translators for a variety of written notices that go out to the student body. Oral interpretation is needed periodically at school meetings and at conferences. W.A.T.C.H. - Tutors work one-on-one with students at school for ½ hour or more a week to improve reading and math skills. Volunteers work directly with teachers and students. This tutoring program takes place during school hours. Training is provided.

WEBSITE - The school's website is in process of undergoing a major transformation. A Website Chairperson is needed to help coordinate tasks, review and update material as needed, and serve as the liaison between the school administration, W.I.S.E., and the webmaster (to be hired). Web design or programming skills are not necessary.

WESTWOOD CARES - The Westwood Cares committee serves the entire Westwood Charter community in time of need – whether happy or sad times. This committee helps organize carpools, meals, and play dates when a family needs an extra helping hand.

WESTWOOD FRIENDS - Westwood Friends are parents who volunteer time to provide support to new families at Westwood Charter by attending the Ice Cream Social for incoming kindergarteners during the week before school starts and by acting as friendly "ambassadors" for families with questions about Westwood Charter. We are also looking for a graphic artist to help out with our New Parent Handbook that will be produced in the spring.

WESTWOOD WINDOW - We need volunteers to assist in the distribution of our school newsletter to those families who prefer to receive print copies, as well as stuffing envelopes to our (rather small) mailing list. At the most, this might take an hour every other week, and the job can be shared by several people.

OFFICE ASSISTANCE - The main office staff needs help fielding questions, answering phones, bandaging scrapes, and mediating disputes, especially during the children’s lunch hours. Help by knowledgeable people, an hour or two a week, is needed. Call Carolyn Berliner at (310) 474-7788 for information.

FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES These events occur once or twice a year and require a week or more of concentrated effort. Some of the work must be done during the day however, each event has jobs that can be performed during the evening for those who are not available during the day.

GIFT WRAP DRIVE - The Gift Wrap Drive begins in September. Volunteers are needed to distribute materials and help process orders.

HALLOWEEN HOOT - On Sunday, October 25th, the yard will be transformed for Westwood’s annual Halloween Hoot. It is a festival complete with games, crafts, food and entertainment. In addition to volunteering for your class booth, we need additional volunteers in many areas including the following: tickets, prizes, Haunted House, food, decorations, set up, and take down. We will hold our first school-wide Hoot planning meetings on Thursday, October 1st at 8:15am in the cafeteria and then that same evening at 7pm in the library. BOOK FAIR SALES HELP – Our school greatly benefits from two fundraising book fairs per year. Every year this event raises thousands of dollars for our school. This year, the first book fair will be November 30 to December 11, and the second will be May 17 to May 28. Volunteers are needed to help us set up and break down the book fair as well as to spend one or two hours selling books at school during the week. Volunteers can sign up for one or both book fairs. This is a great way to help the school and meet a lot of people in the Westwood Charter community. T-SHIRT SALES - Westwood Charter T-shirts are sold in December during the week before winter break (December 14-18). Sales help is needed at drop-off and pick-up times during that entire week. Also, we are looking for a "shadow" to follow the current chairperson in charge of T-shirt sales and take over this position in 2010-2011.

SPRING AUCTION - Our major spring fundraising event is an entertaining adults-only evening which includes great company, fun music and dancing, delicious food and the best on-line auction in town. The event will be held on March 13, 2010. There are many opportunities to become involved. These include: soliciting donations, seeking sponsors, designing invitations, writing the catalog, photography of items for the website, signage, creating decorations, assisting with set-up and working the evening of the event, to name a few. We are also looking for a few co-chairs for the auction component of this important event.

SCHOOL EVENTS These events occur once or twice a year and require a week or more of concentrated effort. Some of the work must be done during the day however, each event has jobs that can be performed during the evening for those who are not available during the day.

BACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC - Held on September 13th, the Back to School Picnic is an opportunity to get reacquainted with our Westwood friends. Volunteers are needed for setup and cleanup, and donations of bottled water are appreciated.

NEW PARENT MIXER - The New Parent Mixer is an hour long meet-and-greet for new parents at Westwood Charter. We have hors d’oeuvres and drinks and many of the teachers and administration attend as well. It is held before the first W.I.S.E. meeting of the school year. Volunteer opportunities are to bring food, flowers, help set up, or greet parents as they come in.

MULTICULTURAL FAIR - Held in December, the Multicultural Fair celebrates cultural diversity. We showcase and explore art, artifacts, food, music and traditions from our school community. Join us and share your heritage. Expect several planning meetings and at least two weeks of work – one for preparation and one for the event. All types of assistance are needed. This is a parent-run event. Its success depends on all of our participation. Adults from a wide variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds are needed. We are also looking for a co-chairperson for Multicultural Fair.

HONORS DAY LUNCHEON - Honors Day (formerly “Founders Day”) is a Westwood tradition that acknowledges parents and teachers who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to our school. A special luncheon is given to honor the year’s service award recipients. Help is needed to set up the luncheon and transform the auditorium into a lovely, festive space. We also always need dessert and beverage donations.

KINDERGARTEN CONVERSATION - Held in mid-March, this evening for prospective families is an informative conversation about the Kindergarten program at Westwood Charter. Help is needed in publicizing the event ahead of time, organizing refreshments and warmly greeting parents in the auditorium on the night of the conversation.

ARTSHARE - Artshare is a voluntary campus wide arts program that encourages students to use their imagination and creativity to reflect upon a given theme, utilizing any medium they wish. A series of approximately four after-school workshops lead by parent mentors will be held after winter break. Students will ultimately submit a piece to showcase at a multi-media artshare event on the evening of March 25th. The visual art will then be displayed within the greater community. We are looking for artistic parents who would like to work with students during the after-school sessions. Last year, various visual mediums, music, dance, creative writing, photography, graphic design, acting, and film were all represented at our artshare event and we welcome any and all creative mediums! We are looking for mentors and also need help with organizing the program.

RESOURCES We know that our Westwood Community is a creative and talented group. We would like to establish a bank of parent talents, services and resources that the school can utilize. If you have friends or relatives who can participate, please include information on their talents and abilities as well.

GRAPHIC ART We always call on the same one or two talented people for our multitude of graphic arts needs. We need signs, posters, invitations, and flyers for many of the events we sponsor. If you are a graphic artist with a computer, WE NEED YOU.

LARGE VOLUME COPYING Although the school has a powerful copying machine, we often have copying needs that exceed its capability. During the year parents produce the contents of this opening packet, our Handbook, the school directory, and the Auction catalog, as well as all the flyers which accompany each event. We are always looking for free or extremely low-cost copying.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS AND TALENTS Did we forget something that you would like to contribute? Do you have a skill but you aren't sure how to apply it? Let us know. Grant writers, artists, florists, caterers, fundraisers, videographers, whatever -- let us know where your talents lie!