PTO Meeting Notes 

November 13, 2013

Mr. John Macero, Superintendent came in to talk about the new school building project.

• Thanks the community for vote.
• The building project is a 2 ½ year project
• January 2017 projected opening
• Transition teams are being built in all schools
• Questions about traffic, time frames, start times, personnel, swing space etc, will be reviewed by these committees.
• Working hard so that the High school students get the “high school” experience.
• Will be going to the different middle school and high school to meet with the students and see what their needs and expectations are.
• Budget for 1.5 million dollars for swing space.
• Please contact Mr. Macero with any questions via phone, email or facebook.

Principals Report (delivered by Mrs. Oleary)

• Question: regarding the renewal of A-Z books. This is a resource the teachers use/share. Will let the PTO know of cost so that we can vote on it.
• Site council is resetting goals and is looking for an increase in science and social studies curriculum. Enrichment program or a Science night? Response: PTO has a science enrichment program coming in early next year and has also talked about having a science night (like Literature night). More will be discussed next meeting.
• Transition: A committee is being put together, and the next site council meeting will be all about the transition.

General Business

• Room parent/holiday gift guidelines- reminder that there are strict guidelines regarding teacher gifts. 
• Personal gifts for a teacher =$150.00 classroom gift=unlimited $ (edited to add that personal gift means a gift for the teacher from the class and classroom gift means a gift for the classroom [ex. Staples gift card, basket of supplies, etc. $150 is for the entire school year so keep end of year gift in mind].)
• Loop update: all is moving great, they will bring up concerns/suggestions regarding the transition next year to Mr. Macero.
• Library update: Lisa Bower asked for a $100.00 budget for library materials/decorations. APPROVED
• Tumblebooks online renewal APPROVED
• Volunteer update: Looking for parents to cover meetings. Great opportunity to be involved/get in the classroom. Please contact Mrs. Babine if you would like to receive emails regarding volunteer needs.

PTO EVENTS UPDATE

• Spooky Bingo- was great, great turnout! We even made some money.
• Upcoming events: Family skate party, paint night (adult only), literacy week. We are looking for help on all these efforts.
• T-shirt pre-orders will be going in backpacks in the next couple days.
• Yankee Candle update: We did an amazing job with the fundraising. It was a very easy fundraiser to do. We are expecting the order to come in the week of Thanksgiving. 
• Coat swap date is Dec. 5th Multipurpose room. 2nd year we are doing this. This year we will be doing it after school. 
• Gorman Giving Food Drive: Dec 19th Bring in your canned goods.

TREASURES REPORT

• After spooky bingo, enrichment, playground replacements, Ice cream social We have over $14,000.
• We have to pay for some enrichment and are also waiting for some grant money to come in.
• Stop and Shop Contest
• Please participate in the contest. The school with the most people enrolled gets a visit from a Patriot player. Even without the visit we still get money from the program. PLEASE PARTICIPATE.

PLAYGOUND UPDATE

• Benches are ready and will be coming soon. Some repairs will be done to the playground. We will be asking the Town for a barrel for the playground. Mulch is also needed so that it is safe. 

Enrichment Activities (Cara Huberman)

• October NED Show YO-YO was great and we ended up selling some Yo-yo’s
• November Magic of reading- Kids seem to like it. (we hear lots of laughter)
• December Winter Solstice puppet show/music
• Grant was approved for $5000 for the Lunch room wall art project. Artist has been chosen and Cara is looking for helpers. Will start April 2014.

Meeting Adjourned.