PTO Today

From helping girls build self-esteem to working to prevent a school’s foreclosure, our SBLI Superstar Volunteers are stellar examples of people who make a difference and deserve recognition for the work they’ve done. That’s why SBLI and PTO Today started the SBLI Superstar Volunteers program last year and it is why SBLI is kicking off a Facebook contest  this week to name the top Superstar Volunteer! The winner’s school will receive a $1,000 donation from SBLI!

Beginning today, you can vote for your favorite volunteer from the 2012 Superstar Volunteers roster by going to the SBLI Top Superstar Volunteer Contest. Voting will be open until February 11, 2013, when the volunteer with the most votes is named the winner!

And these 20 Superstars could use your help! If you are from a Superstar’s school community, or if you know one of these volunteers, help get the word out about this contest on your Facebook page so that your friends and community members can vote too at SBLI’s Facebook page.

The SBLI Superstar Volunteers program, a team effort between PTO Today and SBLI (The Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts) was started last year to give national recognition to men and women who make significant contributions to their schools. PTO Today received hundreds of nominations last year and 20 incredible volunteers were selected. Each volunteer received a $500 donation from SBLI for his or her school and was profiled on both the PTO Today and SBLI websites.

The SBLI Superstar Volunteers program has been so popular that PTO Today and SBLI are continuing it in 2013. To learn more about the program, click here.

The next time you pull up to your child’s school, take a look at the outdoor areas and imagine what your group could do with $10,000 grant to create some really fantastic outdoor learning and play spaces.

Well, now you have a chance to make it happen. All you need to do is encourage students at your school to participate in the Scotties TREES ROCK! Video Contest. The winner not only gets a $10,000 grant for his or her school but also
some pretty amazing additional prizes. Scotties will award the family of the student who creates the winning video a trip either to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park, $5,000, and an electronic tablet.

What’s more, Scotties will plan an event at the winner’s school to award prizes and host a tree planting ceremony.

The contest is aimed at students in third, fourth and fifth grade. They are encouraged to create a video of less than three minutes based on this statement: “Trees are so important to me, my school and my community because…’’

The Scotties TREES ROCK! Video Contest is underway now and ends November 30, 2012.

Scotties is providing a kid-friendly Education Guide on its site that will provide information about trees and their important impact on the environment. Plus, it explains the specific steps children need to follow when creating their videos.

The company will select 12 videos as finalists from the entries and the public will be encouraged to vote for the winning video. Scotties also plans to award $65,000 in additional prizes to the finalists.

And, finalists will be notified so they can encourage their communities to vote and increase a finalist’s chances to be selected as the winning video.

Scotties is providing flyers and other materials for PTOs that can be downloaded here and will help you to get the contest off the ground at your school.

Good luck, everyone!

PTO leaders are usually looking for something new and different to do for their school. So, how about a fun contest that promotes the importance of vision care at your school community?

Enter your school in Transitions Optical’s My Eye Promise School Challenge for a chance to win a visit from mobile vision clinic, Eyenstein, which will provide free vision evaluations to students and free eyeglasses to those who need them. Eyenstein will be visiting the winning school in 2013.

This could be a great service for your school families. According to the American Public Health Association, one in four children have an undetected vision problem.

Schools can enter the My Eye Promise School Challenge now and the contest ends November 1, 2012. To enter, just fill out a quick entry form, upload a memorable “sight” representing what you would miss most if you couldn’t see clearly, and provide a short essay (250 words for less) explaining the meaning of the photo.

A panel of judges comprised of Transitions Optical employees and eye care professionals will review all entries and select the winner. The winning school will be chosen and notified by the end of 2012.

Transitions Optical has some great information on its website about about the importance of eye care in young children. For example, when vision problems go undiagnosed, they can lead to reading and concentration problems as well as issues around self-esteem for kids.

Also, if you have questions about the contest, you can email Transitions Optical at MyEyePromise@Transitions.com.

Imagine what you could do for your school with a $10,000 health and wellness grant*! Well, you could make it happen! Registration is now open for the 2012 NFL Play 60 Super School Contest!

To participate, just register your school here. You’ll then be redirected to the NFL site where you’ll be prompted to answer three easy essay questions about how your school celebrates football season, how it runs physical education classes and how it teaches the importance of staying active and healthy living.

In addition to the $10,000 grants, each winning school will also get a PLAY 60 Super School visit, which includes a visit to your school by one or more NFL players.

Last year, 34 schools across the country won $10,000 health and wellness grants and they found some very cool ways to put that money to use, like building walking paths, student fitness rooms, and, in one case, a yogurt breakfast bar. To find out more about these winning projects, check out our grant projects gallery.

If your school would like celebration ideas, download our Back to Football Idea Guide for help in setting up a special football-themed activity or event.

The 2012 NFL Play 60 Super School Contest registration deadline is September 14 and the NFL is expected to announce the winners in October. So, imagine the fabulous things that you could do with the $10,000 grant and register now!

*Grant is awarded in the form of a check payable to the winning schools. Visit to the winning school consists one or more cheerleader(s), mascot or NFL player(s) visiting for a portion of a school day.

No Purchase Necessary to Enter or Win. Starts 12:00:00 p.m. ET on 8/1/12, ends 11:59:59 p.m. ET on 9/14/12. Must be a legal resident of the 50 U.S. or District of Columbia 18+ years and either a school Administrator, Teacher, PTA leader or PTO leader representing a public, state-accredited private school or vocational school with grades between Kindergarten and 8th. For the purposes of this Contest, a school Administrator is defined as a Principal, Vice-Principal, Dean, Superintendent or Health and Wellness Administrator. Void where prohibited. For complete details, click here for the Official Rules.

I went to a PTO meeting at my kids’ school the other night and the teacher was talking about how the hum from the old computers in the school computer lab is so loud, it literally gives you a headache! Ouch. Not good for the teachers, not good for the students. But like so many school districts, funds are tight and there are so many programs and projects vying for PTO or PTA funds. Sadly, technology has not bubbled to the top. I am guessing that there are many of you who are in the same situation.

I was very excited to learn that PTOtoday.com is partnering with Lenovo for their Dream to Do Contest! By entering this contest your school can win a technology makeover valued at $50,000. I can’t think of any schools that could not use that!  Not only is the prize amazing, but Lenovo is demonstrating their commitment to education by providing teachers with some terrific tools to enhance learning.  They have created a “What will you do when you grow up” career lesson kit for grades kindergarten through 8.  As a parent of a senior in high school, I for one think it’s never too early for teachers to start exposing kids to career options.

Here’s how you can enter your school into the Dream to Do Contest:

And oh, by registering you’re automatically entered to win a THINKPAD X130e.
Visit http://www.lenovodreamtodo.com/technologymakeover for all the details.  Get those kids thinking about what they want to do when they grow up and grab the markers. Best of luck.

We’re very excited to announce that our Back2School 2012 program will include a  $1,000 vacation giveaway for your school!

Hmm, think of the possibilities of a vacation giveaway! Have a drawing to give it to one lucky involved parent, raffle it off at your school auction – what you do with it is up to your group, but we’re guessing you already have a few ideas up your sleeve.

For a chance to win in the $1000 Back2School Vacation Giveaway,  sign up for our free Back2School program today– then look for details* in your planning kit this July!

*Official rules for this promotion can be found here.

Right about this time of year it happens: you can’t help but start thinking about the next school year. What teachers will my kids have? Who will be the new parent group officers? What will our group do differently at our back-to-school events to get more parents involved?

While we can’t help you with the first two questions, we CAN help you with the third! Next week we are chatting about all things parent involvement. Join us on our Facebook page  for Destination Parent Involvement! Week to get parent involvement tips, chat with other leaders and learn more about our free Back2School program and how it can help enhance your back-to-school events. And for those of you (all?) trying to recruit new board members for the 2012/13 school year, invite them along. The feeling of support and connection they will get from Destination Parent Involvement week may just be the ticket to have them say yes to a board position!

Best part: stay tuned to our Facebook page next week for a big announcement about our 2012 Back2School program giveaway. You’re going to love it!

Not familiar with our Back2School program? Here’s the scoop: the program is designed to help your group make a fantastic first impression on parents at back-to-school, get parents involved and keep them involved all year long! Here’s what Back2School participants receive:

• Copies of Jump In! magazines and high value coupons for parents
• Back-to-school event planning guide
• A parent involvement banner to hang at your fall events
• Chance to receive free parent sample packs for parents, full of goodies
• Exclusive online access to new back-to-school and parent involvement downloadable tools
• Tune in next week for more details…