September 2009 General Meeting Minutes

PTO General Meeting Minutes

9-15-09  Dicken Multi-Purpose Room

6-6:30 pm

Minutes submitted by Vicki Haviland, 9-30-09

Board members attending: Vicki Haviland, Aerin Brownlee, Anthony Sparkling, Tracy Janevic, Julie Morrison, Jen Eyer, Jen Brogno, Kirstin Queen, Naela Jenkins.

About 20 other community members attended the meeting.

Meeting Overview and agenda by co-presidents Naela Jenkins and Jen Eyer

August minutes approved.  Minutes posted on PTO site and PTO bulletin board.

Review of Mission Statement – Naela Jenkins

Presidents’ Report – Naela Jenkins and Jen Eyer

• Introductions of Board members.

Goals for PTO for 2009-2010

• We want to go paperless as much as possible this year.  We will still send paper announcements to parents without email.
• New Enrichment programs –
• After-school, fee-based Hands-On Museum science enrichment program
• Super Scholars program:  modeled after Haisley’s after school enrichment program organized and staffed by parent volunteers
• EGGS push – grocery scrips and Great Lakes gift cards Scrip (see fundraising)

Treasurer – Anthony Sparkling

October 2009 Treasurer’s Report

Working Budget
		2009-10	2009-10
Sources:		Budget	Actual
Beginning balance per TCF Bank-PTO
Beginning balance per TCF Bank-EGGS
Total funds available at beginning of year		10108
Field Trip Fund		2500
Cash Donations		0
Miscellaneous
EGGS
	Krogers	2500
	Meijers	200
	Gift Card Fundraiser	300
	Buschs	1500
	Plum Market	25
	Hillers	25
	Ann Arbor Market	75
	Arbor Farms	150
	Whole Foods	25
	Target Credit Cards	400
	TOTALS:	7700

The Garden Committee strikes again!

The Garden Committee was busy this past Work Day. We accomplished a lot!

Hostas split and replanted.

Iris split and replanted.

Mums potted by front door, so welcoming!

The taming of the Herb Garden has begun.

This is what the front sign looked like before we arrived….

Nice sign, but its missing something...

…and this is what it looks like now!

Wow!

Thanks to the Brownlee family for making this beautiful front garden happen! Thanks to Eric Kos for graciously donating the 3 yards of mulch he won at last spring’s Silent Auction, and Michael Matejka for hauling the mulch.

There is more work to do! Please join us next time!

Here are some more pictures:

August 2009 Board Meeting Minutes

Dicken PTO Board Meeting

1-4 pm at Naela Jenkins’ house

August 30, 2009

Minutes submitted by Vicki Haviland on September 1, 2009, revisions completed (and minutes posted on PTO website) September 15, 2009.

Board Members Attending:  Jen Eyer, Julie Morrison, Anthony Sparkling, Tracy Janevic, Vicki Haviland, Aerin Brownlee, Debbie Mielewski, Naela Jenkins, Kirstin Queen, Jody Brecht, Jen Brogno

EGGs visitor:  Sarah Boylan

Introductions

Announcements:

1) Google groups will be used to distribute communications among the PTO board members, and

2) WordPress is the location of our new PTO website: http://dickenpto.wordpress.com/.  Kirstin Queen has put together a monthly task list to keep track of all the things we need to do on the Google docs site.

• Minutes: Vicki will type them up and email them to board members for any changes.  Board members should send any changes within a week, and then we will then post them on the PTO website that is linked from the Dicken website.  Vicki will also print a copy of each month’s minutes and put them on the PTO bulletin board at Dicken.

• Enrollment is back up to approximately 380 kids from approximately 360 in June.  Staffing looks good.

Communications — Kirstin Queen

June 2009 Board Meeting Minutes

Location: Jen Eyer’s home

I. Introduction (Naela) – In attendance: Naela Jenkins, Kirsten Queen, Jennifer Brogno, Anthony Sparkling, Jen Eyer, Leigh Ann Boyd, Janie Ward, Kevin Ellwood, Aerin Brownlee, Mike Madison
a. Aerin Brownlee agrees to act as secretary
II. Principal’s Report
a. MEAP proficiency scores was distributed and discussed. Dicken scores are competitive with other schools in both district and state. Mike would like our scores to be higher than district in all areas.
i. Writing scores discussed, scoring is subjective and writing test is likely to be eliminated for most grades next year.
b. End of Year Activities Tally distributed.
i. Noticed that some grades have more than 1 event for end of year celebrations. Is this appropriate?
ii. Some classes asking for additional funds for trips and parties. Are parents feeling pressured?
iii. Should each grade have just one end of year celebration
iv. Decision to bring this to staff for discussion

Raise money for Dicken school the easy way

The Dicken PTO has several fundraisers through out the year. Some of these cost you nothing! The Grocery Scrip/EGGS and Great Lakes Scrip programs are two ways to help Dicken without spending any extra time or money. Box Tops and Labels for Education may be on the products you normally buy — please look at the list below and start collecting! …

How to register your Kroger Card online

Register your Kroger Card online and earn Dicken FREE money (5% of your grocery bill!)

Step 1: Go to the Kroger Community Rewards site.
Step 2: Select your State
Step 3: Half way down the page is “ENROLL.” Click on it.
Step 4: Register yourself.
After clicking, “REGISTER”, you will need to choose your store.
Then you will be asked to input your email and create a password.
Step 5: Confirm your information.
Step 6: Go to your email and click on the link Kroger provides you in an email to confirm your information.
Step 7: After clicking on the link, you will be back at Kroger’s site. Click on “SIGN IN.”
Step 8: On the far right you will see KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS, click on “Edit Kroger Community Rewards Information.
Steps 9: Now you will be asked to input your 12-digit Kroger Plus card number.
Step 10: Confirm your address.
Step 11: Find your organization, Dicken Elementary.

You are done!
If you do not have a Kroger Plus Shopper’s Card, an application for one can be picked up at the store’s Customer Service desk. Next time you shop, please check your receipt. At the bottom it should say “Kroger Community Rewards. At your request Kroger is donating to DICKEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTO.”

Thanks!

Back-To-School Garden Clean-Up

What: Back-to-School Garden Clean-up

When: Tuesday Sept 1, 6:30-8:00pm

Where: Dicken Elementary

Who: YOU! And the Dicken Gardening Committee

How: We are planning to do some weeding and trimming in the garden next to the main entrance. Our school Daisy scouts did some great work last spring, but summer has taken its toll and the weeds are higher than the kindergartners! Come help us spruce up the place so that you can have a lovely backdrop for those first day pictures and give a cheerful “welcome back” to our students!

Please bring gloves, pruners, and friends to help. Kids welcome!

See you there!

Aerin Brownlee (Gram, 1st) and Sarah Boylan (Levi, 3rd and Josephine, 1st)
P.S. If you have a green thumb (or even if not) we would love to have you join us on the garden committee!

Looking ahead to next year

Even as this school year is coming to a close, we’re busy making plans for the fall. We want to ensure that we build on the fantastic work that outgoing co-presidents Kirsten Segal and Kathy Mahoney have done over the past few years.

For enrichment, we’ll continue the current traditions of the PTO providing for wonderful assemblies, Super Science Day, field trips, community-building events, and more. In terms of fundraising, we will continue along the path of trying to build up the Silent Auction, the Dolphin Dash and the EGGS (grocery scrips) program, so that we can reduce the need for several smaller fundraisers throughout the year.

Something new that we are trying is the addition of this website, which will be the online source for all things related to the PTO. It will also be a place for anyone in the Dicken community to share school-related information, photos and stories. By September you will see contact information for the PTO board, a fall calendar of events, volunteer opportunities, parenting resources and other useful information. So be sure to check back often!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Dicken PTO website! This is the place to get news from the PTO, including upcoming events, budget updates and information about fundraisers, plus useful resources for parents and students, and other items of general interest.

But this isn’t just the PTO’s site; parents, students and teachers can contribute, too. Know of a cool event going on around town? Took some great photos from a recent school event? Have helpful advice to share with Dicken families? Just read a great book? Write it up and email it to us.
 
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Please contact us with any questions or feedback. Hope you enjoy the site!