PTO

The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) reaches out to the entire Denver Jewish Day School (Denver JDS), student body and their families.

PTO’s primary goals are to create a strong sense of community between parents and teachers, as well as to raise money that directly benefit Denver JDS programs. Parent volunteers are always encouraged and suggestions are welcome!

Creating a sense of community through FUN events:

• 4 PTO Meetings each school year (refreshments served!)
• Back to school coffees
• Ice Cream Fridays (spring and fall)
• Sukkah Hop
• Parents’ Night Out events
• Crazy Hair Day
• Restaurant Night
• Purim baskets for every student and staff member
• Lag b’Omer Picnic and Art Extravaganza
• White shirts on Friday to welcome Shabbat

Read the Shofar each week to find out about our activities.

Click here for more information about our planned events and here for our calendar of events.

PTO provides a service to parents, teachers and school:

• Room Parents help link specific grade parents to the teachers
• Blast after school enrichment program – this is not a fundraising venture
• Lands’ End apparel with school logo
• Mabel’s Labels (sticky labels with name of owner of clothing, notebook, etc.)
• Magazine Sales – available any time with contribution to the PTO
• Sally Foster (wrapping paper and more) – available any time with contribution to the PTO
• $5000 annual donation to the school for operating budget
• Provide snack baskets for teachers on teacher conference days
• Teacher/staff gifts at end of the calendar year and Staff Appreciation Week (staff appreciation breakfast)
• Gifts to the Senior class upon graduation

During the 2010/11 school year PTO:

• contributed $5000 to the school’s operating budget
• gave each full-time employee a holiday gift of $100
• co-sponsored the “At the Table with Martin Luther King” program
• donated FAST spelling equipment for one grade
• purchased picnic tables to meet school’s needs
• purchased a number of items from the teachers’ wish lists (including a new rug for 3rd grade and classroom books through our Scholastic credits)
• partially sponsored Avid4Adventure  – an outdoor education program featuring non-competitive activities and sports – for the Lower Division
• bought 2 iPads for the Lower Division
• bought a new computer for the Upper Division
• paid for volunteer appreciation tea and gifts (co-sponsored)
• re-equipped the Lower Division library using Scholastic book fair dollars

Fundraising

Money raised by the PTO directly benefits PTO programs. This is different from the Development Office fundraising, which brings in dollars for the school’s operating budget. The 2012-2013 PTO budget is just over $30,000, and is anticipated to come from:

• Entertainment Books – Lower Division only
• Box Tops for Education. Learn about the program here. See which Box Merchants support Box Tops online here. Find out which products you buy every day can be clipped and brought in to school here.
• Purim Baskets
• Scholastic Book Fairs
• Kids’ Kippot (Lear more about the kippot program.)
• And more!

For more information and to get involved, contact PTO President Julie Rubin.

We look forward to working with you!