Yes, we do. We are a large school of 1200 K-5 and so our budget it very large. We pay for the 5th grade party, field trips, Red Ribbon week items, and usually something the school needs.
Our PTA spends about $20-$25 per child. We have about 200-215 kids, and all of the money is gained though fundraisers and a silent auction. In years past, for example when my now 16 year old was in 5th grade, the theme was "Tiki". They rented out a local Lifetime for their pool and slides, and they served foods that were tropical, plus had a shaved ice & cotton candy machine. They have a contest every years and the students compete to design the tee shirts. That year, as favors, we gave them those printed nylon backpacks, and stuffed them with a personalized towel, sunglasses, and also included disposable cameras. To say the least, they go "overboard"...waiting to see what senior party will look like next year!
I believe that the guideline for PTA is that all children need to benefit equally. Now, you can say that since every child will eventually be a 5th grader and will have the same opportunity, you may get away with it. For our school, if we donated to one field trip, we donated to all equally. If we donated to one class party, we donated to all equally. We had a couple of exceptions, but they were things like the PTA sponsored a reading club. (I was very inexpensive). It met for 6 weeks and we provided breakfast (donuts and juice) to the 50 or so students that showed up. It was only open to 4-5 graders, but it has been an ongoing thing and will be available to those same grades next year. I think that it may have been $200 total. We did something similiar under environmental, with a science club. But, except for assisting with the purchases for some of the things around the school (raised beds, bushes), the kids didn't benefit directly from it. They just helped with the upkeep of the things.
We are a k-6 grade with about 35 to 40 6th graders and we as a PTC do nothing (maybe we should). Student Council pays for a rafting trip a portion of Camp KEEP and then the last day of school for a students is a water playday and a BBQ, any left over supplies we have from past activities go to the BBQ. Thanks for the insight.
Maggie, sounds like it might be a good idea to have a couple of teachers hold a post on the board to help keep "traditions" alive and make new traditions.
I always had a teacher on the board that represented the K-2nd grade level, and another that represented the 3-5th grade level students and teaches.
Kids do love the tee shirts that have their 5th grade class on them and usually hold them in their collection boxes for years after. Our 5th graders had tee shirts (
$$ funded by the parent that listed the name of each teacher and his/her students in a column under teacher name. 5 columns on each of my kiddos tee shirts. My daughter still likes to wear her's when she has friends sleep over and they reminise.
