October Meeting Minutes

October 11, 2011

Attendance

Lucy Floyd, ChairTam Dalle-Molle, TreasurerRachel Setzke, SecretaryPat Heinz- Pribyl, Principal
Melissa Potes, Guest Principal, Monarch K-8Yulia Shafranov, Volunteer CoordinatorMichelle DeColaDoug Haley, Teacher Rep.
Donna Hauswald, Grill 'N BidMargretta Risi, Grill 'N BidTiffany Voeller, Garden To TableCallie Palen-Lowrie, Garden To Table
Audrey DeBarros, GrantsKathryn Wolf, Box Tops For EducationLeslie Ewing, Skate City, Welcome Team LeaderJim Renwick, SAC Rep.
Mario Jannatpour, DPC Rep.

1) Welcome & Nibbles from BVSD Lunch Program! - Brandy Dreibelbeis

a) We need more participation from kids in order to make the program financially viable. There is breakfast from 7:45-8:00. The food comes from the kitchens at Monarch. The food is organic, no high-fructose corn syrup and it's all made from scratch. There is also organic milk offered at the lunches. In order to meet USDA guidelines and to be reimbursed by the government, each lunch needs to have a grain, fruit/vegetable, protein, and an 8 oz. milk.

2) Approval of 9/13/11 Minutes - The minutes were approved with a few minor changes from Margretta re: Grill 'N Bid. Lucy will make the changes.

3) Principal's Remarks- Pat Heinz-Pribyl

a) Construction is going smoothly. The remodel is mostly done and they're going through the punch list. There is nothing major left. The addition looks like it will be done on time. There are definite rooms with walls, windows, etc. so they should be able to work inside once it gets cold. We are slated to be in after winter break with everything done. Corridor and amphitheater carpets will also be replaced by the end of winter break.

b) Heat and cold seem to be under control now. The problems are partly the quirks of a 20- year-old building. Maintenance is coming in every morning this week to ensure everything is working and fixed that needs to be.

c) Enrollment - We have more kids this year - we usually have 425-445 students; this year we have 482. We typically have about 18% open enrollment.

4) Guest Principal's Remarks - Melisa Potes, Principal at Monarch K-8

a) Though Melisa is new as the Principal at Monarch K-8, she's been in the district for 10 years and has taught many years before that. She is looking forward to some changes at Monarch in the next few years. They want to "get back to their core values." They are strengthening their PTA and will be addressing communication.

b) Principal Potes would like to build a relationship with Fireside. She would like to host a gathering in November at Fireside for parents who are interested in giving feedback about Monarch. Please email her at melisa.potes@bvsd.org if you are interested in Monarch middle school and have questions. Pat HP will set up a date for Melisa to come and talk to our parents. Monarch K-8 will have an open house in January as well.

5) Chair Remarks - Lucy Floyd

a) Thank You to the following event and activity coordinators!

i) Grill 'n Bid - Donna and Margretta. It went off so well. Thanks to Doug Haley for DJ'ing. This GNB brought in more profit than any other. Wonderful job!

ii) Book Fair - there were a lot of volunteers and it ran very smoothly;

iii) School Pictures - Sonya Seidler organized it, and it was smooth as always;

iv) Conference Food - Jen Piper and Ashley Elder spearheaded and Yulia recruited volunteers. It went well and there was plenty of food. Pat confirmed that teachers always appreciate being nurtured like this.

v) Directory - Tiffany Voeller and Tam Dalle Molle. They condensed the book and saved lots of money this year!

vi) Payback Books - Shana Coppersmith. Great job!

vii) Garden to Table - Callie Palen-Lowrie and Tiffany Voeller;

viii) Walk to School Day - Shontelle Hegge.

ix) Skate City - Leslie Ewing.

x) Gear Sales - Terry Ellerington did a great job. There was a small profit, but it is not intended as a fundraiser.

b) PTO Calendar - the most recent calendar is on the website. The next meeting will be on November 8th NOT the 15th as noted in previous calendars.

c) The PTO website is maintained by Joe Newell. His youngest is a 5th grader, so we will be looking for a volunteer to handle this for next year.

6) Upcoming Events

a) Parent & Teacher Social Night - Lisa Kean. The date and details are still not decided. Thursday may be better than Friday in early November due to sports.

7) Committee Reports

a) Grill 'N Bid - Margretta Risi/Donna Hauswald. We had over 1,000 attendees. We gave away free tickets to police officers, teachers, and free and reduced lunch families, so it's hard to get an exact number.

i) 2011 Income & Expenses: Ticket Sales - $7,572, Auction Revenue - $16,938, Cash Donations - $956, Total Income - $25, 466. Expenses - $4,167. Total Profit - $21,299, so we reached our $20K goal.

ii) Thoughts and changes for next year - Adding Chick-Fil-A was great - they ended up donating all the food they served. Having multiple vendors was good. The pictures with Chocolate, Mr. L's snake went really well. Thanks to Mike Oliver Photography for donating his time! Magic Rob was a huge hit. We'll move the first show later next year. Hair dye was also a great hit. Next year we'll try to get more straight cash donations. Want to improve the dessert table. Audrey De Barros volunteered to help seek sponsors for the event next year. There was a suggestion of switching the eating and auction tables. End of September was good timing. Donna is taking over in 2012.

iii) A huge thanks goes out to the whole Grill 'N Bid Committee: Margretta Risi, Donna Hauswald, Melissa DuBois, Lisa Norgard, Tom Swett, Shelli Schoettger, Yulia Shafranov, Kristin Russell, Chris Fowle, Jen Piper, Gigi Christensen, Shelly Koglin and Nancy Lands. Thanks to all others who volunteered and participated.

c) Payback Coupon Books - Shana Coppersmith. $2,800 was made for Fireside. Yay!

d) School Directory - Tam Dalle Molle/Tiffany Voeller. We made about $400. They cut costs by trimming the book. Free copies are given to all teachers and staff, as well as families on meal assistance.

e) District Parent Council Update (DPC) - Mario Jannatpour. The meeting discussed Prop. 103 which would raise state income tax from 4.63% to 5% and sales tax from 2.9% to 3% for 5 years to generate an estimated $3 billion for education. The PTO cannot take an official stance but we can educate people about it. They also talked briefly about moving the school start date forward. The high schools are pushing for the year to start early so that their first semester finals can be before winter break. They may move the start ahead one week next year for the kids, though teachers will need to start at the same time as this year.

f) Grants - Audrey De Barros. They are working on multiple grants already: Calwood (5th Grade), Impact on Education, and Safe Roads to School. BVSD wants to promote safe and accessible ways to school to create an ongoing philosophy about getting to school safely. She requested that the PTO send a letter to bigger businesses in Louisville to build relationships and seek funding for something like our 3rd-5th grade playground. She will work with the Grill 'N Bid team to avoid "double dipping" from the businesses that support that event.

g) Green Team - Lucy Floyd. We have a potential new Green Team Chair who will hopefully be on board soon.

h) Garden to Table - Callie Palen-Lowrie. The garden is going really well. All of the classes have done their projects except for 5th since they study how to amend the garden (decomposition). Extra produce has been given to classes. Unfortunately some of our produce was taken so we're working on finding replacements for classes who still have garden-related projects. The Growe Foundation continues to develop lessons so teachers often don't get their lesson plans in advance. Eventually the lessons will become more regular so they're easier to use. The restaurant "The Kitchen Next Door" in Boulder supports the Growe Foundation and donates some of their profits to schools with gardens.

i) School Accountability Committee (SAC) - Jim Renwick. Next SAC meeting is October 12. They're working on the Unified Improvement Plan which is schools looking at the data they have on the classrooms in order to drive changes in the district. The ideas for the data that goes in comes from staff. The CSAP scores are released roughly in August. Those scores plus the scores from a reading assessment help teachers decide what needs to change in their classrooms. CSAP is being replaced by a transitional test and it is unclear if it creates new baselines.

8) Updates & Recaps

a) Skate City - Leslie Ewing. We had 85 skaters, and $127.50 was made for PTO. Families had a great time! Another Skate City Event is scheduled for February 24 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm.

b) Walk to School Day - Shontelle Hegge. The event went well. One recommendation: There were many kids dropped off at the school. Next year we need to market more to the kids who have to be driven to school in order to get them to walk at least a couple of blocks.

9) Treasurer's Report & Grocery Card Update - Tam Dalle Molle. See the attached document to see how we've been raising money and investing it in the school!

10) Other Business

a) PTO Gift to Fireside. As we've been focusing on increasing fundraising, we need to better understand the items that are on the list of projects we'd like to get done. A sub-committee will be looking through the ideas to sort them. We'd like the PTO community to submit ideas for the list so we can get cost estimates and possibly donations for the projects. If you're interested in helping, please contact Donna Hauswald, Committee Chair: donnahauswald@hotmail.com. The meeting was adjourned at 8:15PM.

Treasurer Highlights - October, 2011

RESERVE ACCOUNT $ 82,952.27

CHECKING ACCOUNT $ 9,961.90

GROCERY ACCOUNT $ 9,572.75

TOTAL: $ 102,486.92

Highlighted Income Activity:

Highlighted Expenses:

GROCERY ACCOUNT - Year-to-Date Earnings (through 10/10/11)

GROCERY ACCOUNT - Inventory Summary

August - September - October - November - December - January - February - March - April - May

School Year 2011-2012
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Last Updated Sunday, January 29, 2012