PTO EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING March 10, 2015 Minutes The Thunderbird Preparatory Academy PTO met on Tuesday, March 10th at 5:30 with President Julia White presiding. Attendees: Assistant Principal Ashley Kopp, President Julia White, Co Vice President Tanya Feehan, Co Vice President Beth Butler, Treasurer Rhonda Little, Secretary Leah Varnell, Audrey Neureuther, Christy Stone, Jeff Lewis, Tom McClure, Danny Short, Stephanie Donaghy, Belinda Parker, Lauren Ladenheim, Lina Poulos, Julie Coates, Brian Stump, Ellen Morgan, Angie Long, Kevin Corrigan, Tracey Bacon, Jackie Burka, and Julie Kelly 1. WELCOME Julia White Julia White welcomed everyone attending. She explained the structure of the PTO meetings to attendees. The PTO Executive Board consists of Standing Committee chairs and PTO Officers which hold a vote. The March 10th meeting was an Executive Board Meeting. The General PTO Meetings are held in the fall (curriculum night) and again in the spring. Then next General Meeting will be held on May 14th. 2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Beth Butler (Co Vice President) motioned to approve the February minutes, the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. 3. ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL S REPORT Ashley Kopp Ms. Kopp introduced herself and welcomed attendees. 4. OFFICER S REPORTS
a) President Julia White Julia White explained that she met with Ryan and Jaymi Fay regarding concerns they had about certain issues at TPA. She offered to add them to the agenda at the next PTO meeting and gave them assurance that she would address their concerns, as possible, through the normal function of the PTO. Due to the PTO Bylaws, we are unable to move forward in any other way. Julia explained that the PTO is transparent, must announce all meetings school wide at least seven days in advance, and works directly in conjunction with the administration of the school. She read the purpose statement from the bylaws of the PTO: The organization works to support the education of all children at Thunderbird Preparatory Academy by fostering and enhancing relationships with the school, parents, and teachers. The Executive Committee voted to assist with the bookshelves for the teacher s lounge and curriculum planning room. Tracy Bacon offered to help with the organization of the bookshelves. The calculators and Guided Reading books for the 3rd and 4th grade were purchased through the Annual Giving Campaign. Also, more books were purchased with the profit made from the Scholastic Book Fair. White gave an update on SLT meetings. PR Team members are working diligently. The 4th grade artwork for Zoes Kitchen has begun. Plans are being made to accommodate the 5th grade for 2015-2016. Teachers are receiving Singapore math training. Kim Richards will be speak on EC concerns and the new team. b) Co Vice President Beth Butler The Scholastic Book Fair was a success. Total sales were almost $10,000. Through Scholastic dollars, Thunderbird received a credit of $5,300. The next Dining Night Out will be March 26th at Zoes Kitchen (5-9pm) and Killwins (6-9pm). Thunderbird will receive 15% and 10% of the proceeds from Zoes and Killwins respectively. Zoes has provided art kits for the 4th grade class which will be sold for $20 each at the restaurant. Thunderbird will receive 100% of all art sales.
There will be a t-shirt sale launched on the new PTO Facebook page. They are available in adult and child sizes for $13 each. The PTO will profit from the t-shirt sales. c) Co Vice President Tanya Feehan Thunderbowl was a success. Next year more volunteers will be needed so that parents will be able to spend time with their children. A Shutterfly link will go out soon to view Thunderbowl pictures. A $90 profit was made from the t-shirts. There are raffle tickets left over. The Father-Daughter Dance will be coming up. There was discussion about an end of the year picnic that will possibly be hosted by the Board and the PTO. d) Treasurer Rhonda Little As of February, the account balance was $23,132.50. February expenses, which included calculators (AGC) and PE equipment (parent donation), totaled $2,965.99. Outstanding checks, which include Thunderbowl, total $2,613.72. Expenses after February, which include Scholastic, total $6,024.25. Little is working on the 5013C tax exempt status, which will most likely be in place for next school year. The application, which cost $850, will be completed on Thursday. Teachers have requested a rolling cart, die cut machine, and a laminator. The PTO cannot afford to purchase a playground structure, but likely will purchase playground/recess equipment. e) Secretary Leah Varnell PTO has a total of 213 members. 5. COMMITTEE CHAIR REPORTS a) Corporate Sponsorship Chair Ellen Morgan encourages business owners to partner with the school. Business owners will benefit from publicity in the newsletter. Per potential of a Field Day, Morgan knows a realtor that has offered to sponsor the event.
The Ladies Night Out fundraiser will be held on April 30th at 7pm at Killingtons (exit 23). Individual tickets will sale for $35 (including tax). The PTO will be paying $22 per person. Each table will have spinach dip and pimento cheese spread. Individuals can choose from soup or salad, have a choice of five entrees, and brownies for dessert. Some type of raffle or auction is planned. A sign up will be sent out after the Father-Daughter Dance and will have a maximum of 50 spots. The event is not just for moms, but all TPA ladies. Morgan is prepared to host another Ladies Night Out if the 4/30 event is a success. b) Second Flight Uniform Resale Co Chair Ellen Morgan and Co Chair Tracy Bacon announced a new committee called Second Flight. Second Flight was formed in order to resale all approved dress code uniforms and attire. The sale will likely occur twice a year. There will be a donation bin and some type of incentive to donate used items. c) Fun Run/5K Chair Brian Stump states that reserving a location has been difficult. One option is to use Jetton Park trails, but there will be fees charged by the park. Another option is to use the greenway trails at Birkdale. Birkdale will not allow a hosted event, which poses the concern of the event coming across informally. A professional timer is not an option due to expenses. Any formal event will cost $4,000-$5,000 and will need 200 runners to break even. Huntersville Business Park is not an option. This location would require two police officers, Earth Fare parking was declined, and would require insurance. That situation is stalled and Stump welcomes suggestions. A suggestion was made to use the greenway trails across from Lake Forest Church off of Gilead Rd. d) Teacher Appreciation Chair Christy Stone announced the next event will be a March Madness Luncheon on March 17th. The donations for this event are provided by parents and will require cleared classroom volunteers for lunchtime. The Coffee and Donut event will be held on April 24th and will not require classroom volunteers. The May event will be hosted by the PTO and catered by a local Mexican restaurant. The June date has yet to be approved.
e) Survey Committee Co Chair Julie Kelley and Co Chair Jackie Burka have completed a parent survey and will be sending to the PTO Board to review. The survey includes 10 questions and will be open for 7 days. The results are not made public. The Survey Committee is a special committee and the survey will occur annually. f) Newsletter Committee Chair Katie Layman stated The Beacon has established a consistent routine. The Beacon goes out the last Sunday of the month and includes a principal report, PTO news, upcoming events, and spotlight events. Layman would like to include field trip pictures and encouraged parents and teachers to share their photos. g) Father-Daughter Dance Co Chair Audrey Neureuther discussed the upcoming event which will be held on March 27th from 6:30-8:30. The headcount total is 290. A school wide volunteer sign up will go out. The money will pay for a DJ, decorations, and light refreshments. There will be a professional photographer offering a photo session for $10. A flyer was sent home and emailed to families from Bells and Blooms offering special pricing for corsages. The PTO does not profit from the event or the vendors being used. 6. UPCOMING EVENTS UPDATE (covered) 7. OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW Kim Richards introduced herself as a TPA parent of a 2nd grader. She is a business owner specializing in leadership development, organization, and psychology. She was approached by the Board of Directors to work directly with the school in teacher development communication. She has and will be meeting with different teachers, teacher groups, the SLT team, and administrative board to make an assessment and provide a report to suggest improvements. She will be providing her services pro bono. 8. OLD BUSINESS (none) 9. NEW BUSINESS
A Safety Committee has been established to address security concerns. This committee will oversee security by reviewing the safety drills and protocols. A safety expert has been scheduled to give a free evaluation of the school and make suggestions for improvements. Rhonda Little motioned to vote on the Safety Committee, the motioned was seconded and passed unanimously. Robert Bacon, Jeff Lewis, and Kevin Corrigan have volunteered to chair the committee. This will be a standing committee. 10. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 7:51pm. Leah Varnell, Secretary