PALS Meeting: November 12, 2014
The November PALS meeting was called to order at 12:10 pm by President Wendy Beus. Officers in attendance were Wendy Beus and Marissa Schmitt. Others in attendance were Alayna Bleazard, Mr. Mahaffey, and Mrs. Vincent
*Old Business:
-PALS bank account balance is $2780.51.
-Popcorn will be given to all students at no charge on Spirit Days and GOTCHA Assembly days.
-The Book Fair will be held during conferences from November 18th-21st. Alayna Bleazard is the chairperson for Book Fair. She reported that she was still in need of a lot of volunteer help. She will send out a link to signupgenius.com so parents can volunteer to help at the event. There will be 2 cash registers at the Book Fair this year to help ease high traffic during peak times and allow all students to complete transactions during break times. All proceeds from the event go to benefit the school library in the form of cash and book credit from Scholastic. Last year we saw a $1000.00 increase in sales! Please contact Alayna Bleazard for more info.
-We discussed the possibility of changing banks because our current bank will be charging $17.00 per month for our account from now on. We will be checking to see if this fee can be waived, since we are a non-profit school related club. If not, we will be switching to a bank without a fee.
-PALS will provide dinner for the staff during conferences on November 18th. Wendy Beus sent out an e-mail with a link to signupgenius.com for the event and all necessities are covered!
-Due to new federal nutrition guidelines, the 3rd graders cannot continue holding their annual bake sale. They will be changing the event to an annual school supply sale, with Edwin Markham themed supplies. They did a survey in each class to determine popular supplies to include in the sale. Proceeds go to ASB,
*New Business:
-All parents are urged to check out the district website at Features include teacher contact info. And web pages, sign-ups for school messenger programs, minutes from PALS & ATP meetings, and an Educational Effectiveness Survey that the district is asking all families to complete.
-Principal Mahaffey informed us that the annual Direct Solicitation fund drive brought in roughly $1000.00 this year, which is down from previous years. These funds support school and ASB activities. Principal Mahaffey also reported that the Fun Run brought in $5200.00, which is more than enough to cover the needed computer lab chairs. The excess funds will negate last month’s request for PALS to purchase new headphones for classroom use, as the excess funds will cover that purchase. Note: There is a message from the Principal on the Markham webpage addressing concerns and issues surrounding the Fun Run. If you had concerns, please refer to the website. In the future the Fun Run will probably be held in the spring to avoid weather issues and conflicting with the school carnival.
-The fall carnival was held on October 30th. Revenue was $1103.45, which was down from last year. All proceeds were deposited into the PALS account this year. Carnival chair Audrey Thompson was not in attendance at the November PALS meeting to report, but some feedback had been noted by those in attendance. Wristbands used to monitor the trunk or treat this year was a bit of a difficulty for those running the trunk or treat vehicles. It was hard for them to check all kids, especially with the lack of light. The lack of lighting at the end of the trunk or treat, where wristbands were being cut off of wrists, was also noted as a concern. The wristbands also caused a bit of a back-up in the entrance line, as well, since they were putting the bands on kids. It was suggested to have a pre-pay option, allowing families to order, pay, and receive bands in advance, and then having a separate entry point for those who pre-paid. Some parents had mentioned wishing there were more “carnival style” games for kids to play, and others noted a need for ambient lighting at the entrance/exit to the haunted house. We had about 19 high school students total from Chiawana Leadership, Honor Society, FFA, Drama/Choir, and athletics helping at the carnival. With the number of stations needing filled, we could probably do with about a dozen kids next year, or have them rotate in shifts. They were a BIG help, though, freeing up parents from having to man stations and helping with tear down. Adult supervision for the bounce area is best, though, if we continue the bounce houses. High school helpers received free meals as a thank you for service, but we do need to get some thank you certificates to them. We have some Dairy Queen coupons left from last year. There was praise for the box maze, haunted house, and overall decorations at the carnival. A good time was had by all! Carnival is a BIG task and all volunteers are VERY appreciated!
-Wendy Beus introduced a fundraising opportunity. Goodwill Industries will bring a trailer out to the school and leave it in our parking lot. Families can bring in their gently used, unwanted items and deposit them in the trailer. When it is filled, they will pick the trailer up and weigh it. Our school receives money based on the weight of the contents donated. This fundraiser will probably be held in January, so clean out your closets, cupboards, garages, and sheds and we’ll let you know when to bring it in!
The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent.
Upcoming events:
*Conferences & Book Fair Nov. 18th-21st
*Early Release for Thanksgiving Wednesday, Nov. 26th
*No School Nov. 27th-28th
*Christmas Program Thursday, December 11th
*GOTCHA Assembly, Reindeer Run (1:45), and Class parties (2:15) on Friday, December 19th
***NO PALS MEETING IN DECEMBER. NEXT MEETING JAN.14th***
Please plan to attend our January meeting, held at noon in the school library. Parent participation and volunteerism is essential to a successful and enjoyable school for our kids. PALS meetings are an excellent way to stay involved and updated about your child’s school, while meeting other parents and staff members you may not already know!