Minutes from Glenwood PTO Meeting
October 16, 2007
PTO President Jessica Bivens called the meeting to order at 6:38 pm. Members in attendance were Jessica Bivens, Rebecca Fahey, Pam Wyatt, Audrey Collins, Varnie Elliott, Jennifer Melton, Pearl Goins, Ronnie Roskelly and Linda Twohig.
Principals report
- Mrs. Goins reported that things are going well. The Leveled Reading Program has begun for K-1. The new program will help provide extra help to those students in need. Two third grade classes (Carpenter & Boruff) are working with the new program so far but others will be added. This reading program is a commitment system wide and not just at Glenwood. (NOTE: We ranked 35th in the State with our reading program – AYP data!) Work on the cooling system for the office began on Monday. The construction crew will run the water line needed during Fall Break as well as new ductwork. They estimate that full completion of the installation should be done by Christmas. Work has started on the USA map outside the cafeteria. The map has been outlined and primer applied. The youth from Faith Promise Church will be at the school on Saturday to finish the project. Report cards will be sent home on Monday when the students return from Fall Break. Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Oct. 30th & 31st. Mrs. Goins also wanted to address the restroom situation that had been brought to her attention by Rebecca Fahey. Mrs. Goins talked with the TA’s regarding children not being allowed to go to the restroom during lunch. She was unaware that this was happening. There are some restroom issues at the present time, especially in the boy’s restroom, with someone urinating on the floors. The halls and restrooms have been monitored, and one particular student was felt to have been doing this. The problem had stopped until today, so Mrs. Goins will readdress this.
Minutes
September’s minutes were available for review & discussion. Motion by Jennifer Melton that the minutes be accepted; seconded by Linda Twohig. Motion passed unanimously.
Treasurers Report
The Treasurer’s Report was available for review & discussion. The main change was regarding the Cookie Dough Sales. Still out is $6,500 but we should collect most of this (expecting $5,000). Our profit should be around $15,000. Of note, hat’s off to the Book Fair Committee as the Fall Book Fair only cost the PTO $559.76. This included filling all the wish lists for the staff. Great Job! Motion by Pam Wyatt that the report be accepted; seconded by Jennifer Melton. Motion passed unanimously.
Special Presentation
Mr. Steve Hensley, Manager at Food City, talked to us about the Food City Apples for Students Program. Mr. Hensley said that Glenwood has a special place in his heart. Both of his children attended Glenwood, his wife worked at Glenwood, and now his grandchild is a student at Glenwood. During the past 18 years, Food City has given over $10 million worth of equipment to schools. Initially they started out by giving computers, but now there are a variety of items that can be “purchased” using their program. He gave the members ideas on how to obtain more “Food City Dollars” i.e. having him speak at this meeting, having local churches put a note in their bulletins informing members of the program, and putting a reminder on the school marquee for parents to register their ValuCards. After the first of November we will be able to track our progress on-line.
Committee Reports
Fall Fundraiser: Rebecca Fahey reported that the fundraiser went well. Only one issue came up. Calls came in stating that seals were damaged on the oatmeal raisin tubs. This was due to a problem with the way the plastic was fed through the machine at the plant. Ask people who ordered this particular item from you if the seals on their tubs are okay. If not, we’ll refund their money. We still have some tubs of cookie dough remaining. Rebecca made a recommendation that we donate these for the baskets being prepared for needy families here at Glenwood. Everyone agreed this was a great idea.
Old Business
Outdoor Classroom: No updates yet on the outdoor classroom. If you are interested in helping in any way, please see Ms. Bell, Ms. Ridener, Ms. McCallen or Jessica Bivens.
Budget Adjustments: No adjustments to the budget at this time.
Musical Preparation: Carolyn Livengood is coming back to help Ms. Casey with backdrops, etc. for the upcoming musicals. They are still looking for volunteers to help in any way you can.
Exercise Bikes: No luck in getting any donations as far as we know. It may be that Sharon Dowdy’s husband can get two or three bikes for us at a lower cost. Linda Twohig suggested that we check with Sharon and see what her husband can get for us. Since a vote was tabled at the last meeting, an e-mail will be sent out asking for a vote once we get further information.
New Business
Fall Fundraiser for 2008: The snacks that were provided tonight were from a company that would like us to do business with them next fall for our fundraiser. The prices on the items are pretty much the same as the cookie dough. We will make a 40% profit, and they will customize the sales for our school. They also offer the MEGA party. One good thing is that they pre-package all the sales per student per grade per class. Linda Twohig made a suggestion that we ask the company to forego on the “junk” that is offered as incentives for the students to sell and include that amount back in our profit. If anyone is interested in checking out their website, please see Jessica. We will be voting on our fall fundraiser for 2008 in April.
Campbell Soup Labels Program: Kim Brinkman will be heading up this new program at Glenwood with help from Ms. Ridener. She has sent off for information to get us started, and information should be available for the students to take home after fall break.
School Dress Code/Uniforms: Jessica Bivens stated that she had received an e-mail asking if there was a possibility that a school dress code/uniforms might be implemented at Glenwood. Mrs. Goins stated that we do have a dress code already in place. This is not something that we as a school can decide on as the policy-making decisions for this are done at the district level. Mrs. Goins said that this could be taken to the district meeting for endorsement if this is something the parents want to pursue. She also asked if we knew why this question came about i.e. to create an equal playing field among the students. Even if uniforms were mandatory, there would still be those who would stand out for various reasons.
Teacher and Staff Requests:
- Mrs. Goins: Last year we voted to give Mrs. Goins $9,000 towards the purchase of whiteboards for the classrooms. Mrs. Goins was going to ask for the whiteboards in her budget for this year and if approved, she would give the money back to the PTO. She received $7,000 in her budget to go towards whiteboards. Since this was specifically designated for those items, it has to be used for those items. What Mrs. Goins would like is to use part of the $9,000 to help fund a computerized electronic music lab for the school. The total cost for the music lab is $11,590.69. She would like to use $6,700 of the money the PTO approved for the whiteboards on the music lab and use the rest to cover the balance on the whiteboards. This is a program that Mrs. Casey is very excited about. Basically it means that every student in the school will be able to have lessons from Mrs. Casey on the keyboards. Mrs. Casey will bring in individual children for 2-3 morning sessions if the parents can bring them in before school. The keyboards will also be used during music class. This program will allow children to have keyboard lessons who might not otherwise be able to afford them. It will also give children who are already taking piano lessons extra practice and hopefully more incentive to learn. Rebecca Fahey made a motion that this be approved; seconded by Pam Wyatt. Motion passed unanimously.
- Mrs. Goins: The materials for the
shelves for the reading room are to be ordered from Home Depot. Ms.
McCallen’s husband was able to get us a 20% discount on the materials and
supplies. The total amount needed is $1,500. The youth from Faith
Promise will be building the shelves for us. The school has already
ordered about $15,000 worth of books for the new reading program.
Jennifer Melton made a motion that this request be approved; seconded by
Linda Twohig. Motion passed unanimously.
A drawing was held for the door prize (cheesecake), and Rebecca Fahey was the winner.
Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Minutes by Pam Wyatt, Secretary