Overview | TB Test | Current Needs!

Volunteering at your elementary school is one of the most rewarding experiences you could have.  The opportunity to make a difference in young people's lives, as well as the chance to spend more time with your own child, is not worth passing up.

But what if you don’t know what you want to do?

There are so many ways to volunteer and make a difference.

• Volunteer in your child's classroom. You can contact your child’s teacher and ask what kind of help they need. Parent volunteers help with preparation of materials, and help when the classes split up into smaller group stations. Scroll down for information on TB Test requirements.
  
  
• Special SOPA events. If there is a particular program or event at school that interests you, the person in charge would certainly love some help. Whether it is a bigger annual event like Halloween or the Dinner Dance, or weekly events like Homework Club, Stop Drop & Roll, or Ice Cream Fridays, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved and make the school great. To see a list of SOPA events, go to the Special Events page in this section. To contact event chairs, go to the SOPA Board & Committee Chairs page. If you cannot find the event or contact you are interested in, contact any board member and we will connect you and steer you in the right direction.
  
  Also, SOPA is constantly working to improve the campus. If you would like to share your talents and expertise, please contact Dave at dave@shermanoaksparents.com or any other board member and let us know what skills you'd like to share. Recent examples are the computer lab, where parents offered their construction, electrician, architectural, and painting skills to create one of the best labs in the city. So if you are a muralist, landscape professional, or even a helping hand, your kids will beam with pride when they say, "My parents made that!"
  
  
• The Parent Center in the "J Building" is a great place to help, especially for parents with small children not yet in school. Since pre-school children are not allowed in the classroom (except during school-wide events), parents can help with projects in the Parent Center and their young children can play with toys and books. You can either ask your teacher if there is a project you can work on, or you can help with on-going projects, such as the notifications that go home to school parents. Our Parent Center is open from 8:30am-11:30am each day. The director, Irina Khazanov, is looking forward to your visit and meeting all of you.

No matter what your interests or expertise, your presence alone will provide a great help as well as show your kids how much you care.  So please take a moment and contact someone from the SOPA board and we will do whatever we can to assist you in making a difference in your child’s educational experience.

TB Test
In order to volunteer in the classroom, the school must have documentation of a negative TB test for you.
if you are a new parent at the school, your TB Test needs to be within the last 6 months.
If you are a returning volunteer with a Test on record, you need to renew the TB Test results every 4 years. See your family doctor, or the school district offers free TB tests not too far away in Encino. Visit the office for details.

CURRENT WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Phone-A-Thon
Our annual Phone-a-thon is one of the largest fundraising events of the year. The donations received from the phone-a-thon are for the Annual Fund, which directly pays for all the DURING SCHOOL enrichment classes from which ALL our kids benefit at SOES. Starting this year, families that donate $500 to the Annual Fund will get a permanent tile on the outside office wall on our GREAT WALL OF TIGERS!

We need parent volunteers for an hour or two on Wednesday, November 12, 2008, to make calls. The evening is fun, in the library, with snacks and beverages. Come join -- the more the merrier!

Contact Andy Berenson at andy@shermanoaksparents.com or 818-990-9993 to join the fun and help.

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Thanksgiving Baskets
The SOES community donates canned and boxed food, as well as money to buy turkeys for community families who need a little help to enjoy a good Thanksgiving dinner.

Contact Kim Perez at kimgperez@yahoo.com to help or for more info.

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Book Faire
Our fall Scholastic Book Fair will take place in our auditorium in mid-November. Our school gets a percentage of the proceeds.

Help our children find and buy their favorite books!
Contact Ginger at gingerlamedman@yahoo.com to help or for more info.

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Homework Club
Homework Club is a volunteer-run, free afterschool program that provides a quiet, safe, supervised place for students to do their homework.

It runs Monday - Thursday for 1 hour after school, usually in the library or an adjoing classroom.

The only way we can provide this for the kids and families is if we have enough volunteers.
Please contact Jody Bradley at jody@shermanoaksparents.com to volunteer an hour a week or whatever you can.

For more on the HW Club, go to the Homework Club page in the AFTERSCHOOL section.

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Stop, Drop, & Roll
Even though each class in Grades 1 - 5 are responsible for a week during the year, Fill-ins are always welcomed and needed.

To join the volunteer list for SD&R, please contact Don Lukenbill at wordsmith_works@yahoo.com.

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