Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Jill K. brought the meeting to order. The minutes from the October PTO meeting (October 5, 2011) were read and a motion to approve as amended was put forth by Laura Bezio, seconded by Keri Bastarache and the minutes were voted on and approved. Next on the agenda was Treasurer’s report. Carrie provided copies of the ongoing budget and went over the document. She reported that the Pumpkin Fest brought in $585.00, divided between donations, coffee/hot chocolate sales, and Class Basket Raffles. The Class Baskets and Holiday Raffles brought in an additional $211 at Open House. The Mo’s Fudge Fundraiser brought in an overall profit of $2339.85. Wal-Mart awarded a scholarship to the PTO, in Jillian Betters name, for the amount of $250. Future Business was discussed next, starting with the Cookie Exchange. Jill K. addressed this topic, in Kelly Loynd’s absence. As of now, the only thing Kelly still needed were volunteers to pass out the cookies at the concert on December 22nd. It was also decided that Renee Tela will oversee the Love-A-Family charity again this year. The winners of the Turkey Raffle will be drawn on November 18th, during the Thanksgiving Dinner at EES. It was reported that the John Tomasetti had delivered his painting to the school that day. The Garden Cinema movie fundraiser has been scheduled for January, with the actual date still to be announced. The movie options will be Alvin and the Chipmunks part 3, or Tin-Tin. Jane Urban reported that Scholastic has offered for the school to do a non-profit BOGO book sale. Ms. Urban offered this to the PTO, per Mackensey Bailey’s urging. Some suggestions were to conduct this at the Touch-A-Vehicle event or during Parent/Teacher conferences March 6-8. There was not a definite answer, but the overall feeling was that the PTO has a lot going on in the Spring, and to conduct a non-profit book fair would put a strain on our PTO members, and may be overkill adding another PTO event to the calendar. Jill K. offered up some suggestions for presenting the Class Baskets at upcoming events, including the Grand Opening of the Erving Senior Center on December 12, at the Library on a Sunday afternoon, and also at Food City or Fosters Supermarket. Laura Bezio will contact someone on the Senior Center Committee and report back. A signup sheet was passed around for volunteers to sell raffle tickets at the Parent Teacher Conferences on November 15-17. Charlene McDonough reported on the ongoing Friendly’s Fundraiser, but didn’t have any information on the overall profits to date. She reminded the PTO of the Family Fun Night being held on November 10, and arrangements were made to get the Class Baskets and tables to the affair. Solmate Socks will be on sale at the Conferences, and a flyer will be going out in the upcoming newsletter. The total income for the socks is $540, with a deficit of $212.45 still showing in the budget. The Halloween Dance was a huge success, bringing in donations of $107. A suggestion was made to play the movie “The Great Pumpkin” in the cafeteria next year, and also instead of having a potluck dessert table, turn it into a donations table, or bake sale. The Pumpkin Fest was discussed next. Due to several circumstances, the profits weren’t as great as the previous year. It was noted that the PTO, being a non-profit organization, is able to sell baked goods without the Serve Safe certification. Some suggestions were to have more lighting, and a bigger generator. Pierce Bros. Coffee has also offered to supply larger coffee makers for PTO events where that is a need. The PTO had approved the purchase of an easel, but one hasn’t been bought since the price is higher than anticipated for a good quality one. Laura Bezio suggested ordering one through the Funding Factory, where we have accumulated some credit towards supplies. Original Artworks was discussed next. Julie Wheeler suggested using a portion of the profits for the EES Art Program. The suggestion was well received and an amount will be discussed at a future meeting. The PTO may look into another company, suggested by Carrie V., that has larger profit margins, more products and is more affordable. Some suggestions for future fundraisers were selling Gift Certificates to local restaurants for a profit, putting together a school cookbook, a book of art/poems by EES Students, a Coffee Can Raffle, and School Spirit items. The Coffee Can Raffle could be presented at the Touch-A-Vehicle event or the Spring Dance. It was suggested that the EES PTO members come up with a Logo before School Spirit items could be discussed. Charlene Galenski followed with the Principals Report next. The school will be participating in a Veterans Day program on November 10th, with hopes of walking to Vets Field. Each class has a special part in honoring the Veterans in attendance. The public is welcome to attend this event. Ms. Galenski also announced that the Thanksgiving Dinner would be during lunch on November 18th. She reported that the Salad Bar in the cafeteria is still a huge success, and four volunteers have been trained to help in the cafeteria those days. The Reverse 911 flyer was sent home in a newsletter, with instructions that if you didn’t want your number to be on the call list, to return the form filled out. The Parent/Guardian Surveys will be sent home with parents during conferences next week. On Curriculum day the teachers were presented a full day workshop in English Language Arts, which was presumed a great success. It was also noted that Common Core will be in affect starting next year. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:05 pm. Alison
Rollins |
For additional information please contact:
Charlene Galenski, Principal - galenski@erving.com
Erving Elementary School, 28 Northfield Road, Erving, Massachusetts 01344
Phone: (413) 423-3326 | Fax: (413) 423-3648