DELANCO PTO
MINUTES OF March 10, 2014 MEETING
7:33p.m. meeting was called to order by Vice-President Kathy Haines. There were 14 members in attendance.
Secretary’s Report:January and February Secretary’s reports were provided by Secretary Jaime Nucifora, and circulated.
Treasurer’s Report:Treasurer’s report was provided by Tracey Hamlin, Treasurer, and circulated. The balance as of today is $8,364.68.
OLD BUSINESS
Box Tops:We made $1,111 in box tops. The prize winners are, from Pearson: movies-Kristofer Torres 5-M; Target-Gracie Granate 2-C; iTunes-Katelin Castick 4-D; Build-A-Bear-Mackenzie Nastase 3-G; Chick-fil-a-Jack Weaver 1-Sa. From WSS: movies-Niyah Rodriguez 6-W; iTunes-Alexis Bartlett 6-W; 7-11-Megan Garrett 7-W; Vinny’s-Jose Popoca 7-W.
Brainwash Game Show:We sold 82 tickets and made $73 with the 50/50 which was donated to the M. Joan Pearson Fund. We only made half of what the show cost, but everyone who attended had a lot of fun.
Spring Fundraiser:Orders are due back to school on March 18th. Please sign up with Liz Rottinger to help with delivery in the Pearson Gym foyer on April 10th.
Yearbook:All pictures are due by March 31st. Keep uploading until then.
NEW BUSINESS
Skating Party:will be on April 6th. We are again hiring face painters.
Trenton Thunder:will be on April 22nd during Spring Break.
Class Trips:K-3rd grade class trips are paid for. Kindergarten goes to the zoo on 5/1; 1st grade to the Camden Aquarium on 3/31; 2nd to Academy of Natural Sciences on 3/21; 3rd to the Franklin Institute on 5/21 (no room on bus for parents); 4th to the Pines on 3/28; and 5th to Pennsbury Manor TBD. There is still no date for the Safety trip to Great Adventure.
OTHER BUSINESS
8th Grade:will be having a car wash on April 19th from 10am to 2pm at the Pearson School.
Ram’s Booster:Nothing to report.
Mrs. Smith:Board of Education is approving changes to the school calendar this Wednesday to make up snow days. March 17th and April 24-25th will be full days of school. Students’ last day will still be June 19th, and staff’s last day is June 23rd.
Board of Education is interviewing 9 candidates for the new superintendent/ principal position. They hope to approve the hiring of a candidate at the May 7th meeting.
NJ ASK testing will begin the week after spring break, April 28th. This is the last year for the NJ ASK. Our school is field testing the new PARCC test this year, and PARCC will take effect next year. This test is online and has a performance based assessment in language arts and math, and an end of year assessment on what students have learned between September and May. Pearson 4th graders will take the Language Arts assessment April 1st-3rd; WSS will take the Math assessment April 8th-10th; and WSS 6th and 8th graders will take the end of year assessment June 3rd-5th. The school has purchased 60 laptops to take the PARCC tests in classrooms. It was discussed that the students will need to learn typing skills in order to take these online tests within the time provided. It was also discussed that 2015 is supposed to be the last year for the HESPA tests. There is no science testing in the PARCC. New Jersey is one of 20 states using the new PARCC testing, which is based on the common core curriculum. The NJ ASK test was from the No Child Left Behind laws.
A parent brought up concerns over homework and the lack of projects in our school. Mrs. Smith also addressed using the Parent Portal at Pearson next year so parents can monitor their children’s grades and assignments online since it works well at WSS.
Upcoming Events:
3/18Spring Fundraiser Due
4/6Holiday Skating Party 5:15-7:15pm
4/10Spring Fundraiser Delivery, Pearson Gym Foyer
4/16Spring Musical
4/22Trenton Thunder Baseball Game, 7:05pm ($11/ticket)
4/30Chick-fil-a Spirit Night 5-8pm
The next PTO Meeting is Monday, April 14, 2014 at 7:30 pm in the Pearson Conference Room.
A motion to approve the January Secretary’s report was made by Liz Rottinger and second by Sue Hoffman.
A motion to approve the February Secretary’s report was made by Sue Hoffman and second by Michelle Furniss.
A motion to approve the Treasurer’s report was made by Sue Hoffman and second by Sherry Layman.
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Tracey Hamlin and second byMichelle Furniss.
* Thank you to the Delanco Township Education Association for their continued support through PRIDE!*
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