Minutes St. Ambrose School PTO Board Meeting – 12/03/20

Attendance in-person Michele Robbins President Eileen Bliss Vice President Peter Cuenco Treasurer Luisa Williams Secretary Maria Teresa Tejada Principal Patricia Cummins Faculty Representative Heather Terreri Member At-Large Jason Martin Member At-Large Julie Schrei Fundraising Coordinator

St. Ambrose School Mission Statement: Fostering a faith-filled and academically strong environment, Saint Ambrose Catholic School works with families and the faith community to encourage the formation of the whole child through the examples and teachings of Christ.

Opening Prayer Mrs. Tejada led the group in prayer.

Opening Remarks – Michele Robbins and Eileen Bliss Michele took the floor and introduced the sharing of the results and feedback of the completed events, namely, Charleston Wrap; and ongoing/upcoming events such as Sale, Giving Tuesday, Toys for Totes and Chipotle Dine Out.

• Charleston Wrap Results and Feedback Michele thanked Julia Hecton for having successfully led this project. She reported that: the sale ended 11/16; the retail dollars sold was $12,442.50; the total online profit earned was $4,695.40; there was an additional contribution of $300.00; we had a total of 61 participants and finally that the total profit of this event was $4,995.40. As feedback for this event: - There was a lot of variety, truly something for everyone. - Good timing, an easy way to support the school - The email tool was super easy to use and people were able to get out of town family to support too. - Sra. Cummins suggested that the fact that people had to set up an account, made it a long process and inconvenient so it would be ideal to not have to go through that in order to make it easier for the external people to participate. - Luis Faust commented that it would be great if it could be posted/shared easier.

• Giving Tuesday Michele reported that the fundraising result to date was $870.47 and it would remain open through the month. As feedback for this event: - Julie commented that this is the first year running the event and it will take time to educate people on what this is about. - Also, she pointed out that it might be necessary to space events more since there were so many activities in November and . - Finally, there was a comment that an alumni network would help to increase the amount of money raised.

On Going/Upcoming Events

• Poinsettia and Wreath Sale Julie reported that 59 people ordered items to date and that Givesmart had proven to be an easy way to order and pay with credit card. Furthermore, she reported that there was $120 in additional donations. The school pick-up was completed this afternoon, 12/3. There are 72 more and 7 wreaths left to sell. The remaining poinsettias and wreaths will be sold after Masses on Sunday, 12/13. Volunteers are needed.

• Toys for Totes Luisa reported that the collection will go from 12/02 to 12/12; that her daughter Luisa (8th grader) had designed a flyer which was included in the Wednesday folder this week. Mrs. Tejada added that some parents had already donated and that the police officers were going to pick-up the toys on 12/13. • Chipotle Dine Out Michele informed that the Chipotle Dine Out was moved to 12/09 at same location at Mosaic from 5- 9 pm and that 33% of the proceeds would go to the school. An updated flyer went on the Wednesday Folder since families would have to show the flyer at store or use the code if ordering on line. Katherine Merullo is in charge of this activity.

Early 2021 Events

• Virtual Wine Tasting Michele reported that this event is planned to take place on 02/05/2021. A professional sommelier will lead a virtual tasting; tastings will be packaged in small bottles and available to pick-up at carpool; possibly food will be included in the package; and Givesmart will be used to purchase tickets. The cost is yet to be determined but feedback during the meeting was not more than $50 a couple. Cathy Seangio suggested using wine glasses that were left over from the previous wine tasting. • Penny Wars Michele informed that this activity will be held February 1-5 during Catholic Schools Week. • Virtual 5K Michele informed that Virtual 5K would replace the Gala this school year as the largest fundraising activity and that Julie was leading it. Julie stated that we would require all hands on deck for the event. Father Bergida is suggested as the honorary chair and is doing a 30 second video inviting families to participate. The activity will take place March 7-13 and the kickoff will be in January. This event will allow participation all over the globe as we would raise funds through runner registration and sponsorships. Mrs. Tejada proposed a contest to design the logo, like a class-like competition, prize TBD.

Business Partnership Program Update- Julie Julie showed the draft brochure designed by Luis Faust. It still needs to be approved and a disclaimer from the diocese has to be included in order to upload it to the website.

Treasurer’s Report – Peter Cuenco

• $2,835 FACTS deposit for Oktoberfest. The goal was $1,220 • $4,945 for Charleston Wrap Sale. The goal was $4k • PTO approved bonuses for faculty and staff in line with the previous years numbers. Line item will be reported with December numbers. • All other expenses reported through November were in line and within budget • With Gala money and reserves we have $27k • All Active Panels were paid for. • Carla said that we do not have to pay for COVID related expenses from the summer. • 30 computers and a cart plus 7 Chrome books were purchased with donations. We have approx. 63 now at St. Ambrose. Projections: • Near Term Income o 5k from Charleston Wrap o 1k estimated from Giving Tuesday o 1.5k from Poinsettias • Recent Expenses – 3k bonuses • Leaves us with about 31k Future State • How much we want to leave in reserve from this TBD • Upcoming proposal from IXL for 4k • Laptop need

Faculty Report IXL Software Presentation Sra. Cummins thanked the PTO for purchase of the active boards. Mrs. Labarge made a presentation on IXL Software. Mrs. Labarge explained that through this software students take a diagnostic assessment that would pinpoint their grade-level proficiency and then utilize the software to make personalized content for the student. She informed that the total cost was $7,797 over three years (3,899 + 1,949 +1,949). The Board voted to not fund this request at this time so we could prioritize laptops in the near term. 8th Grade Leadership Club Activities Sra. Cummins reported that baby Leo dress down day fundraiser raised $1,950.07. Next is to raise funds for disaster relief efforts specifically for the wildfires out West.

Family Outreach – Mrs. Tejeda and Jason Martin

• Mrs. Tejada will start a “Coffee with Principal Series” for meeting with parents to build relationships. They will be held after the end of each trimester with multiple sessions at varying times to increase participation. • Mrs. Tejada will send a survey to check families’ travel plans for the Christmas break in order to make a decision on whether or not to have a period of e-learning after break. Principal’s Remarks – Mrs. Tejada

• Mrs. Tejada reported on the COVID update virtual meeting. She shared that it was a well-received presentation on e-learning plans and health tips with an attendance of 50+. She announced December 16, 2020 as a practice e-learning day for all students. • She also informed about her plans to hold trimester in review virtual meetings with parents on December 15 at 8:30 am and 7 pm and December 16 at 4 and 7 pm. • Finally, she commented on some of the results of the new family first impressions survey. She said that we are still analyzing the data, but so far it has been overwhelmingly positive with St. Ambrose exceeding their expectations.

Miscellaneous

• Michele mentioned the need of volunteers for Alumni coordinator and rewards program coordinator. • Car Magnets pending input from Phil at the next meeting.

Next Meeting – Scheduled for January 7

Meeting Adjourned