Greensboro Day School | Parent's Association

Welcome to the PA!

Welcome to your Greensboro Day School Parents’ Association (PA)! The 2021–22 PA Board and I are looking forward to another great year of working with you for our students, faculty, staff, and school.

Every GDS parent is automatically a member of our Parents’ Association. We hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to get involved by attending meetings, volunteering as your time allows, and providing feedback throughout. Here are a few ways to participate right away:

Volunteer for Spirit Events (contact Spirit Chair, Kristin Carignan, at kristincarignan@gmail.com). The Spirit Committee is planning several events this fall.
Volunteer for the Annual Fund (contact Michael Sumner, Director of Alumni Engagement and Giving, at michaelsumner@greensboroday.org). The PA will again support the Annual Fund as our fall fundraising effort and receive grant support from our Advancement Office.
Let me know other ways you’d like to participate or suggestions you have for the Parents’ Association. I’m available at brook.wingate@gmail.com.

Thank you for all you do for GDS. Parent support is the backbone of all we do.

Brook Wingate

2021–22 Parents’ Association President

Parents' Association Mission

What is the Mission of the Parents’ Association? We strive to support faculty, students and parents at Greensboro Day School by working together to plan and implement effective fundraising and community building events. The PA also works to strengthen parental involvement and communication across our school community.

Parents' Association Events

Cheers and Tears Breakfast: This is a breakfast hosted for early childhood and kindergarten families at the beginning of the school year.

Big Bengal Bash: This is a fun afternoon for families filled with athletic games, Fiddle Fusion music, food, and more.

Fall Festival: This is a great afternoon of carnival games, food, crafts, and old-fashioned fun for the whole family!

Monthly Teacher Appreciation Events: These are hosted by families in each division to give our teachers special treats each month to show them how much we appreciate them!

All-School Staff Appreciation Events: In February and during Teacher/Staff Appreciation week in May, we host all-school events for faculty and staff. We also have other surprises throughout the year to show our appreciation for all that they do.

Bengal Paws for Service: Bengal Paws for Service is an annual day of service for parents, students, faculty, and staff. The entire community gathers to serve together and work with area nonprofits.

Bengal Dash: Since 2007, the Bengal Dash brings runners and walkers to campus for a 5k, 1 mile, and children's obstacle course.

Friend/Fundraiser: This event is the "don't miss" event of the year and helps to provide financial support from the Parents' Association for Teacher Enrichment Endowment Fund (TEEF) grants, and special projects on campus.

How to Volunteer!

The GDS school community would not be what it is today without the continuous support and volunteer efforts of our parents. Contact Brook Wingate to learn more.

Parents' Association Projects

Amazon Smile: If you shop with Amazon, this is a great opportunity to support GDS through eligible purchases. Simply sign in to your Amazon account at smile.amazon.com and add GDS as your supporting organization. For more information, Please contact Kristin Carignan, Spirit Committee Chair. Please ask your family and friends to shop with Amazon Smile, too!

VIC Card: If you haven’t already done so, PLEASE re-link your Harris Teeter VIC Card to GDS! During the last academic year, we received $2,975 from their Together in Education program. With your help, we can greatly increase this amount for this school year! You can do this online at harristeeter.com or in any Harris Teeter store. Our school code is 3746, and don't forget to re-link every school year.

Please ask your family and friends to link too! GDS will get credit if they link their card to our school no matter where in the country they shop at Harris Teeter. Our School gets a percentage of dollars spent on products including Harris Teeter Brand, H.T. Traders, Simple Truth, Private Collection, Comforts, Luvsome, Abound & Pet Pride. For more information, please contact Kristin Carignan, Spirit Committee Chair.

Providing Support to Parents

The GDS Parents’ Association is not only asking for your support, but we are here to support you, too! We have two committees designed to help support families:

PA CARES:
The Greensboro Day School PA CARES is an ongoing Parents' Association program developed to enhance the GDS community by providing support to GDS families, faculty, and staff in times of need. Whether it is a tough time like surgery, illness, or death in the family or a time to celebrate like a marriage or the birth or adoption of a baby, we want to know! The GDS PA CARES committee is available to provide assistance to immediate family members of the GDS community during these times. Please see the PA Cares Representative for each division and contact them if you know someone who could use support. The committee member will then call the family and find out if GDS PA CARES can help them in any way. Examples of assistance and encouragement may be meals, transportation, homework pickup, flowers, cards, etc. Thank you for your help in supporting our Bengal community.

PA Cares Committee:
Lower School
Irene Chan
Middle School
Heather Wilson
Upper School
Liza Lee

Advisory Committee:
These committees meet monthly to discuss division-specific topics. The members serve as ambassadors for each division and are available as resources to help you if you need more information about something or want to learn more about a topic in a division and don’t know where to find it.

Other Parent Led Organizations

List of 2 items.

Bengal Boosters

Mission - The Booster Club provides families with the opportunity to support Greensboro Day School athletics through spirit activities and other events. Supporting the Bengal Booster Club helps pay for: needed equipment and supplies; state and conference dues; coaching clinics; improvement in athletic facilities; athletic awards meal for seniors in the fall, winter, and spring; non-budgeted replacement items; and bus transportation.

Benefits – There are five types of memberships available: Bengal Booster, Junior Bengal Booster, Alumni/Grandparent Bengal Booster, Four-Year, and Lifetime. See website for details, additional fees are required.

Read more on the Bengal Boosters page.
M.A.D. (Music, Art, Drama) Society

Mission - The Music, Art, Drama (MAD) Society provides support to Greensboro Day School's visual and performing arts programs. Supporting the MAD SOCIETY helps pay for performing arts event receptions, non-budgeted replacement items, transportation for students to local workshops and seminars, improvements in fine arts classrooms, guest professionals to provide master classes, and faculty enrichment.

Benefits - Every membership includes the following: early access to ticket sales before the general Box Office opening, e-mail updates about upcoming GDS arts events, and the opportunity to enhance experiences in visual and performing arts for all students. Different membership levels offer additional benefits. Additional fees are required.

Volunteer Opportunities – Volunteers may serve on the MAD Board, which includes planning and administrative duties; other volunteer needs include reception servers, art show hangers, etc.

Visit the the M.A.D. Society page for more information.