PiE Planning Meeting
3/16/17
Attending: Aimee
Frost, Suzan Locke, Jeff O’Hara, Jim Goldsmith, Tanya Jones, Kate Dodge, Rachel
Kring
Principal Update
·
New this month: grade level updates from
teachers
·
Kudos to PiE for the successful Family Dance –
it was a great event! Thank you to everyone who contributed. A special thank
you to Jenny Wilkinson and Elisabeth Garvey for organizing the event and to Jen
Morton and Alex Koncewicz for organizing the basket raffle!
·
Update on hiring: Applications are being
accepted for a 7th grade science teacher and for 1st and
5th grade classroom teachers; there have been a lot of applicants
(about 80 for one of the positions so far), and the interview process will be
starting in the next few weeks
·
Kindergarten Registration April 13 & 14
o
Families should call the main office to make an
appointment
Garden Plans
·
Aimee Frost, Suzan Locke and Amanda Pacilli met
with previous garden leaders, Heidi and Susan to get an understanding of what’s
needed to operate the garden
o
Amanda will put a calendar/timeline together and
see what supports and volunteers are needed to put that into action
·
We also need to look at what the long term plan for
the garden will be as far as leadership, school support, parent involvement,
etc.
·
We won’t be able to do “Seed and Sample” day this
spring, given the tight timing, but garden volunteers will come up with something
on a smaller scale to do with individual classes
·
Jeff O’Hara offered to investigate a partnership
with CVU, thinking that perhaps high schoolers could help with the garden
o
Could be part of the Grad Challenge required of
students
o
May also be a tie in if there is a club at CVU
with an outdoor interest
·
The garden team should also coordinate with
Imagine this year for summer maintenance
o
This had happened in the past successfully
PiE Spring Grant
Distribution
·
We discussed whether or not we should fund any fall
grants that were submitted in fall 2016 but didn’t receive funding, as there
were not as many spring grants this cycle
o
The decision was that PiE would hold off on
spending, as fundraising is a little behind where we intended to be
o
Principals also assured the group that teachers
are encouraged to come to them if there is a need
·
Do we just do one round of grants early in the
year for the 2017/18 school year?
o
It was agreed that we should offer a big round
in October
o
Some advocated that we keep a smaller pot of
money for the spring, as teachers may not know right away in the fall what the
needs are
Fundraising Update
·
We’ve raised about $14,000 so far
·
A Vermont Comedy Divas evening is lined up at
Cedar Knoll for May 19 – a stand up comedy/social event for parents – save the
date!
o
Hope to sell 120 tickets – we get 60% of all
tickets
o
Brainstorming something else we can do during
the event – offer a few silent auction items?
o
Will check with Cedar Knoll if we can get a
percentage of drink sales; they are also donating the space
o
Putting details together like snacks
·
The frequency of fundraising reminders to
parents was raised
o
In some neighboring schools, parents are
constantly reminded about fundraising
§
Some agreed that many reminders to busy parents
are helpful, and others cautioned that we don’t want to inundate people with
fundraising all of the time, as there was some push back about PiE being too
much about fundraising in the past
§
At the same time, most parents seem to
understand that fundraising benefits our kids
o
Could we remind parents about contributing (e.g.,
have a link if people can’t make it to event but want to donate)?
§
Meeting participants agreed that we should look
into accepting credit card donations, and including links to donate when we put
out a communication
§
Quite a few people may contribute rather than
buy items or if they can’t make it to an event
o
Fundraising could take on new meaning with a
consolidated school budget – fundraising money stays locally, so parents may
feel more apt to donate
Student Directory
·
For the 2017/18 school year families will have
the option to opt out of a schoolwide directory instead of opting in as in the
past
o
This will streamline the process to get
information into the directory and to get it out to families in a timely manner
so they can utilize it during the school year
o
The opt-out will be a question on the forms sent
home to families over the summer (health forms, photo release, etc.)
·
The second week of Oct. will be the deadline to
opt out, and PiE will communicate that to families at the end of this school
year and again in the fall
o
A connect 5 message can also be sent to families
to remind them of the deadline
·
Kate Dodge to create form; Suzan and Jeff agreed
that there was more time to create the form but should plan to have form done
in May (rather than March)
Schedule 2017/18
·
A separate meeting will be held with PiE
officers and the principals to plan for the next school year and get dates on
the calendar - Tuesday, May 30, potluck dinner at 5:30
Staff Appreciation
·
We discussed doing something different for
teachers instead of morning coffee at grant time (e.g., an event at the Public
House after work)
o
Morning events are hard for teachers when
they’re coming in getting ready for the day and focused on what needs to be
done before students arrive
·
People have signed up with interest in
coordinating staff appreciation – thank you, and we’ll be in touch!
·
Aiming for a single day this year, possibly with
a morning treat, special thank yous throughout the day and a special after
school treat/social
Parent Learning Event
·
PiE had been considering a couple topics and
speakers, and it turns out that a timely topic the principals would like the
school to offer is an evening about social media and internet safety geared
toward parents of adolescents
o
This seems to be a topic coming up with some
parents, and the principals want to make sure parents are informed so they can
talk with their kids
o
This parent evening would be offered before the April
break for just parents, without students
o
There will be a presentation by school staff
with time for Q & A
§
Advice to leave more time for questions, as PiE
has gotten that feedback about events
o
School does internet safety with younger kids,
too, but in a more basic way; this evening would be specifically geared to
parents of adolescents and some of the specific challenges, concerns and
questions coming up for families raising kids in the digital age
o
PiE has offered to support this effort in lieu
of offering a separate parent educational evening
Upcoming Events
·
April 17-May 19 – Lake Monster ticket sales for
“Hinesburg Night at the Ballpark” on July 2
·
April 20 – PiE Planning Meeting at 6:30 pm in
the Flex Space
·
May 19 – Vermont Comedy Divas fundraiser at
Cedar Knoll. Stay tuned for details!
