MUDDY BROOK REGIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PTA MEETING
November 9, 2011
In Attendance: Please see sign up sheet attached as Appendix A.
Kimberly Houston called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
Treasurer’s report
S.Higa reported on the current bank balance of the PTA. Current bank balance is $17,824. S. Higa commented that we are expecting to disburse teacher stipends soon. Teachers have submitted their receipts and disbursements will be made as they come in. S. Higa reported that thus far we have brought in $2107 from direct donations. The bake sale at movie night yielded $133.75. The scrip program has made $207.50 thus far this year. Spirit wear profit $765.85 profit and this is preliminary as we have stock that has not yet sold and will be offered at Friday assemblies and other events.
President’s report
Movie Night
K. Houston reported that movie night went well. She estimated that 75 people attended. K. Houston suggested having another movie night in February and requested volunteers to contact her if they are interested in organizing another movie night. K. Houston distributed a sign-up sheet for new volunteers to give their contact information.
National Parental Involvement Day
K. Houston reported that there is an event on November 17th called “National Parental Involvement Day” encouraging parents to participate at school and to engage with their children at home. There will be a form going home next week to encourage people to engage with school events.
Directory Update
K. Houston reported that the directory is now online. She also stated that the omissions to the directory are online. The directories were distributed and a hard copy of the corrections will be going home.
Holiday Craft Workshop
There will be a holiday craft workshop meeting tomorrow at 11 in the conference room to talk about planning for the event in December. She stated that we will need most PTA involvement in planning, organizing and prepping crafts for the workshop. K. Houston reported that we will not be doing snacks at the workshop, and will also have high school students involved again. D. Benham wondered whether we should cover the cost of the program for needy families. The Holiday Craft workshop is scheduled for December 12-13th.
Afterschool Program
C. Becker reported on the after school program and stated that the program was successful this year. She indicated that we tend to lose money or break even with the program and also reported that we had a higher number of families requesting financial assistance for this program. C. Becker requested that we look for individuals to lead afterschool programs in the spring. K. Houston suggested that Cara draft a letter to go home to parents requesting teachers for afterschool programming in the spring. C. Becker reported that we are going to need some help getting Project Sprout going this year as people who have organized the program in the past have moved on. K. Houston described the program and requested that people have their eyes open for people to help out with Project Sprout. C. Shelton suggested that we approach the School Committee to help financially support the afterschool programs.
Fundraising
Local Berkshire business fundraiser
Fundraiser went out missing a page. M. Dohoney suggested that we send out a pdf of the order form so we can distribute to friends and family members. C. Shelton suggested that we put the order form and description page on the website. J. Knopf suggested that we investigate the possibility to do a spring local goods fundraiser with garden materials. H. Veague and K. Houston agreed to explore the possibility.
Rewards/Scrip Report
Boxtop challenge was completed and Mrs. MacVeety’s class won the basket of art supplies. The next challenge will run until 12/16/11. The next challenge will also involve Campbell’s labels. The prize will be a 30-minute concert with Thad performing in their neighborhood. J. Knopf reported that we have collected $1200 for the year so far. J. Knopf reported on the scrip program and requested that people use the program. She stated that we have pre-purchased some scrip that can be sold at the Friday assemblies. Finally, J. Knopf asked for people to send in Tyson Chicken labels as she can send them in December.
PTA Community Card
K. Houston reminded people about the community card and reported that the person who was running that program can no longer do so. K. Houston asked for a volunteer to take over that role included a brief product description.
Winter Wonderland
D. Benham and J. Knopf described the Winter Wonderland as being a yearly event that will include crafts, fireworks, food, music, a raffle and other activities and stated that it will occur on Saturday, December 10th from 3-8pm. J. Knopf reported that the PTA had an area in the basement of Barrington Outfitters. Reportedly, we offered three crafts, a hot cocoa bar and a dessert table and that everyone had a good time. J. Knopf and D. Benham asked for volunteers to help out with the event. They requested that volunteers stick to a non-religious, “Winter Wonderland” theme. They reported that we ended up making a profit from the event and anticipate that we will make a bigger profit this year.
Committee meeting for Art & Talent Showcase will be set for early January
K. Houston briefly described the Art & Talent showcase from last year and stated that Allison Larkin will organize the talent show again. K. Houston reported that each grade will make collaborative art projects to be auctioned. The art pieces will be displayed at the art talent showcase and then auctioned online. K. Houston reported that organizational meetings will begin in January.
Mud Day committee plan
K. Houston reported that we need a chair for Mud Day. K. Houston is proposing a meeting for the end of November, beginning of December to put together a committee to organize Mud Day this year. K. Houston delineated needs: vendors, food, entertainment, activities. She stated that each grade will get involved and organized activities.
K. Houston reminded people that there will be no December meeting, only committee meetings. The next meeting will be January 11th, 2012.
K. Houston adjourned the meeting at 7:43 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Heather B. Veague
Secretary
