End of Year Teacher Gifts

We are kicking off our annual end of year teacher gift pool! We will be collecting gifts between now and June 6th.

We have such great teachers at Exploris and the end of the year is a great time to reflect on how much of a difference each and every teacher at Exploris has made to our children. The gift pool allows you the option to give one gift that will support all the staff that your child interacts with at school (think… classroom teachers, art, PE, EC, counselors, music etc.). We know that this system is a little different than some others schools do it, so we have compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions, if you have any additional questions, please email Ptopres@exploris.org

Q: How much should I give?

A: That’s a very personal decision. Our recommendation is to figure out how much you would have spent on all the staff you would have given gifts to and add it together. They will all be getting a portion of this money so it will cover everyone. The donation site lists some commonly donated amounts, but you can write-in any amount you choose.

Q: Why is my money not just going to my child’s lead teacher?

A: At Exploris, your child is not just taught by their lead teacher. They spend instruction time with the entire grade level crew, specialists, and sometimes teachers from other grade levels. Since it is a team teaching environment, the purpose of this to enable you to send in one check and not have to buy separate gifts for all the people who teach your child.

Q: Who does this money go to?

A: After accounting for full-time or part-time status, the money is distributed among all of the teachers and staff (admin, specials, etc…) who help to make this a great environment for your child.

Q: How does the teacher know that I gave to the gift?

A: We will not share the names of individual donors when giving the teachers gifts (as we have not done in the past). If you would like to let your teacher know, feel free to send them a card or email that tells them you hope they enjoy their gift!

Q: Does the teacher prefer a personalized gift?

A: Teachers love any and all expressions of kindness. This check at the End of Year is so nice for them because it’s large enough for them to buy something special, pay off some bills, do whatever they want with it.

Additionally, teachers are ethically bound by the NC State Board of Education Code of Ethics to not accept items from students or parents other than “token” gifts for appreciation. The End of Year Thanks collections, managed by the PTO, is a way for the teachers to get a meaningful check to be used at their discretion over in the summer to get something nice while maintaining their ethical obligations.

Q: What is the goal amount?

A: Any dollar amount is appreciated and will be divided among the Exploris team. Our total goal is $10,000.

Q: How are donations collected?

A: Online donations are being collected via Square. Square accepts all major credit cards, Google Pay, and Cash App Pay.

*Checks: If you prefer to avoid the 2.2% fees, please make checks payable to Exploris PTO and send to the front office in an envelope labeled “Exploris Teacher Gift ATTN: Front office FROM: your name”

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Open PTO Positions for ’23-’24

As this year comes to a close are hard at work planning for next year. We would love to have you involved with the PTO next year! Whether it be working on one event, or helping out with PTO accounting, there is a job for everyone. We are looking for help with our WordPress website, or maybe you could be in charge of posting on our socials? What about setting up restaurant nights where a portion of the proceeds for the night come back to our school? How about setting up campus clean up days?

There really is a place for everyone, please email ptopres@exploris.org to let us know what you can help out with next year!

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All current and past issues of the Monday Minute are available at explorispto.org. If you have any news or updates that you would like featured in the Monday Minute, please email Kathleen Mason at explorisptonews@gmail.com. The deadline for submission is Saturday at 4pm.