What does the PTA do for our school?
Theater program
We fund the theater program which is open to all students 3rd-5th grade and produces the 5th grade play every year!
Field Trips
The PTA funds field trips for all grades Kindergarten through 5th grade every year. This includes funding and organizing field trip destinations as well as transportation. We assist in finding volunteers to chaperone the trips.
5th Grade Overnight Camp
We provide some support funds for this event as well as fundraising support for the 5th grade class to raise enough money to cover the expenses for the trip for all 5th grade students. We assist in finding volunteers to chaperone this event.
Mini-Grants for Teachers
We provide $250 mini-grants for teachers who want to purchase special curriculum items or events for the kids of OHE. One of the childrens’ favorite mini-grants we funded from the past couple years is ‘Cosmic Bowling’ now available in our physical education curriculum.
Libby DeBell Fund
The PTA provides a grant to all teachers at Olympic Hills that are teaching for their very first year ever! Teachers work hard and a lot of times spend a lot of their own money getting class supplies, enrichment activities and materials, a class library, and more for their classrooms. These items are not provided by the district and are an important component of a classroom. This fund provides all first year teachers with money to purchase these materials to better serve their students. It has a direct effect on the classroom and learning experience in elementary school.
Dia de los Muertos
We fund and organize the Dia de los Muertos celebrations and events that take place at Olympic Hills Elementary. This includes a school ofrenda and Dia de los Muertos tapetes along with other fun events and projects to celebrate and remember.
Art Docent Program
Our PTA Art Docents create fun curriculum revolving around specific artists for all students in the school and share through class projects every year. They learn about different artists and styles through exploration and hands on creation of their own art! Some of the artists they have featured include Alma Thomas, Bisa Butler, Tawny Chatmon, Lorna Simpson, Frida Kahlo, Sayed Raza, Carmen Herrera, Ruth Asawa, Sandra Silberzweig, and many more!
Social Justice Program
We support and help with events for the school’s social justice program. These include our school’s annual ‘March for Peace’, curriculum and art activities, and more.
Animal Encounters
Every year the PTA brings in specialists and exotic animals and funds a day of learning and experiences with these animals for all the students. This is a natural science learning experience for the kids, as well as a fun day to see and learn about animals and reptiles from Australia.
Pacific Science Center – Science on Wheels
The PTA organizes and supports a day of fun with the Pacific Science Center’s Science on Wheels touring exhibits. This provides a fun and entertaining day of activities for the children of OHE where they can do hands on experiments, learn about exciting new concepts, and explore an exciting scientific topic. This program increases interest in the sciences in the Seattle area.
Cultural Events
The PTA organizes various other fun cultural events throughout the year like the Living Black History Museum and inviting the Dearborn Park Elementary School International Dance Troupe to perform for our kids.
Nature Vision
Nature Vision is an environmental educational non-profit that brings nature based programming directly to our school.
Salmon Program
We fund and support the salmon program. This program is designed to spark interest in the life cycle, conservation, and well being of our local salmon population. In this natural science program the kids get to raise and care for salmon at the school, then release them into the salmon stream at Carkeek Park.
Student Support
We compile the school’s Amazon wish-list and collect and distribute items to our students. These items can include school supply basics like backpacks, notebooks, and lunch boxes as well as warm winter clothing and even new recess equipment like soccer balls. If you would like to fill some of these needs you can find the current wish-list here.
Book-It
Book-it is a time tested reading program that helps develop a love of reading in children! The PTA organizes the Book-It program at our school. Find out more about this reading program here: Book-It.
Educator Appreciation Week
Every year in the spring OHE celebrates our educators! We provide snacks, lunches and more to celebrate the people in our school that make a difference daily in the lives and outcomes of our kids. We fund and organize all the volunteers for this week long event of appreciation.
Otter Gear
Otter gear is clothing and accessories that celebrate our school spirit and pride. We design, organize orders, and distribute Otter Gear twice a year. We also arrange for an Otter Gear scholarship fund that you can use if school spirit clothing is not in your family’s budget. If you would like to donate to the scholarship fund there is an option on the form to do so. Learn more about Otter Gear.
Memory Books
Memory Books are yearbooks that celebrate our year at school. We design, organize orders, and distribute Memory Books towards the end of the school year. We also arrange for a Memory Book scholarship fund that you can use if ordering a yearbook is not in your family’s budget. If you would like to donate to the scholarship fund there is an option on the form to do so.
Summer Festival
We love to kick off the summer with a fun filled festival of events at the school! We have balloon animals, bingo, bouncy houses, face painting, ice cream and other treats and snacks, books to take home for summer reading, activity packs to take home for summer fun and learning, crafts and so so much more! We hope everyone can come out and share in some fun in the sun! Summer Festival is a completely free event!
School & Class Picture Days
We organize the volunteer manpower to make school and class picture days as well as picture retakes run as smoothly and stress free as possible. We also help make the decision on which photography vendor we will be using at the school.
Ice Skating at the Kraken Iceplex
We organize a day every year in partnership with the Kraken Community Iceplex that our students can go and ice skate for fee for a couple of hours! One of the most beloved events by the students.
Hunger Intervention Program Support
To ensure all of the students of OHE have enough to eat on weekends and breaks when they don’t have school, the PTA organizes the manpower to get and distribute no cost HIP Packs (packs of food, snacks and meals to cover non-school days) to the school and into the hands of students who need them.
Movie Nights
Throughout the year the PTA puts on movie night events. The kids really love this one! We feature a different movie each time and offer concessions and entertainment. It’s a great place to bring the whole family on a Friday night.
Family Engagement Speakers
Occasionally we organize and pay for special guest speakers to speak at our Family Engagement Nights. We choose topics that are pertinent to parents of elementary aged children and try to find very engaging, entertaining, and informative guests. Let us know if you have suggestions on our contact page.
Move-A-Thon
Every spring we organize the all school Move-A-Thon. This is a fun activity that gets the kids moving and earns money for the PTA to support all our school programs. Students collect donations or pledges for each lap they take.
Small Project Work Parties
The PTA supports the educators by doing small projects throughout the year like lamination, copies, multiplication flash cards, poetry books and much more. Some of these projects can be done at home. Check out our volunteer page if you are interested in getting involved in helping.
The Garden & Outdoor Work Parties
That beautiful garden with raised beds between the blacktop and the preschool parking lot is 100% supported by the PTA. We upkeep it, plant it, harvest it, it is used as a tool for students to learn about plants and science, it is used as a play space during recess. It is an amazing and evolving work of art that really highlights and beautifies our school campus. We also organize work parties throughout the year to upkeep and beautify our school’s grounds and outdoor spaces.
Pancake Breakfast
We organize this with the Lake City Lion’s Club. They serves a pancake breakfast where they purchase and prepare all the food and all proceeds benefit the Olympic Hills PTA. This is always a fun time for the parents and children full of socialization and a hearty meal.
After School Enrichment
Periodically the PTA offers after school enrichment programming that offers things like ‘Learn to Skateboard’ with Skate Like a Girl, ‘Bike Riding Skills’ with Pedalheads, ‘After School Basketball’, ‘Coding Basics’, ‘Science Club’, Chess Club’ and more!