Sycamore Valley Elementary

Art Docent - Art Docent program volunteers deliver monthly art lessons to our students exposing them to different mediums like clay, chalk, paint and foil, in addition to educating students on artists like Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh and O’Keefe.  

 

Homework planners for 3rd-5th Graders - PTA pays for the homework planners for all 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. This valuable tool helps students manage their homework and projects.

 

Book Swap – Promoting the love of books, this event encouraged kids to donate books they are no longer want in return for some “new to you” books.

 

Student Work Display – Displaying the beautiful works created by our Sycamore artists allows them to take pride in their creation, demonstrate different projects to other grade level students, and decorate our campus with the beauty of art. PTA proudly works to display this artwork in the MPR and office on a rotational basis throughout the school year. 

 

Green Team - Helps students and staff find creative ways to get excited about going green and reducing their waste throughout the school. Recycling is just a small part of it, reducing waste is the primary focus! 

 

Inclusion and Diversity -What is "inclusion" and "diversity"? What might we do to support this at Sycamore? Each Sycamore student and family brings a host of life experiences and dispositions that enhance our school community, and we want to explore how we can learn about, celebrate, and encourage all that enriches our children's school experiences. We are busy putting a plan together, along with developing a committee and formal learning and events program that will leverage and enhance opportunities for overlap in the character, anti-bullying, ability awareness and culturally responsive teaching and learning events and initiatives that are already in place at Sycamore. We are excited to move ahead with our plans for the upcoming school year!

 

Special Needs - Special needs applies to any child with learning or processing differences, physical disabilities, speech & language difficulties, social or emotional issues, etc., as well as gifted learners. Our volunteers attend monthly meetings to learn information and share ideas so they may serve as an advocate for our Special Needs community. This committee communicates district-sponsored parent education events as well as plans activities at Sycamore. 

 

Teacher Mini Grants – Each year, teachers have the opportunity to apply for a Mini Grant offered by PTA.  Applications are available in the Fall and decided upon by the PTA Exec Board. In the past, PTA mini grants have helped purchase items like Reading intervention materials, speech intervention apps for the iPad, writing assemblies, electronic spellers, physical education supplies, library materials like eBooks and permabound books, music writing and arranging software and so much more.

 

Curriculum enhancements – This is a gift that PTA gives to Sycamore to cover the cost of classroom educational materials, curriculum items not funded by the State/District and fieldtrips.  It is divided amongst the grade levels and put into their grade level or classroom accounts managed by the bookkeeper.   It is then the teacher’s decision how to best use this money for their class/grade.

 

 

Sister School - The Sister School Program is a district-wide, PTA-sponsored program. San Ramon Valley Unified District (SRVUSD) schools are partnered with schools located in Richmond, San Pablo, Antioch, Pittsburg, Concord and Oakland. Sycamore Valley’s sister school is Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary (aka King Elementary) in Richmond.  The mission of the program is to foster civic responsibility, enhancing community engagement, promoting volunteerism, and by teaching the joy of helping others in need.

 

Room Parent Program – In order to provide a lead point of contact for parents within the class, a Room Parent is selected for each grade level classroom.  The Room Parents provide information to the families relating to their specific classroom, in addition to, serving as a valuable resource to families about school wide activities and events.

 

Variety Show – Sycamore’s annual talent show produced in the Spring to demonstrate the enormous talents of our Sycamore students. Acts range from musical performances, dances, skits and even magic shows.

 

Yearbook – Along with the 5th grade student yearbook committee, the PTA parent Yearbook Coordinators produce the special keepsake yearbook available for all Sycamore families to purchase.

 

Family Fun Nights – Brings Sycamore families together for fun, family activities like Bingo Night and Movie Night.

 

Parent Education workshops - Plans related workshops and events for parents about parenting related topics, as well as, communicates the resources available about other parenting related workshop held at other schools in the district.

 

New Families - Hosting welcome events for families new to Sycamore is important to make them feel like part of the community and make sure their questions are answered. We coordinate the Kindergarten First Day coffee, Kindergarten Ice Cream social, New Family Coffee and other new family events throughout the year. We also produce the Welcome packets given to new families at Registration or upon their arrival at Sycamore.

 

PTA Teacher Rep Subs – In order to work in partnership with the teaching staff, a Sycamore teacher sits on the Executive Board of PTA. To ease in the ability of that teacher to attend both Association and Executive Board meetings, PTA pays for a substitute for that classroom during those meetings

Halloween Parent Coffee – PTA coordinates the parent coffee before the Halloween Parade in order to bring parents together in a relaxed social environment and give them a place to wait between drop off and the start of the parade.

 

5th Grade Dedication Project – Each year, the 5th grade class determines a project to leave their legacy behind at Sycamore and to help improve the campus.  PTA helps to fund and organize this project.

 

Allergy Advocacy - Education, communication and cooperation are the keys to managing life threatening allergies at school. Our Allergy Advocacy Program offers a variety of helpful resources and materials to help you and your child have a safer experience at school. By working as a team with the school personnel, you can ensure that your child has a safe and rewarding experience.

 

Morning Mile – This weekly run club is held in the morning before school to encourage both kids and parents to get up, get out and get moving. Morning exercise is beneficial to students and their thinking capabilities.  Plus, when parents join in, they set the example that exercise is important to a healthy lifestyle.

 

Bike Rodeo – In partnership with the Street Smarts program, we plan a one day event to educate the kids about bike safety. A local bike store comes to check kids’ helmets and bikes. 

Emergency Preparedness – Coordinating emergency supplies, assisting with drills and related events throughout the year, and educating parents of emergency plans is the focus of our Emergency Preparedness team.

 

Red Ribbon Week - Red Ribbon Week is a national campaign to increase student awareness of the importance of making healthy choices. Red Ribbon Week serves as a vehicle for schools and individuals to take a stand for the hopes and dreams of our children through a commitment to drug prevention.

 

5th Grade Health Night - This Parent-Child Program compliments the 5th grade Health Curriculum, presented by a health professional. Usually held in the Spring, there are two evening sessions- one for girls/parents and one for boys/parents.

Vision & Hearing Screen – We assist school administration to coordinate vision and hearing screening of Sycamore students. 

 

SRVEF Run for Education - This flagship event for the SRV Educational Foundation is held every year to raise funds for the schools in the district. It’s a community-wide event, where Sycamore staff and families participate, attracts 10,000 runners and bystanders on a Sunday morning in October in support of our local schools.

 

Fun Run –  The Annual Fun Run is PTA’s biggest fundraiser with the goal of creating a community-building day for all, where the money raised will go directly back to our school and PTA. Students ask for pledges from family members, neighbors or friends prior to the event. On the day of the Fun Run, students run/walk laps, which are counted by volunteers, over the course of 15-20 minutes (based on grade level.)

 

Legislative Rep – PTA is the largest Advocacy organization focused on children.  When legislation issues regarding education are proposed, our Leg Rep will works to inform our parent community. That rep attends monthly district wide Legislative meetings to stay up to date on proposed legislation, education funding proposals and the Governor’s annual budget.

 

Auction – in conjunction with Shark Fund, the Auction committee facilitates our annual Sycamore Valley auction.  A live event with parents, teachers and administration attending is held every other year with an Online auction held every year.  The Auction team plans the theme, venue, spirit week activities; solicits donations from community businesses, Sycamore parents and even from Sycamore staff; communicates auction related information to the parent community; and works with the principal to determine the “Fund A Need” cause for the year.

 

Registration – PTA takes the lead to coordinate Registration for our Sycamore families.  Now majority of the registration process is done online so we manage that software, its setup, used by Sycamore families and distribute necessary volunteer reports to the various committees.  PTA also organizes the Onsite Registration days and the New Family Orientation held in August.

 

Shark Shop – Show your pride of being a Sycamore Shark! This team coordinates the sales of spirit wear for students, parents and teachers.

 

Hospitality – Whether it’s coffee or diet coke, our parents always need that little caffeine boost to get them going in the mornings.  Our hospitality team organizes the coffee, drinks and snacks for our meetings and several other PTA related events throughout the year.

 

Beautification – We take pride in the beauty of our campus but keeping it maintained is a big job. Bigger than the district or maintenance can do on their own.  The PTA Beautification team helps maintain the school planters and flowers and replants when necessary. Before big events on campus, our Beautification team is often found tidying up flower beds in the quads, weeding areas that need some attention and placing new mulch in areas that need a bit of sprucing up.

Staff Luncheons & Teacher Appreciation Week– Showing our teachers and staff how much we appreciate all they do is an important part of working in partnership for our students’ success.  Four times a year, we coordinate lunches for the teachers and staff.  In May, we coordinate Teacher Appreciation Week.

 

Technology Maintenance – While Shark Fund is the main financial supporter of all technology at Sycamore, PTA has set aside funds to assist in the event of an emergency to help pay for a new light bulb in a document camera (approx.. $300) replace batteries in student laptops or some other technology related need.

 

Kids are Talking – The quarterly kids captures some of the fun quotes kids have about a certain topic – best summer break activity, what they love most about the holidays, plans over Spring Break or what they will miss most about Sycamore.

 

Directory – PTA produces the school directory with student & family contact information, in addition to, teacher assignment, class lists and Room Parent contact information. The directory is available for sale in the Fall during Registration.

 

The Deep – Also known as the Copy Center, the Deep is quite the busy place.  In order to assist teachers so they can focus on our students, volunteers help to fulfill the copying, laminating and booklet assembly needs.