Fireside PTO

Parents and faculty working together to provide a quality scholastic experience for all Fireside Elementary School students!

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February Meeting Minutes

Attendance

Welcome and Introductions
Tam asked if there were any changes to the January minutes.  There were no changes, and the minutes were approved.

Principal’s Remarks – Pat Heinz-Pribyl

• CAP (Child Assault Prevention):  The parent meeting on 2/8/10 went well.  This program will be presented to kindergartners and first graders on 2/9 and 2/10.  We voted to approve enough money in the budget to include every student in program next year (at a cost of $7 per child.)
• Budget:  The District made it very clear that this is different from any year they’ve ever seen.  There will be cuts at the district and school levels.  Class size will be determined at the district level.  Pat encouraged parents to attend a meeting where district reps will be discussing the budget.  These will be held:
• • Wednesday, February 10, from 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM – Louisville Middle School Library, 1341 Main Street, Louisville
  • Wednesday, March 31, from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM – Louisville Public Library, 951 Spruce Street, Louisville
• Today’s Assembly went well.  The PRIDE piece they discussed was “Excellence,” and the Read-a-Thon was incorporated well.

Treasurer’s Report – Ashley Elder

• Teacher Request – Becky Russell requested funds to support the “One Book, One Fireside” program.  Specifically, she requested $450 to pay for the airline ticket, rental car, and meals for the book’s author, Francisco Jimenez, while he is in town to talk to Fireside students and parents about his book.  Mr. Jimenez plans to fly in on Thursday, present to students on Friday May 21st, and present to the extended Fireside community on Friday evening.  This request for $450 was voted on and approved.
• Teacher Request: Dean Stankovic requested $450 to pay for “Shakespeare in the Schools.”  The program costs $550, but thanks to a CU grant of $100, will only cost the school $450.  The Colorado Shakespeare Festival and the CU Department of Theatre and Dance have teamed up to present a “Shakespeare in the Schools” Tour.  The program includes a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, followed by hands-on workshops.  This request for $450 was voted on and approved.  The presentation will take place on April 26.  The entire school will view the performance in the gym from 9:00 – 10:00, and then the 5th graders will break into small groups where the actors will work directly with them for another hour.
• Ashley’s Report:  We currently have $18,059 in our Checking Account and $41,838 in our Money Market Account

Co-Chairs Remarks – Margretta Risi & Tam Dalle Molle

• School Improvement Ideas: There was discussion on the school improvement ideas that we had decided to focus on. 
• • Rugs:  Pat has someone coming out to look at rugs for our lobby.  This is definitely a huge safety concern. 
  • Benches:  With regard to replacing the benches around the flagpole, Pat suggested that we wait until we are up for our bond issue improvements, because frequently the entrances to the schools are covered during this bond-funded improvement process.
  • Bulletin Boards:  Dustin Sagrillo brought in a sample of the homemade bulletin board.  These are very inexpensive and look really nice.  Dustin will contact Dean Stankovic about moving forward with these throughout the school
  • Staff Lounge:  Given the upcoming budget constraints, we decided to table this upgrade until later in the year, when we know more about what PTO funds might be needed to offset next year’s budget cuts.
• PTO Bulletin Board:  Lucy is coordinating this board.  It is a small bulletin board to the right of the front office.  We hope to keep minutes, announcements, thank-you cards, and the Staff Favorites on this board.
• PTO Positions:  Tam and Margretta asked that people be thinking about ways they’d like to be involved in the PTO next year.  We will talk about this in more detail at our March meeting.
• Grandrabbits Bunny Bucks Program:  When you shop at Grandrabbits, remember to mention Fireside.  They give 10% of your purchase back to the school.  We just received a gift card from them worth $277, which we offered to the teachers/staff to use to purchase supplies for classrooms.  Five teachers responded and were able to get everything they requested.
• Recipe Contest: BVSD is hosting a recipe contest to find new recipes to include in their hot lunch program.  The deadline for this program is March 15.  We will be sending out more detailed information in the Chat.

Committee Reports/Upcoming Events

• Fireside Falcons Gear: Shana Sagrillo presented six possibilities, and the PTO voted on their top three choices.  Janine will take these three choices to the Student Council to vote for their favorite.  This year, we will be selling t-shirts and hats or visors.  Shana will be using an order form, and will order some extras to be sold later.
• Olympic Read-a-Thon:  Heidi Day reminded us that the Read-a-Thon will run from February 22-28.  We will have prizes for the highest participation rate, hours read and money raised.  There was some conversation about giving out medals for the most money raised, as several parents were uncomfortable with the message that sends.  Others brought up the point that this is a fundraiser, and we need to encourage kids to participate in the pledge-collecting as much as we need to encourage them to read in order for this to raise any money.  Heidi will keep this input for potential modification next year.
• Skate City Party:  Margretta Risi reminded everyone about the Skate City party on February 25.  Flyers will go into Friday Folders, a banner will be hung at the school’s entrance, reminder stickers will be handed out and the Mascot will be at school on the day of the party.
• Fireside Disco Blast:  All is set for the Disco Blast on March 5.  Ashley Elder has ordered animal-print “gansta hats” for the kids, and Julann Andresen confirmed that the Green Team can supply cups and napkins for the event.  The Blast will run from 6:00 – 8:00, we will serve cookies and water and admission will be $3.00.  Tam Dalle Molle will get a flyer into Friday Folders on February 25.
• Green Team:  Julann Andresen has supplies ready to go for Valentine’s Day Parties this week!
• Grocery Card Program:  Bridget Lemur reported that at the Friday sales tables, we sold $900 worth of cards, and recruited three new monthly people to the program.
• Parent Teacher Conferences:  Shana Sagrillo will put together menus for conferences on March 8, 9 & 11th.  Tam will put out a note to the Facebook group to ask for menu theme ideas.  Lucy Floyd promised to help clean up one night!  : )
• Turn off the TV Week:  Leslie Ewing and her committee of four are working hard to put a great week together.  They plan on sponsoring a poster contest, handing out reminder stickers, hosting a game night, and holding a fundraiser night at a local restaurant.  They also plan to provide a list of activities for families to do, and possibly a community service option.  Wow!
• Payback Books:  Shana Sagrillo asked the group if there were any opinions about the Payback Book fundraiser.  The group really liked it, and Shana agreed to head it up next year, so the PTO voted to participate in this next year.
• “Friends of Fireside” Idea:  Heidi Day had an idea that perhaps we could extend the grocery certificate program to other businesses that have a Fireside connection.   For instance, if a Fireside parent owns their own business,  in exchange for us marketing them as part of our “Friends of Fireside” program, they agree to give a small percentage of their Fireside sales back to Fireside.   Pat is going to check with the district to make sure we can move forward, and if so, we will begin to advertise this to potential business owners via the Chat and through email. 

District Parent Council Update - Mario Jannatpour
Ellen Miller-Brown spoke about the BVSD curriculum.  You can find more information on the BVSD website.  There was also a budget cuts summary presented.

PEN - Parent Engagement Network - Lisa Hardwick
Lisa would like to host a PEN-sponsored event at Fireside.  She suggested a wellness night at Fireside, where we would bring in two speakers.  One speaker she has in mind (Robin Goldstein-Lincoln) is a licensed therapist and would speak about communicating with your kids.  The other speaker would be Gigi Christensen, a Fireside parent, who would talk about children’s nutrition.  The cost to PTO for this would be $150.  This was voted on and approved, and will take place some time in April.
There is also a PEN-sponsored presentation coming up on February 22 at LMS – Facebook and you.  It is designed for kids ages 10-14 and their parents.

Grants – Michele Crawford
Two teachers are applying for Jared Polis Technology Mini-Grants.  Dean Stankovic is applying for funds for a portable “Smart Board” to be used in the classroom, and Mary Lynne Fernandez is applying for funds to pay for a “Language Lab” at Fireside. 
Jared Polis Teacher Recognition Awards Nominations are coming up.  The one page submissions are due by Friday, April 2.  An email will be sent out inviting parents to nominate deserving teachers.
Michele has been working with Cathy Finleon to apply for a grant from Welch’s to fund a Pumpkin Patch for all of the first grade classes.

Our next PTO Meeting Tuesday, March 16, 6:30 pm in the Fireside Library.
(This is one week later than normal due to Parent Teacher Conferences)

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