PES PTO

Welcome and Introductions

● The meeting was called to order at 6:02pm by Nicole Matthews.
● There were 17 people in attendance.

◦  Faculty attendees: Cyndi Cohen, Nathan Wertz, Julie Janusz
◦  Parent attendees: Nicole Matthews, Carrie Houck, Sarah Landis, Georgia King, Alexis Mills, Desdiny Fake, Justin Leese, Amber Wolf, Trish Kowalsky, Krista McKenzie, Nicole Laughman, Kirsten Myers, Dana Henry, Ashley Knecht (SGE-PTO)

Secretary's Report submitted by Dana Henry:

● Meeting minutes from the May 11, 2023 meeting were reviewed.
● The meeting minutes were approved.

◦  Krista McKenzie
◦  Sarah Landis

President's Report submitted by Nicole Matthews:

● Orientation and Back to School Nights

◦  Kindergarten Orientation Night-Dana and Sarah attended, talked to the K parents, and handed out K books to each student
◦  First Grade Back to School Bash – Dana attended and handed out bracelets to students
◦  Back to School Night (grades 1-4) – all officers attended; prizes were given for a quick quiz about the school courtyard

● Kona Ice Truck attended the Back to School night -$112.97 was raised
● Back to School Gifts- The PTO used scholastic dollars (Carrie) to purchase a book for every kid; Boxes of books were given to each classroom teacher for students to pick a book out; Teachers shared that it was a very well received gift
● SGASF Recipient was Chase Sowers
● PTO Officers for 2023-2024

◦  President- Nicole Matthews
◦  Vice President – Nicole Laughman (this position will need to be filled for 24-25)
◦  Secretary – Dana Henry (this position will need to be filled for 24-25 as Dana is likely moving to President)
◦  Co-Treasurers – Carrie Houck and Sarah Landis

Treasurer's Report submitted by Carrie Houck and Sarah Landis:

● End of 22-23 school year reports were shared.  
● The fiscal year ends the end of June
● July

◦  Beginning Balance: $29,149.51
◦  Credits: $602.13
◦  Debits: $1,672.46 (field trips, PSSA snacks, gifts for students)
◦  Ending Balance:  $28,079.18

● August 

◦  Beginning Balance: $28,079.18
◦  Credits: $135.00
◦  Debits: $0.00
◦  Ending Balance:  $28,174.13

● The treasurer’s report was approved. 

◦  Georgia King
◦  Krista McKenzie

Principal's Report submitted by Mrs. Janusz

● Today was the 15th day of school 
● Students are settling into routines
● Project TEAM kick off assembly (positive behavior support) was last week
● Fall Benchmarks are completed and data analysis and planning around those has begun
● Picture Day is next week
● Field Trips are being planned (gr 1-Flinchbaugh Orchard on Oct. 19; gr. K-Brown’s Orchard -possibly in October)
● Students will be painting rocks for the courtyard, possibly at the end of September; volunteers will be needed to help

Teacher’s Report submitted by Mr. Wertz

● Kids really enjoyed the gifts of books for back to school
● Project TEAM Fall Fest during the school day end of October (Possibly Fri. 10/27)

◦  Fall carnival games for the students will be set up outside 
◦  Volunteers needed to help
◦  The event is for the students for earning 5000 tokens 

Old Business:

● Envirothon 

◦  There was a mix up in the 2022-2023 school year regarding how the busses for Envirothon would be paid.  Dana read an email from Mrs. Mowrey indicating that the 3 elementary schools would share the cost of the busses.  The other schools’ PTOs will reimburse Paradise PTO who paid the entire cost of the bus for the 22-23 school year.
◦  This year, Mrs. Mowrey intends to use the funds from a dress down day to pay for the Envirothon bus; Mrs. Janusz shared that a dress down day typically raises $75 so additional funds may still be needed
◦  Carrie and Sarah will follow up with Mrs. Mowrey and the other elementary PTOs to see how it is going to be handled by everyone this year

New Business

● Planned Fundraisers for the Year

◦  For all fundraisers, volunteers are needed to tally orders and sort orders
◦  Spirit Wear -September (Nicole M)

▪ Spring Grove has a new logo this year
▪ The fundraiser has already begun, Sept. 11
▪ All orders are done online
▪ End date is Sept. 25
▪ Items will be sent home with students, once received

◦  R&K Subs – October (Nicole M and Krista)

▪ Start date is Oct. 2
▪ End date is Oct. 16
▪ Pick up date is Nov. 2

◦  Little Caesars -November /December (Nicole M and Sarah)

▪ Start date is Nov. 13
▪ End date is Nov. 28
▪ Pick up is the week of Dec. 11

◦  R&K Subs – February/March (Nicole M and OPEN?)

▪ Start date is February 26
▪ End date is March 12
▪ Pick up date is March 26

◦  Laps for Learning (Committee)

▪ Fundraising starts in April
▪ Event is May 24

◦  Gift Cards (Nicole L)

▪ Possible new fundraiser
▪ We would use a company called Raise Right (used to be Scripts)
▪ Two options of cards can be ordered:

● Tangible gift cards

◦  Sent to home or school
◦  Adds on shipping charges

● Digital gift cards

◦  Download the app
◦  Purchase through the app and access immediately

▪ % that goes to the PTO varies depending on the location the gift card is purchased for
▪ Parents pay face value for the card except:

◦  2.6% surcharge added on all credit card orders
◦  You can link your bank account to avoid the larger fee; pay 29 cents per order
◦  They may be adding debit cards which would include a 0.5% surcharge per order

▪ Options:

1. Make digital gift card option available to parents all year and encourage families to purchase them
2. Hold a traditional tangible gift card fundraiser before the holidays
3. Start the digital gift card option at the beginning of the new calendar year
4. Planned PTO Events for the Year

◦  Family Movie Night – Sept 22 (Carrie)

▪ Showing Super Mario Bros movie outside
▪ Concessions open at 6:30pm; Movie begins at 7:00pm
▪ Families should bring blankets and chairs
▪ If it rains, the event will still take place inside
▪ There will be a PTO concession stand (candy, soft pretzels, popcorn, drinks, etc.)
▪ Parent volunteers are needed to help with set up and clean up (Dana)

◦  Holiday Craft/Activity During School – December (OPEN)

Ideas were brainstormed:

● In the past, we have done some sort of ornament craft featuring the students’ school picture
● Indoor recess games need to be restocked; maybe an event around that
● Indoor snowball fight was also a hit among the students

◦  Holiday and Spring Book Fairs – December and May (Carrie and Robin)

▪ Holiday book fair will be sometime the week of Dec. 4-8

◦  Curriculum Fair Food Trucks – May 14 (OPEN)

▪ 2-4 food trucks come to the school 1.5 hours prior to the start of the curriculum fair
▪ 1-2 savory; 1-2 sweet
▪ Book fair opens prior to the curriculum fair as well

● Book Vending Machine – (Mrs. Cohen)

◦  Mrs. Cohen is writing a grant to purchase a book vending machine for Paradise, along with a 4-year warranty and set up of the machine
◦  She has already done this when working at New Salem Elementary and Spring Grove Elementary
◦  How the book vending machine would work

▪ The vending machine comes with gold tokens
▪ Teachers would give out the gold tokens for special reasons (behavior, academics, attendance); roughly 30 a year per teacher
▪ The machine is stocked with books for all grade levels
▪ The machine would be housed/displayed next to the Project TEAM house in the lobby outside the library
▪ The student puts the gold coin in the machine, selects a book, and the book comes out the bottom
▪ By the end of the school year, every student would have had an opportunity to get a book from the machine

◦  Mrs. Cohen is requesting that the PTO use some of our scholastic dollars to initially stock the machine; and then re-stock it moving forward
◦  Scholastic Dollars

▪ PTO currently uses scholastic dollars to fill teacher wish lists
▪ 1000 is given to the school librarian after each fair to purchase books for the library
▪ This year a large quantity of scholastic dollars was used to purchase a book for every student for back to school
▪ Moving forward – we could give parents purchasing books at the book fair the option to round up their orders to the next dollar and those funds could be used to purchase books for the vending machine

◦  The team agreed the Book Vending Machine was a great idea and that Mrs. Cohen should move forward and the PTO will plan to pay for the books either with scholastic dollars or out of the regular operating budget

● Courtyard Deck – (Dana/Mrs. Frey)

◦  PTO has agreed to fund the materials cost for building a deck in the courtyard to serve as an outdoor classroom area
◦  Parent from the former and rising Paradise Community is a deck builder and will donate his time
◦  Currently the courtyard has 2 tables for students, each table sits 8-12 students, depending on the students’ size.  The deck would accommodate a third table which we hope to purchase after the deck is built
◦  Next steps: set a date for building this fall, a previous volunteer date to prepare the space, arrangements with the district for further preparation

● PTO Shed and Closet – (Dana)

◦  Time to organize and clean out the storage spaces
◦  Closet - 1 other person to help during the school day (Sarah)
◦  Shed - 2-3 other people on a Saturday morning or afterschool; possibly on same day as the day we prep the courtyard for the deck

Committees and Coordinators

● Yearbook (Kayla Zellers)

◦  Mr. Howell has offered to coordinate the photos on the school side
◦  Kayla will once again be putting the yearbook together on the parent side

● PTO Social Media Coordinator (Kelsey Pedmo)

◦  Posts on social media
◦  Currently the PTO has a Facebook page that no one sees

● Teacher Appreciation (Committee; Chair-Dana Henry)

◦  Theme this year is “You Make a WORLD of Difference;” our appreciation events will be focused on traveling to different places around the world
◦  Back to school we handed out boarding passes and passports that will be stamped at each appreciation event; each stamp will equal an extra raffle ticket during staff appreciation week in May; We also handed out in flight snacks and drinks, donated by families, to the teachers during their back-to-school work days before the students arrived
◦  September – Krista is organizing a “trip” to the Netherlands, birthplace of the fried doughnut, with doughnuts from Rolling Doughnut food truck and coffee from Dunkin
◦  The committee will meet after the regular PTO meeting tonight

● Volunteer Coordinator (Dana Henry & OPEN)

◦  Currently have had 28 people fill out the volunteer interest survey; hope is to send sign ups out to that short list first, then the whole school as needed
◦  Picture Day sign up has been filled
◦  Dana is looking for someone to work with her on volunteers, putting together the sign ups in sign up genius

● News Coordinator (Kirsten Myers)

◦  Puts together the electronic monthly newsletter that gets sent out
◦  Also sends sound bytes to Mr. Howell who has offered to announce PTO related activities on the school’s morning announcements for the students

Budget for 23-24

● The budget needs to be updated with accurate Envirothon costs for the coming year.
● The budget will be presented at the next PTO meeting for approval.

Open Discussion

● Assembly

◦  The 3 elementary schools come together to pay for an assembly each year
◦  Nicole M is meeting with representatives from the other elementary schools on Monday to select an assembly
◦  Nicole L shared information on programs available through the Susan Burns Center (digital citizenship, nutrition, the human body, etc.) as an option

Announcements

● The next PTO meeting will be Thursday, October 12 at 6:00pm.

Adjournment

● The meeting was adjourned at 7:11pm by Nicole Matthews. 

Welcome and Introductions

• The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Nicole Matthews.
• There were 9 people in attendance.

◦ Faculty attendees: Amy Fisher, Julie Janusz

◦ Parent attendees: Tara Bryan, Carrie Houck, Nicole Matthews, Sarah Landis, Kirsten Myers, Nicole Laughman, and Dana Henry

Special Guest

Clark Craumer, Paradise Township Supervisor

• Mr. Craumer came to the meeting to share an initiative Paradise Township has put forth with Spring Grove School District. 
• Paradise township is interested in purchasing the plot of land (17 acres) between Farmers Field and Paradise Elementary to add more ball fields.
• The township would also build a new access road to Paradise on this land that would connect the school to Church Rd, giving the school a second access other than Lake Rd
• The township has also offered the school system a written agreement that they could purchase the land back from the township if needed.
• The head of buildings/maintenance for the district has shared with the township that if Paradise Elementary needed to expand in the future, expansion would most likely occur to the north of the school; the district owns several acres to the north of the school.
• The school system is currently not interested in selling the land to the township.  The township is trying to make the public aware of their proposal so that the public might share their desires on the subject with the school board. 

Secretary's Report submitted by Dana Henry:

• Meeting minutes from the April 13, 2023, meeting were reviewed.
• The meeting minutes received a majority vote of approval.

President's Report submitted by Nicole Matthews:

• May is crazy; May-cember
• This was Tara Bryan’s last PTO meeting.  Tara has been a parent at Paradise and involved in the PTO for 11 years.  The PTO gifted her with a C&D gift card.

Treasurer's Report submitted by Carrie Houck:

• April

◦       Beginning Balance: $27,684.45

◦       Credits: $9,935.39 (R&K, yearbook)

◦       Debits: $5,928.57 (recess equipment, R&K, Laps for Learning)

◦       Ending Balance: $31,691.27

• The treasurer’s report received a majority vote of approval.

Principal's Report submitted by Mrs. Janusz

• Paradise successfully completed PSSAs, and they went well; the school had a surprise visit from the state to monitor procedures and passed with flying colors.
• Gr. 2 field trip to Indian Echo Caverns was last week.
• Gr. 4 field trip to Oaks Museum-May 25; the in-house wax museum -May 26
• Gr. K field trip to Farmers Field- May 25
• Seniors visit schools before graduation – May 16
• Envirothon – May 18
• Laps for Learning – May 19

Teacher’s Report submitted by Mrs. Fisher

• Discussed the gaga ball pit with Mrs. Bortner; She confirmed she would do class sessions on teaching how to appropriately use the gaga ball pit; starting with older grades and trickling down; the PTO should talk to Mrs. Bortner when ready to move forward; she is willing to help with placement, choosing, etc.
• Everyone has been appreciative of all the food and goodies from the PTO this week; the raffle baskets were a huge hit.

Old Business:

• Gaga ball pit (see notes from Mrs. Fisher)
• May appreciation days
  • All the special days have passed except speech language pathologist day, which is May 18.  The PTO will gift Mrs. Luckenbaugh with something on her day.
• Volunteer ice cream social
  • Jen Anderson’s mom donated baskets of goodies for younger elementary or preschool age kids; one geared towards a boy and one towards a girl; we will raffle them off at the ice cream social.
  • Dana needs additional large coolers for the day of; drop off at the school the morning of the ice cream social or make arrangements with Dana to get them ahead of time.
    • Nicole M 1 big cooler
    • Nicole L 4 big coolers
    • Tara 2 coolers
    • Carrie 2 coolers
    • Dana 2 coolers

New Business

• Summer planning meeting – The new PTO officers will meet over the summer to map out an overall plan for the 23-24 school year – events, fundraisers, etc., to get things reserved on the district calendar; The meeting will be sometime in July, date TBD.

Committee Reports

·      Yearbook-Kayla Zellers

o   Yearbooks have arrived.

o   Carrie will be paying the invoice.

·      Teacher Appreciation-Tara Bryan/Dana Henry – May 8-12

o   Teacher appreciation week -AMAZING!  Everything went great. 

§  Dana is going to send out thank you cards to parents and businesses who contributed.

o   Coffee Truck – May 22 (info will go out to staff next week)

o   Small end of year gift donated by Olive Branch; possibly end of year slushies from Krista McKenzie who has a slushie machine.

o   Thank you to Tara and Casey, as they graduate from Paradise, for being on the teacher appreciation committee!

·      Spring Book Fair-Carrie Houck -May 9 & 10

o   Raised over $8,000 (usually at $5,000)

o   Profited over $3,000 in scholastic dollars.

o   A lot of parents bought books for teachers off the wish lists, but then Carrie was able to fulfill the rest of their wish lists with scholastic dollars.

o   After the teacher wish lists, Mrs. Kauffman has about $2,000 to spend on books for the school library.

o   Logistics were much better for this fair:

§  Better being set up in the library

§  Earlier hours for Curriculum Fair were good.

§  Kids all day Tuesday with classes; with some extra time on Wednesday worked well.

·      Laps for Learning-Nicole Matthews & Carrie Houck – May 19

o   Fundraising has ended.

§  $8,362 in sales; goal was $10,000 (last year we were at $12,000)

o   Chick fil a lunch for 10 and 20 credit earners- Nicole L

§  Doing box lunches again instead of trays.

§  20 people can come.

§  Balloons on sticks instead of helium balloons that got twisted up last year.

§  Drinks and cookies from Sam’s.

o   Human Sundaes -Dana H

§  34 kids can participate.

§  11 teachers signed up:

1.     Mrs. Janusz

2.     Mr. White

3.     Mrs. Rittle

4.     Mrs. Shriver

5.     Mrs. Fisher (K)

6.     Mrs. Barley (K)

7.     Mrs. Myers (1)

8.     Mrs. Huppman (2)

9.     Ms. Ainsley (3)

10.  Ms. Martin (4)

11.  Mr. Wertz (4?)

§  Ponchos and visors were ordered for each teacher; Dana will buy toppings and plan out how sundaes will be made.

o   Volunteers – Dana H

§  Another email went out today with the sign-up link; currently 7 signed up for the morning shift and 10 for the afternoon; out of 12 slots.

§  Sarah L for morning if needed.

§  Tara B will volunteer for the afternoon.        

 

·      Courtyard - Dana Henry – workday rescheduled – May 13

o   Workday for Saturday looks like it will be rained out again; will do afterschool pop up workdays based on weather and Dana’s availability to try to get the rest of the tasks for this year done.

o   Many plants donated for the first round of planting and were put in afterschool a couple weeks ago when the first workday was rained out.

o   Money from a dress down day was given to purchase the rest; those plants will be put in this week or next since this workday is going to be cancelled as well.

o   Tara will schedule the lacrosse team for early fall to take out the one flower bed and put down grass seed.

o   Dana would like to send an email out to the school asking if anyone would put in a deck for the outdoor classroom.

o   Mrs. Frey submitted a grant for furniture, tools, and additional materials for the courtyard; money from that should come in over the summer; hoping to get furniture, etc. ordered, assembled, and placed over the summer.

·      Fourth Grade Graduation – Carrie Houck - May 31

o   Amy’s Custom Cakery is donating cupcakes for the students; thanks to Kirsten for putting in a good word!

o   Chips and pretzels - using leftovers from teacher appreciation donations; Carrie will get the rest that are needed as well as cookies.

o   Set up refreshments table outside.

o   Mrs. Janusz needs to investigate more chairs for the actual ceremony.

o   Ms. Gault has the caps.

o   There will be a photo booth set up; Dana will work on making a balloon arch for the photo booth.

 Officer Elections 23-24

• President - Nicole Matthews
• Vice President – Nicole Laughman
• Secretary – Dana Henry
• Co-Treasurers – Carrie Houck & Sarah Landis

Open Discussion

• End of Year Treat - ice cream cups through Nutrition services
  • Mrs. Janusz will order.
  • PTO will pay (budget $200)

Announcements

• None

Adjournment

• The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 pm.

Welcome and Introductions

• The meeting was called to order at 6:06pm by Carrie Houck.
• There were 7 people in attendance.
  • Faculty attendees: Amy Fisher
  • Parent attendees: Sarah Landis, Casey Grim, Brittany Quinnan, Kirsten Myers, Nicole Laughman, Dana Henry
  • Parent- Nicole Matthews was present for part of the meeting; Faculty – Mrs. Janusz was unable to attend, but gave the principal’s report to Mrs. Fisher to share

Secretary's Report submitted by Dana Henry:

• Meeting minutes from the March 9, 2023 meeting were reviewed.
• The meeting minutes received a majority vote of approval. 

President's Report submitted by Nicole Matthews:

• Nothing new to report.

Treasurer's Report submitted by Carrie Houck:

• March
  • Beginning Balance: $31,562.92
  • Credits: $131.21 (Rusty Naill)
  • Debits: $4,009.68 (teachers, Little Caesars, Scholarship Fund, bounce house & DJ deposits for Laps for Learning)
  • Ending Balance: $27,684.45
• The treasurer’s report received a majority vote of approval.

Principal's Report submitted by Mrs. Janusz

• Mrs. Fisher shared Mrs. Janusz’s report
• Project TEAM Glow Party in March went well.
• $3,084.84 raised in Jump Rope for Heart Challenge (gr. 1-4 received Pound assembly as reward)
• March 21 was Paradise’s Night of Music
• Career Day was the end of March
• Penny Wars - over $2,000 district wide was raised; $431.75 was raised at Paradise; gr. 1 brought in the most pennies and won a picnic lunch, which they are doing tomorrow
• Mr. Ron James (first grade parent) gave Good Choices Assembly at the end of March
• Field trips are in full swing: gr. 3 just went to the State Capital; Mrs. Scheeler and Mrs. Moore’s class just attended Friends and Fun Event at the high school; K-2 Stage the Page is happening in the next two weeks; Indian Echo Caverns – gr. 2 on May 4
• PSSAs coming up end of April 25, 26, & 27 for ELA; May 1 & 2 for Math; May 3 & 4 for science, gr. 4 only

Teacher’s Report submitted by Mrs. Fisher

• Everyone liked the egg hunt, especially the coupons
• Faculty meeting tomorrow with all the end of year things

Old Business:

• R&K Fundraiser
  • $4,326.23 profit

• Rusty Naill Fundraiser

• • Raised $130
  • 13 people attended
  • Fun and cute
  • Easy to plan, but not much income

• Volunteer Ice Cream Social

• • May 25 after school at Farmers Field from 3:00-5:00 pm
  • stake out a pavilion, not rent
  • 63 volunteers on the master list at this point
  • Dana will send home paper invites/thank you cards the beginning of May to everyone on the list (sending home with students); No RSVP required
  • student council and Nicole L made an awesome thank you sign that we will hang up at the pavilion
  • Estimated budget: ice cream bars ($3.25 for 12; 10 boxes=$33) and water bottles ($4 for 10; 8 flats=$32) from Aldi (Total cost = $65?); napkins from closet; coolers borrowed from PTO members

• April Appreciation Days

• • School library appreciation day – April 4; $5 gift card to Dunkin with a candy bar for Mrs. Kauffman and Mrs. Good
  • National assistant principal’s week – April 3-7; gift card to Dunkin for Dr. London
  • Paraprofessional Day – April 5; sign in office with basket of candy bars for paras
  • National administrative professionals day - April 26 (Casey will handle)
  • Staff appreciation for April – egg hunt in the media center on April 3

• Scholarship Dinner – Tuesday, May 16 at 6:00pm

• • Still looking for 4 people who would want to go
  • Deadline is April 28
  • Carrie and Nicole will go

• End of Year Treat

• • Nicole will talk to Mrs. Janusz about the treat

New Business

• PSSA Snacks

• • PTO will pay for snacks; total is $325; the budget is $300, but still approved
  • Teachers requested to have the same snack each day instead of a variety set
  • Snacks come through the cafeteria

• Gaga ball pit/recess equipment

• • PTO bought recess balls and basketballs for the school ($300-400)
  • Considering buying a Gaga ball pit for the school; cost is $2,000 or less to buy one
  • Conversation about having to “train” the kids to use it safely; rules from Mrs. Bortner, a slow roll out of who can use, starting with gr. 4 first maybe?
  • PTO will talk more with Mrs. Janusz and Mrs. Bortner

• May appreciation days – Nicole M will take care of these

• • Principal’s Day – May 1
  • Lunch heroes appreciation – May 5
  • Nurse -May 10
  • Speech language pathologist- May 18
  • Also… teacher appreciation week is May 8-12 (see teacher appreciation notes)

Committee Reports

• Yearbook-Kayla Zellers

• • Submitted to be printed
  • Carrie, Nicole, and Holly proofread
  • 425 copies ordered (students and staff all get one)
  • Next year is last year for contract with LifeTouch; can renew contract or shop the yearbook contract around with other businesses

• Teacher Appreciation-Tara Bryan/Dana Henry – May 8-12

• • Passed around a flyer for families about student led activities during teacher appreciation week, flyer for teachers about PTO led activities for teacher appreciation week, and a draft of the email that will be sent to families by grade level of activities and teacher favorites; everyone approved
  • Sign ups for teacher appreciation week -volunteers and food donations will go out in the last two weeks of April
  • Coffee truck for teachers – Monday, May 22 in the morning, starting at 8:30am
    • Given some funds from Believe Kids (Laps for Learning fundraising company) to thank teachers and staff for helping/supporting PTO fundraisers
    • On My Grind coffee truck
    • Menus were passed around: hot drinks, cold drinks, smoothie of the day will be strawberry banana
    • Parked in Rocket Riders lot; will arrive at 8:00am; start serving drinks at 8:30am till finished
    • $300 for 50 drinks; $6 for each additional drink
    • Staff will be encouraged to pre-order through a google form; Dana will also hang flyers by the mailboxes and in the staff lounge with the menu and a QR code to the google form to pre-order; walk up orders can also be made on the day of for staff who are able to get away
    • Volunteers will be used on the day of to run orders to the staff; can use side rocket riders door to go in and out of the building

• Spring Book Fair-Carrie Houck -May 9 & 10

• • May 8 set up the book fair in the library (Carrie, Jenna, Robin W)
  • Volunteers
    • Teacher sign up for book fair will go out through Holly tomorrow
    • May 9 (classes signed up between 9:00am-3:00pm)
      • 3 people needed: 9am-12pm
      • 3 people needed: 12-3pm
    • May 10
      • Any students that still need to attend can come down in the morning from 9am- 12pm; Carrie and Robin will staff, no volunteers needed
      • Evening hours before and during curriculum fair, followed by clean up:
        • Curriculum fair 6:30-8:00pm; Book fair 5:30-8:00pm
        • Volunteers: 5-7pm- 4 people needed; 7-9pm -5 people needed

• Laps for Learning-Nicole Matthews & Carrie Houck – May 19

• • Nicole talked to Angel to get prizes set
  • 2 bounce houses have been reserved – small obstacle course and slide
  • DJ is booked
  • Gift basket for highest earner of summer fun ($100 value); instead of $100 amazon gift card
  • Looking for teacher volunteers for human ice cream sundaes (wear old clothes, PTO provides ponchos, tablecloths on ground, shower caps)

• Courtyard-Dana Henry – work day April 29

• • 4 families signed up to help
  • Some plants donated
  • Weed, install pavers/bird bath/etc, plant plants, put down mulch
  • Grant will be submitted at the end of April for furniture, gardening tools and storage, and more plants for next year

• • Tara’s lacrosse contact set to remove extra bed after lacrosse season
  • Still trying to recruit an Eagle scout to install an outdoor classroom area; Dana will put an email update out to the school after the work day with updates and asking if anyone would be interested in installing the outdoor classroom
  • Maintenance plan – Parent/PTO sponsored work day in the fall and one in the spring; custodians mow; student council/Mrs. Frey oversee more regular maintenance and needs like watering, filling bird feeders, cleaning furniture, etc.

• Kindergarten Readiness – Carrie Houck & Casey Grim – March 16

• • Table set up during kindergarten readiness testing at the middle school
  • Not many students during the day; next year have more times for PTO to be at the table to catch parents coming in the evenings as well
  • Gave each student a rubber bracelet; goldfish package with –“You’re o’fish’ally ready for kindergarten!” tag
  • Gave each parent a paper explaining what PTO does

• Fourth Grade Graduation – Carrie Houck - May 31

• • Casey and Tara helping
  • PTO pays for caps and a special snack ( a cupcake for each student; chips/pretzels and drinks for families)
  • Ask Amy of Amy’s Custom Cakery for donation of cupcakes; has two boys in fourth grade this year (Carrie)

Officer Nominations 23-24

• President -Nicole Matthews
• Vice President – Nicole Laughman
• Secretary – Dana Henry
• Co-Treasurers – Carrie Houck & Sarah Landis

Open Discussion

• Soccer nets are being bought by school “found” money

Announcements

• The next PTO meeting will be Thursday, May 11th at 6:00 pm.

Adjournment

• The meeting was adjourned at 7:19 pm by Carrie Houck.

Welcome and Introductions

• The meeting was called to order at 6:02pm by Nicole Matthews.
• There were 9 people in attendance.
  • Faculty attendees: Julie Janusz
  • Parent attendees: Nicole Matthews, Nicole Laughman, Sarah Landis, Dana Henry, Brittany Quinnan, Casey Grim, Tara Bryan, and Carrie Houck

Secretary's Report submitted by Dana Henry:

• Meeting minutes from the February 9, 2023 meeting were reviewed.
• The meeting minutes received a majority vote of approval.

President's Report submitted by Nicole Matthews:

• Not a lot to share at this point; busy part of the year coming up

 Treasurer's Report submitted by Carrie Houck:

• February
  • Beginning Balance: $26,232.29
  • Credits: $5,573.83 (Amazon Smiles, Little Caesars fundraiser)
  • Debits: $243.20 (kindergarten readiness, etc.)
  • Ending Balance: $31,562.92
• The treasurer’s report received a majority vote of approval.

Principal's Report submitted by Mrs. Janusz

• Snowball fight went well
• Glow party in the gym for the Project TEAM reward next week during P.E.
• March 21 – night of music; vocal concerts for grades 1-4
• Jump Rope for Heart – close to $6,000 raised; will be an assembly with Pound on March 31
• Penny Wars start March 27 (runs for one week)
• April 6 – Choices Assembly by Ron James (parent)

Teacher’s Report submitted by Mrs. Fisher

• Mrs. Fisher was not at the meeting.

Old Business:

• Fourth Grade Graduation – May 31

• • There will be a graduation celebration this year
  • Carrie will be the chairperson
  • Tara and Casey volunteered to help

• March Appreciation Days

• • Mr. Barnes – PTO gave him a candy bar and thank you card
  • Maintenance workers – PTO gave a bowl of candy bars and thank you card
  • Staff – bingo boards for staff to fill out, bingo prizes of scratch off tickets and chocolate

• Officer Nominations

• • Nicole – continue as president
  • Carrie – continue as treasurer
  • Vice president open for now; publicize to school
  • Dana – continue as secretary; shadow president
  • Sarah L – co-treasurer

New Business

• April appreciation days

• • School library appreciation day – April 4
  • National assistant principal week – April 3-7
  • Paraprofessional day – April 5
  • National administrative professionals day - April 26
  • Staff appreciation for April – egg hunt in the media center on April 3

• End of year treat for students

• Last year we did ice cream popsicles for all students; discuss more next month
• Scholarship dinner – May 16

• • Paradise PTO donates $500 for the Spring Grove Scholarship Fund
  • We also sponsor a table at the dinner for $250
  • We can send 4 people to the dinner; think about who would like to attend

• Dana put together a s’more with Holly about end of year dates and open officer positions for parents
• Volunteer ice cream social -May 25 after school

• • 35 different volunteers at this point from PTO events; more after Laps and Teacher appreciation week
  • Include classroom volunteers
  • Ice cream at Farmers Field and bottles of water
  • Hang a thank you sign, invite volunteers and their families
  • Decided not to reserve the pavilion, just go early to stake out the space
  • Nicole L can make a thank you banner for student council to paint/decorate

Committee Reports

• Yearbook-Kayla Zellers

• Deadline for dedications and activity pictures is moved to March 14
• Teacher Appreciation-Tara Bryan/Dana Henry – May 8-12

• • $431.65 left in budget
  • PTO sponsored days: Tuesday (sweet treats), Wednesday (Cinco de Mayo themed luncheon), Thursday (salty treats), raffle baskets all week of donated items
  • Student sponsored days Monday through Friday: Monday-wear homeroom teacher’s favorite color, Tuesday – homework paper for special area teachers, Wednesday – give a teacher a hug or high five, Thursday – wear tie dye to honor resource teachers who tie us all together, Friday – Make thank you cards or pictures for your teachers
• Spring Book Fair-Carrie Houck -May 9 & 10
• Nothing to report
• Little Caesars Pizza-Nicole Matthews & Carrie Houck

• Total profit: $2,076
• Laps for Learning-Nicole Matthews & Carrie Houck – May 19

• • Talked to Angel from Believe Kids
  • Pick prizes within the given budget of $700
    • 5 credit level – turn a teacher into a sundae; dixie cups of toppings
    • 10 credit level – lunch of some sort
    • 15 credit level – bring a friend to the lunch
  • Will also give up to $100 for teachers
    • teacher appreciation to show that PTO acknowledges the extra work they do
    • Idea - coffee truck on the morning of May 19 (Laps for Learning day)
  • Goat key chains this year
  • Kids will bring own water bottles; PTO provides popsicles for treat – Brittany
  • Bounce house - Carrie

• Curriculum Fair – May 10

• PTO sponsors Kona ice truck
• Courtyard-Dana Henry – work day April 29

• • Mrs. Frey wrote a grant but it is not due till end of April, awarded by May 31; so really for next year
  • Trying to figure out if we can get some plants donated to put in the beds at the April work day this year
  • Also looking for parent volunteers with gardening or landscaping experience

• R&K Fundraiser - Nicole Matthews and Carrie Houck - March 14-28

• • Starts March 14
  • Runs through March 28
  • Delivery April 13

• Rusty Naill Fundraiser -Dana Henry – March 19

• • Only 5 people signed up at this point
  • Advertise on district social media
  • Ask Kenzie to advertise on the business Facebook page as well

• Kindergarten Readiness – Carrie Houck & Casey Grim – March 16

• • Carrie bought bracelets and bags of goldfish to give out to the students
  • Carrie also made a flyer about the PTO for parents 

Open Discussion

• None

Announcements

• The next PTO meeting will be Thursday, April 13th at 6:00 pm.

Adjournment

• The meeting was adjourned at 7:09 pm by Nicole Matthews.

  

Paradise Elementary PTO Meeting Minutes

October 12, 2023

 

Welcome and Introductions

• The meeting was called to order at 6:03pm by Nicole Matthews.
• There were 15 people in attendance.
  • Faculty attendees: Julie Janusz (administrator), Michelle Frey (first grade teacher)
  • Parent attendees: Cori Feeser, Georgia King, Alexis Mills, Krista McKenzie, Nicole Laughman, Carrie Houck, Sarah Landis, Dana Henry, Nicole Matthews, Kirsten Myers, Trish Kowalsky, Marwajaaderia Abbes, Amber Wolf

Secretary's Report submitted by Dana Henry:

• Meeting minutes from the September 14, 2023, meeting were reviewed.
• The meeting minutes were approved by:

1. Krista McKenzie
2. Sarah Landis

President's Report submitted by Nicole Matthews:

• Courtyard (Mrs. Frey)
  • Mrs. Frey came to the PTO meeting to thank the PTO for all the support both in volunteers and funding.  The courtyard has come a long way in the last year and looks so much better.  The funding from the PTO will allow the deck to be installed by the end of the calendar year.
  • The materials for the deck were ordered today and came in well under budget at $4,385; with a budget of $5,500.  Some of the extra money in the budget will be used to buy the third table for the outdoor classroom, making it a usable space for all grades.  The table costs about $846, which still leaves about $300 in the budgeted amount of $5,500.
  • Mrs. Frey is also applying for a grant to cover the costs of an outdoor whiteboard that opens and closes, to be hung on the wall above the classroom deck. 
  • Other additions looking forward: additional plants, a bench, and raised/movable garden beds.
  • Come out to the work day on Oct. 21 to tidy the space and prep the area for the outdoor classroom deck.
• Assembly
  • PTO presidents from Spring Grove, New Salem, and Paradise met.
  • Corey the Dribbler was the chosen assembly.
• Reading Shirts
  • Mrs. Cohen would like to order shirts for students in grades K-1 to receive once they earn a certain number of coins on Reading Rooster/Math Moose app.
  • She is writing a grant to fund special shirts for students who reach this achievement; if grant does not come through it would be $1,000 for two years of shirts; she is asking the PTO to fund this project if the grant does not come through.
  • Order needs to be placed in November; to have the shirts by January.
  • Majority of PTO agrees that the shirts are a good idea.
  • The treasurers will review the budget to see where the funding could come from.
  • Possible budget lines to consider:
    • Family event/movie
    • Leftover money from courtyard deck & table
    • Envirothon bus money originally budgeted before it was reduced.
  • The PTO will vote next meeting on spending the money.
• Spirit Wear
  • The order is ready for pick-up and delivery to the school.
  • Raised just over $400.
• Family Movie Night
  • Good turn out; went well.

 

Treasurer's Report submitted by Carrie Houck and Sarah Landis:

September

• Beginning Balance: $28,214.18
• Credits: $622.40 (movie night, Envirothon 2023 bus reimburse)
• Debits: $674.63 (movie night, teacher reimburse, a disputed charge)
• Ending Balance: $28,053.55

 

The treasurer’s report was approved by:

• Georgia King
• Kirsten Myers

 

Principal's Report submitted by Mrs. Janusz

• Move night was greatly appreciated.
• Staff appreciation in September was wonderful.
• Thanks for helping with rock painting.
• Gr. K went to Brown’s Orchard on a Field Trip (half day)
• Gr. 1’s field trip is next week to Flinchbaugh’s Orchard
• Parent teacher conferences are starting; mostly next week Mon, Tues, Wed
• Oct. 18 is a dance night at Spring Grove Elementary held by the PE department.
• Oct. 19 is SGASD homecoming night.
• Fall project team reward in October on Friday the 27^th; a surprise for students.

 

Teacher’s Report submitted by Mr. Wertz

• Mr. Wertz was not able to attend.

 

Old Business:

• 2023-2024 Budget
  • Discussion regarding the line for $1000 for Family Event
  • The only family event planned for the year is the movie night.

 

New Business

• Project TEAM Fall Fest
  • Help is needed to prep the PTO spring fling games being used.
  • 10 volunteers are needed per grade; Dana will resend the sign-up next week; third and fourth are full; first and second and K need more.
• Indoor Recess Boxes (OPEN)
  • Donations from parents
  • Need to figure out what teachers need.
• Holiday Activity for Students (OPEN)
  • Snowball battle and everyone gets hot chocolate with toppings.

 

Committees and Coordinators

Gift Cards (Nicole Laughman)

• Has been set up.
• Trial run for the holidays of tangible gift cards.
• Coordinated with Little Caesar’s pick up.
• Nicole M will coordinate what needs to go home with Nicole L.

Scholastic Book Fair (Carrie Houck & Robin Waugh)

•  Winter book fair - Monday, December 4 during the day and in the evening.
•  Set up Friday, Dec. 1 after 4:00pm.
•  In the school library.
•  Maybe include 3 marker challenge coloring contest as part of the evening book fair time?; use leftover coloring sheets from PTO closet (Georgia King).

PTO Social Media Coordinator (Kelsey Pedmo)

• Follow the new Facebook page.
• Send Kelsey pictures of PTO events to post.

Staff Appreciation (Dana Henry)

• Sept Appreciation days for IT professional, Kristen Henning, and the Custodians for custodians’ day - Amber
• Sept. 29 Doughnuts and Coffee (Netherlands) - Krista
• Oct. 30 Spa Day (Sweden) - Amber
• Nov. 17 Luncheon (Italy) -Krista

Volunteer Coordinator (Dana Henry & OPEN)

• Dana is looking for someone to work with her to set up sign ups and send out thank you notes.

News Coordinator (Kirsten Myers)

• Thank you to Kirsten for putting together our monthly newsletter and sending it out.

Little Caesars (Nicole Matthews & Sarah Landis)

• Starts and ends in November.
• Delivered in December

Voting

• Budget 2023-2024
  • Majority approval of the budget

 

Open Discussion

• Box Tops (Amber)
  • App only
  • Include in the newsletter
  • Raffle basket for parents?
  • Grade level prize?
  • How to promote more?

 

Announcements

• The next PTO meeting will be Thursday, November 9 at 6:00pm.

 

Adjournment

• The meeting was adjourned at 7:07pm by Nicole Matthews. 

 

Paradise Elementary PTO Meeting Minutes

November 9, 2023

 

Welcome, Introductions & Kudos

• The meeting was called to order at 6:03pm by Nicole Matthews.
• There were 15 people in attendance.

◦         Faculty attendees: Julie Janusz (principal), Nathan Wertz (teacher)
◦         Parent attendees: Dana Henry, Sarah Landis, Nicole Matthews, Carrie Houck, Georgia King, Kelsey Pedmo, Ashley Knecht, Nicole Laughman, Alexis Mills, Trish Kowalsky, Krista McKenzie, Marwa Abess, Amber Wolf

 

Secretary's Report submitted by Dana Henry:

• Meeting minutes from the October 12, 2023 meeting were reviewed.
• The meeting minutes were approved by:

◦         Krista McKenzie
◦         Mr. Wertz

 

President's Report submitted by Nicole Matthews:

• Assembly
  • Corey the Dribbler was the chosen assembly.
  • $4400 total - $1467 per school
  • Balance needs to be paid by Feb. 12; deposit of $440 has already been paid.
  • Original budget was for $1200, so an additional $267 will need to be found in the budget.
• R&K Fundraiser
  • Sales $8,860
  • Profit $3,945
  • Typical amount raised with R&K
• Fall Fest
  • Successful and fun day for students
  • Lots of volunteers pitched in extra.
  • Special thanks to Trish and Brian Kowalsky for redoing the PTO carnival games and signs.

 

Treasurer's Report submitted by Carrie Houck and Sarah Landis:

• October

◦         Beginning Balance: $28,053.55
◦         Credits: $8,951.59 (R&K)
◦         Debits: $10,787.82 (courtyard deck reimbursements, assembly, teachers, field trip, etc.)
◦         Ending Balance: $25,702.32

• Budget review

◦         Move $100 from spent under fundraiser incentives to discretionary fund; this money was used to purchase gift cards for the Stough family who lost their mother

◦         Family Event Budget Line - $1,000
▪         $526.77 was spent on the movie night
▪         $200 budgeted for the volunteer ice cream social in May
▪         The extra money needed for the assembly may also come out of this budget line
 

• The treasurer’s report was approved by:

◦         Georgia King
◦         Kelsey Pedmo

 

Principal's Report submitted by Mrs. Janusz

• Parent teacher conferences were in October
• K/1 dance night at SGE
• First grade field trip to Flinchbaughs Orchard
• Kindergarten field trip to Browns Orchard
• Project TEAM Fall Fest
• Staff Appreciation Event – Spa Day
• Principal’s month appreciation – cards on her door (Thank you!)
• Upcoming: Fill a bus, report cards right before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving break, December book fair and PTO holiday event

 

Teacher’s Report submitted by Mr. Wertz

• The teachers are very grateful for all the support from the PTO

 

Old Business:

• Reading shirts
  • Only for first grade students
  • Not tied to the new app in first grade
  • Every first grader will have the opportunity to receive a shirt via individualized goals
  • Will take place the second half of the school year
  • Cost - $1,000 for two years of shirts
  • Mrs. Cohen will find out in November if she gets the grant to pay for the shirts
• Indoor recess boxes
  • The PTO will be restocking the classroom indoor recess boxes with donations of new and gently used toys and games appropriate for each grade level and for indoor recess time
  • This restocking will coincide with the staff appreciation event for January, which is to restock teachers’ classroom supplies.
  • The event will be tied to the country England and take place for one week at the end of January
  • Dana will send out a survey to teachers soon to get a list of needed items and share with the PTO as soon as possible; the sign up for the needed items will be sent to all parents after the new year
• Holiday activity for students – Tuesday, Dec. 12
  • indoor snowball battles in the gym
  • followed by hot chocolate and toppings in the art room

 

New Business

• Holiday book fair – evening additions
  • Evening time – book fair open from 5:00-7:00pm
  • Box tops table (Amber)
    • raffle basket of box top items ($25 value)
    • parents who show box top app downloaded on phone can enter the raffle
    • Amber will also send Kelsey social media posts for box tops
  • 3 marker challenge table (Georgia)
    • Students will have the opportunity to color a picture with just 3 markers or crayons
    • Use a different picture for each grade
    • Teachers will vote for a winner from each grade level
    • Georgia will put together a prize for each grade using items in the PTO closet
    • Mr. Howell can include the event and winners on the student announcements
  • PTO info table and cookies (Dana)
    • Information about PTO events coming up the second half of the year
• Inchy book vending machine restock procedure – Martha Goode
  • Who is contact when books need replenished- Carrie or Robin?
  • Ashley shared that SGE has found Ollie’s is a good place to get books for the vending machine
  • Clearance books through Scholastic is another good option for restocking

 

Committees and Coordinators Reports

·         Gift Cards (Nicole Laughman)

o   Gift Card fundraiser starts Monday with Little Caesars

o   Raise Right had many options; Nicole narrowed down options to 3 pages of choices

·         Scholastic Book Fair (Carrie Houck & Robin Waugh)

o   Discussed above

·         Staff Appreciation (Dana Henry)

o   October event was a spa day

§  Special thanks to Amber for arranging for the masseuse and for providing the massaging chair

§  Special thanks to Kirsten for assembly goody bags for all the staff members with items donated from parents

·         Volunteer Coordinator (Dana Henry & OPEN)

o   On the back of the agenda are QR codes that link to the various live sign ups right now for November and December as well as the dates and times events are happening

o   January a new volunteer interest survey will come out for events happening the second half of the school year

·         Little Caesars (Nicole Matthews & Sarah Landis)

o   Little Caesars starts Monday

o   Little Caesars provided a little pizza guy to hide around the school

o   Mr. Wertz will take responsibility to hide the guy each day

o   Whichever student finds the pizza guy, wins a Little Caesar’s pencil

·         Yearbook (Kayla Zellers)

o   We picked the cover design for the yearbook

 

Voting

• Paying the $1,000 for the reading shirts for Mrs. Cohen if needed received a majority vote of approval.

 

Open Discussion

• None

 

Announcements

• No December PTO meeting
• The next PTO meeting will be Thursday, January 11 at 6:00pm.

 

Adjournment

• The meeting was adjourned at 7:04pm by Nicole Matthews. 

 

Paradise Elementary PTO Meeting Minutes

January 11, 2024

Welcome, Introductions & Kudos

●       The meeting was called to order at 6:03pm by Nicole Matthews.

●       There were 14 people in attendance.

◦         Faculty attendees: Julie Janusz (Principal), Nathan Wertz (Teacher), Cindy Cohen (Teacher), Ashlie Rittle (Assistant Principal)

◦         Parent attendees: Nicole Laughman, Nicole Matthews, Carrie Houck, Sarah Landis, Krista McKenzie, Kelsey Pedmo, Georgia King, Trish Kowalsky, Kirsten Myers, Dana Henry

●       Kudos

◦         Krista – November staff appreciation luncheon was a huge hit; and everyone who donated food items or helped with set up and clean up that day

◦         Georgia   - Bus driver breakfast bags that morning

◦         Carrie and Nicole for leading the hot cocoa party

◦         Everyone who volunteered at either the hot cocoa parties or the indoor snowball battles

◦         Everyone who donated gift cards or chocolate for the Dec staff appreciation

◦         Amber – box tops and specific staff member appreciation

◦         Nicole L – gift card fundraiser for the first year was a success

◦         Nicole M & Sarah L – Little Caesar’s fundraiser

◦         Carrie -winter book fair went well

◦         Georgia -organizing the 3 marker challenge for book fair night

Secretary's Report submitted by Dana Henry:

●       Meeting minutes from the November 9^th meeting were reviewed.

●       The meeting minutes were approved by:

◦         Krista McKenzie

◦         Ashley Rittle

President's Report submitted by Nicole Matthews:

●       Mrs. Cohen attended the meeting:

o   Reading shirts

▪         She got the grant and the T-shirts will be ordered and will be at Paradise by Jan 17

▪         “Today a Reader and Tomorrow a Leader” is printed on the shirts

▪         First grade only will be working toward the shirts

▪         T-shirts will be given based on the individual student’s reading data

o   Book Machine

▪         Inchy the book machine was revealed

▪         A skit was put together for the students that will be shown on the morning announcements this Friday, January 12, then Inchy will be revealed

▪         Students can earn a coin for Project TEAM rewards, perfect attendance, good grades, and positive behavior

▪         Mrs. Cohen has a list of suggested books for the PTO to buy for the machine

▪         Will also take gently used book donations

●       Little Caesar’s and RaiseRight

o   Little Caesar’s sold a little over $6,000 profit $1,458

o   RaiseRight sold $14,070 profit $775.67 (5.8%)

●       Holiday Event

o   PTO provided a snowball battle and hot cocoa party for each grade right before the holiday break

●       Little Shop

o   PTO at SGE does a small shop for kids to shop on a Saturday in December for gifts; 3 hours, broken up by grade level

o   Parents drop students off and a parent volunteer takes the student through to shop, then helps the student to wrap their gifts

o   The PTO bought the merchandise this year

o   SGE has asked if New Salem and Paradise would like to join them next year

o   Buy in from each elementary for $1500 to help pay for additional merchandise

o   Rep from each school be on committee at SGE

o   Not a big fundraiser, cause only makes a little money; more of a service for families

o   Dana will email all the PTO members for a decision

Treasurer's Report submitted by Carrie Houck and Sarah Landis:

●       November

◦         Beginning Balance: $31,311.40

◦         Credits: $545.90 (Spirit wear, Kona Ice, R&K)

◦         Debits: $1,459.81(K & 1 field trips, gifts for families, staff appreciation, etc.)

◦         Ending Balance: $24,996.44

●       December

◦         Beginning Balance: $24,996.44

◦         Credits: $22,102.85 (raise right, little caesar’s, book fair)

◦         Debits: $19,989.68 (fundraisers, books fair, teacher reimbursement)

◦         Ending Balance: $27,226.66

●       Budget review-Envirothon

◦         $150 is in budget to be put towards supplies

◦         Transportation is covered

●       The treasurer’s report was approved by:

◦         Mrs. Janusz

◦         Mr. Wertz

Principal's Report submitted by Mrs. Janusz

●       Thanks to the PTO for all the December activities

●       Mid-year assessments are happening presently

●       Potential weather days could be covered as virtual days; so K, 1, 2, will bring iPads home in anticipation of weather

Teacher’s Report submitted by Mr. Wertz

●       Virtual days – fourth grade students have schedules in Schoology; all teachers have provided info to students’ about virtual day schedules

●       Staff is prepping for January staff appreciation competition

Old Business:

●       Courtyard Deck – H&H will be finishing the deck in the courtyard; several school based pots of money will be used as well as an additional $2,000 from the Paradise PTO to have the project finished by H&H

New Business

●       Bad check procedures

o   When a bad check is written, a letter is sent to the person letting them know, in the past this has led to the amount being paid sufficiently

o   This time two letters were sent and a phone call was made and a budget plan was written out, but there has been no follow through from the parent on making payments

o   Check was for about $170

o   Options:

▪         PTO absorb the cost

▪         Send the issue to collections

▪         Not receive checks from that parent anymore; cash only

o   Group discussion result: Treasurers will send a certified letter that says the amount owed will go to collections; it will include amount owed, fees, and collections costs; cash only will be accepted from this parent moving forward

●       Bookfair chairperson

o   Looking for someone to take over for Carrie next year

o   Starting with shadowing her in the spring

o   Kelsey Pedmo is interested if the December book fair can be moved to November

●       Curriculum fair food trucks

o   Need a contact

●       Laps for learning

o   Will be putting a committee together

Committees and Coordinators Reports

●       R&K Sale (Nicole Matthews & Krista McKenzie)

o   February sale; delivery in March

●       Staff Appreciation (Dana Henry)

o   November was the trip to Italy with a delicious luncheon and a breakfast bag for the bus drivers

o   December was a trip to Germany, with a celebration of St. Nicholas Day; we put a gift in each teacher’s “shoe”

o   January is a trip to England.  Staff are invited to play the British game show Countdown each morning the week of January 22-26.  Two rounds will be played each morning and winners will have the opportunity to shop off the donated teacher supply cart.  That Friday we will be setting up a “free teacher store” in the library for teachers to come and shop for supplies and items to restock their indoor recess bins.

o   Other upcoming countries: Brazil, China, Canada, Staff Appreciation Week - Mexico

●       Volunteer Coordinator (Dana Henry & OPEN)

o   28 interest surveys have been returned between the online form and paper copies that were sent home

o   Majority came from paper copies sent home, so plan to use that method moving forward

●       Yearbook (Kayla Zellers)

o   Showed yearbook cover for 2023-2024

o   Fourth graders – K pic and fourth grade pic will be included

o   Activities pictures will also be included again this year

Open Discussion

●       Krista - Junior Achievement needs volunteers for April/May

●       Box Tops – class competitions are in place; Miss Staggers class won last month; Mrs. Fisher’s class is currently in the lead for this month

●       Indoor Recess Game Restock – staff appreciation committee will do a final tally tonight and then arrange for the final needed items to be bought or donated

Announcements

●       The next PTO meeting will be Thursday, February 8th at 6:00pm.

Adjournment

●       The meeting was adjourned at 7:15pm by Carrie Houck. 

Paradise Elementary PTO Meeting Minutes
February 8, 2024
 

Welcome, Introductions & Kudos

• The meeting was called to order at 6:01 by Nicole Matthews.
• There were 8 people in attendance.

◦         Faculty attendees: None
◦         Parent attendees: Carrie Houck, Sarah Landis, Nicole Matthews, Nicole Laughman, Trish Kowalsky, Kirsten Myers, Kelsey Pedmo, Dana Henry

• Kudos

◦         Krista – January staff appreciation

Secretary's Report submitted by Dana Henry:

• Meeting minutes from the January 11th meeting were reviewed.
• The meeting minutes were approved by:

◦         Sarah Landis
◦         Carrie Houck

President's Report submitted by Nicole Matthews:

• Busy season is coming:
  • February Staff Appreciation -Ohana Bowls (Feb. 22)
  • Spring Picture Day (Feb 29)
  • R&K Fundraiser (Feb. 26-March 12; Pick up evening of March 26)
  • Third Grade Field Trip (April 11)
  • April Staff Appreciation – Pancake Breakfast (April 19)
  • PSSAs (starts April 22)
  • Staff Appreciation Week (May 6-10)
  • Second Grade Field Trip (May 9)
  • Spring Book Fair & Curriculum Fair (May 14)
  • Volunteer Ice Cream Social (May 22-afterschool)
  • Fourth Grade Field Trip (May 23)
  • Laps for Learning (May 24)
  • EOY Treat (TBD)
  • Fourth Grade Graduation (TBD -Carrie will ask Ms, Gault for a date)

 Treasurer's Report submitted by Carrie Houck and Sarah Landis:

• January

◦         Beginning Balance: $27,226.66

◦         Credits: $253.45 (box tops, R&K outstanding check)

◦         Debits: $238.50 (laps for learning, etc)

◦         Ending Balance: $26,990.61

• Outstanding check from the fall R&K fundraiser was given to the PTO and included all outstanding fees
• Budget review – no questions
• Approved by

◦         Nicole Matthews

◦         Kirsten Myers

Principal's Report submitted by Mrs. Janusz

• Mrs. Janusz was not able to attend, but left a report to be shared.
• Thank you for the January appreciation event that restocked classrooms
• Virtual learning days in January were a success.  Thank you to families for the support.
• 100^th Day of School happened, which means we are a little over halfway through the school year
• Students earned another Project TEAM reward that will be tomorrow.  Game day and a minute to win it assembly with the teachers
• Monday, Feb. 12- Corey the Dribbler comes for the assembly

Teacher’s Report submitted by Mrs. Fisher

• Mrs. Fisher was not able to attend the meeting

Old Business:

• Bad check procedures
  • Moving forward the PTO policy will be:
    1. Two written notices (letters)
    2. certified letter
    3. then goes to collections
• Curriculum fair food trucks (5:00-8:00pm – Tuesday, May 14)
  • Two or more food trucks (savory and sweet) are needed to be at the school for the Curriculum Fair night
  • Kelsey Pedmo volunteered to reserve them
• New bookfair chairpersons – Kelsey Pedmo & Nicole McCormick
  • Mrs. Cohen needs I Survived & Junie B Jones paperback books; Carrie will order with scholastic dollars
  • Past Routines for Scholastic Dollars:
    1. Spring book fair – used 1000 dollars to fill teacher wish lists (made 3000)
    2. Winter book fair – used 1000 dollars to give to Mrs. Kauffman to buy books for the library (made 1000)
    3. Used scholastic dollars for a back to school gift in 23-24 because we had extra (took 3000-4000)
    4. 2000 scholastic dollars left to date
    5. Used scholastic dollars for kindergarten readiness also; may move the book gift to kindergarten orientation
• Santa Shop with SGE
  • Passed around flyer from SGE
  • Items bought included: mugs, décor, hats, socks, lotions, soaps, hot sauces, fishing items, tech, hats, tumblers, pet items, stuffed animals, books, games, action figures, and hair accessories
  • Most items come from Hobby Lobby, Target, Kohls, Walmart, or CVS
  • In addition to the $1500, SGE will also be asking for volunteers to help with the event; parents who volunteer, their kids get to shop an hour before the event; not required to participate in the shop
  • Other donations that are collected: bags, tape, decorations
  • SGE PTO also sponsors $20 for about 30 students in need, so they can shop; PES PTO could do the same
  • There are vendors for the adults to peruse while waiting for their students to shop
  • Was well attended when one was held at PES in the past
  • PES PTO agreed to try it for 24-25 school year; Dana will ask Ashley when we need to get her the check by
• Box tops
  • Amber shared that Miss Staggers class won again in January
  • She has 57 scanned receipts; the next closest class is Mrs. Fisher’s class with 8 receipts.
  • No other classes are participating
  • Send out an email to families about linking the receipts to their student’s teacher
  • Have Mr. Howell put the box tops contest on the announcements
  • Include info on how to link receipts in the next PTO newsletter
  • Winning classes get to pick something from a treasure box!

New Business

• 2024-2025 Officer elections
  • Nominations in April
  • Vote in May
  • Needed positions:
    • Secretary or President
    • Vice president
• Kindergarten readiness testing
  • In the past the PTO has sent a rep with a gift; maybe bracelet
  • This year the elementary schools decided not to have PTO reps at K readiness; just K orientation night in August
• PSSA snacks
  • Mrs. Janusz orders through the cafeteria; PTO pays
• Spring picture day volunteers
  • Dana will send out a sign up
  • Thursday, Feb. 29 in the morning

Committees and Coordinators Reports

·         R&K Sale (Nicole Matthews & Krista McKenzie)

o   Starts Feb. 26

o   Ends March 12

o   Tallying date TBD (Carrie can help)

o   Delivery/Pick Up March 26 (Carrie and Sarah help)

·         PTO Audit

o   PTO books were audited in January for July-December and it went well

o   Vicky Stewart is stepping down as the auditor after the July audit

o   Kirsten Myers is willing to step up and take her place

o   Both Kirsten and Vicky will attend the July audit (January-June books)

·         Staff Appreciation (Dana Henry)

o   January went well, big undertaking but a lot of fun

o   Amber – special days

§  Bus drivers 2/22 – kids made cards, PTO bought chocolate last year

§  Nothing planned by the schools this year, PTO will do something

o   February 21– Brazil (Georgia) - Ohana bowls and chocolate fountain; volunteers needed and chocolate dipping donations; look for sign ups

o   March 19 – China (Kirsten)– fortune cookie hunt

o   April 19 – Canda – pancake breakfast; donations and volunteers needed; look for sign ups closer to the event

·         Volunteer Coordinator (Dana Henry & OPEN)

o   If volunteers needed for any upcoming events; let Dana know

·         Yearbook (Kayla Zellers)

o   Extra page – include student council, orchestra pic, band pic, Envirothon team pic, pto officers

o   Deadline is beginning of April

·         Laps for Learning – May 24 (Nicole Matthews)

o   Key chains are dogs this year

o   Rented the inflatables from Renta Fiesta

o   Nicole Laughman will organize the Chick Fil A luncheon prizes

o   A list of other tasks to be completed will be compiled and volunteers recruited

·         Fourth Grade Graduation -?? (Carrie Houck)

o   Carrie will ask about the date

Open Discussion

• None

Announcements

• The next PTO meeting will be Thursday, March 14th at 6:00pm.

Adjournment

• The meeting was adjourned at by 7:12pm Nicole Matthews. 

 

Paradise Elementary PTO Meeting Minutes

March 14, 2024

Welcome, Introductions & Kudos

The meeting was called to order at 6:03pm by Nicole Matthews.

There were 11 people in attendance.

• Faculty attendees: Amy Fisher (teacher)
• Parent attendees: Carrie Houck, Nicole Laughman, Nicole Matthews, Krista McKenzie, Trish Kowalsky, Alexis Mills, Dana Henry, Kirsten Myers, Georgia King, Amber Wolf

Kudos

• Amber – miscellaneous staff appreciation days
• Georgia – Ohana bowls

Secretary's Report submitted by Dana Henry:

Meeting minutes from the February 8th meeting were reviewed.

The meeting minutes were approved by:

• Krista McKenzie
• Carrie Houck

President's Report submitted by Nicole Matthews:

Nothing extra to report.

 Treasurer's Report submitted by Carrie Houck and Sarah Landis:

February

• Beginning Balance: $27,190.61
• Credits: $1.04 (interest)
• Debits:  $1,995.63 (teacher reimbursements, January restock, holiday event, assembly)
• Ending Balance: $24,996.02

Budget review – no comments

Approved by:

• Krista McKenzie
• Kirsten Myers

Principal's Report submitted by Mrs. Janusz

• I apologize for not being here again tonight.  My middle daughter is a senior in high school this year.  Tonight is her “Jersey Presentation Ceremony” for Lacrosse.  
• February was a fast-moving month, even with the Leap Day!
• The Corey the Dribbler Assembly went very well!   Students enjoyed the assembly.
• Thank you for the Ohana Bowls.  They were delicious and such a special treat.  

• Last week we celebrated Read Across America Week.  Students enjoyed Spirit Days and special activities throughout the week. 
• Our coins for College (Scholarship Fund Fundraiser) is underway this week and next week.  Each grade level has a prize they will win if they collect the most money.
• Kindergarten Readiness testing will occur next week.  PTOs will not be part of the program this year.  We hope to have you present at our Paradise Kindergarten Orientation Night in August. 
• Next week, our K,1,2 students will be taking an afternoon field trip to the Appell Center to see a play.  
• We are headed into the busy month of April.  PSSA’s will begin on Monday, April 22.  ELA will occur on the 22,23 and 24rd.  Math will be on Monday the 29th and 30th.  4th Grade also takes Science, which will be on May 1st and 2nd.
• Thank you for your continued support

 Teacher’s Report submitted by Mrs. Fisher

• Thank you for all the appreciation days and the restock event.

 Old Business:

• Kindergarten readiness testing:
  • PTOs will not have tables this year at the readiness testing
  • Kindergarten books from the PTO are here and ready (need stickers)
  • PTO presence will be at Kindergarten orientation night on August 14; books will be distributed there
• 2024-2025 Officer Elections:
  • April is nominations
    • Dana will be nominated for President
    • Vice President is still open.
    • Sarah L will continue as Treasurer
    • The position of secretary is still open.
  • May is elections

New Business

• Spring Grove Scholarship Fund Dinner
  • PTO sponsors a scholarship of $500
  • The student who receives the award is a senior who has attended at least 3 years at Paradise
  • There is a dinner/awards ceremony at the high school
  • PTO usually sponsors a table and PTO members and or Paradise staff attend the dinner
    • Mrs. Fisher will check to see if any staff members would like to attend
  • We do not know ahead of time which student will receive the scholarship
  • The dinner will be a weeknight in May
• End of year treat for students
  • Ice cream through the cafeteria (Carrie)
  • No specific date; teachers can choose a date; PTO will foot the bill

 Committees and Coordinators Reports

R&K Sale (Nicole Matthews & Krista McKenzie)

• Sold over $8,000; around $3,000 profit expected
• Delivery/Pick Up March 26

Curriculum Fair Food Trucks (Kelsey Pedmo)

• Kelsey couldn’t attend the meeting
• Has 2 trucks secured: Kona Ice, Killer Eats
• 1 more “real food” truck in the works

Staff Appreciation (Dana Henry)

• February 21– Brazil (Georgia) - Ohana bowls and chocolate fountain; it turned out perfect!
• March 19 – China (Kirsten)– fortune cookie hunt with teacher coupons next week
• April 19 – Canada – (Dana) pancake breakfast; donations and volunteers needed; look for sign ups closer to the event.  Griddles: Trish, Georgia/Krista, Sarah L, Dana, Amber
• May 6-10 – Mexico for staff appreciation week

                 PTO events:
                        Monday – pinatas (Kirsten)
                        Wednesday – chips, salsa, non-alcoholic margaritas
                        Friday – luncheon (Krista)
                        Raffle baskets all week (Georgia)

                 Student appreciation tasks were discussed:
                        Monday – Wear your teacher’s favorite color
                        Tuesday – Dress like your favorite special area teacher (P.E., library, music, art)
                        Wednesday – About you and your teacher paper/picture (use example from Mrs. Fisher)
                        Thursday – Decorate doors of the “specialists;” Dana will make a list of those doors and assign doors to different grade levels;
                                            PTO hangs the signs/decorates the doors Wednesday afterschool
                         Friday – Make or bring your teacher a thank you card

Courtyard Project (Dana Henry)

• The classroom deck will be built by H&H in the courtyard over spring break (weather permitting)
• Mrs. Frey is planning to order a third table with the remaining grant money and student activities money
• The beginning of April we will be weeding and mulching the courtyard beds with student council; sign ups to follow
• Mrs. Frey and Dana may possibly plan a staff opening of the courtyard during staff appreciation week?  A schedule needs to be made to use the courtyard space for staff.
• A more grand opening to share it with the whole school community is planned for August back to school night

Yearbook (Kayla Zellers)

• Yearbook dedications, fourth grade pictures, and extracurricular pictures are due this Friday.
• Deadline for the yearbook is the beginning of April.

Spring Bookfair (Carrie Houck, Kelsey Pedmo, & Nicole McCormick)

• Nothing new to report.

Laps for Learning – May 24 (Nicole Matthews)

• An overview was given of the Laps event.
• Fundraising portion of the event will be in April
• Laps event is May 24 – obstacle course, inflatables, and popsicles for students
• Please see separate page for additional details and assigned tasks

Fourth Grade Graduation -May 29 (Carrie Houck & Georgia King)

• Georgia volunteered to help Carrie with the event.
• No additional information to report at this time.

Open Discussion

• None

Announcements

• The next PTO meeting will be Thursday, April 11th at 6:00pm.

Adjournment

• The meeting was adjourned at 7:28pm by Nicole Matthews. 

End of Year Dates to Know

March

• March 18 – Hide fortune cookies for staff appreciation (3:00-4:00pm); March 19 – staff hunt them
• March 19 – Night of Music (evening)
• March 20 & 21 – Appell Center Field Trips - gr. K&1; gr. 2
• March 26 – R&K Fundraiser Pick Up Night (4:30-6:00pm)
• March 28, 29, April 1 – Spring Break-No School

April

• April 11 – Third Grade Field Trip
• April 11 – PTO Meeting (6:00-7:00pm)
• April 16 – Band and Strings Concert (evening)
• April 19 – Staff appreciation pancake breakfast – Canada (7:30-8:30am)
• April 15 thru April 29 – Laps for Learning Fundraising & Promotion
• April 22 thru May 2 – PSSAs – gr. 3 & 4

May

• May 3 – No School
• May 6- 10 – Staff Appreciation Week -Mexico (during the day)
• May 9 – Second Grade Field Trip
• May 9 – PTO Meeting (6:00-7:00pm)
• May 10 – Career Day
• May 14 – Spring Book Fair, Curriculum Fair, Food Trucks, & Courtyard Open House (8:30am-3:30pm; 5:00-8:00pm)
• May 15 – Laps for Learning Prize Lunch (lunchtime)
• May 16 – Envirothon
• May 22 – PTO Volunteer Appreciation Ice Cream Social (3:30-4:30pm – Farmers Field)
• May 23 – Fourth Grade Field Trip
• May 24 – Laps for Learning Event (8:30am-3:30pm)
• May 27 – No School
• May 29 – Fourth Grade Graduation (pm)
• May 30 – Last Day of School; Early Dismissal

 

Paradise Elementary PTO Meeting Minutes

April 11, 2024

Welcome, Introductions & Kudos

• The meeting was called to order at 6:06pm by Nicole Matthews.
• There were 12 people in attendance.

◦                     Faculty attendees: Julianne Janusz

◦                     Parent attendees: Nicole Matthews, Nicole Laughman, Sarah Landis, Carrie Houck, Dana Henry, Krista McKenzie, Amber Wolf, Kirsten Myers, Georgia King. Alexis Mills, Trish Kowalsky

• Kudos
• Amber – miscellaneous staff appreciation days
• Kirsten – newsletter
• Alexis – Laps display

Secretary's Report submitted by Dana Henry:

• Meeting minutes from the March 14th meeting were reviewed.
• The meeting minutes were approved by:
• Georgia King
• Sarah Landis

President's Report submitted by Nicole Matthews:

• Thank you for all the support.

Treasurer's Report submitted by Carrie Houck and Sarah Landis:

• March

Beginning Balance: $24,996.02
Credits: $8,280.16 (R&K)
Debits: $6,864.75 (courtyard deck, R&K, laps, teachers)
Ending Balance: $26,411.43

• Budget review
• Approved by - Krista McKenzie & Nicole Laughman

Principal's Report submitted by Mrs. Janusz

• The night of music was held on Tuesday, March 19.  Students did a wonderful job showcasing their vocals.
• Next year’s kindergarten students attended readiness on March 19 and 20.  The event went very well.  
• The kids heart challenge raised $6,674 this year. Students have been enjoying special videos on the morning announcements that our teachers created.
• The district collected $4,593.49 for the coin challenge. Paradise Elementary students donated $4.39 PER STUDENT, which is amazing! Paradise was the winner for the 2024 school year.  The student council was presented a trophy to display until next year.  There will also be a scholarship awarded to a SGASD senior in Paradise's name at next year's awards banquet.
• The courtyard deck was installed over the spring break.  The grading work will be completed in the future by H&H. 
• Solar eclipse was a unique opportunity for our students.  Some students went home while many stayed.  Students who remained used their shields as they left.  There was a lot of excitement.  Hopefully all students will remember the event.
• Third grade went to the capitol today for their field trip.  2nd grade will go to Indian Echo Caverns on May 9 and 4th grade to the Oaks Museum on May 23th. 
• We are trying a new approach to career day this year.  In addition to encouraging students to dress up, Mrs. Barley is also organizing presentations for each grade level.
• PSSAs will start April 22nd.  Thank you for the snacks for students.
• May will be a busy month.  Thank you in advance for all your support in the many activities that you help with throughout the school year.
• Looking ahead to next year- We ran out of tissues.  Our last drive lasted over a full year.  Would it be possible to plan a drive in the fall?

Teacher’s Report submitted by Mrs. Fisher

• Mrs. Fisher was not able to attend this evening, but shared the following via email:
• The fortune cookie hunt was fun!  We really are all enjoying the “worldly” experiences you are giving us this year!
• The Scholarship Fund dinner would be of interest if we knew that a PES kiddo was involved. There were some teachers interested…however I am pretty sure you cannot find out recipients.
• PSSA testing is about to begin in 2 weeks…teachers are appreciative of the snacks you provide for that!
• Laps for Learning- Whatever “Teacher” activity you have planned as part of the Awards Assembly…you may want to get a sign-up sheet going sooner than later. Everyone is starting to get that overwhelming planning stage of end of year…so the interest is sparked now…but could dwindle if we wait too long and we all become exhausted! 

Old Business:

• Spring Grove Scholarship Fund Banquet – Tuesday, May 14
• Same night as curriculum fair
• Nobody from Paradise will be able to attend

New Business

Career Day – May 10

• Mrs. Barley is looking for community members to come in and present; a form was sent out via email
• Mrs. Janusz and Mrs. Barley will be ordering refreshments through the cafeteria
• Mrs. Barley is requesting PTO volunteers to greet the presenters and keep the refreshments stocked
• Dana will make a sign up, but if we can have one “active” PTO member for each time slot, then we can fill in with other able parent volunteer                

Courtyard

• H&H completed the deck over spring break
• Extra materials from Lowes will be returned (Dana and Trish)
• H&H is coming back to level and re-seed the area
• Student council will put down mulch at the May meeting
• Dana will weed beforehand, maybe with parent help after school one day

Committees and Coordinators Reports

Curriculum Fair Food Trucks (Kelsey Pedmo) – May 14

• Trailer trash nachos
• Killer eats
• Kona ice

Staff Appreciation (Dana Henry & Amber Wolf)

• Amber – admin professional day (April 24) and principal day (May 1)

Retiring teachers – Amber will get a $50 gift card and card from the PTO for each person

• Mrs. Cohen
• Mrs. Luckenbaugh
• Mrs. Caulfield
• Mrs. Pam Shaffer

Dana – pancake breakfast – April 19

• Amber – pancake mix
• Griddles and flippers – Trish, Georgia/Krista, Sarah L, Amber, Dana
• Marwa - eggs

Georgia - raffle baskets for staff appreciation week

• Looks like we will have 20 baskets
• Will send out a sign up for the last few needed items

Spring Bookfair (Carrie Houck, Kelsey Pedmo, & Nicole McCormick)

• Carrie will send needed volunteer info to Dana to create sign up

Laps for Learning – Fundraising – April 15 – May 2; Event - May 24 (Nicole Matthews)

• Paperwork will go home on Monday for fundraiser
• Publicity:

       Alexis – display
       Mr. Howell – announcements
       Dana – emails to parents
       Kelsey – social media posts
       Kirsten – put it in April PTO newsletter

• Volunteer:

sign up for keychain distribution is filled
Dana will make a sign up for volunteers for the day of

• Prizes:

          ▪  Georgia – hoverboard and helmet
          ▪  Nicole L – Chick fil a lunch
          ▪  Dana – hot dog teachers
                          Use butcher paper and or plastic tablecloths (couldn’t find cheap fabric)
                          Trish and Dana will meet and make a plan

• Event itself (Carrie)

          ▪  DJ
         ▪   Inflatables
         ▪   Obstacle course
         ▪   Popsicles

• Box Tops (Amber)     

         o   Staggers’s class wins again
         o   Rethink how to promote box tops next year

• Fourth Grade Graduation -May 29 (Carrie Houck & Georgia King)

         o   Nothing to report

Officer Nominations

• Nominations tonight and voting will take place next week.
• President – Dana Henry

     o  Nicole Matthews nominates Dana

• Vice President – Kirsten Myers

     o  Dana Henry nominates Kirsten

• Secretary – Georgia King

    o Krista McKenzie nominates Georgia

• Treasurer – Sarah Landis

     o Kirsten Myers nominates Sarah

Open Discussion

• Sustainability

      o  Type up what you have done or send digital files to Dana (examples – Amber-staff appreciation, Krista-lunches, Georgia-raffle baskets, Kirsten-newsletter, Nicole L- chick fil a, Kelsey-social media, etc.)

       o  Dana will upload and organize everything in the PTO google drive to be passed on to future volunteers

• Back to School

       o  Gift for students

            ▪ Ideas: books, sunglasses, coupons and gift card, water bottle sticker, paradise water bottle

            ▪ Dana will research pricing and bring to the May meeting

        o  Orientation night for K – Aug 14 – Kelsey & Dana

        o  Back to school night for 1-4 – Aug 21 – Dana & ??

• Movie night in September  - Continue; Get details from Carrie:

         ●   A&R Rental equipment
         ●   Borrow screen from Carrie
         ●   Concession stand
         ●   End of September
         ●   Movie list of licensed movies from district

Announcements

• The next PTO meeting will be Thursday, May 9th at 6:00pm.

Adjournment

• The meeting was adjourned at 7:10pm by Nicole Matthews. 

Paradise Elementary PTO Meeting Minutes

September 12^th, 2024

 

Welcome

Meeting called to order @ 6:02 by Dana Henry

Attendance: 16

• Robyn Horvath, Danielle Rebert, Naomi Asper, Sarah Landis, Georgia King, Krista McKenzie, Nathan Wertz, Cori Feeser, Breanne Murren, Kirsten Myers, Kathy Wolfe, Julie Janusz, Tonya Will, Amber Wolf, Maddie Alexander, Dana Henry

Secretary’s Report

• Reviewed meeting minutes from August 5^th, 2024
• Meeting Minutes approved:  Sarah Landis & Krista McKenzie

Treasure’s Report

August

• Beginning Balance: $25,418.63
• Credits: $1.08 (Interest)
• Debits: $332.57 (Reimbursements)
• Ending Balance $25,087.14
• Budget review
• Budget Approved:  Robyn Horvath & Naomi Asper

Report approved:  Robyn Horvath & Nathan Wertz

Principal’s Report

• Project team assembly and promoted the program with students
• Morning meetings this year to tie into our project team characters
• Completed our beginning of the year benchmark testing 
• The first half day was September 13.

 Presidents Report

• Back to school gift – books (Kirsten)
• Box Tops linked with Walmart (Amber)
• Closet clean out (Georgia & Dana)
• Back to School Night - Face painting (Alexis & Marci)
• Touch a Truck (Krista)

Upcoming Events

Sept 25th^th – Teacher Appreciation

• Fruit & Veggie Bar (Georgia)

September 27^th – Touch A Truck Event/Tissue Drive from 6pm to 8pm (Krista)

• SOOO many Vehicles
• Sneak Peek on Facebook (Kelsey)
• Concessions: Hot Dogs, Chips, Water, Baked Goods
• Tissues for sale
• Volunteers needed (Sign Up Genius)
• QR Code Voting (Dana):  Skating, Dance or Movie Night

October 11^th – Fall Fest

• 3 Stations

1. Rock Painting (Robyn)
2. Relay Races (Amber ?) (Danielle 9-10 & 2-3)
3. Fall Carnival Games - Plinko, Football, Ring-a-round-a-Pumpkin, Tic-Tac-Toe, Milk Jugs

• Timekeeper (Sarah 9-11) (? 12-3)

October 21^st – Food Truck Night Fundraiser (Kelsey)

• Need signs for advertising (Alexis)
• Trash Cans (Custodians)

Committees & Coordinators

R&K Fundraiser (Krista & Naomi)

• Prize – Gift card

Courtyard (Dana & Mrs. Frey)

• Add water feature? (Kings Lawncare?)

Little Ceasars Fundraiser (Sarah)

Gift Card Fundraiser (Kirsten)

Box Tops (Amber)

• Teacher Incentives?

To be Continued

Yearbook

• Special Pages (Extra Circular, 4th grade)

Laps for Learning – Color Run (Naomi)

Dance (Feb)? (Robyn & Naomi)

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned @ 7:20 by Dana Henry

Next meeting October 10, 2024

Paradise Elementary PTO Meeting Minutes

October 10^th, 2024

 

Welcome

-          Meeting called to order @ 6:02 by Dana Henry

-          Attendance: 15

o   Robyn Horvath, Naomi Asper, Sarah Landis, Georgia King, Krista McKenzie, Nathan Wertz, Breanne Murren, Kirsten Myers, Julie Janusz, Amber Wolf, Dana Henry, Amber Mummert, Brooke Clites, Jamie Tharp, Marwa Abbes

Secretary’s Report

-          Reviewed meeting minutes from September 12^th, 2024

-          Meeting Minutes approved:

o   Naomi Asper

o   Nathan Wertz

Treasure’s Report

-          August

o   Beginning Balance: $25,241.67

o   Credits: $1.02 (Interest)

o   Debits: $730.18 (Teacher Appreciation, K Field Trip & Teacher Reimbursements)

o   Ending Balance $24,357.98

-          Report approved:

o   Krista McKenzie

o   Robyn Horvath

Principal’s Report

-          Thank you for last month's event

o   Tissue collection was very successful!

-          Fire Prevention Day (10/9/24)

-          Kindergarten Field Trip – Brown’s Orchard

-          First Grade Field Trip – Flinchbaugh’s

-          Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up

o   Grades 1-4 – October 17^th & 21^st

o   K – November 5^th & 7^th

-          End of the 1^st Marking Period – November 15^th

o   Report Cards available November 25th

Teacher Report

-          Thank you for Fruits & Veggies

-          Excited for Fall Fest

-          Mr. Wertz = Announcements

Presidents Report

-          Touch a Truck SUCCESS (Krista, Kirsten & Marcie)

-          September Teacher Appreciation – Fruits & Veggies Event (Georgia & Sara)

-          Spirit Wear Fundraiser (Dana)

-          Family Event Vote

o   Magic Elm Skate Night – 67 votes

▪         Join SGI or SGE or do solo?

o   Movie Night – 65 votes (Naomi)

▪         Feb/ March?

o   Dance – 45 votes

Upcoming Events

-          October 11^th – Fall Fest (38 Volunteers)

o   3 Stations

▪         Rock Painting (Robyn)

▪         Relay Races (Amber M.) (Danielle 9-10 & 2-3)

▪         Fall Carnival Games(?)

●       Plinko, Football, Ring-a-round-a-Pumpkin, Tic-Tac-Toe, Milk Jugs

o   Time Keeper (Sarah 9-11) (Dana 12-3)

-          October 21^st – Food Truck Night Fundraiser (Kelsey)

o   Baltimore Pit Beef, Killer Eats, Food Adventures, Sweet P’s, Kona Ice & Tom’s Coffee

o   Yard Signs (Alexis)

o   Trash Cans (Custodians)

-          October 25^th – Teacher Appreciation

o   Pumpkin in my Pocket (pumpkins turned into office at the end of the day for special teacher tickets)

-          November 8^th – Picture Retake (Amber M.)

-          November 11^th – Little Caesars Fundraiser (Sarah & ?)

-          November 11^th – Gift Cards Fundraiser (Kirsten and ?)

-          November 14^th – Teacher Appreciation Luncheon (Krista)

o   Baked Potato Bar

Committees & Coordinators

-          R&K Fundraiser – (Krista & Naomi)

o   Happening now – due Oct, 16^th

o   Count money - Oct. 17^th

o   Pick up - Oct. 30th

-          Parent Support (Mrs. Rittle)

o   Anyone that has special talent to share with staff during teacher in-service days

-          Staff Appreciation (Dana)

-          Yearbook (Kayla)

o   Decided on yearbook cover

-          Holiday Shop (SEG & Amber)

o   Happening December 13^th & 14^th

o   Meeting about volunteering – October 21^st @ 6pm at PES

To be Continued

-          Laps for Learning – Color Run (Naomi)

Adjournment

-          Meeting adjourned @ 7:02 by Dana Henry

-          Next meeting November 14^th 2024

-          NO Meeting in December

Paradise Elementary PTO Meeting Minutes

November 14^th, 2024

 

Welcome

-          Meeting called to order @ 6:03 by Dana Henry

-          Attendance: 16

o   Robyn & Jared Horvath, Georgia King, Krista McKenzie, Nathan Wertz, Breanne Murren, Julie Janusz, Dana Henry, Amber Mummert, Brooke Clites, Kelsey Klinedinst, Alexis Copenhaver, Sara Wallet, Cori Fesser, Kelsey Pedmo, Tonya Will

Secretary’s Report

-          Reviewed meeting minutes from October 10^th, 2024

-          Meeting Minutes approved:

o   Amber Mummert

o   Robyn Horvath

Treasure’s Report

-          October

o   Beginning Balance: $25,593.21

o   Credits: $11,365.29

o   Debits: $7,493.72 (Touch a Truck, Teacher Reimbursements, Field Trip, Fall Fest, Teacher Appreciation & Fundraiser)

o   Ending Balance $28,464.78

-          Report approved:

o   Krista McKenzie

o   Robyn Horvath

Principal’s Report

-          Thank you for the wonderful potato bar today, the pumpkin activity in October and all the volunteers who helped with the Fall Fest.   

-          October

o   Student enjoyed participating in the Spooky Gym with Mrs. Bortner.

o   Parent/Teacher conferences.

§  The food trucks were enjoyed

-          The Book Blast is a new event this year.

o    planned and run by Catie Wallace (Community in Schools) 

-           November 12 - fall band and orchestra concert here at Paradise.

o   about 25 students taking lessons and participating in the band

o   About 30 students in the strings program

o   next performances in March. 

-          The End of the first Trimester 11/15/24.  Report cards will be available in Sapphire on 11/27/24

-          Students will be off 11/27/24- 12/2/24 for Thanksgiving Break 

-          December

o   Book fair. 

o   Students will have a ½ day on Friday, December 20th.

-          January 7th- Assembly-Steven Courtney 

 

Teacher Report

-          Thank you for the Baked Potato Bar

-          Little Caeser’s Fundraiser Scavenger Hunt

Presidents Report

-          Shout Outs

o   Fall Fest had 40 parent volunteers!

§  Relay Races (Amber Mummert) & Rock Painting (Robyn)

o   R&K Fundraiser Success (Krista)

o   First Food Truck Night (Alexis & Kelsey Pedmo)

§  Feedback: 2 nights (both teacher conferences), start earlier, collect money at the end of the night, $5 teacher voucher, food truck spread sheet (Dana)

o   October Teacher Appreciation – Pumpkin in my Pocket (Kristen & Amber Wolf)

o   Picture Retake Day (Amber Mummert)

o   November Teacher Appreciation – Baked Potato Bar (Krista, Robyn & Naomi)

-          24-25 Assembly – Steven Courtney picked by Elementary VP

o   Half of our budget

-          SGASD Scholarship Fund - $500 donation (change donation to $1000?)

-          Hardship Gift - $50 Walmart & $50 Rutters

-          Parenting Resources

o   Parent Webinars on SG Website

o   FB group: Wait until 8^th

Upcoming Events

-          November 22^nd - Little Caesar’s & Gift Card Fundraiser Due

o   Pick up week of Dec. 9^th

o   Suggestion – making due after Thanksgiving

-          December 4^th – Book Fair

-          December 6^th – Teacher Appreciation

o   Hot Chocolate Bar – Polar Express

-          December 13^th & 14^th – Holiday Shop @ SGE

o   Put sign out at bookfair

o   Donations: bags, tissue paper & tape

o   Volunteer Signs happening Now

o   Put Packets together 11/26

-          NO DECEMBER MEETING

-          January – Snowball Fight

-          February 5^th – Family Skate Night

o   Split Fee with SGI (24-25 SGI has 2 nights / 25-26 PES has 2 nights)

o   Free Admission

o   What to ask for as donation?

-          March – Family Movie Night (Naomi)

o   Friday Night Date

o   Budget $180-$200

-           

Committees & Coordinators

-          R&K Fundraiser – (Krista & Naomi)

o   Happening now – due Oct, 16^th

o   Count money - Oct. 17^th

o   Pick up - Oct. 30th

-          Parent Support (Mrs. Rittle)

o   Anyone that has special talent to share with staff during teacher in-service days

-          Staff Appreciation (Dana)

-          Yearbook (Kayla)

o   Decided on yearbook cover

-          Holiday Shop (SGE & Amber)

o   Happening December 13^th & 14^th

o   Meeting about volunteering – October 21^st @ 6pm at PES?

To be Continued

-          Laps for Learning (Kelsey Klinedinst & Dana)

o   Inflatable Race – Teacher

o   Top Prize?

o   Kids Color Run (Naomi) – free shirts?

-          Yearbook (Kayla)

o   Special page for 4^th grade

§  1^st day picture, when I grow up, baby picture, advise to a kindergartener, favorite teacher

Adjournment

-          Meeting adjourned @ 7:17 by Dana Henry

-          Next meeting January 19^th, 2025

-          NO Meeting in December

The name of the organization shall be Paradise Elementary PTO. 

Section 1. The purpose of Paradise Elementary PTO is as follows: to support the education of the students attending Paradise Elementary School, by providing enrichment opportunities beyond the basic classroom setting, to foster relationships between parents, teachers, and staff in an effort to achieve the best possible education for every student, and to promote a sense of community among our children, parents and staff. 

Section 2. The Paradise Elementary PTO shall raise funds to be used solely for the purpose of achieving the objectives in Article II, Section 1, within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or corresponding section of any future Federal Tax Code. 

Section 1. Any parent, guardian, adult family member, or other adult standing in loco parentis for a student at Paradise Elementary School may be a member. The principal and any faculty or individual employed at the school may be a member and have voting rights. 

Section 2. There is no fee to be a member of Paradise Elementary PTO. 

Section 1. Officers. The officers shall be President, Vice president, Secretary, and Treasurer. Additionally, all officer positions will allow for a Co Officer as deemed appropriate by the executive board. In the event that there are Co-Presidents, a Vice President is not required but may still be elected. 

a. President. The president(s) shall preside over meetings of the organization and of the executive committee, serve as the primary contact for the principal, represent the organization at meetings outside the organization, shall coordinate the work of all the officers and committees so that the purpose of the organization is served. 

b. Vice President. The vice president(s) shall assist the president(s) and carry out the president’s duties in his or her absence or ability to serve and shall oversee fundraising committees. 

c. Secretary. The secretary(ies) shall record the minutes of all meetings and prepare them for distribution to the school staff and all parents/guardians of students within Paradise Elementary School, shall keep all records of the organization, prepare minutes for presentation at the next Paradise PTO meeting, and send notices of meetings to the membership. 

d. Treasurer. The treasurer(s) shall receive all funds of the organization, keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures, make disbursements as specified by the Paradise PTO budget or as directed by the executive committee, present a treasurer’s report at every Paradise PTO meeting and at other times of the year when requested by the executive committee and make a full report at the end of the year. 

Section 2. Nominations and Elections. Nominations will be held at a regular meeting in April with elections being held at the regular meeting in the month of May. Nominations for officers may be made from the floor. Voting shall be by voice vote. If more than one person is running for the same office, a ballot vote shall be taken. 

Section 3. Eligibility. Members are eligible for any office if they have been a member of Paradise PTO for a minimum of three (3) months prior to nominations and have district approved clearances on file with the school district. 

Section 4. Terms of Office. Officers are elected for a term of one (1) year. Officers may only hold one office at a time. Officers shall assume their official duties July 15th of said year. 

Section 5. Vacancies. If there is a vacancy in the office of president, the vice president will become the president. At the next regularly scheduled meeting, a new vice president will be elected. If there is a vacancy in any other office, members will fill that vacancy through an election at the next regular meeting. 

Section 6. Removal from Office. Officers can be removed from office with cause by a two-thirds vote of those present at a regular meeting where previous notice has been given. 

Section 1. Regular Meetings. The regular meetings of the Paradise PTO will be held monthly during the school year. The dates and times of the meetings shall be determined by the executive board and the principal. 

Section 2. Special Meetings. Special meetings may be called by the president(s) or any 2 members of the executive board. An election meeting shall be held in May. 

Section 3. Quorum. All votes taken will be decided by a simple majority of all organization members present. If the need arises for an organizational vote prior to a regularly scheduled meeting and time does not allow for planning of a special meeting, an electronic vote may be taken. The quorum shall be 6 members of the organization. As outlined in Article VI, Section 2, the Executive Board reserves the right to, shall it deem necessary, vote on items requiring immediate attention between regular meetings. 

Section 1. Membership. The Executive Board shall consist of the officers, principal of the school and teacher representative. 

Section 2. Duties. The duties of the Executive Board shall be as follows: to transact business between meetings in preparation for the general meeting, create standing and special committees, prepare and submit a budget to the membership, approve routine bills, and to prepare and present reports and recommendations to the membership. Members of the PTO shall make the decisions in the organization, however if a decision must be made between PTO business meetings, it shall be made by a majority vote of the Executive Board. 

Section 3. Meetings. Meetings of the Executive Board shall take place as needed throughout the year, called by any 2 board members with at least 24 hour notice. 

Section 4. Quorum. The quorum of the Executive Board shall be three to six members. 

Section 1. Membership. Committees may consist of members and board members, with the president acting as an ex officio member of all committees 

Section 2. Standing Committees. The executive board may create standing committees as it deems necessary, to promote the objectives and carry on the work of the organization. 

a. The chairman of each standing committee shall serve a term of one (1) year. Subsequent terms may be served by those persons who have signified their consent to serve. 

b. The chair of each standing committee shall present their plan of action during regular monthly meetings. No committee work shall be undertaken without the consent of the president(s) and the approval of the principal. 

Section 3. Special Committees. The executive board may appoint additional committees as needed. 

Section 1. The fiscal year of the Paradise PTO shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30, inclusive. 

Section 2. A tentative budget shall be drafted by the treasurer(s) with the assistance of all other officers in July and presented in the fall of each school year to be approved and made the official budget by a majority vote of the membership present at the first regular meeting. 

Section 3. The treasurer shall keep accurate records of any disbursements, income, and bank account information. 

Section 4. Authorized signers of any checks shall be the president(s) or the treasurer(s). 

Section 5. Committee expenditures are budgeted and approved in advance. If a committee anticipates non-budgeted costs, or an overage of greater than $25.00, the committee chair must approach the PTO Executive Board for approval and a vote to approve these costs at a monthly meeting before they are incurred. 

Section 6. Any item/disbursement being requested not covered under section 5 must be presented to the executive board at least one week prior to the scheduled voting meeting and will require approved by a majority vote of members present at that monthly meeting. 

Section 7. The treasurer(s) shall prepare a financial statement at the end of the year, to be reviewed by the audit committee. 

Section 8. An annual audit will be performed by an audit committee of at least 3 people after the end of the fiscal year. 

Section 9. Upon the dissolution of the organization, any remaining funds should be used to pay any outstanding bills and, with membership approval, used for the benefit of the school. 

Section 1. These by-laws may be amended at any regular or special meeting, providing that previous notice was given at least twenty-five (25) days prior to the meeting at which the amendment is to be voted upon. Notice may be given verbally at a preceding meeting, by postal mail, e-mail, newsletter, flyer, or website posting. Amendments will be approved by a two-third vote of those present at the meeting. 

Section 2. A special committee may be appointed to submit a revised set of by-laws as a substitute for the existing by-laws, only by a majority vote at a meeting of the Paradise PTO. 

Section 3. These by-laws shall be reviewed annually by the executive board and presented for review at the first regular meeting of the school year. 

Section 1. The Paradise PTO may be dissolved at a regular or special meeting, providing that notice was given at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting at which the dissolution is to be voted on. Notice may be given verbally at a preceding meeting, by postal mail, e-mail, newsletter, flyer, or website posting. Dissolution will be approved by a two-third vote of those present at the meeting. 

Section 1. Purpose. The purpose of the conflict of interest policy is to protect this tax-exempt organization’s interest when it is contemplating entering into a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of an officer or director of the organization, or might result in a possible excess benefit transaction. This policy is intended to supplement but not replace any applicable state and federal laws governing conflict of interest to nonprofit and charitable organizations. 

Section 2. Policy. Officers and members have a duty to avoid potential or apparent conflicts of interest. To avoid the appearance of impropriety, it is important for individuals to disclose any of the following facts. 

• Whether they have a potential conflict of interest with respect to any transaction, business decision or other matter in which the organization is involved.
• Whether they have a financial, business or personal interest in an entity in which the nonprofit organization is or will be doing business.
• Whether individuals related to them have a financial, business, or personal interest in an entity with which the nonprofit organization is or will be doing business
• Whether they serve as a director, member or employee of a corporation with which the nonprofit organization is or will be doing business. 

Section 3. Procedure. The board should proceed with caution when any of the above facts are present because there may be a conflict of interest. An individual who has a potential conflict with respect to a particular transaction should abstain from participating in the negotiations and decisions surrounding that transaction.