2016-17 May PTO Meeting Minutes

(Thursday May 4, 2017)

Attendees: Officers Samantha Pierce, Karen Cordano, Sarah Hamersma, Lesley Porcelli; Principal Sam Barber; Teacher Karen Putt; Parents, Connie Myers-Kelly, Rex Giardine, Emily Hart-Gorman, Kate LaClair, Karly Grifasi

Call to Order/ Meeting Minutes Approved: The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm. The May minutes were approved.

The Principal’s Report:

 The end-of-year STAR assessment showed that in ELA 6 out of 9 grade levels increased to being on-level. In math, in grades 2 through 7, 6 out of 6 grade levels moved to being on-level. In ELA, 8 out of 9 grade levels decreased the number of kids in urgent intervention. Mr. Barber stated that in February there was a big influx of students, and the results would have been even better if this new pool had been separated out for the purposes of collecting the data. Special ed kids have improved on their STAR assessments, too.

 Regarding discipline data, compared to last year at this same point we were down 500 referrals, and down 34 out-of-school suspensions. This translates to 85 more days of school attended for these students. The climate of the school has also improved.

 The renovation committee would be meeting the following week. The list of FAQs has been sent to them, and they are ready to send to the community.

 Mr. Barber would be conducting a Levy visit with the staff the week after this meeting. After that, the staff won't be allowed back into the building until it is ready in August. There will be an Open House for parents in late August, and an Ice Cream Social.

 Parents have been asking how to help. Starting Monday, any volunteers who would like to help pack could contact teachers or go to the library. It was determined that a backpack flyer would go out to ask parents to help.

 On the School Improvement Plan, they are planning for more parent engagement next year.

 The last day of school would be June 22. There will be bag lunches provided for the kids to have picnics outside, or in the gym if raining.

 Mr. Barber planned to meet with the kids to discuss the move to Levy the last week of school.

 Q. Where will Mr. Barber be? Starting the Monday after school closes, he will be at an administrators workshop, then he will take his stuff and move it to Levy. He will take some vacation, then when he comes back by July 15, his office will be set up.

 Rex Giardine asked what would be happening in the Ed Smith building after that. Mr. Barber did not know, but said that he would be taking down wall hangings and calling a special mover for the piano. Teachers' stuff will be moved directly into their new classrooms. Then they can assess the classroom needs, and leftover stuff can be moved to the storage warehouse. Teachers will be getting new furniture, but can get their stuff back as needed. Special purchases by the PTO, such as chairs for Ms. Mahan, will be included in the move. Also the sound system and Mrs. Bert's table.

 Sarah Hamersma did an appreciation breakfast with Karly Grifasi for Sumner Pre-K, and gave an update on some complaints from the Pre-K. Mr. Barber said it would be addressed.

Treasurer's Report:

 Kay Scott requested $60 to take videos at Memory Day; this was to cover the cost of a hard drive. $100 for tech was approved.

 Samantha Pierce researched cloud storage for backup; 15GB is free, or $9.99/month or $100/year would get 1TB of storage. The $100 was approved and there was a motion to add it as a recurring budget line.

 Karen Cordano and Grifasi raised money at events:$583, plus $250 startup cash, $140 on Memory Day, Fun Run, $210 at talent shows, and $400, including $80 on the raffle. Concessions were a good idea.

Miscellaneous:

 Cordano mentioned that there were two things in the works that might generate money for the book giveaway. We have 400 books but need 900.

 Stuetzle requested money for new music: $172.82. The question was raised about why this isn't covered by the district, since it pertains to curriculum. Giardine offered to talk to Stuetzle and get details.

 We received a thank-you for the Fun Run sponsorship.

 Scott Baker, who runs the Middle School rocket club, received a grant to support the club. Anthony Terrononi will likely be running the rocket club next year.

 In the lanyard debacle, we got charged for more but only received 200; this is in the process of being corrected.

 We are still chasing the gofundme $; the problem is having the account be recognized by the site.  It was approved to send the full annual allotment for bereavement of $200 to the family of Amaya Stethers.

 For the carnival, wristbands will cost $10 each. There is a family maximum of $50 (so any families larger than 5 people will not have to pay more than $50). The wristband covers an entrée, side, drinks, and dessert. Someone will be in the teachers' lounge all day to put wristbands on the kids. An emergency plan for missing kids: Check the bounce house, then the playground. All equipment will be going into Beth Myers's basement after the carnival. The Disney raffle would be drawn on June 21st and announced during morning announcements.

 Cordano reported on the Art Cart purchased by Andrea Buckvold. This could be a "maker space" and live in the library. It could be checked out by a class, and be filled with binders with activities. If it works well, the PTO could fund more carts. Possible subjects: Robotics. Teachers will be trained if approved. Buckvold asked for $400 to cover the cost of the cart and stocking it with supplies.

 A motion was raised to bake Thanksgiving pies as a fundraiser, but several parents found this too labor-intensive to make sense.

 A question was raised to make one particular grade have every kid receive a small package of school photos for free.

 A point to add to the FAQ: Where will the mailing address for Ed Smith be during the time at Levy?

 Some parents met with Assemblyman Magnarelli regarding JSCB regulation, and getting local control at how money is doled out. There is a movement to get more representation from the people who will have to live with the actions.

 Special thanks were given to exiting President of the PTO, Samantha Pierce.

The meeting was closed at 8:17pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Lesley Porcelli (Recording Secretary)

Karen Cordano (Corresponding Secretary)