Twisted Penny

The Twisted Penny is a fun classroom competition to raise funds for our Specials Departments (Music, Art, P.E, and Spanish). The competition has a daily classroom winner and an assortment of prizes are awarded over the two-week period to the winning classes. Volunteers are needed daily during this two-week period to count the money collected for the day. Volunteers are also needed to assist with prize delivery to the winning classrooms. This is a fun way to raise money for our wonderful Specials department, while building camaraderie within the class.

Winter Carnival

This is a wonderful blend of holiday gift-making, along with student fundraising opportunities for field studies. Classrooms will be transformed for your kids to create handmade gifts for the holidays. In addition, there will be student-created and led festival activities, along with a boutique where students will sell their handcrafted merchandise or services. Volunteers can create a flier and newsletter blurb to promote the event to Excel families, set up the classrooms, help students set up vending spaces, donate craft supplies, design a program of craft activities and vendors, and/or clean up after the event. Volunteers with a flair for crafting can develop a handmade gift item and lead revolving small groups of children of all ages in recreating the craft.

Lunch Room /Eagle’s Nest Café

Be a part of this rewarding and less structured time of day. Sit with your children during their lunchtime! Toddlers and pre-schoolers love to accompany volunteers and watch the “big kids” in action. Every Monday-Friday, we need two or three volunteers from 10:30 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m to help serve lunch and provide assistance as needed. Volunteer once, once a week, once a month, for the entire time or for part of the time, whatever suits your schedule.

Thanks-GIVING Drive

This fundraiser focuses on being thankful (during the Thanksgiving season) and on giving back. We collect thankful notes from staff, parents and students focusing on what they are thankful for about Excel. Families are encouraged to donate in honor of those “thankfuls.” We also collect food for the Arvada Food Bank and focus on giving to our community. Volunteers help collect food and promote the fundraiser. This is a heart-warming activity for those who volunteer – nothing better than reading what people love about our school!

Laps for Learning

Laps for Learning is an all-school event in which every child participates. Our purpose is to promote health and wellness while raising money for our school. Each lab will run/walk for a designated time allotted during school hours. Children are encouraged, but not required, to find donations. Last year we raised over $15,000 to purchase educational tools for the classrooms. Volunteers can solicit donations from local businesses, set up the route, set up and monitor the sound equipment, donate refreshments and prizes, cheer on the kids, and help clean up after the event.

Excel Community Connection (ECC)

The ECC’s focus is to help grow our school community by assisting families to bond and make connections. This committee aims to be a resource, a support, and a wealth of parent energy to our school – creating and maintaining connections between parents, families, and staff. Volunteers can serve in a variety of ways, some as simple as showing up and being a welcoming presence at ECC sponsored events such as Community Night’s, Summer Play Dates, and the First day of School "Boo Hoo or Ya Hoo" parent event, Mom’s/Dad’s Night Out, and more.

Load the Lounge! (Staff Lounge Hospitality)

Let the outstanding Excel Academy Teachers and Staff know just how much we appreciate them! This year, families by grade level will be responsible for a “Load the Lounge” month. We have around 55 staff members in the school who will all appreciate the kindness. August items are due on 23rd of August, and all other months they will be due on first Tuesday of the month and can be brought by you or your child to the front office. For the month of August, we are inviting 8th grade families to participate and help load the lounge. (8th Grade items are due August 23rd.) Follow the link to the Signup Genius for a list items and sign up for a slot or two! When possible opt for Costco/Sam's club sizes and individual servings of food items. Every $10 you spend equals an hour of volunteer time!

Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week

Every spring, we shower the teachers and staff with gifts and tokens of our esteem. One volunteer can coordinate the entire week, by communicating with several other volunteers who will each coordinate an activity (such as breakfast, door prizes, handmade gifts, flowers, etc.), and many other volunteers can sign up to provide specific items.

Room Parent

Do you like to be involved in your child’s classroom? Do you like making sure the teacher’s needs are being met? We look for at least one Room Parent for each grade. Room Parent’s bring the needs of that specific Grade (Kinder, 1st, 2/3, 4/5, middle school) to the PTO Board’s awareness. They are the representatives for that grade at PTO meetings, and help communicate the needs of the teacher to the PTO. Room Parents are expected to attend the Community Night PTO meetings (held 4 times during the school year).

Outreach Committee

Serving on the Outreach Committee is an opportunity to celebrate and offer assistance right in your own backyard. Join us in providing gifts for teachers and staff celebrating momentous life occasions such as a wedding or birth of a child. Help us offer dinner or rides home to Excel Academy families experiencing life altering events such as a new baby, death in the family or serious illness. Let's stand in the gap when a school family is struggling to put food on the table or provide holiday gifts for their children. Contact Amy Keleman at 720-343-6173 or amykeleman@aol.com to be added to the Outreach Committee list. As a need arises, you will be contacted via SignUp Genius with an explanation of how you might be of assistance. You are also encouraged to contact Amy Keleman if your family or someone you know may benefit from our care. We are discreet in our communication and respect the confidentiality of the families we support.