There are so many ways to be involved.
Your leadership is needed!
Committees
The committee name and a brief description of duties is listed below. Some committees are for on-going learning enrichment programs, some are for community events, others support teachers and staff; there are in-school and after-school opportunities.
Committee work is fun and rewarding, especially when you work with a team.
Sign-ups for the 2025-26 Committee Lead opportunities will be available on ParentSquare on March 31st.
Sign-ups will close on May 31st. Any committees not filled at that time will NOT be offered in the 2025-26 school year but may be offered in the 2026-27 school year, if supported by volunteers.
Note: All hours are estimates and may increase or decrease depending on the number of committee leads, the number volunteers to support the event or activity, and the amount of lead time before an event.
Art Literacy
Art Literacy is an art education program created by the Beaverton School District that introduces students to various artists and their work, helping students to develop an understanding of art history and expand their creative abilities through hands-on art projects. Students learn general biographical information about a featured artist, learn about his or her work, and experience a hands-on art project. Lead Description: Lead(s) will retrieve and return Art Bags/Boxes from the district, review the lessons, manage art supplies, lead the volunteer training for each artist, and coordinate between teachers and volunteers to set up lesson times for each class. Art Literacy lead(s) may also be requested to assist with art production for the Auction fundraiser in the spring. Student Art was dropped from the Auction roster in the 2024-25 school year but may return in a future year. Time Commitment: Full year program Monthly time commitment varies depending on volunteer availability, around 5-10 hours monthly. Time commitment increases in the run up to the auction depending on the projects. Time commitment decreases if working with a co-lead, or several committee leads.
Bobcat Trail Club
The Bobcat Trail Club (BTC) is a running/walking program designed to encourage fitness in a fun way! Kids run/walk laps on the school track and record laps completed. Rewards are given after designated milestones are reached. Volunteers are needed the morning of Bobcat Trail Club days to help kids keep track of completed laps. Lead Description: Lead(s) will set up a schedule and solicit volunteers. You need approximately 6-8 volunteers every Bobcat Trail Club day so the lead needs to monitor signups to make sure there are enough volunteers. If more volunteers are needed, the lead needs to work with the Director of Communications and school admin to get information into the weekly newsletters. On the actual day of BTC, the lead is the point person of the morning and needs to be there to meet Mr. Whitehead, set-up BTC and direct volunteers to their stations. The lead also needs to shut down BTC by putting away all the cards and closing up the ipads in the gym office. The lead can designate another volunteer to be the point person if they can't attend. Time Commitment: Full year program 1-1.5 hours per week to attend and run BTC. Could be an additional 30 min-1hr per week at the beginning of the year when volunteer solicitation is high.
Book Fair
Help staff the school’s Book Fair, an event where a wide-variety of kid-approved books are sold to help raise money for Bonny Slope. A large percentage of all sales from the fair come immediately back to Bonny Slope to purchase books and other supplies for the BSE library and classrooms. Volunteers are needed to help set up and take down the displays, as well as help attendees make purchases. Lead Description: Coordinate dates and expectations with principal; communicate with Scholastic to schedule Book Fairs, delivery, and pick up of cases, and close out financials Set schedule and coordinate volunteers; plan and execute Family Night Communicate with staff regarding teacher wish lists and book recommendations; work with librarian during Book Fair to move classes through the Fair Manage cash throughout the Book Fair, including counting register drawers at the close of each day Publicize Book Fair to the school community. Time Commitment: Event: may be held one or two times in a school year, depending on committee interest and Scholastic schedule availability 1-2 hours per week in the month leading up to Book Fair 10+ hours during the week of Book Fair, depending on volunteer involvement.
Carnival
A school-wide event that takes place in the late spring featuring games, activities, food, and prizes. This event is held outside of school hours and welcomes our students and their families, and our in-coming Kindergartners to enjoy a fun-filled evening with friends. Lead Description: Coordinates all aspects of the carnival including source food and entertainment vendors, plan and organize all games/events/prizes Work closely with school administrators and custodians to ensure a smooth and safe event Develop and execute communications to the Bonny Slope Community Manage the Carnival budget Time Commitment: One time event Focusing on securing vendors in the Fall will lead to much less work in the Spring. Fall: 3-5 hours a month Spring: 2-3 hours a week and ramping up as it gets closer to the Carnival 5 hours a week the month leading to the Carnival.
Culture Night/ Cultural Enrichment Committee
The Cultural Richness Committee works to increase cultural awareness and understanding within the Bonny Slope community with a goal of creating a more inclusive and welcoming school for all. The Cultural Enrichment committee not only creates programs that expose students to different cultures (such as Mother Language Day and Cultural Family Night), but it also tries to "sprinkle" cultural awareness in existing activities (such as Art Literacy) that are already occurring at Bonny Slope by partnering with other committees! Bonny Slope began an annual event in 2024 that invites students and families to celebrate their cultural heritage by hosting a table. Culture Night has been warmly embraced by the BSE community and is one of the best attended events of the school year. Lead Description: Incorporate cultural enrichment into existing BSCO events by showcasing and embedding cultural elements into the activities. Leading and organizing a Culture Night for Bonny Slope to share and enrich families with the diversity of cultures that are represented in the community. Time Commitment: Program can be run as a year-long project of smaller cultural moments, as a one time event, or both Varies depending on the events that the lead would like to arrange. Flexible time commitment.
Community Outreach
This committee coordinates service opportunities for our students and families to serve the broader community. Some of the past programs have included serving at a book bank, a food bank, a non-profit that helps children in need, and the Beaverton Clothes Closet. Volunteers are needed to help identify community partners for service opportunities and coordinate community involvement. Lead Description: Partner with school administration, community organizations, and other committees to plan and lead events that support Bonny Slope and broader community. Prepare promotional materials, solicit volunteers and oversee the events. Time Commitment: Varies based on the events you choose to plan. ~1-2 hours a week when planning an event.
Fifth Grade Activities
Help make a memorable year for our departing 5th graders! Join the planning committee and participate in organizing Science School, End of the Year Send-Off Party, the Fifth Grade Mosaic for the Auction, and the gift to Bonny Slope. Lead Description: The Lead(s) will recruit and manage a committee to handle the events and activities. You will be the liaison to the school, teachers, and parents. The events can vary year to year but can include leading the Student/Staff Breakfast, Parent Coffee, 5th grade social, 5th Grade Art Auction Item, which is also printed for the office, Grade level photo, service project and/or school gift, 5th grade slideshow, end of year party, and chalk wall. You will liaise with the school to assist with the 5th grade talent show, clap out, Parent/Student/teacher kickball game and Student/Teacher breakfast. Time Commitment: Half-year program Varies depending on committee numbers to share workload
Garden
The school learning garden is utilized by several teachers throughout the year to support classroom curriculum. Students and teachers benefit from the ability to have hands-on experience in plant life-cycles. There are also numerous benefits to getting outside and putting your hands in dirt. Lead Description: Assist teachers with the management and maintenance of the garden space. Weeding, green waste removal, preparing beds for planting, watering, etc Support lessons in the garden by helping students Solicit volunteers to help maintain the garden space Time Commitment: Seasonal program Teachers are re-imagining the curriculum for the garden. Time commitment currently unavailable (2024-25 school year)
Garden - Renovation and Planning
In the 2024-25 school year, the community voted to fund a Learning Garden Renovation. The project will take several years to complete. These funds will help teachers design an outdoor learning space to foster children's interest in gardening, plant life, and ecology. The planning committee is essential to the success of the future garden. Lead Description: Lead(s) will work with the teachers, school administration, and the district to create improvements to the garden space. Act as a project manager for any Facilities Improvement Plan necessary to complete various stages of the renovation. Time Commitment: Year round program This is a new planning committee. The time commitment will be up to the committee members.
Green Team/ B.E.S.T.
Through classroom projects, community partnerships and national recognition, our mission is to improve air quality, create a safer environment, teach a more gentle interaction with earth and inspire a greater awareness of the earth and our human impact for our students as well as their teachers and their families. Our goal is to turn Earth Day into a daily habit. It’s about fun and designing a school as healthy and earth-friendly as we can imagine it to be. Our volunteers have an infectious enthusiasm that invites people to the possibilities of what can happen when we stop talking and start doing, stop dreaming and start believing! Lead Description: Assist in coordinating activities for Bonny Slope students that promote sustainable practices. Previous activities include a shoe drive (recycle old sneakers), assisting students in creating Earth Week promotional materials, and recruiting volunteers for Earth Week activities. Maintaining Green School certification (lapsed in 2024) Developing other activities and projects to get students involved. Time Commitment: Can be a year-round program or limited to just Earth Week Varies depending on activities. About 2 hours per week during the month of April (supporting Earth Week activities).
Geography Club
Students in grades first through fifth have the opportunity to explore the world through our Geography Club. This is an individualized, sequential geography program designed to help students learn some or all of the world's countries over the course of a school year. Each student receives a passport, chooses an individual level of study and collects postage stamps for learning the world's countries and geographic features. Lead Description: Coordinates all aspects of the monthly geography club check day. Work at the beginning of the year includes working with administration and teachers to coordinate dates and times for check days, purchase supplies, print study maps, recruit and schedule volunteers, present geo club to the first graders, and promote the program. Run the check day; train volunteers, greet students, help students through the check out process. End of year includes determining prize winners, purchasing and distributing prizes. Time Commitment: Year round program About 20 hours at the beginning of the year, 5-10 hours maintenance each month, about 10 hours at the end of the year for prize award work.
Monster Mash
A fun-filled event to celebrate the fall season! Halloween costumes are welcomed (though leave the gory costumes and weapons at home). Takes place mid- to late-October. The event is flexible and has included in the past: a neighborhood scavenger hunt, trick-or-treat stations in the neighborhood behind the school, a haunted house and activities stations inside the school, photo booths at the front of the school, and trunk-or-treat in the bus lane. Lead Description: Lead(s) will devise and implement the event Event may include arranging vendors, creating a list of activities, photographing decorations in the neighborhoods around BSE for a scavenger hunt, coordinating hosts for Trunk-or-Treat, setting up treat stations, and/or other offerings appropriate for K-5th grade attendees. Coordinate volunteers to decorate, run, and tear down the event Purchase treats (candy, small toys, pencils, etc) to give away Communicate with the community via school newsletters and social media Time Commitment: One time event Can vary widely. Smaller events will take significantly less time than larger events. Even smaller events will require greater than 10+ hours of time in the month of October.
Oregon Battle of the Books
The Oregon Battle of the Books is a state-wide optional student enrichment program that runs roughly from the summer (when book lists are released) through April (when regional and state battles take place). 3rd, 4th & 5th graders are eligible to participate, creating teams of 4 or 5 members who compete in trivia battles based on the OBOB book list. Lead Description: Coordinate with the school to order books for 3rd-5th classrooms and the school library, and get BSE registered to participate in OBOB Communicate with families about the start of the season, registration, and team formation. Later, communicate about school-level battles, and regional/state battles Answer questions about OBOB, where to get books Create a schedule for Battle Season Solicit volunteer support, including communication and training Review all OBOB rules and regulations for participation Time Commitment: Nearly year-long program Depending on the number of committee leads, 3-10 hours per week from Aug-March
Pancake Breakfast
This crowd favorite is an opportunity for fifth graders to give back to their community by hosting and serving a breakfast to the community. This event can be paired with a friendly philanthropic contest between the fifth grade classrooms. This might take the form of a food drive for the school pantry or a district school. Lead Description: Set a menu and procure items either through purchase or donation Communicate with the community Leverage upper grade student and parent volunteers Plan logistics of the event Time Commitment: One time event Depends greatly on the number of committee/sub-committee members and length of time to plan before the event.
Pantry Provisions
This committee coordinates a program that provides a weekend supply of nutritious food for Bonny Slope students when school lunch and breakfast is unavailable on a weekend or school holidays. Each food backpack is provided free of charge and contains nutritious, nonperishable items. This committee was created with the hope that these resources will support the health, behavior and academic achievement of every student that participates. Volunteers are needed to shop for food to fill backpacks, clean and organize the pantry, and stuff backpacks to be taken home. **In the 2024-25 school year, a pilot program was tested to replace the backpacks with a gift card to a grocery store. Community approval is required to extend that program. Lead Description: The Pantry Lead works with the school administration (BSE social worker and front office) to make sure that the school's pantry is stocked regularly and that there are volunteers signed up on a weekly basis to shop for the pantry and pack the backpacks and classroom snacks. The Pantry Lead also coordinates larger food drives at events like Monster Mash and Science Night and helps coordinate bigger events like Thanksgiving Food donations and Holiday Gift Drive. The Pantry Lead also coordinates with community partners to solicit donations and follow through on any requirements of said partnerships. Time Commitment: Year round program Varies depending on the number of volunteers actively helping with the pantry. Could be as little as a half hour a week to make sure pantry needs are communicated to the shopper and to make sure packing volunteers have any special information needed for that week. Could be as much as 5 hours a week if there is no shopper or packer, in which case the lead would fill in. Weeks leading up to bigger food drives could also add more time to make sure that the event is publicized and that someone is available to receive and put away donations from the BSE community.
Production Team
The Production Team works to complete projects for teachers and/or staff. Projects may include photocopying, die cutting, collating and assembling booklets, laminating, and more. Teachers who do not have a classroom coordinator may rely heavily on the Production Team to meet the paper needs of their classrooms. Lead Description: Train volunteers how to use the various types of office equipment needed to complete the production requests Keep an eye on volunteer attendance and step in to complete production tasks as needed Help keep the production room clean and notify the school administration when supplies begin to run low Time Commitment: Year round program Lead(s) will need to make sure that there is someone coming to the school each week to complete work and check in with the office staff to see that needs are being met. 1-3 hours per month.
Science Night
During this event, students exhibit science fair presentations at Bonny Slope in an enjoyable, non-competitive atmosphere. Student experiments and projects will be on display for all to enjoy. Hands-on experiments may be available to supplement the event, provided by vendors or volunteers. Lead Description: The lead will coordinate the student exhibits including marketing, registration, set up and positive-evaluation volunteers. Liaise with the school and School District to approve all exhibitor vendors. Coordinate exhibitor hall for hands-on learning opportunities. Plan and implement BSCO run science tables. Time Commitment: One time event Varies by Science Night activities
Staff Appreciation
An important part of friend-raising at Bonny Slope is showing our dedicated staff how much we value the quality education, professionalism, and caring they bring to our children each day of the school year. Staff Appreciation Week takes place in May, in addition to various activities throughout the year. All activities are gestures designed to show the Bonny Slope team how much students and their families value the gifts they receive all year long. Lead Description: Provide meals during conferences, special treats at the holidays and/or breaks On a monthly basis ensure there are snacks in the staff room Check in with the staff on their preferences and interests Time commitment: Year round program 1-3 hours monthly (for planning) plus up to 6 hours monthly on-site at school (executing events/staff meals), so part-time or flexible work schedule is a must.
Student Directory
Each school year, BSCO publishes a Student Directory to help connect families. It includes class lists, student and parent contact information, faculty contact information, recess and lunch schedules, and other important school reminders. This committee is responsible for collecting and formatting the content needed to create and distribute the Student Directory to students and families. The directory typically publishes in October. Lead Description: Work with BSE administration to collect student data and other important school information for the Student Directory. Closely monitoring the BSCO Directory email account for electronic change request forms submitted by families and drafting communications included in school newsletters and on social media. Organize and format the information collected to create the Student Directory Solicit BSCO Board assistance to review and publish the Student Directory. Time Commitment: Three-month project An update may be needed for the Directory after winter break, depending on students moving to or away from BSE Approximately 15-20 hours in the Fall. This estimate assumes the Student Directory format does not change significantly from the prior year and that it continues to only be published in an electronic format. Time will also vary depending on the number of change request forms received from families and if BSCO desires a mid-year refresh of the Student Directory.
Welcome Committee
Starting a new school can be a bit scary, for younger kids and their parents. Welcome committee’s job is to help ease the transition into BSE by organizing various points of engagement in a family-friendly and inviting way. Lead Description: Organize summer play dates for new and returning families Assist with Back to School activities, like the BSCO picnic and chalking the school Partner with BSCO to arrange staff attendance for these events, where families can meet them in a low-stress setting Share information about the coming school year and how to become a volunteer at BSE with new families Time Commitment: 2-3 month project This committee begins planning in late July and starts hosting events in August. 2-4 hours of work per week covers planning, purchasing supplies like popsicles or bubble solution, and attending play dates at the school.
Yearbook
The Bonny Slope Yearbook is published each June and is available for purchase to all students and any family or friends who may be interested. Volunteers with design, editing, and photography skills are needed to create and use a template of the yearbook to include class pictures, events, awards, etc. Classroom volunteers are also needed to be in charge of taking and sending pictures of students in the classroom at activities throughout the year. Lead Description: Collaborating closely with the team to meticulously plan the yearbook's content, themes, and layouts. Organizing photographs taken throughout the year, with an emphasis on reflecting the diversity and spirit of our school. This includes soliciting photos from families, teachers, and photographers, and ensuring comprehensive coverage of key school events and moments. Developing and maintaining a production schedule to ensure the yearbook is completed on time. Keeping the school and community well-informed about yearbook deadlines, order procedures, and distribution channels, such as sorting and labeling each yearbook with students' names and distributing them to classes. Managing the collection of payments from parents for yearbook purchases. Promoting yearbook sales and requesting photos from parents and teachers on the school's social media platforms, Paw Print, and BSCO newsletters. Communicating and collaborating closely with the publisher regarding the yearbook's design and layout. Reviewing all content for accuracy, grammar, and style before submitting it for publication. Time Commitment: Year long program Varies throughout the year. Initially, it only requires an hour or two of work per month until the spring, then it generally increases to approximately 40-80 hours during the creation and production phases of the yearbook. Be prepared to dedicate a significant amount of time during these periods.
What does the commitment of leading a committee look like over the course of a year?
While all volunteer leadership is valued equally, the time commitments for committee leads can be very different.
Some committees are active all year, but at a very limited or passive capacity. Some committees require an intense burst of commitment over the space of a few weeks. Some are challenging all year long due to planning, resourcing, and volunteer management.
The chart below is intended to show what a year in any committee might looks like.
The darker colors in a line indicate the most active periods.
The lighter colors indicate that the committee is still active but with limited to no work needed, or to indicate a stretch of time needed for planning.
Committees listed as "undefined" mean that the leads craft what they do throughout the year and there is no preset schedule that they need to follow.
Date ranges do not necessarily correspond to the date the event will happen in any given year. The schedule is managed by Bonny Slope Elementary admin and may change.
Ultimately, when you take on the leadership of a committee, you have some degree of control over how much work you want to do. You have the ability to shape your hours depending on the impact you want your committee to have. If you are interested in pursuing leadership and want to talk through logistics, contact committees@bonnyslopebsco.org.
