Glossary of Programs & Events

Below is the full list of HSA sponsored events & programs. Interested in helping with an event? Many volunteer positions will require parents/guardians to obtain certain state and federal clearances.  If you already have your State Clearances, contact us and we will put you in touch with the right person!

Art Goes to School: A district-wide program designed to enrich our children’s education and to expand their appreciation of fine art. Volunteers lead classroom discussions using reproductions of various works of art. Chairperson coordinates the program and the volunteers.

Assemblies: Chairperson and volunteers work within a set budget to contact outside organizations to arrange for a wide variety of educational and exciting assemblies.

Author's Day: A one-day workshop run by a published author and/or illustrator designed to introduce students to the various facets of the world of literacy. Working with Cynwyd’s Author Day teacher representatives, the Chairperson(s) locates the speaker and coordinates the program.

Bingo Night: A night of fun, food and prizes! Typically held after dinnertime, students and their families return to Cynwyd to play Bingo. Chairpersons organize the evening and they are responsible for securing prize donations.

Book Fair (Scholastic): The Book Fair takes place during American Education Week in November.  Parent volunteers turn the multi-purpose room into a mini-book store where students and their families can purchase books and learning materials from Scholastic, Inc.  Chairperson organizes the sale. Several volunteers are needed to run this event.

Carnival: The Cynwyd carnival is a biennial event occurring in the spring in even-number years. Cywnyd families come to the school ground to enjoy, games, food and fun. Co-chairs of this event organize sub-committees and a core ground of parent/guardian volunteer to work the event. This is a large event requiring 2-3 co-chairs.

Committee for Special Education (CSE): The CSE is a parent/guardian-run, non-profit organization that provides education, networking, support and resources for families who have children with IEP’s, GIEP’s or 504 Agreements. Parent representatives attend monthly meetings and report on the meetings during H.S.A. meetings. To contact the CSE representative for Cynwyd Elementary send and email to: cynwydcse@gmail.com

Community Service: Chairpersons will liaison with Cal’s Cupcake challenge in September, run the Cynwyd table at the MLK Day of Service in January and organized the used book fair in the spring. Cal’s Cupcake challenge requires chairs to liason between the organizers of the event and the school. Chairpersons do not run the actual event. The MLK Day of Service on the Friday half day before MLK weekend requires chairs to organize a service activity and run the table at LMHS. The Used Book Fair is an event in which parents/students donate gently used books to be sold in the school.  Chairs organize the sale and books.  

Family Events: Committee chairs work to build Cynwyd’s community spirit through our Potluck Dinner of Traditions. Chairs also organize school-wide events to take place on two of Cynwyd’s half-days. Past events include outings such as a walk-a-thon, roller-skating, ice-skating, movies, and picnics in local parks.

French Festival Liaison: Each Grade level will need a separate liaison. The Liaisons work with Cynwyd’s French teacher to prepare for the French Festival, providing assistance on an as needed basis. Additional volunteers are needed to run this event, which is held in the spring.

Helping Hands/Sunshine Committee: Chair works with Cynwyd’s Guidance Counselor to help Cynwyd families in need. Chair may need to coordinate volunteers to help in assisting families with prepared meals, carpooling, etc.

Indirect Fundraising: Chairperson and committee members would research, identify, plan, manage and promote several fundraising programs that are easy, fun and do not require an outlay of cash and/or time. These include programs already in place at Cynwyd (e.g., Schoolpop.com and Box Tops for Education) in addition to new opportunities (i.e., eScrip and other cashback reward programs.)

Interschool Council (ISC) Representatives: Parent/guardian representatives serve as liaisons between Cynwyd and the Interschool Council (ISC). Representatives attend a monthly meeting and report on those meetings at Cynwyd HSA meetings and works with ISC Art Show organizers on behalf of Cynwyd.

Lower Merion Township Scholarship Fund Liaison: Lower Merion Township Scholarship Fund Chair will publicize the teacher tribute cards available to give as District-approved teacher gifts, and will work with the secretaries to make sure cards are available at appropriate times (holidays, end of year, etc.).

Music Department Liaison: The Liaison works with Cynwyd’s music teacher to prepare for various music programs and provides other assistance to the music teacher during the school year on an as needed basis.

Night Owl: The Night Owl Silent Auction and Fundraiser is a biennial event held in odd-number years. The event is held off school grounds in the evening, and is for parents/guardians only. Committee members are responsible for soliciting auction items, planning and publicizing the event.

Picture Day: Parent/guardian volunteers work with the school's hired professional photographer to keep classes on schedule for school photos. Chairperson(s) supervise the schedule. This includes Make-up Picture Day (generally scheduled a month later.)

Pumpkin and Plant Sales: Students can purchase pumpkins for a pre-Halloween sale in October. In the spring, parents can pre-order bedding plants, vegetables, herbs, potted plants and hanging baskets from a local nursery. Chairpersons sort and place orders, arrange for delivery of the pumpkins/plants, and recruit other parent/guardian volunteers to help on the day of distribution/sale.

Spirit Wear Sales: Committee chairs organize the sale of Cynwyd Elementary “spirit wear” (t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc.) This committee also is responsible for researching and identifying approved vendors and for ensuring that the Cynwyd Elementary School logo and artwork is properly represented on all customized merchandise.

Teacher Appreciation: Chairs will organize the back-to-school breakfast for teachers and staff the week before school starts, coordinate the donation of food for a breakfast during National Education Week, and will organize a dinner to be brought in for teachers for one night of the fall and one night of the spring parent-teacher conferences.

Wellness Committee: Two Chairs (One for Fitness, one for Nutrition) required to serve on district-wide committee to improve student health through menu evaluations and fitness initiatives.  Must attend three of the four annual district meetings, and convey information from these meetings to the Cynwyd community and vice versa. Chairpersons also organize school events such as “Apple Crunch Day” and “Go for the Greens,” to promote healthy eating habits for students.