November 12th Meeting Minutes

Highland View PTO

November 12, 2012

Minutes

Fourteen individuals were in attendance (including Dr. Tharp and Mrs. Dietrich).

Dr. John Tharp, Superintendent of Schools for the Greendale School District, and HV parent, addressed the meeting and briefly discussed his philosophy of education. He responded to several questions from parents about curriculum, standards, and other topics.

The minutes of the October 15, 2012 meeting were approved.

Aleks Skibicki distributed the annual budget, the monthly financial report, and a fall fundraiser overview. He noted that we are expecting a $7200 profit from the fundraiser and that one-fourth of the students participated in the fundraiser.

Current Projects/Upcoming Events

Publishing Center: Lori Hanlon gave an overview of the publishing center and its function. The center opened today and Lori noted that volunteers are always needed and welcome, both for working at the center during the school and typing stories at home.

Sock Hop: Lori Hanlon stated that the Sock Hop is scheduled for January 18^th and is an all-school dance and fun event for the students. Parent volunteers are needed to be stationed around the school to help keep order during the event.

All the World Festival: Amanda Kachikis noted that the event is this Friday from 6:00-7:15. There will be fourteen exhibit tables as well as performances every 15 minutes. Additionally each child who completes the world passport that they use throughout the event will receive a prize/gift.

Conference Dinner: Kristin Settle recruited volunteers online and has a number of families contributing salads, desserts, etc. for the staff conference dinner on November 26.

RIF: Alison Julien gave an overview of RIF (Reading is Fundamental) and noted that the first book distribution will be December 18. Volunteers are needed for this all-day event, where each student in the school receives a new book.

Report on Past Events

Art to Remember: Kendra Bradford reported that more than $5000 in sales will result in approximately $1700 in profit for the PTO. Products are scheduled to arrive on December 12, with the exception of late orders which will come in January.

Fun Run/Walk for Education: Colleen Thiel chaired this event which had its highest turnout for Highland View, with about 140 participants, raising about $1300.

Market Day: Amanda Kachikis informed the group that the most recent Market Day was the best sale to date, raising over $200.

Proposal for Meeting Time Change

A member requested that the PTO consider changing the meeting time from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Attendees at this meeting discussed this issue and decided to leave the time at 6:00 p.m. for the time being, but to perhaps revisit the issue in January.

Principal’s Report

Mrs. Dietrich mentioned that the Florentine Opera assembly for the younger grades is scheduled for February 13. She also noted that students will start earning tickets for positive behaviors through the CARE program and requested the use of PTO funds to purchase raffle prizes. The PTO noted that funds had been budgeted for Read 20 and are available to CARE in lieu of the Read 20 program. She also described how students had written letters to veterans last week in honor of Veteran’s Day. She noted that the winter concerts are coming up next month: Dec. 11 is K5-5^th grade, Dec. 17 is K4, and Jan. 16 is band/orchestra.

Meeting Conclusion

The gift card for most parents at the meeting was given to Ms. Bayer.

The meeting was adjourned.