Members Present:
PTO President: Janet Millerd Co-Treasurer: Aimee Lively Volunteer Coordinator: Julie Davis Enrichment: Sue Constan Secretary: Tanya Black Member at large: Cristy Lamb
Meeting began 8:20.
- PTO approval of February 29th:
Minutes were reviewed and approved. Approved minutes will be filed in the top drawer of the PTO filing cabinet. Current minutes will be posted on the PTO bulletin board.
- February Volunteers of the Month:
After welcoming everyone and an introduction of all present, the volunteer of the month, Jenean Brady, was recognized for all her hard work on the Principal Pals program.
- Calendar for March/April:
Mar 27th All School Writers Conference with Jack Prelutsky
Mar 31st – Apr 4th Spring Break
Apr 14th - May 2nd WASL Testing
Apr 15th – 18th Spring Book Fair - Treasurer Report – Sarah Barnes:
Highlights: Checking account balance as of 2/29 - $102,424.51. The checking account balance is high right now because the PTO Board is awaiting instructions for disbursement of Special Grants. Those who contributed to the “Buy a Bucket” campaign during the auction will be contacted regarding their donation and the Districts’ decision to fund the painting of the hallways project. Please see the attached Treasurer Report for further information.
- Volunteer Coordinator Report – Julie Davis:
Yesterday and last night was the Science Fair. Over 100 kids participated which was a school record. It was a fun night for the kids and Kirsten did a great job figuring out what to do without the help of last years After-School-Enrichment person. The carnival meetings have just begun and everything is laid out and off and running with Sarah Barnes and Sheila Jacobee as co-chairs. This year we are trying something new where you will be able to buy bracelets to get you into every game with unlimited plays. You will still be able to buy tickets, but these bracelets will eliminate lost tickets and fumbling with tickets. Volunteers are needed for the Carnival. You can choose whatever game/time you want to volunteer for. The Spring Book Fair has been moved to 4/15 – 4/18 due to conflict with the Writers Conference. There is no conflict with the WASL because testing is done in the classroom, not in the library.
- Enrichment – Sue Constan:
Next Thursday is the all-day Writers Conference with Jack Prelutsky as a special guest speaker. The students will be spending the morning in writing groups and Jack will be coming to speak in the afternoon.
- Member-At-Large – Cristy Lamb:
There are two more General PTO Meetings this year. The last meeting is elections so if you or anyone you know is interested in a position on the board, be sure to come to the next meeting in April so you can see what it’s all about.
- Dr. Lewis’ Report:
Dr. Lewis was impressed with the quality of the kids projects, the questioning process and the scientific method that was used at the Science Fair. He has seen many Science Fairs and was very impressed with the kids work. You may have noticed that the hallways are starting to get prepped. Bob and Daryl have started taking things off the walls. The original quote was only for the hallway walls, but after a walk through it was noticeable that the trim needed to be painted as well. The walls by the kitchen and lost and found have also been added to the paint package as well as the areas under all of the display cases and bulletin boards. The entry areas will be a golden yellow and the halls will be a lighter shade of green. When we get back from spring break we will need to put this stuff back up. This project may need further funds from the PTO to preserve the class pictures that are currently in the hallway. Dr. Lewis is looking into ways to display these pictures including a K-12 poster type rack. A question was raised concerning the reason for the composite class photos this year versus the group shots and Dr. Lewis stated that the decision had to be made on the spot. The reason for this decision was that 5-6 kids were absent on picture day in many classrooms and with the composite pictures all kids could be in the class picture. Dr. Lewis noted that there was current legislation that was trying to get the WASL testing shortened but this would also have the effect of lessening the strength of the test. The situation with the stage curtain is not resolving as easily as originally thought. They have not found a solution that they want to put money into yet as the companies have not been able to send appropriate samples. This may be an issue for the Chinese acrobat assembly and Dr. Lewis will look into moving the assembly to the High School. At a staff meeting Dr. Lewis suggested the idea of a staff book club for anyone who was interested and over 20 people have signed up for the two book clubs. One group is reading a book concerning different instruction focus; on curriculum or the student themselves. The other group is studying Asperger Syndrome. Not only does this build community within the staff but it creates a cohesive group around a topic for staff development and they become a kind of specialist on the topics they study. Possible future guest speakers?
- New Business – Janet Millerd:
In the newspaper Janet read how it was found in Idaho that the teaching of chess in schools crossed over to strategy lessons in problem solving in other subjects and to life in general. Maybe this can be added to the curriculum next year.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:55.