Butler PTA

Butler PTA August 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to the 2024-25 School Year!

As our summer begins to wrap up, we turn our attention to the school year. We are excited to welcome you to Butler this year!

The Butler PTA is made up of volunteers, and funds programs entirely through donations. The PTA sponsors events and enrichment programs for our students and families throughout the year, and we could not run these programs without your financial support and volunteer time. We send a monthly newsletter to families to recap past events, let you know what’s coming up, and how you can get involved. We’re excited to see you at our upcoming events!

For updates and information, please also check the PTA section of the Butler website, and join the Facebook page Butler Elementary Belmont MA Parents. 

See you soon,
Colleen Hartley and Sara Carson
PTA Co-Presidents

Upcoming Events

2024-2025 Calendar!

The Butler PTA has a full year of programming planned for our students and families. You can find the calendar here, or on the Butler School Calendar, and a hard copy will be going home with your student at the beginning of the school year. The events coming up in the next few weeks are listed below. If you’re interested in volunteering, please fill in this short survey!

Kindergarten and New Family Picnic, 8/28 (5-6:30pm)

If you’re new to Butler, we’d like to invite you to bring a picnic dinner and meet other incoming Butler families. This event is open to all new families (kindergarten through 3rd grade) and will be held on the blacktop and fields at Butler. The PTA will offer a scavenger hunt for new students and provide cookies!

Butler Open House for New Families, 8/29 (2-2:30pm)

If you’re new to Butler, Principal Babson is holding an open house for incoming Butler families. This event is open to all new families (kindergarten through 3rd grade).

Green Team Spruce Up The School, 9/3 (4-6pm)

Help us spruce up the school to welcome back our teachers and students! We need help tending the garden, picking up rubbish, and planting flowers in the front entrance. If you are interested in helping, please email butlerpta@gmail.com. 

Back to School Fundraiser at Moozy’s, 9/4 (after school) 

Get an ice cream after school to celebrate the first day of school and support our PTA. Moozy’s has generously offered to donate 10% of their earnings on September 4th to Butler PTA. We hope to see you there!

PTA Welcome Back Ice Cream Social and Membership Drive, 9/12 (5:30-7pm)

Join us for an ice cream social and PTA Membership drive to kick off the school year. Learn more about the PTA, events we organize and sponsor, and find out how you can get involved. We’ll also have Butler gear for sale! This event is open to all current Butler families and will be held on the blacktop and fields at Butler. 

We are still looking for a handful of volunteers (in half-hour or 45-minute slots) to make this event run smoothly. Sign up to volunteer!

Can’t make it but still want to contribute to the PTA? You can donate and become a member here. Donations to the Butler PTA fund enrichment programs to support our Butler students and their families.

PTA General Meeting, 9/19 (5:30-7pm)

After many years of holding our PTA General Meetings remotely, we’re thrilled to return to holding them in-person! If you’re curious about the PTA, would like to get involved, or are just interested in meeting other Butler parents and caregivers, we’d love to meet you! This meeting will be held in the Butler library, and we provide babysitting for preschoolers and elementary children (no diapers).

Agenda:

  • Introduction to the PTA

  • Meet the Board

  • Meet the Principal

  • Provide a (brief!) overview of this year’s events

  • Meet and greet and mingle 

If you need to leave early or arrive late - no problem! We are looking forward to meeting you.

Volunteer Opportunities 

The Butler PTA and our Butler students and community rely on volunteers to make our events successful. In order to volunteer, you need a CORI on file with Butler (valid for 3 years), and to let us know what you’re interested in! We have listed a few key openings below, but we have plenty of other opportunities for you to get involved.

Open Volunteer Positions

We have many open coordinator and board positions with the Butler PTA. Check out a list of the descriptions (and commitment level) here. 

The Fun Run is a big event that happens in October. There is a lot of preparation that happens and we need to get started. We are looking for people who know a local store owners (Subaru, Bakehouse, Ovenbird, RSM, Kumon, etc) and are willing to personally hand the sponsorship request letter. We are also looking for someone who has Citizen's Bank account and is willing to go over to the bank in Starmarket to hand the sponsorship request letter and follow up with them. Bank sponsorship requests needs to be done in August. Please let us know if you have an account with Citizens Bank and are able to reach out to them.

We are especially in need of:

  • Secretary: The secretary records meeting minutes and retains them for record. They maintain a membership list with names and addresses of members. 

  • VP, Fundraising: We are seeking another VP to support fundraising. This person would be responsible for raising funds for the Butler PTA and driving PTA Membership. This can be done remotely/from home. This position is very flexible and there is opportunity to make it your own.  

  • VP, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The VP of DEI supports the Butler school – students, staff, and caretakers – to create a community of inclusivity, acceptance, and allyship. This VP partners with Butler’s Equity Team, made up of Butler staff members, to determine and execute actions for the school year.

  • Assistant Bookkeeper: We are looking for an assistant bookkeeper this year, who can shadow our current bookkeeper and treasurer with deposits, payments, and account reconciliation. While a background in accounting is helpful, it is not required. The hope is this individual will learn this year and move into the Treasurer or Bookkeeper role next year. 

  • Picture Day and Fun Run Volunteers: School Picture Day will be held on September 26th, and we are in need of several volunteers who can help organize the children throughout the school day. The Fun Run has many tasks, such as fundraising prior to the event and being at the school day of to direct students during the run. Please email butlerpta@gmail.com if you’d like to help with this event! Picture day and Fun Run happen during the school day and we welcome volunteers for a half hour or longer.

Finally, Principal Babson has asked us to share a few needs that the Butler School is in need of: 

  • Furniture The school is looking to replace furniture in the conference room and main office. If there is anyone in the Butler community who works with or knows organizations/companies who are renovating their offices and can donate a conference table and office chairs that are in good condition to the school, please reach out to Principal Babson at jbabson@belmontschools.net

  • School Advisory Council Opening The Butler School is looking for two parent representatives and a community representative for the School Advisory Council. According to the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, each school in the state is to have a School Advisory Council. The role of the Council is to assist the principal in identifying the educational needs of students, adopting educational goals for the school, reviewing the annual budget, and formulating the annual School Improvement Plan (which is subject to review by the School Committee). The SAC meets virtually every 4-5 times a year from 7-8pm. Please email Principal Babson if you are interested in participating on the School Advisory Council at jbabson@belmontschools.net.

Interested in joining the PTA volunteer group? Fill in this short survey to let us know what you’d like to help with! 

Have questions? Send an email to butlerpta@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to help.