Archie T. Morrison PTO

October Newsletter

Oct 31, 2003

PTO Membership Drive ?– We're happy to report that the PTO membership now includes 154 families (43%) and 17 staff members (13 classroom teachers, the principal, the school secretary, the nurse and the media specialist). Remember all of the money raised in the membership drive goes right back to the students and the school!

Website Update ?– www.neighborhoodlink.com/org/morrisonpto
The website is up and running. Updates are posted weekly usually on Sunday evenings. Please check it out! The purpose of the website is to improve communication between school and home. We welcome and encourage your ideas and comments. Please let us know what features and information you would like to see on the site. Please e-mail Lisa Heger @ lmh36@beld.net
Some features of the website include:
PTO Calendar
PTO Meeting Agenda and follow up PTO Meeting Minutes
Current PTO Events and Updates
Cultural Arts Schedule and Updates
5th Grade Week Meetings and Status
Box Tops for Education Information
Volunteer Opportunities

PTO Bulletin Board ?– The PTO now has a bulletin board across from the office. Check it out for the latest information!

Fall Fundraiser ?– The Fall Fundraiser officially ended on Friday 10/17/03. Net proceeds of $9,000 were needed to support the 2003 - 2004 annual budget. The actual net proceeds were $10,600.00. A few families sent in cash donations in lieu of participating in the fundraiser. These donations totaled $120.00. The grand total raised was $10,720.00.
53% of the student body participated in the fundraiser. The average gross sales per student were $90.00. There were 17 students with sales greater than $200.00, 4 students sold more than $300.00 worth of items, 2 student's sales exceeded $400.00 and one Kindergarten student surpassed $500.00 in sales!
The delivery date is Thursday, November 20th. Volunteers will be needed to help distribute the items to the classrooms. If you are available to help after 11:00 AM please call Lisa Heger @ 781-356-4349. If you had a large order, these packages will be too awkward or heavy for the children to carry or bring home on the bus. Please plan on picking up your items and prizes at the school between 5:30 PM ?– 6:30 PM that evening. Thank you all for participating and helping the PTO exceed its goal!

PACE ?– Pace (automated telephone system) was discussed and voted on at the October PTO meeting. The PTO body approved the purchase of Pace, by a majority show of hands, for one school year at a cost of $7.95/student. Our current student body is 441. The PTO membership will review Pace at the end of this school year. At that time a decision will be made to either discontinue Pace or sign a multiple year contract. If a decision is made to continue with Pace the PTO board will add a line item to the PTO budget and funding will be provided in future years.
The Pace contract is under review. We expect the purchase to be finalized in the first week of November. Check your phone messages!

Student Holiday Shopping Fair Update ?– A meeting was held on Friday, 10/17 to begin planning the Holiday Fair. The Holiday Fair is scheduled for Friday December 5th during school hours. Each classroom will have approximately 15 minutes to shop for the holidays. A schedule will be published. Parents are encouraged to come and shop with their children. The Holiday Fair is a fun shopping experience for the children. It is not intended to be a fundraising event. If the event does make money due to donations, the funds will be reported in the PTO budget. These funds will go right back to the school and the children. Most items will be priced less than $2.00 each. The PTO will also sponsor a raffle.

Volunteers are needed to:
Shop for items for men/women/girls/boys/pets (Receipts need to be turned into the PTO treasurer - Carol Mahoney for reimbursement along with a self addressed stamped envelope)
Monogram gifts
Make ornaments
Setup after school on Thursday 12/4/03 in the gym
Work a table at the fair during school hours Friday 12/5/03 (Very Flexible Hours)
Inventory remaining items after the fair
Clean up at approximately 2:30 PM
Donate a raffle item

If you would like to volunteer please contact Mary Russo @ 781-356-8359.

Halloween Ball ?– More that 250 Morrison families (nearly 600 people) attended our Annual Halloween Costume Ball at the Sons of Italy Hall in Quincy on Friday night. 12 Morrison families and 5 local businesses donated twenty-three items to the PTO raffle. Two 50/50 raffles were held as well. A special thanks to those of you who donated items!
On behalf of the PTO, we would like to thank everyone who participated in the raffles on Friday night! More than $1,000.00 was raised. Congratulations to all the winners!
The splitting of the grades worked out well. Many families took advantage of the movie room. It was great to see all of the pre-school aged siblings too! The costumes were outstanding! We?’d like to applaud all of the parents who dressed up! We appreciated all of the goodies and spring water. The extra food went to Father Bill?’s Place and the water will be used at the school!
We are grateful for all of the people who pitched it to make this night a success! We appreciated all the help soliciting donations, setting up and decorating the hall, working the raffle tables, helping with the goodies and water tables and cleaning up just to name a few!
Thank you all for attending! We hope parents had a chance to interact and many new friendships have begun. The PTO hopes to offer additional social activities this year to promote a sense of community!

"The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual." ~ Vince Lombardi ~

Upcoming Events:

Classroom Communicators ?– Please consider becoming a Classroom Communicator. Act as a liaison between the classroom parents and the teacher/school/PTO via telephone and/or e-mail. All parents are welcome to join the network. As the Classroom Communicator you would be responsible for contacting the parents of your child?’s classmates that have joined the network. You decide how and when you would like to reach the parents. Whatever works best for your schedule. One-hour meetings will be held periodically for the Classroom Communicators. Sign up forms will be sent home the week of November 3rd. Please contact Marie-Anne Baker @ 781-843-1118 if you have any questions about the program. This is a great way to get involved, to meet other parents and to make a difference in your child?’s classroom and the school!

Fun Nights ?– The PTO would like to sponsor some new social activities by grade for both students and their parents. Perhaps an ice cream sundae party for kindergarten and 1st graders, or a movie night for 2nd and 3rd graders or BINGO night for 4th and 5th graders.
Do you have any suggestions? Would you like to help? Please contact Marie-Anne Baker @ 781-843-1118 to share your ideas.

PTO Meeting ?– The November PTO meeting will be held in the Cafetorium at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, November 12th. There will be time after the meeting for refreshments and socializing. Please plan on attending!

Agenda Items:
Fall Fundraiser Recap
Halloween Ball Recap
PACE Update
Student Holiday Shopping Fair Update
5th Grade Week Kickoff
New PTO Social Event Ideas

PTO Committee Reports:
Treasurer?’s Report
Cultural Arts Report
School Advisory Report
Teacher Comments/Principal Comments
PTO Wrap-up
Door Prize