Get Involved
Getting involved with BVPAGE will give you access to a wealth of information and other parents who are or have been in your shoes - with kids aged elementary to high school, and even into college. It's also a great opportunity to support our teachers and the Blue Valley Gifted Community.
Here are some ways you can get involved in BVPAGE:
General Membership
General membership is open to anyone who has an identified, in-process or high-ability child, in Blue Valley or in any other district. We don't check IEPs at the door! Join our mailing list, subscribe to announcement updates, and join us on Facebook to get information about meetings. To cover our costs and to allow us to grant money to gifted teachers, we do charge for some events. However, our coffee events and daytime meetings, along with several other events, are open to general members at no charge.
Join Our Mailing List
Stay up to date on our latest meeting and events by subscribing to our monthly newsletter. Due to privacy laws, BVPAGE is not notified when a child is identified as gifted. Please join our email distribution list to receive monthly emails.
We are also active on Facebook. We have a closed Facebook Group where you can talk with other parents between meetings. This is a great way to stay up on BVPAGE happenings. Please note: in order to join the closed group, you MUST answer the membership questions.
Volunteer with BVPAGE
There are many ways to get involved in BVPAGE. All of our members are welcome - and encouraged - to volunteer.
Committees
Committees are a great place to start. There are a variety of ways to help and a time commitment to fit almost any lifestyle. We even have some great volunteer opportunities for students! Please contact the specific Committee Chair or be on the lookout for the sign up, if one is indicated.
Gifted Teachers Professional Learning Day Treats Committee
Summary: BVPAGE provides refreshments and treats for all of the Gifted Education teachers in the district to enjoy during their Professional Development Day. This includes breakfast type finger foods and drinks and afternoon snacks and drinks. We coordinate with District; plan and purchase the food, drinks, and necessary serving items; create a small treat with a fun twist; set up the food in the early morning; and clean up/pick up the leftovers at the end of the day (if needed).
Date: Usually the last day of Spring Break in March, when teachers are back in school, but students are not. This should generally be considered when volunteering for this committee.
Location: Varies
Committee Chair: 1 (President)
Plan, organize, and oversee the event.
Committee Volunteers: 1-2 - OPEN
Assist with planning 2-4 weeks before event, and setup and cleanup the day of event.
Time Commitment: Minimal
Brain Blizzard Committee
Summary: Brain Blizzard is BVPAGE’s Knowledge and Trivia Contest for Blue Valley 7th & 8th grade gifted students. The contest was developed to allow the gifted kids from different middle schools to meet each other and to have fun seeing what they know. The contest is held in or around February, when there are not too many competing activities. The trivia questions come from a variety of sources and many may be recycled every other year so that they are not repeated for students who attend in both seventh grade and eighth grade. There isn’t any big honor that comes with winning this contest, just bragging rights and fun prizes.
Date: Weekend day in February or March
Location: TBD - Scheel’s sporting goods for the first four years
Committee Co-Chairs: 2
Plan, organize, and oversee the event. Choose the date, find the venue, arrange for snacks, develop the site (Google docs) for signing up, create flyer and distribute through District to middle school gifted teachers, find other volunteers to help during the contest, choose questions and confirm answers (if needed), find donations for goody bags and prizes, and make name tags. Chairs have a notebook with historical information and important notes.
Time Commitment: Moderate
Committee Volunteers: 2-3 (OPEN)
Assist the Co-Chairs on the day of the event with scoring, snack management, setup, cleanup, and whatever else they need.
Time Commitment: Minimal
Student Volunteers: 2-4 high school students
Act as Graders, Runners, and Tech Support for the duration of the event. The volunteers receive service hours.
Time Commitment: Very Minimal - day of event.
Summer Opportunities Fair Committee
Summary: Summer Opportunities Fair connects vendors offering gifted and high ability summer camps and programs with students and families in a single location. Families drop in to visit with vendors and get information about offerings.
Date: First or second Tuesday in February
Location: Hilltop Campus
Committee Chair: 1
Plan, organize, and oversee the event.
Time Commitment: Moderate, but over eight months
Committee Volunteers: 3-4 (OPEN)
Attend and participate in committee meetings (usually only 1 or 2); proofread and give feedback on vendor and attendee invitations in a timely manner; suggest and research possible vendors; assist with distributing invitations through personal contacts and social media, assist with obtaining items needed for event (i.e. balloons, bottled water), staff the event as greeters, assist with setup and cleanup of event, attend the follow-up committee meeting to celebrate and make notes for next year. (This is not a demanding job for committee members. Most of our work is done by email. The most intensive work for committee members is at the event itself, but we divide up the tasks so no one has to do it all.)
Time Commitment: Minimal to moderate, but over eight months
Student Volunteers: 2 high school students
Help at the event with setup and greeting. The volunteers receive service hours.
Time Commitment: Very Minimal - one evening
Board & Leadership Positions
Feeling brave? Consider taking on a more active position! We are a fully volunteer organization and we are always looking for people who want to be more involved.
Our board is typically comprised of the following, but positions and titles change as needed.
Executive Board
President*
Vice President*
Treasurer*
Secretary* - OPEN
General Board
Membership Chair - OPEN
PR/Marketing Chair
Social Media and Website Chair - OPEN
Brain Blizzard Co-Chairs
Summer Opportunities Fair Chair
Outreach Coordinator
Advisory Members (up to 3, chosen by the Executive Board as needed)
While not necessarily voting board members, these specialized leadership positions can be in conjunction with a board position or stand-alone.
SENG Liaison
Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC) Liaison
BV2E Liasion
Contact us if you have any interest!