Answer: All PTA activities are completely voluntary. The PTA sponsors a wide variety of activities and events for children and their families. Parents should chose the activities that suit their families' needs. If you have any questions about an event, email the chairperson or anyone on the PTA board. (See Committees)

Answer: There are many volunteer opportunities to accommodate most any schedule. Some committees need help organizing volunteers via e-mails and telephone calls while others need help on one evening or one Saturday during the school year. The best way to find out what suits your family and work schedule is to contact our volunteer coordinator who can assist you in finding the right fit.  

Volunteer Coordinator - Denise Little

Answer: Begun over 20 years ago, the Library Tree has been a means of helping our school library fill its shelves with wonderful books! When you donate a book, the name of the person being honored and of the donor will be added to our Library Tree in the library. Additionally, a bookplate will be placed in the donated book. You may: a) purchase a book and give it to our librarian, Mrs. Blotzer, with the necessary donation information (use the below form link); OR b) contact Mrs. Blotzer at 412-344-2142 so that she can work with you and choose a book. 

Answer: The PTA Directory is probably the most tangible benefit of membership. To be included, you need to join the PTA at the beginning of the school year. The Directory is located inside our Membership Toolkit under "Directory" and a mobile version is also available. Visit the "Store" in Membership Toolkit to sign up!

Answer: Homeroom parents should turn in their receipts for party expenses to the PTA Treasurer for reimbursement within two (2) weeks of the party. Treasurer Reimbursement Form

Answer: Please visit our Membership Toolkit page at washingtonelempittsburgh.membershiptoolkit.com to join.

Answer: We invite adults involved in the lives of one of our students at Washington Elementary to participate in PTA. We welcome mothers, fathers, teachers, school administrators, grandparents, mentors, foster parents, and other caregivers. By getting involved with PTA, the child who benefits most is one’s own.

Answer: The WES PTA meetings usually occur on the third Tuesday of the month. The times for the meetings alternate between morning (9:15 a.m.) and evening (7:00 p.m.) in an attempt to accommodate differing family schedules. The meetings are usually held in either the WES Cafeteria or the Auditorium. Exact dates and times are listed in the Mt. Lebanon School District Calendar (look for “WES”) or on the Membership Toolkit calendar.

Answer: We invite any adult interested in promoting our efforts to continue and improve upon our programs at Washington Elementary to attend the PTA meetings. However, you must join the PTA in order to obtain voting privileges.

Answer: Membership Toolkit is an online tool used by our PTA to store all the things we do. Here you can join and pay for the PTA, order and buy merchandise- such as yearbooks, sign up to volunteer, view our calendar and online directory. You must register your family with MT to receive communications from the PTA and receive our weekly Sunday newsletter. This is the best way to stay informed with what's happening at WES.

Answer: The Washington Weekly Newsletter is the PTA’s weekly newsletter published every Sunday. It contains information about upcoming school and community events, noteworthy school news and PTA programs. You need not be a PTA member to obtain a copy of it, but you must register on our Membership Toolkit to receive the newsletter.

Answer: All parents or interested caregivers are welcome to volunteer for PTA events held in the classroom. Each classroom has a homeroom parent coordinator who organizes volunteers. If you are unaware of the coordinator for your child’s classroom, contact the Homeroom Parents Coordinators, Netty Bourdeau-Ott or Aubrey Mooney.

Many volunteers are needed throughout the year at PTA events.  Volunteer signups will be posted on our Membership Toolkit site.

Answer: The WES PTA dues support our efforts to provide programs for our children at WES and in meeting our obligations to local, state and national PTA, including support for the Georgia Pogue Scholarship. Some programs we provide are Cultural Arts assemblies throughout the school year, support for Field Trips and learning materials for within the school.

Answer: The homeroom parents for each classroom organize three holiday parties each year: Halloween, Holiday (December), and Valentine’s Day. The dates and times for each party are listed on the Mt. Lebanon School District Calendar. Look for the “WES” designation on the calendar in October, December and February to find the date and time of our parties.

Answer: Washington Elementary School supports the District Wellness Policy. Consequently, only non-edible treats may be given out in honor of your child’s birthday. Some suggestions include: stickers, tattoos, pencils, markers, erasers, bookmarks, chalk or inexpensive toys from the dollar store, catalogs or on web sites. Due to dietary concerns noted in the Wellness Policy, vouchers for edible items are not permitted.

Answer: At the beginning of each year, parents are asked to voluntarily donate to the Homeroom Party Fund as part of the PTA Consolidated Fee Form. We suggest $5 for each student if you wish to donate. This creates a fund for homeroom parents to use to plan the three parties. Each homeroom parent coordinator is given the amount available to be spent for parties. Parents planning the parties are asked to turn in their expense receipts within two (2) weeks of the party for reimbursement from the party fund. Any funds left at the end of the year are contributed to an area of Washington Elementary School that benefits all students.

Answer: At the beginning of each school year, a request form looking for homeroom parents will be available on our Membership Toolkit site.  Please sign up if interested and the chair of Homeroom Parents will be in contact, if you are needed.

Answer: Camp Lutherlyn is a camp located 40 miles north of Pittsburgh between Butler and Prospect, Pennsylvania. WES Fifth (5th) graders take a one day field trip to the camp focusing on science, math, and social studies curricular areas. Team building activities are infused throughout the experience. The trip to Camp Lutherlyn is funded by the PTA.

Answer: The Angel Fund is a budgeted amount of PTA funds designated for use at the discretion of the Principal of Washington Elementary School to assist students in need of items necessary for daily school activities.

Answer: The Georgia Pogue Scholarship is named in honor of the late Georgia Pogue, a high school guidance counselor. The scholarship is awarded annually to seven (7) graduating seniors who have significantly improved their academic performance during their high school career. High school administrators, faculty, and/or staff nominate these students for the scholarship. For more information, please refer to the PTA tab on the Mt. Lebanon School District website. LINK

Answer: The Washington Scholarship Fund is a scholarship started by the Washington Teachers and Staff to be given annually to a graduating Mt. Lebanon High School Student who is a Washington Elementary alumnus. The WES Faculty and Staff welcome donations to this fund in lieu of holiday or year-end thank you gifts. A committee of Washington Elementary Teachers determines the recipient of the annual scholarship. You can honor your children’s teachers or anyone special by donating in their name to the Washington Scholarship Fund. Make your check payable to Mt. Lebanon School District, and in the memo line add Washington Elementary School Scholarship Fund. There is a labeled box in the front office to collect donations. Be sure to indicate who you are honoring by using the below form link and placing it with your donation. Gift Ideas Flyer

Answer: Please contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Denise Little, to obtain information about volunteer opportunities to fulfill High School community service requirements.

Answer: Nominations for positions on the PTA Executive Board are taken annually in March.  At any other time, feel free to discuss the Executive Board position you are interested in with the person currently holding that position in order to learn more about it. If you are interested in becoming a chair or more involved with any committee, please contact the PTA president, Kara Monocello, at any time.

Answer: An employee of the school district is at the drop off/pick up location from 8:30 am to 9:00 am, 11:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., 12:30 to 12:45 p.m. and 3:20 p.m. to 3:50p.m. A fifth grade safety is also available to help kindergarteners get from the drop off to the school.

Answer: If you are driving to drop off or pick up your child from school you can do so at the designated Go Zone in back of the building on Lawncroft Drive. Please remain in your car and ask your child to exit via the passenger side door. If you are not using the designated zone, please park in a metered parking place to pick up your child. There is no parking in the Go Zone from 8:20-8:35 am and from 3:30-3:40pm. Do not stop in front of the school at any time to drop off or pick up your child. It is illegal to do so.

Answer: Children go outside for recess as much as possible. They may stay inside due to inclement weather. This is decided by Dr. Nelson. During January and February, there are a variety of lunchtime clubs available to keep children busy during recess. Some clubs include Chess Club, BINGO, Legos, Drawing and Fitness Club etc.. Information and signups will be emailed in December.