Sumpter Parent Club Meeting Minutes
September 9, 2014
Welcome and Introductions- in attendance: Michelle Muth, Jennifer Koenig, Deanna Tornow-Satrum, Johnny Deblock, Christine Deblock, Shannon Elkins, Faith Branson, Denise Bjornsrud, Jessica McAllister, Michelle McAllister, Karen Macedo, Angela Scott, Brittany Springer, Alicia Matson, Kim Rasca, Melissa Stinson, Crystal Hatton, Nicole Francis, Chris Cain, and Janet Prats
Approval of June Minutes- Alicia Matson motioned to approve the June meeting minutes and Jennifer Koenig seconds the motion. June minutes are approved.
Treasurer’s Report- PTC- PTC President Michelle Muth started the treasurer’s report by stating that the proposed budget for this school year (2014-15) of $18,500 was voted on and approved by the PTC during the June 2014 meeting. The question was asked of how much the PTC had left in the account when the school year ended, which PTC Treasurer Johnny Deblock reported that there was a little more than $9,000 left in the PTC account as of the end of the 2013-14 school year. Michelle added that the past few years the PTC has been able to meet and fund all of the teacher’s requests, replace the old risers in the music room, and was able to pay the significant costs to upgrade technology at the school.
Parent Club Goals- the PTC ultimate goal is to support the school and to be able to meet and fund any requests that are made by staff; however this year will be a big year to re-build our surplus. The PTC relies on help from parent volunteers and we believe that by working together as a community, we can succeed in continuing to raise funds to support the classrooms, teachers, and most importantly, the students.
Fund Requests- Jennifer Koenig requested the amount of $60.00 as “seed money” for Box Top activities. Alicia Matson motioned to approve this request and Faith Branson seconds the motion. Motion voted on and approved. Michelle also put out a general reminder that teachers do need to submit a fund request to the PTC for field trips.
Calendar and Upcoming Events- There are events coming up (see dates below) that the PTC is coordinating and we really need volunteers to help! The PTC currently uses Sign up Genius for easier ability to sign up to volunteer. Parents will get an email with time slots/duties that need to be filled and you can sign up from there; reminders are even emailed out beforehand as well! If you as a parent and would like to volunteer and do NOT get regular emails with this information, please contact Shannon Elkins, Volunteer Coordinator or Michelle Muth, PTC President at sumpterparentclub@gmail.com
· The annual Jog-a-Thon fall fundraiser is scheduled for Friday, October 3rd. This is an all-day event where each student will run/walk as many laps in 15 minutes as they can. Students will be receiving informational envelopes this week to take home and collect funds to support our school. Please contact Chairman, Deanna Tornow-Satrum or Co-Chairman, Jennifer Koenig at sumpterparentclub@gmail.com for any questions.
· Picture Day is scheduled for October 14th, volunteers needed.
· Fall Book Fair is scheduled for October 20th-24th, a Harvest Night will be scheduled during this week in the evening to promote the book fair as well.
· Math 24 Club needs a coordinator! This club is for 4th and 5th graders to practice and prepare for the annual competition in the spring. Would like to start in October, meeting at 8:30 am, day TBD.
On-going Fundraisers-
· Box tops: Jennifer Koenig, “the official box top queen” will be starting a classroom contest on September 15, so keep collecting and bringing in those box tops! The top class in EACH kiva can earn a pizza party. Yum! (note: it helps tremendously to have all box tops “trimmed” before they are brought in) Thank you.
· Campbell Soup Labels for Education: we do collect these to earn points to purchase items out of their catalog. The EGC classroom will be able to pick out an item for their classroom this year.
· eScrip: Jennifer reported that this fundraiser is more complicated and there hasn’t been any funds that have come through for the school as of yet, so at this time the PTC will not be participating in the eScrip program.
· Michelle is currently working on setting up a Parent Club blog, with a goal to add an “Amazon Banner” to it for parents to click when purchasing items from Amazon and the school will receive funds from each purchase.
School Report- Mrs. Prats reported that there are currently 498 students enrolled at Sumpter. There have been 9 new teachers added to the staff this year, with another 1st grade teacher being added very recently to allow these classes to run at approximately 25 students per class. Currently, each classroom in the other grades is averaging 28-30 students per class. Mrs. Prats also reported that there are “blended” classrooms in each kiva and that while some parents may not be happy with them; there are benefits for the children that are assigned to them. As school staff was selecting which students would be assigned to the blended classrooms, they were conscientious about what would be best for the children to learn. The teachers of blended classrooms are given an extra prep time per week as well as there is the option of adding an Instructional Assistant (IA) to some of the classes, especially for extra math help. However, IA’s may not be in place until the first of October as they are hired based on how the enrollment looks after the first ten days of school and then a request can be submitted to the school district for approval. This school year, the district has set the following for ratios per classroom, Kindergartners-3rd graders are at 28:1 ratio and 4th-5th graders are at 30:1 ratio. Lastly, Mrs. Prats updated on how her condition is after suffering a concussion in a serious car accident this past summer, she is feeling better, but still needs to work only two hours per day, with the hope of being released by her doctor to work half-days starting September 15th and continuing to add more hours to her work day as her condition improves. We hope she feels better soon!
Other Business- Mrs. Prats sent out the reminder that there is still an option to donate funds to Sumpter school, specifically for more iPads, on Donorschoose. Org. however, it was discovered that there is a timeline of four months from the time when the account is set up. Currently, Mr. Cain has set the account back up, with all funds being put towards another iPad Mini. To donate: go to Donorschoose.org, search for Chris Cain/Sumpter, and follow the directions to donate funds. Every dollar counts! Thank you for your support!
Two more fund requests came in- Jennifer Koenig also reported that she did fulfill the “parking spot sign” for the winner from the Auction. She requested the amount of $23.27 for reimbursement for a new sign and supplies to post it out in the front parking lot. Michelle Muth received a fund request of $300.00 for the three 1st grade classes and the 1/2 blend class to go on a field trip to a Pumpkin Patch in October.
Christine Deblock motioned to approve the reimbursement of $23.27 to Jennifer and Alicia Matson seconds the motion.
Denise Bjornsrud motioned to approve the request of the $300.00 and Mandy McGath seconds the motion. Both requests voted on and approved.
Meeting adjourned at 5:05pm
Next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at 4:00pm
Submitted by Deanna Tornow-Satrum
