Here are minutes from the November 2013 meeting.

Minutes

Woolwich PTA Meeting November 14, 2013

In Attendance:

Mr. Soule Julia Blackwell Jennifer Peavey

Karen Madden Lorna Brown Jennifer Bevans

Mary Moran Nathanial Johnston Mary Johnston

Darcy Emerson Kristen Cahill Danielle Namer

OLD BUSINESS

Box Tops- the latest drive eared us $840.00.  The next drive will involve the prize of a dance party with Mrs. Harrington.

Terra Cycle- Will do a mailing this month. 

Finance Committe-The school renovation bond passed.  

Genevieve-Sales were down this year with a total profit of $1882.05

69 students ordered this year opposed to 98 orders last year. 

Discussion-Future ideas for fundraisers?  Ask Teachers?  Survey Monkey? Promote fundraisers to teachers and students by making it go towards a specific activity or item. Create a pie chart to provide a visual in the Cafeteria to parents showing exactly what PTA funds go to (Lorna)

Pure Art- $1066.00 with $639.60 to go to Mrs. Devin's art program.

Halloween Dance-Raised $400 towards the purchase of the electronic sign. 

Shop Til You Drop- Currently have 35 vendors paid and another 15 expected to purchase a table.  Have secured 25 tables from the RSU and Danielle is able to get 25 from her work.

Deb Young will continue with the Goody Walk.  PTA will provide brown sandwich sacks and Deb has purchased boxes. 

Food at Fair-The 8th Graders will help with the goody walk and the food sales. Hot Dogs, Popcorn, snacks and drinks will be served and Leanne will take care of the purchase of food. 

Advertising for fair-Sandwich board with changeable numbers for dates. Times Record (press release is free) Forecaster, Cryer, Bath Community Television and Lincoln County Television. 

Meeting Adjourned- 7:14

VOTING DAY

Tuesday, November 5, is VOTING DAY. Of the many bond issues that you will face at the polls tomorrow, the RSU#1 School Renovation Bond is one of the more crucial in that it involves our children's future educational experience.  The RSU#1 site has all the information you need (polling locations and times, and background information)  Please take a few minutes tomorrow to cast your VOTE.  http://www.rsu1.org/

Maine Elementary PE Teacher of the Year

Please Congratulate Mrs. Harrington, our very own PE teacher, for being awarded the Maine Elementary School PE Teacher of the Year!

Imagine, if you will, the skills and challenges associated with managing a PE program spanning PreK, through 8th grade.  Then, consider rallying for Wellness, organizing many events revolving around fitness while coaching a remarkable jump-roping club.  Throw in countless emails and meetings and it's a wonder any single woman can pull it off with the grace and energy that she does.

She'll be humble, and give credit to other staff, volunteers and the community for helping her achieve this prestigious award.  But let's still give her a big high five.

Big, bountiful kudos to you, Mrs. Harrington! We are fortunate to have you.

What does your average weeknight look like from 6:00 to 7:00?  Are you just landing home from work and navigating homework and dinner details as you ref some sibling rivalry and pick up sweaty soccer clothes off the floor?  Does the notion of going out again to attend a public meeting sound about as thrilling as a getting a tooth pulled? Even if you had childcare, are there not dozens of other things to be done?

Of course there is.  We understand the pressures of working, parenting, and running a household.  But we still want to share with you any public meetings within the RSU that you may not otherwise know about.

This Thursday there is a public forum from 6:00-7:00pm at Morse High's Montgomery Theatre to discuss an upcoming Bond Referendum, that will go to the polls November 7.

There will be a presentation showing what has been identified as much-needed improvements at Morse High, along with some repairs at various RSU elementary schools.  The Superintendent, School Board and Facilities personnel will be available for questions and dates of other meetings that are open.

For more details, go to www.rsu1.org and look under "events."  More information will be available to you in upcoming weeks.

Enjoy this autumnal weather!

Boo!
The Woolwich Central Halloween Dance is returning, Friday, October 25, 2013 at 6:00pm!  This has been a K-5 hit in the past and we are already seeing the enthusiasm build.  The PTA welcomes parental help for chaperoning/overseeing to insure that all who attend have SAFE fun!  Please contact us, or join our event on Facebook at Woolwich Central School PTA!

Happy Friday! As your latest blogger, I want to say 'Welcome!' and thank you for stopping by the blog to check out latest news and happenings for the Woolwich PTA. I hope you and all your Wildcats are well and settling into the new school schedule.  Our meeting last night held record-breaking attendance! Including our 'celebrity' attendee, Mr. Soule.  A few seats were also occupied by  a handful of Dads! (After all it's not the Woolwich MTA (Mom's and Teacher's Association) So, thanks for the support, guys!

Because we do have a number of fundraisers and events coming up for the year, we ask your patience over the next week as we update our blog with last night's minutes and details.  I will say that because of the success and dedication of our group, we are able to fund important field trips and learning opportunities that are simply no longer supported in the RSU#1 budget.  We are creating smiles for our teachers and our kids, and quite simply, that feels great!

Have a great weekend, and stay tuned!...

Meeting Minutes April 11, 2013

6:00 Meeting called to order

Old Business

BOXTOPS: 3500 received so far for this drive.

BLACK OUT CURTAINS: will be hung the week after vacation

SWEET SHOPPE FUNDRAISER: A total of $541.42 in sales, of which we receive 25%.  Mr. Emerson’s class won with the most sales and each student will receive a wildcat water bottle.

COOKBOOK: Vote on pictures to use for section dividers

New Business

FUNDING REQUESTS:

1.       $80 for first grade for field trip transportation.  Vote: all in favor

2.       $275 for fourth grade field trip to museum in Augusta.  Vote: all in favor

ART SHOW:  Mrs. Devin needs help setting up and organizing for show on April 30^th from 5-7pm.  Mr. Soule approves a variety of foods being donated by PTA members.

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK:  May 6-10.  Volunteers selected days to donate food items, menu planned.  Ed expresses teacher appreciation for this event.

FALL FUNDRAISING:  Discussion about continuing the same fundraisers or changing it up.  Plan to contact Genevieves for info for October sale and discuss again in May.

BOOK SWAP: Happening June 7^th, Deb  organizing and distributing flyers

SCHOOL ADVISORY GROUP:  Tom speaks about SAG meetings and invites attendance to the meeting on April 23^rd at 6pm to discuss parking issues at WCS.

SCHOOL BOARD: Next meeting on budget scheduled for April 29^th.  Jeane speaks encouraging parents to attend and join her is voicing the need for another 5^th grade classroom teacher position at WCS.

GARELICK FARMS ART CONTEST:  Nathaniel brings this to our attention as a way to win money for the school.  Jen to forward info on to Mrs. Devin.

7:09 Meeting Adjourned.

Meeting Minutes March 8, 2013

Meeting called to order at 6:30

Old Business-

Terra Cycle-We need new bins for collection of juice pouches in the classroom. Kristen will shop around.

Sweet Shoppe Fundraiser-Mr. Soule had a discussion with some staff that were concerned about the candy sale conflicting with the Welless Policy.  After getting more information they ended up being OK with the sale.

The cards came printed with a message saying the student with the most sales would get a gift certificate to spend at the Sweet Shoppe.

Discussion- Does it send the wrong message to let a student buy a large amount of candy?  Could we change the prize to something such as a Wildcat watter bottle or coupon to the book fair.

Vote: All in favor to change the candy sale prize to a water bottle and/or gift card-Approved

Cook Book Fundraiser-We will do one more push for recipes to be submitted for the cookbook.  We hope to have them printed in time for Mothers Day.

Window Shades- The window shades are expected to be completed the week of March 11th.

Adopt a Book-Information is being sent home with students.

New Business-

Eat the Rainbow-Volunteers will be needed to help out cutting fruits and veggies.

Picture Day- Volunteers needed to organize classes.

Funding Requests;

Mrs. Moran has requested $345.00 for her 5th graders to participate in a Team Building Day at Chewonki. 

Vote: All in Favor-Approved

Mrs. Woodruff & Mrs. Keefe would like $239.00 to fund the Chewonki Program-"Mice to Moose"

Vote: All in Favor-Approved

Mr. Soule spoke about things that he would love to see for the school in the future including a portable scoreboard for the soccer field, a scrolling lighted sign to be  installed on the current sign.  A television for the cafeteria that would run slideshows and information for students to watch during lunch.

Meeting Adjourned- 7:20

May Meeting

 

 

***REMINDER*** 

The May PTA meeting will be held tomorrow, May 9th at 6:30pm at WCS.
There will be babysitting during the meeting, provided by 7th grade students. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

April Meeting

***REMINDER THAT THE MONTHLY PTA MEETING IS THIS EVENING AT 6:00 PM***

Meeting Minutes February 14, 2013

Minutes-Woolwich PTA

Meeting-February 14, 2013

OLD BUSINESS-

Pasta Fundraiser-The pasta fundraiser generated a profit of $506.19.

Window Shades-Danielle and Jennifer spoke with Diane Mitchell, a seamstress from Bath who gave us an estimate for the cost of making window covers for the classrooms.  We were looking for a shade that the teachers could easily roll down in the case of a lockdown. She gave us a price of $540.00 for 30 classroom door shades and 2 larger shades for two additional windows.

Vote-All in Favor of having the shades made by Diane Mitchell-unanimous

Cookbook-Mrs. Devon is going to have the kids draw pictures to be used as the dividers in our school cookbook.  The PTA will vote on the artwork to be used.

Box Tops-The football drive for box tops was a big success bringing in a total of $736.20.  The classroom that submitted the most box tops was treated to a football party with popcorn and a special visit from some members of the Morse High School Football Team.

Funding Request- Mrs. Luchies in the library has requested a donation in the amount of $150.00 to purchase books for the Book Club as well as the adopt-a-book program.

Vote-All in favor-unanimous

Chocolate Fundraiser- Jennifer and Danielle were sad to report that Mr. Fraser, the owner of the Bath Sweet Shoppe passed away.  They sent a condolence card to the family on behalf of the PTA.  Mrs. Fraser is a bit overwhelmed and is unable to do a chocolate order form as planned.  Instead she has offered to make a special WCS card for each student.  This card would give 25% of the sale of the chocolate go directly to the PTA.

Vote-all in favor-unanimous

Book Fair-At our next book fair we will be offering Scholastic Dollars to teachers that bring their classroom down to the book fair.

Treasurers Report-Stefanie informed the group of a balance of $XXXX.

Discussion-We discussed that for a such a small group we have a nice amount of money raised.  We brainstormed about how to drum up participation at our PTA meetings so it is not the same 10 people every month.   To keep putting on  some of the great activities (such as the Spooktacular Dance) we need more volunteers.  We discussed trying to encourage the cheerleading moms and dads to come over to the meeting while the girls are in practice  as well as doing invites via the PTA Facebook page.

Meeting Adjourned-7:17

Meeting Minutes January 11, 2013

Minutes-Woolwich PTA               

Meeting-January 11, 2013

Meeting called to order at 6:01

OLD BUSINESS

Box Tops- 2515 box tops were collected for the football drive.  A check for 257.50 will be issued from Box Tops For Education.

Pasta Fundraiser-Starts January 14th and will run through January 25th.

Discussion-possibility of doing either iTunes gift cards to be drawn or an iPod Shuffle raffle (for every three pasta items you sell, you get a ticket)

We will give the pasta samples to the winning classroom teacher.

Bath Sweet Shop- For our upcoming chocolate fundraiser the Bath Sweet Shop will be making custom candy sleeves with our school's logo. The orders will need to be in by March 1st and candy pickup will be March 18th.  The order forms will go out to students on February 15. The PTA will make 50% from this fundraiser.

Curtains-The PTA received a funding request from Mr. Soule asking for 30 curtains for the classroom doors that can be rolled down quickly in the event of a lock down. 

Discussion-Could we find a seamstress to make them so they are all uniformly done.  Does Mr. Soule want to have to install hardware on the new school doors?  Would a tension rod work? Jennifer and Danielle will get more information from Mr. Soule and we will discuss at our next meeting.

NEW BUSINESS-

Funding request- The 7th grade requested $70 from the PTA to  cover transportation costs for a field trip taken in December for the Production of Scrooge at the Chocolate Church. 

*Brief discussion over putting an e-mail out to staff to remind them the procedure and form needed to request funding before the event has taken place.

FAN NIGHT- The Wellness Committee will  put on a Family Activity Night on January 24th.

PTA Appreciation Family Night- The PTA would like to offer a free event this spring to show appreciation to parents and students for their support in all of our fundraisers.  We would like to offer different activities, games, crafts, Rubik's tournament, dancing etc.  We will discuss more at our next meeting. 

Cookbook-We need more recipes for our cookbook.  We will submit another prompt in an upcoming newsletter.

Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012

Minutes-Woolwich PTA                               

Meeting-December 13,2012

Meeting called to order at 6:03

OLD BUSINESS-

Box Tops- The box top contest is in full swing with a football theme this year.  Every 100 box tops are equal to one touchdown.  The classroom with the most touchdowns will get a visit from the Morse football players.  This drive will be ending right around the Super Bowl.

Terracycle-A check for 85.00 was collected for juice pouches and another large shipment has just been sent. 

Shop Till You Drop- We had 52 vendors and made $773.67 less the cost of table rental and the cost of the iPod shuffle for the raffle.

Discussion-It was suggested that we do a fair punch card next year for shoppers to have punched at each craft fair where they can receive a cup of coffee.  This could promote fair hopping to encourage people to visit all the local craft fairs.  It was also suggested that the day be extended by one hour in the am or pm to allow for more shopping time.

Cookbook-Need to put out a request for more recipes.

Treasurers Report-Stefanie reported $XXXX in the PTA's account.

Scholastic Book Fair-The book fair generated around $3000.00 in sales.   The profits will allow us to provide books for the 6th, 7th and 8th grade book club as well as books to give at the RTI breakfast or for students who's families cannot afford books.    Looking for ideas on how to get books to the students that need them most without them feeling singled out.

Door Closer- No updates from the office.

New Business-

Gretchen S. spoke to the PTA to address her concerns about internet safety and her desire to put together a group or offer a blog to give support to students and parents regarding internet safety. She wants to let parents know what's out there for social media and discuss what other parents are doing to keep their kids safe.  Karen suggested we do a survey to see how many parents would be interested.  Jennifer said she would chat with Mr. Soule and get his thoughts and report back next month.

Wellness- A Family Activity Night is planned for January 17th. 

Meeting Adjourned at 6:55

Meeting Minutes November 8, 2012

Minutes

Meeting-November 8, 2012

Meeting called to order at 6:03.

OLD BUSINESS

Box Tops- Received a check for $1723.00 for box tops submitted.

Discussion- Winter drive involving a contest where each class has a string of lights and receives a light bulb for every 10 box tops collected.  Prize for the class with the most lights will be sleds and outdoor snow toys.

INK- We have earned 51.00 to Staples that will expire this month. Tracy will purchase paper to replenish Betsy's supply and buy items for the teacher bags that are given in the spring.

GENEVIEVE- Students sold $6669.35.  The PTA will receive $2137.23.  $273.53 will go towards the MT. Blue trip. 923.93 was earned by the 8th graders to be put towards the DC trip.  Four prizes were given to students who sold the most items.  The prizes were; an iPod, Red Claws tickets, a ride to school in a firetruck & a ride to school in a sheriff car.

PURE ART- A profit of $924.60 was made.  The K-5 sales were to be given to Mrs. Devin's art program.  The sales for grade 6 go towards the Mt. Blue trip & the 7-8th graders profits go towards the DC trip.

Halloween Dance- PTA members and office staff received some feedback from parents over their disappointment over the absence of the Halloween dance this year.   The PTA needs more volunteers to put on successful dances that keep the kids busy with activities while ensuring that they do not get hurt.  We would like to plan a Community Appreciation Night for January where we offer  game stations with Wii Dance games, Bingo and possibly a movie (pending Tom's approval).

NEW BUSINESS

Funding request-  Betsy and Mr. Soule are asking the PTA to fund a hydraulic door closer for the office.  The estimate submitted was in the amount of $410.00 (door part $360.00 & labor $50.00).  A discussion followed and we all agreed that Betsy is the glue that holds the school together and we want to keep her happy but would like to find out if there is a less expensive alternative and if we could find a parent to donate the labor.   Questions asked; Does this impact the kids?  Does it follow our mission statement for the PTA?

Funding request-Name plates for the entrance to all classrooms.  Jennifer did some research and found a company that will sell the name plate and bracket for 13.00 each if you provide a link to their web site on our PTA web site.   Questions brought up were; Is it a quality product?  How long will the link appear on our web site?  and are their any products sold from this site that we would not want to be associated with?  Jennifer has requested a sample for us to look at.  Tracy will check with Staples and see if we can use our credits to purchase the name plates through them.

Shop Till You Drop- Scheduled for December 1st. We will need set-up volunteers, early morning check in volunteers, volunteers to take down tables and clean up after the fair and volunteers to work the Book Fair.  Discussion about weather we should provide food for the vendors and patrons?  Could we have a food truck come?  Could we have the 7th grade provide the food?  Deb Y. will run the goody walk.  We will send out flyers asking for baked goods and snack donations for the walk. 

Maxine F. has a suggestion for the PTA that we hold a Holiday Shopping Exchange for the younger grades at school. This gives the kids a chance to feel proud to shop on their own and have a small wrapped present to present to family members.  We would collect donations of small items for the sale that would be sold from .25cents to $1.    We agreed that their is not enough time to put this together for this year.

VOTE: all in favor to table this item until September 2013.  Approved

Pasta Fundraiser-This will run from January 14-25.

Chocolate Fundraiser-This will run from March 4-15.  Chocolate can be picked up the Thursday night before Easter.

Cookbook Fundraiser-Jennifer had two samples of cookbooks for us to view.  Faculty and school Families submit their favorite recipe for us to compile a cookbook to be sold. The first 4 pages in the front can be about your school.  Student art work can be submitted for each category in the cookbook.  They will be sold for between $10 & $14 dollars. We are hoping to make $6 on each book sold.   Would like to have recipes collected and submitted in April for cookbook delivery near Mothers Day.  A form will be sent home with all students to fill out their recipe on.

A question was raised about the check in the amount of $1000.00 given to the Parson family for the purchase of a new sound system last Spring.  The Parsons returned the check and let us know that the speaker was already broken  before we borrowed it for our dance.

Meeting adjourned 7:15PM