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General John Nixon Elementary
School
PTO Meeting Minutes
April, 2006
The meeting was called to order at 9:25 am.
2 4 people signed the attendance sheet.
Treasurer’s Report
Most of the major fundraising activities for the year have been conducted,
with a year-to-date total of $20,843. The forecast for the full-year is
60% attained. Net Income is at $31,080, which is 70% of the full-year
goal. This number continues to change, as there are still a number of
large payments to be made: we have collected advance payments for the
Yearbooks but have not paid the full amount to the publisher, we have
collected for field trips that have not yet occurred, and there are still
outstanding invoices from the Science Fair. The two remaining revenue
producing events are Bingo Night and the General John’s March.
Co-Chairs Report
The PTO Bylaws have been updated and are being reviewed. They should be
ready to be voted on at the next meeting. Tracie Nathin reviewed the structure
of the PTO, as outlined in the Bylaws, so everyone would understand the
organization:
Parent-Teacher
Organization
- Board of Directors:
- Executive Board – Co-Presidents,
Treasurer and Clerk
- Committee Chairs
- Past Co-President, immediate Past
Treasurer and Teacher Representatives
- ALL Nixon parents
The Board of Directors and all Nixon Parents are
equal voting members of the PTO. It is extremely important that as many
people as possible attend the PTO meetings in order to have a meaningful
dialogue about important issues.
Budget Committee
Each committee submits a budget to the PTO for
approval. The Executive Board, Past President and Past Treasurer review
all requests for the upcoming year and put together a full budget. Everyone
in attendance at the first PTO meeting of the school year votes to approve
the budget.
Nominations Committee
A Nominations Committee used to exist at Nixon,
but went away at some point. It is important to re-establish this committee,
as their job is to suggest people for co-chair positions for the following
year. It was suggested that the members be representative of all grades
and that the group members be different each year. It was also suggested
that room parents would be ideal to serve in this role as they know
so many parents at their grade level.
New Committees
A number of committees have been changed or added
for 2006-2007. These include:
- Agenda books (used to be part of Directory)
- Boxtops for Educations (new)
- Educational Enrichment (changed to include Science
enrichment)
- Family Curriculum Night (used to be Curriculum
Night)
- Fifth Grade Events (new, one year term)
- Lunch/Recess Staffing (used to be Volunteer
Coordinators)
- Nominations (new, one year term)
- Science and Math Fair (used to be Science Fair)
- SERF Liaison (new, to be appointed by SERF)
- Yearbook/Slideshow (now combined together)
- PTO Advisory Panel (new) - A panel of parents
with professional expertise in areas including Accounting, Law, and
Insurance. Panel members would act as consultants to the PTO on an
“as needed” basis.
Nixon is going to start using the same vendor
as Curtis M.S. for our 3rd-5th grade Agenda Books. The website team is
exploring the idea of having grade level sites where teachers could post
newsletters, wish lists, field trip information, etc. and will try to
have it up and running in the Fall. There will be an end-of-year party
for the 5th grade on June 22. The Kitchen Project to update the teacher’s
lounge should be done by September and the School District will provide
the electrical, plumbing and carpentry. Some future project ideas include
replacing the shredded stage curtain, clean all stage curtains and treat
with fire retardation ($3,000); putting a new coat of polyurethane on
the gym floor.
School Gifts
A Special Request was made to the PTO by two 1st grade students to purchase
a Pakistan flag for the Rotunda ($29). This was voted on and approved.
Fundraising
Bingo Night is still in need of more volunteers. The 5:30 seating is sold
out and the 7:30 seating is almost sold out. Ideas for future fundraising
events include note cards with the children’s art work on them,
a plant sale and an auction.
Curriculum Night
Embrace the Globe and the Science Fair were both tremendously successful.
We have also had Math Nights and Literacy Night in the past and are trying
to figure out a way to combine these events to add excitement and include
more curriculum areas. It was suggested that we have a Math/Literacy Night
next year.
Yearbook
The Yearbook will be given to the printer next week, they are waiting
to include pictures from Bingo Night. They would like to add a 5th grade
supplement, that would be black and white photocopies, for a cost of about
$50.
Slide Show
The slide show should be about 45 minutes long. It will be shown the day
of the General John’s March. DVDs will be sold for $12-15 and pre-orders
will be taken in mid-May.
Family Photo Day
Some parents were not happy with Robb’s Photography (too expensive
and the kids looked too posed). We are considering using Coffee Pond Productions
at Heritage Park in combination with Noyes next fall.
Craft Connection
They voiced a concern that most of the projects take place in April-June.
Since the schedule is so back-end loaded it is very difficult to find
enough volunteers for everything. Next year we need grade level coordinators
to help with the projects.
Teacher Appreciation Week
The Teacher appreciation lunch will be May 10th in the library and they
are looking for volunteers to set up, decorate, cook and bake.
New Co-President
Laura Semple Walsh will be the nominee for co-president next year.
11:00 a.m. meeting adjourned
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