How to communicate with schools in English?

Hi! Thank you so much for offering — we always need more parent volunteers! We have the fall carnival coming up next month and the book fair the week after. For the carnival, we need people to run game booths. For the book fair, we need help setting up and organizing books. Which one interests you?

你好！非常感谢你主动帮忙——我们总是需要更多家长志愿者！下个月有秋季嘉年华，之后一周是书展。嘉年华需要人管理游戏摊位。书展需要帮忙布置和整理书。你对哪个感兴趣？

💡 美国学校经常举办 carnival（嘉年华）和 book fair（书展）等活动。这些是社区建设和筹款活动。家长参与被视为对孩子教育的支持。

Your English is great, do not sell yourself short! And yes, all volunteers need a simple background check — it is just a form you fill out online. The school sends you a link. It takes about a week to process. I will add you to our volunteer email list so you get all the updates.

你的英语很好，不要妄自菲薄！是的，所有志愿者都需要做一个简单的背景调查——就是在网上填个表格。学校会发链接给你。处理大约需要一周。我会把你加到志愿者邮件列表里，这样你能收到所有更新。

💡 Don't sell yourself short 意思是不要低估自己。美国人经常鼓励人不要过于谦虚。这和中国文化中谦虚是美德的观念不同。

Just come in comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes. We will start setting up at 8 AM, and the fair runs from 10 to 2. Oh, and Tommy is going to be SO excited that his mom is volunteering — the kids love seeing their parents at school!

穿舒适的衣服和包头鞋就行。我们早上8点开始布置，书展从10点到2点。哦，Tommy 知道妈妈来做志愿者一定会超级兴奋的——孩子们最喜欢在学校看到爸妈了！

💡 在美国，父母参与学校活动对孩子来说是很大的鼓励。教师提到 Tommy 会很开心是在肯定你的参与对孩子的积极影响。

Good morning! Thank you for coming. Let me show you your station. You will be at the checkout table — helping kids count their money, making change, and putting books in bags. There is a price list right here. Do you have any questions before we start?

早上好！谢谢你来。让我带你看看你的岗位。你在收银台——帮孩子们数钱、找零、把书装袋。价目表就在这里。开始之前有什么问题吗？

💡 Making change 是找零的意思。在美国书展，小学生通常带现金来买书，志愿者需要帮他们计算是否够钱、找零等。

No worries! A quarter is the big silver one — 25 cents. A dime is the tiny silver one — 10 cents. Tricky, right? The dime is smaller but worth more. A nickel is the thick one — 5 cents. And a penny is the copper one — 1 cent. I made you a cheat sheet!

别担心！quarter 是大的银色硬币——25分。dime 是小的银色硬币——10分。很迷惑吧？dime 更小但面值更大。nickel 是厚的那个——5分。penny 是铜色的——1分。我给你做了个速查表！

💡 Cheat sheet 在这里不是作弊的意思，而是快速参考指南。美国人经常在志愿者活动中为新手准备 cheat sheets 来帮助他们上手。

You are a natural! See, I told you your English is great. The kids do not care about perfect grammar — they just want someone who is kind and patient. You are doing amazing. I will be right over here if you need anything.

你天生就适合！看，我说过你英语很好。孩子们不在乎完美的语法——他们只想要友善和耐心的人。你做得太棒了。如果需要什么我就在旁边。

💡 You're a natural 是很高的夸奖，意思是你天生就擅长这件事。在美国文化中，对新手给予大量正面鼓励是常见的。