Cornwall Parent-Teacher Organizations

Cornwall-on-Hudson PTO

234 Hudson Street, Cornwall-On-Hudson, NY 12520

PTO Meeting

September 20, 2006

A regular meeting of the Parent Teacher Organization was held Wednesday evening, Sept. 20, 2006 in the cafeteria of the Cornwall-On-Hudson Elementary School. All PTO officers were in attendance except for Colleen D. and Joanne I.

Call to Order: PTO Co-President, Sue R. called the meeting to order at 7:35pm.

Review and Acceptance of June 14, 2006 Minutes

Sandi K. made a motion to accept the minutes and Kim P. seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as submitted.

Officer Reports:

First Vice President

·   Chris M. reported that there are currently 62 families and 11 faculty members signed up as PTO members. She sent a reminder notice/second round membership request through the back packs today.

·   Although no one volunteered to be the “Kids Klub Chairperson”, Sandi K. will chair the Mad Science portion of after-school activities and Emily R. will chair the Chess Club. Francine C. volunteered to chair the Yoga after-school activity.

·   Holiday Bazaar, Field Day & Book Fair chairpersons will be needed for the next school year. She suggested that interested parties should sit in on the respective committee this year to prepare themselves for next year.

·  4^th Gr. District-wide BBQ chaired by Barbara M. is being planned for Fri. 10/6. She welcomes more helpers for this event. An informational flyer will go to the other two elementary schools with a point person at each school to assist with the signup logistics. Parents are requested to stay with their student at this event to aid in the outdoor supervision.

·   Chris has been doing some laminator purchase research so that one can be purchased for our faculty ASAP. A member suggested that she consider a ‘cold laminator’ as an option. Chris will get more information on this option.

 Second Vice President

·  Kim P. reported that the Scholastic Book Fair dates are scheduled for 10/16/06 to 10/19/06 with ‘Family Night’ scheduled for Wed. 10/18 from 7-9pm. There will be fun and games for all giving parents a chance to peruse the book selection with their children.

·   The Dutch Bulb Fundraiser is underway.

·   Kim sent home a flyer informing families about all fundraisers planned for this year.

Corresponding Secretary

·   Sandi K. reported that she sent two condolence cards on behalf of the PTO as well as a thank you note to the Sidewalk Café for donating Coffee for the PTO Welcome on the first day of school.

Treasurer

·   Francine C. had no report prepared for membership. However, she will provide a detailed report for the October meeting. She stated that she will pay the bill for the Yearbook out of last year’s budget line.

President

·   Co-President Sue R. stated that she attended the Executive Council meeting this past week with Mr.Rehm. NEWS: Mr. Frank Sheboy was selected to be the new HS principal. The Special Ed. Department has been moved to modulars located by the Willow Ave. School. Three scoreboards (Football, Soccer and MS gym) have been purchased using donations and will be installed shortly. ‘Green’ chemicals have been used by the school district for a couple years now, even though it became mandatory this year.

·   Sue mentioned that the entire Cornwall PTO’s are being set up as a “trust” with individual “committees” which are the building PTO’s. We have applied for 501(c)(3) status so that the PTO’s will all be tax-exempt/non-profit organizations.

·   A reminder was given to drive slowly around schools, obey traffic signs and to please not park on the fence adjacent to the COH school yard during pickup/drop off time to aid in the safety and flow of traffic around the school.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

·   Halloween Spooktacular – Phylis H. was not present to report.

·   Spirit Wear - Mary Jo H. is preparing to launch this project shortly.

·   Kids Klub/Drama Club - Sharon Z., director, indicated that the drama registration letter will go out on Oct 3^rd. The “Music Man” show dates are 3/16 & 3/17. She also indicated that the PTO spot light is “old” and damaged. She is getting an estimate for repair or replacement. At this point, it is a safety concern as the spotlight fell over during a performance. In addition, she would like the PTO to purchase equipment for two other body mikes. Sharon will get specific numbers and report back at the October meeting. She will find out whether the Kids Klub can support this purchase in full or not.

Faculty Report: Ms. O’Dell reported that the faculty is very appreciative of all that the PTO does and is especially excited about a new laminator. Although the teachers are not always visible working with the PTO, they continue to support us by handling the details in the classroom related to all that we do. (Fundraisers, etc.)

Principal’s Report: Mr. Schmidt reported that the building capital projects were completed the week before opening, as promised. The school opened on-time and all went very smoothly. Auditorium water damaged areas will be fixed & curtains already cleaned & now in storage, will be replaced, when the work is done next summer. In addition, the 2^nd & 1^st floor ‘adjustments’ will also be addressed next summer since they are not a safety concern. A student orientation was held on the first day of school; self-esteem day was held on Fri. 9/8; Open House was held on Wed. 9/13 and had a nice turn-out of parents; school pictures have been taken – a picture re-take date will be announced; 1of 3 mandatory bus drills was held on 9/11; two assembly programs to acquaint students with disabilities was held. Mrs. Pam H. and Mrs. Emily R. have agreed to chair the Friday Morning Openings that Mrs. Geiser has been doing for years as she has “retired” from that position. Principal Awards will be announced at the end of the month and parents of the recipients will be secretively invited to attend the Friday Morning Opening when they will be given. The grade 4 Sands Ring field trip is back in the schedule after a year of austerity. Black Rock trips have also been scheduled. An ecological assembly program will be held on 10/20 at 2:10pm entitled, “The Day the School Went Wild”. Parents are welcome to attend. Although unable to give details about the 3^rd & 4^th grade ELA test scores at this time, Mr. Schmidt stated that he anticipates them to be VERY good.

New Business:

·   Proposed 2006/07 Budget – Francine C. presented the proposed budget and a discussion was held regarding some of the line items. (i.e. Candidates Forum to be hosted by WAES PTO this year resulting in a minimal cost to COH PTO, Bake Sales have not been prohibited thus far, Clearwater financial support was re-instated) Adjustments were made and presented to membership for a vote. Kristine W. made a motion to accept the budget and Francine C. seconded the motion. The budget was unanimously adopted. (see attached)

·   TV Turn-off Week - Mrs. Clerkin, teacher, will continue to chair this event supported by the PTO’s $250 budget line expense item.

·   Mad Science – chairperson, Sandi K., stated that this after-school program is an enrichment program for grades 1-4. This year’s theme will be ‘NASA’. Mad Science will run for 8 weeks on Tuesday from 3:30-4:30 in the cafeteria. A building use request has been submitted with 10/17 as the proposed start day and the program to end right before the winter holidays. Mr. Schmidt stated that he will be happy to put PTO reminders on the monthly calendar that he sends out to all students of COH.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Kristine W.

Recording Secretary