Get Involved And Strengthen The Brooks Community!
Naomi L. Brooks is an amazing school with a dedicated staff and caring parents who volunteer in countless ways. No matter your time availability, there’s a way for everyone to help. Some opportunities are listed below. If you’d like to volunteer or have a question, please reach out directly to the contact listed below.
If you’re open to helping at some point but aren’t sure what’s a good fit for you, please click on this short form and just fill in your info. If you’d like, tell us a little bit about yourself (e.g. that you’re “handy”.) We’ll reach out to our list of volunteers when a need arises — but there’s NEVER any obligation.
Thanks in advance for volunteering. Your help will make a big difference for our kids!
Nominations Committee
This committee recruits members to run for the elected officer positions (President Elect, Treasurer, Secretary, VP of Programs, VP of Fundraising, and VP of Communications). It consists of three members who are elected by the general membership at least two months prior to the election of officers and is mostly active in last Winter/early Spring.
VACANT Interested? Contact [email protected].
NEW! Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee
Introduced in 2021, this committee will work toward more diversity and inclusion in both the PTA and the Brooks community, ensuring that all students and families are considered and represented, using resources developed by the Alexandria Council of PTAs (PTAC). Come join this important group!
Contact: Pamela Vetrini, [email protected]
Field Day
DEPENDANT ON ACPS COVID POLICIES
This is one of the students’ favorite school days! Parent volunteers work with the P.E. teachers to organize and provide outdoor games/events and to recruit other parents to help with this one day event in June.
VACANT Interested? Contact [email protected].
Teacher / Staff Appreciation
Volunteers help organize snacks, small gifts, and other ways to recognize the great work our teachers and staff do on behalf of the students. This is wonderful way to say thank you and build community among Brooks staff and parents.
Contact: Fran Boller, [email protected]
Room Parents
Room parents help relay information to other classroom parents and help plan curriculum-based crafts. They also coordinate volunteers for classroom needs (as directed by the teacher, when school visitation policies permit), collect donations for teacher gifts, and help coordinate classroom baskets for the spring fundraising event. Usually there are two room parents per classroom.
Contact: Bryanne Cordeiro Reynolds, [email protected]
Fall Festival – TENTATIVE FOR 2021
This is a fun family event held in October which usually includes a moon bounce, face painting, games, music, food, a bake sale and much more! Volunteers can help plan and coordinate one of the activities, assist in promotion of the event, or assist in recruiting additional volunteers. This event was not held in 2020 and is being reimagined for 2021 pending COVID guidance and protocols.
Contact: Fran Boller, [email protected]
Military Family Committee
This committee helps educate Brooks military families on the protections and accommodations made for them by ACPS and connects them to local resources specific to military families in the Northern Virginia area. Volunteers can assist with Veterans’ Day activities, Halloween candy collection for military members overseas, an annual Military Child Breakfast, and more.
Contact: Josie Beets, [email protected]
Special Education (SPED) Committee
This committee serves as a support and advocacy group for families with children receiving special education services. It is as a sounding board where parents can confidentially discuss their concerns. Volunteers also thank and support the special education staff (for example, by collecting donations for holiday or end of year gifts). It has also worked on projects such as helping the library collect books that reflect diverse learners and highlighting the books for Disability Awareness Month.
Contact: Liz Chien Doyle, [email protected]
Membership
Do you love to meet new people, have an interest in marketing and communications and a knack for technology? We are looking for someone who can take the lead in marketing membership to the Brooks community and help manage member data. This position is most active in the Fall when we are asking members to renew or recruiting new members.
VACANT Interested? Contact [email protected].
Blessings in a Back Pack (BIB)
This is a national program designed to assist schools across the country in providing food to grade school children each weekend of the school year. Items are distributed in a discreet backpack on Fridays. Volunteers can assist with food purchasing and fundraising.
Contact: Nora Johnston, [email protected]
Book Fairs/Literacy
Historically, Brooks has held two book fairs per year through Scholastic and Hooray for Books. We did not have book fairs in 2020/2021 due to COVID but are hoping to reinstitute them in 2021/2022. The Literacy Committee has also helped with author visits and other programs. We welcome any new ideas to promote reading and literacy.
Contact: Cindy Zmijewski Demers, [email protected]
School Supplies
Each summer, the PTA obtains school supply lists from the teachers and contracts with a vendor to allow families to purchase their back to school supplies in a one-stop shop. The school typically receives credit toward additional supplies for the school.
Contact: Jodi Zand, [email protected]
Community Partners
Do you love fundraising? Each year, the PTA solicits financial support from neighborhood businesses (typically Realtors, restaurants, or other small businesses) to help fund the many activities and initiatives we undertake. In exchange, we provide recognition on our website and through social media. We can always use help identifying and reaching out to potential partners.
Contact: Maya Mahoney, [email protected]
Dine Outs
The PTA works with area restaurants to donate a portion of percent of their proceeds on a particular night in exchange for encouraging families to patronize the restaurant on a particular night (or week). This is a fun way to build community and raise funds! We could use help soliciting restaurants.
Contact: Natalie Loebner, [email protected] & Noel Horton, [email protected]
Spring Fundraiser
Held in the Spring, this is our largest PTA fundraising event and typically brings in about half our revenue for the year. We need all the help we can get! Pre-COVID, volunteers helped secure donations, publicize the event, coordinate a silent/live auction, make brochures/fliers, promote within the community, coordinate the silent/live auction set-up, assist with set-up or clean-up, etc. In 2020/2021 the gala was all virtual. The school year’s event is being rebranded to be more inclusive and family-oriented.
Contact: Carly Kayser, [email protected] & Maya Mahoney, [email protected]
Spring2Action
This is a city-wide, 24-hour online fundraising event that provides a simple way to connect donors to the charitable causes they care about most. In addition to raising money through individual pledges, Brooks also can win bonus prizes based on different categories (e.g. getting the most donors in a specific hour.) On the day of the event, regular/frequent electronic communication by a volunteer is needed, to inform parents of details to maximize prizes.
VACANT Interested? Contact Maya Mahoney at [email protected].
Community Support Committee
This committee coordinates opportunities to help those in need in the Brooks community. Working with the school social worker, nurse and other staff, the committee built and maintains an Amazon Wish List containing a number of items needed by Brooks families. Volunteers can also organize school-wide service projects or charitable giving events such as a canned food drives.
Contact: Aimee Desrosiers, [email protected]
Garden / Outdoor Learning
This team plants and maintains a garden on the playground, which provides a wonderful outdoor environment for all students as they get hands-on learning in areas such as planting, harvesting, life cycle, apothecary, and sketching. No garden experience needed for volunteers!
Contact: Samantha (Sam) Strauss, [email protected]
Playground & Schoolyard Committee
This committee seeks to build a culture of caring for the Brooks schoolyard through community events such as campus clean-ups. The committee will also work with ACPS and the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities (RPCA) to ensure proper maintenance of the schoolyard and consider future playground enhancements.
Contact: Paul Sass, [email protected]
Odyssey of the Mind
This is an international creative problem solving program. Student team members work together to solve a problem and present their solution at a competition in the spring. (Last year this was all done virtually.) The primary liaison coordinates the school’s membership and serves as a liaison with team coaches to ensure key deadlines are met. Each fall, the liaison also works to recruit both student team members and parent coaches.
Contact: Christine Scanlon Miller, [email protected]
Reflections
This is a National PTA-sponsored nationwide arts contest for students, with categories for art, music, photography, literature, video, and dance/choreography. Volunteers can help publicize the program, help organize an Art Night in October (when allowed in the building), help arrange judging and delivery to the District coordinator in November, or help to organize an awards ceremony in January.
Contact: Cindy Zmijewski Demers, [email protected]
Watch D.O.G.S (Dads of Great Students)
ON HOLD UNTIL PARENT VOLUNTEERS ALLOWED IN BUILDING
Are you a Brooks dad who wants to get involved in your student’s school life? Come join the Watch D.O.G.S.! Your commitment of one day will keep your student buzzing for months. Dads, granddads, or other father figures can demonstrate the importance of education by assisting in activities in and out of their student’s classroom, such as reading, quizzes, P.E., lunch, recess, and more.
VACANT Interested? Contact Armita Cohen at [email protected].
Green Team
This group encourages students to care for the environment through various activities. Volunteers can: help organize Bike and Walk to School rallies; coordinate environmental activities; help plan and get sponsors for contests; and help plan/coordinate Earth Day celebrations.
VACANT Interested? Contact Armita Cohen at [email protected].
Yearbook
Traditionally, one parent will serve as a liaison with Lifetouch, the company that prints the yearbooks for us. We are pursuing utilizing an ACHS student to assist with the layout and design, so this position would coordinate with the student as well.
Contact: Jerry Fadner, [email protected].
Photos / Flier Design
We love getting your photos of Brooks events and special moments, for possible use on our Facebook page, the yearbook, the PTA website, etc. Please feel free to email your best pics any time of the year! Are you creative? We could also use your help to design fliers to help promote PTA events.
Contact: Marty Zager, [email protected]
Parent Tours
ON HOLD UNTIL PARENT VOLUNTEERS ALLOWED IN BUILDING
Parent volunteers can provide school tours for prospective parents as needed throughout the school year. Tours normally last 30-45 minutes.
Contact: Kara Macek, [email protected]
ACPS VOLUNTEERS:
Any parent who wishes to volunteer as a chaperone, room parent, or in any position where they may be alone with a child must apply to volunteer through Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS). To do so, visit https://www.acps.k12.va.us/volunteer and follow the instructions carefully. NOTE: There is an updated application process for the 2021-22 school year as part of a new Visitor Management System.
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