Countryside Elementary School
General PTO Meeting
February 10th, 2009
(Approved)
Present:
Michelle Lohrding – PTO President
Kristin Karpinsky – President Elect
Lisa Simon – VP
Gretchen Johns – VP Elect
Kristine Gregg – Assistant Treasurer
Allison Sundquist – Secretary
Julie Hatzung – Principal
Katie Kloos – Countryside parent
Dawn Pepin – Countryside parent
Carrie Decker – Countryside parent
Molly Urbanski – Countryside parent
Karen Contag – Countryside parent
Ingrid Yelkin – Countryside parent
Dina Scholl – Countryside parent
Katherine Johnson – Countryside parent
Jane Tressel – Countryside parent
Brenda Francis – Countryside parent
Jennifer Gross – Countryside teacher
Kristin Davis – Countryside teacher
Tina Bohrer – Countryside parent
Greta Golfis – Countryside parent
Cathy Winter – Countryside parent
Brittany Shively – Countryside parent
Bitty Krieter – Countryside parent
Missy Mauer – Countryside parent
Laurie Newhouse – Countryside parent
Call to order:
Michelle welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order. The minutes from the 11/08 and 12/08 general meetings were reviewed and approved without change.
Updates:
- Celebration of Learning and Science Fair co-chairs, Ingrid Yelkin and Dina Scholl, provided an overview of this upcoming event. The event will take place on Feb. 24th from 4:30-6:30pm with the all school preview taking place for the students throughout the school day. The event is under budget so far and is still in need of volunteers.
- Carnival co-chair, Katherine Johnson, shared some information about this event taking place on May 8th. The carnival theme this year is “Kids of the Future”. A Clean-Up Chair and classroom shoppers for baskets are still needed.
Vice President Report:
- Silent fundraisers: Box Tops and Kemps Milk Caps are due to be sent in.
President-Elect Report:
- PLC – Edina Education Fund 2nd annual luncheon was a success! Many thanks to the staff and community members who helped raise $125,000.00.
- Open enrollment closed for the entire district.
- Existing budget deficit is about 2.5% of overall budget.
- District would like to begin maximizing their available funding resources through the BRRRG, Budget Reduction Reallocation and Revenue Generation. Residents are encouraged to go to the district’s website to stay informed on the effort and to share their thoughts and ideas on ways to reduce budget spending and/or generate revenue.
- Edina was rejected by both the Lake and Northwest Metro conferences. Could affect the arts and athletic programs.
- Dr. Dressen open to speaking at public venues.
- School start times to remain the same for the 2009-10 school year.
Treasurer Report:
- The fiscal year ending 6/30/08 was successful for the Countryside PTO. Financial books have been properly closed and IRS paperwork filed.
- Able to fund $46,000 worth of activities for the school including library special speakers, science extravaganza, family fun night, and Kids Against Hunger to name just a few.
- PTO also able to purchase Smart boards for early elementary grades, Witt Fitt balls and training as well as new swings for the playground.
- Continue to carry a reserve of approximately one and one half years expenses which allow us to continue to fund ongoing programs, complete the purchase of smart boards for all classrooms, and provide scholarships for students for field trips.
- On target for fundraising for the 2008-09 school year. The Book Fair netted $3,000 profit in addition to many books for our library and classrooms. The Entertainment books and gift wrap had a profit of $9,500.
- Given the state of the economy and the present size of the reserve, the PTO board decided to cut the Read-a-thon fundraiser and focus attention on our largest fundraiser, Carnival.
- The PTO motioned to donate $1,800 toward one smart board for the fourth grade since two were already donated to Countryside through the Edina Education Fund. The PTO also motioned to have a $500 donation be made to the Edina Education Fund. Both of these motions were approved!
President Report:
- PTO board received thank you cards from 4 staff recently for the donations in the form of memorials and support made to them and their families.
- Currently recruiting for the new PTO board – details on the PTO website.
Principal Report:
- Thank you to all who attended the Edina Education Fund luncheon.
- Jr. Great Books up and running – 4 groups in 2nd grade.
- Feb. 13th – date open enrollment letters being mailed.
- Bob Peterson, a building and grounds worker, recently passed away.
- Smart boards – four 5th grade classrooms left to fill.
Vice President-Elect Report:
- Gretchen shared the results from our two recent online surveys: Back to School event/supplies and volunteering.
- Moving the surveys online has doubled our response rate.
- Received a 28% response rate for the Back to School/One Stop Shop form survey.
- Received a 42% response rate for the Volunteering/Classroom Parties/Room parent survey.
- Information gathered from these surveys now will help project what will occur in the 2009-10 school year.
- Complete survey results can be viewed online via the PTO website.
* Next General PTO meeting will take place on March 10th at 7pm. Speaker: District Specialist on service learning.
Meeting adjourned at 7:55pm
Respectfully submitted,
Allison Sundquist
PTO Secretary
Countryside Elementary School
General PTO Meeting
December 12, 2008
(Approved)
Present:
Lisa Simon – VP
Kristen Karpinsky – President Elect
Julie Hatzung – Principal
Michelle Lohrding – President
Jayne Tuttle – Treasurer
Allison Sundquist – Secretary
Gretchen Johns – VP Elect
Kristine Gregg– Asst. Treasurer
Barb Bloom – Countryside parent
Donna Arneson – Countryside parent
Molly Urbanski – Countryside parent
Karen Contag – Countryside parent
Bitty Krieter – Countryside parent
Maggie Braun – Countryside parent
Debbie York – Countryside teacher
*Section A of the minutes contains information read by Michelle Lohrding about PTO Goals, Classroom Party Guidelines, and the process leading to the simplification and combining of parties at Countryside.
*Section B contains the discussion portion of the meeting.
*The meeting minutes are only a summary, to the best of our ability and by no means reflect the entire meeting minutes verbatim due to multiple lively conversations.
*Section A:
Call to order:
Michelle welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order.
Thank you for being here!
1-We are here to address the email that was sent by Molly Urbanski regarding the issues with classroom parties. The process of the meeting will be: 1 –to share the facts about classroom party policies and the process that occurred in combining 2 of our 4 parties with other events, 2- a short time will be left at the end to discuss this information. Molly, the board would like it if after the information has been shared you could lend some insight into these 2 questions -
· What precipitated your email?
· What are you looking for to be done?
2- If at any time this meeting becomes confrontational, it will end, regardless of what is left to discuss or the time on the clock, the meeting however will wrap at 10:30am even if the discussion is not completed.
3- The meeting was initially an executive board meeting which are private but now has become a general PTO meeting with Molly’s additional invites therefore the minutes will be made available to our general public.
4- PTO goals as stated in the by laws:
The Goals of the PTO as stated in the by-laws -
Section 2.1
1- Educational Support – to support and enhance the educational programs at Countryside Elementary and to strengthen the relationships between home and school.
2- Financial Support – to become knowledgeable about the financial needs of the school and the distract and help, where possible, in seeking solutions to those needs through cooperative events and fundraising.
3- Legislative – to actively pursue legislation related to school requirements, programs, finance restrictions, legal obligations, etc., at district, state and national levels.
Please note the guidelines on parties were created by and for Countryside’s Site Council by laws (and consolidated with the PTO’s by-laws 9 years )
5- Site council by laws:
Classroom Party Guidelines
Created for the by laws of Countryside’s Site Council adopted by Countryside PTO in 2000!
1-There will be four parties for grades K-3: fall, winter, Valentines Day and End of the Year. There will be two parties for grades 4-5: winter and End of the Year. (The 5th grade end of the year party is an all class party that may be held off campus. Room parents are not responsible for this party, the 5th Grade Recognition committee plans it ).
2- The Fall Party and the Valentines Day party may be recognized by the 4th and 5th grade classes with a snack and are up to the discretion of the teacher.
3-Classroom parties will be held in the school or on the school campus and should not exceed 1 hour. Exceptions to this require approval of the principal.
4- The class (teacher and students ) should plan parties in conjunction with the room parents. It is recommended that the children be involved in the planning of the parties.
5- The teacher should plan the exact party time ( exception: 5th Grade Recognition) Classroom parties should be scheduled towards the end of the school day but are to avoid conflicting with classes such as music , art, phy ed, computer and library.
6- Games and parties should be organized such that parties will not disrupt classes in adjacent rooms.
7-Acitivities should be fun, educational, non-denominational and non- competitive
8- Only parents assigned to a specific duty may attend the party.
9- A snack may be served but is should be simple and limited in quantity and cost. Room parents should be alerted to students with allergies and plan accordingly.
10- Consider theme parties, which tie into the curriculum.
11- Fall Party- a committee of Edina public School Staff members representing each elementary school make the following suggestions regarding observances in school, emphasizing that each building should be responsible for their own Halloween plans:
- Low-key use of witches, devils, goblins, etc
- Discourage costumes that frighten or offend people
- Consider theme parties, which center on American heroes
12- Religion -Classroom Parties- The Edina Schools District’s policy* in the status of religion includes these guidelines
-religious symbols are permitted in the classroom only to the extent that they are temporary, used as teaching aids and cited as examples of cultural and religious heritage of people. They may not be used as decorations. The use of the symbols with secular meeting, such as a Christmas tree, is strongly discouraged.
-Classroom parties that occur during the school day should be tied directly to curriculum and instruction. These activities should not be the result of religious holidays. The use of religious and super natural symbols is discouraged. Students may be excused from the classroom parties at student and/or parent request. Teachers should not initiate projects or activities which might have religious association or gift exchanges.
Also to note:
3- There is no official district policy about parties. It should be done at each site by the Principal and teachers in a team effort to maximize learning time while still trying to create a culture of community, from Dr. Ric Dressen.
Next, I will share the process that led to the simplification and combining of the parties at Countryside this year
1- In the spring of 2008 at a PLC (Parent Leadership Council) meeting, Dr. Ric Dressen stated that there was a panel of school board members addressing & working on gathering info and looking into Time Management regarding student instructional time and the time spent outside of that within their school day.
2- Before the PLC meeting, we have round table discussions and these discussions do not have documented minutes. These meetings are where all of the elementary PTO presidents share what & how they do things such as class parties and other PTO sponsored events at each school.
3- At these meetings it was discovered that Countryside on average has 1 more party a year than the other elementary schools and the idea about combining the party days with KAH (Kids Against Hunger) and FD (Field Day) events.
4- The parent and teacher surveys were compiled and looked at for feedback.
5- There were several meetings with the room parent coordinators, field day chair, new family liaison and primarily Countryside staff.
6- Some of the points drawn from these discussions are as follows:
7- a- request from the majority of staff to simplify parties
b- Teachers don’t like parties being held on Fridays, they have been held on Thursdays since 1987. Teachers tried having them on Fridays years ago but then asked for the parties to be moved back to Thursdays, as it is too crazy at the end of the week and undesirable to return on Monday to disheveled rooms.
c- It was noted by the room parent coordinators that each year it is getting harder & harder to recruit room parents so working as a grade level team & planning as a team keeps consistency & fairness. For example, if there is a time where a class doesn’t have a room parent planning a celebration the team for the grade ensures that no one is left out of a party because their room didn’t have a room parent -
this an example of what is meant by addressing equity, this way of planning is not a new concept for Countryside it just wasn’t occurring consistently -too many complaints from the parent surveys that the parties are crazy and over the top and that they don’t want to be a room parent if the only thing they need to do is to plan the parties.
c- KAH & winter party being so close together was making it hard to get enough volunteers who could do both so this was letting parents support KAH & teachers run the sledding times, allowing both events to happen - plus the elaborateness of the winter party was diminishing the impact of the previous days KAH events.
From all of the previous information this is how the winter party, sledding, Kids Against Hunger as well as the end of the year celebration & Field Day were combined & simplified.
8- This was all discussed, written out and approved by those in the conversations
9- Principal Hatzung, Barb Bloom (past PTO President) & I sat down to do the calendar in early May for the 08-09 school year, this is when all dates for all PTO functions are established
10- Principal Hatzung again brought forth any of the staffs requests and considerations at this time.
ROLLING this out:
11- On August 27th, 2008 – there was a room parent meeting were this information was shared
a- The room parents have a printed copy of this info & were explained the same information you are hearing now. Questions and discussions took place during this meeting
12- Suggestions were made to be creative with the parties:
- Hire a magician/clown to come in for the whole grade
- Do a scavenger hunt
- Tie the party theme into something they were learning
- Have a mystery guest come
- The party planning team is welcome to do something else other than playing bingo, making a craft, frosting cookies, as long it is on the same day as everyone’s else’s
13- On August 28, 2008 – there was a welcome back lunch meeting for staff where this information was also shared
14- Since then not one teacher or room parent has questioned or brought up issues on this subject to the PTO board
15- The update that went out on 11/20/08 that started your concerns was to clarify the info that was shared at the 8/27/08 meeting with the room parents. This email was not new news to the vast majority of the room parents, just reminders!
*Section B:
Discussion:
The floor was now open to try and answer questions and/or concerns parents had in regards to classroom parties at Countryside.
- Molly Urbanski, Countryside parent, believes parent surveys which were sent out in the spring of 2008 and hold some basis as to the change in classroom parties are skewed. 88 surveys were turned in which is about 20% of the population at Countryside. Of those 88 surveys 44 contained negative comments which is why Molly feels the surveys aren’t a true representation of Countryside families. Molly also felt the email sent out by Michelle Lohrding, in response to her original email was threatening and condescending in nature. Molly also cited that 2nd grade room parents in Neighborhood are not getting along.
- Questions were also raised in relation to the Valentine party which is now being called a Friendship party. The idea for the Friendship party came from Creek Valley Elementary and is geared for all grades K-5.
- Grades K-3 have 4 parties per school year and grades 4 & 5 have 2 parties per school year. These guidelines were established by Site Council and were done with the hopes of bringing equality and consistency to all classroom parties across the board. The Countryside Site Council provides strategic planning and general policy direction to the administration and staff of Countryside School by balancing the varied needs and interests of students, staff, parents, and the general community. The Council works to build broad-based enthusiasm and support of Countryside School within its enrollment area. The Council also communicates directly with district administration about critical concerns to Countryside School, acts as a sounding board for district policy decisions, and recruits representatives for district-wide standing committees and ad hoc task forces.
- Molly Urbanski also mentioned that last school year via email she offered room parents school wide an ice cream truck for the End of Year Party. A few parents in attendance who were room parents last year did not recall ever receiving such an offer via email. Hence part of the reasoning behind the guidelines in the previous paragraph referencing equality at all parties.
- Molly and Donna also questioned the timing of KAH (Kids Against Hunger) – could it be offered at a different time during the school year – and why aren’t we doing anything locally? Principal Hatzung mentioned that we have KAH at this time because that is when the organization can do it and the day after they are at Countryside they move over to Highlands Elementary. In terms of doing something “locally” the first grade students and Kids Council at Countryside worked together to host their annual all school food drive for Trinity Mission in St. Paul from Nov. 11-14.
- Donna Arneson questioned the School Sledding day. Due to having Kids Against Hunger the day before scheduled classroom parties it was decided to simplify things and opt for a sledding day for the students thus reducing the need for parent volunteers on both days. Teachers were given the opportunity to sign up for a sledding time.
- Molly Urbanski believes we are getting away from community building by enforcing such classroom party guidelines and that children are being affected by this in some way. Molly would also appreciate another General PTO meeting being organized specifically regarding this issue. She would also like to see Countryside’s Site Council in attendance. The PTO Board and Principal Hatzung will work to try and have a meeting scheduled in January 2009.
- Principal Hatzung also suggested a survey be written up which would go out to all Countryside families pertaining to volunteering. Gretchen Johns stated that the purpose of a school wide survey will not be to establish school policy via “majority rules” but rather to gather the opinions of parents on these policies with the final decision on party policies residing with Principal Hatzung and Countryside teachers. The parents in attendance did not object to this statement.
- The conversation continued back and forth and Principal Hatzung reiterated time and again that these “guidelines” were established by Site Council – NOT the PTO – teachers look at their schedules for ways to enhance and enrich the student’s experience which can include reducing time spent away from the classroom (i.e. field trips, parties, speakers, etc….). When all is said and done Principal Hatzung and the teachers at Countryside will make the final decision in relation to classroom parties.
Meeting Adjourned at 11:10am
Respectfully submitted,
Allison Sundquist
PTO Secretary