PTO Meeting Minutes - November 10, 2015
President’s Report – Stacy Cannamela and Jen Vossen
· The PTO has purchased and hung a corkboard directly across from the office door in an effort to help keep everyone more informed about what’s going on and what we are planning next.
· Our fall newsletter will be coming out shortly, so keep an eye out for that.
· The PTO is currently in the process of pulling together potential assemblies for the 2015-2016 school year, Dan Zane (music), Bash the Trash (recycling/music), and Mad Science (science). We are hoping to fund 2 of these assemblies this year.
· 2 more weeks to FLOCK your friends, family and neighbors before our pink little beauties fly south for the winter, so get your orders in! Proceeds from this event will go to help fund our assemblies.
· “Think Green, Live Green” – in an effort to do as we preach the A.H.E.S and it’s PTO are going to make a conscious effort to reduce the amount of paper we consume, but utilizing our websites, emails, and Facebook pages to keep you abreast of what’s going on. We will be sending out a consent form, that we will ask you to return with your permission to email you our promotions and newsletters rather than printing them out.
· Due to scheduling conflicts the PTO is cancelling the Bridge of Books event and replacing it with a CPR training/certification event. The event will take place in January.
Treasurer’s Report – Kris Frazier
Currently we have : $14,166.74 in checking and $2,494.13 in savings. The scoreboard is hung in the gym and paid for. We only need to pay the electrician. Other spending this month went to the custodian for Harvestfest and the spelling bee.
Old Business -
Box Tops – 10/14 (Melissa Schutzenhofer) ~ The results are in. Congratulations to Mr. Filoso’s 4th Grade Class for the most box tops collected this fall! Thank you to Melissa for chairing this event. Thank you parents for collecting and for cutting your box tops a little smaller this year! Melissa greatly appreciated it.
Halloween Dance - 10/23 (Kristin Nunez and Caroline Margolick) ~ Thank you Kristin and Caroline for planning such a wonderful event. The DJ was great, the crafting tables were a success and the decorations were top notch. It was noted that Melissa did not have to yell at all because your layout and event details kept the kids entertained all night long and there was no RUNNING. So thank you!
New Business -
Family in Need –11/2 – (Erika Graiff and Linda Peng-Grooters) Cans are in the classrooms and awaiting your generous donations. We are accepting donations of any form – change, bills, checks, and Foodtown gift cards. There are roughly 30 families in need that will be receiving $50 Foodtown gift cards for Thanksgiving.
Pie and Coffee Sale – (Nicole Mednis) Order forms went home this week and are due Monday 11/16. Our selection of Dearborn Market pies are the same and we are also be offering regular and decaffeinated coffee from our own Hudson Café to support local. Orders are due in 11/16 and pies/coffee will be delivered to the school around noon on Wed, 11/25 for pick up. Orders not picked up by 2pm will be donated to the foodbank. Please note that these order forms are available on the PTO website. Please let your friends and family know if they regularly order pies or coffee, our school is a closer drive and we promise shorter lines.
Barnes and Nobles Holiday Fundraiser – 12/11 (Kris Frazier and Stacy Cannamela) This fundraiser will go to support the 2 assemblies we are looking into for the school year. This will be a truly fun and festive event. There will be Santa, chorus performances, stories read by teachers and much more. 6th Graders will be given the opportunity to run the wrapping station and collect tips for their graduation party. Along with the money we raise from this single night, B&N will also provide us with a link so that that for all online purchases made that week, AHES PTO will receive a percentage of those sales.
New Business – (con’t.)
Holiday Shop – 12/4-5 – (Deana Valente, Cristie O’Connor, Marina Kurdes) 34 vendors are booked. A flyer is being created and press release is being written. The entertainment and Santa are booked. There are currently 2 openings for entertainment. 6th grade has opted out of running concessions, so the Holiday Shop is soliciting donations from our local restaurants. A signup Genius will be going out for volunteers – Thursday/setup, Friday/wrapping table, and Saturday/Cleanup. The PTO is also looking into selling A.H.E.S. Spiritwear, branded ornaments and branded magnets at the PTO table. Holiday shop is accepting donations of wrapping paper, ribbon and tissue paper.
A Night at the Races (Kris Frazier)
· Secure Event Space: Stacy Cannamela / Jen Vossen
· Press Release: Alison Tevald
· Designer to update Event Invitations: Christina Brooks
· Designer to update Event Program: Meg Tardio
· Volunteer Positions Needed
o Designer to update Event Flyer:
o Solicitation for Corporate Donations for Baskets: Kris Frazier + 2 volunteers
o Get 10 Main Race Sponsors for Ad Book/Signage: 4-6 volunteers to take on approaching 2-3 businesses to sponsor a race
o Solicit Local Businesses for Ad/Horse/Sponsorship Purchases and basket donations: this is the biggest task, but with enough volunteers it will only be a little work for a lot of volunteers, instead of a lot of work for very few volunteers. The good news is, every little bit helps and Kris Frazier already has a list of stores and businesses that supported us in the past. Additionally, you may know of a business who may be interested in contributing to this even. The PTO also has a full packet of information on packages and levels of support, so there is very little sales work you need to do. Simply connect and ask. Thank you in advance to those of you who added your names to our Night at the Races Volunteer list.
Should you have any question about this event or in regards to helping with this event, please email the PTO and we shall put Kris in contact with you. As this is our big fundraiser, this year’s proceeds
will go towards the beautification of the playground, including more shade, benches, and a possible water fountain. We are hoping to secure a venue and a date this week.
Garden – Laurie Brekke and Hope Hanlon
Harvest Festival – Big thank you to all the Harvest Fest Volunteers! The Harvest - Fest earned the Tiger Garden their goal for the year. However, moving forward the garden will be looking for other ways to raise money as the Harvest Festival is just a tough time for garden to be planning such a big event. School’s just started and the garden is open. Some of their ideas include: Mums Sale, possible Pointsetta sale, more events that include the PBA, and Are Your Smarter Than a 5th Grader? to name a few.
Garden – It is the end of garden for the year. Thank you to all the garden helpers who make garden time such a success. We will see you in the Spring.
Library – Ann Forbes
Pick up your encyclopedia at the Library and upcycle to support the PTO. All upcycled projects will be sold at the Holiday Shop in support of the PTO. In addition, to your upcycled encyclopedias, books will also be on-sale at a fraction of their cost.
Principal’s Report – Mrs. Walling
PTO Giving Back – Upon conclusion of our Flocking Fundraiser, as a thank you to all the local businesses in town that have supported us over the years, the PTO will be sending all of our supporters a flock. In addition, the PTO is in the process of designing and purchasing a window cling boosting “Proud Supporter of A.H.E.S. PTO” that we will be able to give to businesses that support us throughout the year.
Our next PTO Meeting is December 8th, 2015, 8:20am in the AHES Cafeteria.