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Devon Elementary School PTO Meeting Minutes

September 17, 2014

In attendance:

Dr. Todd Parker, Kate Miller, Lauren Forman, Cathy Rains, Beth Breault, Tara

Owens, Tricia Jennings, Sam Naimoli, Marisa Campbell, Megan Hillier,

Georgann Bernabeo, Beth Fogarty, Meg Taft, Daiva Sevelis, Christine Jones,

Vilma Drozdoviene, Marnie Hirsch, Lisa Schreiber, Sheeva Reilly, Gaby Evers,

Susan Carlson, Gabriela Snyder, Heather Hill, Carrie Cotton, Monina Florendo,

Rubing Tang, Kim Sylvester, Amy Susanin, Coleen Hillman, Francine Smith,

Mimi Russo

Welcome

Kate Miller welcomed everyone to the first meeting and the members of the

Board introduced themselves.

Review and Approval of Minutes

Approved minutes from past meetings can be found on www.devonpto.org.

Principal’s Report: Dr. Parker

- A welcome from Dr. Parker

- Two Curriculum Nights took place with one more scheduled for this

week

- The total number of students at Devon Elementary is 571 students

- The 3rd grade is still making adjustments due to its size and we are

looking into ways to manage the size that will appear seamless to the

students

- The Spring Concert will be held at TE Middle School as an alternate

location to Devon Elementary in order to accommodate more

students and their guests

- Summer Projects

o Air conditioning was installed in the Cafetorium and is much

appreciated by students and staff members

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o HVAC throughout the building was revamped in order to maintain

a consistent temperature

o Devon is now wireless and a “bring your own device” program is

in the works

o Operating systems have been updated to Windows 7; teachers are

still getting up to speed which may account for delays if you have

been corresponding by email with the teachers

o New fencing was installed along Fairfield Rd. towards Exeter Rd.

o Changes have been made to the driveway and District Facilities is

still looking at ways to improve the current situation

Fewer parents are driving in “bus only” lanes

Arrows were added to more clearly designate the carline

route/direction

Separate bus area has been added

NOTE: Per Dr. Parker, people should not be parking in the

Fire Lane under any circumstance

- The Welcome Back Social was a success, as was the Cultural Arts Pirate

Program

- On Friday, September 19, there will be an anti-bullying assembly that

will coincide with the International Day of Peace

o Mrs. Noel will direct students in creating a human chain link for

peace and there will be a flag raising

- Picture Day will take place on Monday, September 22

- Mileage Club will begin and is an opportunity for students to earn

tokens to the store for running or walking during their recess period

President’s Report: Kate Miller

- Kate attended the PTO presidents’ meeting where presidents from other

schools are brought together

o Two events were discussed

“Big Disconnect” speaking engagement addressing how

technology is impacting our social interactions

Keystone Exams

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- Kate thanked everyone for a fabulous Welcome Back Social and shared

thank you notes from teachers who received money from the PTO for

supplies and classroom materials

- We are looking for volunteers to attend the TE School Board meetings

that take place in the evenings

o Typically one volunteer attends and reports back on the topics

discussed

Vice-President’s Report: Lauren Forman

- The “Got a Minute” forms have been distributed listing all of the

volunteer opportunities and we have gotten a good response so far

o If you notify Lauren when you have an event, she’ll check the

volunteer lists to see who has already asked to participate

Treasurer’s Report: Cathy Rains

- Cathy presented the Treasurer’s Report from the June meeting, as well

as August through September

- We received a check from Target as a percentage of purchases made by

Devon families with Target credit cards

- Teachers each received $75 from the PTO to use towards classroom

supplies

Communications: Tara Owens

- We are looking to streamline the blast schedule and determine what

should go to all-school vs. just homeroom based on the content

Cultural Arts: Sam Naimoli and Tricia Jennings

- The first event took place on September 12

o 4 TE schools collaborated and brought in David Engel to perform

a Pirate School program - all agreed it was a perfect fit for the

audience

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- We are fortunate to have a healthy Cultural Arts budget with many

exciting programs

- The next assembly which is specifically for the 1st graders, Franklin

Institute’s “How to Build a Storm,” will take place on October 16.

Parents are invited to attend

- The website will list all programs and dates that have been scheduled

up to this point

- Parents may attend any of the programs including all-school assemblies

though they should be aware that these programs will be fairly crowded

- The Spring Show and Arts Week are still coming together

o This year’s theme will be Film

o Information will be posted as details are finalized

- Delta, a group consisting of Devon Elementary and nine other schools,

was formed to align our schools’ cultural arts programs

o Meetings take place monthly and together the schools have been

able to bring in better programs and negotiate better pricing than

the schools would have been able to secure individually

o “Vocatrash,” a Delta program, will take place on November 14 at

7pm at TE Middle School

- Sam and Tricia will be leaving the Board after this year and are looking

for someone to “shadow” their efforts in order to replace them next fall

Fundraising: Megan Hillier and Marisa Campbell

- The Parent Social planning is off to a good start with Gabriela Snyder

leading the charge along with six other women

o The event will take place on March 7 at Hilltop House (the same

location as last year)

o The first meeting took place in August and there is another

meeting scheduled for September 24

o A volunteer meeting will take place soon

o Set-up, clean-up and follow-up teams are still needed, as well as

individuals to stuff envelopes

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- The Amazon link on the PTO website was set up so that Devon would

receive a percentage of any Amazon purchases made via the link

o We brought in $730 from September to September last year

o The link can be found by going to www.devonpto.org

- The Box Top program brought in $800

- There is also a Target credit card program where a percentage of sales

will go to Devon

- It was suggested by Gaby Evers that the various links be prominently

displayed either on the website and/or in email blasts so that the

programs are more visible to our school community

Social Functions: Georgann Bernabeo

- The Welcome Back Social was a success

o Everyone agreed that the set-up worked well with food indoors

and made clean-up easier

o Not as highly attended as past years

Took place the same night as the Middle School social, as

well as a football game

Look at date closely next year and make sure there aren’t

any conflicts

- Fall Festival is the next school-wide event and will take place on October

24

o The chair position is still open to oversee the following

Tickets

Cake Walk

Volunteers

Bake Sale

The question was asked as to whether we could have

homemade food given the new guidelines

Dr. Parker said because it is a PTO event homemade

foods are allowed

o All food donated for the event must include an

ingredient list

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o Someone will need to review/monitor foods to

make sure they include ingredients

o Foods that don’t comply will not be able to be

used

Issues, Affairs & Programs: Meg Taft

- Meg reported on the Sunshine Committee, a PTO-sponsored program

that provides nourishing meals to Devon families in need (such as a sick

parent or child)

o Families can contact Laura Penney (all requests are kept

confidential)

o You can volunteer to make a meal through the “Got a Minute”

form

o Some additional information regarding the program will provided

by the homeroom moms

School Services: Daiva Sevelis

- The Book Fair will take place on November 10 - 13

o Beth Breault said that there are people looking to help

o Three volunteers at a time are needed to usher kids to the area

but then they shop independently

Other Business

- Heather Hill spoke regarding the Green Initiative and its various

components

o It is Heather’s last year at Devon so we are looking for a

replacement to fill her role

o There is a substantial recycling area in the cafeteria

o Recycling materials/containers are sold at main school functions

o There is a Green Corner in the Dispatch

o A Halloween Costume Drive (headed by Joel Stever) will take

place, as well as a battery drive

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o The goal is to build awareness for the program by offering

volunteer time slots at various events and having child

ambassadors

o Crayola has a marker recycling program that recycles any brand

of marker as long as it is plastic and reuses the markers for fuel

- Tricia Jennings spoke regarding the Dental Clinic

o Our district, along with Great Valley, provides dental care for

children who wouldn’t otherwise go to the dentist

o TE Middle school has a dental chair and hygienist and children

can go during the school day to have their teeth examined

Parents of the child are asked to pay what they can for the

exam

We are looking for people to volunteer to drive the children

to the clinic and take them back to their respective school

It should take only about an hour

Diane Pancoast is the point of contact and all

volunteer drivers will need to have a background

check

- Homeroom Parent Correspondence

o Anything that is being sent to all of the parents will need to go to

Coleen Hillman in order be approved by Dr. Parker before it is

distributed

- Lunchroom

o Gabriela Snyder expressed concern for the food offerings and

choices available to children in the cafeteria

Dr. Parker agreed that there should be more healthy options

available and explained that the Food Services Department

is a self-operating entity in the district

Michael McKinney is the contact

Packing lunch was offered as a solution to better controlling

what children eat

Parents should also know that they can monitor what food

their child buys online

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A potential parent lunch volunteer was suggested to

encourage less waste (bring home uneaten foods) and help

with recycling

*Beth Fogarty was the Whole Foods gift card winner!

Future PTO Meetings (all at 9:30am except as noted)

October 15, 2014

November 12, 2014 (7pm)

No December Meeting

January 14, 2015

February 11, 2015

March 11, 2015

April 8, 2015

May 13, 2015