Joined PTA but the other parents won't join in...

[adventkerzylin]

OK, I was voted onto the group for ds's small class in berlin of 14 pupils (4th year) and now it's the Christmas fair this week which the parents are meant to organize not the teachers although the proceeds go half to the school fund and half to the Klassenkasse. My class won't join in as either they work full time or most of them are muslim anyway and alot of them just don't bother with their dc education and never turn up to anything.

Ideally I'm meant to organize an activity for children which takes place in each classroom and a stall for outside the classroom selling whatever we want. It's too late now as it is on Thursday and I think I might just write a note to the teacher so she knows her class won't be doing anything, what do you think? Something along the lines of..due to lack of participating parents..?

How about making/selling waffles? Went well at our fair. If dc could bring in 4-6 waffel machines, sieves , packets of icing sugar, jugs or ladles to pour dough into the machines, paper napkins/serviettes. You could prepare big buckets full of the dough ready (if no one else is getting involved) and we paid 1 Euro per Waffel.

Could you just do that in your classroom, with CHristmas music playing in the background and a few big fat cheapo tinsel chains from Woolworths to decorate the edge of the tables so it looks festive?

You don't need the parents, at ours the dc did the whole thing

Can't say much to help except you are not alone. It's par for the course I'm afraid. I'm on pre-school committee and it's like pulling teeth trying to get parents to participate in anything.

That's my problem though, I could probably expect 2 to 3 children at the most and they aren't reliable enough to remember to bring in the stuff on the day. At the summer fair we had waffles but from a different class.

At the next general meeting I'm going to suggest we try doing a multi faith/international fair then we might get some responses. I'm sure those from Chechnya, Albania, Kazachstan and Tunisia would like to show off their own traditions but they sure aren't into Christmas.

What our class did was they made Christmas decorations to hang on the tree during art lessons and these were then sold on the day with 2 dc from the class who took the money and another two wrapping them up in a bit of newspaper. Think only the dp from the class bought them TBH. Older dc made Christmas cards in their art lessons and those were on sale. It's a bit late for your class to organise that type ofthing for Thursday now though.

If no one is going to contribute/lend anything, maybe everyone donates 5 euros by Wednesday and you make and sell yoghurt smoothies (strawberry, vanilla, cherry?) or something like that? Bet some of the girls would be prepared to serve, take the money. Don't you think?

Well rather you than me admylin I have to say. Isn't there another Klassensprecher in the class? I thought you always had 2, maybe a bit of collaboration?

The Muslim families at our school had no problem with the fair, everyone contributed. We had a form two weeks earlier which we had to sign and hand back saying when/where we were going to help out, what we were going t contribute food/drink or how much money we were donating. I think that's quite a good idea actually.

Are you sure these people aren't a bit reticent/shy about getting involved because they don't speak the language and the whole thing (school) fazes them?

Yes that's it the language problem is very evident when I've ever met any of the other parents, I can say that even I speak better German than most of them. There is actually only 2 other dc with German parents in the class but they don't join in as they have full time jobs.

I would have been prepare dto do something along the lines of make and sell but as you say it has been left too late - letter went out to us PTA members on Friday morning but I only saw it on Friday night and that just leaves it too late. So I feel abit like I've failed so will just have to give up on it I think. Would you write something to the teacher? She isn't the type to make time to use the art class for making things.

ninmom I also have a feeling it's going to be like this all year but I hope if I get more warning I can try and get some of them to join in, this fair is just too short notice.

SSSandy yes the other Klassensprecher is from Kazachstan and doesn't think all these things are worth it (he told me)

You will have to speak to the teacher I think, yes.

What happened last year? What is dd's class doing this year?

Could the dc all bring some biscuits (pref home-made from their own culture) or if not, a packet of bought biscuits? Then the class sorts them into a mixture in plastic bags, staples them together and wraps a bit of tinsel round the top. You would have to go in to the school on the Wednesday or Thursday and do that with them if the teacher is so useless.

Good idea but the trouble is I can't relay on them all to even bring 1 packet of biscuits the day before. I can see my standing there with 5 or 6 rounds of biscuit and having to fork out for the rest too (bags, tinsel etc)
I'll try and speak to the teacher if I can catch her - she hasn't even given me her email let alone phone number so it is quite hard to organize things. I could put a note in ds's school bag though.

Dd's class is like a different world, they all join in (24 pupils in this class)and there is already a list hanging outside the door to write down what you are going to contribute. One mum used to work with children in DDR days and always comes up with some activity and often has good ideas for making things too. Even all the foreign ones seem to join in.

Ds's class hasn't even got a message board (the only class that has no board) but then again no parents go near the classroom to see a list anyway!

Do you have a list with all their phone numbers?

Could you go into the classroom and address the dc and ask them to bring whatever you need? THey all speak German at least and let them know any mums or dads who are unsure about what to bring or whatever can call you and give them a little note with your phone number?

Can't help thinking a lot of these mums must be isolated and lonely. Wouldn't they like to turn up at school on Wednesday and all sit together in an empty room with a couple of thermos flasks of coffee and do something like that together whilst having a natter?

Does all seem very late notice. It's not as if the school didn't know way in advance they were going to have this fair. Good luck with it. I would walk into school a bit early and go into the classroom as the dc come out and just ask the teacher personally what she suggests you do.

Ha, the phone list! I tried to get one going and sent out leters, got about 3 answers so sent out the letters again, waited then eventually asked the kids who hadn't answered and they said oh my mum doesn't want to hand out her number and 2 of them said oops, forgot to give mum the letter. In the end I made a list with 7 out of 14 numbers and handed it out! It is a bit sad when you try, and get no response which is why I guess I am going at this a bit half heartedly.

Hey though, you should be on a PTA, SSSandy you have a heck of a lot of good ideas!

I'm a bit of a non-conformist rebel at heart, admylin, I hate following the rules and being bossed about, so I just don't fit into committees.

OK but you can still pass all your ideas on to me and I can use them! I'll tell ds's teacher all your suggestions and say the ideas come from a really good school that already had a fair!

Thing is you cannot do any activity entirely on your own I don't think. You would need at least one other parent or the teacher setting it up/running it with you I should think. The only thing you and ds and dd could do alone is run a stall of some kind. I don't think you're a bad mum if you decide not to do that.

Yes, that's why I am not really going to bother because I would feel silly standing there on my own, the teacher won't help I know that she never stays on longer than her work time which is fair enough I suppose as it is all being put on by the parents.
I'm still meant to produce something for dd's class too although the Elternsprecher from that class will be in charge so I'll just turn up there and help abit, atleast the parents all join in.

Maybe it's possible to find out now when the next big event is going to be and think ahead how to prepare for it/get people involved well on time. What more can you do really?