Get Involved And Strengthen The Brooks Community!
Brooks is an amazing school with a dedicated staff and caring parents who volunteer in countless ways. No matter your time availability, there’s a way for everyone to help, either at school (day or nighttime) or at home. Some opportunities are listed below. If you’d like to volunteer or have a question, please reach out directly to the contact listed below.
If you’re open to helping at some point but aren’t sure what’s a good fit for you, please click on this short form and just fill in your info. If you’d like, tell us a little bit about yourself (e.g. that you’re “handy”.) We’ll reach out to our list of volunteers when a need arises — but there’s NEVER any obligation.
Thanks in advance for volunteering. Your help will make a big difference for our kids!
Watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students)
Are you a Brooks dad who wants to get involved in your student’s school life? Come be a Watch DOG! Your commitment of one day will keep your student buzzing for months. Dads, granddads, or other father figures can demonstrate the importance of education by assisting in activities in and out of their student’s classroom, such as reading, quizzes, P.E., lunch, recess, and more.
Contact: Ben Jullien Email: [email protected]
Brooks Gala
Held in the Spring, this is our largest PTA fundraising event. We need all the help we can get! Volunteers can help get donations and sponsors, help make brochures/fliers, coordinate the silent/live auction set-up, or help with decorating, food, or clean-up. There are many ways to help, at various levels of time commitment!
Contact:
Stephanie Kirby Email: [email protected]
NEW — Grants Team
Do you have grant writing experience or are simply a good writer? The grants team is for you. Our list of upcoming grant opportunities for submission are focused on health and wellness and academic program opportunities. We’ve already gotten a start and have been awarded a RunningBrooke grant to enhance the outdoor play and learning space for our Ks and 1st graders.
Contact: Kris Schulz Email: [email protected]
Room Parent
Room parents help relay info to other classroom parents and help plan curriculum-based crafts. They also coordinate volunteers for classroom needs (as directed by the teacher), collect donations for holiday and end-of-year teacher gifts, and help coordinate classroom baskets for the annual Gala. Usually there are two room parents per classroom.
Contact: Bryanne Cordeiro Reynolds Email: [email protected]
Fall Festival
This is a fun family event held in October which usually includes a moon bounce, face painting, games, music, food, a bake sale and much more! Volunteers can help plan and coordinate one of the activities, assist in promotion of the event, or assist in recruiting additional volunteers.
Contact: Fran Boller Email: [email protected]
Encore
Our school’s Encore programs — art, music, P.E. and library — are a very important part of our kids’ education. Do you love reading or sports? Do you like to draw, sing, or play an instrument? We’re searching for parent volunteers (especially dads!) who are willing to come to school to help out. The amount of times is up to you! This is a great opportunity for you to share your talents and for kids to experience another adult’s perspective and knowledge in these areas.
Contact: Ashley Lienau Email: [email protected]
Reflections
This is a PTA-sponsored nationwide arts contest for students, with categories for art, music, photography, literature, video, and dance/choreography. Volunteers can help publicize the program, help organize an Art Night in October, help arrange judging and delivery to the District coordinator in November, or help to organize the awards ceremony in January.
Contact: Cindy Zmijewski Demers Email: [email protected]
Green Team
This group encourages students to better the environment through various activities. Volunteers can: help organize Bike and Walk to School Rallies; coordinate environmental activities at the Fall Festival; help plan and get sponsors for contests; and help plan/coordinate the annual Run for the Trees event or the Earth Day celebration.
Contact: Catherine Miliaras Email: [email protected]
Health and Wellness Committee
This committee seeks to promote better health for all students and staff at Brooks by teaching good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and fitness — through fun activities! Volunteers can participate in or help promote things such as the Marine Corp Marathon Fun Run, the Run for the Trees fitness event, and the running club in the spring.
Contact: TBD Email:
Literacy Committee
This committee provides a range of literacy opportunities for students and increased access to reading/books. Volunteers can assist with one of the two Scholastic Book Fairs, or help out with author/Illustrator visits and other literacy events such as “Drop Everything and Read.”
Contact: Emily Schell Jones Email: [email protected]
Odyssey of the Mind
This is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for all grades. Student team members tackle challenges ranging from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. Volunteers can serve as a team coach, either by yourself or with partners. Or help us find coaches, since the number of teams and students is limited only by the number of excellent coaches we can find!
Contact: Kelley Organek Email: [email protected]
Garden / Outdoor Learning
This team plants and maintains a garden on the playground, which provides a wonderful outdoor environment for all students as they get hands-on learning in areas such as planting, harvesting, life cycle, apothecary, and sketching. No garden experience needed for volunteers! You can also help host garden-to-table events, manage the campus clean-ups, etc.
Contact: Jane Blake; Samantha Strauss
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Special Education Committee
Volunteers help support Brooks’s special ed teachers by planning and assisting with field trips or other activities, helping to increase awareness and understanding of special education, and helping to coordinate teacher gifts. Volunteers can also be “matched” with another Brooks family in need of support related to their child’s needs.
Contact: Jessica Arons; Brandy Reber
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Blessings in a Back Pack (BIB)
This is a national program designed to assist schools across the country in providing food to grade school children each weekend of the school year. Items are distributed in a discreet backpack on Fridays. Volunteers can assist with food purchasing, packing and drop off.
Contact: Katie Stohs Email: [email protected]
Community Outreach Committee
This committee coordinates opportunities for Brooks families to help those in need within the Alexandria community and beyond. Volunteers can help organize school-wide service projects and charitable giving events such as a canned food drive, obtaining supplies for Carpenter’s Shelter, and coordinating holiday meals/fundraising for BIB families during school breaks.
Contact: TBD Email:
Military Family Committee
This committee helps educate Brooks military families on the protections and accommodations made for them by ACPS, plus connects them to local resources specific to military families in the Northern VA area. Volunteers can assist with Veterans Day planning, activities, and school-wide crafts like “Give Our Veterans a Hand” and the Military Child Breakfast.
Contact: Josie Beets Email: [email protected]
Teacher / Staff Appreciation
Volunteers help organize fun meals and small gifts for staff and teachers throughout the school year, or assist with planning, ordering, or buying supplies for staff lunches.
Contact: Fran Boller Email: [email protected]
Spring2Action
This is a city-wide, 24-hour online fundraising event that provides a simple way to connect donors to the charitable causes they care about most. In addition to raising money through individual pledges, Brooks also can win bonus prizes based on different categories (e.g. getting the most donors in a specific hour.) On the day of the event, regular/frequent electronic communication by a volunteer is needed, to inform parents of details to maximize prizes.
Contact: Emily Carlsen; Jen Henel
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Spring Fling
This is one of the students’ favorite school days! Parent volunteers work with Coach Allen (P.E. Teacher) to organize and provide outdoor games/events and to recruit other parents to help with this one day event in June.
Contact: Tempe Stephens Email: [email protected]
PBIS Parent Liaison
Brooks students can earn tickets for positive behavior, and at regular intervals they can redeem tickets for prizes. This is known as the Positive Behavior Incentive System (PBIS). This parent volunteer position would involve recruiting other parents for handling of the prize cart, communicating with parents about PBIS announcements and updates, and assisting with quarterly celebrations.
Contact: Laura Koss Email: [email protected]
Music Room Parent
This volunteer can help communicate with the Brooks community about upcoming music concerts and performances, and assist with getting other parents to help out at music events, both during and after school. This position and the PBIS Liaison position (above) could possibly be filled by the same parent.
Contact: Laura Koss Email: [email protected]
Parent Tours
Beyond the traditional Open House in the spring, parent volunteers can provide school tours for prospective parents as needed throughout the school year. Tours normally last 30-45 minutes.
Contact: TBD Email:
Photos / Flier Design
We love getting your photos of Brooks events and special moments, for possible use on our Facebook page, the yearbook, the PTA website, etc. Please feel free to email your best pics any time of the year! Are you creative? We could also use your help to design fliers to help promote PTA events.
Contact: Joan Diehl Email: [email protected]
——————————————————————-
ACPS VOLUNTEER CARD:
Any parent who wishes to volunteer as a chaperone, tutor, mentor, room parent, PBIS prize cart distributor, or any position where they may be alone with a child must get an ACPS Volunteer Card from Alexandria City Public Schools. To do so, click here and then follow directions under “Volunteer Application Process.” Once you receive your card, keep it in your wallet for when you check in at the school.
RENEWAL: If you already have this card, you need to renew it every year. To renew, simply click here to answer a couple of questions, enter the badge number on the back of your old card, and that’s it. You’ll receive an email when your old card is reactivated for the new school year.
——————————————————————-
Never miss important Brooks dates and alerts!
- Join the Brooks Listserv by simply sending an email to [email protected]
- Sign up for our text alerts by texting the message ”@matthewmau” to 469-518-3536.
- Like/follow us on Facebook today: facebook.com/maurypta