Mill Run Elementary PTO Meeting June 11, 2014 Attendees: Paul Vickers, Principal Marisa Veltri, Administrative Intern Caroline Molthen, President Laura Hoyler, Recording Secretary Erin Louis, Corresponding Secretary Jessica Chestnut, Treasurer Melanie Kelly, VP of Fundraising Christine Andretta, Volunteer Coordinator Kristy McGehee, Care & Share, 2014-‐15 President Lindsay Illsley, Gift Cards Denise Angelo, Membership Tammie Berger, Room Parent/2014-‐15 Care & Share/Bingo Nikki Burns, 2014-‐15 Care & Share/Bingo Liz Eagan, 2014-‐15 Cultural Arts Chair Katie Herbert, 2014-‐15 Mill Run Cares Keri Fornino, 2014-‐15 Movie Chair Beth Zemcik, 2014-‐15 Donuts with Dads/Grocery Links Sunny Trippel, Mill Run Cares Patti Hendrix, Donuts for Dads Oya Simpson, Landscaping Caroline Molthen/President-‐ Call to order and introduction of attendees. Minutes from May’s meeting approved. Paul Vickers/Principal-‐ Paul thanked everyone for their PTO service and extended a welcome to the newest members. He gave an update on classes for the next school year-‐ currently we have 38 classrooms and that will go to 40 in the fall, because of smaller class sizes. We will have a new third grade (Laura Hoyler) and fourth grade (Cole Shain), as well as a new part time art teacher (Elizabeth Duckworth). We will have 6 kindergartens, 7 first, third, fourth and fifth grades, and 6 second grades. We will be losing Mary Beth Lenertz who will be moving to Richmond, Kath Race who will be at another school due to budget cuts, and Allison Seigel, who will be headed off to middle school, also due to budget cuts. Our ELL program will also be different; there will be no more morning K for the ELL kids, but the ELL teachers will work IN the kindergarten classrooms. Jill Fischer’s position has also been eliminated. Paul mentioned that there would e an addition to the outdoor classroom to include a weather station and benches. Teachers will receive a half day training so that they can become familiar with the different activities that can meet SOLs in grades K-‐5. A food truck will be providing meals with local grains on a work day-‐ perhaps August 22. Our movie contract will need to be updated. We need a design for the zipper pulls that will be handed out by the administrators on the first day of school. We need 1100 pulls. We will need some shelving in the resource room for the teachers that will be having classrooms there. Special Ed will be in the current ELL room. Paul would like $150 to be allocated for that purchase. We also need to purchase carpets for the two added rooms. Because the classrooms are a bit smaller, we may need the smaller size, not the 8 x 12. Because we have a smaller order than last time, we will have a higher price and will pay shipping. Caroline Molthen figured that it would be about $350 each. So from the unbudgeted account, $850 would cover the two carpets and the shelving. A vote was taken and it was approved. Rosanna Beaulieu also has a lot of vintage spirit wear that we will be selling this coming year-‐ perhaps Back to School Night/Open House. Next year, there will be a reduction in SOLs. Fifth grade will no longer have writing, although we traditionally do very well on this test. The grade will likely still take a writing assessment, and will be looked at by other teachers. Third grade will no longer have science or social studies SOL tests. Marisa Veltri/Administrative Intern-‐ Marisa also thanked everyone for the year and welcomed the new officers and chairs. Caroline Molthen/President-‐ Caroline thanked everyone as well, and said she would have some words of wisdom for Kristy McGehee at the end. She then handed the meeting over to Kristy. Kristy McGehee/2014-‐15 President Kristy thanked everyone for being there and asked that all think about a mission statement for the PTO. Our motto, per the bylaws, is “Working Together to Keep Children First.” Kristy gave dates for upcoming meetings; Calendar meeting will be held June 26 at 9:00 in the Mill Run library. The Back to School meeting will be August 11, same time and place. Back to School Night and Meet the Teachers Open House is August 28 this year. We are still seeking a VP of Fundraising, a Fall Fundraiser chair, and a Carnival Co-‐ Chair. We will also need to think about a fall fundraiser. Some members brought up letting families know that a flat donation is also acceptable. However, a straight up request for money seems a bit off. We may think about selling the top 5 selling gift cards at the softball game this year. It was also mentioned that mentioning goals for fundraising helps-‐ however, it is hard to know what we will need it for that far in advance. Jessica Chestnut/Treasurer Passed copies of the budget around. The books for the leveled reading will be talked about in August. We have $4000 extra, perhaps just keep that to pad the budget. We will vote on this at the August meeting. Oya Simpson/Landscaping Oya talked about the new deck area that will have a weather station. She mentioned that over the summer, the raised beds will need watering. We have a new cart and hose to help with this, and possibly a sign up genius could be put out for volunteers. The outdoor classroom has been worked on, taking out overgrown plants, adding natural seating from an old tree that was nearby. There are new paw print pavers and 20 new trees that were rescued. We will have an Audubon Naturalist working with the teachers for a Green Kids program grant. We will be adding a rain garden, a path to connect to the nature center, and a tree line to protect and enclose the area. Caroline Molthen/President Caroline gave some final words to encourage Kristy on her new position. Be kind. Be a leader. Be patient and open minded. And never let them see you sweat.  The meeting was adjourned. Addendum The PTO has approved via an E-‐Vote the purchase of 2 Act-‐view cameras for the technology department, at Whitney Browning’s request. Whitney is making the purchase and coordinating payment with Jessica. The cameras are $548.40 each and will be paid for out of the technology equipment budget. Meeting adjourned.