PVMS PTO Meeting October 2, 2013
PVMS PTO Meeting October 2, 2013 Attendance: Ray Bernier, Danette Dykema, Sarah Minei, Penny Patch-Bartnicki, Amy Brosnan, Linda Congdon, Maureen Felker, Ruth Friess, Heather Helwig, Samantha Childs, Colleen Hardison & Melissa Lennon 1) Welcome & Introductions - Danette i) Meeting Format (1) Will streamline the format to keep meetings on topic and timely (2) Minutes will be posted online prior to the next meeting; will not review the previous Minutes line by line at the meeting (3) Will post financial summary online, but will not review in detail during the PTO meeting ii) Impacts of Penny’s retirement at the end of the year (1) Goal is for Penny to train her replacements this year for the multiple tasks she does (2) Would like volunteers who are willing to assume any of Penny’s roles by the next PTO meeting (3) Roles to be filled (a) PTO Treasurer (b) Box Tops Chair (c) Book Fair Chair (d) Holiday Store Chair iii) PTO Secretary position needs to be filled for the current school year (1) PTO Secretary tasks include: (a) Taking meeting minutes (b) Correspondence/communication (c) Participation at all PTO events 2) Treasurer’s Report - Penny i) Income since last report: $8,988.25 ii) Expenses since last report: 9,769.21 iii) Difference between lines i and ii: $780.96 iv) Ending Balance: $3,151.06 v) Got Books to date has profited the school $181.44 vi) Stop & Shop A+ program: $113.29 vii) Facebook Survey: $260 in Target gift cards (used for Thanksgiving Baskets) viii) Need to check on the status of the Target Rewards Program for the school ix) Newsletter regarding all ongoing school fundraisers will be sent home next week; all school employees would like a copy of all PTO correspondence 3) Principal’s Report i) PBIS newsletter will be going home tomorrow (1) Program encourages consistent rules and behaviors for all students (2) Students are rewarded for positive behavior (3) Referral forms will be sent home for parent/guardian signature if student is not following school rules
ii) Upcoming Events (1) 10/7/2013 – Board of Education meeting @ 7 p.m. (2) 10/10/2013 – Picture Day (3) 10/11/2013 – ½ Day (4) 10/14/2013 – No School/Columbus Day (5) 10/25/2013 – Trunk-or-Treat from 6:30-8 p.m. 4) Event Updates & Planning a) PVMS PTO’s Non-Profit Status (501c3) - Danette i) Danette continues to work on it. ii) Currently the PTO can fundraise as long as it does not exceed $10,000 and all fundraising must be reported; cannot do fundraisers that require a tax exempt number b) Scholastic Book Fair - Penny i) Earned $1,195.14 ii) Have a $25 credit for the librarian to use toward the purchase of books iii) Need to revise the volunteer form to indicate that volunteers will work the times they have signed-up for unless called due to a conflict iv) Next book fair will be May 5-9, 2013 (Buy 1 Get 1 Free Sale) v) Next year’s fall book fair will be September 12-19, 2014 c) Cookbook – Sarah i) Requests were sent home last year as a fifth grade fundraiser to collect recipes from school families to create a school cookbook; one was never completed. ii) Currently there are about 60 recipes. iii) Will ask families and school employees again to consider contributing recipes for a cookbook. iv) Norwich Tech School will print the cookbooks. v) Perhaps the PTO could sponsor an artwork contest for the cover of the cookbook d) Box Tops – Penny i) Creating database of all students ii) Collecting Box Tops for September iii) Will track all students individually regarding how many Box Tops are turned in each month and cumulatively over the course of the school year iv) Students will receive a certificate when they have turned in 100 Box Tops v) At the end of the year, the top 3 students will receive a trophy vi) Would like to reinstate prizes for monthly winners in each grade level and popsicle parties for the class with the most Box Tops each month vii) Would like to create a central location to bring Box Tops; use large metal mailbox viii) Also will collect Box Tops on Family Fun Nights ix) Box Tops must be submitted in either a plastic Ziploc bag or an envelope with the student’s name, teacher, and “Box Tops” written on it x) Next mailing of Box Tops will be before November e) Campbell’s Labels for Education – Penny i) Lucia Gonsowski was the coordinator last year; will need to check with her to see if she will continue this year
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ii) Need a separate collection container for Campbell’s Labels for Education; Soup Can is located in the PTO closet iii) Will put the collection container in the central lobby f) Aluminum Can Tabs - Penny i) All tabs will be sent to the middle school g) Family Fun Night: Trunk-or-Treat (October 25, 2013) - Sarah i) Will send home a flyer to get a count of the number of decorated vehicles expected ii) Bill at Hidden Acres donates his time and materials to orchestrate a Hay Ride (1) Two wagons this year to expedite the lines (2) Scary and non-scary hay rides (3) Will need volunteers to help load and unload guests iii) Donations to date (1) Preston Parks & Rec has received $225 (2) Danette has sent requests for candy donations to WalMart, Target, and other grocery stores iv) All the Right Moves will perform a dance to Thriller v) Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 best decorated trunks/vehicles vi) Prizes will be awarded for the top 3 best carved/decorated pumpkins h) Thanksgiving Baskets & Turkey Trot-a-thon – Heather i) For the Thanksgiving Baskets, each class is asked to bring in an item to help create a Thanksgiving basket for those families in need in our area. Typically, turkeys, rolls, and potatoes are needed after the collection to round out the baskets. ii) The Turkey Trot-a-thon would be a great way to fundraise to purchase the needed items for the baskets as well as encouraging kids to get up and move in support of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program. (1) Students are sponsored to participate in the Turkey Trot (2) Top finishers in each grade are awarded a turkey; often local stores will donate turkeys (3) Often done in the morning during the school day about one week prior to Thanksgiving (4) Heather will talk with Mrs. Tubbs about preparing the students for the race and discussing the logistics of the race (distance & number of students racing at a time). (5) Parents would be invited to watch and cheer on their child(ren). i) Movie Night – Family Fun Night (November 22, 2013) j) Craft Night – Family Fun Night (December 6, 2013) k) Holiday Store (December 9-13, 2013) 5) New Business a) Parent Date Night/Holiday Shopping i) Consider offering parents a three hour window in which to shop or have a date as a fundraiser ii) Parents would pay a fee to leave their child(ren) at the school under the supervision of (possibly) American Red Cross certified babysitters for open gym activities 3
b) c)
d) e)
iii) Will look into dates and discuss more at the next meeting Reflective House Numbers – Mr. Bernier i) Information has been shared ii) Could sell the house numbers as a fundraiser Holiday Specs/3D Holiday Glasses – Mrs. Felker i) could purchase the holiday specs in bulk and re-sell as a fundraiser ii) looking into a light, the lenses of the paper glasses reflect holiday shapes around the lights PTO Directory – Sarah i) Would like to consider offering a school-wide directory ii) Parents would have the option of what information is shared, if any at all PTO Email List i) For parents that would prefer information regarding PTO to be sent home through e-mail, parents would need to provide that information ii) Perhaps ask on the directory request form whether parents would like their email used to receive PTO updates
6) Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 6th
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ii) Upcoming Events (1) 10/7/2013 – Board of Education meeting @ 7 p.m. (2) 10/10/2013 – Picture Day (3) 10/11/2013 – ½ Day (4) 10/14/2013 – No School/Columbus Day (5) 10/25/2013 – Trunk-or-Treat from 6:30-8 p.m. 4) Event Updates & Planning a) PVMS PTO’s Non-Profit Status (501c3) - Danette i) Danette continues to work on it. ii) Currently the PTO can fundraise as long as it does not exceed $10,000 and all fundraising must be reported; cannot do fundraisers that require a tax exempt number b) Scholastic Book Fair - Penny i) Earned $1,195.14 ii) Have a $25 credit for the librarian to use toward the purchase of books iii) Need to revise the volunteer form to indicate that volunteers will work the times they have signed-up for unless called due to a conflict iv) Next book fair will be May 5-9, 2013 (Buy 1 Get 1 Free Sale) v) Next year’s fall book fair will be September 12-19, 2014 c) Cookbook – Sarah i) Requests were sent home last year as a fifth grade fundraiser to collect recipes from school families to create a school cookbook; one was never completed. ii) Currently there are about 60 recipes. iii) Will ask families and school employees again to consider contributing recipes for a cookbook. iv) Norwich Tech School will print the cookbooks. v) Perhaps the PTO could sponsor an artwork contest for the cover of the cookbook d) Box Tops – Penny i) Creating database of all students ii) Collecting Box Tops for September iii) Will track all students individually regarding how many Box Tops are turned in each month and cumulatively over the course of the school year iv) Students will receive a certificate when they have turned in 100 Box Tops v) At the end of the year, the top 3 students will receive a trophy vi) Would like to reinstate prizes for monthly winners in each grade level and popsicle parties for the class with the most Box Tops each month vii) Would like to create a central location to bring Box Tops; use large metal mailbox viii) Also will collect Box Tops on Family Fun Nights ix) Box Tops must be submitted in either a plastic Ziploc bag or an envelope with the student’s name, teacher, and “Box Tops” written on it x) Next mailing of Box Tops will be before November e) Campbell’s Labels for Education – Penny i) Lucia Gonsowski was the coordinator last year; will need to check with her to see if she will continue this year
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ii) Need a separate collection container for Campbell’s Labels for Education; Soup Can is located in the PTO closet iii) Will put the collection container in the central lobby f) Aluminum Can Tabs - Penny i) All tabs will be sent to the middle school g) Family Fun Night: Trunk-or-Treat (October 25, 2013) - Sarah i) Will send home a flyer to get a count of the number of decorated vehicles expected ii) Bill at Hidden Acres donates his time and materials to orchestrate a Hay Ride (1) Two wagons this year to expedite the lines (2) Scary and non-scary hay rides (3) Will need volunteers to help load and unload guests iii) Donations to date (1) Preston Parks & Rec has received $225 (2) Danette has sent requests for candy donations to WalMart, Target, and other grocery stores iv) All the Right Moves will perform a dance to Thriller v) Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 best decorated trunks/vehicles vi) Prizes will be awarded for the top 3 best carved/decorated pumpkins h) Thanksgiving Baskets & Turkey Trot-a-thon – Heather i) For the Thanksgiving Baskets, each class is asked to bring in an item to help create a Thanksgiving basket for those families in need in our area. Typically, turkeys, rolls, and potatoes are needed after the collection to round out the baskets. ii) The Turkey Trot-a-thon would be a great way to fundraise to purchase the needed items for the baskets as well as encouraging kids to get up and move in support of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program. (1) Students are sponsored to participate in the Turkey Trot (2) Top finishers in each grade are awarded a turkey; often local stores will donate turkeys (3) Often done in the morning during the school day about one week prior to Thanksgiving (4) Heather will talk with Mrs. Tubbs about preparing the students for the race and discussing the logistics of the race (distance & number of students racing at a time). (5) Parents would be invited to watch and cheer on their child(ren). i) Movie Night – Family Fun Night (November 22, 2013) j) Craft Night – Family Fun Night (December 6, 2013) k) Holiday Store (December 9-13, 2013) 5) New Business a) Parent Date Night/Holiday Shopping i) Consider offering parents a three hour window in which to shop or have a date as a fundraiser ii) Parents would pay a fee to leave their child(ren) at the school under the supervision of (possibly) American Red Cross certified babysitters for open gym activities 3
b) c)
d) e)
iii) Will look into dates and discuss more at the next meeting Reflective House Numbers – Mr. Bernier i) Information has been shared ii) Could sell the house numbers as a fundraiser Holiday Specs/3D Holiday Glasses – Mrs. Felker i) could purchase the holiday specs in bulk and re-sell as a fundraiser ii) looking into a light, the lenses of the paper glasses reflect holiday shapes around the lights PTO Directory – Sarah i) Would like to consider offering a school-wide directory ii) Parents would have the option of what information is shared, if any at all PTO Email List i) For parents that would prefer information regarding PTO to be sent home through e-mail, parents would need to provide that information ii) Perhaps ask on the directory request form whether parents would like their email used to receive PTO updates
6) Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 6th
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