ANNUAL DINNER
The Annual Dinner is held in conjunction with the Auction each spring.  This entertaining and informative evening is a great opportunity to spend time with other JBS parents and faculty.  Volunteers help with invitations, publicity, table decorations, programs, set-up/clean-up, entertainment and planning the menu. The evening ends with a brief meeting of the John Burroughs School Association.

AUCTION
Every spring, in conjunction with the Annual Dinner & Meeting, the JBS Parents Council organizes a "low-key" silent auction where the emphasis is on fun vs. achieving a specific financial goal.  Volunteers assist with solicitation of items, catalog, set-up/presentation, the bank, clean up, and more.  This enjoyable event is well-attended by faculty and parents alike.

BOOKSTORE
Volunteers sell books, supplies and cookies to students and faculty in the bookstore. Each volunteer works one 2½ hour shift per month.  Substitution opportunities are available. Volunteering at the bookstore provides a great way to meet the kids and feel connected to what's going on at school.  

COOKIES
All parents provide home baked cookies for sale in the bookstore.  Parent volunteers mail or e-mail the cookie schedule and a reminder to each family in their child’s grade once a year.

FAMILY NETWORK
The Family Network promotes communication and the exchange of ideas on adolescence and parenting among JBS parents. Programs focus on family relationships, teen development, peer and academic pressures and substance abuse prevention.  Committee members help coordinate:

Brown Bag/Coffee Connection Events:  Grade specific presentations and discussion meetings for parents.  Typical speakers include JBS principals and counselors and outside professionals.  Two parent volunteers per class organize two or more meetings per year.
Book Club:  Parent volunteers work with faculty to plan three or four book presentations/discussions per year and with the JBS counseling department to schedule an ongoing monthly parenting book discussion. In the spring, a panel discussion by the librarians focuses on adolescent literature and summer reading.
Health Days:  For 10^th, 11^th, and 12th grades.  Parents coordinate with the counseling department to provide refreshments and greet presenters.
Mentor Program:  Current families are matched with families new to JBS to provide a personal contact to welcome them, smooth the transition to a new school, and provide information about Burroughs as needed.
Parent-to-Parent:  Parents coordinate a fall mailing on grade specific adolescent development issues from the Family Network and the counseling department.
Alumni Event:  Parents of recent graduates are invited back for an evening in November for a talk led by an outside speaker and a panel of parents of alumni on the changing role of parents with their college aged children, what to expect when they come home from college, and strategies for navigating their relationship.
Dads Event:  An evening event held in the spring just for dads on teen development led by an outside speaker.
Conversations That Count:  Co-sponsored by the school and the Family Network for eighth graders and their parents for an evening event in the spring on alcohol education and teen prevention.
Technology Event:  Co-sponsored by the school and the Family Network and led by an outside speaker on myriad issues with teens and technology.

GRADE CHAIRPERSONS (For the 2012-2013 school year)
Parents of a boy and a girl from each grade help to coordinate activities for their respective classes.  Three sets of parents are selected to serve as chairs for 11th and 12th grades.  Activities vary depending upon the class represented.  The faculty sponsor and principal for each class will verify grade-specific jobs and help orchestrate these activities.  Volunteers can indicate their interest in becoming Grade Chairs for the 2012-2013 school year on the volunteer sign-up e-mailed to parents in May or by contacting the Parents Council Vice President.

HOSPITALITY
This committee provides food and decorations for monthly faculty/staff appreciation luncheons or events throughout the school year. There are approximately seven appreciation events during the school year. The first luncheon is held in August, the week before school begins. In the spring, the committee provides food and decorations for the Parents Council Luncheon/Annual Meeting. This committee provides a great way for parents to let the faculty/staff know how much we appreciate their dedication!

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXCHANGE
This committee helps to oversee the hosting process at Burroughs and increase awareness of international student exchange programs available to JBS host families. Chairs act as liaisons between the international student exchange organization (usually AFS), the international student and host families, the Burroughs international student club and its faculty advisor. Volunteers help to organize the popular International Dinner in March, by planning the menu, soliciting food donations, and supporting the JBS international student club. While hosting is not required of this committee, hosting opportunities (both short and long term) are offered to members before being made available to other JBS families. Six to eight meetings are held during the year.

JB CONNECTION
Committee chairs help select specialty JBS logo items which are sold at sporting events, special events like the JBS Family Picnic, JBS Alumni Picnic, Unique Boutique, Auction, and in the bookstore. Volunteers help set up and sell items at the various events, many of which occur on weekends, and help decorate the bookstore window before Thanksgiving to promote holiday sales. Those interested in school spirit and/or merchandising will find this a great way to become involved.

LIBRARY
If you like being surrounded by books, this is the place for you.  As a volunteer you will assist the library staff in a wide variety of jobs, including processing books, repairing and shelving books and magazines, computer input, clipping, filing, copying, and bar-coding.  Training is provided.  Volunteers generally work a two to three hour shift during the school day once a week or twice a month, but hours are flexible.

LOST & FOUND
This committee organizes the Lost & Found Room and helps students reclaim lost or misplaced books, supplies, and clothing.  Volunteers work from approximately 7:45 to 8:30 am on their assigned mornings, generally only two a month.  Lost & Found volunteers enjoy checking in on morning assembly and getting a little window on the students’ day.

MAILING
The committee meets as needed during the year to help with school mailings.  Each mailing lasts approximately 45 minutes and requires five to seven volunteers. This committee occasionally assists with other Parents Council committee mailings. 

POTPOURRI
This long-standing Burroughs tradition brings the JBS community together and provides the greater St. Louis community with the opportunity to shop for bargains at a 500-family garage sale held in the spring. Subcommittee chairs oversee a variety of committees including sorting, bake sale, clothing, books, restaurant, cashiers, raffle, plant sale, etc.  In the week preceding the sale, JBS students experience many fun-filled activities (daily assembly raffles, snow cones, and cotton candy to name a few). Time commitments vary considerably. The busiest time is one week in April -- from Saturday Move-In to the following Saturday Sale Day -- as departments are set up and Potpourri events occur throughout the week.  Subcommittee chairs are expected to attend at least three sorting sessions during the year.  Four full committee meetings are held.  Potpourri is a great way to have lots of fun meeting students and parents, while providing a valuable community service and raising funds for the school. 

SENIORS & SENIORS' PARENTS PARTY (Class of 2013 parents only)
A casual party on campus is organized by 11th grade parents to honor seniors and their parents during graduation week.  Volunteers start in late February to plan the theme, send the invitations, and plan the menu, decorations and special activities for the evening.  Calling all Class of 2013 (current sophomore parents) party planners - this is the committee for you!

STUDENT PARTIES AND ACTIVITIES
Committee members provide snacks such as ice cream during book sale days in August and work with the students to organize the Blue & Gold Dance in the fall.  Parents can volunteer with this committee to serve as chaperones for on-campus student parties, dances, and events, such as Movie Night and Commons Café.

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES FAIR
Each year, parents and students from Burroughs, MICDS, and Whitfield work together to sponsor the Summer Opportunities Fair which provides the St. Louis community with information about summer educational, recreational, leadership and volunteer opportunities. The Fair's location rotates among the three schools; it will be held next at Whitfield on January 28, 2012 and at Burroughs on January 26, 2013.  The host school is responsible for maintaining a Summer Opportunities Fair website.

THE PRODUCERS
Committee members create interest in and provide assistance for the performing, visual and practical arts at JBS. Four to six meetings are held during the year. Volunteers provide concessions and lobby décor for opening nights, assist with set-building and props, brainstorm, and execute marketing and public relations plans to build awareness and sell tickets to the JBS and broader St. Louis communities.

UNIQUE BOUTIQUE
Unique Boutique is held the weekend before Thanksgiving, and features the sale of quality, one-of-a-kind gifts, fine art and handcrafted items from local and nationally known artisans.  Several JBS booths (Café, Holiday Plants, Incredible Edibles, JB Connection and Signatures) are coordinated by JBS parents. Chairpersons and volunteers plan and execute many parts of the event, including Admissions, Decorations, Marketing & Public Relations, Set Up & Take Down, Treasurer, Volunteers and more. There are lots of opportunities for parents to work two-hour shifts the weekend of the event.