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Meeting Minutes Longfellow PTO General Meeting

September 9, 2015

I. Meeting called to order at 7:04pm by Jill Niewoehner, PTO Co-President a. Quorum reached

II. Teacher presentations

a. 5th grade teachers presented an end of year video about what last year’s 5th grade students will miss about Longfellow

i. One of major events in 5th grade: outdoor education ii. Offer kids multiple teachers – break out social studies, science, and writing

b. Leanne Scaro highlighted Gifted, Talented & Differentiation (GTD) program i. District GTD webpage; Elementary GTD webpage; GTD teacher webpage

ii. K-2 Program: Differentiation Support; Grades 3-5: GTD Direct Services iii. Appeals: Oct 14 & Nov 18 iv. Identification in Fall for all grades; Look at 2nd graders for the spring (math only)

x Use MAP testing (Fall/Winter/Spring) & NWEA re-norms the data every 4 years, so the report will look differently than in the past

III. PTO Exec Board Introductions & Nomination a. Thanks to Katherine Liebl for her service as past Co-President and contributions in other

roles over past few years. b. Introductions of Board Members

x Jill Niewoehner, Co-President x Laura Lallos, Member-At-Large x Sarah Richards Burton, VP of Enrichment x Marta Ikegami, VP of Diversity x Jen McMahon, Kindergarten Liaison x Michelle Mangan, Recording Secretary x Sabrina Tellez Brennan, VP of Fundraising x Rachel Gallagher, VP of Volunteers x Jaeson Rosenfeld, Co-Treasurer x Nikki Richardson, VP of Community x Diane Wendt Uher, VP of Communications (not present) x Joe Gray, Teacher Liaison (not present) x Stacey Hendricks, Co-Treasurer (not present)

c. Nominations for vacant Co-President position: Jill nominates Sabrina (has been on Board for 7 years). A formal vote will take place at next general PTO meeting, with Sabrina acting as Interim Co-President until then.

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IV. Presentation of 2015-2016 Budget (Laura & Jaeson) a. Starting year with more than $30k saved outside this budget because of great fundraising b. Three main areas: Enrichment, Community & Fundraising

i. We don’t have a big project decided on yet like we previously did for the outdoor classroom last year – usually every 2 or 3 years survey teachers and parents, and then from there choose a project.

ii. Motion to approve budget (including recent increase of author visits to $2,100 which will be covered by fundraising, but not reflected in the handout provided) by Laura Lallos. 2nd by PTO president.

x Questions x Amazon smiles gives Longfellow a percentage (0.05%) – suggest to

highlight this in Communications x Motion carried

V. Principal’s/Assistant Principal’s Update (Angela & Maggie)

a. Informally introduced Dr. Kelley, new Superintendent b. Construction is being wrapped up – new clock system getting wrapped up. Have a system to

call throughout the whole school. Able to call out to the playground now. c. School size: 598 students, every grade level about 100 kids: 5 classes in K, 2, 4 with class size

at 22-23 in a class; 1st, 4th, 5th with 4 classes at 23-24 students in each class d. Snacks at Longfellow

i. Prior to 2008-09 school year, no snacks in the building ii. 7 years ago, changed our lunch “hour”

x As school grew, couldn’t feed in 2 passings; currently have 3 passings where eat at 11:15, 11:45 or 12:15. It’s a well-oiled machine. 2 grades per passing in each 20-25 minutes.

x Adjusted the grades that eat at what time based on PBIS data. x Started thinking Kindergarteners and 1st graders on the playground

at the same time. That didn’t work (spike in referrals). x Then figured younger kids with older kids, so currently:

i. 11:15-11:45 is K & 4 lunch, ii. 11:45-12:15 is 1st & 5 lunch, and

iii. 12:15-12:45 is 2nd & 3rd lunch x Kindergarteners need to be on playground with least amount of

people possible. There are 2 blocks of recess. K & 4 play first and 1st 5th then come in…

x School Improvement Team (6 parents, 6 teachers) group suggested an adjustment & suggested a snack to bridge the change.

iii. What we’ve noticed x Many snacks go uneaten x Scheduling: 3rd graders eat when they are ready, which many times

happens around 9am, so is not exactly the ideal bridge to lunch. x Some kids eat the snack, but then are not hungry when it is time to lunch,

and then at 1:30 hunger kicks in.

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x They have time to eat their lunch & can stay if they want to finish if eating slower

iv. Scheduling x Passport to Reading (30 minutes taught about skills) – traveling from

teacher to teacher/class to class, so no snack during this time x We do not have snack outside at recess because there are highly allergic

students that could be affected x We don’t take snacks to specials (art, music, PE, Spanish) because they have

a short amount of time. x For some kids, the only time in the homeroom in morning is 8:30-9:45, so

then the snack is not really bridging time v. Last year, had specific snack lists for each grade level. At staff meeting, teachers

said it’s harder to manage than just saying fruits & vegetables. vi. Talked to other 8 elementary schools about snack list inconsistencies

x All schools allow snacks x No consistency in 7 out of 8 x 7 out of 8 schools allow teacher discretion by classroom x 6 out of 8 schools allow teacher discretion as to types of snacks (nut-free in

all x 2 schools begin lunch hour at 10:40 x 4 schools have 3rd passing for lunch

vii. Longfellow snack policy is teacher discretion because in the end teachers have to manage it and enforce it & this year 2 teachers chose not to have snacks.

x Staff Meeting Sept 9 – talked about this so that she can get an idea of where staff are. Read a couple pro/con articles. Had table discussions & whole group discussions. After that discussion, took post-assessment after the discussion.

x They will review the staff data & share with parents x Look at future digital backpack for an outlet for parents to share thoughts x Will have an outlet for students to share thoughts x They will pull all information together to come up with a plan x If changes are made, communication will take place with time x It’s not going to change this month. We will continue to monitor how that’s

affecting kids (nurse: blood sugar levels, admin: playground referrals) x Would like to look grade level to grade level for consistency

VI. Updates a. Enrichment (Sarah)

i. Enrichment activities on the WHAL (What’s Happening At Longfellow) ii. Literacy Events (Michelle)

x The Global Read Aloud Project takes place October 5 – November 13 around the world, where kids all over the world read the same books at the same time and connect via technology to share their diverse perspectives on the books. Joe Gray is bringing this idea to the teachers to gauge their interest.

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PTO Diversity Committee will pay for classroom books for those who participate.

x Connected to this Global Read Aloud (GRA), the PTO will bring Amy Krause Rosenthal in for an author visit for of 2 presentations in the auditorium. We are looking at Monday, November 30th as the day so that it can coincide with the end of the GRA.

x Also connected to the GRA, the PTO has requested a Skype session with 5th graders to talk with Lynda Mullaly Hunt. This would happen sometime in January or after when the author’s schedule allows.

x October 13th there will be an author visit by Ursula Vernon, and two other authors for 3rd and 4th graders. This is a free event brought to us by the Magic Tree Bookstore and lead by Sharon Pearce, Longfellow Librarian. They send book orders with students, and promote the books for students to decide if they'd like to purchase them; Magic Tree provides the copies to be signed by the author.

x November 19th is Illinois Family Reading Night & this year’s theme is “Camp out with a good book!” The PTO will promote family participation by encouraging families to read together on that night in their backyards or in their homes.

x The Longfellow Family Reading night is held on Earth Day in April. x The monthly B.E.A.R. (Be Enthusiastic About Reading) program takes place

October through April & involves students reading at home and then turning in a calendar documenting that reading. If they complete the calendars they get rewarded monthly with bookmarks that are designed by fellow Longfellow students. If they complete 6 out of the total 7 calendars, they are rewarded with a free book at the end of the year.

b. Fundraising (Sabrina) i. Parties At Longfellow kick-off event: be the first to sign up for parties. Costs $5. The

people hosting the party chooses what type of party. It’s tax-deductible. First year $3k, last year $5k, this year goal is $7k. Usually $20-25 per person.

ii. Fall Target drive: first 50 names to sign up in a drawing iii. Spirit wear: Bulk order deadline September 18th (back-to-school picnic) iv. Box tops: Fall drive – submit on a sheet or in zip lock bags will v. Fun Run goal is $40 per child. Takes place Friday, October 16th

x Parents are welcome to come cheer on their student. x All students who raise funds receive glow-in-the-dark wrist band that says

Longfellow Fun Run 2015. Raise $100 get misting fan. $200 Longfellow bag x Person who raises most $$ will get tickets to Lake Theatre & Red Mango for

4 people x Incentives for classrooms x Humphrey the bear (our mascot) will be in attendance.

c. Diversity (Marta)

i. Books for the library – waiting for librarian to list what books we have & which ones we need.

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d. Community (Nikki)

i. Friday is picture day x Can do it online to pay/order x Don’t wear green

ii. Next Friday is the school picnic (Josh Chrisman helping coordinate) x Cuzzo’s & Starship providing food or you’d rather bring your own x PTO pays for current Longfellow student’s meals x Lines get along around 6-6:30pm x Josh set up a sign-up genius to help run the event (need 30, have 5)

x Serve food x Take tickets x Bounce house (Double checking about insurance) x Clean up

e. Volunteers (Rachel)

i. Thank you for turning in High 5 Forms – if not, please do so. Goal for everyone to spend 5 hours at school during the year.

f. Communications (Diane) i. WHAL (What’s Happening at Longfellow) – directions for how to sign up for it on

PTO website. Right now it’s an opt-in email (typically wed/Sunday). ii. PTO website content has been updated recently with the information we have.

Diane is currently coordinating a communications volunteer committee; if you are interested, especially as a content or web design person, please contact her.

iii. Parent request: Update Longfellow PTO Website for descriptions of committees.

g. Kindergarten Liaison (Jen) i. There is a Facebook page: Longfellow Kindergarten Class of ‘21

ii. Weekly email – let her know if you have not received them: x jentop@gmail.com

VII. Upcoming Events

a. Fall Pictures: Friday, September 11th b. Fun Run Kick-Off: over the next 2 weeks; actual Fun Run October 16th c. Back-to-School Picnic: Friday, September 18th d. Parties At Longfellow Kickoff: Sunday, September 20th

VIII. 8:36pm Meeting Adjourned by co-President Niewoehner.

NEXT GENERAL PTO MEETING: November 18th at 7pm, Longfellow Library

Minutes compiled by Michelle Mangan, Recording Secretary