🌿The BUGS PTA extends a warm welcome to all new families!! We are so happy to have you in our school community!🌿
About the BUGS PTA
The BUGS PTA aims to connect BUGS families, build community, and help BUGS students grow and thrive inside and outside the classroom.
Every caregiver of a BUGS student, as well as every member of BUGS staff, is automatically a member of the PTA!
Contact us at bugspta@gmail.com
Join our PTA Facebook Group, “BUGS PTA Community” BUGS PTA Community Facebook Group and scroll down for how to connect by grade level too.
Join Us!
THE PTA NEEDS YOU! The BUGS PTA runs on family members’ love and commitment to our school community! Please join our meetings, become an officer or committee member, pitch in as a volunteer at our events, and donate if you can - we need everyone’s support to help our community thrive!
What Do We Do?
The PTA supports a wide range of activities for BUGS students, families, and staff. We fund school field trips and support supplementary enrichment programs. We sponsor school celebrations and family community-building events. We help caregivers stay sane and navigate family life with guest-speaker events, and offer supportive resources for families of students with learning differences. We gather family interests and concerns, and serve as caregiver representatives in school governance on the BUGS Board. We sponsor activities to show appreciation for BUGS teachers. And on the first day of school we provide a BUGS uniform tee to every 6th grader as a welcome gift!
Monthly Meetings
PTA General Meetings take place on the 2nd Tuesday of every month, 6:30-7:30pm
The next General Meeting meeting is on: February 11, 2025
Unless a change is announced, all meetings take place on Zoom, at the link below.
BUGS PTA General Meetings Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81039696110?pwd=TuuBjl71M1subm8RTTrK7yGQEa8Ud7.1
Meeting ID: 810 3969 6110 and Passcode: ca0qjU
Minutes from recent General Meetings:
Draft agenda for upcoming General Meeting:
Get Involved!
There are many ways to participate in the PTA’s efforts! We are all working families, so we do our best to keep things efficient, effective, and fun!
Committee Membership
Want to contribute your ideas or expertise to a particular effort or cause? Please consider joining a committee.
Executive Board and Officer Roles
Want to contribute to governance and planning? Can’t make as many in-person events, but still want to play a part? Please consider becoming a member of our Executive Board.
We also still have space for additional officers as Co-President, Co-VP, Co-Treasurer, and Co-Secretary. Email bugspta@gmail.com if interested in one of these roles!
Event-Based Volunteering
Want to help in a more time-bounded way? Contribute your ideas/expertise to making one of our events particularly successful and fun! Sign up to co-lead a specific event (or two!).
Our efforts also need lots of ad hoc volunteer support! We have a wide range of options, including both at-home, and in-person help. Please pitch in when and where you can! See the Upcoming Events and Activities section below for the latest opportunities and sign-up sheets!
How to Donate
Financial support is one valued way to contribute to the PTA’s work at BUGS. Funds donated to the PTA go into the annual budget to provide support for a wide range of activities.
These donations help the PTA sponsor academic field trips, family game nights, DE&I events, school dances, enrichment activities, and teacher appreciation events. They help us buy t-shirts for incoming students each year, and bring expert speakers to our students, and to our school community.
While the PTA organizes a range of small-scale fundraising activities throughout the year, direct donations are our biggest source of revenue. In order to support our efforts, we suggest a donation of $40 per year for each enrolled student.* Please consider donating if you can - your donation impacts every child!
Tax-deductible donations can be made:
Via paypal, or credit/debit card at BUGS PTA Paypal
Via Zelle to bugspta@gmail.com
By check payable to “BUGS PTA” - mailed to: 500 19th Street, c/o BUGS PTA, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Please note that the PTA transitioned to the Givebutter platform in January. This new platform will allow us to seamlessly accept more forms of payment, launch individual campaign pages, and more.
We will be transitioning away from Paypal and Zelle as donation channels. We will be reaching out to those who have recurring donations set up via Paypal to invite them to transition to Givebutter. Rest assured, though, our Paypal account will remain active until all have been moved.
Does your employer offer a corporate matching gift program? We are a registered 501(c)(3) - look us up! Our EIN is 47-3077480.
Find BUGS PTA’s Benevity Cause Profile here. Our Benevity Charity # is 840-473077480.
*Note that donations are NOT a requirement for PTA membership and will NOT affect a member’s ability to vote or to run for office.
*Additionally, note that BUGS, as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization also does its own fundraising - raising money for a wide range of additional efforts at the school. For more on those broader efforts, see this page.
upcoming events and activities
February 28, 7pm: Student Movie Night
6:45pm arrival - movie starts at 7pm @ Kent Theater - 1170 Coney Island Ave
We are excited to host a student movie night at Kent Theater! Film selection to be announced, based on students’ vote!
This will be a drop-off event. $10 tickets, payable in cash at the door, will cover the movie, popcorn, drink and a free movie coupon!
To help us get a headcount to reserve the theater, please work with your student to fill out this form. (NOTE: Students also received this form via their BUGS email, so please check in with your child to confirm only one response per student.)
Lastly, we need your help to supervise this event! Please sign up here to help chaperone!
March 3, 7pm: Families of Students with Learning Differences Affinity Group Meeting
Via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88913627573?pwd=caR3c2VBqJ5HkgDI6z9RiIxv03TKmq.1
At this meeting we’ll finalize plans for a Neurodiversity Empowerment Month advisory lesson and contest. Sign up here to get involved with the committee!
Special Initiatives
Caregiver Speaker Series
Each year, the PTA supports a series of guest speakers on topics of interest to BUGS families. We are currently planning our 2024-25 school year series. Tell us what you’d like to hear about, or suggest a speaker here!
Want to help organize a speaker event? Sign up here!
Support for Students with Learning Differences
The BUGS Families of Students with Learning Differences (BFSLD) group aims to be a supportive space for caregivers in our community whose children have IEPs/504 plans and for those with questions about obtaining additional academic or social-emotional support for their children, with or without a diagnosis or formal plan.
Our goal is to share experiences and strategies with each other and to raise awareness within our community about learning differences, neurodiversity, ADHD, and mental health. We hope to provide opportunities for families to problem-solve with each other and to collaborate with school leadership to promote inclusion and destigmatize neurodiversity. All are welcome!
On Monday, December 2nd we held a powerful dialogue led by BUGS Parent and special education & literacy expert, Elizabeth Epstein on the “Science of Reading” and how new developments in reading instruction impact middle school students.
Our next meeting will be on Monday, January 27th at 7pm over Zoom. We will be focusing on plans for a Neurodiversity Empowerment Month contest in March. Sign up here to get involved with the committee!
Our next meeting will be on March 3rd at 7pm over Zoom. At this meeting we’ll finalize plans for a Neurodiversity Empowerment Month advisory lesson and contest Sign up here to get involved with the committee!
Enrichment Action Group
The Enrichment Action Group is a committee of the PTA that is working in partnership with the school to expand equitable and accessible enrichment opportunities led by specialists in sports, art and music at BUGS.
This fall, we’ve launched a new BUGS Basketball program, and explored interest and options for a Theater/Improv program - details below. We need volunteer support to keep this effort going! New program ideas are always welcome! Sign up for the Enrichment Action Group Committee to get involved!
Here are the latest updates:
Spring Basketball Teams
Tuesday night basketball is in full swing for both our 6th and 7th/8th grade teams! The first game of the season is Saturday, February 8!
Enrichment Programs Guide
View the EAG’s guide forLocal Enrichment Programs Worth Checking Out. If you have programs to suggest, you can submit them to be included via this form.
Stay Connected
In addition to our meetings and events, we support a variety of ways to stay connected with other BUGS families!
Sign Up for Grade Contact Sheets!
Request to share your contact info with other families in your child’s grade!
Join a Grade Caregivers WhatsApp Group!
These are great for connecting, sharing ideas, and sourcing quick info from other families (“What’s tonight’s math homework again?” or “Does anyone have a recommendation for an afterschool dance class?”)
Join our PTA Facebook Group, “BUGS PTA Community”
See pictures from our events, and get and share info with the BUGS PTA community by joining our BUGS PTA Community Facebook Group.
2024/25 Monthly Newsletters
PTA newsletters are sent monthly via TeacherEase - keep an eye out! In case you missed one, they’re archived below:
2024/25 PTA Executive Board Members
including Officer and Committee Chair roles
Kate Hohman, President
John Johnston, Vice President
Elizabeth Epstein, Secretary; BFSLD Committee Co-Chair, Fundraising Committee Chair
Kirsten Kelly, Treasurer; BFSLD Committee Co-Chair; Budget Committee Chair
Megan Demarkis, Enrichment Action Group Committee Chair
Maria D’Agostino, Nominating Committee Chair
Chloe Gorga, Member-at-Large
Ingrid Gomez-Allen, Member-at-Large