·
11 Board meetings (none in July) –The first
Tuesday of every month and open to all IB parents
·
6 General Parent meetings (held
immediately after Board meetings) – Speakers present on topics of interest to
IB parents, for example, Parent Orientation to the IB and Middle Years
programs, Junior/Senior Exam information, presentations by the different
departments on their IB curriculum etc.
·
College Sunday
–September,
a series of workshops for anyone interested in learning more about colleges,
the application process and financial aid.
·
IB Information Night – November, the IBPO supports Mira Loma faculty in providing
information about the program to interested middle school students and their
parents.
·
Alumni Breakfast – December, last year’s graduates are invited back to receive
their diplomas and certificates, see each other and pass on newly found wisdom
and perspectives to current IB seniors and juniors.
·
Teacher Appreciation Breakfast – January, parents prepare lunch for
teachers.
·
SAT Practice
– February
or March, a practice SAT session for any student, results are provided
with high level feedback.
·
IB Exam proctor coordination – April and May. Coordinate exams and parent volunteer to
proctor the IB exams and the IB English oral exams.
·
Senior Dinner
– June,
IB seniors, parents, families and staff have a nice dinner and enjoy both
student provided entertainment and recognition of students and their efforts
over the last four years.
For more information about
these events, see the description below of the committee that supports it.
President:
The IBPO president works closely with parents, IB faculty and Mira Loma staff
to ensure good communication, mutual support and understanding. The president chairs the Board meetings,
facilitates programs with parents, provides the IBPO “voice” at a number of
public events and is a signatory on IBPO checks.
Vice President:
The IBPO vice-president supports the president as requested and may chair
meetings or take on any of the President’s duties. In addition this position purchases the
savings bonds which the IBPO presents to students who achieve national
recognition in competitions and awards.
The VP also updates the MLHS Profile, a one-page document sent with
college applications to briefly describe the school.
Treasurer:
The Treasurer is responsible for the IBPO budget and accounts. The Treasurer also works with our tax
accountant, tracks revenue and expenses, reports monthly on the organization’s
financial status, and prepares letters of acknowledgement for donations to the
organization.
Secretary:
The Secretary takes notes at the Board meetings and maintains the official
record of minutes. The Secretary also is
responsible for e-mailing minutes to Board members and sending out e-mail
reminders for meetings.
Past President:
The previous president is a Board member, available to provide wisdom and
advice.
Committees change as the
needs of the IBPO change, however, for most there is a “recipe book” of notes
kept by the committee, documenting the experience of previous committee chairs.
IB Proctor coordinator: This
important position is a main reason for the IBPO’s
existence. This position coordinates the
IB English Oral and IB Exams proctors.
Typically, we have 34 exams and about 280 students registered. We need 80 or so proctors to be in compliance
with IB requirements. Without parents
volunteering to proctor the exams, the students are not able to take the IB
exams.
Ways and Means:
The IB Parents Organization is a non-profit organization and fund-raising is
crucial to our ability to support the IB program, staff, and students to ensure
its high standards. This position is
responsible for issuing a letter asking parents and alumnus for donations in
the fall and spring. The Treasurer
tracks the donations and issues letters acknowledging the donations.
Funding Requests: A major function of the IBPO is financially supporting the IB program as
needed, typically
through the purchase of books, supplies and equipment that aren’t covered by
the
IB Phone List/ Carpool List / Volunteer List: At the beginning of the year parents receive IBPO forms
which ask parents for contact information and to indicate their interest in
volunteer activities. In late August a
deadline-driven group of parents coordinates extracting information from these
forms and creates the various lists.
These lists are essential to parents and students as well as to the
Board.
Communications /Bingo Liaison: If you are happy while talking on the phone, this is
a good job for you! This position is
responsible for making phone requests, soliciting Bingo workers, and providing
proctors for the English Oral Exams for Juniors in
March and for the IB exams in May.
Volunteers are identified from the information provided by parents at
the beginning of the year.
WebMaster:
If you are computer savvy, there is a lot to do here – maintain and update the
IBPO web site, maintain and monitor the group email. It has also been very important to assist the
IBPO in keeping up with technology developments that we may be able to use to
benefit the program.
E-Group Message Coordinator: IBPO
maintains an e-mail group service for sending parents and students notices and
reminders of interest to the IB community.
This position uses the school calendar and requests from committees to
post timely email reminders to the e-group service. At the start of the school year, email
addresses are added to the PTSA and IBPO e-group e-mail list.
Information/Outreach: In the fall IBPO organizes outreach activities for
prospective IB parents and students from area middle schools. We publicize IB in middle school newsletters
and participate in the information night at Mira Loma. This position is responsible for publicity
and working with the IB Coordinator.
Counseling/CAS:
We assist in staffing the Career/Counseling Center, located in the library,
which provides college search options, scholarship updates and career
information to all students plus CAS information for IB students. Often the parents in this position volunteer
at lunch time (or organize other volunteers) to assist students with their
research on colleges and financial aid.
.
Programs: The
IB parents have six general parent meetings each school year. This position determines what parents would
like to know and arranges with our IB faculty, students, staff and other
speakers to provide informational and entertaining programs. In September this position sends out a
postcard to all IB parents providing the schedule and topics for the year’s
programs.
Hospitality:
A number of IBPO sponsored events are improved by the presence of edibles. The Hospitality Chair organizes the provision
of food at a number of events, for example, IBPO program nights, Information
night, Teacher Appreciation Lunch and the presentation of personal projects by
Middle Years students. The level of
provisions varies by event and ranges from coffee and cookies to coordinating
donations for a full-blown lunch for over 100 teachers and staff.
Churchill Liaison: IBPO endeavors to assist Churchill and Mira Loma in developing a
seamless Middle Years program. The
Liaison attends board meetings for both the IBPO and the Churchill Middle Years
Parent Board meetings.
College Sunday:
College Sunday is a major event, which brings about 300 parents and students to
the Mira Loma campus to attend a series of workshops covering a variety of
topics for those interested in learning more about colleges, applying to
colleges, financial aid and related topics.
This position requires a high level of organization and coordination to
bring together presenters, schedules, facilities logistics, mailings,
registration, organizing and directing other volunteers etc. Usually College Sunday in
undertaken by a committee with one or two chairs.
Practice SAT:
In the spring the IBPO offers a practice SAT test in conjunction with one of
the nationally known testing organizations.
The tests are actually monitored by staff from the English
Department. The responsibilities include
coordinating with the testing organization, publicizing the event to students,
and registering them on the day of the event.
The SAT and SAT II tests are given on a Saturday and, on a weekday
evening, results are given to the students along with some discussion about how
colleges use SAT scores and what they mean.
Alumni Breakfast: On the last Friday before Christmas vacation, the graduating class
from the previous June is invited to a breakfast reunion where they receive
their actual IB diplomas and provide information and insights on college to the
current juniors and seniors. This event
usually has one or two chairs and a committee.
Activities include decorating, identifying volunteers to provide food
and drinks, asking organizations for food donations, inviting alumni and
honored guests, serving and cleaning up.
Teacher Appreciation Lunch: On the Friday after first term exams the IBPO and
PTSA provide a lunch in appreciation of Mira Loma’s hardworking, dedicated
teachers. The Hospitality Chair may
organize this event. Activities include decorating, identifying volunteers to
provide food and drinks, asking organizations for food donations, serving and
cleaning up.
Senior Dinner:
In June, IB seniors and their families get together to celebrate the completion
of the past four years. This catered
event occurs in a hotel and includes about 300 students, parents, siblings,
staff and honored guests. Organizing the
event usually requires one or two chairs who organize volunteers to create and
mail invitations, track responses, work with the hotel, provide oversight on a
variety of details such as the student entertainment and assisting the faculty
in preparing for awards.