Agenda-Monona PTO

September 18th, 2014

Present: Cathy Bernards, Barb Nyenhuis, Macy Femrite, Kym Davick, Kate Schiefelbein, Ann Schroeder, Katie Duerst, Erin Kimmons, Liz Hrodey, Erin Staver, Beth Briddell, Tim Greisch, Anna Grant, Teresa Radermacher, Gwen Eudey, Meg Kramerz, Scott Noin, Kari Anne Nolin, John Ryan, Robin Berg

  1. Introductions
  1. Principal’s Report and Teacher’s Report-Ann Schroeder and Present Teachers
  1. Barb Nyenhuis
  1. Thank you PTO for all that you do.
  2. 19 new staff members.
  3. Ben Ferris (strings teacher) set up an outreach event with the Moving Sound Group from Taiwan
  4. Casey Hinz (new librarian) has jumped in and is getting the first book fair organized this month.
  5. Upham Woods is October 28th for 5th grade
  6. New Reading Program. It has many facets such as vocabulary cards, centers, and 2 different texts. It is from McGraw Hill and is called Reading Wonders.\
  1. Ann Schroeder
  1. 533 students this year
  2. the class sizes to date are the following:

4K 52

K- 87

1st-90

2nd-64

3rd-79

4th-70

5th-91

  1. Average class size 21-23/24 students
  2. 50 new students to the school
  3. 19 new teachers
  4. Angie Fassl has a new role where she coaches teachers and helps with administration and behavior intervention
  5. Teachers are dealing with Educator Effectiveness which is a new system that is online and it is a collection of formal evals with teacher responses and a formal way to track goals
  6. In October, the school will start RTI (response to Intervention) where at a minimum of 30 minutes a day 3x a week, students will receive extra help in areas where they could use more assistance.
  7. Snack-the format changed due to audit. The kids must hand worker their card directly and self select. 33% of all students are eligible for free and reduced lunch and many teams are using it as a way to get kids breakfast.
  8. Winnequah won a Title 1 award. There are 1100+ schools in Wisconsin that receive this designation but only 165 received an award. Ann and another teacher will attend an award ceremony. This highlights Winnequah’s academic and behavior success.
  9. Parent Teacher conferences are moved. There will now be 5 touchpoints with parents throughout the year. Conferences in Septmber/October, report card in November that will be sent home in paper and parents will need to fill out a reflection sheet on the report card with their student, then a mid year conference and then 2 report cards in March and June.
  10. Bussing-Starting Monday, all buses arrived on time. There are still a few kinks to work out but overall it is starting to run smoother.
  11. School Pictures-There were a high percentage of kids that had their pictures only taken at retake day. It brings the question if registration is a necessary event. It will may be addressed at a later date.
  12. MG has a facebook page. Like it!
  13. MGHS homecoming is coming up. They will be coming over to the school to drum up spirit as well as there will be a parade in town.
  1. Treasurer’s Report-John Ryan
  1. Not many transactions this month
  2. We approved spending additional money to repair cellos, purchase bows, and purchase strings for the Strings program.
  1. Fundraisers and Events
  1. Market Day-Beth Briddell

1. New format. The Market day boxes are now all prepackaged. It cuts down on the number of volunteers needed. We had 8 new families try it and we made $235

  1. Spirit Wear-Cathy Bernards

1. 135 shirts have been ordered so far. This is on track to make our fundraising goal for this sale. The sale ends next week on 9/23

  1. Directory-Cathy Bernards

1. Directory collection is complete. Michele Miller types out all the sheets. The directory will be taken to the printer next week.

  1. Back to School Night Social Recap-Erin Staver

1. We will most likely switch to only popcorn next year. People did give feedback that the time slot we had back to school night was too early for some families to attend. IT would be nice to have it 2 hours vs 1.5 hours. A parent suggested that teachers could even youtube their classroom message before the night and then the parents can clarify and ask questions that night.

  1. Walk to School Day-Erin Staver

1. Walk to school day is October 8th. Becky Swance (School Psychologist) is working with PTO to help make this day successful. The police have been notified for help and traffic control. Other local departments will be asked to come and help at the event.

  1. REAP Fundraiser-Erin Staver

1. REAP fundraiser will go home in early October. Deadline in late October(?) and December 7th is the pick up. Great Local products

  1. Hoot Hoot Hustle Update-John Ryan and Cathy Bernards

1. 9/17 was the cut off date for the early bird registration. We really need helpers on the course. We really need to get the word out to fill in those slots. Moving it up a month makes it harder to get people to commit to that date due to soccer, etc. Financially, we should do well on the sale.

  1. Bucky Books-Kate Schiefelbein

1. Sent first flier this month and will send a second in October.

  1. School Kidz Supply Order Delivery Recap-Kate Schiefelbein

1. only 2 minor issues with pick up which were easily resolved. We made more money this year than prior years. It works well to have it primarily online.

  1. Tupperware Sale-Katie Duerst

1. We are going to try a Tupperware catalog sale. Katie will work on the logistics with her manager. We receive 40% of sales. We will ask if people would like a catalog or potentially at conferences next week, have a table where people can pick up the catalog.

  1. Conference Dinner Update

1. Almost all slots are filled. The coordinators are providing the main dish.

  1. Box Tops Recap

1. There is some interest in having a contest between classes or grades over the winter months. Logistics needs to be worked out. Will report on that progress in October. We need to raise awareness of how much money and potential the box tops have to benefit the PTO. Our PTO makes roughly $2500 a year on this simple fundraiser.

  1. TerraCycle

1. A group (Kate Schiefelbein, Teresa Radermacher, and Julie Wendt) is meeting next week to figure out a way to raise awareness of this fundraiser. We feel the biggest roadblock is awareness. It would be great to get it to catch on.

  1. Other Business
  1. Status of Volunteers

1. We are still looking for chairpersons for the Book Fair as well as the Bowling Event.

  1. E-Newsletter Status

1. Need to update the list once the directory is finalized.

  1. Garden Update-Erin Staver
  1. Garden party is canceled. Unfortunately, it will not be rescheduled or if it is, it will be a much smaller scale. Thanks to St. Stephans for their great help to the garden.

D. Joining Forces for Families- This group has received $300 in donations through lolly sale at registration. Also, $400 in private donations have been received. St. Stephans is going to give a portion of their Bazaar funds to help this group. Anna Bolha plans on doing 1-2 more events this year to raise awareness and raise funds for this groups that helps families in crisis in the Monona Schools.