MSA Volunteer Opportunities

The MSA provides volunteer services to the school community in a number of areas:

Connections Beyond the Classroom - now goes online. Click here to signup.
Community Service
Special Events
Annual Benefit
Student Enrichment
Faculty & Staff Support
Parent Education
Parent Resourcing
Communications
Financial

Connections Beyond the Classroom
Return to Top

Connections Database Online
www.menloconnection.org

Connections Beyond the Classroom, a parent-run program designed to bring students together with Menlo-affiliated adults (parents and alumni) for the purpose of providing meaningful exposure to career, community service, and academic options, has recently launched a new web version of its resource database.

The Connections database contains a detailed listing of involved Menlo parents and alumni who have generously agreed to donate their time and expertise to Menlo students. The database can be utilized in two ways. Parents, alumni, and other approved Menlo affiliates can add themselves as a resource to the database, indicating their areas of expertise (i.e., medicine, law, music, etc.) and the ways in which they would like to become involved (i.e., speaking engagement, internship, mentoring, etc.). Menlo faculty, on the other hand, can perform a search of the database to identify suitable resources on behalf of their students. Menlo Career Day, Senior Projects and classroom speakers are some examples of activities that tap parents from the Connections database.

The information provided in the database is password-protected and accessible only to Menlo faculty and selected administrators. In addition, each parent resource is reviewed and approved in advance by Menlo administration to ensure suitability for future student contact. Faculty who access the database on behalf of students are required to initiate contact with the parent resource and mediate subsequent communications to ensure a successful mentorship experience.

If you are a parent interested in becoming a resource in the Connections database, you can find the website at: www.menloconnection.org. After you create a personalized log-in and password, you can then fill out the online form.

Community Service
Board VP: Betsy Balassone
Return to Top

Each advocacy participates in a Community Service Project. Volunteers are needed to help transport and supervise students during this off-site activity. To volunteer, please contact your class level Community Service Representative.

Grade Level Community Service
Senior class representative: Lori Bouret
Junior class representative: Margie Kriebel
Sophomore class representative: Maureen Brown
Freshman class representative: Betsy Matteson
Groups from each Upper School Class help a variety of Bay Area organizations. Please indicate the class you wish to support.

Special Olympics
Chairs: Cate Collings & Tim Warner
Menlo School has the privilege and honor of hosting the Northern California Annual Special Olympics. Hundreds of athletes will come to Menlo’s track field for an all-day event. Menlo students and parents together create an athletic endeavor that celebrates life, effort, achievement and camaraderie.

Summer Opportunities Fair
Chair: Marcia Pade
Join the team that hosts this event! Representatives from local and nationwide summer camps and schools will offer information about a wide variety of adventure, academic & athletic opportunities. Held in the gym.

Safe Rides
Chairs: Janet Gardiner & Emily Risberg
Safe Rides is a service sponsored by the American Red Cross that provides confidential, safe rides home for high school students in our area from 10pm – 2am on Friday and Saturday nights throughout the school year. Menlo students volunteer to answer phones and be drivers, and parents are needed to supervise the base station in Palo Alto. Visit our Safe Rides info page and the US Student Safe Rides page with information just for students!

Special Events
Board VP: Mary Lynn Robinson
Return to Top

Father/Daughter Dance
Chairs: Judy Finch, Marie Lehman & Lisa Mooring
This committee plans and hosts this annual Dinner Dance. Sending out invitations, and coordinating catering, planning activities, decoration set-up and clean-up are all part of this fall endeavor.

Campus Holiday Decorations
Chairs: Jean Maliksi & Connie Zamaria
This committee decorates the upper school campus for the winter holidays, with the help of Menlo Facilities personnel.

Mother/Son Event
Chairs: Moira Martin & Elizabeth Still
The committee plans this annual event. Sending out invitations, and coordinating catering, planning activities, decoration set-up and clean-up are all part of this fall endeavor.

Annual Benefit
Board VPs & Co-Chairs: Judy Green & Vivienne Virani
The culmination of nine month’s worth of effort results in our annual MSA celebration of the Menlo Senior Class, combined with the annual auction fund-raiser. Each year over 400 students and 200 parents work together in a myriad of ways towards the success and the fantastic fun of the Benefit lunch and dinner. For Benefit volunteer information, check the Benefit Parent News page.

Student Enrichment
Board VP – Jane Tight

Connections beyond the Classroom
Chair: Barbara Patterson
This committee collects and manages a database of experiential education opportunities including special speakers, mentoring, and workplace shadowing and summer internships.

Arts Alliance
Chairs: Vicki Schultz & Suzanne Schleck
Much like the sports team parents, the Menlo Fine Arts Department needs parent volunteers to support the teachers and the activities in each area of the arts. Divisions of the arts include Chamber Ensembles, Chorus, Drama, Photography, Dance, Visual Arts and Jazz Band. Please indicate which area of the arts interests you.

Life Beyond Menlo
Chair: Tina McAdoo

Sports Team Liaisons
Girls’ Sports Team Parents Liaison: Wendy Petersmeyer
Boys’ Sports Team Parents Liaison: Nancy Suiter
Parent volunteers are needed to help the Menlo coaches optimize the sports team experience for each sport in each season. Communication facilitation regarding practices, games, last minute changes, and team social events is the major responsibility of the team parents. Please indicate which team(s) interests you.

Faculty & Staff Support
Board VP: Jan Harris

Admissions
Chairs: Laura Foster & Lisa Steiny
This committee plans and hosts upper school Admissions Open Houses in the fall/winter timeframe . Come join the opportunity to introduce Menlo Upper School to interested students and their families.

Welcoming
Chairs: Betsy Baum & Andrea Cohn
This committee hosts a welcoming coffee for all new Menlo parents when school opens in August. In the spring, this committee will plan an Upper School Welcoming Event for the 2005-2006 incoming freshman and their families. The Welcoming Committee also connects new Menlo families with current families to enhance the new school experience.

Latte Mornings
Chair: Jan Harris
Every month the MSA thanks our incredible faculty and staff for all their work with and for our students with a special coffee cart set up in Stent Hall. Volunteers provide morning fruit, bagels and coffeecakes. This is a wonderful way to visit with Menlo teachers over a latte. MSA parents share hosting with the Middle School MSA (MSMSA).

Faculty/Staff Childrens' Holiday Party
Chair: Sandy Boyce & Debbie Umphreys
The MSA hosts a celebration for the children of our Menlo faculty in the Student Center. The event is held on a Sunday afternoon in December.

Grade Level Faculty/Staff Appreciation Lunches
Each grade level has an MSA Representative
Senior: Melissa Badger
Junior: Laurie Burmeister
Sophomore: Julie Douglass
Freshman: Kimberly Glenn
Every high school class hosts a much-anticipated and well-attended lunch for our highly deserving teachers and staff.

Book Salons
Chairs: Terri Bullock & Anita Joy
The summer reading salon will be held in September. Parent volunteers are needed to bring food and help with set up.

Library Volunteers
Chair: Carol Terwilliger
Parent volunteers are needed for various library activities and hours are flexible.

College Counseling
Liaison: Barb Seipp
The College Counseling office needs parent volunteers to help with moving into the new office, filing college information throughout the year and coordinating an information and discussion evening for sophomore, junior parents.

Parent Education
Board VP: Amy Crowe

Ethics Come Alive
Chairs: Stepahnie Castor, Debbie Whelan & Geri Wohl
Ethics Comes Alive! is an exploration of various ethical dilemmas that adults and teens often face. Distinguished panelists of diverse backgrounds tackle difficult ethical problems posed by a moderator. Each panelist assumes the role of a parent or teen who must attempt to resolve the problems before a live audience.

Last year, dilemmas included six topics from copying music to pushing the envelope on enhancing college applications. This coming year, even more provocative dilemmas will be explored. This MSA event for high school parents and faculty is designed to be a launching pad for further parent/teen discussions of ethical issues. Details will be available later in the year on the Menlo School website.

Parent Education Conference
Chairs: Ruth Brill
This immensely popular and well-attended Saturday morning conference for Middle and High School parents is held every spring. Many volunteers are needed to help the day of the event and before with publicity, registration, refreshments, set-up, clean up, and hospitality.

Parents for Safe Teens
Chairs: Terri Goehner & Jeanette Heidrich
This committee sponsors events throughout the year to help parents to help themselves in supporting, nurturing, and guiding their students safely through the teen years. Parents are invited to join the steering committee and participate in the planning of these events. All upper school parents are invited to attend monthly discussion groups as well. Visit our Parents for Safe Teens web page!

Parent Resourcing
Board VP: Terri Goehner

Grade Level Activities for Parents and Students
Senior Class: Melissa & Jim Badger
Junior Class: Laurie & Bob Burmeister
Sophomore Class: Julie & Mark Douglass
Freshman Class: Kim & Tyler Glenn
Each Class has an Organization Team that plans student class events such as Homecoming and class parties as well as events and programs for parent networking. Many volunteers are needed to plan, host, staff and facilitate these activities.

Diversity
Chairs: Maeve Richard
The Diversity Committee promotes opportunities to parents, students and faculty to network and learn the skill sof managing diversity.

Hospitality
Chair: Leslie Augustus
Join Ann in providing refreshments for the monthly MSA meetings. Sign-ups for all the upcoming MSA meetings are available at the first meeting of the year.

Writers' Workshop
Chairs: Susan Bockus & Helen Pyne
Writers' Workshop brings celebrated novelists as well as emerging fiction writers and poets to campus for a week of readings and master classes. Students, faculty and parents are invited to attend the readings. Students may attend master classes with the visiting authors where they are offered advice on their own work, the process of writing and publishing. The week culminates with the Writers' Café where Menlo students and faculty read from their own work.

Volunteer Coordination
Chair: Marcia Ryles
Help is always needed in coordinating our many inquiries and requests that come from parents who wish to volunteer for specific committees.

Return to Top

Communications
Board Leader: Meg Nibbi, Secretary

Website
Liaison: Sharon Meyers (Menlo Webmaster)
Web parents are needed to help keep content on the class news pages up to date. Training is provided.
Class News Page Content Managers:

Senior Class: Mamm Hudnall
Junior Class: Denise Savoie
Sophomore Class: Belinda Byrne
Freshman Class: Julie Skoulis

In addition, parent volunteers maintain the annual benefit website, and help with photo preparation for the Menlo Memories photo albums.

Benefit Webmaster: Mamm Hudnall
Photo Album Prep: TBA

Return to Top

Financial
Board Leader: Nancy Montgomery, Treasurer

School Pop/Escrip
Chairs: Lori Bouret & Chris Lagod
Support generated by Menlo subscribers goes to support MSA activities for students, faculty and staff. Each year the MSA determines how funds will be used for that year.

Return to Top