September 9, 2009 PTO Meeting Minutes
Judi Catherwood, PTO President
Judi introduced the new PTO Board Members. Rachele Campana is taking on the role of VP, Fieldstone Middle School. Brenda Esposito is the new VP, Memorial School. Corrine Butler is the new Treasurer, and Mary Lull is the new Recording Secretary.
Judi talked about volunteering and how it is critical to the success of the PTO. Even if you work full time, there are still committees and ways in which everybody can jump in to help make a difference and contribute towards the many events and programs sponsored by the PTO.
She also reviewed how easy it is to sign up for the various committees within the PTO. You can simply log onto the website and select the programs that will work with your schedule. Most events will remain ‘open’ (or available for you to sign up and volunteer) until we get close to the date of each event.
Judi also thanked all committee chairs for taking on each of these important roles and committees. We can’t run these programs without the help of all of our volunteers so thank you to all those involved!!
Brenda Esposito, VP Memorial
Brenda welcomed everyone and reminded anyone interested in being a class parent candidateto sign up before it closed at midnight. The selection process will begin tomorrow and all those selected will be notified by Wednesday, September 16. A meeting with all Class Parents will then be scheduled to review this role.
Back to school dates were reviewed and Brenda reminded everyone to support the Bake Sale which will be taking place at each Back to School night.
Maureen McLaughlin, Corresponding Secretary
Maureen thanked the PTO for the Welcome Back Breakfast provided to the staff this year. It was delicious and very much appreciated by all. She also thanked the PTO for the wish list fulfillment this year. Again, the staff was very thankful to the PTO for their support of these wonderful gifts.
Rachele Campana, VP Fieldstone
Rachele also reviewed the Back to School dates scheduled at Fieldstone and encouraged parents to attend.
Class parents will be selected before Back to School nights, however, more volunteers are still needed so Rachele encouraged parents to consider volunteering if they hadn’t done so already.
Corrine Butler, PTO Treasurer
Parents paying by check for their kids’ hot food were reminded to submit their checks ASAP because the children cannot receive their food until the check is received by the PTO.
Corrine also stated that $25,000 of the monies raised through the PTO goes directly towards our Curriculum Enhancement Programs which are brought in for our children. We also gave another $25,000 in ‘gifts’ back to the teachers last year. So please continue to support our PTO events and programs so that we can continue to ‘give back’ to our children and our schools.
Bill Belluzi – Superintendent of Schools
Bill has only been in Montvale for about 6 months and wanted to thank the PTO for the opening day breakfast we supplied. He is impressed by our community and parent involvement. We have an amazing group of staff, administration and support within the school! Bill looks forward to an outstanding year and thanked the staff and parents.
Bill reminded everyone about the chain of communication. If there is a problem or concern, we should attempt to resolve it closest to the issue (e.g., speak to the teacher first, if the problem isn’t resolved there, then go to the supervisor or principal, and lastly up to the Superintendent).
Also, please don’t forget to fill out the form for the parent link on the web so that all parents can be contacted in case of an emergency (delayed opening, early closing, etc.).
Nancy Drabik, Principal Memorial School
Nancy welcomed all back to school and thanked everyone for a great opening….(no parents even cried)
This year we have approximately 608 students, 34 of which are new, and 15 preschoolers.
A few changes were made to the lunch schedules this year in order to increase our morning instruction time for the 1st and 2nd graders. They will be eating lunch a bit later, while the 3rd and 4th graders will be eating a bit earlier.
Sometimes parents forget to send their children with lunch and then when the office calls the parent, they can’t get here to bring lunch for the child. Nancy suggested that all parents find a ‘lunch buddy’…somebody you can call if you forget to send your child with lunch (and don’t laugh, it really does happen). In an effort to find out earlier in the day that a child may be missing lunch, the teachers are now having the children put their lunches on the tables in the morning so that they can also check for missing lunches early in the day.
Nancy reviewed the fact that our courtyard was transformed back in the spring and invited parents to stop by and see thenew benches we just received, all compliments of KPMG, whom she thanked again for their generosity.
We are ‘going green’ so our Wednesday folders will now be available on lineonly! Report Cards will also be available on Eduwave (online) (but a hard copy will be distributed during your conference). We will be using Eduwave to maintain confidentiality…more information will be coming home about this.
The Kindergarten registration process will change this year. Parents with in-coming kindergarteners can download the necessary forms off our school website, and then bring completed forms with required paperwork to the school office any time from Oct. 13- Jan. 29th. Forms will be accepted everyday from 8:00 a.m. -4:30 p.m. during this period. Please help to spread the word to anyone you know with children starting kindergarten next September.
Nancy reviewed the Back to School dates and the school picture dates. These dates are also listed on the website.
All absentees should be called in by the start of the school day to ext. 164, Mrs. Mulroe, the Aide in the Nurse’s office.
If your computer is broken or if you don’t have one, we are opening up the Memorial School library computers between the hours of 8:15-8:50 a.m. and 3:00-4:00 p.m.
A lot of little changes have been made but these changes can be significant and beneficial.
We are waiting for one last piece of information on the NJ ASK scores before these results can be sent home. They will probably be sent home within 2 weeks or so.
Nancy thanked the PTO…’you are the oil that keeps the wheels turning…keeps the learning alive…’. She also thanked the MEF and the PTO for the white boards….’we have almost every room covered’…
For the safety of our children, if our new lightening detector is going off during dismissal, we cannot release the children under the normal procedure. Grades K-3 will meet in the MPR, PreK and 4th will remain in their homerooms and parents will need to come into the building to pick up the children. If the detector is ringing/flashing during drop off, you can just drive around to the front of the building. More details to come…
Mark Maire, Principal Fieldstone Middle School
The first day of school was a wonderful success. The kids were excited, the schedules all worked, everyone was in the right place, bells were working, kids were rushing to class, and classes are starting and ending on time. Mark is proud to say we have a great staff!!
Mark reviewed the Back to School dates as well and said a letter would be going out shortly. He also reminded everyone that this is a night to be a participant, not to have a teacher conference. If you can’t attend, there will be other times to meet with your teachers.
Soccer tryouts are this Friday…
Email is working great but right now, there are a few glitches being worked out….please be patient.
The date for Hat Day will be changed as this is the same date as our 5th Grade Ellis Island field trip.
Mark thanked the PTO for the wishlist fulfillment.
There are several new clubs being added and Mark wanted to thank Mr. Belluzi, the Board of Ed, and others for their support. They are currently working on a schedule for these clubs in an effort to offer as many as possible without conflicting with each other. The list of clubs can be found on the Fieldstone website.
The website can also be used as a resource to review morning announcements, Principal notes, etc. The school calendar can also be found on line.
Mark asked for support from the parents at pick up time….currently, it’s not working and we need the cooperation from the parents.
Joan Gifas, Board of Education Representative for the PTO
Please feel free to come to the meetings which are listed on our website.
Kim Diccianni, MEF Co-President
Tomorrow night is our first meeting of the year. We’ll be taking nominations and voting in new Board members. Next year, the President and Treasurer positions will both be open. We’re looking for a Corporate Representative for anyone interested in volunteering.
Thanks to everyone for their support over the last year. The MEF raised over $47,000 and gave back $46,000 to our schools. One very simple way for you to ‘give back’ to our schools is to simply sign up for our Grocery Cards Program, EGGS. You can also tag your banking account at TDBank North which is completely confidential and earned us over $10,000last year from parents that tagged their accounts. Please check out our website . Our fun night out fundraiser (or Casino night) will be held on Friday, November 20. Please come out and supportthe MEF. We’re also on Facebook so check us out there, too.
The Boo-la-thon will be taking place this year on Monday, October 12. New, unopened toys are needed for this event. Please see our co-chairs Jill Sailer or Vicki Walker for details.
There are more “Montvale” magnets available for sale….the cost is $5 and we’ll have them at BTS nights.
All $$ raised by the MEF goes directly back to the schools so please continue to support our events and efforts.
Beth Aquaviva, Co-Chair Fieldstone Fridays
Information was sent out about Fieldstone Fridays this year. Beth reviewed the dates, fees and forms and said the forms can also be found on the Fieldstone website. There will be a DJ, refreshments, and pick-up basketball games. Parents need to volunteer at one event during the year. Chaperones are necessary to run these events so please sign up. Also, children must be picked up inside the building for safety reasons.
Hot Food Monday - Memorial, Vicki Walker
Vicki thanked everyone for volunteering. We had 40 volunteers so there will be at least 4 teams which means your time commitment is only once a month. Kids love to see their parents in school so please consider volunteering.
Hot Food Friday – Memorial, Terri Shatzberg
Bagels and sandwiches start this Friday. They’ll be coming from John’s Bagels. Thanks to all volunteers for taking the time this summer to assist with this program.
Hot Food Monday – Fieldstone, Patti Drum
There are many volunteers for this committee and a schedule is currently being worked up.
Bake Sale – Lisa Johnson
Lisa reviewed the delivery times for the baked goodies and said it will all be sold! Bakers and volunteers are still needed!
Child Protection at Memorial School
Nancy reviewed why it’s in place, and that it’s a great volunteer service that the PTO offers to help keep our children safe if a parent is running late for pick up.
Library Aides
More volunteers are still welcome at Memorial School.
Gift Wrap
This fundraiser will take place at both schools and the dates were reviewed. Prizes and contests are also taking place as incentives to buy/sell these products.
Cookbooks
Cookbooks will be available at BTS nights at both schools. The cost is $20.
Curriculum Enhancement – Memorial and Fieldstone
These programs are brought in to supplement or enhance what is being taught in the classroom. Rachele and Sara reviewed some of the upcoming programs being brought in and said there are a few exciting new programs coming but wanted to keep them a surprise. We also still need volunteers for various aspects of this committee.
Publicity
Pam will be responsible for our bulletin board and publicity but is in need of more volunteers to assist with this committee. Pam will put up pockets on the board for distributing fliers, and the PTO Board should supply Pam with a list of events to be covered this year (in hopes of getting more newspaper coverage).
Class Parent Selection
Judi reminded everyone that sometimes the Class Parent Selection is an easy decision (because there are only one or two volunteers), but sometimes there are many volunteers for the same class. If you’re not selected this year, please know there are other ways to get involved and see your children while being a part of the fun.