Events Committees

The chairpersons for these events must be able to begin planning several months in advance, to develop a schedule of activities, either new or based on the previous years’ event, keep a budget, and coordinate many volunteers. Whenever possible, the chairperson should attend the prior year’s event. All of these events are fluid and open to change.

The chairman is ultimately responsibility for:

• Working with a teacher-representative and school administration.
• Facility planning, requisition of grounds, tables, tents, etc. from the Board of Education.
• Communicating committee plans and progress at a PTO meeting.
• Tracking cash flow and coordinating outside vendor contracts with PTO Treasurer, if necessary.
• Flyers and announcements.
• Volunteer oversight.

Cultural Arts Programs

The PTO dedicates a significant portion of its budget to this committee. The money is used to present theatrical, musical and dance assemblies, as well as educational programs, for the children at each school. Meetings are held several times throughout the year to select the presenters or shows that will be presented at each school. In addition, committee members may attend showcases (short previews of several shows performed at one location), go to various schools to preview possible programs and investigate any teacher recommendations based on performances that they have seen.

The members make the scheduling arrangements between artists and schools. The following skills are helpful in serving on this committee:

• An interest in today's performing arts and in providing a stimulating variety of programs to the children.
• The ability to communicate and work with artists and school staff when arranging dates.
• The ability to travel to daytime showcases and/or preview shows being held at other schools.
• The ability to attend the scheduled programs and assist the artists when needed.

Field Day

Field Day is an exciting and fun-filled day offered to Millington and Gillette School students near the end of the school year. Separate chairpersons are assigned to each school, and the two events will be held on separate days. The children spend the day enjoying relay races, games, and tests of athletic skills. Field Day is a celebration of physical energy and team spirit. 

Food Day -- All Schools

Food Day is an optional fundraising program sponsored by the PTO. Students are given the opportunity to prepurchase food items to be served on Food Day by volunteers. The selections include pizza, bagels, salads and submarine sandwiches.

The lead chairpersons are responsible for scheduling dates and menus and overseeing volunteers. Volunteers are needed to distribute the food to the children.

Ice Cream Day -- Millington and Gillette

Ice Cream Day is an optional dessert program which takes place on the second Friday of each month.  Ice cream selections must be preordered and paid in full along with each student's PTO Food Day orders through www.myfooddays.com during the open ordering periods several times per year.

Kindergarten Workshop

The Kindergarten Workshop is an orientation program for children entering kindergarten and their parents/guardians. The workshop is a half-day program that is scheduled in the spring. Prospective students participate in Kindergarten related activities that are led by parent volunteers while the parents/guardians attend informational seminars with various school personnel including the superintendent, principal, kindergarten teachers, and support staff. The highlight of the workshop for many children is the opportunity to take a ride on the school bus! The purpose of this program is to be informative for the parents/guardians and to make an easier transition into kindergarten. PTO volunteers include Kindergarten workshop co-chairs, activity leaders and assistants and bus ride chaperones. 

Staff Appreciation Luncheon

This PTO event was specifically created as a singular means of thanking the faculty, administration, and support staff for all of their hard work and dedication to the children of Long Hill Township Schools. The luncheon is hosted by the PTO membership and is planned for late spring. Committee members are needed from all three schools to help plan the event. 

Visiting Authors

The Visiting Authors program brings authors, illustrators, poets, and playwrights into the schools. The purpose of these visits is to encourage the love of reading and writing by meeting published authors, introduce students to authors as positive role models, and provide insight into the process of writing and publishing a book.

The visiting authors' committee works closely with the principals and coordinating teachers and will recommend, review, and contract authors for each grade level. The committee will act as a liaison between the schools and the authors, to make sure that the program suits our curriculum and that we have all the supplies and technical equipment the author needs for his/her presentation. The committee will often secure dates for the authors months or even a year in advance. The committee works within a budget and submits all expenses to the PTO treasurer.

The committee will publicize the visits to teachers, parents and students. If an author has books for sale, the committee will handle all aspects of the sale, including creating the flyers, collecting the order forms and payment, ordering the books from the publishers, facilitating the autographing of the books, and distributing the books to the children. The committee will attend the events, assist on the day of the program with distribution of materials, and arrange for the authors' lunches and hotels, if needed.

Grade Specific Events are developed to give the students a hands-on, interactive day and are tied into the curriculum appropriate to each grade. Timing of the events is also important to coordinate with curriculum. The chairperson must be able to begin planning several months in advance to develop a schedule of activities, keep a budget, and coordinate many volunteers. Volunteers at these events are encouraged to dress the part. For many of these events, the students dress in costume as well. Many of these events include lunch for the participants.  Whenever possible, the chairperson should attend the prior year’s event. The format of these events is fluid and open to change.

Environmental Day - 2nd Grade

Environmental Day compliments the second grade science curriculum with hands-on learning experiences about ecology and the environment. Students visit stations such as outdoor education, recycling, planting seeds, etc. spending about 15 minutes at each station. Past years have been highlighted by a performance of a band whose instrumentation is made up of all recycled items. 

The chair people are responsible for scheduling outside vendors such as Ranger Rich, Bash the Trash Band, NJ American Water, The Long Hill Shade Tree Commission, etc. They also coordinate parent volunteers to present some of the stations and serve as chaperones as the students visit each station. The chair people submit building use forms to the Board of Education, coordinate with school staff and ensure payment forms are submitted to the PTO treasurer for any checks that are required.

International Day - 3rd Grade

International Day gives third grade students the opportunity to take a world tour. Students visit booths representing a variety of countries spending approximately 15 minutes at each country booth. Each booth has information and artifacts pertaining to the country as well as a brief activity such as music, dancing, a craft, a slide show or a book. Parent volunteers set up and run individual country-booths, serve as tour guides guiding the children to the various countries and assist with the classroom lunches. 

The chair people are responsible for coordinating parent volunteers to set up the country booths. The chair people submit building use forms to the Board of Education, coordinate with school staff and ensure payment forms are submitted to the PTO treasurer for any checks that are required.

Science Day - 4th Grade

Science Day is held in two parts. The morning science fair portion gives students the opportunity to highlight the results of a science experiment they have conducted collaboratively with a partner or small group. Parents of 4th graders and other Millington students can visit with the young scientists to learn about their experiment. All instructions regarding this optional assignment will be managed by the classroom teachers during the months leading up to Science Day. The second part of the day involves experiments and presentations conducted by parent volunteers. 

The chair people are responsible for coordinating parent volunteers to facilitate experiments during the second part of the day and making sure they have the supplies they need. The chair people submit building use forms to the Board of Education, coordinate with school staff and ensure payment forms are submitted to the PTO treasurer for any checks that are required.

Colonial Day - 5th Grade

Colonial Day is a hands-on learning experience for fifth grade students at Millington School. It coincides with the fifth grade social studies curriculum involving the American colonial period and takes the children back to a time when people had to do a great many things for themselves. It is a full-day program and is usually held in the spring. Students, teachers, and parents come dressed in colonial garb and are ready to relive that bygone era by participating in colonial-era activities and crafts as well as being provided colonial-era foods for lunch.

Medieval Festival - 6th Grade

The Medieval Festival is a full day celebration for the sixth grade at Central School. It corresponds to the curriculum and gives students a chance to experience what they have learned about this historic period. The event is often scheduled during the 8th grade class trip in the Spring to maximize resources. Amidst music and games of the medieval times, the students eat traditional food, wear medieval costumes and participate in related activities. Past highlights have included a demonstration by the high school fencing team, a medieval knight or other period actor.

Victorian Tea - 7th Grade

Victorian Tea is an event for the seventh grade at Central School and encompasses the study of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in the Reading classes and the Social Studies classes’ coverage of the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian Age. Victorian Tea is usually held in February. The students, dressed in period costume, will move to various stations including topics such as education, leisure activities, class differences, the Industrial Revolution, and war and exploration. During lunch, the students will experience a traditional “high tea” and are entertained by a Sherlock Holmes-type skit performed by Central School teachers.