Hello, my name is Alison Crain, your Membership and Fundraising Vice President. I wanted to start off by introducing myself. I became part of the AES community not too long ago. We moved to Alpharetta from San Diego, CA in April 2016. Not having any family or friends in the area, or having any background information on AES, I was eager to get to know people and get involved. The PTO was actively looking for help and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to “be in the know†and become a part of the school community. I have enjoyed the company of the dedicated and hardworking members of the board and being part of the team that makes AES the great school that it is.
“Join the PTOâ€! These three words are communicated through emails, word of mouth, over our PTO website, sent home on flyers, spoken during morning announcements, Curriculum Night and Open House. By joining the PTO you have become a part of an exclusive group that will receive pertinent school communications. Your donation dollars are being used to better our school, and your volunteer hours help our teachers and make the children’s school experience memorable. So with all these wonderful reasons, why are we all not members of the PTO?? It may be that there are some myths about joining the PTO that need to be debunked.
Myth #1: Joining the PTO means I have to volunteer.
The PTO appreciates everyone’s membership, whether or not a member is able to volunteer. You will not be sucked into a black hole of volunteering!
Myth #2: PTO membership never expires; I only have to join once.
Each new school year begins a new PTO membership year. Your PTO membership will be good for this entire school year!
Myth #3: I don’t have the time to join the PTO.
No one is pressured to volunteer. If you are unable to volunteer your time, please become a member of the PTO and give your financial support. You will have the satisfaction of knowing that your dollars help fund events and activities for the children throughout the school year.
Myth #4: The school will be the same whether or not I join the PTO.
The PTO funds a lot of things every year that the children couldn’t have without your financial support. For example:
- Purchase classroom libraries in 2nd and 3rd
- Fund the annual subscription to Study Island.
- Resurface the front basketball and play courts.
- Provide Mini Grants to teachers for field trips.
Our next fundraiser is the Glow Run on October 31st. Your financial support will help the PTO get one step closer to this year’s Spotlight, which is the purchase of new state-of-the-art Media Center furniture. The new tables and chairs have given the space an updated look and will provide a better learning environment where the students can either work individually or collaborate with others.
About the Glow Run:
This amazing event will be held in the gym during your child’s Specials time. The lights will be turned off and the gym will transform into a “glow room†filled with multiple black lights and glow items to illuminate the room. The students will be running laps. Before the event starts the students will seek pledges, either per lap or a flat pledge. All of the money raised for this event will go towards our Media Center Furniture Spotlight. In order to ensure that our kids could enjoy the redesigned media center all year, we partnered with administration to have the furniture ordered and ready for the beginning of the year. So far, we have raised $1902 towards this project, and the total cost is $15,707.28. Your support ensures the PTO will be able to fully fund this media center redesign. Thank you!
We look forward to the kids enjoying a fun and healthy way to raise money for the school. Mark your calendars; there will be a kick-off pep rally for the Glow Run on October 22 and the event will be held during school hours on October 31.
Alison Crain
VP of Ways and Means
