DrumBeat: Drummond LSC and PTO News & Views

Drummond PTO Meeting Agenda
Thursday, October 15, 2009
9:00 A.M. – Drummond Montessori, Room 007

1. Welcome/Introduction

2. Principal’s Report

3. Treasurer’s Report

4. Old Business / Updates
• T-Shirt Sales (Drummond “Spirit” Shirt Sales) – Grace Kwon
• Pasta Palooza – Speaker
• Family Directory – Sabrina
• Newsletter – Sarah

5. New Business- Committee Reports
• Fall Book Sale – Sarah
• Food and Coat Drive – Mary
• Emails from PTO Database – Grace

6. Kudos / Thanks

7. Announcements

Next PTO meeting- Tuesday November 17, 7:00 pm at The Hideout

8. Adjournment

Drummond PTO Meeting Agenda
Thursday, October 15, 2009
9:00 A.M. – Drummond Montessori, Room 007

1. Welcome/Introduction

2. Principal’s Report

3. Treasurer’s Report

4. Old Business / Updates
• T-Shirt Sales (Drummond “Spirit” Shirt Sales) – Grace Kwon
• Pasta Palooza – Speaker
• Family Directory – Sabrina
• Newsletter – Sarah

5. New Business- Committee Reports
• Fall Book Sale – Sarah
• Food and Coat Drive – Mary
• Emails from PTO Database – Grace

6. Kudos / Thanks

7. Announcements

Next PTO meeting- Tuesday November 17, 7:00 pm at The Hideout

8. Adjournment

Drummond PTO Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
7:00 P.M. – The Hideout

Present: Grace Kwon, Pam Anderson, Megan Hinchscliff, Simone Widney, Sarah Landicho, Bonnie Kenaz-Mara, Laura Lopez, Lisa Wright, Holly DuPart, Mary Zerkel

1. Open
- Grace Kwon opened meeting at 7:00 pm

2. Kudos
- All 4 PTO Officers for stepping up to role.
- Howard Orloff Imports for donating $250 to Pasta Palooza
- Tipsey Bakery for donating a cake for Pasta Palooza

3. Approval of the Minutes from August 18, 2009
- Minutes not present. Not approved.

4. Consensus / Voting
• Secretary Nomination
o Sarah Landicho nominated Simone Widney as PTO Secretary.
o All in favor. Motion passed

• Change in Bi-Laws
o Grace Kwon motioned to elect new PTO Board in April for smoother transition period.
o All in favor. Motion passed

• Change Date of Funds Transfer to Drummond School
o Grace Kwon moved to transfer leftover PTO funds to Drummond School September 30th instead of
August.
o All in favor. Motion passed

5. Old Business / Updates
• Buddy Families Program
• Grace Kwon reported the Buddy Family program was successful and well received by new families

• PTO Database
• Pam Anderson reported database is successful as there is a check and balance to ensure parents
are getting emails, ability to send to only specific groups or committees, parents can enter skills
and resources

• Uniform Swap Fall
• Bonnie Kenaz-Mara reported more uniforms were collected than past years, profit of $140, a
classroom box for extra uniforms in a range of sizes has been made available to teachers, and
Bonnie will donate remaining uniforms.
• Bonnie stated she would like to increase Uniform Swap to 2x/year

6. New Business- Committee Reports
• T-Shirt Sales (Drummond “Spirit” Shirt Sales)
- Grace Kwon reported shirts sales conducted online first time with mostly positive comments
grossed over $3,000 for 250-300 shirts.
- Net profit of approx. $1700 was 3x last year profit
- Going forward, Grace would like to do online shirt sales 2x/year with additional options.

• Pasta Palooza
- Grace reported PTO would be co-hosting an information table with LSC at Pasta Palooza on
Thursday, September 17th, including a Fun Facts info sheet to inform parents of little known info.

• Homeroom Reps
- Bonnie reported all rooms were assigned 2 homeroom reps and there were a few extra volunteers
enabling lead volunteer positions
- Going forward, Bonnie recommended publishing homeroom rep responsibilities in April

• Directory
- Pam reported Sabrina is working on the directory, which will be printed for those without Internet
access who request a printed copy.
- Goal date is October

• Newsletter
- Sarah Landichio reported newsletter may not be published 4x/yr as in past as it is no longer a 5th –
8th grade elective and is now an after school option and format may change from previous years.

7. Announcements
- Pasta Palooza – Thursday, September 17th

- Birthday Gift Idea – Consider making a donation to a class or school cause when birthday invites
request ‘no gifts please’.

- Birthday Book Club – Mary Wheatley is trying to start a Birthday Book Club where a book is donated
for a child’s birthday and the birthday kid would get to check out the book first.

Next PTO meeting- Thursday October 15, 9:00 am, Drummond Room 007

8. Adjourned by Grace Kwon at 7:55 pm

Highlights include:  

 New Business
          Hideout fundraiser report and acknowledgement (5 min)
          Book Fair fundraiser – H. Zakas (3 min)
          NCLB budget transfer – Jennifer James (3 min)
   Old Business
          Federal grant renewal update – Mark Neidlinger and Isabel Mesa-Collins (15 min)
          Community Representative appointment (10 min)
   

Our September meeting will take place on Tuesday, 9/19 at 9:00 a.m. in the Gallery.  Download the agenda for further information.  Everyone is welcome, although voting is restricted to members only.  If you are a parent or teacher of a Drummond student and would like to become a PTO member, forms are available here.  We hope to see you there!

The Meeting Minutes page has been updated.  Almost all PTO and LSC minutes from last year to date are available for download.  More will be added soon.  Collect them all!   

PTO has gotten off to a great start this year!  Our first meeting was held last week and we had our highest turnout ever.  Many thanks to everyone who attended, especially our new members, and the teachers who were able to join us.  We also want to thank everyone who filled out and turned in a PTO Registration and Volunteer form.  We now have 76 registered PTO members!  If you are not sure if you have registered, and would like to, forms will be available at every meeting and can be turned in at any point in the year.  They will also be available for download on this website on the School Forms page.  I would also like to remind you that registering for PTO does not mean you have to volunteer.  It simply means that your name will be put on our roster and you will be eligible to vote on agenda items.  You might also receive PTO emails from time to time, though you may opt out if you wish.

Our first two Special Events of the school year were very successful and a lot of fun.  Thank you to Sabrina Craig and Mary Zerkel, Outreach Committee co-chairs, for organizing the Open House; and to Maria Holstead for coordinating the Rummage Sale!  The music performances and food (provided by Underdog-thank you, Ulysses Salamanca!) were great additions.

Many PTO committees began meeting and have projects underway.  Homeroom Representatives have been assigned to all classrooms, although we could use more help in the upper grades.  Please see Alexandra Hishen-Dobrowski or Megan Hinchsliff if interested.  Their first task is to get a classroom wishlist from every teacher and work with Friends of Drummond to get those needs met. 

The Grant Writing committee has also met and is working with the administration, LSC, and all the parent groups on setting forth the priorities for the coming year.  Currently, the plan is to focus on the Garden Project and on implementing a choral group at school.  However, they are always interested in following new leads, so if you or anyone you know works for a company with a donation-matching program please contact Rachel Gross.

Our next event will be Family Science Night on Thursday, September 14.  The event coordinator is Jennifer James.  As a former science teacher, Jennifer is bringing many interesting and exciting ideas to the table, including the night’s theme of Earth, Air, and Water.  Please let her know if you would like to get involved. 

In other news…

Shirt orders have been placed and we expect to receive them next Friday, September 8. 

The parking situation is still ridiculous.  If anyone would like to spearhead a carpool and/or walk-pool effort, please let a PTO officer know.

Student Council elections were held last week.  Congratulations to all the new representatives! 

Finally, a huge congratulations to school librarian Mary Wheatley on the birth of her son!  Thank you to all the parents who have been helping Ms. Wheatley get the library ready before her maternity leave, including Whitney Bradshaw, Melissa Sterne, and Jennifer James.   

Our next meeting is on Tuesday, September 19 at 9:00 a.m. in the Gallery.  As always, if you have any questions or want to volunteer for PTO but don’t know who to ask, leave a comment or contact us here and we will get in touch will you as soon as possible.  Thank you for making Drummond great!

PTO representatives will be in the schoolyard on Monday with coffee and donuts (and tissues) to welcome new parents, and re-connect with returning ones.  See you then!

The PTO Hospitality committee is currently working on a list of frequently asked questions, especially geared toward incoming families but useful to all Drummond families.  What are the the things about Drummond you didn’t understand or know about when your child started school?  What do you think it’s important for parents to know?  Is there anything you still want to understand better?  Examples include, but are not limited to:  uniform policy, transportation issues, bathroom, naptime, and lunchroom procedures, and the various Drummond organizations and how to get involved.  Please leave your comments below and help us make this FAQ as useful and informative as possible. 

Minutes from the LSC and PTO meetings are now up at the brand new Meeting Minutes page.  Check it out.