Archie T. Morrison PTO

October PTO Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes 10/14/03

Minutes of PTO Meeting
Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Introductions
The PTO Board introduced themselves and the meeting got underway.

Media Center Volunteers – Rita Mahoney
Rita Mahoney spoke about volunteering in the Media Center. There are numerous tasks that need to be done. She could really use help on Thursdays and Fridays and would like to set up some type of an ongoing schedule. A form will be passed out listing all the opportunities in the Media Center. Rita stressed that this was a great time to socialize with other parents and a great opportunity to get involved.

PACE Discussion and Vote
A discussion ensued about the PACE system. Lisa Heger and Mr. Wyatt explained at length how PACE worked and how efficient it was. It would save a lot of time and money in many ways, i.e., last minute notices wouldn’t have to be sent home in the backpack and we wouldn’t be wasting a lot of paper, parents would be notified immediately if there was any change in school hours due to weather, parents would be notified of all upcoming events, etc. Mr. Wyatt stressed that it was a great tool for communication. He also stressed that the cost was high. People were concerned about the cost and how funds were going to be raised. It was discussed whether we would ask the parents to donate the $7.95 per student or if the PTO would fund the system. People voiced their opinion as to whether this was a luxury or a necessity. Different ideas came up about raising the funds and it was determined that the PTO would fund this year’s use of the PACE system. The PTO would try it this year and see what happens and how successful the system is. Lisa Heger asked for a show of hands for people in favor of PACE and 95% of the room voted to have the PTO fund PACE this year.

Fall Fundraiser Update
There was a great turn out from the Fall Fundraiser. There was 52% family participation. Two teachers also participated. Our Gross Sales to date are $20,809.00 giving us a little over $10,000.00 in profit. Our projected profit for the Fall Fundraiser was $9,000.00. In lieu of selling items there were many families that gave cash donations. Orders are going in on October 22, 2003 and the items will be shipped to us by the second week of November. People that have big orders are going to be asked to come to the school to pick up the items. Certain days and times will be designated. Following is a breakdown of sales by grade:
Kindergarten: $3,800.00
First: $4,000.00
Second: $3,700.00
Third: $3,100.00
Fourth: $3,200.00
Fifth: $2,400.00
Developmental: $ 260.00

Following the Fall Fundraiser discussion, general fundraising issues were discussed. Concerns were voiced about being inundated with fundraising. It was suggested that we try to target corporate sponsors for fundraising. Also discussed were new ideas about fundraising i.e., family spaghetti dinner, ice cream sundae party, etc. People were asked to share their ideas with the PTO. It was also asked that any and all fundraising go through Sally Bowen, the chair of that committee.

2003-2004 PTO Budget Approval and Vote
Next on the agenda was the 2003-2004 Budget. Carol Mahoney went over the budget. A few items came up for discussion. 148 Morrison families and 15 staff members have paid their dues to date. We have a total of 368 families at Morrison and people voiced their concern as to why more people haven’t paid their dues. Lisa Heger asked for a show of hands for people in favor of the Budget and it was approved.

Box Tops
Lisa Heger reminded everyone to send in their Box Tops. Nikki Shaban is in charge of collecting the Box Tops and sending them into General Mills. This takes place twice a year. Once in October and once in March. We receive $.10 per Box Top. Nikki has projected $1,000.00 for this year’s budget. The student who turns in the most Box Tops each time wins a basket, as well as a staff member.

Halloween Ball Update
Due to the increase in student body at Morrison it was determined that the Halloween Ball could not be held at Morrison. The Son’s of Italy in Quincy has donated the use of their facility free of charge. The response for the Ball was overwhelming. It was determined that the Ball had to be split by grade level: K-2 and 3-5. The date of the Ball is Friday, October 24, 2003 and K-2 will attend at 6:00 pm – 7:15 pm and 3-5 will attend at 7:45 pm – 9:00 pm There will be a 50-50 raffle, 15 – 20 raffle items, and donations for water will be requested from Grade K and 3.

Classroom Communicator
Marie-Anne Baker and Sally Bowen will be sending home information on how to become a Classroom Communicator. This is a great way to get involved. A Classroom Communicator would notify parents of what is going on in their child’s classroom, what the needs of the teacher are, i.e. supplies, volunteers for certain functions, etc. It was stressed that this will increase communication between parents and teachers.

Student Holiday Shopping Fair
The Holiday Fair will be Friday, December 5, 2003. Mary Russo is chairing this event. She will be sending home a notice of a meeting which will be held on Friday, October 17, 2003 at 9:00 a.m. There are 22 classrooms this year. Mary will need a lot of volunteers to help with shopping, sales, set-up, clean-up, etc.

Website
Our Website is up and running. Lisa Heger is maintaining our Website. It looks great! The link to Morrison’s website it: www.neighborhoodlink.com/org/morrison.pto

New PTO Social Event Ideas
It was stressed that people should come forward with new ideas. We want people to get involved. We want to have more social events.

PTO Committee Reports --Cultural Arts, School Advisory
Cultural Arts -- Heidi Coughlin reported that most programs have been booked. All programs that are booked for each grade level go along with their curriculum. The fourth graders have already had The Owl Lady come in. This went along with the book Owls in the Family. Lisa Heger is working with the Kindergarten teachers to determine what Cultural Arts programs are suitable for that grade.
School Advisory – Debbie Fay reports that there has not been a meeting yet. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 15, 2003.

Teacher Comments/Principal Comments
Teacher Comments – The teacher representatives, Mrs. Zopatti and Ms. Lauria, thanked the PTO for all the decorations around the building.
It was determined that the PTO could use the Bulletin Board outside the Cafetorium to display PTO news, thank you notes, etc.

Principal Comments – Mr. Wyatt elaborated on the teacher comments about the flowers and decorations around the building. He expressed thanks to the PTO members who cleaned out the paper/supply room. He expressed that the 2 DVD/VCR players purchased by the PTO were a great addition. He stressed that Morrison needs help and wants volunteers, but that they need to follow State rules. He informed the PTO that the student body increased by 42% over last year. Also, that MCAS scores were wonderful this year. That over the last 10 years Braintree has done extremely well. He also announced this will be his final year at Morrison; that he will be retiring at the end of this school year.

BCAM -- Rich Bielecki
Rich Bielecki spoke about a program called BCAM (Braintree Communication Access Media). This program promotes the filming of town events, educational programs and school functions. They train people on the use of video cameras. BCAM is a non-profit organization.

PTO Wrap-up
Lisa Heger thanked everyone for coming.

Door Prize
The door prize was won by Emily Radziwon. Emily will be sharing her goodies with Mrs. Mutschler and her classmates in Room 206.


Congratulation to Mrs. Guilfoyle's classroom. She had the most parents in attendance at the meeting and has the honor of hanging the PTO flag in her classroom for the next month.