Thanks to all for the suggestions! I am so nervous about tomorrow, I'll be lucky to sleep tonight. I have koffee and kleenex in the morning and then tomorrow night we have curriculum night. Ahhh....who was it that told me just to breath. Where's the air??? I can't wait for tomorrow to be over! Thanks again for the help, I'll let you know how it goes.
Our first meeting is actually called "Welcome Back Coffee", and it is held the first back to school day. This year I did not speak...I just invited parents to drop off their children and join us in the cafeteria for coffee, juice, and donuts. We just mingled around and I made sure to greet everyone and stop by to introduce myself to those I did not know. I thought it would be a nice relaxing way to make our new parents comfortable. Our next meeting night is a Meet the Teachers night. I plan on introducing some of our ideas and introducing our committee chairs then. I want to take it nice and slow. It seems to be working so far. We sent volunteer packets out to our parents. Our first true Meeting does not take place until October. Wish us luck on our new strategy.
Our first meeting is at our annual Back to School Night Celebration. Parents bring in desserts and covered dishes, the PTO pays for hot dogs and drinks, and we all eat and chat. Then we have a meeting in the auditorium and our principal speaks. I am the PTO President so I discuss what the PTO is all about and have sign up sheets for parents to sign up for volunteering. I don't harp on that so much because I don't want to scare anyone away! Last year was my first year as president and I was really nervous. I'm not one for public speaking but I got through it and so will you. Good luck!
Like you our first "meeting" is a social....I also open not by telling parents what they can do for the PTO but by telling them what the PTO can do and DOES for them and their children. It is a switch for many of them and while I'll mention opportunities and have them out there...I focus more on our mission to create a school community and let them know about the upcoming activities (in a very positive way) and how we spend EVERY DOLLAR we make on their children's education. I also plan on plugging the 18.04 dollar statistic from an independent research group that is the amount they have associated with every volunteer hour. At our initial sign up...I simply put PTO Table...ask us about 18.04 cents. It gave many folks an "ice breaker question" and seemed to reap many benefits. Also--do something to let them know you are organized, NOT A CLIQUE, and willing to listen and act on new ideas. It will make a tremendous difference....d
