Sarah Banks

Welcome to the Sarah Banks PTSA home page, we hope you find it useful and easy to navigate. We invite you and your student to come to this page for information regarding the Banks PTSA including all forms. Our PTSA works with parents, students, teachers and the administration to provide resources and activities to enhance your students experience at Banks. The Banks PTSA invites you to participate in any way you can whether it’s coming to meetings to share your ideas or volunteering in our many activities - even if it is just a few hours a year. We want and need your involvement.

Every Child, one Voice

Every child, one voice are not just words, but our guiding principle. Our Banks students are our top priority and we always ask ourselves, how are we impacting our students, what are we doing to make their educational experience a great one? How can we improve? What issues should we be looking at to improve their experience?

The National PTA, of which we are a part, is the largest and oldest parent organization (110 years +) in the country. It was the PTA who was responsible for: Child labor laws;the creation of kindergarten, immunization laws, hot lunch prograns and increasing education dollars. PTA continudes to focus on children's issues like childhood obesity, internet safety and more. Go to www.pta.org to see how you benefit by joining Sarah Banks PTSa

PTSA benefits everyone -- your student, the school and you. More than 30 years of research shows that children do better in school when their parents and families are involved at home and at school. They get better grades, they score better on tests, their self esteem grows and the schools improve.

PTSA Meetings

Banks PTSA meetings are held the second Monday of each month (excluding December) at 6:30 p.m. They are held in the media center and we promise we will keep them moving and get you out no later than 8 p.m. Occasionally, we will feature guest speakers on topics such as: internet safety, securing scholarship money, planning for high school, etc. Agendas will be attached to our web page ahead of the meeting, minutes and the budget will be posted once they are approved.

PTSA Activities

The Banks PTSA sponsors a wide-variety of events and activities, here are just a few:

4 fun-filled afterschool activity nights with principal Mark Hess as DJ
School Programs
Spaghetti dinner for Banks families
Concession stand for afterschool games
Spirit Wear
Reflections

Find out the specifics by looking at the PTSA Activities page.

PTSA Fundraising

Bucks for Banks - Donate by Curriculum Night and get a chance to win Tuition Expedition Raffle Ticket!

This year BANKS PTSA kicks off "Bucks for Banks" asking parents for a $25 per student contribution. This is the third year in a row that we are asking parents for a straight donation --all of it is tax deductible because the Banks PTSA is a 501(c)(3) non profit group. If every family contributes their $25 per student --- we will raise about $22,500 enough to fund the many programs and activities for the year. A form went home with students during the first week of school -- please fill it out and send it back with your child. Students will be entered into a raffle for prizes. For more information, click on the Fundraising tab.

Service Fundraisers

Banks PTSA also provides a number of service fundraising. This year we will offer spirit wear and Entertainment books this year -- a portion of the proceeeds go back to the PTSA. Spiritwear forms can be found under the Fundraising tab. The Entertainment books will be sent home in October, look for more information soon.

Store Givebacks or Cause Marketing

Many retail stores participate in what is called Cause Marketing or Store Givebacks. Kroger, Target, Hillers, Shaklee offer programs that will return a percentage of your purchase back to the PTSA. We are also going to be part of a new Michigan PTSA program called Cash Back for Kids -- an online mall that sends you to the retailers you normally shop at -- and a portion of the proceeds go back to the PTSA. More information can be found under Fundraising.

We cannot provide programs for our students without fundraising -- we need your help -- please participate in one or more of these programs.

Volunteers

There are a wide variety of volunteer opportunities, from chairing one of our committees to helping out ant any of our functions; volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization. Please look at the volunteer opportunities and sign up by returning the volunteer form to school.

The Sarah Banks PTSA Board is very excited to be on board and we are looking forward to a great year for our students, our parents, our staff and administration. We invite you to participate in whatever way you can. Contact any of the Board members with your thoughts and ideas, send us an email or leave us a message at 248-956-2214.

Sincerely,

The Sarah Banks PTSA Board