KES PTO

2021-2022 Officers
Co-Presidents: Abbey Albrecht and Susan Zeidler
Vice President: Lindsay Rizza
Secretary: Nicole Maciejak
Treasurer: Jess DeAngelo

Every parent of a child at KES is automatically a member of the KES PTO. Parents and teachers actively participate in PTO activities by attending meetings, volunteering for events, or by lending support in a variety of ways.

Because the PTO exists for the benefit of all KES students, and to foster open communication among parents and administrators, KES PTO welcomes input from all members of the Killingworth community. It’s a great way to stay abreast of school district news, and a great forum for parents to express concerns, present ideas, or feel connected to the school.

Guest speakers are invited to PTO meetings to share information about various components of the school curriculum or issues affecting Regional School District #17. In the past, speakers have discussed the Connecticut Mastery Tests, the new middle school, and Internet Safety. We hope to cover many new topics this year. Suggestions for guest speakers are always welcome. We hope to see you at the meetings, which will be held on the last Tuesday of every month at 7pm in the school music room.

In addition to its meetings, the PTO also conducts fundraisers to provide all children at KES with Cultural Arts programs that are not funded through the school district budget. The annual wrapping paper sale is the PTO’s biggest fundraiser and provides the bulk of the money for cultural arts programs. Each year, the PTO pays for and sponsors approximately one performance each month.
Listed below are some of the events available for participation:

Homeroom Parent – Responsibilities include: Planning parties; which includes delegation of tasks to other parents. A meeting at the beginning of the year to discuss any issues.
Cultural Arts – brings in educational entertainers through the year.
Festival of Arts & Sciences – A full day of hands-on learning, artists come to KES to share their talents.
Publicity – Informing newspaper of upcoming events at KES and organizing the bulletin board.
Hospitality – Setting up refreshments for PTO meetings and organizing the teacher appreciation breakfast in May.
Family Nights – Nights throughout the year to get together with your friends, meet some new ones, and have fun at school.
Ice Cream Social – In conjunction with the KES Art Show in the Spring.
Yearbook – Organizing our school yearbook.
Beautification – This is a year-round process with a BIG cleanup day in October. Volunteers are always needed. Please join us in making our school beautiful.

Committee Descriptions:

Room Parent - A room parent team is a team of 2 to 3 people working together to provide a link between the classroom teacher and the parents of the children in the class. Your duties may include helping with holiday parties, organizing teacher wish lists, being the link between the PTO and parents and any other duties a teacher may need help with.

Communications Committee - KES PTO is constantly looking for ways to improve our communication with families, so that they stay informed of PTO events and committee-related information. This committee will act as liaisons passing information from the PTO to the families of KES students. Such tasks may include creating and distributing flyers, updating the KES PTO Facebook page and website, and emailing parents regarding upcoming events and PTO-related reminders. Technologically sawy folks are sought, but not mandatory!

KES Running Club - The running club is open to all students in grades 1-4 it takes place during recess one to two times a week. The upper and lower playgrounds will be marked out in quarter mile increments. Students will receive beads and tokens at specific milestones. Committee members will be responsible for the following: Attending recesses to help track students miles; Hand out beads and tokens at specified milestones; encourage the students involved in the club.

Yearbook Committee - This committee is responsible for all aspects of the school's 80 page, full color yearbook. Members continually take photographs at KES events (both indoors and out). Photos are collected, edited and organized by grade and event then uploaded to the yearbook site. Members work on page design, layout and additional editing of pages. Also responsible for collecting photos from parents, tracking sales, then distributing the yearbook by the end of the schoolyear. Volunteers who can only commit to photographing events are welcome, too!

Hospitality Committee - Committee members help with one or more of the following: Make soup in crock-pot/make sandwiches or bake bread for the teachers during conferences in October and April; Provide baked goods for staff appreciation breakfast which happens during teacher appreciation week in May. This is a drop off event - perfect for fitting into busy schedules!

Fundraisers:
Gift Wrap – Our biggest fundraiser, sales provide money for Cultural Arts program not funded through the school budget.
Book Fair – Makes available books for our children at reasonable prices and raises money for our school library.
KES Sportswear – Show pride in your school by wearing KES t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. Sales are conducted in the Spring.
Box Tops for Education – Box tops are collected throughout the year to earn money for the school. You can start helping our school now by collecting your box tops and turning them in throughout the year. www.boxtops4education.com