Friends of Buker
2008-2009
Friends of Buker
2008-2009
The mission of the Friends of Buker is to support and enhance the educational experience of the students at the Buker Elementary School. To support this mission, we organize and sponsor events throughout the school year to promote school spirit; to enhance the physical appearance of the school, and to raise the funds needed to support educational programs that benefit every student at Buker.
To keep all members of our school community fully informed, we have outlined the major events planned for the coming school year.
In many ways, the last part of this document is the most important. It lists the programs made possible by the work of The Friends of Buker that directly benefit our children.
Ice Cream Social - September. Contacts:
This is a fun gathering of the Buker School community to kick off the beginning of the school year. Students, siblings and parents make their own sundaes and enjoy the Buker playground. It is a great way to meet many of the teachers, who are serving the ice cream, and to greet classmates and their families.
Family Photo Day - September.
Friends of Buker offers families the opportunity to be photographed by a professional photographer from Coffee Pond Productions on a Saturday in September. The photos are taken at Tucks Point in Manchester. Families pay a sitting fee, which goes directly to support Friends of Buker sponsored activities, and then order photographs directly from Coffee Pond Productions. The timing of Family Photo Day is planned so that photographs are available for holiday gifts or cards.
Jog Along - October.
The purpose of this event is to promote physical fitness among the students in a non-competitive yet spirited venue. The students gather sponsors (from family and neighbors) and then walk, run, jog, hop, or skip around the schoolyard for one half hour with their classmates and teachers. Parents are invited to support their children by cheering, handing out water and offering encouragement. Students then bring in monies collected to support Friends of Buker sponsored activities.
Kids Art - October.
This program allows students to create their own color artwork design, which is then reproduced into color note cards and packaged for gift giving. The note cards are wonderful for holiday gifts.
Family Fun Night - November.
This theme-based, all-school party includes a DJ, fun activities & games, a pie baking contest as well as food and snacks. Each class contributes its own theme basket that is raffled off that night. The fifth grade also provides entertainment with a talent show. This event is a major fundraiser for the Friends of Buker and involves lots of participation from all families.
Roller Skating Party -January.
Held at The Roller Palace in Beverly, this social gathering is open to all Buker families and friends. The ticket price includes private skating for 2 hours, skate rentals, pizza and soda.
Book Fair - February.
Banbury Cross Children's Bookstore sets up a book sale at Buker during Open House. This is a great time to purchase books for summer reading and for the Birthday and Special Occasion Book Club. The Friends receive a percentage of total sales that is used to purchase new books for the Buker library. There is also an in-store book fair at Banbury Cross where, during a designated week in early December, the Buker Library benefits from our holiday purchases.
Toy Bingo - March.
Families are invited to school for dinner and bingo. Tickets are sold ahead of time to cover the cost of pizza and drinks. The bingo callers are very often special Buker staff members. Bingo winners receive toy prizes that are donated by the school community. A bake sale rounds out the evening..
Alternative fundraising
New England Scrip -
Do your regular shopping and help Buker at the same time. Purchase gift cards, at face value, to many area stores as well as popular catalogue and on-line retailers. A percentage of each card sold goes directly back to Buker.
Target Stores Cash - Sign up for a Target Visa card; select Buker as your beneficiary, and a percentage of all of your purchases is given directly to Buker.
T-shirt & Sweatshirt sales.
Families have the opportunity to purchase Buker School T-shirts, sweatshirts and caps. Look for a new fleece vest and T-shirt design this year!
Boxtops for Education
Parents and family members collect Boxtops from over 330 General Mills products. There is a collection bin in the foyer of the school. Volunteers sort and prepare the boxtops for mailing. Buker then receives money and products for each boxtop collected
Go to boxtops4education.com and register your email address along with the Buker School so that when you go through the "Boxtops MarketPlace" at the boxtops4education website, our school will get a percentage of your total purchase at many online shopping sites (including target.com, staple, and GAP, etc.)