Please review committee descriptions and time commitments by clicking the + to expand.

If you would like to join a committee, please email our volunteer coordinator:

 
EMAIL OUR VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR TO SIGN UP

Recommended Committee Size: 2 people

Date of event: Fall and Spring
 
Details: This committee will be responsible to coordinate with Ms. Wallace (the Librarian) and Scholastic Books to schedule and host the Book Fair during two different weeks of the school year. This committee will be responsible to recruit volunteers to “work” at the event and help with set-up and tear down. 
 
Notes from last year: This event relies on assistance and space from Mrs. Wallace, so we split the proceeds between the library and the VPO. Most working hours are provided by the VPO, so several volunteers will be required.

Recommended Committee Size:  2 co-chairs. Donations and volunteers for set-up/clean-up will be solicited as needed.

Date of event: Conference weeks in October and March

Details: Co-chairs will work together to request meal donations from local businesses and the Swift Water community to provide at least one meal for staff and teachers during the weeks of school conferences.

Co-chairs will make arrangements for the meals and request item donations or volunteer participation for set-up or clean-up as needed.

This time commitment for this committee is minimal.

Notes from previous years: 
In 2021-22, the committee chair was able to secure pizza and salad donations from Mod Pizza for one event. For the other, they were able to get a combination of Jimmie John’s and Pita Pit. Dessert and beverages were donated by families for both events via a sign-up genius form.

Tasks include calling local businesses to request donations or discounted meals, arranging pick up or delivery of the meals, requesting parent donations for beverages or dessert, light decorating (table cloths, signs, flowers, arranging the items for easy access, etc.), requesting volunteers for set-up or clean-up, writing thank you cards to the businesses that donated or discounted meals, communicating details, schedule, and list of contributors to the VPO, and capturing images of the meal displayed or volunteers helping that may be shared online or in the yearbook.

Recommended Committee Size: 3-4 people to assist VPO in organizing the event. Additional volunteers will be recruited to host stations.

Date of event: October 19, 2024

Details: This committee helps plan the fall carnival event for the school. The 2024 event will be held at Swift Water Elementary in the commons and gymnasium.

Notes from last year: In 2023, the fall carnival was a great success! Hosted at the YMCA, we had multiple stations including the bouncy house, face painting, a prize dig, a photo booth, and more.

 

Recommended Committee Size:  1-2

Date of event: The last Friday of school in June

Teacher Partner: Ms. Waage

Details: This is a school run event. The VPO provides the funding for the popsicles and any other potential supplies that may be needed. The school takes care of the volunteers. The committee for this will be at the event to help with set up/clean up and aid at any station where help is needed or a volunteer didn’t come. 

Notes from last year:

Recommended Committee Size: 1-2 People

Date of event: First Day of school – Grades 1-5; – First Friday of First Week –  Kindergarten

Details: This committee plans and completes advertising for a parent meet-up which occurs directly after school drop off on both “first” days of school. This includes securing a location, providing breakfast items and coffee, and/or scheduling a vendor truck.

The time commitment for this committee is minimal and occurs during the first week of school.

Notes from last year: 

Recommended Committee Size:  1 chair

Date of Event: Beginning of June

Details: This person would work with Ms. Abel to make sure that we have the items we need to hand out at the parade and assist with any “float” or display ideas.

The time commitment is minimal

Notes from last year:

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Committee Size:  1-2 Co-chairs

Date of event: The date will be based around what movies are available and Galaxy Theatre availability

Budget: This will be a fundraiser, the cost of tickets will still be under the regular ticket price

Details: Plan a movie night for the families of Swift Water Elementary. Choose an age appropriate movie and date. Advertise for the movie night and keep track of ticket sales. Determine a convenient “check in” process at the theater for families who purchased tickets.

Commitment to this committee is minimal. 

Notes from prior years: This was a free social event in prior years. We found that it ended up not working well because we rented the theaters with VPO funds and were limited on how many seats we could purchase. Based on the feedback from parents, we feel this might work better as a fundraiser. It is important to note that we are allowed to run a brief slideshow before the movie–This is a great way to thank sponsors and advertise upcoming events. One consideration would be to change movie nights to on-campus events.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Committee Size:  1-3 co-chairs
Additional volunteers may be requested

Potential Teacher Partner: Ms. Wallace

Date of Event: TBD: In the past this has been done in the spring and starts on Read Across America Day. We have also seen this event run in the fall.  The event runs for 4 weeks. 
Time commitment is moderate to high. Most of the work is done from home so can be done at your convenience.

Details: This person would work with Ms. Wallace. She has some great ideas that would add to the way this was run in the past. This committee would be in charge of designing the tracking forms, keeping track of the minutes, coming up with the tiered prizes and putting those prize packs together. In the past we have also done weekly drawings, prize for the most minutes read by grade, and prizes for the most minutes read by individual students.  

Notes from last year: A certificate was given to each student who participated which was a great touch!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Committee Size: 2-4 co-chairs
Donations and volunteers for set-up/clean-up will be solicited as needed.

Date of event: Year round

Details: Committee will work together to determine a plan and budget for celebrating teachers and staff on their nationally recognized days and during the Peninsula School District’s recognition weeks. Committee will arrange monthly donations to stock the break room with beverages and treats for staff.

Calendar of Events: 

  • Custodian (Oct)
  • Principal (Oct-month, May-day)
  • Bus Driver (Feb)
  • School Counselor (Feb)
  • Librarian (April)
  • Paraeducators (April)
  • Secretaries (April)
  • Volunteer Recognition (April)
  • Lunchroom (May)
  • Nurse (May) 
  • Teachers (May)

The time commitment for this committee is year round and work-heavy depending on how many co-chairs and volunteers are utilized. 

Notes from last year:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Committee Size:  1-4 Co-Chairs
Volunteers as needed based on what is planned for the night

Date of event: TBD, we will have to find a time with the school calendar that works and doesn’t conflict with other events

Potential Teacher Partner: Mrs. LeTellier

Details: This event rotates years with other schools in Gig Harbor so we do not overwhelm community volunteers and vendors.

 

 

 

 

Recommended Committee Size: 1-2 People

Date of event: Spring

Teacher Partner: Mr. Wilson 

Details: This committee works with the Rainiers group sales representative to choose a date for the group event and carries out the advertising, ticket sales and distribution, seating arrangements, and communication with families. The music teacher has input on the date scheduled in hopes that the school choir can perform the National Anthem at the game.

Time commitment for this committee is minimal.

Notes from prior years: During the 2021-22 school year we did not have a school choir able to perform at the baseball game so we chose an evening that coincided with the fireworks display. We were unsure about the interest level by Swift Water families so we reserved 50 tickets but ended up selling 263. 
Ticket cost was $15 (ticket and meal) and $20 (ticket, meal, and promo hat). We sold the tickets online through a WooCommerce page on our website for $16 and $21 respectively to make up for the sales processing fees charged by Stripe for online orders. Other schools in PSD use this as a fundraiser and sell tickets with $5 markups.
This project was handled by one person in 2021-22 and only took a few hours of time. Online order information was exported to make labels. Seating assignment was created in order of purchase date, then by number of seats purchased that fit each row. Tickets were sealed in an envelope with further instructions regarding Cheney stadium, then distributed to teachers to add to student’s daily folders. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Committee Size: 1-2 people

Date of event: Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Details: International Walk to School Day is celebrated every year and we would like Swift Water to host an event to encourage and celebrate the walkability of our school and community.

The commitment for this committee is minimal.

Notes from last year: 
Here are some ideas we discussed prior years:

  • Have music playing outside the school during the morning while students arrive.
  • Have a balloon arch or balloon columns.
  • Set up designated meeting points and one departure time so families can walk in a large group.
  • Consider having assigned adults (wearing safety vests) at the meeting points willing to guide students who may not get to walk to school on a regular basis (similar to the idea of a walking school bus).
  • Ask teachers or staff members to be “special guests” at the meeting points and walk with the group.
  • Provide a small reward for everyone who walked to school: bracelet/cutie clementine/donut hole/sticker/seal-slip/pencil/raffle ticket for a swift water spirit wear item…
  • Provide coffee/tea and biscotti in the Community Room for parents who also walk to school and allow them a brief time to socialize and learn more about the VPO

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Committee Size: 2 co-chairs; 1 extra volunteer

Date of event: Year-round with a bulk of work being completed in May

Details: This committee is responsible for the collection of photos and creation of the Swift Water Elementary yearbook.

The time commitment for this committee is moderate with a bulk of the work being completed in May as the publishing deadline approaches.

Notes from last year: Once the committee contacted TreeRing they were able to complete the yearbook in a matter of weeks from start to finish.
It is recommended for the committee to establish relationships with the teachers early and provide a framework for what type of pictures to collect during the school year to make the page creation process easier in May. 
Task include: Contacting teachers and staff to collect pictures for grade level/club/specialist/activity pages, working with main office staff to collect LifeTouch photos of teachers/staff/students, working with VPO to advertise sales deadlines, ordering the sales pages provided by the yearbook company in April for distribution in May, coordinating distribution of yearbooks once they arrive.