More than half a century ago, VMS was founded by a small group of parents who came together to create a school for their children in a fledgling mountain town. To this day, parent support and volunteer efforts are at the core of who we are, and we welcome your participation and partnership in your child’s educational journey. Our parents’ commitment to each other and our school is essential to the VMS community. We are thankful for our parents!
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Volunteer Needs: Specific needs include leadership and planning, auction item acquisition, data management, volunteer coordination, decor design, food and beverage management, and working during the event.
Volunteer Needs: Share your enthusiasm for the school by welcoming new VMS families, hosting a neighborhood open house for prospective families, or joining us on social media by lending your voice as a community influencer. Athletics Booster Club The Booster Club assists VMS athletics through the sale of gym banner ads and athletic team support.
Volunteer Needs: Become an athletic ambassador for your student’s team. We are in need of two parents per team to take photos and write brief game updates for the community to stay informed.
Welcome Family Teams and Event Hosts Parents play a critical role in helping our internal and external communities learn more about VMS. To ensure our new families feel welcome we have families from each grade that coordinate social gatherings and help answer questions throughout the school year.
The annual VMS Gala and Auction is our school’s largest fundraising event and will exceed your expectation of what a gala can be! With a new theme each year, parents, friends, and faculty come together for a night of fine dining, dancing, and high-energy bidding on auction items—all in support of our students.
Volunteer Needs: Each spring, current Homebase Parents will ask for new volunteers for the following school year.
Community Events & Volunteer Opportunities
Gala & Auction
Homebase Parents At the heart of each grade is a team of parents who help teachers coordinate grade-level activities and plan class gatherings that promote togetherness and community within the grade.
Volunteer Needs: Volunteers are needed to plan and execute this community event.
For one week in December, the Common is filled with books for all ages and holiday crafts created by members of our community.
Teacher Appreciation Parent Partners volunteers come together to provide a feast for teachers twice each year as thanks for all they do in and out of the classroom. Homemade treats like casseroles and muffins are complemented by store-bought staples like bagels and juice, all of which are contributed by parents from all grades. Parent Partners
Volunteer Needs: Working in partnership with The Bookworm of Edwards, parent volunteers set up, take down and staff the event. Parents may also choose to participate as a vendor.
The VMS Parent Association, Parent Partners, is committed to building community within Vail Mountain School in alignment with the VMS mission statement. Parent Partners provides opportunities for VMS families to connect socially and partner with the school in support of our children. Parent Partners is also focused on supporting and appreciating teachers through teacher appreciation events, small acts of kindness, and teacher recognition.
Specific Parent Partner Committee Chair positions
Parent Partners is at the heart of more than a dozen events that provide meaningful opportunities for parents to volunteer in support of the school. Parent Partners also hosts gatherings such as ski days, hikes, and coffee hangs that help our parents to connect socially and build relationships beyond their grade-level community.
Book Fair & Holiday Market
VMS Hullabaloo A free, all-school event that is great for the entire family to eat, drink, play games, and socialize.
are: • Hikes • Alpine Ski Days • Nordic Ski Days • Coffee & Connectivity • Lower School Town Meetings • Teacher Appreciation Ready to get involved? vms.edu/volunteer
Support VMS
Weyear.welcome your questions and look forward to conversations about how we can partner to fulfill the school’s needs and engage your philanthropic interests. Please contact Colleen Davis, Director of Advancement, at colleen@vms.edu or 970-477-7185.
This fun-filled event allows our community to socialize together while raising money for our school. Past Galas have made it possible to add our school resource officer, the greenhouse, interactive technology in classrooms, and so much more. Monetary contributions are the heart of the Gala, but equally important are the wonderful and generous in-kind gifts in our auction that are donated by VMS parents and businesses in our local community.
VMS Fund Tuition revenue alone does not cover the full cost of the VMS operating budget. The VMS Fund helps to bridge the 15% gap between the cost of educating our students and our operational costs. The VMS Fund supports the aspirations, dreams, and needs of our community. All donations to the VMS Fund help us fulfill our Strategic Plan in areas such as hiring, retaining and developing extraordinary teachers, and enriching the classroom experience with a curriculum that engages and challenges your children. We ask the entire VMS community to support this fund annually.
Vail Mountain School is able to offer extraordinary experiences to our students and community today, because of the many parents, grandparents, alumni, teachers and other friends of the School who have given so generously throughout our 60+ year history. Your generosity helps Vail Mountain School execute our strategic plan and benefits both current and future students.
VMS Gala & Auction
Corporate Sponsorship Advertising opportunities in our calendar, directory and Booster Club banners in the gym can help your business reach a great group of potential customers.
VMS Endowment, Scholarship Programs & Restricted Gifts Gifts to the VMS Endowment provide dedicated and permanent funding for our school and allow VMS to plan for the future and support our current students. In addition, we have scholarship programs and other institutional priorities essential to our strategic plan. The Imperi Educational Opportunity Scholarship Fund allows us to attract new students who might not normally be able to access a VMS education. The Taft Conlin Scholarship is merit-based and grants full tuition to an incoming 9th grader every other
September Thursday 9/1 Parent Partners Kick-Off Meeting Thursday 9/8 Back to School Night Wednesday 9/21 Hullabaloo Friday 9/30 Parent Partners Gore Creek Hike October Saturday 10/6 Homecoming Monday 10/10 Parent Partners Meadow Mountain Hike Monday 10/31 Halloween Parade November Thursday 11/3 Speaker Series: David Yeager Wednesday 11/9 Parent Partners Coffee at Yeti’s Grind Tuesday 11/15 Coffee with the Head (am) and Snacks with the Head (pm) December 12/05 - 12/8 Book Fair and Holiday Market Tuesday 12/6 Speaker Series: TBD January Tuesday 1/10 Speaker Series: Becky Munsterer Sabky Friday 1/13 Parent Partners Alpine Ski Day February Thursday 2/2 Snacks with the Head (pm) Friday 2/3 Coffee with the Head (am) Wednesday 2/8 Parent Partners Alpine Ski Day March Thursday 3/9 Speaker Series: Carlotta Walls Lanier Friday 3/10 Parent Partners Nordic Ski Day Friday 3/17 Parent Partners Alpine Ski Day Thursday 3/23 Parent Partners Bingo Night April Wednesday 4/5 Parent Partners Moonlit Hike Saturday 4/29 VMS Gala & Auction May Friday 5/5 Parent Partners: Teacher Appreciation Breakfast Friday 5/26 Coffee at the Cabin for Field Day The events listed above are subject to change. Please use our online calendar for the most up-to-date information. Connecting The fun doesn’t stop in the summer! July: Welcome Family Kick-Off August: Alumni Family Day and New Family RocktheMemberYoungestDirector!CollegeFormerAuthorPersistence!PsychologyExpertBBQintheofandIvyLeagueAdmissionofLittleNine!
