ESPO Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Head of School Remarks

John Huber welcomed everyone to the meeting.

John introduced our guest speaker, Dr. Jerry Miller. Dr. Miller is a licensed psychologist.He teaches at the University of Michigan and is the primary admissions tester for Emerson. Dr. Miller spoke on the topic of Anxiety and Asynchrony in Gifted Children.

John shared that he had received parent feedback that it would be great to have a presentation on Giftedness. He will look into that topic for the future.

John gave the following updates:

  • The February ESPO meeting speaker will be Carrie Berkley, speaking on student counseling services at Emerson.
  • On Friday, January 15, there will be a MLK celebration in the AIC, beginning at 9:00 a.m. All are welcome to attend.
  • On Tuesday, January 19 at 7:00 p.m., there will be a special presentation from Ron Richhart. Ron is from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and he will be discussing how parents and teachers can best help our children become deep thinkers and learners. Ron has written several books and is active with faculty groups creating thinking cultures.
  • Community service—we are going to organize a faculty service group, emphasizing to students that service learning is important.
  • Andy Zimmer is going to be taking family leave soon for the birth of his third child.
  • Weather is getting cold—still looking at our management of snow days. There will not be a new policy this year. We will be staying aligned with Ann Arbor Public Schools.
  • Young alumni survey results will be discussed in an upcoming newsletter. The survey is helping us to understand the high school transition experience for Emerson students.

ESPO Meeting

  1. Welcome Remarks from ESPO Chair Diana Rooks.
  1. Approval of November 2015 Meeting Notes

Minutes from past ESPO meetings are available on the ESPO website.

  1. Development Update: Beth Anderson & Sue Johnson
  1. Annual Fund details--Beth and Sue emphasized the importance offundraising for independent schools. Emerson is trying to be very focused on specific campaigns, such as the Annual Fund. Thank you for everyone’s participation in the Annual Fund. We were at 42% participation as of December 31st, and working towards a goal of 75%.
  1. Auction details and volunteer needs – The Emerson Auction is coming up on March 11 at Barton Hills. The theme will be Starry Night: Bright Minds - BrilliantFutures. There are upcoming deadlines for sponsorship and advertising.Please consider volunteering and attending. Invitations will be coming out soon. Also, please consider donating. There are many opportunities to donate, including class baskets and wine pull. The school is reaching out to new families this year to explain the auction. Families should receivea mailing today with the “Auction Nuts and Bolts” and a bookmark with upcoming dates.
  1. Pizza Lunch Updates: Theresa Woerpol
  1. Orders: Please make desired changes to your child’s pizza lunch orders by January 22. Order changes will go into effect on February 5.
  1. Volunteer needs: We are still in need of volunteers for 2nd semester pizza lunches. There is a link to the sign-up on the ESPO website.
  1. Book Fair:Alison BuchananKatherine Arst

The Book Fair was held on November 15 and was very successful. We spent over $11,500 at Nicola’s Books and $2,848 went to Emerson. We have a great relationship with Nicola’s. Thankyou to the event volunteers. We are considering changes for next year, including elimination of the raffle and additional communications about student performance times. Thanks to everyone for participating.

  1. Bake Sale: Mary Kay StevanusMichelle Furguson

Thanks for everyone’s participation. We raised a record amount of $2,536 which will go to the technology department.

  1. ESPO Financial Update: Diana Rooks & Annie Bruienne

ESPO financials are in good shape. Pizza lunch is our biggest fundraiser. The money raised from pizza lunch is going towards the AIC. ESPO’s pledge to the AIC was $100,000 over five years. We are currently in year three, contributing $20,000 each year.

  1. Teacher Conference Dinner: Lori Pearson

The teacher conference dinner is coming up on March 23. Event details and volunteer needs to come.

  1. Old Business
  1. Box Tops: Dana DeBord—please keep turning in Box Tops!
  2. Green: Caroline Begola—no update
  1. New Business / Q & A
  1. Wild Swan Theater event is coming up, sponsored by ESPO. Frog and Toad will be presented to the younger kids and Rosie the Riveter will be presented to the older kids. The dates are getting finalized and will be communicated soon.
  1. The April 13 ESPO meeting has been moved from an evening meeting to a morning meeting.
  1. Next Meeting Date:Tuesday, February 9 at 8:30a.m.
  1. Adjournment

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