PTA President’s Message
Tiffany with Scotty & Niko
Welcome Stevenson Families to a new school year! This is my second year as your PTA president. I can honestly say I am happy to be doing it again! I think back to when it was my first year as a parent and remember being a “newbie”. Wondering what all goes on at the school, wondering how I could be involved etc. I remember not knowing the difference between things. Let me give you newbies a heads up on a few things around our school:
PTA- stands for Parent Teachers Association. We are a children advocacy group. We also fundraise for many different programs and events such as; field trips, assemblies, teacher assistants and many other things. PTA has a meeting on the second Thursday of every month. PTA is ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW PARENTS!
FFS- stands for Families for Stevenson. This is a booster club that raises money for the arts and dance programs at our school. They also support many other events and programs. FFS has a meeting also, the second Thursday of each month. FFS and PTA take turns on which meeting goes first. FFS is also ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW PARENTS!
Sun Shade Committee- This is a specific committee that’s sole purpose is to raise money for sun shades. Even though we have had a cool summer, be assured we will have heat coming. Kids get burned playing on hot equipment. We are one of the few schools left who still do not have sun shade above their play structures. This committee needs more voices! Come to a PTA/FFS meeting and see how you can help!
You will see tons of fundraisers from FFS, Sunshade and PTA. This is because we need to raise so much money to pay for many different things. My advice to you is, choose a few fundraisers that appeal to you and please do support them! Don’t feel like you have to support all of them. It can be overwhelming. But, remember the fundraisers benefit your child!
Sometimes it’s overwhelming to come to a meeting and not know anyone. My advice- take a deep breath and just “DO IT”. After a few meetings you start meeting new people. You get to be in “know” of what is happening at your child’s school and you just plan have a good time. Best advise- introduce yourself to me, or Jennifer and De (the CO-presidents of FFS). I promise we’ll introduce you around and hopefully make you feel a part of the team.
For the latest news at our school visit our website- www.stevensonpirates.net You will find all you need to know about our school. You can sign up for emails and be informed of upcoming programs and events.
I hope that clears a few questions up for you all. Please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email with any more questions. I am here for you as well as the kids of Stevenson!
Cheers,
Tiffany Bakas PTA President
Hi! Just a couple of questions. My son Ryan is in Mrs. Torres class so I am new to this!
What is the PTA craft club? I have 2 younger children still at home so I was also wondering if there is always childcare at the monthly meetings. And depending on what the craft club is, does it also have childcare? I would love to help and get involved but with the other children it limits what I can do! 
oh! Ryan is a late bird so can he go to the childcare for the monthy meetings? Until he has to be at class?
Thanks for your time!
Michelle
The monthly PTA/FFS Meetings always have childcare provided and Ryan is welcome to go. You might need to nip out and send him to class at the appropriate time. Or he can just sit in the library and read/draw until it’s time to send him to class. That’s what my daughter preferred when she was a late bird. The monthly meetings alternate mornings / evenings to try and accomodate working parents / parents with small children.
We don’t have formal child care for Craft Club. Last year a few parents brought their younger children who spent the time happily drawing. It’s up to you if you think this would work for your kids. Craft Club is a weekly group that work on producing crafts that are then sold at events such as Boo Bash (our fall festival). It’s a very informal group and is a great way to get to know other parents. You don’t need to be artistic to come to Craft Club
If you would like more information about Craft Club, please contact our PTA president Tiffany Bakas ( tnt@illuma.net ).
It’s great that you want to volunteer, we can ALWAYS use the help. I understand that with small children at home, your days are full, but we often need volunteers later in the day for events like Boo Bash, Stevenson Rocks and Talent Show. We’re also looking for people who can make calls to local businesses asking for donations for our Stevenson Rocks silent auction. It’s a pretty easy job, which can be made to fit your schedule and it makes a huge difference – it’s the major source of funding for the arts and dance programs.
I serve on both PTA and FFS boards so let me have a think about some of the other roles that might work with your schedule. It’s great to have so many enthusiastic Kindergarten parents this year.
Thanks
Emma
818 861 7139