The pandemic has impacted many aspects of life, and Newtown’s PTAs have been dealing with and rising to the changes.

Representatives of some of the local PTAs for Newtown Public Schools recently offered insight into how the year has changed what they do and how parents can best support the groups and programs.

Hawley Elementary School PTA Presidents Kristen Bonaci and Jennifer Padilla shared that safety regulations have mostly halted in-person interactions and gatherings

“We have not been in the school and don’t even have access to our own materials and assets without school staff assistance. It’s added a layer of complexity to everything we do, and while we understand the changes and support a safe healthy school environment, we are also much saddened by this. We miss the kids,” the Hawley PTA presidents wrote in a recent e-mail.

Creativity has become integral. According to Bonaci and Padilla, the PTA spent months coming up with ways to implement some of the school’s favorite events and programs. Meetings, for instance, have “gone virtual.”

“Our ice cream social event shifted to one where the PTA dropped off prepackaged frozen treats for students that were handed out by teachers during a break from their day,” the e-mail from the PTA presidents reads. “Our PTA voted to use some of our enrichment funding that is normally used for assemblies to provide two incredibly impactful kits for all students, regardless of whether they were in person or at home. One of those is a ‘Go-Bag’ geared at making transitions from one learning space to another throughout the day easier and another ‘Mindfulness Kit’ was solely focused on social emotional heath. [It] was full of items that would provide stimulation and relaxation items to help kids feel more comfortable and secure in their changing school environment.”

Bonaci and Padilla said the “biggest way the community can” help support the PTAs this year is to become a member.

“Membership numbers are down across the district and PTAs are all financially in a much different place than we all expected to be before the virus,” the e-mail reads. “Membership funds are not just important to the PTAs, they are absolutely critical. Some of us will likely be unable to keep even the most basic programs afloat without a solid membership base this year. There is no deadline to join, and many PTAs are offering ways to join, completely contactless.”

Fundraising will be a challenge for all the PTAs this year, Bonaci and Padilla added, with families experiencing different financial situations due to the pandemic and virtual events offering lower profit margins than normal PTA events.

“We’d love for the community to know just how much we care about keeping things as normal as possible for all the children in Newtown,” Bonicci and Padilla wrote. “We are working tirelessly, and have been since the summer months to find ways to keep students engaged and make our staff feel valued and supported. We want the community to really see how much value... the PTAs bring to Newtown. We want the people of Newtown to know that anyone can join a local PTA. Join one, join them all! Reach out to us and see how you or your local business can be involved. We are here to support our schools and community, today, tomorrow, and for a long time to come.”

Shifting Focus And Plans

Sandy Hook Elementary School PTA Presidents Heather Franse and Krissie Gerrish also said their PTA has been impacted in “so many ways” this year. From not being able to hold events or volunteering in school, to how fundraisers, like their PTA’s annual walk-a-thon, could be held, shifting focus and plans to accommodate a new framework has been important.

“As with almost everything in life we have taken things ‘digital,’” Franse and Gerrish wrote in an e-mail. “We host virtual PTA meetings, virtual paint night, and online sales of PTA membership, spirit wear, and other fundraisers through a platform called MemberHUB. The Connecticut State PTA offers a free year of membership to that platform for all PTAs, and it has been great to use.”

The transition has cut the use of paper and made access to signing up for things easier, according to the PTA presidents’ e-mail.

“Two great examples of things we are doing differently this year are as follows: Digital paint night will be held in mid-November,” the e-mail reads. “In years past we have done this event in person with our art teachers leading the guided paint. Taking the event online has allowed us to utilize a local artist that brings a unique and different approach to the event. The second event, also held in mid-November [was] our reverse Veterans Day parade held at SHS on Veterans Day [The Newtown Bee, November 20, 2020]. Invited vets arrive[d] to the school and [drove] around the loop with the students outside to cheer and wave them on.”

Franse and Gerrish also said the best way to support the PTA is to become a member.

“Things are very different this year,” the e-mail reads. “Many of the traditional volunteer opportunities are inactive this year due to our limited access to the school. We want our parent community to know that we are open to their ideas and suggestions, we are in uncharted territory so give us a shout if you have an idea for something that might benefit the kids or school big or small!”

Overall, Franse and Gerrish said not being able to see the school community “face to face” has presented challenges. While they said the virtual meetings are great, it is harder to convey excitement and connectivity.

“We are working hard for our school communities,” the e-mail reads. “...We care deeply that the schools and the kids have the best possible experiences given all of the changes this year.”

Virtual Events At RIS

At Reed Intermediate School PTA President Karyn Holden said the “three wonderful people who volunteered to be a part of the PTA board” met virtually to “get to know” each other and plan for a year that would include virtual events in place of typical calendar events like the school’s “much loved movie nights.”

“We are communicating with our parents via e-mail, our bi-monthly school and PTA newsletter, and via our Facebook page,” Holden said.

Other virtual efforts the Reed PTA is overseeing include virtual “performances” for students with an author, artist, and musical group; and the school’s book fair will go online in the spring, with proceeds supporting the school’s library/media center and classroom libraries.

“We appreciate our parent and teacher support,” Holden said in the e-mail, “and this year, we need it more than ever. Joining the PTA helps us as a portion of the ‘dues’ directly supports our school, in addition to the National and Connecticut PTAs. Parents have also been wonderful donating food and drinks to support our staff for the back to school luncheon and during conferences. Even though the year is very different, we are so grateful when we receive an e-mail from a parent offering to help.”

One challenge Holden pointed out this year was fundraising. After thinking about whether the PTA wanted to fundraise, she said the group partnered with Newtown Apparel Company to offer spirit wear with the school’s logo. The PTA is also doing an online fundraiser that offers wrapping paper, kitchen gadgets, candles, and more.

“These fundraisers will help us to support our teachers with ‘mini grants’ to help them with classroom expenses out of their own pockets and at our October meeting, the PTA voted to purchase a water bottle filling station for the school,” Holden said.

The Reed PTA is also looking for other ways to support the school, students, and staff this year. Holden said membership is down this year, and it could be due to the change to an electronic membership process, so the PTA created a form recently, for those that prefer that method.

“We appreciate the community’s support of our schools and ours PTAs,” said Holden. “The Newtown community is always so generous when we reach out for their support.”

In-School Initiatives

Newtown High School PTSA President Vicky Ricks shared the high school is more likely to support staff and in-school initiatives than to host more “family-type” events. And the in-school events, which might include events and hosting speakers, are “falling to the wayside” due to the current environment.

“This year the high school PTSA set up a new online money collection platform that has been very successful for us because of the ease of use for the families,” Ricks wrote in a recent e-mail. “We used it to collect membership dues and some general fundraising for events. It was time for the PTSA to move to this type of online money collection platform and the pandemic was the right opportunity to embrace it.”

At NHS, Ricks said parents are generous and “we usually have no trouble finding volunteers because we have so few events.” She said the best way parents can support the PTA is “to just join your child’s PTA.”

All seven of the public school PTAs were contacted for this story.