At Ella Canavan Elementary School, all of the class parties are coordinated by parent volunteers.

At meet the teacher night your teacher put out a sign up sheet for parents who wanted to volunteer to help with parties. This is the list that the lead room parent uses to contact parent volunteers.

Your lead room parent will also send a notice home asking for more information so they can correspond with you throughout the year. Be sure to send this back to school with your student so your teacher can get it to the lead Room Parent.

All class parties at Ella Canavan will start at 2:45 pm and end at 3:30 pm (end of day). AM kindergarten parties will take place from 10:45 to 11:25 For the halloween party, this includes the halloween parade.
Holloween Party 10/30/2009
Holiday Party 12/18/2009
Valentine Party 2/11/2009
Year End Party 6/8/2009

What does a Room Parent do?
The room parent is responsible for organizing the parents in their child's classroom to plan the parties throughout the year. Each class should have a Lead Room Parent and a Co-Room Parent

Who is my room parent?
Your room parent will contact you by October 1st with a letter introducing themself.

How soon should party planning begin?
Party planning should begin at least 2 weeks before your classroom party date.

Where does the money go that the room parent collects?
The room parent is responsible for holding the money collected for parties and using it for party supplies as decided by the group of parents planning the parties. Some room parents elect to have as many items donated as possible and save that money for the year end party.

I signed up to help at the parties but I haven't heard from my room parent.
Your room parent should contact every person who signed up to help at the parties. Please remember that this is a parent volunteer. If you haven't heard from your room parent and you want to be involved, first try calling them. If you are unable to reach them, contact the Room Parent Coordinator for further instructions.

I really wanted to be the lead room parent but someone else signed up first.
Any and EVERY parent can be involved in party planning. All the Lead Room Parent does is collect the class funds and contact the parents who signed up to help. You can all do the same amount of work, but only one person needs to collect the money and organize the volunteers.

I didn't see the sign up sheet at meet the teacher night but I really want to help.
Contact your room parent and they will add your name to their list of helpers.

What does the teacher do during the party?
Your teacher will be on hand to help where needed but for the most part, your group of parent volunteers should plan a healthy snack, games and/or crafts to last the entire time of the party.

How many parents can come to the class party?
We can only allow up to 5 parents at a time to attend the class party per classroom. At your initial party planning meeting, please go around the room and decide who will be at which party and try to honestly stick to this guideline.

Do we have any kind of policy on book or gift exchanges?
If your class decides to have an exchange at a party, please only ask for a gently used item. Like a gently used book from your home library for a book exchange. This way we are not asking parents to send in more money.

I am the lead room parent but I've found that I can no longer be the Lead.
Please contact the room parent coordinator immediately so your position can be reassigned.

Information | Contact Leslie Burns, Room Parent Coordinator