October Minutes

Meeting Minutes
Mar Lee PTO

Date: October 12, 2009 Location: Mar Lee Library
Meeting Called to Order By: Jerry Bishoff Time: 7:00pm
Attendance: Number of attendees

Minutes: Minutes of 09/17/2009 meeting read and accepted


Guest Speaker
Guest Speaker: Gail Ryan
Mrs. Ryan, second grade teacher, was our guest speaker. She introduced us to RTI (Response to Intervention), a state-wide initiative for reading in the lower grades. The purpose is to bridge gaps in reading concepts so students can be successful readers. The program requires 1 teacher and 2 teacher aides. In her classroom she has 4 active book clubs for advanced readers and several small groups to build fluency and improving phonics. Mrs. Ryan is very happy about the performance her teacher aides give and hopes they will continue to be provided through Federal funding. The focus for second graders this year is “Our Community”. They will spend the year learning about local communities with an emphasis on Marshall. Choosing one particular community was challenging due to the number of children at Mar Lee though the School of Choice Program. Their learning will culminate in a day-long field trip in May of 2010. She is considering plans to visit local sites of interest. Mrs. Ryan is requesting that parents get involved in her classroom by volunteering. Parents can call the school or Mrs. Ryan directly.

Principal’s Report
Principal: Sheri Thorbjornsen
Sheri is planning to attend the monthly PTO meetings and is excited to support all the PTO activities that are scheduled this year. She is also supporting a state-wide initiative called Positive Behaviors. Mrs. Zona is also supporting this initiative. Currently, they are brainstorming ways to get parents involved. Some ideas on the table include Math Night, learning games that will help equip parents to help with homework, and a Parent Connection class. One or more of these activities may occur during Parent-Teacher Conferences in November.
Additional items discussed between attendees addressed to Sheri:
A suggestion was made to have Mr. McCann start a Web Club that students could join to take ownership of designing, enhancing and maintaining the schools website and links.
Preparation for H1N1 continues at Mar Lee. Teachers and staff are watching kids closely and strongly encouraging students to practice good hand washing and use of hand sanitizer that has been placed throughout the building. Dr. Letarte is pursuing the possibility of Mar Lee being a vaccine site for the local community. There as another emphatic suggestion that the faucets in the bathrooms be replaced with automatic water onset.
There have been many questions about the importance of controlling foods that contain peanuts in the school building. This is an important health issue for one of our students and requires everyone’s support. To clarify, there should be no food containing peanuts in any public areas of the building, specifically, the library, computer lab, gymnasium, 5th grade classrooms and the Health Room.
Lori would like the school to research putting in new faucets in the bathrooms due to sanitary reasons

Officers’ Reports
President: Lisamarie Teeters
Lisamarie’s first order of business was to get organized! She has provided all board members with tabbed 3-ring binders full of information. These binders are to be kept identical so everyone has the same information, avoiding the problem lost materials. She is working on creating electronic backups of PTO documents, and possibly even using the Mar Lee website as a tool to retain and make available PTO materials. A copy of the duplicate binders will be kept in the school office for parents to peruse. In an effort to take advantage of our available knowledge and experience in the PTO, new members will be paired with veteran members from whom they can learn. There will be a specific focus on documenting our procedures, what we do and how we do it. Monthly PTO meetings will occur on the second Monday of each month, at which the Secretary, Beth Denbrock, will take minutes and forward those to Board Members and others wishing to receive a copy each month.

Vice President: Jerry Bishoff
Soccer nets are up! Thank you Jerry and all the parents/teachers who volunteered their time to get this done.

Treasurer: Lori Young
Treasurer’s report read and accepted (or amended). Report attached.
Lori provided a prepared report to the Board. Beginning checking balance was $3,131.03. After September activity, the ending balance was $6,507.32. Everyone agreed that checks would be signed for deposit by at least 2 Board Members to create accountability.

Committee Reports
Fall Fundraiser Committee: Claire Healey and Becky Zona
Fall fundraiser orders are due, October 14. Delivery is scheduled for November 17 and volunteers are needed to help unpack and prepare student orders. Please call the school and offer to help out for an hour or two on the 17th.

Old Business/Events
Field day will be the last week of May 2010
The Meijer Rewards letters need to go out to parents. Kari Byrd will coordinate with Lisamarie assisting.
Jump for Heart is coming and the PTO will be providing water bottles and apples. Mr. Patton coordinator for this event.
Weekly fluoride treatments continue (Thanks, Randy!). Randy needs some additional trays to deliver the fluoride to classrooms and will be submitting a written request to the PTO to purchase them.
Box Tops are still being collected and are a useful tool for the school to get supplies and equipment.
The Spring Sing will be in March 2010.
Christmas activities will include a Holiday Sing on December 1 and Holiday Music on December 2 by the Mar Lee Band Members. PTO will be providing a Santa this year.
Ice packs are needed in the office for bumps and bruises. A motion was made by Becky Zona to purchase the disposable ice packs for $100, it was second by Kari Byrd – all supported this motion.
Kat McDonald reported that we had $720 in Box Tops and 6062 Campbell’s Soup Points. Soup Points were used to order a variety of sports balls, but the shipment has not yet arrived. Lisamarie to check with Mr. Patton and the office to see if they recall any shipments coming in.
Christmas projects for the kids will be coordinated by Kat McDonald and Claire Healey. The PTO will financially support the Mar Lee School Christmas Parade Float.
Paper Products for class parties will be organized by Nicole Maurer.
The first Snack Day will be October 17 and will be nachos and cheese (50 cents), pop ($1) and water. Snack Day will be coordinated by Claire Healey and Nicole Maurer. Amy Turner to assist as the mentor on this project.
Penny Wars will run November 9 – 12 and Becky Zona and Marsha Bishoff will coordinate.

New Business
Jerry Bishoff suggested moving the PTO checking account to Marshall Community Credit Union, in part because of their support through the CU in School Program. This decision is tabled for further discussion.
Mr. Henke submitted a funding request for $245 for the seventh grade class trip to Washington D.C. This provides $5 for each of the 49 students slated to participate. A motion to approve was submitted by Lori Young and seconds by both Kari Byrd and Mary Ann Heatwole.
A funding request was submitted by Sheri Thorbjornsen for $200 for MEAP snacks and a celebration with Dan Dan the Yo Yo Man at the conclusion of MEAP testing. Jerry Bishoff approved the motion and Lori Young seconds the motion.
Defibrillator training will occur in the coming weeks and will be led by Jerry Bishoff.
Library improvement project will be led by the PTO and will include the acquisition of new books through several methods (donations, book swaps, dedications, etc.)



Announcements
Next meeting is 11/09/09 at 7pm Mar Lee School Library
Meeting Adjourned At: 8:30am
Minutes Compiled By: Beth Denbrock, Mar Lee PTO Secretary