Volunteer Opportunities

Class representatives work in conjunction with the Parents’ Association and serve as liaisons between their class and the PA. In addition, representatives act as an information source for class-specific information and work to build community within their grade. Depending on class size there are two, three, or four representatives per class. Class representatives serve a term of two years.

Responsibilities include:

• Attending the Class Representative Kick-Off Meeting in the fall and assisting at family events throughout the year
• Attending Parents’ Association meetings, approximately six per year (at least one representative to attend and provide a class update)
• Communicating class-specific information
• Volunteering for and encouraging participation in the Auction
• Encouraging families to support the school through giving initiatives
• Working with the Service Committee to recruit volunteers for grade-specific service projects
• Organizing two to three parent/family socials off-campus, or asking for a volunteer within the class to host an event. Notify a PA board officer when a date is confirmed so that it does not conflict with school events.
• Submitting a year review that includes best practices, a list of people who volunteered, and any suggestions for next year
• Writing thank you notes to volunteers

In late April, parents come together to show the faculty and staff their appreciation by holding a drop-in breakfast in the Blue Room. Faculty and staff members can sit and relax, or grab a coffee and snack to go. A committee provides decorations and coordinates food donations and staffing.

Responsibilities include:

• Working with the Development Office to create and send an invitation to faculty and staff.
• Arranging for food donations from parents and contact catering to supplement the menu, if necessary.
• Providing a music playlist and decorations
• Posting a Sign-Up Genius with all donations, volunteer servers, and raffle items needed.
• Sending a list of all volunteers to the Development Office.
• Submitting a year review that includes best practices, a list of people who volunteered, and any suggestions for next year.
• Writing thank you notes to volunteers.

• Organizing and purchasing arts and crafts, tablecloths, spirit items, and other items not arranged by the school
• Coordinating activities, volunteers, and food trucks alongside the Development Office
• Preparing job assignments posted through Sign-Up Genius and following through to ensure coverage of activities
• Coordinating volunteer job outreach to the community through parent emails, etc.
• Providing coverage during the event to assist volunteers and ensure smooth operations
• Sending a list of all volunteers to the Development Office
• Submitting a year review that includes best practices, a list volunteers, and suggestions for next year
• Writing thank you notes to volunteers

• Connecting with new families in person or virtually once or twice before school starts
• Connecting with new families a week before the start of school to answer any last-minute questions
• Staying in touch with new families throughout the school year
• Highlighting Sacred Heart Traditions, school events, and student activities

• Sending invitations and working with the Development Office to track responses.
• Creating table centerpieces
• Providing coverage during the event to assist volunteers and ensure smooth operations.
• Sending a list of all volunteers to the Development Office.
• Submitting a year review that includes best practices, a list of people who volunteered, and any suggestions for next year.
• Writing thank you notes to volunteers

Newton Country Day School relies on voluntary support from alumnae, parents, and friends each year to reach our fundraising goals. The Annual Fund helps to support many programs, including tuition assistance, faculty professional development, academics, athletics, the arts, and technology resources and support. This flexible, unrestricted support enables the school to create a setting in which each girl develops the courage and confidence to realize St. Madeleine Sophie Barat's vision of transforming the world. All resources of the school serve our girls.

Responsibilities include:

• Supporting the Parent Annual Fund with your personal Annual Fund gift
• Acting as an advocate and ambassador for fundraising efforts at Newton Country Day 
• Soliciting a list of current parents through notes, calls, and emails in the fall, winter, and spring
• Lending your name to select fundraising materials (i.e. listed as committee member in letters)
• Identifying families who have the ability to support the School in a significant way
• Making introductions to potential donors from corporations or foundations
• Assisting in identifying opportunities to heighten the position of fundraising at Newton Country Day 

The Très Bien Auction is the signature community-building and fundraising event sponsored by the Parents’ Association to support Newton Country Day School. This is a large-scale event that requires months to plan and execute. Many volunteers are needed to make this event a success.

Contact the Parents’ Association officers if you are interested in getting involved.

Parents of Independent Schools Network (PIN) virtually meet four-five times throughout the year to discuss various topics pertaining to independent schools. PIN Representatives attend meetings via Zoom and take notes. The notes are shared with the Development Office and uploaded by the School to the Parent Resources tab on the website.

PIN Reps serve as the conduit among the diverse school communities. At PIN meetings, Reps share information relating to non-academic issues, listen to speakers and panels, and participate in discussion groups. PIN Reps send meeting recaps to the Parents’ Association for Class Reps to distribute to families. Each year, there are one or two parent representatives from both the Upper School and the Middle School.

The primary goals of PIN are:

• Improve the quality of non-academic life at our member schools through the exchange of information
• Actively encourage representatives to work closely with their schools’ parent organizations

To achieve our goals, we at PIN:

●  Present and discuss topics of mutual concern
●  Share ideas and practices which have benefited member schools and their students
●  Sponsor educational events and provide useful information for our community
●  Support and foster PIN member schools’ community service programs
●  Encourage each representative to disseminate ideas and information learned from the PIN meetings

Member schools pay dues for membership in one or both of our two divisions. These dues cover the administrative costs of running PIN.

The views and opinions expressed by our member schools, speakers and providers do not necessarily reflect those of PIN, Inc.

Visit the PIN website

Newton Country Day School is the home for official NCDS clothing and spirit gear. The store operates online but is set up on campus three times a year. Tentative on-campus sale times include Homecoming in September, November Conferences, and late spring. Responsibilities include:

• Meeting with various vendors to select merchandise for the school store in advance of the sales
• This may require meetings with vendors in the spring, summer, and fall
• Pricing the merchandise for both online and on-campus sales
• Printing signage and price lists for on-campus sales
• Ordering bags and supplies for check-out for on-campus sales
• Creating a Sign-Up Genius for volunteers for special sales on campus
• Training volunteers for their specific roles and check-out process for on-campus sales
• Assisting with inventory, set-up, sales, table volunteers, cashiers, and breakdown of merchandise when the school store is open to students on campus
• Tracking of expenses and sales
• Submitting accounting and inventory reports to the Development Office at the end of the academic year
• Sending a list of all volunteers to the Development Office
• Submitting a year review that includes best practices, a list of people who volunteered, and any suggestions for next year
• Writing thank you notes to volunteers

The Parents' Association Service Committee supports school service initiatives. Responsibilities include:

• Driving or chaperoning students to various program sites
• Initiating various service projects each year, such as a clothing drive or supporting a local non-profit, such as Julie’s Family Learning Center
• Coordinating Thanksgiving baskets with local non-profits
• Sending a list of all volunteers to the Development Office
• Submitting a year review that includes best practices, a list of people who volunteered, and any suggestions for next year