September 10, 2013

Williams Township Elementary School Open PTA Meeting – 6:30pm

Present: Jackie Kohler, Holly Scheetz, Dan Ehlman, Cori Hughes, Kelly Danielson, Allison Hodson, Marzenka Domaszewicz, Kristen Mondelli, Shelli Piparato, Kevin Steidle, Beth Meuser, Sara Aquino, Kristin Stell, Heather Fredericks, Maureen Kozminski, Christa Sagrestano, Chandra Bleice, Lisa DiBiagio, Kim Bandi, Michael Houser, Heather Houser, Tina Freeman, Stephanie Koufalis, Kelli DePietro, Jeannine Horinko, Deana Washburn, Rachelle Gibbs, Julie Pecktor, Dawn Dufal, Annie Ritter

  1. President Rachelle Gibbs welcomed everyone and introduced the board members for this school year. Julie Pecktor is the Vice-President, Dawn Dufal is the treasurer and Beth Meuser is the Secretary.
  1. The Pledge of Allegiance was said.
  1. Principal’sReport - Mr. Steidle was introduced. He welcomed everyone and said he enjoyed meeting everyone at the Open House. He reviewed his history within the Wilson Area School District which spans 9 years. He also thanked the group for coming tonight.
  1. President’s Report –
  2. Rachelle thanked everyone who volunteered for September lunch duty and Picture Day. She reminded everyone that clearances are needed volunteer. Volunteer forms are available on the PTA website, which is
  3. The school nurse is in need of the following items: sweatpants with elastic waists (youth medium and large) and new girls and boys underwear (small, medium and large). If you can donate any of these items, please send in with your child in a bag marked for the school nurse.
  4. There is a correction to the sign-up sheet; there is a Talent Show but no Tricky Tray this year.
  5. There is a need for Committee Chairs for the Retirement and Career Day Committees. Krista Sagrestano volunteered for the Retirement Committee and Annie Ritter volunteered for the Career Day Committee.
  6. Rachelle requested an increase to the Enrichment program budget to $3500 from $1500 based on the increase in the number of programs offered. There was a discussion about class limits and the process for limiting the classes. The motion was passed.
  7. There was a motion made to cancel the Winter Craft Festival and the budgeted funds transferred to Enrichment for the after school programs. There was a suggestion made to use high school students as volunteers for these programs. Kim Bandi reviewed the art class with the group. The motion was approved by the group.
  1. Vice-President’s Report – Julie is working on the Student Directory and reminded everyone to return their information to the school if they want to be included in the directory
  2. Treasurer’s Report – Dawn Dufal reviewed the process for obtaining reimbursement for expenses related to the PTA. The receipt should be sent to school marked Attention: Treasurer, Mrs. Polgar Grade 1, Dawn Dufal. A copy of the 2013-2014 budget was available for viewing.
  3. Secretary’s Report – Beth Meuser read a Thank You note received from Mrs. DeLuca regarding the bench that was placed in her honor at the playground.
  4. Committee Updates
  5. A+ Giant Program – Beth Meuser reported that the program starts early October and ends in March. Once your bonus card is registered it earns money for our school and must be re-registered each year. It does not affect gas points or other points you earn and redeem. Please ask family members to use their numbers as well, since it is FREE MONEY for our school, and the more free money we earn the less fundraising we need to do! Last year a school in Bethlehem raised $18,000.
  6. Art Fair- The company closed that provided the frames and display stands. The plan is to go ahead with the fair and try to find another company or alternative method of displaying the artwork. Mrs. Cimino is retiring this year. The date of the art fair is April 8 in conjunction with Family Night at the Book Fair.
  7. Assembly and class trip – Mrs. Petty is in charge of this program.
  8. Book Fair – Heather Houser reported that it is scheduled for October 8,9,10 with family night being on Wednesday night.
  9. Book Swap – Dawn Dufal reported that the book swap is scheduled for February. The kids bring in 1-2 books and can take that many home. All children get a book that day. Leftover books are donated.
  10. Box Tops – Please send the box tops in on the first Friday of the month. This program is more FREE MONEY and is described on our website as well. Each month, the class that collects the most box tops wins a prize.
  11. Career Day – New chair Annie Ritter
  12. Enrichment – Kim Bandi reported that packets went home with the children. Kim reviewed the Session 1 programs for the group.
  13. Family Dinner – Lisa DiBiago reviewed the program. Local businesses donate a portion of their profits from a certain night to the PTA. October is Tommy’s Sole Mio and November is Sophia’s. It is usually the third week of the month for a few nights that week, watch for flyers to come home with dates and times.
  14. Halloween Party- There is a need for committee members to assist with this party. It is a huge success and the kids love it! This year it is scheduled for Saturday October 26 from 10am-12pm at the school. There was a comment made that we need to re-evaluate the dismissal process since it has been a bit disorderly in the past.
  15. Heritage Day – It is a day for family members to come in and discuss their ethnic backgrounds and expose the children to different cultures.
  16. Holiday Gift – There are books given out by Santa during the Winter Festival. Volunteers are needed to help with wrapping.
  17. Holiday Bazaar – The kids shop for holiday gifts during school. Volunteers will be needed to assist with this program.
  18. Membership – Andrea Errico submits our membership applications to the appropriate agencies.
  19. Newsletter – Shelli Piparato reported that the newsletter goes out about 2 weeks after the PTA meeting. She needs information prior to that date. There was a discussion about allowing advertisements and fun news about the kids in the newsletter. Shelli and Rachelle will discuss this issue and pricing and report to the group.
  20. Playground- Sara Aquino reported that the basketball hoop is being installed thanks to Mike Houser and came in at the budgeted amount.
  21. Rams Apparel – Tina Free man reported that she is open for new ideas of items to sell. A fall sale is planned.
  22. Reflections – Kim Bandi reported that the annual art contest will be held again this year and she hopes to have greater participation this year. Her thoughts were to have the teachers judge the art work. A suggestion was made to let the kids decide the winners. Kim felt that a combination of the two ideas may be best.
  23. Retirement – New chair is Christa Sagrestano
  24. Room Parent – The forms were sent home in the PTA packet for parent volunteers. Beth encourages parents with clearances to volunteer since the kids still love having us in school!
  25. Scholarship – The PTA provides two scholarships annually for high school seniors that have attended Williams Township Elementary.
  26. School Spirit Day – This is a fun last day of school with games for the kids to do with their friends. It is a wonderful volunteer opportunity, so get your clearances and come join the fun. This is Heather & Mike’s second to last year, so they were looking for someone to take over the job next year and this year would be a wonderful opportunity to shadow them to see what they do. Heather stated that Greg Washburn had expressed an interest, so they would talk with him.
  27. Science Fair – Heather Fredericks reported that it is scheduled for March 4th with the DaVinci Science Center tentatively coming for some live science experiments. Last year we had 95 participants and hope to increase the numbers this year.
  28. Scrip Program – The scrip form went home in the packet. Please use this program if you need gift cards and the PTA gets a percentage. This is more FREE MONEY! Giant gift cards are always available from Jennifer Janik.
  29. Staff Appreciation – This is a week long event that usually has a theme. Lunch is provided for the teachers with food donations and volunteers needed for serving.
  30. Talent Show – This is a wonderful show that the kids really enjoy!
  31. Tricky Tray – This is an every other year event. Lisa DiBiagio and Julie Pecktor would like co-chairs for this committee since next year will be their last. If interested, please volunteer since this needs to be a large committee.
  32. Ways and Means – Deana Washburn reported that we would be doing the Kids Stuff books, cookie and Gertrude Hawk candy sales this year. Kids Stuff books went home this week.
  33. Website/social media – Rachelle reported that the new website is up and running. It is . If there is any link that is not working, please email her. You can also get to our website through the Wilson Area School District website. If there is something you would like to see on the website, please let Rachelle know. So far Clearances, Rams Store, Calendar and Volunteer page are on the website. There is a new Williams Township Elementary School Facebook page as well as a Target facebook page that if you vote for our school we get $1.00. You can vote every 5 days and its more FREE MONEY!
  34. Winter Carnival – This is an in school event that falls on the Friday before winter break. We will be needing lots of volunteers for this event.
  35. Yearbook – This year Dan’s Camera City is creating our yearbook. The 4th graders are actively involved in the picture taking for the yearbook.
  36. 4th Grade Committee- This committee plans the last week of school for the 4th graders. Activities include a t-shirt signing and party in the courtyard.
  1. Old Business – None to report
  2. New Business–
  3. Front of school spruce up- Joanne Goodman’s employer may be willing to donate some shrubs. We are in the process of getting quotes. Mr. Steidle stated that the capstones would be replaced as part of the roof repair and he has requested that the flagpole be painted.
  4. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Beth Meuser

Secretary