MUDDY BROOK REGIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PTA MEETING
July 14, 2010
In Attendance: Sign-Up Sheet attached as Exhibit A.
Kimberly Houston called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
1. Officers – K. Houston led a discussion regarding the fact that the PTA’s current by-laws do not permit the office of President to be held by two people as “Co-Presidents,” so she and Cara Becker, who had been previously elected as the “Co-Presidents,” cannot serve as such. Discussion ensued regarding whether the PTA should amend its by-laws or whether there could be some other configuration involving the current officers. Jenni Roy Hallock offered to resign as Vice President so that C. Becker could serve in such capacity.
Motion: J. Hallock made a motion to resign as Vice President and Chris Shelton seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
Motion: J. Hallock nominated C. Becker as Vice President and Corey Sprague seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
2. Mission Statement – K. Houston explained that the PTA’s current mission statement is very generic and that she and C. Becker, with the input of all officers, have been working on a new mission statement that is more specific to Muddy Brook. K. Houston will circulate a draft of the mission statement and the PTA will vote on the new mission statement at the next meeting.
3. PTA Survey – C. Sprague is developing a survey to solicit information from Muddy Brook families regarding the role of the PTA. The survey will be completed, and the results will be compiled, on-line. Discussion ensued about making hard copies of the survey available for families that are not on-line and about requesting that teachers complete the survey as well. It was determined to start with the on-line survey, deliver hard copies to the teachers’ mailboxes, and have hard copies available at the school. If we do not receive sufficient participation with the on-line survey, then we will consider sending hard copies with the summer mailing. Once the results of the survey have been compiled, we will determine the best time for meetings, how many meetings should be held a year, and whether families would be interested in having speakers or other items of interest at meetings.
4. Communication – K. Houston led discussion regarding the desire to increase communication by the PTA with the families. In particular, it is important to convey what the PTA does and how the money raised through PTA fundraisers is utilized to bring various enrichment activities to the students.
- K. Houston is working with Gretchen Ball to update the PTA website. Discussion ensued about whether the PTA could move to having a page on the BHRSD website, which would eliminate the cost of hosting the current website. K. Houston will discuss this with Peter Dillon.
- K. Houston will work with Liz Rockfeller to have e-mail blasts go out to families a week prior (and possibly also the day prior) to all PTA meetings.
- K. Houston also discussed with Principal Dingman the possibility of the PTA maintaining a sandwich board in the front vestibule of the school.
- Donna Benham and J. Hallock have updated the PTA bulletin board and will continue to keep it updated. K. Houston discussed with Principal Dingman the possibility of moving the PTA bulletin board to a more visible spot.
5. Room Parents – K. Houston reported that Selina Lamb was willing to serve as the room parent coordinator. Ed Abrahams said that he had served in a similar capacity in the past and would talk to S. Lamb about the logistics. Discussion ensued regarding the role of room parents and how such a program would function. Principal Dingman suggested that the PTA may want to start with having parents serve at a grade-wide level and then possibly moving to having parents serve at the individual class level thereafter. K. Houston suggested that a committee should be formed to determine how to implement a room parent program and otherwise organize parents that would like to volunteer in the school. This committee will consist of S. Lamb, E. Abrahams, Heather Veague and Principal Dingman.
6. Teacher Breakfast – C. Becker discussed the idea of having a breakfast for the teachers at the beginning of the school year to introduce the new PTA officers and solicit the teachers’ input regarding how the PTA can be of assistance to them. C. Becker and K. Houston will work on finding a date to hold this breakfast.
7. Lands End – K. Houston presented various Muddy Brook graphics to be used for ordering merchandise from Lands End. A graphic was chosen by those present and will be submitted to Lands End. Families will be notified about the ability to order Muddy Brook backpacks, shirts, sweatshirts, etc. from Lands End in the summer mailing. The PTA will receive a portion of the proceeds of all items ordered. A discussion ensued regarding other similar fundraising opportunities, such as litterless lunch boxes. As a separate matter, a general discussion ensued regarding the establishment of a school logo, school colors, etc. and Principal Dingman said that this is something he will be working on this year.
8. Summer Mailing – The summer mailing will include a cover letter explaining the purpose of the PTA. C. Sprague reiterated the importance of explaining to the families how much money the PTA raises each year and what types of student programs are funded by the PTA. Discussion ensued about including in the cover letter a solicitation of a “per student” donation from families in lieu of participating in fundraisers. Based on last year’s budget, $40 per student would fully fund all PTA programs that were run last year. The summer mailing will also include the Directory Form, a list of all known meeting and event dates, and a list of current fundraisers, such as Lands End and litterless lunch boxes, box tops, etc.
9. Fundraising – A general discussion ensued about fundraising. Various topics covered included soliciting donations from families vs. engaging in fundraising sales of merchandise, what types of merchandise to sell, holding fundraising events, etc. C. Sprague has compiled a list of eco-friendly merchandise that can be sold to raise funds. There was discussion about whether it was better to engage in a one or two large fundraisers per year as opposed to numerous smaller fundraisers. It was determined that a fundraising committee should be formed to formulate a fundraising plan for this year. K. Houston will work on forming this committee and setting a meeting date for sometime in August.
10. Events - Discussion ensued regarding various PTA events to be held over the course of the year, including Mud Day, an arts showcase, movie nights possibly in conjunction with BIFF, father/daughter dance, mother/son Olympics, holiday workshop, etc. It will be determined which events the PTA would like to concentrate on for this year.
11. Ice Cream Social – SoCo Creamery agreed to donate the ice cream again this year. K. Houston will finalize the date – likely the Wednesday or Thursday of the second week of school. J. Hallock and Julie Mederios agreed to run the membership table at the event, which is typically when the bulk of the PTA’s members sign-up.
K. Houston adjourned the meeting at 11:10 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Michaela Dohoney
Secretary