We’ve received several requests for more clarity around the types of events the PTA hosts throughout the school year. We understand that it can be helpful to know what each event entails—whether it’s a community-building activity, a fundraiser, an educational opportunity, or a celebration.
Below you’ll find more detailed descriptions of our regular and 2025-2026 events so you can better plan, participate, and feel informed about the purpose and nature of each event.
As always, we welcome your questions and suggestions!
Community Events
- Block Party – Held in conjunction with Back to School Sneak a Peak
- Purpose: Kick off the new school year with fun, games, music, and community spirit. This event is a great opportunity for students, families, and staff to reconnect, meet new faces, and start the year off with positive energy.
- What You Can Expect: yard games and contests, vendor fair, food and snacks, and an opportunity to connect with the community, staff, and friends.
- Volunteers Needed: at least 8 to make this event a success.
- Cost: Entrance is free, vendors and food are at cost
- Movie Nights – Held usually twice a year, once in the fall and once in spring
- Purpose: unwind, connect with others, and enjoy a shared experience outside the classroom. Leading up to the event, students will get to vote on the movie. Majority rules.
- What You Can Expect: bring a chair or blanket to sit on, come in pjs if you please. Popcorn is available for free (one bag per person). Refreshments are available at cost and used to offset the cost of the popcorn.
- Volunteers Needed: 3-4
- Cost: Entrance and popcorn are free, refreshments are $1
- Winter Gala and Holiday Shop – Held usually in the first two weeks of December.
- Purpose: to celebrate the holiday and spend time with family and friends.
- What You Can Expect: Arts and crafts, cookie decorating, dancing, light refreshments, holiday gift shopping. In our holiday shop, children can purchase low cost items between $1 and $15 for their friends, family or whoever they please. Students will have preview days in advance of the gala to decide what they want – and potentially preorder (we’re still exploring that option).
- Volunteers Needed: 6-8
- Cost: Entrance and refreshments are free, holiday shop is at cost
- Willow Oak North Pole Lights Walk – Held usually in the first three weeks of December, based on availability.
- Purpose: to celebrate the holiday, spend time with family and friends, see Santa (if you want) and share some hot cocoa.
- What You Can Expect: Hosted at Willow Oak Flower and Herb Farm, we host a special QES night where families can enjoy the holiday lights and decorations.
- Volunteers Needed: 0
- Cost: Usually around $10
- Game Show Night – Inaugural event was held during the second half of the school year, but is subject to change.
- Purpose: being silly and competitive and winning some prizes.
- What You Can Expect: A series of minute-to-win-it style games, fun for all ages.
- Volunteers Needed: 0
- Cost: Free
- Paint Night – Inaugural event was held during the second half of the school year, but is subject to change.
- Purpose: bring out your creative expertise by creating a memento you can keep!
- What You Can Expect: templated art projects with a professional painter (think wine and paint nights for grown-ups). Your ticket pays for the supplies, the canvas, and any refreshments.
- Volunteers Needed: 0
- Cost: kept at cost of the supplies.
- Spring Fling: usually held in late March or April depending on Easter/Spring Break timing
- Purpose: celebrate the start of spring and the warmer weather
- What You Can Expect: music, dancing, lawn games, treats, community partners, food and friends!
- Volunteers Needed: 6-8
- Cost: $0 to attend, refreshments and vendors at cost.
- Talent Show: held within the last month of school
- Purpose: QES Has Got Talent; come out and celebrate the many talents of our students
- What You Can Expect: 15-20 acts of our QES students are given the opportunity to sing, dance, do tricks, play their recorders and otherwise show off their talents.
- Volunteers Needed: 3-5
- Cost: Free to attend, refreshments for $1
- Staff Appreciation Week – first full week in May
- Purpose: to give back to our teachers and staff who give so much to us.
- What You Can Expect: A fun-filled week celebrating our staff. During a typical week, you can expect roughly 1 Staff Breakfast, 1 Staff Lunch, 3 days of snacks, sweet treats or other goodies in the staff room. We usually ask for augmentation of the main supplies (think coffee, juice with breakfast, chips with provided-sandwiches, etc).
- Volunteers Needed: as many as possible!
- Cost: whatever you’d want to donate to support our teachers and staff
Fundraiser Events
- Restaurant Nights – held monthly throughout the year
- What You Can Expect: monthly dinner hosted by a local restaurant where the PTA gets 10-20% back
- Cost: varies by restaurant, we try to provide a variety of choices, some sit down, some fast casual/take-out-able so there’s something for everyone.
- Charleston Wraps – held in the fall semester
- What You Can Expect: wrapping paper and chocolate/treats fundraiser by https://www.charlestonwrap.com, PTA gets 30-40% back.
- Cost: varies by product, $5-40 usually
- 5th grade Spaghetti Dinner – inaugural event was held in May, but subject to change
- What You Can Expect: to raise additional funds for 5th grade field trip, open to all families with service delivered by 5th grade families.
- Cost: $15-$20 a plate.
- Read-a-thon – held in the spring semester, usually March or April
- What You Can Expect: a fun, school-wide event that encourages students to develop a love for reading while raising funds to support school programs. Students read as much as they can over a set period, with family and friends sponsoring their efforts to help reach both personal and community goals.
- Cost: As much as you’re willing to donate to sponsor your child’s reading.
- Out of Uniform Days – held on the 1st Friday of every month
- What You Can Expect: a fun day to look forward to each month where your child can opt to not wear their uniform
- Cost: $8 in bulk for all days or $1/each before the first Friday
- Dessert Auction – held the Tuesday before Thanksgiving in partnership with the Elk’s Lodge
- What You Can Expect: the Elk’s Lodge allows us to host a dessert auction prior to their Tuesday Night Bingo where participants can ‘bid’ on the dessert of their choice. Children are not eligible to participate in bingo.
- Cost: price of Bingo at Elk’s Lodge
- Volunteers Needed: 0 to support, but donations of store-bought or bakery-made desserts accepted
- Candy Grams – held leading up to Valentines’ Day
- What You Can Expect: small Pez treats with messages that students can give to each other or their teachers/staff and/or families can purchase for their students
- Cost: $3-7 depending on cost of Pez.