Volume 2 Issue 1 | August 2018
Home & School Club
Please join us at our first Home & School Club meeting of the new school year Monday, August 20th, at 7pm in the Leigh Library. All are welcome!

Read the agenda as well as minutes from past meetings  here . 

Message from your Home & School Club President


Welcome to the 2018-19 school year! We are looking forward to a great year ahead.

One of the key predictors of student success is parent engagement. This can be as simple as talking to your child at dinner about the book they are reading in English class or spending an hour with your child on a Saturday morning planting trees at Leigh or helping organize books in the Leigh Bookroom. The Home & School Club helps provide a bridge between home and school and enables all of us to be more engaged so that we can support all of the students and staff here at Leigh. It takes a village to raise a child... this is your village!

I am incredibly fortunate to be a part of an amazing team of parents who have stepped up to lead our programs this year:

  • Vice President - Tamara Strachman
  • Membership - Kristi Haftorson
  • Treasurer - Amy Hogg
  • Auditor - Doug Evans
  • Corresponding Secretary - Carmel Lynch & Ann Auld
  • Recording Secretary - Jenny Green & Susan Dahl
  • Parliamentarian - Gretchen Gabriel
  • Campus Beautification - Kelly Masini
  • Staff Appreciation - Carol Hofheimer & Susan Lovelady
  • Communications - Aine O'Donovan, Elif Albuz & Amy Gardner
  • Fundraising & Community Building - Jayme Monroe & Bella Sorich
  • Parent Ed - AnaMaria Guevara, Amy O'Hehir & Janae Pierre
  • Grad Night - Kristina Williams
  • District Rep, Facilities - Tamara Strachman
  • District Rep, Finance - Paula McHugh Jack
  • District Parent Rep - Susan Dahl

Each of our Board members and Committee Chairs works with a team of volunteers. If you would like to donate a few hours of your time during the year, please take a look at some of the options available  here . For example, Staff Appreciation coordinates a team of parents who donate food throughout the year for staff breakfasts and luncheons; Campus Beautification coordinates a team of parents who help with gardening, general maintenance; our College & Career Center volunteers, under the guidance of the CCC Counselor, work directly with students; etc. All help is greatly appreciated!

Much of what we do to support our students and staff takes money. Our primary fundraiser is our Annual Giving Drive and our goal this year is to raise $25,000. To everyone who has already made a donation - thank you! Your donations ensure that we can continue to support important programs such as classroom resources & supplies ($100 for each of our 78 teachers), staff grants, new library furniture, speakers for our students, parent education, staff appreciation, and campus beautification. Please click  here  to donate. Thank you for making a difference at Leigh!

It is also very easy to earn free money for the Home & School Club through  corporate matching  (many employers may double your donation), or when you shop at  Amazon  (6-11% of your purchase comes back to the HSC), shop at Office Depot (mention Leigh High School and 5% of your purchase comes back to Leigh) or use  eScrip . More info on these options below.

We invite you to attend our  monthly meetings , follow us on  Facebook , and check out  our website  where you can get more details on all things Home & School Club related. Come join us and meet our wonderful community of parents, staff and students! 

On behalf of the Home & School Club, we look forward to a great year of working together to support Leigh. If you have any questions or suggestions, please e-mail me at president@leighhsc.org. 

Warmest Wishes,
Aine O'Donovan
Take our Home & School Club Survey


Would you like to share your thoughts with the Home & School Club Board on the programs we fund? On our Mission? On our Communications? We invite you to complete the Home & School Club survey. Your feedback is critical to helping us improve, and this is your chance to share your opinions and preferences. Thank you!
Stay Connected


We invite you to connect with the Home & School Club and be a part of this great community. Here are a few ways you can do this...

Subscribe to our  mailing list  to receive monthly newsletters and stay up to date with Home & School Club happenings.

Become a member and  donate  to Home & School Club.

Attend our monthly  meetings .
Volunteer your time by signing up to help when needed (sign up sheets will be posted to our mailing list as needed).

Join a committee/team . We have lots of opportunities, big and small!

Check out our  website .
Follow us on Facebook
Help Home & School Club reach our Annual Membership Goal of $25,000


Thank you to everyone who has donated to our membership drive to date! It is very much appreciated. Our membership drive is our largest fundraiser of the year. Please help us reach our goal of $25,000!  Donate here . 

We will review and approve our budget for the 2018-19 school year at our first Home & School Club meeting on August 20th. Programs funded during the 2017-18 year are listed below. Information on programs funded during prior years can be found  here . 

  • Classroom Resources/Supplies ($100 for each of our 78 teachers)
  • Staff Grants
  • Spanish - Online videos, posters, photo library and stamps to support the curriculum
  • Project Lead The Way - Registration for 6 teams at Tech challenge
  • Journalism - Two editions of The Eleight student newspaper
  • US History/World History - Whiteboard Projector to enhance multimedia presentation capabilities
  • World History - mini-poster sets
  • AP Macroeconomics - Individual whiteboards for students to practice graphing
  • AP Lit and English 4 - 55 Books to add choice-reading, supplement the curriculum and build a classroom library
  • Physics/Chemistry - Class supplies: rulers, compasses, scissors
  • Psychology - Posters to help the student visualize concepts, a brain model, a DVD set and books to supplement lesson plans
  • Club Grants
  • Science Olympiad
  • Music With A Mission 
  • International Thespian Society
  • Parent Ed Speaker Series
  • January - Surviving the High School Transition: Raising a Neurodiverse (ADHD, ASD, LD, mood disorders) Student & Preparing Them for Life After High School
  • February - Teen Driving: What do you consider lethal? A talk for parents to attend with their teen driver
  • March - Teen Anxiety & Building Resilience
  • April - The Well-Balanced Student - Strategies to address cheating and academic integrity, sleep, media use, and more
  • May - Emotional Intelligence: More Important than GPA and SAT scores combined for your student's success
  • Campus Beautification
  • Supporting garden club - purchased planting boxes
  • Planted 30 trees/shrubs on the front lawn and in front of the gym
  • Purchased hoses and storage bench
  • Purchased graduation plaques for front walkway
  • Positive School Climate
  • Funded Challenge Day - an experiential one day program for students to increase awareness and empathy
  • Grad Night Scholarships
  • ASB Grant-A-Wish Donation
  • Ten pop up canopy tents for ASB activities/Graduation/Athletics
  • Staff Appreciation - Monthly treats for teachers (breakfasts, lunches, flowers, tokens of appreciation, cards, letters and more!)
  • College & Career Center
  • Communications
  • Community outreach via Constant Contact
  • New website
Double/triple your donation with Corporate Matching


Many local companies offer matching donations to school organizations. If you avail of this program you can double or triple your donation to Leigh Home and School Club! Many companies also donate cash to match your volunteer hours contributed to the school. 

Please check with the HR department at your company to see if it has a matching donations program. Our Tax ID: #77-0199809. Click  here  for more information and to see a list of companies that offer this program (it is not a complete list - if you do not see your company on this list, please do check with your HR dept).
Are you shopping for school supplies? Earn FREE money for Leigh...


Shopping on Amazon? 

Use our  dedicated Leigh Amazon link  when shopping with Amazon, and Leigh Home & School Club receives 6 - 11% on products you purchased. Bookmark this link for future shopping 'trips'! The link is always available on  our website . Does your company shop at Amazon? Then refer this link to the person in charge of purchases. Anyone can use this link and Leigh will benefit. Note: Do NOT Use Amazon SMILE as donations through this program are significantly less.


Shopping at Target, Apple, Macy's? Use eScrip

Earn automatically when you shop online at stores like Apple (1.2%), Best Buy (1.2%), Target (1.2%), Macy's (4.8%), Old Navy (2.4%), and many more! Register at  www.escrip.com  to start earning now! Install the "ForgetMeNot" browser plug in and you will get a reminder if a site that you're shopping at gives contributions.


Shopping at Office Depot?

When you check out, let the cashier know that you want to support Leigh High School. Leigh will receive 5% of your purchase amount.
We Love our Teachers and Staff!
Many thanks to our Staff Appreciation co-chairs, Carol Hofheimer and Susan Lovelady, and their wonderful team of volunteers for showering love and appreciation on our teachers as they started back at school. Each teacher received a $10.00 gift card for Starbucks.

A Welcome Back To School luncheon for our teachers and staff is scheduled for Sept 6th.
Why Do Parents Volunteer at Leigh?


We asked our Board and Committee parents why they volunteer at Leigh. Here are some of their responses...

"I volunteer because I want the school to run well and efficiently, and the more people that help, the better a school will be."

"To be the change we want to see."

"I am a huge supporter of public schools and the role they play in bringing our community together. Leigh Home & School Club plays a vital role by allowing parents to provide further support for our school's mission. As a Board member I get to help direct and focus this parent support to provide maximum benefit to the students. I also get to be involved in the community and meet all of the amazing administrators, teachers, students and parents."

"I volunteer to serve as a role model for my children so they will see the value of volunteering in our community and want to do the same when they are older, and to learn more about Leigh from the teachers' and administration's perspective."

"I volunteer because I believe there is a direct correlation between parent engagement and student success. It is important to show all of our students that we care. This can include anything from being aware of what is happening on campus, to showing up for an hour to help on a task, to organizing an event in it's entirety. If I only make a difference in the life of just one student, then I am happy!"

"I volunteer because I want to make a difference in our community, and be a part of creating a positive environment for all of our students, parents and teachers."

"Home & School Club is a non-profit, volunteer organization whose main focus is to foster a healthy, positive school environment for all students. Volunteering allows me to make a contribution to the school and stay aware of what is happening at the school and in my students' academic lives. It also allows me to hang out with some really wonderful people."

"I volunteer because I enjoy giving back to my community, supporting our amazing staff and making Leigh a better place for all our students. I enjoy knowing what is going on in the school, because my students don't always communicate everything with me!"

"I volunteer because I want to have a positive influence on the school and because sometimes we have the option to complain or do and it's always better to 'do.' I volunteer because I want to role model for my children (if you want change, make it happen), and because it's rewarding to give back to the community - and it's appreciated!"



We would be delighted to have you volunteer with us during this school year! We welcome you to share your information with us  here  and join in the fun!
Click the Amazon Banner below to support Leigh HSC when you shop at Amazon. 
Up to 11% of your purchases goes towards Leigh HSC and supports all of our students. 
Do NOT Use Amazon SMILE as donations through this program are significantly less.
Leigh High Home & School Club | http://www.leighhsc.org