2007-2008 PTO Meeting Minutes

May 14, 2008
March 19, 2008
January 16, 2008
November 14, 2007
October 17, 2007
September 19, 2007

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Meeting Minutes from May 14, 2008

Welcome and Introduction
The meeting was brought to order at 7:12pm. Board members Joan Ford, Susan Frost, Barbara Mozzicato, and Mary Sweeney were present, along with school staff Laura Tierney, and three parents.

Joan began the meeting by welcoming everybody. Last month's minutes were handed out. These are also posted on the bulletin board outside the main office and on the PTO website.

Treasurer Reports
An update on the budget was given. It is forecasted that between $2700 to $2800 will be left over by the end of this fiscal year.

The 5th grade yearbook may go over by ~$200. The acknowledgement for the yearbook printer will go on the back cover of the yearbook.

The Scrip program will need to be done on a more regular basis for the upcoming school year.

Next year's Artist in Residence program was given a $1600 budget, a $100 increase. A potter was looked into for next year, but that program would run ~$2600. There was talk on whether this program should be done every other year, or if the younger grades should be skipped. Neither option was well received. The discussion then moved to ways to raise more money, especially increasing PTO membership. Right now about 50% of families join the PTO. Ways to increase the visibility of the benefits the PTO makes to the school on the membership envelope were mentioned. In the fall, parents receive a deluge of information, and the PTO message may be getting lost. It was suggested to highlight the three main PTO sponsorships (Buses, Author Visits, Artist-in-Residence) to show where the money raised by the PTO goes. It was decided to keep the membership dues the same at $15.

Teacher Issues
Ms. Peabody from the music department won a $3,000 BEF (Burlington Education Foundation) grant for Elementary Band Risers to enable better visibility and sound. This grant did not fully pay for the risers; and additional $1600 is required, and it was requested if the PTO could fund the balance. If the order for the risers is placed before May 30th, then some extras will be thrown in. This item had not been discussed with the PTO previously and thus was not budgeted. It was suggested that the PTO pay for half and the school pay for half. The PTO's half would come out of the $1,000 provided by the PTO for a teachers' wish list. However, this wish list money has already been earmarked; with each grade receiving $166 (i.e. wireless modems for the 4th and 5th grade classrooms have already been targeted). It was decided that more information on the riser request was needed, and this will be held off until the fall.

The PTO will provide $600 for Camp Bournedale scholarships - this money will cover four scholarships, or the teachers can distribute among needy students however they see fit.

Parents Issues
None

Old Business

• Tax Exempt Status: The Articles of Incorporation and new By-Laws for the tax-exempt FW PTO were distributed and approved. The paperwork for applying for tax exempt status will be filed early this summer.
• The Bookends Book Fair is schedule for April 7th to 18th and will be held in the library.
• Playground:
  • The Lord&Taylor Benefit Bash raised $650.
  • The eBay On-Line auction will run next week - over 80 items have donated to this fundraiser. This will be listed in the bulletin as well as an eNews.
  • The May Town Meeting will be on May 19th - it is important that parents come to this meeting and show their support. An eNews will be sent out with more information.
  • The playground committee applied for and was awarded a $5,200 grant from Lowe's.
• PTO President's Meeting Update: Paul Virgin, head of School Food Services, spoke about what goes into menu selection - a balance between healthiness and cost effectiveness - as well as discussing impending food price increased. Paul also mentioned there will be a Food Show in the fall, where parents can come and taste samples from the various food vendors.

New Business

• Blue Tulip will be having an upcoming weekend fundraiser, with a percentage of all proceeds going to the schools.
• Three teachers will be entering Retirement this year. Copies of the 5th grade yearbook will be presented to all three.
• Star Awards were given to 5th grade parents who have been actively involved in the PTO but who will no longer have children at FW (Sue Martin, Carole Connor, Donna DeSimone, Amy Small). Awards were also given to PTO board members who are leaving (Mary Sweeney and Wendy Czerwinski) and to Kathy Webb and Lorie Bautgaumer who are moving away.
• Summer Counts books will be distributed the 1st week in June - these only cost $9, Donna Murphy is distributing.
• The Teacher's Appreciation Lunch run by Kathy Webb and Barbara Mozzicato was very successful - much good food was donated by parents, and the teachers' were most appreciative.
• Board Nominations are still open. The position of secretary and co-president are available.
• BoxTops receipts $200 over expectations. It was discussed that the proceedings may be contributed towards a bigger piece of equipment.

Next PTO Meeting is Wednesday, September 17th, at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Mary Sweeney, Secretary

Meeting Minutes from March 19, 2008

Welcome and Introduction
The meeting was brought to order at 7:10pm. Board members Susan Astone (principal), Wendy Czerwinski, Joan Ford, Susan Frost, Barbara Mozzicato, and Mary Sweeney were present, along with school staff Donna Murphy and Gail Sheehan, and nine parents.

Joan began the meeting by welcoming everybody. Last month's minutes were handed out. These were also posted on the bulletin board outside the main office and on the PTO website.

Treasurer Reports
An update on the budget was given. While all the receipts are not in, the carnival made more than last year, with at least $1K higher just on raffles alone. This puts the overall budget back on track with the beginning of the year's expectation, with a targeted surplus of $2K at the end of the fiscal year. A vote approved the reinstatement of the $100 BEF Donation / Star Awards. There was a last minute surge in magazines sales for classroom magazines - previously these were well under last year's numbers. In the past magazine sales covered the classroom magazine costs; however for this year the PTO will cover any remaining funding gaps.

There was discussion on the 5th Grade Yearbook/T-Shirt/Party budget - the 5th grade committee is working hard to stay within the budget, which typically remains constant year to year. However, class sizes can greatly fluctuate - for example; the current 5th grade class is 125, while next year's will be 85. The action was taken by the PTO to review previous year's actual budgets in relation to class size, and propose a "per-student" class budget estimation going forward for the 5th Year committee.

Parent Issues
A parent brought up the issue that Kindergartners could not buy "desserts," and that this was a change in the cafeteria policy and not consistent among classrooms. Teachers at the meeting explained that children at this young age usually eat their dessert first and will run out of time to finish their lunch. The "no-dessert" for Kindergartners has been a policy with the kindergarten teachers and the teachers would make sure the parents were more aware and informed about this practice.

Parents brought up the concern that the holiday movie shown to the older grades did not have acceptable content and at one point an inappropriate word was said. Mrs. Astone explained that there was a limited movie selection in the library. Teachers do prescreen the films to access their appropriateness for age and to try to have the movies follow curriculum or be based on books already read. Information is sent home to parents beforehand.

A parent brought up the issue of changing Staff Development days. Currently in the teacher's contract there are five days for professional development. In past few years these have been scheduled as one day prior to school starting, then two sets of back-back days, one set in December and one set in March. It was mentioned that a survey was sent out ~nine years ago to parents, with the conclusion that full days such as these were preferred. With the teacher's contract coming up for renewal this year, the question was asked whether the teacher development days could be spread out or even made into half-days, which is done in other towns. The underlying concern is that the two consecutive days are disruptive to the classroom, especially considering all the other holidays and school breaks already in the school calendar, and can present babysitting difficulties for parents.

The question was asked of the teacher's present whether the current schedule was indeed disruptive. The answer was not a real lot, at least for the younger children. It was also mentioned that some of the seminars would be better suited for half-days. Mrs. Astone stated that in her career she has seen lots of different Staff Development scenarios, and all have their own positives and negatives. The trick is to find the happy medium between parent, student and teacher needs. With regards to the original survey, community members do change over time so there may be different parent needs now. The teacher's contract negotiating team would need to get the teacher's input into this, while the School Committee is the official representation of the parents. It was stated that creating a Staff Development Committee under the PTO would not be a practical way to promote this idea - contacting the School Committee directly would be more appropriate. The action though was taken to bring this issue up at the next PTO President's meeting in May.

The question was asked of the Used Book Store - several "seasoned" parents were also not aware of this. The information regarding this program was sent home in the weekly bulletin. The Used Book Store is typically held on two Wednesdays per month. Children who have brought in money (typically $0.25 per book or they can trade) are sent down before school starts. This year the Used Book Store received a $500 BEF grant to buy multicultural books. It was requested that when trading books, do not bring in "golden" or board books. The Book Store is not held during MCAS testing.

A parent brought up the question that there have been serious disruptions in their child's classroom and wanted to know the school's policy on safety in these situations. A second parent, also with a child in that classroom, mentioned that there is still discussion at their home about these incidents and wondered how to appropriately talk to their child about it. Mrs. Astone responded that Francis Wyman is committed to inclusion with Responsive Classroom and Second Step programs in place. There is specially trained staff and procedures in place in the case of disruptions. Additionally, Francis Wyman has an Assistant Principal to support the school. This role includes the requirement that the Assistant Principal be credentialed as a guidance counselor so that there is additional support for all the students. Safety is a key concern. Some children are more sensitive than others when these situations arise, and Mrs. Astone recommended parents should speak to the guidance office if there are concerns.

Teacher Issues
The teachers present thanked the PTO for supporting Gov. Deval Patricks last minute visit with coffee. Appreciation for money for field trip buses was also mentioned - these field trips are considered to be very important to the class curriculums. The Read A-Z subscriptions are also very well used.

Administration Comments
Mrs. Astone started off by stating that the Gov. Patricks visit during Dr. Seuss Day was a great surprise. Reading Specialist Donna Murphy had been writing letters on behalf of the third grade for a congressional visit since state government is part of the curriculum, and this year her letter was answered. Representative Charlie Murphy as well as the President of the National Teacher's Association were also present. Gov. Patrick did great with the children; he was not rushed, readily took questions with excellent answers, and overall made an impression on the kids.

Dare Graduation: Mrs. Astone mentioned the essays were tremendous and this was a great success.

Family Math Night was also a huge success. The intent of this night is to introduce parents to see math games and try to incorporate similar things at home. In the past this had consisted of games in the cafeteria, this year the Night expanded into the cafeteria and computer lab. The Student Council also got involved, and was asked to create Math Games, focusing more on physical rather than table games. The Art Teacher also incorporated an art component with bar graphs and geometric shapes. The computers were set up to show appropriate math website available to children and parents. In the past ~25 children have participated, this year there were 190. The "skip homework" passes earned at the night were a big hit.

Spring Carnival: Mrs. Astone mentioned how this was incredibly and nicely done. She was impressed with the different venues, along with all the baskets, prizes, games and cakes.

Artist in Residence: Roger Marrocco was this year's Artist in Residence, who created paper-mache based art, and made "statues" of a Panda and other animals, which are currently on display in the school. The Francis Wyman Art night will be this May. Kindergartners do not participate since they do not take Art Class (this starts in 1st grade). Both a parent and teacher asked if the Kindergartners could get more involved and included at Art Night. A parent commented that the younger elementary aged children bring home much more artwork compared to the older grades. Kindergarten has its own special art show with the Art Museum. This is coming up at the beginning of April.

Old Business

• There will be a town-wide Scrip Presentation, which will give ideas on how to expand and do more with Scrip fundraising programs. The PTOs spring Scrip fundraiser will kick off the following Monday, April 7th,, and will target Mother's Day/Graduations, etc, with a 2nd offering to happen near the end of the school year. Next year the plan is to offer Scrip on more of a rotating basis.
• The Bookends Book Fair is schedule for April 7th to 18th and will be held in the library.
• Author Visits: Valerie Giogas will visit K-2 on May 28th, while Darlene Murawski will visit 3-5 on April 8th.
• Artist in Residence Roger Marracco recently visited FW, and made very interesting and engaging paper-based animal sculptures.
• The PTO thanks Pepperidge Farm for donating 1600 Goldfish snacks for the MCAS.
• The PTO selected a new Fall Fundraising Vendor - Lavender. This vendor offers the choice of giving the PTO 50% of the sales of items and are distributed at the school, and 40% to mail items home (the company will pay shipping costs). The PTO has had trouble finding volunteers to handle the school-based distribution of items. A vote was taken to go with the 50% school distribution option since the 10% difference represented a significant amount of money.
• An Update on the Playground was given. The repaving of the front lot was completed in the late fall as was the delivery of the safety surface wood fiber, and the installation of the new wheelchair surface in the equipment area together with a new access ramp will begin this spring. The natural playground design is beginning, and is expected to complete by early May. All other renovations will be funded through fundraising efforts and a warrant to be submitted at this upcoming May Town Meeting. The first fundraiser for this year is the sale of tickets to the Lord&Taylor Benefit Bash to be held on April 8th. The major fundraiser for the playground will be an on-line auction, and flyers will be sent home to parents to ask for auction item donations.
• The PTO and Mrs. Astone have had discussions regarding a Francis Wyman Craft Sale. The questions of how money will be collected/distributed are still being worked on, as well as finding someone to run with this. It was proposed to put this in as a new committee in September, but giving parents a heads up before that time.
• The Spring Spiritwear netted $200 - parents can still visit the vendor to place orders.

New Business

• Board Nominations were discussed. The PTO is looking for a Co-President and Secretary. These positions were discussed. Nobody attending the meeting volunteered for either of the positions. If there are nominations for the positions they will be voted on at the May PTO meeting. Anybody that is interested in these positions can contact Joan Ford for further information.
• Burlington Drug & Alcohol Task Force Meeting will be held at the Marshall Simonds Middle School on April 2, 2008 at 7-9 pm. A flyer will be sent home to discuss this.
• It was discussed that a new Family Welcoming Committee be formed. This will help new families coming into the community get familiar with things at Francis Wyman and around town (e.g., baseball/soccer sign ups, Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts, etc.). The new family will be paired up with a seasoned family in the school. The seasoned family will guide them through these processes. It was also discussed to have foreign language families on this committee to help with non-English speaking families new to the community.
• Teacher Appreciation Luncheon - A pot luck luncheon will be held on Monday, May 5th. Flyers will be going out the first week of April.
• Blue Tulip Fundraiser will be held the weekend of May 16-18. This is a town wide fundraiser.
• Kindergarten Story Hour - This was very well received by parents and children. There were 31 incoming kindergarteners in attendance. The children enjoyed drawing their faces on paper plates and putting them in the school bus windows. It was discussed that next year they would like to have three different story hours on different days of the week to accommodate more parents' schedules.
• Magazine Drive - Joanne Horgan reported that after the plea for magazine subscriptions, we now have more orders this year than last year. It was also reported that Innisbrook stated that they many not do the magazine drive with Francis Wyman since we don't sell their other products.
• Frankly Francis - Michelle Feist reported that we could not get a printer to donate printing for Frankly Francis. Minuteman High School will print it if Francis Wyman supplies the paper. Michelle mentioned that she needed help with the layout and one parent volunteered to help. Another parent mentioned about the Graphic Arts Department at the high school. It was mentioned to use high school kids to get Adopt-A-Class points or community service points. It was also mentioned to just put Frankly Francis on the PTO Website or eNews.
• Kindergarten Hour - Teachers were not told about the date and since it was during school hours they were not able to attend. They would like to be more involved next year. It was discussed to change the time to later on in the day. It was also discussed that it might be better to hold this in the afternoon after the children are out of pre-school and kindergarten teachers are available.

Next PTO Meeting is Wednesday, May 14th, at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Mary Sweeney, Secretary and Barbara Mozzicato, Vice-President

Meeting Minutes from January 16, 2008

Welcome and Introduction
The meeting was brought to order at 7:15pm. Board members Joan Ford, Susan Astone (principal), Barbara Mozzicato, Susan Frost and Mary Sweeney were present, along with school staff Meg Browne, Gayle Field, Steve Levin and Anita Mason, and thirteen parents.

Joan began the meeting by welcoming everybody. Last month's minutes were handed out.

Parents Comments
A parent stated that there was a recent change in the school cafeteria lunch menu offerings and asked why this was not communicated to parents. These changes had been on the monthly lunch menu that was sent home, but not clearly highlighted. A new food service manager for the Burlington School system started in November, and is implementing changes. Susan took the action to speak with the food service and make sure any further modifications to the lunch menu are more pronounced.

Teacher Issues
Steve Levin, the FW Librarian, first spoke about the upcoming Book Fair that will be held in the FW Library. Vendors were changed, so this has been a little delayed, but is now schedule to run from Feb 7th through the 17th. In the past proceeds from the book fair have paid for new furniture such as tables and chairs, as well as lighting, books and supplies. It was noted that there will be conflict with an upcoming author visit, which have typically taken place in the library, and the action was taken to find an alternative meeting place for the author visit.

Steve then spoke about librarian staffing issues at all Burlington schools. In the past there have been four librarians for the four elementary schools, but when two librarians retired/left in 2005, these positions were not re-staffed, and the remaining positions have been shared among the schools. Steve and several other school staff reiterated the importance of these positions and the hardships on teachers and students, especially during classroom library visits when no librarian is present.

Steve handed out the following Globe article about a parents' group in Spokane, WA who are trying to stop demise of the school librarian:

Boston Globe: 2007/12/25 Parents group tries to stop demise of the school librarian

Steve stated that there are no plans to fill the two lost librarian positions, and read a letter he has written to Dr. Picone (Burlington School Superintendent) and the School Committee requesting that these be restored. Steve also circulated a petition to reinstate the positions, and asked parents for their help.

For the next topic, it was asked if the fall gift cards for the teacher's be from Amazon.

A parent then mentioned that a student had fallen this week during recess on "black ice" on the front hardtop play area, and wanted to know how the decision of playing indoors/outdoors was made. It was told that the principal or vice-principal makes that call, and if it is icy or wet, recess is inside. No one on the school staff had heard of a student hurting themselves outside this week

Administration Issues
Susan Astone said that the school system is in the process of submitting and reviewing budgets. There has been a first pass, and the overall budget needs to be pared down. They will look at promoting the lost librarian positions. One ELL teacher (English Language Learners) is now full time. Based on additional required hours and numbers, Speech and Language was also increased, and a new assistant hired. Some additional reading tutor hours also became available.

Susan is also looking to implement a more formal volunteer plan, where parents would come in and help, for example with photocopying. A senior volunteer was acquired from the Senior Council, and helps out six hours a week. Susan Astone is also looking for a formal volunteer pool for the library to make the assistant staffing more consistent.

Anita Mason spoke about the homework club, which she put together as part of her master thesis. A similar program is held at other schools in Burlington, and Anita researched those programs to help her develop the one at FW. The club meets after school for an hour on Tuesday/Thursday, 10 sessions running over five weeks for $60. The first meeting of 16 students was on Tuesday and was a great success. The focus is on the hardest homework, with emphasis placed on direction and organizational study skills. Currently the program overlaps with the skiing program, and in the future the program will account for that. Right now two more sessions are planned, and over time a scholarship program may be implemented.

Old Business

• Lowell Devil's Family Day. The last day to purchase tickets for the Lowell Devil's Family Day on February 24th is February 8th. The Lowell Devil's will be taking on Hartford at 4:05pm -- tickets cost $13.00 each ($3.00 goes directly to the FW PTO). One day during the week of Feb 4th, the Devil's mascot, the Devil Dog, will be visiting FW at lunch.


• New Fall Fundraiser. The PTO is considering a new company to use for its fall fundraiser. It was suggested for Lavender to replace Genevieve, which has been used for the prior four years. This past fall did not generate as much as has been done in the past, and it is felt a change is needed. One parent commented that retail in general was down this past year. It was voted to use Lavender for next year's fundraiser. Selling kids' artwork and raffles were also suggested as possible fundraisers.


• B&N Fundraiser. It was noted that the recent B&N town-wide school fundraiser was not adequately promoted, and there are plans in place to improve on this in November, when the next B&N fundraiser will take place. This past fundraiser raised about $30 per school.

New Business

• Tax Exempt Status. The FWPTO is applying for tax-exempt status. All the Burlington schools are applying together, and will do so as members under a town-wide PTO group, called the Burlington PTO (BPTO). By going forward in this manner, considerable effort and money will be saved. The BPTO's goals are to act as a clearinghouse for information from the school administration to member PTOs, promote the exchange of ideas between member PTOs, and help facilitate town-wide, school-focused events. The first step of the tax-exempt process is to incorporate the BPTO, and the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws for this organization were passed out. It was voted to approve these articles and bylaws, and continue the tax-exempt process.


• Student Council. Meg Brown gave an update on the Student Council. In mid-December elections were held for students in Grades 4 and 5 for each homeroom, for a total of 18 students. Candidates had to write a speech detailing why they are running, what character traits/assets they have that are appropriate for this position, and give details on any initiatives or ideas they have. The student council meets every Wednesday during recess, and attendance is mandatory. The goal is to build community and spirit - kids helping kids, or people in need. The Student Council has already had a Sr. Citizen pen pals project, and are speaking with LABBB personal (part of the special needs program at FW) to get their feedback on a pen pal program with them. The Student Council will also be collecting for the Burlington Food Pantry at St. Mark's, and each homeroom representative will be asking their class families for a donation. There is a Read-A-Thon scheduled in two weeks to coincide with Dr. Seuss week, and proceeds will be donated to the playground. The Student Council is also looking at making baskets for the Carnival or Playground fundraiser. The Council is very open to requests from the PTO for help.


• Second Spirit Wear Supplier. Joan displayed several items from Perfect Promotions which will be used for a Spring Spirit Wear fundraiser. Both Brines, the Fall Spirit Wear supplier, and Perfect Promotions are family businesses with children at FW. The question was asked how other parent businesses can hold fundraisers at FW. It was stated that this needs to be regulated so there aren't excessive fundraisers at the school. It was discussed that Spirit Wear has been a long established fundraiser, but others should be considered. Suggestions of putting business information on the PTO website and having a rotating display table/case at the school were made, as well as having a shopping/bazaar/craft night at the school, with the main goal to be consistent when using businesses for the school/PTO fundraisers. The suggestion for a subcommittee to set up criteria was made, and a parent offered to take that lead.

Treasury Report
Sue Frost discussed items put on hold at the previous PTO meetings were re-evaluated. The Artist-In-Residence program budget had been lowered from $1500 to $1200, but this was not communicated and the artist was secured at the higher value. This will need to be addressed next year before the Artist-In-Residence program is planned for 2008/2009. MCAS snacks will be bought through the cafeteria for a lower than originally projected price. The other item projections were left as is, and all were approved.

It was brought up that Paul Ganley would like $500 for bowling bowls for a bowling unit. This will be taken under consideration.

Committee Reports

• Scrip:The question was asked about when the Scrip program would run again. It is being planned for Mother's Day/Graduation and at the end of the year for teachers.


• Classroom Magazines: The magazine fundraiser to buy subscriptions for the classrooms typically breaks even. It was agreed that the PTO would pay for two subscriptions per classroom and that may need to go down to one next year depending on how future fundraising goes. Typically the subscriptions run $50 a classroom.


• Boxtops: Will be sent in near the end of March, but these are collected year round, along with Campbell soup labels.


• Dare: Will have its graduation on 2/25. The 4th grade parents will help with snacks and setting up so the 5th grade parents can attend the ceremony.


• Teacher Staff Appreciation Luncheon: Scheduled for May 5th. It was asked that better directions for how lunch/playground coverage be provided to parents.


• Playground Renovations:Near the end of November the front play lot was entirely resurfaced, and the mulch for the back playground was delivered. The materials for the wheelchair surface and play events for the back playground is being procured before the spring price increases, and installation of this and the new access ramp will start in the spring. Natural Playgrounds, the architects for the new back playground design, spoke on January 3rd and gave a very engaging talk on natural playgrounds. The playground committee is working on a Grant application, and for a Spring Auction fundraiser.

It was asked if the PTO agenda could be distributed or put on the website a few days before the actual meeting.

Next PTO Meeting is Wednesday, March 19th at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Mary Sweeney, secretary

Meeting Minutes from November 14, 2007

Welcome and Introduction
The meeting was brought to order at 7:05pm. Board members Joan Ford, Wendy Czerwinski, Barbara Mozzicato, Susan Frost and Mary Sweeney were present, along with teacher representatives Tina Sosnowski and Diane Jefferson and six parents.

Joan began the meeting by welcoming everybody. Last month's minutes were handed out.

Treasurer Report
The treasurer's report was given by Sue Frost, who handed out the latest FWPTO financial projections. The PTO has $3.8K in commitments before the Spring Carnival. Some items have been pushed out until a clearer financial outlook is available (after Scrip and Carnival fundraisers). According to the current projections, the PTO will have ~$1.3K left over at the end of the school year - typically the PTO targets $2-$2.5K.

Annie Smith provided a summary of the first Scrip order - 440 gift cards were sold for a total value of $8,493, giving the PTO $624 in profit. Annie expects bigger sales during the second round which occurs closer to the holidays.

The teachers thanked the PTO again for supporting the school, especially with regards to subsidizing buses for field trips because of the continuously rising cost of gas.

Parents Comments
It was requested that a note from the classroom teachers go home to parents before a movie is being shown in class. Recently the 4th grade was shown the Movie "Witches", which is rated PG, and some children were disturbed by the movie content. A letter will ensure that the parent is aware of what is being shown and can make a decision whether the movie is appropriate for their child. It was suggested that alternate activities be made available to those children who won't be watching these types of movies. It was mentioned that the school committee typically approves these movies.

Teacher Issues
The teachers thanked the PTO for the Staples $50 gift cards for National Education week. There was some discussion on what the teachers would like for their Wish List - the action was taken to go back to the staff and get consensus on the best use of the PTO money.

The teachers also thanked the room parents and all parents for their help and participation in the classroom parties and Halloween parade. Parents requested that the information about the Kindergarten parade, which is separate from the rest of the school, be sent home earlier to K parents. There was some confusion this year about when and where the K parade would be.

The question of how well the recent Barnes and Nobles fundraiser did - the actual donation was not yet known. It was also requested that eNews be used more to remind parents of these activities - one had not been sent out prior to the B&N event. Some of the people in attendance had received a reverse 911 call from Dr. Picone about this event, but almost the same amount had not.

Administration Issues
The resurfacing of the asphalt in the front playground will be starting on Friday. The mulch for the back playground is also due in around the same time.

The 3rd grade bake sale netted $670 for the Food Pantry, which services over 80 families.

Reports cards will be sent home this week for the 1st grading period. It was mentioned that the design of the reports cards is poor and hard to understand. These cards are created by a town-wide committee, and there have been discussions to change them.

The Katie Spinos Trust Fund is soliciting donations to pay for her children's college education. The Fund is asking for a donation of $10 per person, and is targeting to collect ~$400K.

More will be coming to the Wyman website. It was not clear who exactly is updating the website at the moment.

Teacher Anita Mason is researching a Homework club at FW, and is targeting mid-year to start. The following questions were asked: How much will it cost? Do they need parent volunteers? Can older students earn "adopt-a-class" points by participating? Can their parents?

The PTO is looking for more volunteers to help hand out Genevieve orders on Thursday/Friday. The use of high school students is being investigated.

A discussion of how much extra Spiritwear to order and where to purchase it from took place.

New Business
Suggestions for getting the most of your Parent/Teacher conference was read, which included reviewing the report card and preparing questions for the teacher ahead of time. These will be put in this week's Bulletin.

There will be no Student Council this year due to budget cut backs in staff time. It was asked if parents can help the administration with clerical tasks (answering phone, photocopying, etc). Could parent volunteers also help out at the library or at recess? This is done at other schools.

The next round of Scrip orders is starting - orders are due Dec 6th for delivery on Dec 17th. Blue Tulip is having a promotion from Nov 16-19th, and will donate proceeds from sales when FW is mentioned. It was brought up that there are too many fundraisers happening at one time.

FW Family Day at the Lowell Devils will be Sunday, February 24 at 4:05pm, with a 20 minute free skate following. A visit to FW by the Devil Dog mascot is being investigated - this occurred last year.

The PTO is looking at going with a different vendor than Genevieve for their fall fundraiser. Currently they are looking at Lavender. If they commit to Genevieve now the PTO gets $100. It was voted not to sign on with Genevieve now and continue to investigate alternate companies.

It was asked if parents with home businesses/hobbies could sell their items to the school population if they donate a part of the proceeds to the PTO. The concern that these would be yet seen as more PTO fundraisers was brought up. This would also have to be open to all FW parents. It was suggested these could be promoted on the FWPTO website. Susan Astone would need to approve this.

An update on student enrichment Author's Workshop was given. FW will be doing their own program, and will not participate with the program the other elementary schools are jointly planning. For the first round of author visits, Cynthia Lord (sic) will be coming on 23-Jan for the 4th and 5th grade, while Ralph Masiello is planned for the K-3. For the second round, Valerie Giogas will come for K-2 to read from her book "In My Backyard". Valerie is a FW parent, and will do this for free. The second author for 3-5 is not finalized; it was suggested to contact the BHS illustrator for "Pitching with the Papelbons".

The carnival committee reported that they still need parents to join the games and volunteers subcommittees - they will need two people for each, and if they can't get this support the carnival will not happen.

Next PTO Meeting is Wednesday, January 16th at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Mary Sweeney, secretary

Meeting Minutes from October 17, 2007

Welcome and Introduction
The meeting was brought to order at 7:05pm. Board members Joan Ford, Wendy Czerwinski, Barbara Mozzicato, Susan Frost and Mary Sweeney were present, along with principal Susan Astone, teacher representative Kate Sunderland and 12 parents. Joan began the meeting by welcoming everybody. Last month's minutes were handed out.

Treasurer Report
The treasurer's report was given by Sue Frost. The recent Genevieve fundraiser sales were $15,400 with an additional $900 in internet sales. The PTO receives 50% of the sales, so the total net was $7,700, which is $1,500 short from last year's fundraiser. The 2007-2008 Budget was adjusted accordingly, and it is hoped some of the shortfall can be made up with the Script and Spring Fundraisers. In addition, approximately $400 in profit on the Spiritwear sales was netted, and there are a few additional Spiritwear items available for sale later in the year. This year's Spiritwear will be coming to the school tomorrow for distribution. It was also noted that a few items have already been expensed for this year (i.e., class adoption, Kindergarten orientation).

Parents Comments
With the 3rd grade bake sale happening this week, one parent asked if the baked goods would be marked with ingredients for allergy concerns. Last year, a small selection of store-bought snacks, were procured for children with allergy concerns, and these were the only items available with known ingredients. This concern had been brought up after last year's bake sale. Susan replied that the importance of this issue wasn't raised with the teachers in time this year. A notice was sent home for 3rd grade parents to label any bake sale goods they send in, but this was not actively followed up. Regarding bake sales and similar food-related concerns, the staff is following the leads of the parents of the children with food issues. Allergies are becoming more and more common, and there is a great deal of variation with the children and their specific allergies, in terms of both types of trigger food and their reactions. There is also the risk that home made treats will be labeled incorrectly.

For the bake sale each grade is assigned a specific 3rd grade class to buy snacks from. Prices range from 20-25 cents, and each 3rd grade student bakes between 2-3 dozen items each. It was suggested for next year that a third grade parent be "in charge" of obtaining a range of allergy-sensitive foods. Parents were pointed to an informative food allergy website available at the PTO website. A few parents at the meeting still hadn't received notices about the bake sale. While the bake sale was listed under "Important Dates" on last week's bulletin, it wasn't clear to new parents exactly what that entailed.

It was also mentioned that there is a plan to put more grade-specific details on the PTO website, to help inform parents of activities specific to each grade.

A question was asked about the membership compared to last year. There were 241 families / 25 staff who joined the PTO in 2006/07. For this year the numbers are 229 / 26. 99 of this year's families are new members, which is almost half of the parent membership. There are approximately 450 families at Francis Wyman and about 75 staff (107 including special services). A few parents mentioned that they and possibly some classrooms did not receive the PTO membership envelopes that were sent home.

A question was asked about whether teachers can email parents. Susan explained that there is a new policy in place, and teachers can not include confidential information in emails, such as a student's progress, homework, etc. The drivers behind this are safety and confidentially concerns, along with human error (i.e., the email being sent to the wrong address). Parents can email a teacher, and if the teacher can not provide specific information in an email response, the teacher should write back to say they will be calling. This policy will be communicated in a future bulletin.

Teacher Issues
None

Administration Issues
The Rotary Club came to FW and handed out dictionaries to 3rd grade.

Susan spoke on the School Council. While this was mentioned in a recent Bulletin, many people weren't aware of the exact purpose of this group. Susan explained that the Council is mandated by state, acting as an advisory committee involved in the school's improvement path and consists of teachers, parents and community representation. (The Mass DOE website has good information on school councils.) Each school comes up with a focus plan to meet the overall school district's improvement plan. This is then presented to school council for approval, with voting typically occurring in the fall.

The FW School Council preliminary meeting was earlier today - this specific group has one parent, one community rep (Lloyd Rosenberg, a Rotarian), two teachers (Karen Sunderland and Kerri Foley), and principal (Susan). Kathy Burns had generated and approved a plan in May of this year for the coming school year's council to go forward with, and this will be presented this coming Tuesday. The other Burlington schools generated their plans over summer, and as such the FW plan will need some tweaks to accommodate changes made in the district improvement plan since May. The PTO needs to vote on the School Council parent representative - a motion was made to vote for Judy Glennon, last year's parent council representative. No objections were made and the motion was approved. Susan will keep people informed on the Council activities as year goes on.

A parent asked if members stayed for multiple years. Susan explained that the Mass DOE does suggest rotating, but there's a lot of flexibility in how the council can operate. Part of what this year's council will do is to read up on all that type of information. The council meets on a Wednesday after school once a month for an hour. The question was asked if they are looking for other parent members. The Councils are limited so that no more than 50% are parents, so in order to have more parents they will need more teachers/community representatives, but it is something they are considering for next year.

A few parents asked if the PTO received their volunteer sign-ups since they haven't received a response. Joan explained that the volunteer list was put together, and the various leaders of the subcommittees were given the list and should be contacting parents. Some committees start later in the year, so parents will be contacted then.

The first school spirit day will be a mix and match Red Sox/Francis Wyman day, to be held on Friday October 26th. The Red Sox component will happen regardless of how the team "finishes" in the Series. The past several Fridays have been special Red Sox spirit days, where children can wear Red Sox apparel, including hats, all day. Not every Friday is a spirit/special special occasion day - those days will be posted in the weekly the bulletin the week before. There is a plan is to have a Patriot Spirit Day during this school year. In the past there have been Backwards Day, and Pajama Day.

New Business
There is a new Food Service Director - Paul Virgin. He will be happy to talk to parents about food concerns (allergies, etc).

Town Wide Fundraiser: November 10th and 11th at Barnes and Nobles in Burlington. Ten to fifteen percent of the proceeds from that day will be donated from anyone who mentions Francis Wyman. There will be different teachers/principals reading during the day at that store from the various schools. Pine Glen is organizing this year (which rotates through the various elementary schools).

A vote was made and approved to donate $200 to the Katie Spinos scholarship fund which is a trust fund being set up for her children's college education. This will be a one time donation, and all the PTOs will do this collectively. There is a second type of scholarship fund in Katie's name, a yearly memorial scholarship given to a Burlington high school student. The FW PTO already donates a scholarship to former FW high school students, so the decision was to only give to the Katie Spinos Children Trust Fund. A committee will be asking for $10 donation per person in Burlington (among other donations) to raise $400K for her children's trust fund. There are people assigned as targets to outreach to the various Burlington communities and programs.

Family Day at the Lowell Devils will be on Feb 24th, last Sunday of February vacation, against Hartford. After the game the kids can go out to the ice and skate. Ticket sales will be offered for holiday gifts; a second sale push will then happen as the event date gets closer. This is not a major fundraiser for the PTO. Other elementary schools may participate; each school will has its section. 165 people from FW attended last year. Last year the Middle School sang the National Anthem. If the PTO sells 200 tickets, we can participate in a 50/50 raffle which is for all people attending game, and the proceeds would be donated to the Katie Spinos fund. The Spring Carnival and this are the two main family social events - it is difficult to have events at FW due to the size of the school.

Body Physique and Curves will donate $50 to the PTO for new members - so far $200 has been collected from this Fundraiser.

A concern was mentioned that a lot of fundraisers are hitting families at the same time, with Adopt-A-Class coming out this week. A master fundraiser calendar for all school related town fundraisers (BEF, PTOs, AdoptAClass, etc) is being looked into by the school department. The suggestion was made to contact Debbie Keene at dkeene@burlmass.org in the town hall to voice this concern.

Several parents had questions about the "Adopt-A-Class" fundraiser. It was explained that every grade is linked up with a business sponsor through their school years; then the funds earned during that time are distributed as scholarships when the students graduated. Students need to accrue a certain amount of community service points to be eligible to apply for this scholarship (with a subsequent approval process). For younger children parents can do volunteer work and earn their child points.

It was mentioned that the PTO will be researching alternative fall fundraisers to Genevieve.

It was voted and approved to participate in the Blue Tulip fundraiser again in December; last year only $20 was donated, but there was very little work required of the PTO. It was suggested that an article be sent out to families highlight these "free" fundraisers (BandN, Target credit card, Blue Tulip etc).

Sue Frost then reviewed the budget in detail. The Budget was unanimously approved.

As part of the budget review, there was a discussion of the upcoming enrichment programs. For Author weeks, each grade is visited by two authors and participates in welcoming activities to get to know the book/author. Children can purchase books and have the author autograph. Different people are typically targeted for K-2 and 3-5. Cynthia Lord, a Newbury Award winner, will be one for the older grades and will come in on Jan 23rd. The Enrichment committee is looking at Ralph Marcello for the younger grades. FW typically has two authors visit each grade, while the other elementary schools usually just get one, and usually jointly use the same author. Currently the other elementary schools are looking at a "Bash the Trash" program, which is previewing Nov 1st. Sometimes FW will go with the other schools, and sometimes not, depending on how well the fit is perceived.

It was noted that there used to be many more enrichment programs, but demands such as MCAS testing on the class schedules has eaten into a lot of free time.

Mary spoke on the Playground - $104K was approved at September's Town Meeting for safety and access improvements. The PTO is starting fundraising to help finance enrichment activities such as new equipment and area upkeep. The resurfacing of the asphalt front play area should be happening in the next few weeks. Parents asked when mulch will be put down in the back play area so the children can access the climbing structures. It was suggested they contact Craig Robinson in Finance and Operations for that status.

A suggestion was made to start collecting Campbell's soup labels in addition to BoxTops. Collecting milk bottle caps was discouraged, having been previously found not worth wasn't the effort for the amount of money collected.

Next PTO Meeting is Wednesday, November 14th at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Mary Sweeney, secretary

Meeting Minutes from September 19, 2007

Welcome and Introduction
Past-President Faydeen Sateriale brought the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. PTO Board Members present were: Joan Ford, Barbara Mozzicato, Susan Astone, and Sue Frost. Teacher representatives were Betty Kerr. There were 36 parents in attendance. At this time, Faydeen introduced the new Co-President Joan Ford. Joan welcomed everybody to the meeting.

Playground Renovations
Joan Ford gave the update on the playground. The playgrounds at Francis Wyman are some of the most widely used in the town. In addition to the ~600 students who utilize the play areas, they are also used town-wide by two after-school programs as well as the summer full-day child care program.

The playgrounds consist of three areas - the front lot, which is an asphalt surface, the upper lot which is a newly designed play area with no play structures, and the back playground which contains all the play structures originally installed 10 years ago. These children rotate through these three play areas, spending one week at a time at each throughout the year. In addition to the play areas, there is a Reading Garden which is also utilized by all the grades for outdoor instruction and free time, and also a large open lot area which consists of spotted areas of grass and dirt.

Serious safety and disability access issues at the various play areas require immediate attention. The special needs students who are a part of the Francis Wyman student body have not been able to use many of the playground areas due to poor surface conditions and lack of adequate access structures. We are working with the town to install a new wheelchair appropriate surface for the back playground, together with ADA-compliant ramps with railings to allow access to the back playground. The Disability Access Commission has very generously donated $20K for the new wheelchair surface. We are asking the town to fund the balance for the access ramp and the PTO will fundraise to add inclusive play structures that all children can use.

The immediate safety repairs and improvements include resurfacing the asphalt front playground and putting a sufficient amount of wood fiber cushioning on the back playground. The front playground has significant cracks which are very serious safety risks. There is essentially no safety surfacing on the back playground. The handbook for Public Playground safety issued by the government recommends a minimum of 6" of wood fiber surface to protect children from falls. In the future we will be looking to install shade structures and a protective fence along the upper cafeteria play area bordering a roadway.

Funding is also being requested to repair and refurbish landscaped hills to minimize damage to playground surfaces and to fund an architectural plan for refurbishing the open lot areas. This architectural plan will address all undeveloped playground areas. The architect for this plan would be available to participate with the school as an artist in residence program.

We are initially asking the town for almost $100K to fix the safety and access issues now. The PTO is looking to raise $70K between fundraising and business donations for new equipment and enrichment activities with the town contributing half the cost of the new equipment in 2008.

Please attend the upcoming Town Meeting on Monday, September 24th at 7:30 p.m. at the high school to show your support for the playground refurbishment. Please contact your Town Meeting Members and ask for their support. The PTO website has the information to reach your Town Meeting Member. Please consider attending this meeting.

Mrs. Astone's comments: She had met with Mary Sweeny and Wendy Czerwinski and was very impressed by the playground committee. The town and school both have ownership of the playground. It is a joint effort with the school, the town, and the disability commission to work together to improve the playground. The biggest concern was to not just get the message out to the Francis Wyman community but to also get the message out to the after school programs and the rest of the town. We need to get parents involved. It isn't just about the school alone, it's a collaborative effort.

Fundraising was discussed for the playground. A survey has been put on the PTO website asking about what type of fundraisers people would like to see.

One parent suggested putting the playground information in the YMCA After-School Program's mailboxes.

One parent asked what the time frame was for this renovation. The PTO is asking for $100K from the town to replace the mulch, resurface the asphalt, put in ramps and railings (ADA approved), and a hard surface for the wheel chairs. The PTO is looking to raise $70K with fundraising and donations from business. It all takes time to do this.

One parent wanted to know if the play structures were going to stay. They are trying to remove a structure that is made of pressure treated lumber. Some of the structures came from the Wildwood Elementary School and are 20 years old.

Mrs. Astone commented that due to safety concerns, she had to close the playgrounds. The hanging rings have been fixed but still can't be used because of the lack of mulch. She was hopeful that the paving of the front lot would get done before it snows.

One parent reiterated how important is was to attend the Town Meeting on Monday and to get in touch with your Town Meeting members.

Mrs. Astone's Comments
Mrs. Astone welcomed everybody and was happy to see such a great turnout. She asked parents to stay involved and come to the meetings. She talked about when she came for a visit to Francis Wyman on Field Day. She mentioned it was a wonderful view of the entire school community: teachers, students, and parents. The children were polite and kind, the parents were having fun, and the teachers were able to enjoy the day due to the parental help.

Mrs. Astone said the most important thing was communication and collaboration. She said that the parents can bring any issues forward to her. She said to also ask the child's teacher, the office staff (Mrs. Roque, Mrs. Conley) and the Guidance counselors. She also mentioned a few new initiatives.

• The Fish philosophy developed by the Pike Fish Store in Seattle. Have fun and play at work, be there for people, make people's day, and choose your attitude.
• Developing a Professional Learning Community is a focus. Teachers need to share ideas and talk about learning and instruction. PLC's connect teachers and allow them to work on the curriculum.
• Math Investigation (Grades 2-5) is a new curriculum. Math coach positions have been added. For writing, teachers have been trained in Six Traits. The Social Studies curriculum has been another area of focus. The K-8 curriculum coordinators are assisting teachers.

Kindergarten screenings will be starting soon. This enables the school to get a base point.

Next week kick off assembly with the Principal and Guidance counselors to discuss with the children about behavior, school rules, good telling and bad telling, etc.

Responsive Classroom is being used at the school which is a social skills curriculum. It makes sure the social piece is developed and students are connected. This is widely used and highly successful.

Parent Comments
One parent asked a question about the issue of nutrition at school in the cafeteria and the classroom. Mrs. Astone commented that there is an increase on nutrition concerns and food allergies. The Director of Food Services provides nutritious meals and healthy choices. Fruits and vegetables are offered in the café. The parent felt that if there were no bad choices and only healthy ones then the children would not have to make the choice. It was mentioned that vending machines are not available to the students. Food allergies were discussed. There is a link on the PTO website regarding that. Craig Robinson is the current director of food services. Any questions may be directed to him.

A parent asked about the Title 1 reading specialist turning to math and wondered if there would still be extra reading help. Mrs. Astone commented that Title 1 is designed around student needs and is focused on Math this year. There are still two literacy tutors and a reading specialist as has been in the past.

A parent asked what the status was of the new superintendent position. Mrs. Astone commented that Dr. Piccone has been rehired during this search period and will probably be here for the school year. The search for a superintendent usually takes quite a while.

Teacher Comments
Betty Kerr welcomed the parents back to school and said there were no teacher issues pending.

Committee Reporting
Barbara Mozzicato reported on the Membership of the PTO. Last year's total members were 241 families and 25 staff. So far this year the count is 185 families and 19 staff. A difference of ~48 families and six staff. It was mentioned that the $15 dues helps to do so many things for the children and the school. If you did not receive an envelope there are some on the PTO Bulletin Board or you can download the form on the PTO web site.

A parent commented that the PTO website looked "awesome" and wanted to know if there were any plans for the Francis Wyman website. Mrs. Astone commented that a new webmaster has been hired, Joan Tuttle, and will be in charge of all the school websites. She just started a week ago.

Joan Ford mentioned about sign up sheets for PTO committees and different committees were discussed. Faydeen Sateriale mentioned that the carnival will be held on Saturday, March 15, 2008 from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. She and Nadine Thys are the co-chairs for this committee. Faydeen said that they need 18 people to run the carnival and if they don't have the volunteers by October 31, they would not be able to run the carnival. It was mentioned how much fun it was to plan and attend the carnival.

One parent suggested an "Easy Pass" to just donate a check to the PTO instead or supporting fundraising. It was mentioned that a letter could accompany the fundraiser that allows you to either donate a check or not to participate in the fundraiser.

Different types of fundraisers for the playground were discussed: Cocoa Keys, wine tasting, buy-a-brick. It was mentioned that there will be a survey sent out electronically to see what type of fundraiser families would be interested in.

The playground committee is researching grants but cannot accept grants until the PTO has a tax exempt number. A town-wide tax exempt number is being looked into.

Next PTO Meeting is Wednesday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Barbara Mozzicato, Vice President