PTO Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Members Present:
See sign in!

New Minutes:

-Book Fair - at SES from 12/7-12/9
657 students, $13,000 in sales, all in 10 hours! Thank you to all the volunteers. ALL students left with a book, whether or not they brought in money or not. Brittany donated between $600-$700 to the Media Center, teachers were given a $20 voucher and the school store was given donations of $100. (A non-profit has to charge tax to a profit (students), but not to teachers or the media center. This is a new law this year.) We made $4,000 in Scholastic dollars, and we used about $2,000 for this book fair. 

-Fundraising
Square One Art - Our SES sales were over $5,600 by the last day, and we get 33% back in the form of a check in a few weeks!

Teacher Experience Raffle - THIS WAS THE BEST!!!! We had 61 teacher experiences for kids to “bid” on….each raffle ticket was $1.  We made $6,576 in profit! This was the biggest fundraiser ever! Thank you to Janine Healis for designing the logo and the tickets. We will DEFINITELY be doing this again next year! There were probably 81 total “winners” and several were prizes for the whole class! Thank you to Christine Cannon for this incredible idea! Connection, community, enthusiasm on the part of both staff and students was palpable!  PTO also donated 3 $50 gift cards for a teacher raffle.  

-Events
MBA Movie Night - 110 middle school students attended in the SES auditorium. Pizza, drinks, desserts were delivered. Bathrooms were monitored, no kids were wandering the halls, etc. Spring should be Bingo and Ice Cream at MBA.

Harlem Wizards - They came in 2020….this will be such a family fun event. They are coming February 23rd, tickets will go on sale right after winter break. There are different tiered tickets at different price points.  There will also be a staff/Wizards game. Staff will also sign up to sell concessions and merchandise. Family fun, very interactive and engaging night!

Author Visit - Michael Rex will come May 10th, three SES presentations! More info to come!

Science Center - We are going to put this on hold for this year, and potentially try again next year.

Fun end of the year event?? We are open to ideas!

-Misc.

Color Run - This is still a want for the Spring! We’d love to make this a free event.  T-Shirts, MBA fields (perhaps), Kona Truck. More to come!

If anyone ever has any pictures to share, please do! Email them to somerspto@gmail.com 

Mrs. Mucci’s next 9 at 9 winners will be decorating sugar cookies this Friday, followed by snowflake decorating next week.

PTO also gives all staff members Amazon gift cards for the holidays.  Thank you so much!!

Dr. Gagliarducci joined us to let us know that a candidate will be meeting with several groups next week…parents, teachers, administrators, and support staff. Feedback will be given, and if all goes well then the Board will potentially offer this person a contract that will begin in April.  This will be a very difficult budget year - the federal money the Board received for our school budget next year is gone, so things could be very tight. Be sure to tune into the January Board meeting, which is now live streamed.

Thank you to Dorothy for the baked goodies and to Brittany for the hot chocolate!


Next Meeting:
Wednesday, January 11th at 5:30 in the SES Media Center

Questions??

Adjourned 6:12 pm

​

PTO Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Members Present:

Brittany Dwyer
Dorothy Ruggiero
Becky Joyal
Christine Cannon
Margot Martello
Melissa Cianci

Refer to sign in sheet for parents present


New Minutes:

Teacher Experience Raffle had a lot of teacher buy in thus far! Many have signed up. This should be really exciting for kids, and is great for PTO, as it costs us nothing! All activities will happen at the school for this year, either during the school day or 30 minutes before or after.

Halloween Happenings was a huge success…the kids loved it! The decorations were amazing, and the 8 Trunk or Treat cars went way above and beyond with their themes and decorations! Perhaps 20 minutes a grade level next year…40 minutes was a bit long. The whole day was made up of donations. Idea for next year: can we place a donation box at a store for people to donate items? For the recess stations: can we show kids options for tattoos prior to them coming up to the table? Or can they choose their tattoo from a jar and bring it to the table? It may move things along. For next year, we definitely need more stencils…they “wore out” after a bit. Megaphones are needed to call classes to the table. Is there another activity that might be more appealing to the 4th and 5th graders instead of tattoos and face paintings? Water bottle stickers? Let’s think about that for next year!

Science Center: They will do a fundraiser where we sell discounted admission tickets for $16 (ish), and $5 of each ticket comes back to us. Tickets are good for a year. Thinking of picking a weekend day in January and calling it “Somers Day…” have a PTO table set up to welcome Somers guests. They suggest a 3 week sale….we collect all money, send it in to them, then they get the tickets to us (or we pick them up) and we distribute them. Thinking about starting the sale in December so we can aim for the last weekend in January for a “Somers Day” (even though tickets can be used for an entire year). UPDATE:  Let’s move this event to March!!

Harlem Wizards: We have the high school gym on February 23rd. Just waiting for the superintendent to put his final stamp of approval! Teachers play in the game, teachers sell the concessions. The last time they came, we made over $10,000! Ticket sales will start in January. Stay tuned for more information, but this is sure to be an incredible event again!


Michael Rex - Author visit at SES! He is currently available the first two weeks of May. $1,400 for the day, and he will do 3 presentations (K/1, 2/3, and 4/5). PTO will provide him with a lunch.

Movie Night: SES will have a Family Movie Night…maybe January???? TBD.

MBA Ice Cream Social will be in March

Reading Intervention Program needed some new chapter books, so PTO donated $300 worth of books to their program! Awesome!

Scarecrows looked great at MBA! Each advisory made a scarecrow, and the winning 4 classrooms received a PTO sponsored donut party. 

SES has a PTO bulletin board with pictures of our events! So far the “9 at 9” classroom winning events and Halloween Happenings have been featured!

Color Run - Brittany would like to try this and make it a free event if possible. End of the year “fun” for MBA and SES. Run times would vary depending on age. High school students could volunteer to “throw” the color (under adult supervision). It works best if the shirts are a little wet first, so they would need to run through some sort of a misting fan first. Can we get donations of t-shirts, color powder, etc? Can businesses sponsor games? Can we get Downtown Brown to DJ?

Veterans Day - PTO is donating a rose to every veteran and they will each get a cookie and a water. Assemblies at MBA and SES.

Zombie dance at the middle school on November 18th. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!! Specifically for food and photo booth.

Healthy Kids Running Series Community Coordinator - Karen O’Donnell: Kids ages 2-14 run on Sundays for 5 weeks at Field Road. Next “season” starts as early as April 16th (skip Memorial Day). 50% of registrations are given back to the hosting organization, as well as a portion of paid sponsors fees. Last spring there were 170 kids, this fall there were 107! $40 per child for the season. Advertising is all on social media, Karen has yard signs, and all registration is done online. Karen is looking for volunteers to help take this on. Starts at 3:00, usually over by 4! Community Coordinators just need to have a background check through the Healthy Kids Running Series. Local businesses can help sponsor additional items as well - Big Y, Costco, Geisslers, etc. for healthy snacks. Insurance is through Healthy Kids. Permission needs to be granted by Rec Dept for the field space each season. Parents loved it, and the feedback was very positive. Sponsors can come to each race and set up a table if they want, their logo goes on all emails, etc. and their sponsorship helps to offset the cost of the medals, trophies, and t-shirts. The course needs to be flagged out prior to each race, so the coordinators need to be there at least an hour early.  
 
Squire Farms fundraiser - not allowed to publicize through the school, so it was just posted on the PTO page. Online fundraising…order from them online (wreaths, centerpieces, candles, etc.), and you go pick it up at their farm in Longmeadow. We get 20% of sales, but Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts also do this fundraiser so we’ll see how it goes! It was free to participate, so we can’t lose trying it out for this year.

MBA had their SBAC Growth Breakfast at the high school for students who met their attainable target growth goals in ELA and Math. It was catered, there were raffle prizes, and Senator Kissel spoke. It recognized many successful students, even those who have never been able to be honored for academic achievement in the past…not just the top scorers. PTO would love to donate a raffle prize for next year! 60 students were honored at his breakfast!



Next Meeting in person and also offered on Zoom:

December 14th at 5:30

Meeting adjourned at 6:45.

​

​Somers CT PTO

Meeting started at 5:36pm
Introductions and attendance:
 

Brittany Dwyer, Dorothy Ruggiero, Christine Cannon, Ashley Austin, Muyly Tiroletto, Laura Fox, Sara Reissig, Kelley Burgess, Melyssa Brown-Porter, Ann Marie Yager, Jannine Healis, Caitlin Cooke, Laura McPhail, Gina Olearczyk, Renee DeCormier, Erika Relihan, Melissa Mucci.
 
 
Book fair at MBA. Made over $4,000 in sales which is a record. $3,300 in student & parent purchases, $160 went to school store, $220 to media center, $550 in books to teachers. $1,200 in scholastic dollars. $700 left in Scholastic Dollars.
SES book fair in December for conferences. Sign ups will go out to volunteer to help kids and with registers. Day/Night/Day for conferences.
Fundraising, spirit wear has ended. Should come in mid-November. Will need help sorting because form didn’t ask for a student name. Square One Art is on-going in art classes. Artwork will be sent to Square One next week. First week of November the order forms will be in. We get 40% of that back.
Sara mentioned CT Science Center tickets as a fundraiser. Squire farms is moving ahead, all orders will be online and Squire will handle the payments and pickups. It will be gift baskets and wreaths. Another idea is raffle baskets at conferences, would be nice to have someone to chair this. Two ways we could do it, have businesses donate or have grade levels donate. Can do MBA if we can do it. Brittany asked if anyone is interested to see her about it. Christine Cannon suggested a teacher experience raffle. It’s for students, breakfast with teacher, get ice cream with teacher. Have a “menu” and each experience has a ticket number and there are cups in the school they can put tickets in to raffle. She ran it in Ellington and there were 65 experiences and raised thousands. Have to figure out logistics to run it in order to get the money right and the tickets where they need to go. Jannine Healis volunteered to help with any design. Group agreed that this would be better than traditional raffle baskets. CC will help coordinate.
Harvest Happenings, committee met yesterday, will happen during school hours on October 31. Looking for volunteers for trunk or treat, 8 cars total in front loop. K-2 and 3-5 will be split. Cars will need to be decorated by parents with their own materials. Starts at 9:00 to set up and go till 12:30 plus time for clean up. Second part is face painting and temporary tattoos during recess. Tattoos will only be on hands, face painting is basic. Will figure out logistics… Melissa Mucci suggested lining up by class so that everyone has time for recess too. Questions about rain plan… will move inside as best we can. Treats will not be eaten, they go home in the backpack. No peanut candy with be handed out. More trinkets than candy will be handed out. Student Council will be putting the bags together. If it is not finished, then volunteers will be asked to help.
MOVIE NIGHT: Hosting movie nights for SES and MBA, separately. SES will be a family movie night. Free popcorn will be available. SES, bring favorite stuffed animal, pjs. Before holidays come, signupgenius will have 350 slots because that’s all we can fit. Maybe do it at the high school so it can fit everyone, or SES gym? Time, location forthcoming but will be before holidays.
Harlem Wizards will be in January or February, waiting to hear what dates they have available. Big fundraiser last time we did it. Can sell 325/350 tickets.
Christine Cannon is teacher representative.
Healthy Kids Running Series – Karen O’Donnell is asking if the PTO can run this because it has become too much for her. Backed by national company so a lot of the tasks are taken care of. Would need someone to get sponsors… PTO would get 50% of registrations and sponsors at end of season. Currently have 8-9 high schoolers and volunteers. Brittany asked if Karen could handle the sponsors? Could she come to next meeting to talk to everyone about it.
Color run was brought up and discussed again like last meeting.
Next meeting November 9
Christine says she is bringing back a Veterans Day assembly and is asking if the PTO would donate flowers. Carnations would be best. Colonial Flower can do a bucket of flowers. Also hold a reception afterwards with drinks and treats. Morning. No one against, PTO will sponsor.
Meeting ended at 6:33

​September 22, 2022 meeting, started at 5:36pm
 
In attendance: Lori Westbrook, Ann Marie Yager, Ashley Austin, Stacie Zimowski, Muyly Tiroletto, Renee DeCormier, Brianna O’Tooe, Erikak Relihan, Gina Olearczlk, Katie Bailey, Jill Boggis, Dorothy Ruggiero, Julie Fitzgerald, Kelley Burgess, Melyssa Brown-Porter, Laura Fox, Ellie Olko, Deepak Achenya, Brittany Dwyer, Melissa Mucci, Margot Martello
Brittany Dwyer welcomed everyone and stated she is hoping to revamp and revitalize the PTO this year. There will be one meeting a month on the 2nd Wednesday in the SES Media Center. High schoolers can earn credit for babysitting so that is being looked into.
Election of officers: Interim president will be Brittany Dwyer – she will get everything running but would like someone to take the position. Vice President will be Dorothy Ruggiero and Treasurer Sara Reissig. Offer was put out for secretary with no takers so in the interim Rebecca Joyal will continue the role. Marketing will be handled by Dorothy Ruggiero and for the time being fundraisers by Brittany Dwyer.
Book Fair: The MBA book fair is 9/29 & 9/29 – volunteers are needed and Dorothy will create a sign up. Students go during LA and parents go during conferences. Teachers get free books, social workers get free books, pens, journals. SES book fair is 12/7-12/9 during the half days and during parent teacher conferences. Volunteers are needed and Dorothy will create a sign up. New this year: we have to charge sales tax so that will be confusing – Brittany will communicate to parents. 10% of book sales goes back into the schools as books to the media center and each teacher receives $25 to spend (those will be tax free)
Fundraisers: Spirit Wear starts 9/23, there will be one for SES and one for MBA with each school name. All orders will be done online and delivered to the school. Brittany and some volunteers will distribute to classes. It should end mid-October and be delivered mid-November.
                Square One Art at SES – the art teachers will coordinate with PTO to have drawings done in class. PTO mails in the artwork 10/20 then in November each student will receive stickers and a catalog of their drawing. All ordering is done online and will ship right to the students house.
                Would like to do one fundraiser a month and asked for ideas: Munsons, Raffle baskets for parent conferences, socks (were popular but timely), Harlem Wizards (was large success previously), Boosterthon (they come into school and run it, families pledge money for their child to do laps), Color Run, Holiday Shop (kids buy presents and school wraps them)
Open Houses: SES is 9/22 and MBA is 9/28. Volunteers would be appreciated and the table will have our banner, spiritwear (MBA), and information on Box Tops & Amazon
Halloween Happenings: Or “Harvest” Happenings, have done it many different ways. Brittany will check the status of the doors that were made years ago. All candy and trinkets have to be donated. PTO does all the leg work, student council can bag candy. What we do depends on volunteers. A committee is being formed.
Committee Chairs: a lot of volunteer opportunities this year with the Book Fair, Halloween Happenings, Teacher Appreciation Lunch, Field Day, Sundaes & Songs. In the October 12 meeting, committees will be discussed.
Margot Martello added that MBA would like to put together more events with the help of the PTO.
Meeting adjourned at 6:27pm

PTO Meeting
Monday, October 15th, 2018


Members Present –
See sign in!  Thank you for coming!

Meeting was called to order at 5:30 pm.

Superintendent’s Report:  Long Range Facilities Plan
Brian came to update us on the upcoming referendum, and the Long Range Facilities Plan we will vote on.  Previously, in 2015, a comprehensive plan had been put together with regard to what needed to be “fixed” in our district.  A lot has changed during that time, so updated quotes were gathered over the summer, and we find ourselves in need of about $9 million worth of maintenance on site to all three buildings and our grounds.  

Highlights:  Elementary school needs general building repairs, carpet for auditorium, gym floor, classroom partitions, air handling unit in the Media Center, brick and mortar work on exterior of building, restroom compliance issues, oil tank replacement, partial roof replacement.  MBA requires about $87,000 worth of repair – hardware on doors, restroom compliance issues, tech ventilation system (safety issue). Kitchen appliances need to be updated in all three buildings, new storage building for maintenance. SHS needs about $350,000 worth of work - lighting system in auditorium, replacement of boilers, outfield and fencing of baseball fields, high school track.  The track is in very bad shape, cracks, sagging, repairing is no longer an option…it is not a regulation size track, and we are unable to host any meets here in Somers. This will be used for many other things as well….under the lights games, other sports teams, graduation….3/4 students will utilize this new “facility” if it goes through. There was a change in the cost from the initial estimate that was given.  The initial estimate was to remove and replace a ¼ mile track, but that is not what we currently have. A company that specializes in building athletic facilities came and gave an estimate of about $3 million. (Larger regulations size track, relocation or reorientation, interior field, drainage, pitching, irrigation, lighting, bleachers, etc.) NO LOCATION OR CONFIGURATION HAS BEEN FINALIZED. That will be decided upon when it is put out to bid after the bond has been approved.  Two step process – request for qualifications, and then obtaining proposals from the most responsible and qualified companies. There would not be any tax increase to the residents of Somers to approve this bond.

October 25th – Town Meeting at 7 pm – Brian will explain this proposal at this meeting and then it will go to referendum.

PLEASE VOTE – Referendum is on November 6th.



Mark Maciolek:
Mark congratulated Mike Szafir and the track team that he has developed at our high school.  He thinks a new track would be something great to support, and definitely worth the investment.

Mark came to our meeting to represent the LA teachers at MBA.  In the past, the PTO has supported authors for the middle school.  These students are at a critical age… they love to read, and the benefits are numerous when they see an author in person.  Someone they are looking into is Gary Schmidt, from Michigan. His books are taught in both 7th and 8th grade at the middle school.  Clay seconded the idea saying that this is good for kids….this is a valuable experience for all students.  The PTO support in the past has been very much appreciated. Mark will be in touch with Marissa with costs, so that PTO can see what we are able to contribute.  Perhaps the middle school can also do some fundraising to offset any additional costs.

Principal’s Report:
Dina Senecal - A link was sent home to all parents with an anonymous quia survey.  105 people completed the survey. 2 new questions this year, and the outcome of those are that parents want more of an SES social media presence.  Also, parents want more opportunities to be invited into the building for events. School wide assemblies occur each month, character traits are focused on, and students are recognized who exemplify those traits.  In the future, we are hoping to invite parents to the assembly if their child is receiving a reward. The new and improved SES Newsletter will continue to highlight all of the wonderful things that are happening in our building and also point to the PTO and all of the supports we provide.
Other suggestions that were mentioned in the survey comments were Book Bingo, Movie Night, PTO Carnival, Halloween Happenings.   
Reminder – contact the Bus Barn for transportation issues.

Clay Krevolin – Student government elections are being held to coincide with the state/national elections.  Campaigning for student body government is happening now.
6th grade is going to A Christmas Carol at Hartford Stage.
7th grade is going to the Storrs Adventure Park.
8th grade is going to Boston for a full day adventure.

Our wonderful resource officers have been working out so well, sharing areas of expertise with staff and students.  Clay is hoping to have them do a presentation for staff, students and parents about vaping. This is becoming a bigger issue – in school, on the bus, etc – not just in Somers, but everywhere.  Repercussions are strong, with police being involved in investigations and discipline. Education is key, kids and adults. (Can this be started in fifth grade, too, please????)

High School and Middle School have established a partnership with ShopRite, to recognize a student each month who exemplifies kindness and respect.  A donation will be made to a charity of the student’s choice, and their picture is posted at ShopRite. ShopRite will come to the schools to present the recipients with the awards.

All three schools are sending out a newsletter the first Friday of every month, highlighting different aspects of each building.

Secretary’s Report:
Motion to approve September’s meeting minutes by Jay, seconded by Lauren.

Treasurer’s Report:
See budget handout from Kate.  Motion to approve needs to be pushed to the next meeting because there are only two Board members present at this time.  Direct any questions to Kate. (Where are all of the donated 5th grade t-shirts from last year?  Was that taken out of the actual amount made that is listed?  Also, why is the new amount for t-shirts $500? Gift cards need to be removed since it was replaced with Yankee Candle.  Halloween Happenings needs to be changed as well – we will make less with only one school and making less per ticket.)

New Business:
No time for new business this evening!!

Spirit Wear:
Dorothy is looking for a new company, because the minimum order of 12 from our current company is hard to fill once the bulk order happens at the beginning of the year.  New items are big sellers, things that don’t require sizes (blankets, water bottles, etc). Dorothy will set up a table during conferences to sell Spirit Wear. Is there any money in our budget for Dorothy to have a “stock” of “stuff” that people can purchase on the spot?

Cultural Enrichment:

    Author Update – new addition….Marty Kelley, author and illustrator will present to K-5 (and can read to preschool in their classrooms) in the Spring.  The PTO has also generously agreed to purchase some of Marty’s books for our Media Center so that Becky can prepare all students for his arrival in the Spring.  Thank you very much!

    Jessie Chris –  October 30th, Anti-bullying assembly…singer and author.

Events/Programs:

    Square 1 Art – Marissa is sending them out tomorrow.  On November 7th the stickers will come in for orders, which will then come back before Christmas.

    Halloween Happenings – October 25th from 5-7.  Tickets are $15, $3 comes back to PTO per ticket.  Refer to handout and emailed flier for all of the details!  SES event only, but MBA students are welcome to sign up to volunteer (passing out candy on Trick or Treat Street, face painting, tattoos, etc.)

    XL Center – WWE Smackdown is this weekend, Marvel Live is coming up next on Sunday, November 4th at 4:00 pm.  We make $5 per ticket on those sales.

    Yankee Candle – Magazines and order forms already came home.  Orders can be taken now and are due November 5th.  Orders can be placed online and then you do not need to come to a pick up date/location for items.

General Discussion:

    Box Tops – Mandy is going to head that up for now, but is looking for volunteers.  Dorothy and Lauren have offered to help! Thanks!

Congratulations to Hannah Manzi for winning a free Halloween Happenings ticket from tonight’s meeting raffle!!

Next Meeting Date – November 5th, 5:30 pm at SES

Meeting was adjourned at 7:00 pm.





Respectfully submitted by Becky Leiphart.

​

Members Present –
See sign in!  Thank you for coming!
Meeting was called to order at 5:30 pm.

Superintendent’s Report: Brian was present and gave an overview of what is going on at the district level. He shared that no cuts will be impacting our school budget at the district level. This year the battle so far has been the heat.  The buildings cannot really sustain more than two days of heat, hence the call for the half day last week.  Mr. Czapla reported that the winter could also be a tough one.
The lack of routine maintenance to buildings and grounds has been neglected over the last few years, and some issues are in need of repair immediately.  The taxpayers of Somers are going to be asked to vote in November on a 6 million dollar bond that would be allocated to the schools for these necessary improvements if that budget passes. The town meeting is on October 25th where all residents are invited to hear more.  The suggestion was made to make a video that can be shared on Facebook.  (“The Long Range Facilities Plan” - There are two documents on the district website that would be helpful to those looking for more details on these projects.)

Principal’s Report:  Dina and Melissa would like to thank the PTO for the Welcome Bags for new staff members and incoming kindergarteners.  Adorable, and very well received!  Also, a HUGE thank you for all of the dates for this year’s Cultural Enrichment shows ahead of time.  Super helpful!  Teachers and students at SES braved the heat as well as we could with cooling stations around the building and water.  Looking forward to slightly cooler temperatures though!

Treasurer’s Report:  Kate shared the 2018-2019 budget.  Please review the handout that was provided.  The budget for Cultural Enrichment has been increased based on what we think we may have to give.  Motion to approve the budget by postponed until next meeting, pending some changes.

Fundraising:
We are discussing bringing back brochures to sell “something” ….Yankee Candle was a possibility that was mentioned.  October 1st we would get the information and catalogs, orders would be due November 5th.   Purchases could be made via order form or online, and merchandise would be already sorted by student order upon delivery.  Discussion was held, and a motion was made by Jay, and seconded to Maggie, to give Yankee Candle a try instead of gift cards this year.     

Spirit Wear:  Dorothy updated the order form for items available, including some new Dry Fit options.  Thank you!  Brittany will copy them for the PTO table at Back to School Night on Wednesday.  More copies will be available at future events and can go home with students.

Cultural Enrichment:
Becky provided an author update.  Peter Lourie is scheduled for early November for K-5.  Somers resident Kate Hanscom is coming in early February for K-2.  We are still looking for another author for 3-5 that is reasonably priced.  Becky is very hopeful that local author Renata Bowers will launch her newest Frieda B. book here at SES when it is finished!  More to follow on that.
All but one cultural enrichment event have been prepaid, so we received a discount on the cost.  The first show is on September 21st, the NED Show for all SES students, that focuses on PBIS Messages.

Purse Bingo:  A message will be texted to parents and flier will be sent home with students in the next few weeks.  It is on October 6th from 7-10.  Snacks and light refreshments will be provided, raffle baskets will be there, and attendees can BYOB.

Back to School Night:  Lemonade, water and Oreos will be served to all, compliments of the PTO.  Spirit Wear will be sold as well.

Square One Art:  The art teachers are working on this with students already.  Order forms will go home once artwork is submitted, and ordered items will come in prior to Christmas.

Halloween Happenings:  Sonny’s Place is out.  A few ideas have been discussed…..should we bring it back to SES and do a Haunted Hallway and dj in the building and a Trunk or Treat in the staff lot?  This would take A LOT of volunteers working many hours and seeing it through to the end.  OR….We could work with Chris Boucher at the Rec Department and do a Costume Run at the middle school cross country course, with a costume parade for the little kids or a smaller scale run, could bring in a food truck or ice cream truck (people pay for their own food)…trick or treating could be done on the field with the doors from last year’s Halloween Happenings at Sonny’s.  Rachel Medrek also mentioned a website where families can sponsor while their kids run….Get Moving…..to bring in more funds.
***We are going to call a special Halloween Happenings meeting for Halloween Happenings volunteers to plan this event!  Please spread the word!  A meeting will be held on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 at 7:00 at SES.  Potential Halloween Happenings date is October 25th (because kids do not have school the next day).

XL Center Events:  Brittany will get fliers to send home to families prior to each event…..
WWE - October
Marvel Superheroes – November
Disney on Ice – January
Globetrotters – February
Wolf Pack - March

Book Fair:
The book fair will be held again during Parent/Teacher Conferences.  The Fall book fair will be the regular three days.  The March fair will be two days, like last year.  BOGO will also be two days.  Perhaps we can do a preview of some sort for teachers?  The middle school has expressed interest in bringing their book fair back.  Someone needs to head that up at the middle school, however.  Allison has a few possible interested volunteers.
We need more copies (at least 100) of the kindergarten books for next year’s Welcome Bags.

Box Tops:  Becky will ask Dina if she has talked to the grandparents about heading this up for this year.  We need to start collecting and submitting!

Gingerbread houses:  If we want to do this, we need to reserve dates and start planning soon.  200 people total can fit in Joanna’s.  The Lions Club can partner with us for this event.  $5 per family is the suggested cost for this event.  Marissa will book a night at Joanna’s for December.

Possible Ugly Sweater Adult party:  Raffles, contests, etc.  This idea has been tabled until we see how the Purse Bingo goes.  (Another idea is an adult Brewery fundraiser?)
​
Meeting adjourned at 7:01.
Next meeting – October 15th at 5:30.
​Minutes respectfully submitted by Becky Leiphart.

PTO Meeting
Thursday, October 12, 2017

Members Present:  See sign in sheet…wow!!!

Meeting called to order at 5:35.  Everyone introduced themselves.

Secretary’s report:  Motion to approve the September minutes by Mandy.  Seconded by Kate.

Treasurer’s report:
Made $300 selling hot dogs at Geissler’s.
Made $500 on Spirit Wear.
Made $90 on bullriding.
Made $1,780 on Opt Out so far.

Committee Reports:

Communications – Facebook.  Allison Hill will take care of updating this.  Minutes will be given to her after each meeting.  All fliers will go to Allison to be posted as well.

Cultural Enrichment – Every month there is something scheduled!  Christina will get the write up out ahead of time so teachers can prep their classes.
October 17th – Author and poet Darren Sardelli
November 3rd – Reading Pep Rally…interactive storytelling and developing ideas
December 19th – Hartford Symphony Orchestra
January 9th – Dan Amarante - Meteorologist
January 26th – Yale Spizzwinks
February 5th – African Dance and Drum
March 6th – Sky Dome Planetarium (7 assemblies…90 students at a time)
April – Author Steve Swinburne
May 22nd – Game Show

Fundraising.:
Gift card orders from Script Pro will be coming out the last week of October.  They
will be due right after Thanksgiving.  
XL Center – Disney on Ice: Frozen (January) and Globetrotters (February)
Square One Art – Push until the Spring this year, closer to Mother’s/Father’s Day
(Brittany Dwyer)
Baskets at Parent Teacher Conferences in November – Flier went home last week
asking for themed classroom donations and Stacey B. will wrap them all.  Perhaps a prize that is appropriate for the class with the most donations…perhaps a reading chair.  Jennifer will send an email to staff explaining the basket concept.
Coupon Books – Entertainment Books – big money maker…Stacey will talk to Emily
Letourneau about that.
Purse Bingo – FUNraising for a Purpose – Beth Valente.  10 brand name purses as prizes.  $35 per ticket to play Bingo, typically done at Mt. Carmel.  BYOB.  They provide light appetizers, do all the set up and clean up, etc.  Tickets sold ahead of time, and they keep 20% of the proceeds.  Is there a minimum number required?  If we do it in the winter, would she offer a snow date?

Halloween Happenings – Thursday, October 19 (5-8, 7-10).  Tickets sold at the door.  Set up will happen at Sonny’s from 11 and later.  Closet at MBA needs to be visited prior to going to Sonny’s to bring “stuff” over.
Trick or Treat Street – doors like it used to be!
Fortune Telling – need volunteers!!
Glitter Tattoos – all set with 2 volunteers!!  Brittany will help get a large poster of
the tattoo options
NEED PEANUT FREE CANDY AND NON CANDY DONATIONS!!!!!!!
Clean up can happen immediately following!

Book Fair: During November Parent/Teacher Conferences
    Runs during school hours and conference hours
    Set up the day before, and clean up after – need volunteers
    Need volunteers DURING the day – will do Sign up genius and post on FB
        WHAT IF…teachers email parents with the time that they are visiting
the book fair and also ask for volunteers at the same time???

General Discussion:
    LifeTouch as a company….can we revisit them?  There have been some issues
and complaints with quality and orders, etc.
    Committee Sign ups – see Marissa to sign up to chair, co-chair or volunteer
for upcoming committees and events!

Meeting adjourned at 6:40 pm.




​

1. Meeting called to order by Mandy at 7:03.  Seconded by Heather.
2. Introductions:  Mandy Shonak, Co-President, Joanna Anderson, Heather Modzelewski, Co-Vice President, Allison Hill, Chris Castonguay, Treasurer, Jennifer Oliver, SES Principal, Stacey Brown, Co-Vice President, Keeley Joyal, MBA student, Mark Maciolek, MBA teacher, Pat Clark, Secretary and SES Media Specialist.
3. Secretary’s report:  Approval of Minutes will be postponed until next meeting, as we did not have a complete report.  Mandy will email Rob Kepner for completed minutes.
4. Treasurer’s report:  Chris Castonguay:  Taxes were sent to accountant.  Insurance has been paid and we are up to date.  Checks are coming in for the “opt out”; we are just under $2,000 currently.  A reminder needs to be sent, attaching the PDF.  Motion to approve the treasurer’s report by Stacey, seconded by Allison and Heather.
5. Presentation by Mark Maciolek, MBA Language Arts teacher, re:  Kathy Cannon Wiechman, author of Like a River, a civil war historical novel.  She has written 2 more since.  Mark would like her to present to our grades 6-8 students on February 6th.  She would be staying at Mark’s house.  Keeley Joyal, 8th grade student, presented a petition of 122 student signatures in favor of bringing her to our school.  She gave us a synopsis of what her first two books were about, giving examples of the connections between language arts and history and the power of writing.  Her cost is $1500 plus $250 travel expenses.  The drama club would use their proceeds to purchase books for the students.  Discussion of this proposal was held following the exit of Mark and Keeley. Until we know the budget from the Cultural Enrichment Chair, who was not present at the meeting, the formal motion to approve this request is postponed.  A tentative motion to approve, pending the information was passed unanimously
6. Events:  Halloween Happenings report from Stacey.  It is next Thursday, 10/20. Lack of volunteers for set up/take down.  Donations of candy still needed.  Trick or treating is free, an optional charge from Sonny’s for other activities.  A fortune-teller will be available this year.
7. Book Fair:  Allison Hill.  No book fair at MBA this year, but 6th grade will be invited to the elementary school before or during school at SES.  Allison has a committee of 4, with volunteers.  
8. Cultural Enrichment:  no report
9. Coupon books:  Emily LeTourneau, chair, no report
10. Gift Cards & XL Center:  Brittany Dwyer, chair, no report
11. Raffles:  Stacey Brown—she will have them for conferences.  She had a suggestion to use classroom parent coordinators as resources for classrooms to create baskets.
12. Square One Art:  In the process of being completed now, due date 11/4.  Liz McEvoy and Paul Dailey are in charge at SES, Sue Koulisis at MBA.
13. General Discussion:  Next meeting date:  11/10 at 3:30 at SES.  Meetings will be second Thursday of every month alternating between MBA at 7 PM and SES at 3:30.  Meetings held in media centers.
14. Meeting adjourned at 8:10 by Mandy.

Respectfully submitted on 10/14/16
Pat Clark, Secretary, SES Media Specialist

PTO Members Present:

Mandy Shonak – Co-President
Erin Grimes – Co-President
Chris Castonguay – Treasurer
Stacey Brown
Christina Kryzwicki
Allison Hill
Becky Leiphart (teacher)
Dina Senecal (SES Assistant Principal)
Rob Kapner (MBA Assistant Principal)

3:33 pm – Meeting called to order.

Approval of Secretary’s minutes from May’s meeting.  Chris made a motion to approve, Mandy seconded.

Renata Bowers, author, is coming to SES on October 27th.  Pat Clark will take care of getting her a thank you gift, as she offers her presentations for free to all students.  Pat will submit her receipts for reimbursement.

Treasurer’s report was passed out (see attached).  Reminder to sign up for Amazon Smile…make sure people know to choose Somers PTO as their charity of choice, and we get a portion of purchases.  Dina will look into hooking up our SES Corporate account to that.  Mandy will send Dina some PTO reminders to add to the October Newsletter (Amazon Smile, Target, Shop Rite, Box Tops, etc.)  A flyer will also be made to hand out at the movie night with this information.  As of the end of August, the PTO account has approximately $28,000, which is a comfortable place to be.  The previously approved budget was reviewed.  Chris is convinced that we will be in very good shape as long as the fundraising stays where it has been in year’s past.  

Erin is trying to set up a meeting with Mrs. Oliver and Mr. Krevolin in order to find out what they are hoping to accomplish with PTO this year.  Scheduling has proved to be difficult.

Covering cost of field trips for students on an as needed basis was discussed.  Dina will let staff know that if there is a need, the PTO can be contacted (or the child’s teacher can let Dina know and then she will contact the PTO).

Dina discussed the cafeteria account system that will most likely be coming down the pike….January maybe?!?  Very exciting!  

Motion to approve the Treasurer’s report by Stacey, seconded by Erin.

Mandy discussed a “Welcome Wagon” idea for new students/families  to the town.  Perhaps a ‘basket’ with important town and school info…a water bottle, local restaurant menus, Somers rec sign up info, local parks, school Remind app instructions, etc….Would Geissler’s perhaps donate their reusable bags to house each ‘basket?’  This would be a committee that would be in place for August…need a chair.

Movie Night September 30th!!  
Free movie and snacks for families.  Hotel Transylvania 2.  This is geared towards SES students, but thinking about another one in the spring for MBA students.  Movie Theater is donating popcorn, Big Y is donating candy.  We are partnering with the library for that.

Halloween Happenings at Sonny’s Place on Thursday, October 20th.  
5-7 for SES, 6-8 for MBA.  Looking for volunteers to help set up and break down.  Free trick-or-treat street.  Passes have gone up to $25 for the 2 hours.  Erin will check with the manager to see if the go kart and zip line rides will not “expire” in case of long lines.  Corn maze is OUT.  Discussion about POSSIBLE laser show in the white tent…maybe too expensive?  Dance party with Halloween music?  (Kevin Huss?  Bus driver Sandy?)  Pumpkin decorating?  Haunted hallway redefined?  This would require an enormous amount of volunteers….

Book Fair!  Mandy, Lauren and Allison will chair this year.  STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS!!  Volunteers for set up and during book fair hours.     

Take a look at the meet and greet sign up sheets for volunteers.  Set up takes a long time.

Book Fair-
Lisa Forest has a new job and can help run it but, cannot set up or clean up.  PTO doesn’t profit from the book fair, but they do get scholastic bucks for the library.
Possible idea- have the 6th graders come to SES before SES hours to shop at the book fair. A way for grade 6 to purchase books when they do not have a book fair specifically for grade 6…7:45-8:20am (ish… ). Just about the grade 6 first period.
Rob Kapner will talk to the grade 6 team and see if this is something they are interested in.

Cultural Enrichment-
Waiting on Corinne to confirm dates for the activities we are going to book.
Many of these presentations are going to include grade 6.

• BMX Bikes- will include MBA. Corinne will coordinate with MBA on a date for those.
• Mid-December for Painter. (to include MBA 6-8 grade performance) Corinne will coordinate with MBA on a date that works for both schools.
• Met with Dina and Jennifer prior to PTO meeting to secure shows and discuss the dates.

Fundraising:

• Notes to school (“opt out” forms- check box to include a free notes to school)
• Coupon Books – will sell at the PTO table.
• Raffle at Parent-Teacher Conferences.
• Square 1 Art is happening at SES and MBA. Sue Koulisis has taken it on for this year with 8th grade. She will also allow for submissions from other grades even though they don’t currently have art.  Extra forms for other family members, but it might be difficult to explain. PTO will work on getting the word out. Put them out in school offices.
• Butter braids – Make a lot of money. Labor intensive. Scrap it.
• Gift Cards – may or may not do.

Next Meeting Date:  10/13 at MBA @ 7:00 pm.  

Adjournment:  Motion to adjourn by Erin at 4:35, seconded by Christina.

                Respectfully submitted by Pat Clark.