Volunteer Opportunities                  

Whether you have 30 minutes or much larger blocks of time, there are many opportunities to make the lives of kids at Birkes Elementary better.  And it doesn't matter if you travel for work, work from home, or parent 24-7, there's a place for you!  Your help is always needed and appreciated!  

First...sometimes there is some confusion on what is PTO and what is VIPS. You may see or hear these acronyms but not fully understand what's the difference. They are actually both the same thing! PTO- Parent Teacher Organization and is commonly associated with elementary schools in CFISD. VIPS- Volunteers in Public Schools and is commonly associated with secondary schools in CFISD. The primary objective of both is to encourage cooperation and involvement to enrich the education of all students. 

Volunteers of the Month

LOG YOUR VOLUNTEER HOURS TO SUPPORT BIRKES!

It is important that you log your volunteer hours. Once you create your own account  (directions below), you will be able to sign in at the front desk as a volunteer. The system automatically logs your hours that you spend at the school as long as your ID sticker says "volunteer". If you are volunteering outside of school hours on behalf of Birkes, you can manually enter your hours by logging into your account. (directions below) ⬇️

• If you are the parent, grandparent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in the CFISD school where you wish to volunteer, you must create a volunteer portal account with CFISD. The steps to volunteer are listed below.

  1. Create a Volunteer Portal Account and receive your account information and password from donotreply@raptortech.com (may take up to 5 business days).
  2. Log your volunteer hours in the Raptor Volunteer Portal. All volunteers who have recorded at least one volunteer hour in the current school year will receive an invitation to the annual VIPS Appreciation Luncheon.
  3. Present your driver's license at the school's front desk each time you volunteer and ask the receptionist to sign you in as a volunteer (not a visitor). Remember, the system will automatically log your volunteer hours this way.

If you have any questions about your volunteer status, please call 281-894-3950. You can also view this page: https://www.cfisd.net/domain/2617

General Information

• By logging your hours you are helping Birkes. 
• Once you create an account, it will follow you from school to school. No need to create a new account once your student moves to middle school. 
• If you log 100 or more hours at Birkes, your student will get to select a book that will be dedicated to you and remain in the Birkes library forever. 
• You will be invited to the end of the year PTO/VIPS Tea at Birkes where your student will present your book to you. 
• There will also be 2 volunteers a month recognized for their service at Birkes. 
• You will be invited to the district wide VIPS appreciation event at the Berry Center. 

Volunteer Opportunities

• Current Chairpersons positions available: See signup sheet or send inquiries to Kelly Bay kellyjordanbay@yahoo.com for description of chairperson positions
  • Yearbook
  • Art/Music
• Science Resource Training: Get trained at a 2 hour training through the Science Resource Center for the demo of your choice and grade level. Contact school to schedule to teach demo. 2 Classes are taught at a time so multiple demos may be needed per grade level. See also Academic Enrichment

• Vision & Hearing Screenings: Get Certified through the state to assist in vision and hearing screening, we will also need uncertified volunteers to assist with height, weight, moving classes to and from screening area. 

• Spirit Cart Volunteers: Assist during lunches selling spirit cart items – 1 Friday of each month – Sign Up Genius links will go home in Monday Folders and posted to Facebook. See also Spirit Cart

• Homeroom Parent/Helpers: Assist in passing out treats, crafting projects, etc. Forms went home in Monday Folders. See also Homeroom Parents

• Bookfair Volunteers – Assist Ms. Flood, the librarian, during the week of book fair (fall and spring) to help students purchase books. This occurs during the school day.  A Sign Up Genius link will be made available to sign up for shifts.  Fall Book Fair – Nov 14-18

• Book Fair Family Fun Night – Occurs on the Monday of the Bookfair week in the afternoon/evening. A sign up will be made available to assist with set up, clean up, and booth volunteers.  November 14th

• Yearbook event picture taking during special events - Submit your pictures to images.jostens.com – log in ID – 0ZfR-kgw9pow4M4k7IRfiSA See also Yearbook

• Field Day Volunteers – Assist your homeroom parent by bringing a canopy tent, tarp, cold waters, noisemakers, etc. to field day and help with set up and clean up.

• Barkley the Bulldog @ Spirit nights and Special Events at Birkes – If you would like to bring a little smile to the student’s faces, please consider wearing our Bulldog Costume.  Find any PTO board member at any event and offer to wear it and take pictures.  It only has to be for a few minutes not the entire time.