NHW PTO Minutes

Wednesday, November 9, 2016, 6:00 p.m.

Attendees:Abby Gold, Trisha Love, Dawn Keeny, Jennifer Robertson, Mindy Tawney, Sarah Hostler, Jen Kauffman, Jess Shelley, Deb Schaefer, Kristy Dawson, Seth Furches (guest) Phil Polakoff

Phil Polakoffvisited the meeting tonight to present a fundraiser idea. He owns The Meadows located in Dallastown. He is willing to donate 15% of his sales totals during a specific time period in which teachers and principals volunteer time as “Celebrity Scoopers.” (The Meadows is now one of the corporate sponsors for RLASD.) A tentative date of Saturday, January 28, 2017 was picked and Mrs. Gold will work on getting volunteers to be “Scoopers.” There will be more information to follow.

  • Fall Fest: Troy was not able to attend the meeting due to a recent surgery. Jess Shelley reported that, for next year, Troy would like to see if we could reserve the use of the school if the weather is poor. We would use the church parking lot if the weather is good. Mrs. Gold will follow up and see what is needed from a custodian perspective. The Silent Auction table was very successful and brought in $572.00 in proceeds. Thank you to everyone who worked to get donations for this auction. Feedback was received that some folks were disappointed with the way the auction was run. Next year, someone will place signs on the tables to clarify how the bidding will work, including bids from bidders who can’t be present at the close of the auction.
  • Treasurer’s Report: The treasurer’s report was approved by 1) Dawn Keeny and 2) Mindy Tawney
  • Checking Account Balance = $17,863.57
  • Savings Account Balance = $11,518.13 (A copy of the Treasurer’s Report is on file.)

Caroline is considering taking some of the money from savings and placing it in a CD. Trisha Love and Seth Furches will also do some research regarding CD rates at area and online banks.

  • Secretary’s Report: The October 12, 2016 minutes were approved by 1) Mindy Tawney and 2) Abby Gold.
  • Student Directory: Mindy indicated the directory details are almost finished. She has some pictures to insert for new staff members. Toni Stafford will be taking on the project of creating the student directory in the future.
  • Memory Book:Mindy passed around a book with options for Memory Book covers and everyone marked their top three choices.
  • Parent Teacher Conferences: Teacher conferences will be held on November 17, 21 & 22. The PTO plans to provide lunch for the teachers on Monday, November 21, from 12:00 – 12:30. Caroline will contact Chick-fil-A to order a catered platter. She has a VISA gift card that she can use toward this purchase. Jess Shelley is making macaroni and cheese, Mindy is bringing soup, Trisha is bringing a salad, and Dawn will provide drinks. Trisha will contact a few other folks to provide something sweet as well as plates, napkins, flatware, etc. Caroline suggested setting up PTO information in the lobby during this time to remind parents of ongoing fundraisers. Mrs. Gold indicated she would direct folks to Mrs. Marcules if they have questions.
  • Direct Donations:Direct Donations is running from November 1st to December 2nd. Donations are already coming in as well as more donations from local businesses that can be used to buy more prizes. Many of the prizes are displayed in the school lobby and a note went home to families regarding the different prize levels. Mrs. Gold asked Jen to send out an email mid-month reminding folks of ways to win prizes along with the form to choose prizes. This will help to clarify some ongoing questions. This email should go out on its own and not be attached to other announcements so it is easily noticed.
  • Thank You Notes:Mindy will email Trisha with a list of folks who will need to receive Thank You notes for items they donated to the Fall Fest. The church should also receive a Thank You note.
  • Box Tops: Monthly contests are being held for Box Top collections. So far this year, $491.00 has been earned.
  • Giant A+ cards: The sign-ups for Giant A+ points began on September 12. No new sign-ups have come in since the last meeting. We have earned $221.15 so far through this program. The Rutter’s Rewards program ran through November 30 and we were able to earn the top goal of $250 for our school. Jen will sign up for another time frame in January. Folks will need to re-register their Rutter’s cards online to earn the money for the second time frame.
  • Clothing Collection Bin: The check for this month will be $123.90.Jen is now included on the emails from the vendor. 
  • Secret Santa: The Secret Santa Shop will be held on Friday, December 9 from 5:00 – 8:00. Vendors are welcome to sell their items for a donation of $10 per table. About 178 items have already been purchased for this event. Barb Channell is going to be the key person to coordinate the vendors for this event. Dawn will email the list of items that have already been purchased to Trisha and Jen. Jen and Dawn plan to meet soon (on an upcoming Friday) to sort and categorize the items by price. We may decide to buy more items at that time. The suggestion was given of placing color coded stickers on the items to denote price levels. Mrs. Gold indicated the school will be available at 3:00 on the 9th to start setting up. Bakers can bring items to school on December 9 or bring the items with them when they shop that evening. We will need a cash drawer for both the baked goods and the Santa Shop. Mindy has a cash drawer she can loan for that night. Dawn will email folks who signed up to volunteer to see how/if they are interested in helping with this event.
  • Mrs. Gold: Mrs. Gold mentioned our school received a SPP score of 78. This score is the 2nd best in the district. It indicates that NHW is “working toward growing our kids throughout the year.”
  • There is a meeting regarding the school PTOs on December 14 beginning at 9:30 a.m. Mrs. Gold and Jen Robertson are planning to attend.

Next Meeting: December, 2016 6:00 p.m. at NHW

Dawn Keeny, NHW PTO Secretary