Wpsbc Pto General Meeting

WPSBC PTO GENERAL MEETING Sunday, November 23, 2014

DRAFT MINUTES—FOR REVIEW & COMMENT

Present: Gretchen Hutt, Kristin Huibregtse, Jan Husser, Lisa Benson, Becky Cheeks, Jennifer Shuckrow, Rachel Pryk, Marie Maletic, Kristin Graziotto, Cathy Esposito, Lori Meckley, Sandy Dayton.

PTO President, Kristin Huibregtse, called the meeting to order at 4:10 pm. .

I. FALL FUNDRAISER RECAP

Kristin Huibregtse and Gretchen Hutt reviewed the relative merits of the two fall fundraisers—Mickman Wreaths and Chestnut Hill Candles. The wreath fundraiser generated high sales (over $12,000) figures but low profits ($2100), netting a 16.7% rate of profit. Additionally, the processing of the wreaths is very labor intensive/time consuming and includes a significant margin for error. The profits generated were comparable to those earned in the 2013 wreath sale. The candle fundraiser was simple to manage and was very well-received by families. The gross sales figure was approximately $9200, which netted over $3600 in profit (40% profit rate).

II. EXPRESSING THANKS TO STAFF WHO HELPED WITH THE FUNDRAISERS

The PTO was searching for a way to thank the many staff members who helped execute our fundraisers. After much discussion (and with input from the staff members in attendance), the group decided to use the long-standing Staff Appreciation Day to convey our appreciation to these individuals.

III. CAMPBELL’S LFE CLASSROOM CHALLENGE

Kristina McClelland’s classroom is currently in first place in the 2014-2015 Campbell’s Classroom Challenge. Classrooms are encouraged to keep sending in their UPCs, marked with the name of their child’s teacher. This year, the winning classroom will have the option of choosing a Visa gift card in addition to a variety of merchandise available in the Campbell’s catalogue.

The PTO is also continuing to collect Box Tops for Education. Box Top funds are used to purchase equipment that benefits all students at our school.

IV. VISITS FROM SANTA

Santa will visit classrooms in the Main Building on December 11, 2014 and classrooms in the ECC on December 16, 2014. This year, the PTO elected to provide a dozen donuts for each classroom in lieu of putting together cookie trays. V. MEMBERSHIP

The PTO currently has 40 active members and we are in electronic communication with many other families who cannot attend the meetings regularly. Kristin Huibregtse shared some of the positive letters and emails she has received from families.

VI. GAME OF CHANCE LICENSE

There are several administrative steps that will need to occur for the PTO to be able to apply for a special game of chance license (a license that would allow us to hold 50/50 raffles). Jennifer Shuckrow and Kim Domonkos will begin to sort through these issues.

VII. WEBSITE UPDATE

Kristin Huibregtse and Peg Pegnetter are continuing to work on getting the PTO website up and running. They hope to have it available soon. Gretchen Hutt will be authoring a parent blog and she hopes others will participate.

VIII. SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR PLANS

The PTO would like to be involved with the soccer games (usually held at the end of January). The group voted to provide concessions items (at no cost) to the families attending the soccer games. If successful, the same could be done for the beeper baseball game. If the PTO decides to hold a spring bake sale, it was recommended that it be held on the same day as the baseball game. Other ideas for spring events include a fashion show, a carnival, a scavenger hunt, a Kids Stuff sale and a bowling tournament. The PTO will examine these ideas at the next meeting.

IX. UPCOMING MEETING DATES

The next PTO meeting will be held on Sunday, February 8, 2015. We will need to schedule a date for Staff Appreciation Day at that meeting.

X. SPRING FUNDRAISERS

The PTO debated many ideas for a spring fundraiser. The group favored an edible fundraiser with sales targeted for Easter delivery. After sampling products from Toffee House, Applelicious and Sarris products, the group chose Applelicious with the suggestion that we consider simultaneously offering another option like popcorn. We will research popcorn fundraisers (Pittsburgh Popcorn and Popcorn Palace) prior to the next meeting.

Having no further business, the meeting was concluded at 5:40 pm. (However, the group stayed to wrap all of the student gifts (personalized bags) and enjoy hot chocolate and each other’s company!)