Hello Franklin families

Thank you to all those who attended our first PTO meeting of the year on Wednesday night. We had a great turnout and a very informative meeting that covered the PTO priorities and budget for the year, as well as a Math curriculum presentation by Robin Moriarty. For those that couldn’t make it, meeting notes are below and will also be posted shortly on www.franklinpto.com. We hope to see many of you at our next meeting on Tuesday November 15th at 7:30pm (7pm for Room Parents).

Have a safe and wonderful long weekend.

– The PTO Board
Amika Brewster, Angela Galbraith, Carolyn Craven, Deb Rooney, Gail Guerrero, Geri Russillo,
Julia Wolfe, Liz Marshall, Marysol Masse-Makimura, Steven Mucci, Sue Membrino, Susan Boyer

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PTO Meeting Notes – Wednesday October 5, 2011

The first PTO meeting of the year was held on October 5, 2011 from 7-8:30 in the Franklin School cafeteria and was attended by Ms. Kelly, the PTO Board and Teacher Reps, and several dozen Franklin families.

Pre-Meeting Activities
The meeting started at 7pm with a fifteen minute mingling session to give families a chance to meet this year’s committee chairs and sign up to volunteer for various PTO event committees.

During the mingling session, Liz Marshall held the first room parent meeting of the year to welcome new room parents and discuss room parent responsibilities and guidelines. Some of the responsibilities discussed were:
· Welcoming new families


· Serving as a liaison between the PTO and parents


· Assisting the classroom teachers as they need/request


· Coordinating donations and volunteers for school celebrations, events or projects
(gifts for the classroom as a whole, not for individual teachers)

· Organizing parent helpers for the classroom, as requested by teachers

Following the mingling session and the room parent meeting, everyone came together in the cafeteria. The meeting started with a math-inspired “Guess Your Neighbor’s Birthday” icebreaker led by Math Coach Robin Moriarty.

PTO Priorities, Budget, and Upcoming Events
The PTO Board then introduced themselves and PTO Co-President, Marysol Masse-Makimura, discussed the PTO’s main priorities for the 2011-2012 school year. Highlights included:

· Last year’s feedback from families is driving many of the decisions and spending priorities this year. Examples include a new, more readable format for the Franklin Connection and more guidance and better communication for room parents.

· The PTO Dues Drive is ongoing and remains a top priority because it directly impacts spending and the amount of revenue that needs to be raised by subsequent fundraisers. As of October 5th, over 120 Franklin families had donated in excess of $8,000. Also discussed was the fact that contributions from every family will lessen the need for fundraising throughout the year and will provide additional funds for PTO events and contributions to the school.

· The PTO is committed to raising additional funds for technology this year. There is no formal technology drive, but the plan is to funnel funds raised in excess of the budget to computer purchases for the school.

Following the review of this year’s priorities, Deb Rooney, PTO Treasurer, reviewed the 2011-2012 budget and the PTO Board and families who were present voted on and approved the budget. Highlights from this year’s budget discussion were:

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