PTO Meeting Minutes 10/5/2011

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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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Volunteer at the Halloween Bash

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Franklin Halloween Bash October 29th

It’s time to start planning the annual Franklin Halloween Bash! For those that are new to Franklin or have not attended the Bash in past years, it’s a really fun community-building event for all ages that includes crafts, a Haunted House, games and prizes, dancing, a photo booth, fortune telling and snacks. This year’s Halloween Bash is scheduled for Saturday October 29th from 6-8pm at Franklin School.

We Need Your Help!

Carol Hutter and I are planning a great evening for you and your kids, but we can’t do it without you! Please consider giving an hour or more of your time – we need parents and guardians to help out with ticket sales, setting and cleaning up, and running the event activities. If you haven’t volunteered for the Bash before, you’re in for a treat (not a trick!) – it’s a blast to work with the kids on this festive night.

To volunteer for jobs before, during, and after the event or to sign up to bring snacks, please fill out the online volunteer form below. You will receive a confirmation of your assignment and volunteer instructions once we have filled all the positions. And please pass this along to anyone you know who isn’t on the distribution list or who you think would like to help. Thank you!

ONLINE VOLUNTEER FORM:

volunteer hands

http://cscraven.checkboxonline.com/Survey.aspx?s=8ef5d24527c343a185dca7b46670e188

Back to School Night

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Franklin Back to School Night is Tuesday evening, September 20, 2011. While you have had the date since the summer, actual meeting times have not been specified. The September 20th times are as follows:

6:00 – 6:40 Parents/Guardians visit 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms

Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade parents/guardians may visit specialists in the library

6:45 – 7:25 Parents/Guardians visit Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade classrooms

3rd, 4th and 5th grade parents/guardians may visit specialists in the library

Since parents and guardians are our daily partners in all things educational, it is important for everyone to have a picture of the year ahead, knowledge of the topics learned, and an understanding of the expectations inherent in each grade. In addition to our classroom presentations, you will have an opportunity to meet our specialists (art, music, PE, library, literacy specialist, math coach, special educators and ESL teachers). Their roles in your children’s school experience will be highlighted as you speak with them. Only parents are invited to attend the classroom presentations. Child care will be available in the cafeteria, so please see the PTO email sent out on the PTO announcements list. This is not a night during which you will a have a 1:1 conversation with the teacher about yourchild.

For a more in depth look at the curriculum, please visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/candi/commoncore/.

We are looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday evening.

Amy

Amy Kelly, Principal

Franklin School

Sign up for School Appreciation Day, October 15th

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Sign up here to be a part of our annual parent work day! The PTO has asked each teacher about projects they need done in their classrooms, and we have a long list this year! We’ll be building painting, gardening, dusting, washing, xeroxing… and eating yummy food. You can come for an hour or stay all day. If you can’t make it, consider dropping off some snacks for the workers and our high school volunteers from Newton North (they get hungry!). Click this link, then enter your email address to sign in, and it will take you directly to our project, where you can sign up for work shifts or food drop off. Thanks again for supporting our school.

Please note: Due to the paint and power tools, we cannot accommodate Franklin students on the work crews for this event.

The Franklin Connection

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Editor’s Note :

This year, The Franklin Connection will be distributed electronically, although copies will be available for pickup in the office for families who do not have email access. In this way, we are able to apply more of our PTO dollars to classroom enrichment programs. As an added benefit we’ll be saving a small forest! If you did NOT receive this issue by email, please contact the editor, Anat Nidar-Levi, at anat.franklin@gmail.com and ask to be added to the e-mailing list. If you have no email access, please send a note to The Franklin Connection via your child’s teacher and we will be sure you get a paper copy. If you are an alumni parent and you no longer wish to receive the Connection, please unsubscribe below.

News From the PTO

Welcome to the 2011-2012 school year.  As you may know, Franklin has a very active Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).  The PTO has three primary tasks: build community, raise funds to enhance our children’s school experiences, and promote communication within our school community. To this end, your PTO Board has already planned a year of exciting social and fundraising activities. Stay tuned!

In order for the PTO to be effective, we need your participation. Being a parent, guardian, teacher, or staff member at Franklinautomatically makes you a member of the PTO.  Throughout the year, there will be many opportunities to get involved. For September, here is what you can do:

  •  Become a room parent. As room parent, you will support your child’s teacher, mobilize volunteers from your classroom, and be a vital part of our communication network. To volunteer, contact Liz Marshall: lizcmars@gmail.com.
  • Volunteer to lead one of our committees: Currently, we need a chair for the room parents committee and a chair for the 5thgrade moving on committee. To volunteer, contact Marysol Makimura: masse_makimura@hotmail.com.
  • Check out our PTO website: www.franklinpto.org.  Visit often for links and updates about school events and ways that you can get involved in the Franklin community this year.
  • Pay your PTO dues. We are asking all families to make a contribution to support Franklin programs, such as creative arts and sciences, field trips, mini-grants for teachers, and technology purchases. We suggest a contribution of $50 per family, but please pay any amount that your family can afford—participation is much more important than the amount of your contribution. A donation of any amount entitles you to a copy of the Franklin School Directory, a wonderful tool for connecting with the community, planning playdates, and meeting other families. Donations may be made either on the PTO website using a credit/debit card or by check payable to Franklin School PTO (clearly note that the check is for your PTO dues). We’ll be collecting dues throughout the fall; keep an eye on your child’s folder for more information. If you cannot pay dues this year due to financial hardship, Directories will be available in the main office; no questions asked.
  • Sign up for email lists. The Franklin School PTO operates two group email lists for the Franklin School community. To make sure you are not missing any important school happenings and news, add your email to the PTO Announcements List by sending an email to Paul Rensing: paulrensing@verizon.net. Only PTO board members, committee chairs, and school administration initiate messages to this moderated list. You can also tell Paul if you want to be on the Discussion List—an unmoderated list used to share information and advice.
  • Mark your calendars with these important upcoming dates:

9/20: Curriculum/back-to-school night from 6 – 7:30 p.m.
10/3: School Picture Day
10/5: The first PTO meeting of the year at 7:30 p.m. (room parents meet at 7:00)
10/7: Principal’s coffee hour at 8:40 a.m.

We are looking forward to another great year at Franklin.

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

Principal’s Posts

The First Weeks of School
This article was adapted from excerpts from the book, The First Six Weeks of School, by Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete.
The early weeks of each new school year offer teachers distinct opportunities and challenges. It is during this time—when expectations and routines are established, rules generated, and goals articulated—that the foundation is laid for a productive and cooperative year of learning.
As teachers, we work hard to convey, from the very first day of school, the important message that we will do high-quality work in our classrooms. We also work to convey the message that we will do this high-quality work in an atmosphere of support and collaboration. But this atmosphere does not just appear by our decree. It must be carefully constructed upon many small, but critical, building blocks, and the first weeks of school is the time to do it. Continue reading →