October PTO To Do List

• Finalize your Halloween event plans. (And if it’s already October and you’re still deciding what to do, we have some great last-minute Halloween ideas.) Check out some of our most popular free Halloween printables (from Trunk or Treat to boo grams fundraisers) shared by our community.

• Build a "candy monster" to collect candy donations for Trunk or Treat. It's also a creative way to get families buzzing about your event!

  @ptotoday Get candy donations for #trunkortreat ♬ original sound - PTO Today ✨School Family Media

• October 2 is National Custodian Appreciation Day! Show your school's custodial staff some love with these thoughtful ideas.

• Plan a nice treat for your school’s leadership team during National Principals Month. Plus, we spotlight a few amazing principals who are changing their school communities for the better. Tag us on social so we can see your amazing principal in action!

• October is cybersecurity month and Digital Citizenship Week, so it’s a great time to bring our FREE Family Tech Talk webinar to your school's parents.

• Plan a winter holiday event such as a holiday shop or a winter-theme family reading event.

• From a caramel apple bar on National Apple Day (October 21) to a freshly "boo'ed" coffee cart, we round up tons of fun fall teacher appreciation ideas (free printables included!).

• Organize an adult-only gathering. By this point in the year, your group has had a chance to (hopefully) welcome in some new members. Expand on that by arranging a fun and casual event where everyone has a chance to get to know each other better.

• Ask teachers whether the PTO can do anything to help during Red Ribbon Week activities.

• October is National Bullying Prevention Month, but anytime is a great time to host an antibullying assembly for students. We round up 15+ antibullying assemblies for elementary and middle schools.

• Walk to School Day is October 2. It’s easy to organize a casual walk to school day event. Use this cute Facebook graphic to remind people of the day and your event (and scroll to the bottom for several other cute October-theme graphics to share on your group's Facebook page). Check out all the fun appreciation days, treat days and more in our school appreciation planning calendar.

  
   

• Following Halloween, run a candy collection drive with students to put together Halloween care packages for soldiers stationed overseas. Get our free Halloween Treats for Troops flyer

• Reach out personally to anyone who has volunteered so far this school year. Finding new help is a big job for a PTO, but following up with volunteers is equally critical.

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Suggested Teacher Appreciation Effort: Conference Meal

October is a popular month for parent-teacher conferences. Hours of back-to-back meetings can leave teachers hungry and low on energy, so providing snacks or meals will certainly be appreciated. If teachers have a meal break planned into their day, you might want to organize a simple potluck in the teachers lounge. If their meetings truly are throughout day, you can to offer portable food they can eat in their classroom.

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