Home Room Parent Guidelines 2014-2015
Thank you for volunteering your time to serve as a Room Parent for your child’s
class! It is both fun and rewarding and is something that you child will be proud off. A
Room Parent is a very important part of Milltown’s community and provides volunteer
support and services to a teacher classroom and the Milltown PTO.
A Room Parent should enlist the help of other parents and be able to delegate these
responsibilities. The teacher will tell you of their specific needs and determine exactly what
type of assistance is needed. Typically, Room Parents help coordinate class parties, special
events, and parent volunteers either in the classroom or at PTO events and help maintain a
positive attitude among the parents of the class. While a Room Parents main responsibility
is to the teacher and the class, the PTO does ask for your help to further communicate with
our parents throughout the year.
You and the Parents:
One of the PTO’s goals this year is to work on communication. First and foremost,
confidentiality is very important. You may have personal information on students and their
families for contact purposes only. You are not to share this information without
permission. Since school policy is not to hand out names and contact info for all children
in your class, you may want to ask your teacher if they would allow you some time at Back
to School Night to gather that information. Email will be the primary source of
communication between the Room parent and the classroom parents. We ask that you
please respond to all emails, even it is a simple “ok” so that the sender know you received
and read the email. We recommend keeping an electronic or paper copy of all
communications with teacher, parent or PTO…just in case. Communicating with your
teacher and classroom parents is key to a successful year. So spread the word…
Sharing opportunities and duties with all interested parents as equitably as possible
is important. Some parents may have time to give in the school, while others would prefer
to give donations to the party. You will have a wide and varied range of gifts and talents
offered to you by the parents in your class. Try to use these gifts as much as possible.
Most importantly remember that every parent can and usually wants to contribute in some
way. This will make your job easier.
Always try to give volunteer adequate notification of events. Assuming that a working
mother or father does not have the time to volunteer that will limit your volunteer base.
However, most parents can and will take off. Just remember volunteers will usually need a
reminder email. Remind your parents for safety reasons, parents attending the class
events must check in at the front office.
Don’t try to be a superhero! There are other parents willing to help out, sometimes
communicating your needs is key. If your fellow parents are not able to help out, please
contact the Homeroom Parent Coordinator at 2014milltownhrparent@gmail.com
You and the PTO:
Be sure to check the NEW PTO website: milltownpto.digitalpto.com and guide your
parents to it as well. Be sure to check out Milltown Primary PTO Facebook Closed Group
page. Make sure parents know about the group – lots of PTO news will be shared on these
outlets.
Let your parents know how they can get involved with the PTO. Keep them informed of
meeting dates, upcoming events and ways they can volunteer and support the PTO and
their children.
You as a Home Room Parent:
As a Home Room Parent, you are not financially responsible for class parties or
teacher gifts. You are encouraged to contact parents for donations of juice, treats and
whatever else is necessary for parties or events. It is strongly suggested that you send out
emails in a timely manner. A reminder email is helpful to ensure items are sent in on time.
We have heard that in years past our Homeroom Parents were spending a lot of
money out of their own pockets due to parents not participating in the classroom donation
request. We cannot control that; however, we have tried to find a solution. Our solution is
not a MUST, but simply a suggestion to hopefully save you a few dollars. Each class can
determine how they want to run their classroom donation situation. Just make this
information transparent to the parents. The suggested classroom donation solution was
produced for a class size of 18 or more students, please adjust accordingly for a smaller
class size.
Homeroom Parent Roles: Split these roles between you
PTO Meeting Representative/Teacher Liaison- (or you can alternate attending meetings)
The PTO Meeting Representative will be responsible for coordinating so that at least one
Homeroom Parent will be representing their class at the Bi-monthly PTO Meetings. As
teacher liaison, your role will be to be in contact with the teacher regarding their needs and
setting up dates for the parties and relaying any other information.
Treasurer
The treasurer will collect, track, maintain and disburse class funds collected from the
parents within the class.
Teacher Appreciation Week
One of the Homeroom Parents will be in charge of Teacher Appreciation Week. While they
don’t have to be responsible for all of the activities during that week, they will be
responsible for coordinating the events.
Party Planner
One of the Homeroom Parents will be the “party planner”. While they don’t have to be
responsible for running all of the parties, this parent will determine who is in charge of
each party and that the necessary supplies are in place.
Picture Coordinator
One of the Homeroom Parents will be in charge of taking pictures and submitting them to
yearbook@milltownschoolpto.com.
Getting started:

Email your teacher as soon as possible. Introduce yourselves. Discuss expectations
and ideas for the school year. Request a small time to introduce yourselves at Back
to School Night (Don’t forget to ask parents for contact info). Find out if there are any
allergies in the class. Lastly, find out your teacher’s favorites, this will help you with
your class gifts and ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week.

As long as your teacher indicates they approve and will distribute to their class, we
suggest writing a letter to your class introducing yourselves. Provide your contact
information. Let the class parents know your role and responsibility. You may wish
to provide a budget breakdown to help your parents understand where their money is
going to be spent. Lastly create a small section at the bottom for parents to send
back in ahead of time with their contact information including their donation.
Back to School Night:
If you were able to send home a letter and receive some contact information back
from your parents, you are ahead of the game. If you are still missing some, email your
teacher and ask if you can put out the email request and class party sign-up sheets. You
can also let her know you will be collecting money that night for the parties and gifts and
this way hopefully the teacher will email the parent’s to give them the heads up for you.
Homeroom Parents can introduce themselves at Back to School Night, as well as make a
short presentation requesting that parents complete the email form and pay their party
donation money. Sample forms for Back to School Night are included in this packet.
Although you can have parents sign up for parties at Back to School Night, please know
that you will also have to send out an email prior to the party, reminding those parents that
have signed up and also asking for the rest of the food/craft donations. Many have used
www.signupgenius.com to help with donations. Explain the way you want to run your
budget for this year and your donation/volunteer time you have decided upon. Your HR
Parent team can make this decision together.
Parties:
During the school year, there are 4 standard class parties. They are Halloween, Winter
Holiday, Valentine’s Day and End of Year (EOY). Some teachers may also include a Spring
Party, 100th Day Celebration or other activity that coincides with their lesson plan. Please
check with your teacher to see if they would like you to plan any other party. Also, check
with your teacher as to the date and time of each party, as well as any plans/themes that
you would like to have.
Organizing the party
 Two weeks before the party, discuss the theme of the party with the other Homeroom
Parents. Each parent can be assigned a task. For example, one parent can be in
charge of food, one parent can be in charge of the game, one parent can read a book,
and one parent can be in charge of the craft. You can either have stations at your
party, which the kids can rotate through or you can have the entire class participate
at the same time.

Notify the parents who have previously volunteered (at Back to School Night) to bring
in a particular food item or craft. Send a mass email to all the parents asking for
donations for the rest of the food items and request volunteers to help run your
party. Check with your teacher to see if they like to limit the number of parents at
each party, or whether they have an open door policy for all the parents.

A few days before the party, send out a final, reminder email listing all of the
donations and the parents/kids name who is bringing the item.
Themes
 Kids love themes, but teachers love simple.

Some ideas for themes are: A New Year’s Eve theme for the Winter Holiday party, an
Olympic or luau theme for the spring or end of year party. FYI - EOY parties are
grade wide parties and are held at the park by the school (except Kindergarten and
4th grade). The teachers may come up with a theme or leave the ideas up to the
homeroom parents.
Foods
 Please contact the teacher to ask what kind of foods she/he would like to be served at the
party. This will vary according to the teacher.

Please be aware of any allergies when planning party menus. If you are dealing with
allergies, here are some suggested foods:
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
Fruit such as: Watermelon (pre-cut), Grapes (washed) or Strawberries (washed).
Cut up veggies such as carrots and celery.
Pretzels - Rold Gold
Popcorn – Wise
Chips – Lays Classic Potato Chips (yellow bags)
Water (plastic bottles)
Juice (boxes and pouches)
Nabisco Oreos
Nabisco Chips Ahoy
Nabisco Teddy Grahams - chocolate, cinnamon or honey
Frito Lay Doritos
Tostito Corn Chips
Candy – Twizzlers, Ring Pops, Smarties
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish
Sun Chips - Original, Cheddar or French Onion
Breakfast is an option. If you have a morning party, try fresh fruits and bagels, with
dry cereal as the sweet treat.
Activities
 Depending on the grade level, keep the crafts simple and appropriate. Pre-assemble
difficult parts of the craft and put each child’s craft pieces in a Ziploc baggie with
their name on it. Don’t forget one for the teacher.

It helps to have one of the crafts pre-made so the children have a sample to view.

Make sure you have everything you need for the craft – scissors, glue, tape, etc.
Check with the teacher to see if they have some supplies the children may be able to
use.

Check local craft stores for sales (especially around holiday time) on items you use at
each party and stock up.

A t-shirt craft is good for the EOY party. Each child would bring in a white t-shirt to
be signed or decorated by the class for a keepsake. Don’t forget the teacher 

Don’t forget the party music. Kids love to sing and dance along. Kids Bop is a
wonderful suggestion as it has today’s hits with safe lyrics.

Bingo (search for free printable game boards online) and hot potato are great games
for the parties. Use themes geared toward that holiday (i.e, pumpkins for Halloween,
hearts for Valentine’s Day, snowmen for Holiday party). Also, the older grades love
word search puzzles.
Here are some helpful links to check out for more ideas:
www.pinterest.com
www.ptotoday.com
http://www.simplefunkidparties.com/roommomcorner.html
http://www.scholastic.com/home/
Field Trips
Field trips are scheduled by the school. The teacher will notify you if he/she needs a
chaperone.
Teacher Appreciation Week:
The Homeroom Parents traditionally honor their teacher during Teacher Appreciation Week
in May. There is no “standard” for this week and the homeroom parents can decide how
they would like to honor their teacher. See the attached form that you can have your
teacher fill out at the beginning of the school year to gather ideas.
Some suggestions include:
 Have students make a card and bring it in.

Have students bring in a different gift each day. Each day, a homeroom parent can
meet the students at the classroom and collect the item, putting it in a container to
present to the teacher (For example, place individual flowers in a vase. Place
individual pieces of fruit in a basket. Place individual pieces of candy in a bowl.)

Alternatively, the homeroom parent can collect money from each family for Teacher
Appreciation Week and bring in a bouquet of flowers and pieces of fruit to give to the
children so that each one may hand it to the teacher.

Have each student write (or draw a picture) why they like their teacher or Mr/Mrs.
Xxxx is special because. Gather all the papers together in a scrapbook.

Decorate your teacher’s door and put a special homemade art piece from each of the
children on it. Be sure coordinate this with the front office staff.

Let’s not forget about our extra special teachers as well, Librarian, Nurse, Art
Teacher, Gym Teacher, Music Teacher, etc.
Teacher Gifts
The Room Parents traditionally collect money for the teacher’s gifts during the
holiday season, Teacher Appreciation and End of the Year. Please make sure that you have
budgeted this in and don’t forget your extra teachers as well (Music, Art, Gym). You may
want to combine this collection with your party money collection and ask for that one-time
donation that covers the gifts for the year.
The “Teachers Favorite Things” Interview sheet may assist you with ideas for gifts!
Forms and Documents:
Suggested Donation Solution/Class Record
Party Sign-Up Sheet
Class Roster Sheet
Sample Introduction Letter
Teachers Favorite Thing Form
If you have any questions at all throughout the year, please contact Sandy Schroeder at
2014milltownhrparent@gmail.com
Good Luck, Enjoy and have a wonderful school year!!
Suggested Donation Solution (Class size of 18+ students)
We do ask that you plan to gift money to your child’s class, this money will be used by the
Homeroom Parents to fund classroom parties, teacher gifts throughout the year and other
misc expenses as they see fit. This year, we have revisited the idea of this giving and
created two options to allow you to find a more comfortable fit for your circumstances.
Let me elaborate:
Option One: $25 all-inclusive donation (3 teacher gifts, and 4 classroom parties is where
that money will be used – you will be asked for nothing more, but we hope you continue to
support your homeroom parent and aid them as needed in your child’s class).
Option Two: $10 donation plus 2 hours of volunteered time (not limited to classroom time
only, for instance, we need volunteers to help at the Movie Night, and also at our End of
the Year picnics). We also will email and ask that you bring in food or party sup- plies
throughout the year for your class directly.
If you have more than one teacher in your classroom, please note the following…
Option One: $35 all-inclusive donation (6 teacher gifts, and 4 classroom parties)
Option Two: $13 donation plus 2 hours of volunteered time (not limited to classroom time
only, for instance, we need volunteers to help at the Movie Night, and also at our End of
the Year picnics). We also will email and ask that you bring in food or party sup- plies for
various parties throughout the year for your class directly.
Our Homeroom Parents will keep track of their individual classroom accounts, along with
volunteer time. We also ask that the Homeroom Parents look to use some money to “pool”
with the other classes from the grades so as to recognize the other staff/ teachers that our
children visit throughout their time in school.
My Classroom Breakdown
Student Name /Email
$10
Donation/2
Hours
$25 All
Inclusive
Class Party Sign Up
Plates
Napkins
Juice Boxes
Sm. Water
Sweet Treat
Fruit
Treat
Halloween
Holiday
Valentines
End of Year
Please help us coordinate our parties and sign up today. We will send a reminder email a week before the party.
Homeroom Parent Email Address:
Parent Name
Parent Email
Student Name
Dear Parents,
We would like to introduce ourselves to you. We are your class parents this year:
Name
Name
Name
Name
Email
Email
Email
Email
Phone
Phone
Phone
Phone
A few of our responsibilities as class parents are to help organize our class parties, take
photos for our class yearbook page and organize teacher gifts and work with the teacher to
supply them with whatever they need. A week or so before any class party, we will send out
an e-mail asking for supply and snack donations. We will be using www.signupgenius.com
as our sign-up avenue and will input anything that you have already signed up for. We
plan on using e-mail for all of our communication with you so please be sure that we
have your e-mail address.
We are asking families to review the following breakdown
Option One: $25 all-inclusive donation (3 teacher gifts, and 4 classroom parties is where
that money will be used – you will be asked for nothing more, but we hope you continue to
support your homeroom parent and aid them as needed in your child’s class).
Option Two: $10 donation plus 2 hours of volunteered time (not limited to classroom time
only, for instance, we need volunteers to help at the Movie Night, and also at our End of
the Year picnics). We also will email and ask that you bring in food or party sup- plies
throughout the year for your class directly.
If you have more than one teacher in your classroom, please note the following…
Option One: $35 all-inclusive donation (6 teacher gifts, and 4 classroom parties)
Option Two: $13 donation plus 2 hours of volunteered time (not limited to classroom time
only, for instance, we need volunteers to help at the Movie Night, and also at our End of
the Year picnics). We also will email and ask that you bring in food or party sup- plies for
various parties throughout the year for your class directly.
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact any of your "homeroom parents."
We look forward to having a super year together as our children grow!
Please complete the following and send in with your child
Student Name:
Student Grade:
Parent Name:
Email Address:
Parent Best Phone #:
I allow the PTO to contact me via my email and phone number
I give my permission for photos to be taken and posted on the website and Facebook closed
page.
Teacher Favorite Thing List
Teacher’s Name:
Birthday:
Favorite Food:
Favorite Snack:
Favorite Beverage:
Favorite Music:
Favorite Color:
Favorite way to pamper myself:
Favorite free time activity:
Classroom Supply Wish list: