Baby Steps  . . .

By Laura Norris, 2012 Huff PTA Executive Vice President and Auction Co-chair. Laura has a 5^th grader and a 2^nd grader.

As my daughter, Sara, finishes her final year at Huff, I look back on her time with joy and sadness – somewhat sad that she is growing up and moving on but joyful that I was able to be actively a part of such a wonderful community and supportive school. I firmly feel that the more you put into something, the more you get out of it.

I fondly remember my daughter walking to Mrs. Lopez’s kindergarten class 6 years ago – parents wistfully peering through the window, snapping pictures to capture that precious first day of school moment. As I finally walked away from the classroom, I stopped by the PTA welcome area on the blacktop to receive some information about the school. I was greeted by the volunteers and members of the PTA.

I started at Huff as a volunteer in the classroom (cutting out shapes for Mrs. Lopez, gluing pictures in books and assisting students staple, count and read). I became a room parent and quickly learned about all of the amazing activities and programs offered at Huff.

I later met Roxanne Coish, who was bursting with energy about Huff’s annual auction. I had never been to a school auction before, so I decided to attend. I didn't buy much that year and didn't talk to very many people, but I enjoyed the event and saying hi to the staff.  Because of Roxanne’s enthusiasm, I decided to help with auction invitations my second year. As the years went by, I gradually took on more responsibility. I coordinated the teacher/staff auction donations the following year and then co-chaired the auction with Roxanne the next year. Then my husband, Craig, and I chaired it the year after that. Craig and I, along with Laurie Balch and our 2012 auction team coordinated the auction this year.

For me, raising money for Huff is not just about creating opportunities for our kids (e.g. hiring the West Bay Opera to perform for our students, sending kids on field trips to Intel or the Lawrence Hall of Science, buying an iPad cart, funding 4^th grade choir and honor choir or purchasing new balls for the playground). It’s also about connecting our community. Many of my friendships are with those that share a common interest of service.

As Craig and I step down from our role as auction co-chairs, I reflect on my involvement at Huff and the baby steps I've taken along the way. Through these memorable volunteer experiences, not only have I gained life-long skills, connected with our talented teachers and staff but also developed some wonderful friendships with other caring parents at Huff. For me, Huff is like a family.

Thank you, Huff, for the opportunity!

Read-A-Thon at Huff -- Reading for Fun & Profit?

By Ann Rosen

PTA Secretary, Chair for Communications, and parent of two multi-cultural Huff students

Joseph Addison said:  “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”.  Every parent wants their child to grow and learn and reading can open up worlds.  Instilling the love of reading in our children is a goal many of us Huff parents share. 

How can we best inspire our kids to be readers?  We had a lively discussion on this very topic at the recent PTA General Meeting.  We talked about how we can support reading as a community.  A plan was discussed for a Read-A-Thon in association with our upcoming ‘All Star’ Book Fair in October.  The overarching goal of the Read-A-Thon was presented as one combining encouragement of reading by our kids along with fundraising for Huff.  Everybody present seemed to agree that an event to promote reading is desirable.

Then some questions ensued.  Should we be sending the message to our kids that they get “paid” for reading?  Furthermore, is fundraising for the school really going to resonate with our kids as an incentive to read at this event?  Or is the connection between their reading and the fundraising benefiting the school too abstract for kids, especially the younger ones?  Some parents suggested this could be more about a friendly competition between classes, with fun rewards which kids can more readily relate to.  Others felt that fundraising as part of the Read-A-Thon should be directly linked to a specific program or equipment for the school, perhaps a fundraising goal that directly promotes reading.  Others talked about the opportunity for teaching our kids the value of money by virtue of including fundraising.

In the end a decision was made that the Read-A-Thon will include fundraising to support key programs for our kids.  Specifically the funds collected during the Read-A-Thon will be aimed towards supporting the new Destination Imagination program as well as GATE instruction at Huff.

What ideas do you have for a dream Read-A-Thon? Your opinion matters to us and will help shape this Read-A-Thon.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below.  

What's a PTA?  And What Is It Good For?

By Ann Rosen

PTA Secretary, Chair for Communications, and parent of two multi-cultural Huff students

PTA = Parent Teacher Association, right???  OK, confession time.   This author managed to breeze by almost two full grades at Huff, knowing little to nothing about the PTA, with the possible exception perhaps of the aforementioned acronym…  But this all changed at the end of First Grade.  I was so grateful for this wonderful school and all that it has provided for my son that I felt like it was time to give back.  So I decided to join the PTA Board.  I joined a group of incredibly talented and impressive volunteers, who were clearly passionate about making Huff an even better place for our kids.  I learned a lot from these parent volunteers.  I learned a lot about the PTA. 

And who knew?  For example who knew that all this time, the PTA was paying for the lovely field trips that my son has been going on?!  And wow, the PTA also pays for music and art and computers and classroom and recess and library supplies!   And wait a second, the PTA also organized and paid for so many fun family events like Hawkfest, Family Science Night, Book Fair, Silent Auction and Multi-Cultural Day!  The list went on and on.  It was the tireless efforts and dedication of numerous Huff parent volunteers who all pitched in, alongside our wonderful Huff staff, to make these events and activities so successful.  It was the generosity of Huff parents, whose donations made this all possible. We all, parents and Huff staff, worked together to make Huff such a delightful learning environment and a real community!!!

I feel truly privileged to be part of the Huff PTA! Getting involved has not only been incredibly rewarding, it actually has made me happier!  I have met so many amazing people I might not have otherwise met, and I feel like I am part of the community.  I highly recommend it!

So we thought we would create this blog as a place where we share our Huff Love and our enthusiasm for making our school an even better place for our kids and our families!  Please watch this space over the coming months, as we will be writing about what the PTA is up to and what is going on at school.  If you have topics you would like us to write about or any thoughts related to the PTA, please leave us a comment!  

Would you like to write a blog post yourself?  Please let us know!  This is a great place to share your thoughts and passions about Huff and our kids’ education! 

Welcome to the new school-year!!!   We are looking forward to seeing you all!