Class and House projects are larger auction items with themes or concepts that are grade-level appropriate. Past examples include: a Pre-K book nook with early-reader books, a medieval quilt with squares designed by the Fourth graders (because they study this historic period), a yard work party where members of a House do landscaping jobs for the winner, or a getaway to Leavenworth.

Projects fall within two categories:

• A single, more valuable item where Class/House families contribute to the cost of purchasing the item. (This project may have a few smaller additions as well.)
• A multiple-part project with many smaller items that support the theme of the project.

Both types of projects are successful if they are well-organized and focus on a singular theme or concept. If you’d like more ideas to help you create a project’s concept, do a simple web search for ideas!

After you’ve identified your project’s concept, email it to fundraising@pccs.org, and then wait for an approval. The Auction Committee must approve the project concept before you continue with any project work.

You’ll need to communicate with your Class/House parents to get them involved in the project. As a PPP, your responsibility is to involve as many families from your Class/House as possible as the project progresses. A great way to involve parents and organize all the project’s pieces is to create a shareable spreadsheet by using Google or Excel. You can decide the tasks you need help with (for example, creating, donating, packaging, or storing the project), and then ask families to sign up for a task. Many hands make for light work!

After you make a plan for organizing the project’s pieces, you’ll need to communicate that plan out to your Class/House parents. Send an email to:

• Introduce yourself.
• Introduce the Class/House project.
• Explain the Class/House parents’ roles to volunteer for tasks and turn in their procurement forms.

You can write your own email or use this email template; be sure to replace the placeholder text. You can also see an example of how this email may read; please note that the information and dates in this example email are fake.

If your project needs personalization from the students, you’ll need to schedule class time with the teacher. Plan to have the personalization work done no later than early February. For House projects, work with your House Advisor to visit during a House lunch.

As you begin working on the Class/House project, you may need to purchase materials or project items. Each Class/House has a project budget of $200. (If your project requires more funds, contact fundraising@pccs.org before making additional purchases.)

If you purchase items using your Class/House project budget and you’d like to be reimbursed, you need to:

1. Pick up a reimbursement form from the Front Desk.
2. Fill it out.
3. Attach the appropriate receipts (showing the exact purchases).
4. Turn the reimbursement form into the Front Desk as soon as possible.

All project materials, items, and time need to be accounted for to properly value a Class/House project. As a PPP, you must fill out an online procurement form for your Class/House project. Be sure to add your Class/House in the Item Description field and a value for the materials, items, and time you personally have spent on the project. If you need help filling out a procurement form, see this how-to guide.

If your chosen project has a single, more valuable item where Class/House families are contributing to the cost of purchasing that item, you must keep an accurate record of the contributing families and their contributions. Families cannot contribute to a Class/House project in cash, check, or digital payments directly paid to you as the PPP.

If a family would like to contribute money directly to Class/House project, you must have them:

1. Write their name and intended contribution on the shareable spreadsheet you created.
2. Venmo @ProvidenceClassical-Bothell their contribution AND include a note that states the Class/House name and the words “For Auction Project.”
3. Fill out an online procurement form for their donation.

As the PPP, you will have to purchase the valuable item, fill out a reimbursement form, and then turn it in at the Front Desk. The school will reimburse you the appropriate funds.

In addition to filling out an online procurement form for your Class/House project, you also need to remind Class/House parents to fill out and turn in their own procurement forms for their contributions by the Procurement Form Deadline. You can write your own email or use this email template; be sure to replace the placeholder text. You can also see an example of how this email may read; please note that the information and dates in this example email are fake.

It is essential that the Auction Committee has received all the procurement forms for each item that will be included in your Class/House project by the Procurement Form deadline. Class/House projects take longer to assemble than general auction items, so it is imperative that each deadline is met. Class/House projects that don’t come together on time do not sell well at the Auction.

On the day of the Procurement Form deadline, you should send an email to your Class/House parents to:

• Thank those who have turned in their procurement forms already.
• Remind those who haven’t done turned in their procurement forms.
• Request that they turn in their items to the Front Desk by the Class/House Project Item deadline.

You can write your own email or use this email template; be sure to replace the placeholder text. You can also see an example of how this email may read; please note that the information and dates in this example email are fake.

Before the Catalog Description deadline, you need to write a description of your Class/House project. The description should be well-written and creatively concise; the entire description needs to be less than 1000 characters. The Auction Committee will use this description to market your Class/House project in the Auction Catalog, on the Auction website, and on other marketing materials at the Auction, so think about how you’d “sell” this project. Be sure to include:

• Your Class/House name
• A summary of the theme or concept
• A list of the key items in the project
• Any other details that make this project desirable

Here’s an example of a catalog description from a Class project called, “Lawn Game Fun”:

Get ready for some outdoor fun and games!  Whether you invite the neighbors over or simply want to enjoy some quality family time, the 6th graders have you covered. They have beautifully stained a 60-block Jenga Mega Tower for your entertainment! This stacking blocks game starts with a tower measuring 2 feet tall (and grows to over 4 feet). No flat surface? No problem! Just use the box as your base! As a bonus, this set comes with a custom-designed storage box and is super easy to pack away or take the fun on the run. Need more outdoor fun? You got it with even more games: a corn hole set, a boomerang, a croquet set, a frisbee, a badminton set, and more! Get outside and play!

When you’ve written your project’s description, email it to fundraising@pccs.org as soon as possible.

IMPORTANT: After the Catalog Description deadline, no new items can be added or removed from your Class/House project.

As Class/House parents send in their items for your project, the Auction Committee will temporarily store these items. As PPP, you’ll need to arrange to pick up these items from the Fundraising Office before (or on) the Class/House Project Item deadline.

If there are items missing, you will need to contact the Class/House parents and encourage them to turn in their procured items as soon as possible. You can write your own email or use this email template; be sure to replace the placeholder text. You can also see an example of how this email may read; please note that the information and dates in this example email are fake.

After you have your project items, you should begin preparing the Class/House project for display. Class/House projects get about two feet of table space for display at the Auction. Please let the Auction Committee know as soon as possible if your project needs more display space.

The Auction Committee will contact you to schedule a day and time during Picture Week to photograph your Class project. You’ll need to bring in your “photo ready” project to your classroom on the scheduled day.

Here are some tips for preparing your Class project for Picture Week:

• Your teacher will add the picture of your Class project to your class’s weekly newsletter to drum up excitement about the project, so highlight its selling points.
• If there are a few little touches that still need to be done on your Class project, that’s okay; taking the picture of the project’s selling points is more important than a complete project at this point.
• Do not wrap your project in plastic wrap before the picture. Plastic wrap doesn’t photograph well.
• Be sure not to add or subtract items to the auction project. It can be tempting to add small items to decorate the project, but please refrain. The values of all auction projects must be exact. At this point, the value of your Class project has already been calculated based on the procured items. The Auction Committee uses that value in multiple printed materials that can’t be changed in time for the Auction.

At the end of your scheduled picture day, pick up your Class project from the classroom, and bring it home. Teachers can’t store the Class projects in their classrooms due to space constraints, and they shouldn’t have to keep the project intact until the Auction.

Before Move-Out day, prepare to present your Class/House project at the Auction. Keep in mind these tips for final presentation:

• Class/House projects get about two feet of table space for display at the Auction. Please let the Auction Committee know as soon as possible if your project needs more display space.
• Feel free to wrap your project in plastic wrap to secure loose items.
• You can make signs for gift cards or gift certificates that are included in your Class/House project but are not physically on display. (All Class/House project gift cards/certificates are given directly to the winners at check out on Auction night.)
• Spruce up your project with no-value decorations, such as shredded paper or a display basket.

Send an email to your Class/House parents to thank them for their help and announce that the Class/House project is done! Consider adding a picture if you’d like. You can write your own email or use this email template; be sure to replace the placeholder text. You can also see an example of how this email may read; please note that the information and dates in this example email are fake.

Your final task as a PPP is to transport and deliver your Class/House project to the Auction location—not the school. The Auction Committee and multiple volunteers set up the Auction location the day before the Auction; it’s called Move-Out day. You should plan to deliver your Class/House project to the Auction location before lunch on Move-Out day. If this timeframe doesn’t work for you, please contact fundraising@pccs.org to make other arrangements.

When you arrive at the Auction location, look for the person in charge of checking in the Class/House Auction projects. This person will verify that all the items are included in your Class/House project, and then you are officially done as a PPP!

Thank you for all your hard work in coordinating a Class/House project!