Committee Descriptions

The Book Fair committee is responsible for planning the yearly Book Fair in the fall.  The fall fair consists of classroom visits, Family night as well as Grandparents’ Night hours.  This fair is dedicated to raising funds for MPSA activities while also providing books to our teachers through the Wish List program, and to our library through the All for Books program.  Additionally, by participating in the All for Books program, our school can donate many books to children in need through Scholastic.  We also plan a Book Fair in the spring as a public service to our Middle Paxton families.  We currently use Scholastic as our vendor.

The Fifth Grade committee is responsible for organizing the Fifth Grade Year End Party.  The following are the duties of this committee:  Pick a place to have the event and reserve the date with the business, create a slideshow, organize and order the gift to fifth grade students.
 

The Helping Hands Club is a volunteer club that meets before school. The club is designed to encourage 4th and 5th grade students to become more involved in community and school service projects. Students welcome new students, participate in food and clothing drives, send cards to military and elderly, help with Grandparents’ Night, Santa's Workshop, The Race for Education and other exciting activities.

The Historian committee is responsible for attending school functions such as classroom parties, First Day of School, Breakfast with Buddies, Family Fun Nights, Muffins in the Morning, School Concerts and May Fair to take pictures.  It is also responsible for seeking pictures from school staff and parents/guardians and organizing them onto Google Photo drive by event and/or grade/class.  At the end of the school year, this committee is responsible for making a year-end slideshow for the whole school to watch.

The Hospitality Committee provides and serves refreshments at various school functions and events and/or organizes food donations for some events. 

The events in the past have consisted of:

• Kindergarten Orientation – August
• 1^st Grade & New Student Orientation – August
• Back-to-School Night – September
• Grandparents’ Night – September/October
• Breakfast with Buddies – October
• Muffins in the Morning - April
• PSSA Snacks - April

Upon the discretion of this committee, a Primary and Election Day Bake Sale can be organized in the fall and spring. Also, this committee is responsible for contacting the food vendors for the May Fair. 

The Committee is responsible for supplying items for various school activities. Volunteers are needed to help with these responsibilities and the above-mentioned events.  The Hospitality chair is to record all expenditures and submit receipts to the MPSA Treasurer after purchasing any food or supplies for any of the above events.

The May Fair Committee is the responsibility of the President and Vice President of the MPSA.  These two individuals plan May Fair meetings and distribute duties to committee chairs/co-chairs to assist in making the May Fair a success.

The Parent Advisory Committee representative meets with members of the school board and district administration once a month.  Current issues, concerns, policy, and innovative programs are presented and discussed.

The Publicity Committee is responsible for relaying any information regarding the Middle Paxton School Association and its planned activities. This is accomplished through email, flyers, social media or local newspapers (Patriot News, Guide, Paxton Herald or Middle Paxton Digest).   Each committee chair requesting information to be publicized should send a brief paragraph describing the event.

 Each year this committee is responsible for compiling the student directory that MPSA provides as a convenience to parents/guardians.  This is a useful resource for parents/guardians and students to utilize when arranging playdates, finding out missed homework assignments or coordinating classroom projects or events.  The directory contains a list of participating students by classroom, their addresses, phone numbers, parents’ names and email addresses,of each classroom and is compiled based on input received from the parents/guardians.  The directory is distributed through email but a hard copy can be provided if requested.  A list of all students by classroom, their addresses, phone numbers, parents’ names and email addresses, if available.  A form is prepared and sent home with each student as early in the school year as possible.  All parents/guardians are given the opportunity to exclude any information from the directory that they wish to keep private. The policy of the school district prohibits the listing of a student’s information if we do not have the permission of the parent/guardian.  Therefore, if no form is submitted, the information pertaining to the student is not published.

Santa's Workshop is another service provided by the MPSA and is held in early December. The "Elves" who run it are comprised of parent volunteers and our students in the Helping Hands club. The workshop provides an opportunity for the children to buy inexpensive holiday gifts for their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, and even their dogs and cats! The volunteers help so the  children can "shop in secret" for those special gifts for their loved ones. The shop runs on a Saturday.  Many volunteers are needed to make Santa's Workshop a success. The committee's activities mimic the duties involved in running a small business: shopping/buying, inventory and data tracking, shop set-up and tear down and accounting. The volunteers primarily handle the more fun aspects of helping the children shop and wrap gifts and we really do have a great time! It takes many "elves" to provide this fun service for our kids, so please come and join us, you won't regret it!

The MPSA awards a $1,000.00 scholarship annually to an alumnus of Middle Paxton Elementary School.

 The Scholarship is awarded to a candidate for graduation from a Senior High School in the Central Dauphin School District and is based on academic standing in the high school, school citizenship, and community service. Employment history is also taken into consideration.

 An essay of not more than 250 words explaining educational goals and objectives must accompany the application.  Notice of the scholarship is publicized throughout the senior high schools within Central Dauphin School District and via MPSA email and social media.  Students may secure an application packet from their high school counselor.  The deadline for applying is March 31st of their senior year.

 The recipient is chosen by the Scholarship Committee, which is made up of 3 teachers, and 3 parents from Middle Paxton Elementary School who review and score each application. The principal of the Middle Paxton Elementary School shall serve with the committee to provide guidance and continuity. 

The School Spirit Committee brings enthusiasm to the school and recognizes students through various activities.  They provide the entire student body the opportunity to participate in a fall and spring “guesstimation” contest and the winners are awarded prizes.  They decorate classroom doors during the holiday season to kick off the door-decorating contest.  They judge the decorated doors and the winning classroom receives a class party.  They provide holiday, year-end and random act of kindness week gifts to Middle Paxton students.  This committee also coordinates a spirit wear sale offering Middle Paxton students and parents the opportunity to purchase Middle Paxton gear.

The School Store committee is responsible for purchasing school supplies for the students to purchase.  There are a total of three (3) school stores throughout the school year (October, February, April).  Parent volunteers help set up and run the store so the students can shop for fun, inexpensive school supplies.  Items purchased include folders, notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, glue sticks, calculators, and many other supplies.  The students really enjoy being able to shop for themselves.

This committee celebrates special occasions throughout the year for the staff and students.  It is designed to show appreciation and make things special for the staff at Middle Paxton.   The committee chairperson is responsible for coordinating these events.  They should have good organizational skills, enjoy hosting/planning meals and obtain volunteers and donations as necessary for the events planned.  

A record of all events and activities will be kept.  All receipts are kept, and copies are given to the treasurer for items purchased.  The chairperson is responsible for remaining within the approved budget and submitting requests for budget increases each year as needed.  Please remember to thank those that provide items, services, and time to assist you in your committee.

The events that are to be coordinated are:

• A teacher meal in the fall and spring on teacher conference days
• Purchase and distribution of staff Christmas gift
• National Secretaries Day in April for the Middle Paxton office secretary
• Staff Appreciation Week in May--all staff are to be honored during this week and may include activities, gifts, drawings, meals, or student participation
• Organize the bake sale at Mayfair
• Submit content for social media with a summary of past, present or upcoming events plus thank you’s as needed

 Optional events:

• Back to school treat
• Any other holiday events for teachers e.g  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine’s Day
• End of the year treat
• Birthdays and other life events of teachers and staff
• Other celebrations or events as desired to make our staff feel appreciated

The volunteer committee is responsible for obtaining the necessary volunteers for each of the MPSA sponsored events.  Contact with parents/guardians is done by social  media, personal contact, sending out emails or by submitting flyers on upcoming volunteer opportunities.  This committee is also in charge of recruiting new volunteers.

This committee is in charge of fundraising activities for the MPSA.  This includes Restaurant Nights, Race for Education and any other fundraisers that are deemed necessary to raise funds for the MPSA to operate. Some fundraisers that have been done in the past:  Race for Ed, Keystone Candle, Super Bowl Party and more.

The Corresponding Secretary oversees the maintenance and content creation of the MPSA website, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok pages on a regular basis.  This committee also coordinates online

Online newsletters, sending emails & printing and distributing flyers.