1. What does the Fairwood Explorer Alliance do for our children?

The Fairwood Explorer Alliance is made up of parents and school staff who work together to enrich our children’s experiences at Fairwood Explorer Elementary. Volunteers like you supplement in-class learning with arts, music, social, and

real-world learning, and we budget a large portion of your donations to directly support classroom activities. The Fairwood Explorer Alliance also enables almost 10 after-school programs to enable learning and growth after the school day is officially over. Every child at Fairwood Explorer benefits from the enrichment the Fairwood Explorer Alliance provides.

2. How is Fairwood Explorer Alliance money spent? And who decides?

You decide how the budget is spent. Each year the Alliance prepares a budget based on feedback collected from community members. Most of these funds are used to support in-class & after-school activities, technology, and equipment. The remainder goes to community and school events, fundraising, and the administration required to be a non-profit.

Here are just a few of the wonderful programs we sponsor or pay for to enrich our children’s education:

1. Assemblies
2. Field trips and in-school special programs
3. Science Camp contribution
4. Meet the Masters
5. 2-week extension to Starting Arts rotation
6. Family Dances
7. Technology: hardware and software
8. 10+ after-school programs
9. Outdoor garden experiences
10. International Festival

3. How do I receive information on all of the school activities?

The school newsletter – Fairwood Falcon Flier – is distributed monthly via email, but cannot cover all events and changes in a timely fashion. So, UptoUs is used by the Fairwood Explorer Alliance to provide more frequent updates! These are critical tools for communicating with our families about important messages, reminders and last-minute updates. Please read them! When you begin at Fairwood Explorer, you will have the opportunity to request access to the Fairwood Explorer UptoUs page by contacting board@fairwoodexplorer.org.

4. How do I volunteer at Fairwood Explorer?

Fairwood Explorer depends on consistent volunteerism to run learning centers during the school day and family engagement activities after school. We have hundreds of opportunities for stay-at-home, part-time, and full-time working parents. You can peruse the list of volunteer committees on UptoUs under the Teams page.

5. What are some examples of volunteer opportunities at Fairwood Explorer?

We have many opportunities for you to be involved during class or at special events. Here are some examples of positions where we need volunteers:

• Classroom Coordinator
• Literacy Centers
• Math Centers
• Physical Education coach
• Lunch Recess Supervisors
• Meet the Masters Arts Instructors
• ABC Readers through Project Cornerstone
• Special Events Support Team for events such as:
  • Family Dances
  • Walk-a-Thon
  • International Festival
  • Stargazing Night
  • Book Fairs
  • Otter Pop Sales
  • After-School Programs support
  • Carnival

Remember: Whenever you come to school, you must always first sign-in at the office and wear a “Volunteer” or “Visitor” sticker.

6. What is Meet the Masters?

Meet the Masters is the Fairwood Explorer’s art program led by parent volunteers. Each lesson consists of one artist and their work, with a follow-up art lesson related to the style of the artist for that month. Students’ artwork is displayed in the classroom and sent home after a display period. More information about the Meet the Masters program will be provided by the Fairwood Explorer Alliance at the beginning of the year.

7. How can I help with fundraising?

We only have two main sources of fundraising. The goal (which our budget is banking on) is to raise at least $70,000 annually from these two fundraising efforts.

We will host a Classroom Ask campaign when school begins in the fall (check for matching funds from your employer). Classroom asks are based on anticipated costs for field trips and special events for the school year. 100% of your donation stays at school, and 100% is tax-deductible. In addition, we have our annual Walk-A-Thon in October.   We ask for parents to help their kids get pledges, participate in and volunteer at the event, and donate to the event and auction.

Two additional “effortless” ways to contribute are by saving your Box Tops and by linking to Amazon Smile - Amazon gives us a percentage back for each order you make (it does not increase your cost). Just go to Amazon Smile and link your orders to Fairwood Explorer Alliance. Tell your friends and relatives too!

8. When are Community Meetings, and why should I attend?

Community meetings are how you influence Fairwood Explorer Alliance ... what it does and how it spends its money. They are also a place to get information: school staff representatives always give updates on what is happening at the school, and there are frequent updates on school activities and events.

There are three meetings held each year. Please refer to Up to Us for specific dates. You are highly encouraged to attend.

9. Where can I go for more information?

The school website can be found at www.sesd.org and by selecting Fairwood Explorer from the Schools menu. This site is full of information about our school, including the latest events and copies of school newsletters.

The Fairwood Explorer Alliance hosts the website Up to Us and provides frequent updates on school events and volunteer opportunities.