Minutes for November 10th, 2008
Attendees: Tonia Karnedy, Megan Houston, Rick Ebel, Amy Hunter, Donna Macdonald, Erin Mallory, Maureen Genzlinger, Mara Hayes, Leslie Capano, Angela Armour, Lisa Kunin, Katherine Hunter, Nancy Vetters, Carol McQuilllen
Opening
Co-President Monica Ostby welcomed everyone to the PTO meeting and Secretary Megan Houston read the meeting minutes from October 14, 2008, the most notable item being a discussion and subsequent vote on whether to invest in acoustic panels for the Orchard gymnasium using funds from the Drama Club savings account. The vote was approved 22-5 and the panels have since been ordered.
Event Recaps , Fundraising Updates, and Ed Unit Requests
Carol McQuillen reported that Harvest Fest had been extremely successful and that classroom and parent participation had made it especially meaningful. The Harvest Fest committee plans to discuss the event in the near future to review the food prep and serving processes and make recommendations for the next Harvest Fest in 2010. Mr. Ebel thanked SLIMY for the huge food contribution from the gardens and Tonia Karnedy reported that the event proceeds were $731.26. Librarian Donna Macdonald added that photos are posted on the Orchard website.
Carol McQuillen also provided the update for the SLIMY tag sale which earned $3,175 the preceding weekend. She thanked the 20+ volunteers of all ages who helped with the sale and succeeded in cleaning out the gym very efficiently afterwards. Extra merchandise was donated to a refugee resettlement program, a program for migrant farm workers and to other community organizations. Mrs. McQuillen asked the PTO to please consider increasing their supporting donation to SLIMY from $2800 to $3500 this year due to the need to attract a knowledgeable and dedicated summer coordinator to keep the gardens healthy. She and Mr. Ebel praised the past interns for their quality care and for many hours worked beyond expectations and Mrs. McQuillen explained that the coordinator’s hourly wage must be accommodated by the budget in order to continue attracting such responsible, qualified candidates. The PTO’s increased donation in conjunction with a donation from an area gardener of approximately $1,000 would sufficiently fund the coordinator’s position. The PTO has placed Mrs. McQuillen’s funding request under consideration.
The update regarding switching to the Beltrami studios for Orchard School pictures was postponed until at least January when more information would be available. The update on the Nothing But Noodles fundraiser from October 22nd was also postponed as the information had not yet been released to the PTO. A similar fundraiser at Uno’s is in the planning stages.
The Election Day Bake Sale earned $1,015 and the committee is pursuing the addition of hot coffee to increase proceeds.
Co-President Ostby then asked the teachers in attendance for their input on the changes in effect due to new district-wide fundraising policies and for feedback regarding the Ed Unit contributions given to teachers by the PTO. Maureen Genzlinger stated that the Flynn theater required commitments from teachers last spring before the new policies were known and that a percentage of the balance had to be remitted if cancellations were made beyond a certain date. Therefore, her classroom in conjunction with a few others had sent letters home asking parents for donations to help the classes attend the trips. In Mrs. Genzlinger’s experience, about half of the parents responded and some had sent additional donations. Mrs. McQuillen added that none of her parents had sent in extra but she estimated that an average of about 75% of the parents from the participating classrooms had responded. Under the previous system, all but 1 or 2 parents in each class would typically respond to the request. Co-President Ostby wondered if teachers would be comfortable requesting donations from parents again for field trips scheduled later in the year and Mr. Ebel cautioned the group to avoid too much repetition in the requests.
Mr. Ebel reminded the PTO that the district had added a budget line item for field trip expenses to this year’s budget but that it would not cover the usual number of field trips at Orchard. He elaborated on the new fundraising policies by outlining three main issues for the elementary level: 1) the easing of costs for parents when a field trip or activity is considered part of the curriculum since the curriculum is paid for by the public’s budget; 2) the cessation of door-to-door fundraising for the safety of the students; 3) the desire to protect teachers from being overburdened by solicitations from a large number of school groups. Mr. Ebel also pointed out that some of the new policies address circumstances in the upper grades in instances such as athletic clubs and foreign travel programs where a large fundraising effort is needed to support a small number of students relative to the total student body. Tonia Karnedy, who as Orchard PTO treasurer has attended district fundraising meetings this fall concerning the new rules, explained that the committee had produced a document that to clarify the policies for school groups while maintaining some autonomy in decision-making. This document has been submitted to Superintendent Everitt for review and approval. The committee is also investigating the creation of a calendar for the district listing the various fundraising efforts by date, coordinated by a designated contact from each school.
Co-President Ostby suggested that the PTO consider raising the amount of contributions in the teacher’s Ed Units for next year. Lastly, the announcement was made that the PTO plans to print cards for the teachers containing the school’s tax ID# as a convenience for securing exemptions for classroom supplies.
Updates on Future Events and Ongoing Initiatives
A parent involved with Drama Club initiated a discussion about how best to approach community businesses to support the play. The Club will consider simply listing sponsors in the program. A sample of the program from the drama club at the middle school has been requested along with input from their coordinators as a probable model for Orchard’s Drama Club. Chairperson Lisa Kunin reported that November 11th and 12th are the audition dates for 4th and 5th graders with casting announcements scheduled for Friday the 14th and rehearsals beginning the following week. Permission slips for participation in the chorus for grades 2 and 3 will be sent home to parents on November 14th with a requested costume donation of $3 per child for chorus members. 4th and 5th graders will also be asked for a costume donation in an estimated amount of $5-$10. The sound tiles will be installed by volunteers over Thanksgiving or holiday break and the materials have greater durability against impact than originally supposed. 2 new black side curtains approved by the PTO in the spring of ’08 have been ordered for $1333, a lesser expense than initially projected.
The School Board Outreach committee was praised for exposure generated for Orchard in The Other Paper this fall. Co-Vice-President Nancy Vetters reported that the School Board watch committee still needs approximately 3 more volunteers. Co-President Ostby reported that group artwork is slated to begin appearing in grocery stores and public spaces in January in an effort to garner support for the school budget vote at Town Meeting in March. The group explored ways to gather seasonally relevant examples from the teachers for this purpose and also for use in sending to the Other Paper. Volunteer parent Katharine Hunter hopes to capture art and writing samples digitally for easy electronic submission to The Other Paper and has asked other South Burlington PTO’s to participate in this publicity initiative as well. As a final note on the topic of Outreach, the PTO is looking to streamline the process of collecting information for next year’s student directory by verifying contact information on file with parents before school ends in June ’09. This will make information available much earlier in the fall to facilitate communication. The possibility of a paperless directory was also introduced.
Mr. Ebel, Donna Macdonald and teachers in attendance reported that the Artist in Residence-Bookmaking program with Linda Lembke had been a huge hit with students. Ms. Lembke will be present at the Book Fair Pizza Night on November 20th where the students’ books will be displayed to help share the experience with parents. Also joining us for that occasion is Tonya Stone, Orchard parent and author who has made recent visits to school reading her new biography of the artist Alexander Calder. A multi-disciplinary approach connected students with literacy as the K-1 house made letters, the 2-3 house made mobiles and the 4-5 house made circuses in conjunction with this program. Ms. Stone will be available to autograph her books available for purchase at the Book Fair. Volunteers are needed to assist with the Book Fair during the school day.
Due to the fact that the PTO does not meet in December, Co-President Ostby requested a vote from the attendees for PTO funding in the amount of $500 for a Martin Luther King, Jr. enrichment program in January to study black history and celebrate the civil rights movement in terms of relevancy in today’s world. Attendees approved this budget item.
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.
Page created by PTO Secretary Megan Houston and Orchard Library Media Specialist Donna Macdonald.
This page last updated: 01/22/09.