Get Involved

We know many parents and family members would love to spend time at Bay Park Elementary observing and interacting with their student in an environment outside of their home. However, that ability is not always an option. Fear not, as there are hundreds of ways you can do something at Bay Park. We won’t list every one of them, but here are a few to get your wheels turning:

  1. Become the Room Parent. Teachers love it when a second set of hands are available to come in and help out. No time is too small and it doesn’t have to be a regular commitment either. Some teachers have short term projects that you can assist with that won’t have you on their calendar for the entire school year. Did you know, homework isn’t just for students anymore. There is a lot of preparation that goes into lesson planning, so being available to take some of that prep work home with you and working on it after the kiddos are in bed would be one less thing the teacher has to do on their “after-hours” to ensure your student’s day is challenging, fun and enriching.
  2. Lend a hand at a school event. Many school events are held after school lets out or on the weekends. Being able to drop in for 30 minutes on a Wednesday to help pass out treasures during a Stingray Store day is a great way to help the school and the PTA and doesn’t require more than 30 minutes of your time. Plus your student will get a kick out of seeing you on campus. Weekend events can be bigger commitments, but we do try to keep your valuable time in mind when scheduling volunteer opportunities for our Halloween Carnival and Movie Nights. We will always post volunteer opportunities throughout the campus, in Red Folders, via telephone messages, Stingray Splash and Konstella.
  3. Spread the Word! Don’t have time to spare, but love to rally the troops behind a great cause? Well then shout it from the rooftops – You LOVE Bay Park Elementary! Your student LOVES Bay Park Elementary! Heck even your youngest can’t wait to start at Bay Park Elementary! Telling your neighbors, your friends, your family, the person in front of you at Kiel’s, all about Bay Park Elementary and how much it rocks is the BEST type of volunteering. Not only does that give the school the potential to increase enrollment, but it also gets the community to take a look at all the cool things we are doing for the student body. It gives our hardworking teachers extra spotlight to shine. It gives the administrative staff a pat on the back, because without them the wheels could very well come off the proverbial bus. YIKES! So please when you are full of love for BPE, share the love, because love is awesome, but shared love is the awesomest. Is that a word?
  4. Commit to Connect. Connecting with the school community is vital to the success of your student’s time at Bay Park Elementary. Connecting your spending to the various Give Back programs we are enrolled in is vital to the PTA. All monies received from the various Give Back programs help to ensure we can honor our commitment to the school. Year after year, our PTA funds subscriptions like RazKids, cultural art stipends for each student, field trip transportation, social events, operational costs, educational and explorative assemblies, teacher supplies, family evening events and more. The list is long. The state budget is getting better. The district budget is getting better. But the funding to our public school system is no where near where it needs to be if it is to educate and prepare it’s citizens for a bright future. While budgets have increased, the PTA is still supplementing a large portion of the schools costs. Without the fundraising efforts of you and the entire student body, the PTA would not be able to meet these commitments and ultimately things would be cut. We don’t want that to happen ….ever! As a group of volunteers it is our mission (see About Us) to ensure all students at Bay Park Elementary receive More than Just an Education.
  5. Be Aware. If time is an issue, you’re naturally shy around strangers and you donate what you can, but still want to do more … then please, just be aware. Read the items that come home in your student’s Red Folder. Those Red Folders are the PTA’s main way to communicate with the parents and family members of our students. Ask questions when you have them by emailing us (see Board Members) or stopping us on campus. We love to help and if we don’t know the answer, we will find it out pronto. Read the Stingray Splash, our eNewsletter that comes out every Friday. It has a ton of valuable information and not just PTA related. Read the Bay Park Press put out by Principal Barnes. That too is a great way to make yourself aware of the happenings at school. Listen to your ConnectEd messages when they come. Often those are the messages with the greatest urgency or will promote activities you won’t want to miss. Join Konstella here or our follow our Facebook. Thank you!

Cheers to a scholastically fun and socially enriching school year!