The Cookie Saga Continues

Delivery to the school is now expected between 10 and 11 am tomorrow, December 15. Volunteers are needed to help sort the boxes when the delivery arrives. Volunteers are also needed to assist with the after school pick up of 5:30 to 7 pm.

Please note that the morning pick up for parents has been canceled. Pick up of cookie orders for children with more than 5 orders will be tomorrow from 5:30 to 7 pm on Wednesday, December 15.

Any questions or if you would like to help, please contact Shannon Girard. Her contact information is on this page.

Cookies and Snow

Although it's not supposed to blizzard here in Winthrop, the snowy conditions in the rest of the country have delayed our cookie delivery. Stay tuned to the blog for delivery and pick up time updates.

The Cookies Are NOT Here!

Just wanted to inform you that due to inclement weather the cookie shipment has been delayed.  There is no need for anyone that had planned on helping with the breakdown and distribution of the cookie dough to come to the school today, December 14, 2010 for that reason.  We are expecting that the shipment will be arriving on Wednesday, December 15, 2010 but would like to confirm with the shipping company before scheduling any volunteers. 

The cookies have arrived. PTO volunteers will be organizing the orders today for pick up tomorrow. Orders of 5 or less tubs of dough will be sent home through your child. All other orders should be picked up from the Multi-purpose Room on Wednesday, December 15th. There are two pick up times available: 10-11:30a or 5:30-7p.

Guidelines for Giving to Teachers

December 1, 2010

To:       Room Parents

From: Cummings and Fort Banks

Re:      Teacher Gifts

With the holidays upon us, many Room Parents have expressed interested in coordinating group gifts for their respective teachers, however there is concern about the gift policy for public employees established by the state Ethics Commission.

In an effort to be consistent and ensure that no one is inadvertently put in an uncomfortable situation, we wanted to provide you with some information that you can use should you wish to solicit donations toward a group gift.

Effective December 2010, teachers have been granted an exception to the annual $50 gift maximum imposed on public employees. Below is an excerpt from the regulation which grants this exception:

A public school department employee is not prohibited from accepting a gift, or several gifts during the school year, from public school students and/or their parents and guardians, with an aggregated value of up to $150, if any such gift is identified only as being from the class, and the identity of givers and amounts given are not identified to the recipient.  Parents may also give gifts to the classroom or the school in accordance with the rules of the school district.  Gifts received pursuant to this exemption are not required to be disclosed because the givers are not identified to the teacher.  Public school department employees must disclose gifts received from individual students, parents, and guardians that are not class gifts as explained in 930 CMR 5.07.

Some teachers have expressed concerns about accepting any gifts, however the policy is very clear that there is no impropriety so long as group gifts that directly benefit the teacher remain below $150 for the year or group gifts are made with the intention that the teacher would use it toward the purchase of item(s) for the classroom (which then become property of the school) or the school. Ultimately, though, the decision to accept gifts is theirs.

This means you:

• Can request donations for group gifts, however any gift that directly benefits the teacher (i.e. isn’t intended to be used towards classroom supplies) must not exceed $150. You should consider any plans you may have for end of the year gifts, if any, as you plan your holiday gift.
• Should identify personal gifts as being from the class, and don’t individually identify donors by name.
• Can give gifts “to the classroom” in any amount, but you must make this clear to the teacher so that they can follow proper protocol for documenting the purchases associated with these gifts.
• Can give a combination of personal and classroom gifts, so long as they are identified appropriately. For example, if you receive $160 in donations, you could opt to give $100 as a personal gift and $60 as a classroom gift. This will leave $50 available for the class to give at the end of the school year, if they wish.

If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Silva at csilva8462[insert @ sign here]gmail.com.

Click here for State Ethics Commission statement.

Now that's a lot of dough!

Our cookie dough fundraiser was an enormous success! We sold well over 2000 tubs of cookie dough!!! We are expecting delivery the week of December 13th. We intend to have a morning pick up time and a late day pick up time for families to pick up their tubs. Stay tuned to our blog and your child's back pack mail regarding pick up times once we have a solid delivery date from the supplier. Congratulations and thanks go out to all the children, their families and the community at large who made this event an enormous success.

Next PTO Meeting is December 1st

Just a reminder: our next PTO Meeting is Wednesday, December 1st at 6:30 pm in the school cafeteria.

November Meeting Minutes

Click here for the print version.

Gorman Fort Banks’ PTO Meeting Minutes
November 3, 2010 8:30 AM
Board members in attendance: Dawn Manning, Cindy Silva, Jodee Harris,
Kristen Fainga’a and Jackie Drevos

Meeting was lead by Co-Vice President Cindy Silva and Co-President Dawn
Manning.

TREASURER REPORT: Jodie Harris
• Current Balance: $7952.20
• BINGO Fundraiser breakdown:
o $700.00- pre-sale orders
o $161.50- 50/50 raffle
o $211.00- bake sale
o $154.75- pizza
o $200.00 donation from MSA Mortgage to purchase prizes
§ THANK YOU MSA Mortgage

•

Upcoming expenditures:
o -$50.00- Motion was made and approved to allocate these
funds for the purchase of playground equipment
o - $30.00-Motion was made and approved to allocate these
funds for the purchase of cleaning supplies for Library use

VOLUNTEER UPDATE:

§

Cindy Silva spoke on behalf of Carolyn Gagnon.
o Thank you to all the volunteers!!!!
o Volunteers are needed for Tuesday, November 9, 2010 from 8:30-
10:00 to cover classrooms while teachers attend assessments
o Georgeanne Coleman and Cindy Silva will take over as the “Recycle
Rewards” coordinators. PTO will reach out to local businesses to
support this effort.

§

Cindy Silva and Dawn Manning discussed putting a “cap” on donation
requests from Room Parents for gift giving. The decided action plan is as
follows:
o Tanji Daigneault will contact the school department/Town Hall
regarding the exact language for the State’s Conflict of Interest Law
which restricts gifts in excess of $50.00
o Based on the above findings, Kristen Fainga’a suggested the PTO
create a general letter highlighting the policy to be provided to all room
parents to distribute at gift giving times.

LIBRARY UPDATE: Dawn Hurley
o Dawn was happy to report that Library is going great so far! Thank
you!
o The Fall Book Fair was a success! Fort Banks will receive $2868.84
in “Scholastic Dollars.” This money can only be used to purchase
Scholastic materials. This year it covered the cost of Scholastic News.
o It was recently noted that the library has a budget of $1200.00. Any
requests made by teachers/library need to be approved by Mrs.
Pearson.
o It was asked if the above budget can be used to purchase reference
materials.
o Based on MCAS scores, Mrs. Pearson would like to create a reference
section in the library. Dawn is asking library volunteers to set aside
any reference type book they may see at the library.
o A discussion was held regarding purchasing a new library rug. PTO
members will research rug options and will provide pricing to Dawn,
Mrs. Pearson and the PTO board.

FUNDRAISING UPDATES:

RECYCLE DRIVE: Cindy Silva and Georgeanne Coleman
o SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2010
o 8:00 AM -12:00 PM
o ACE WOODSIDE HARDWARE parking lot
o Will accept:
§ MA redeemable bottles and cans
§ Box Tops for Education
§ Laser and Ink jet cartridges
§ Unwanted cellphones
§ Campbell’s Soup Labels
*Christine Bernstein and Georgeanne Coleman asked to acknowledge Paul
Leavy of Ace Woodside Hardware to thank him for advertising for PTO events
on his sign and for the use of his parking lot. A “thank you” gift basket will be
put together and given to Paul on Saturday.

COOKIE DOUGH:
§ Shannon Girard sent in an update regarding the Fall Fundraiser:
o Brochures will be sent home on Monday, November 15, 2010
o Orders are due back on November 30, 2010
o Delivery will be the week of December 13, 2010

COATS FOR KIDS: Georgeanne Coleman
o It was decided that Fort Banks will not participate in the “Anton’s Coats
for Kids” program this year.
o This year, Fort Banks will hold a “Coat Drive” in support of local
families. May team up with local churches.

o Jodee Harris noted that the Winthrop Food Pantry is in need of men’s
mittens.
o Jodee Harris will contact Wendy Millar-Page of the First Church of
Winthrop to discuss this drive.
o We will ask Mrs. Pearson to reach out to any Fort Bank Family in
need.

BOX TOPS: Krissy
§ 6,495 box tops have been collected for a total of $ 729.50
§ Keep clipping!

RAFFLE: Winthrop Yacht Club, Night Before Thanksgiving Event
§ PTO will raffle off one of the following items at the WYC event
on November 24, 2010
o iPad
o Kindle
o Lottery Tree
o iPod touch
o TV

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
o Christine Bernstein inquired about the rent being paid by For Kids Only
to use Fort Banks. Where does this money go?
o We have not received any updates from Jeff Turco regarding the
questions/comments expressed at the October PTO meeting.
o Christine Bernstein reached out to Citizen’s Bank to support our
school but they cannot commit to a financial donation but will send
team members from the Revere Citizen’s Branch to our Recycle Drive
on November 6, 2010
o Tanji Daigneault expressed the idea to sponsor a snack cart after
school.
o Kristen Fainga’a and Jackie Drevos will send out fliers regarding the
creation of a school motto. Plan to kick off the new motto in the new
year.
o Dawn Manning suggested bringing back a general resource room
volunteer pool. This would require a volunteer to complete any
teacher requests left in the resource room, i.e. photocopy, correlate,
staple, cut, etc. PTO will create days and times for sign up. More to
follow.
o Dawn Manning acknowledged the fire fighters for painting the
schoolyard as a service donation to our school. THANK YOU
WFD! A Thank you from the kids will be created and sent to the Fire
Departments. Dawn brought the remainder of the baked goods from
Bingo night to the Fire Departments as a small token of appreciation.

.
UPCOMING EVENTS:

§

Dawn Manning discussed the grants she and Cara Huberman
wrote and submitted on behalf of Fort Banks. One grant is for the
group Manquito.
Dawn made a motion to approve $1300.00 in case the grant is
not approved to have the group Manquito from Young Audiences
come and perform. Motion was approved.

§

Remember, your thoughts and ideas are always welcome. Please email Marcie
Moline or Dawn Manning. Marcie: marcie@craftraft.com
Dawn: kmanningfamily@comcast.net

OR
Check us out at: http://www.fortbankspto.blogspot.com

Next PTO Meeting:

Wednesday, December 1, 6:30 PM

Meeting ended: 9:40 AM
Minutes compiled by: Jackie Drevos and Kristen Fainga’a

Cookies!!!!!!!!

Gorman Fort Banks School PTO 2010 Fall Fundraiser

The Gorman Fort Banks PTO is partnering with a program from Creative Fundraising Solutions
to raise much needed funds through the sale of Crazy About Cookies 2lb
Pail Gourmet Cookie Dough. Parents please support this fund raiser by helping
your student sell quality products from our brochure encouraging yourto friends,
family and your coworkers to purchase quality products from our brochure.
Teachers are welcome to join in the sale, too. Our success will depends upon
your participation-- we are hoping that each family will try to sell 10 or more
itemspails. We The PTO will earn 50% on the entire orderof all sales which will
be put towards enrichment, programming and other needs within the school!.

***Important Dates***

November 15, 2010-------Brochures will be sent home
November 15 - 29, 2010-------Sale will take place
November 29, 2010-------Return money and order forms
Week of December 13th------Expected delivery & distribution

Students will earn prizes for their participation through the Prizes - Extreme Prize
Program--Sell 1 item, get a prize. Sell 5, get 2 prizes. The more you students sell, the
more your childthey will receive in prizes.

Just a reminder:
Pre-Collect collect the moneyall payments for your orders as you sell. Make
money orders or checks payable to Gorman Fort Banks SchoolPTO. Cash
is accepted. Please enclose the correct amount of money in the envelope
provided. All money and order forms must be turned in on November 29, 2010.
We cannot extend the sale.

If you have any questions please feel free to call Shannon Girard at
781-979-2260.

Volunteers Needed on Tuesday, November 9

Help! We need volunteers for Tuesday morning November 9th from 8:30 am - 10 am to man the classrooms while there is a teacher training. Don't worry! The teachers will give you activities to do while they're away.
Please contact Carolyn Gagnon gagnon46[at symbol]comcast[dot symbol]net or leave your contact information in the comments and we'll be sure they get to her.

Clothing and Recycling Drive

Greetings to PTO, Gorman Ft. Banks Recycling Committee and other interested parties, 

These flyers (clothing drive and recycling) announce recycling drives taking place in the next couple of weeks to benefit the Gorman Ft. Banks School PTO.   Two clothing drives including one that is a combination of clothing, cans, bottles and other collections are outlined in these documents.  FYI, the Middle School PTO is also holding their annual clothing drive at the polls on election day, November 2.    

Please help to get the word out by passing along these flyers via email and hard copy.  Also, please consider printing these and posting them in yours or your friends' businesses, or just around town.  A good turnout will be the result of good networking and will result in more revenue for our schools.  

Additionally, we're asking that you reach out to a couple of businesses or venues to coordinate your own arrangements for delivery of cans, bottles, clothes, cartridges et al, to the Saturday, Nov 6th  drive.  If we each take a few establishments, we can get more folks involved and ultimately raise more money. 

Here is a suggestion:  Think recycling whenever you are out and about doing errands, whether its official business at town hall, shopping, grabbing coffee or sitting down for dinner somewhere.  Contacting restaurants, yacht clubs, bars, banks, church groups and any other private or public entities are all good venues.  FYI, I've already spoken to Nick's Pizza and will get to Crest Ave Pizza, both of these businesses routinely support our recycling efforts.  

Here is an interesting note- Christine Bernstein was at Citizens Bank today speaking to a bank representative on behalf of our schools.  While the bank employee wasn't able to provide any traditional business donations, she did support us with an offer to give us the bank's ink cartridges as well as some volunteers to help at our Saturday drive.  Bravo Christine!   Building rapport with local businesses will help in future endeavors like this.  

Last item - we need volunteers to help Friday morning Nov 5th at the Gorman and Saturday, Nov 6th at Woodside Hardware.  Please see flyers for times and let one us know if you are available.    

Feel free to respond with any feedback and thanks in advance to all you green-minded parents and teachers! 

Sincerely, 

Georgeane Coleman

Cindy Silva 

(co- chairs, Gorman Fort Banks Recycling Committee) 

Library

Our library is volunteer-run. If you would like to volunteer or help with other school activities, please contact us with you name and e-mail in the comments.



Please click here to view the class library schedule.

Spooky Bingo is SOLD OUT!

We had an overwhelming response to our Spooky Bingo pre-sale. We are SOLD OUT! We will not be selling tickets at the door. We hope you understand and appreciate your overwhelming support.

Stop & Shop A+ Rewards

Have you registered your Stop & Shop card to help our school using their Stop & Shop's A+ School Rewards program yet? If you signed up last year and chose Gorman Fort Banks as your school, you need to sign up again! That's right! You need to re-enroll as the program is only valid for the academic year. Sign up today!

Spooky Bingo Volunteers

We need a few more volunteers to help out for this Friday's Bingo:
o Need 3-4 more volunteers for tables

We Need volunteers to call numbers, use the projector and whiteboards. We are enlisting the support of our erstwhile co-president, Dawn Manning to be a caller. But we could always use back up.

Bake Sale – Shannon Girard sent email to Hospitality Committee requesting baked goods. If you would like to provide baked goods for sale at Bingo, please contact Shannon Girard by posting to the comments. It will then be forwarded to Shannon.

Spooky Bingo

Minutes from October 6 Meeting

Click here for a printable version of the meeting minutes.

GORMAN FORT BANKS’ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PTO MEETING MINUTES

WEDNESDAY, October 7, 2010

BOARD MEMBERS:  Co-Presidents: Marcie Moline and Dawn Manning, Co-Vice Presidents: Cindy Silva and Jill Dorr, Treasurer: Jodee Harris, Co-Secretaries: Jackie Drevos and Kristen Fainga’a

Special Guest:  Town Council President and School Committee member, Jeff Turco, was invited to speak on behalf of the School Committee.

                  Mr. Turco discussed the following topics:

·       current budget for the town and schools

·       the implementation of free, full day kindergarten and it’s benefits

·       Superintendent vacancy

·       Making improvements: are there ways to do things better? Are we using money wisely?

·       Current teacher contract Negotiations: School Committee met recently for 6 ½ hours will reconvene at Thursday’s Meeting, October 14, 2010

The following concerns were shared by PTO members:

·       Playground improvements

·       The “Loop” and safety concerns

·       Too many empty seats on the bus

·       DPW vehicles exiting and entering during drop-off and pick up hours

·       Why is there compost hours between 1:00 – 3:00 on Fridays

Jeff promised to bring all these concerns to the school committee and report back

The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for October 14, 2010 at 7:00PM

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

·       Mrs. Pearson personally thanked all the volunteers, especially Carolyn Gagnon and Kelly Parker, for their efforts in organizing this program.  Mrs. Pearson expressed her appreciation to all volunteers assisting in the loop, it enhances student safety immensely.

·       The teachers have temporarily suspended the “Work to School Rule”.   Teachers will be available from 7:55 – 2:15.  However this could change.

·       There is one position available for a site council volunteer.  It is a 1 year term.  At this moment, there is not a teacher representative due to contract restrictions.  There is also a community representative position open.  The community rep CANNOT also be a parent of a Fort Banks student.    If interested please contact the school office.

·       Mrs. Pearson expressed her wish to have an overarching theme for the school year.  Deferred to PTO member, Kristen Fainga’a to discuss further.

·       Christine Bernstein asked Mrs. Pearson for an update regarding For Kids Only and rent.  Currently FKO is paying a per pupil monthly fee, plus custodian fee.

·        

PRESIDENTS’ REPORT:

A member of the PTO requested the results of the Scholastic Book Fair.  A cash value of $1,200 was raised or a $2,800 “Scholastic Dollar” value.  Scholastic Dollars must be spent via a Scholastic Catalog. 

VOLUNTEER UPDATE:

Carolyn Gagnon thanked all the volunteers and informed everyone that she and Kelly Parker created a database to track the members and their duties.  Currently there are volunteers covering the following:

·       Morning traffic and school doors

·       TST meetings on Fridays from 10:00-11:20

·       Interim meetings

·       Common Planning Time, 1^st Tuesday of the month starting in November; in progress

A request was made for 2 more volunteers for the School Library from 10:40 – 11:40

There is a need to add 2-4 more volunteers to the pool.  Please contact Carolyn or Kelly.

Marcie Moline asked members their opinion regarding the posting of PTO volunteer’s email/phone # on the PTO blog.  It was agreed that a link and if possible, a password to a spreadsheet would be preferred.

FUNDRAISING FOR 2010-2011:

·       Crazy About Cookies:  Shannon Girard updated the PTO that the Crazy about Cookies fundraiser will begin before the Thanksgiving break and continue for 2 weeks.  The Cookies will cost $10 per tub which will earn a 50% profit for the school.  Each box will be delivered to the individual child per classroom.  Mrs. Pearson approved having some sort of “kick-off” fundraising mini-event.  Shannon will follow-up with Mrs. Pearson.

·       Raffle Tickets:  Christine Bernstein will work with Megan Noonan of the Winthrop Yacht Club in order to enter a raffle for an upcoming event being held the night before Thanksgiving.   Christine will research a raffle item and report back to the PTO.  A budget was not decided upon.

·       Clothing Drive:  Christine will meet with the Recycle Committee to derive a date.

·       Spooky Bingo:  Friday, October 22, 2010.  The PTO Executive Board along with several members will meet separately on Saturday at 9:00am to discuss the details.

o   Jackie spoke with Erin Flaherty at Saint Johns and requested 10^th grade volunteers for this event.

o   A Bake Sale will also be held at this event

o   It was requested to offer a “family rate” admission

·       Box Tops:  Krissy Mercer volunteered to be the point person.   A flyer will be distributed to the students by Monday.   There will be an overall school goal – goal to be determined by the Box Top Committee.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

                  Marcie Moline spoke on behalf of the Treasurer:  There were no updates.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

·       OOCHWORLD:  Friday, October 8, 2010 for grades 1-5

o   An anti-bullying program by Brett Outchcunis, please visit www.oochworld.com

o   Cost is being shared by Fort Banks and Cummings schools

o   Spooky Bingo is Friday, October 22^nd. Details will be forthcoming on the PTO Blog and in backpack mail.

ENRIGHMENT ACTIVITIES:

·       Dawn informed everyone of a musical group called Manquito, appropriate for grades 1-5.  They represent a variety of nationalities and backgrounds.  They will introduce students to the music of Latin America including the rumba and the Dominican meringue, while playing Latin musical instruments.  They have previously performed at the school.  Tentative dates:  1/13 or 1/27.  The cost is $1300 for 2 shows.

o   Jill Dorr will lead the enrichment group team.

o   Dawn updated the members of the Grants that are available through the Cultural Council.  The deadline for submitting grants is October 15.  Dawn has applied for several Grants through the Council.  Grants will not be approved until the beginning of January.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS:

·       Kristen shared an idea for a family activity.  The children would be given an assignment to work with their families at home on a School Motto.  More information to follow.

·       Co-Branding School Notices:  school notices would be “sponsored” by a company

o   Scott Kinsella volunteered to be the point person to lead and research this initiative

Please contact Dawn or Marice with any ideas, comments or feedback:

                  Marcie:  marcie[at symbol]craftraft[period]com

                  Dawn:  kmanningfamily[at symbol]comcast[period]net

Next meeting November 3, 2010 at 8:30am in the school cafeteria.

                                   

PTO Agenda for October 6, 2010 at 6:30 PM

·       Intro 2 minutes

o   Introduction of Board

·       Principal’s Report (Mrs. Pearson) 5 minutes

·       Treasurer Report Treasury (Jodee Harris)  1 minute

·       Schools Update by Jeffrey Turco, Town Council President and School Committee Member

o   Announcement: School Committee Meeting at the Cummings School on Thursday, October 7, 7 pm.

·       Volunteer Update (Carolyn Gagnon) 10 minutes

·       Posting on the website our PTO Member/Volunteer Committee Spreadsheet? (Marcie Moline)

·       Fundraising for 2010-2011 Academic Year 20 minutes

o   Crazy About Cookies by Creative Fundraising Solutions (Shannon Girard)

o   Raffle ticket sales at WYC event night  (Cindy Silva)

o   Clothing drive (Christine Bernstein)

o   Spooky Bingo, October 22 (PTO Exec Board)

o   Ongoing Fundraisers

§  Box Tops – would we like a school or class competition?

·       Enrichment Activities Report 5 minutes

o   Oochworld Comes to Fort Banks (Jackie Drevos)

o   Enrichment Planning should be happening now. Please work with Mrs. Pearson and the teachers to coordinate ideas with curriculum

·       School Motto(Kristen Fainga’a) 5 minutes

·       Reminder: Committees Should Start Planning

·       Interest in co-branding school notices (Cindy Silva, Dawn Manning, Marcie Moline) 10 minutes

·       New Business


CliClick here for the print version of the agenda

Lactaid Milk Available at Lunch Time

Is your child lactose-sensitive? Chartwells, our school's lunch provider, will keep Lactaid in stock if you provide a doctor's note to keep on file with the School Nurse. This is a terrific alternative to the juices and humdrum water currently available at the school. Please allow a few days between sending your child's doctor's note in to Nurse Feely and when the milk will be available.


According to the American Academy of Pediatrics' site HealthyChildCare.org, "juice consumption should be no more than a total of four to six ounces a day for children aged one to six years. This amount includes juice served at home. Children ages seven through twelve years of age should consume no more than a total of eight to twelve ounces of fruit juice per day." Click here for the Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs report.

Sign Up for Stop & Shop's A+ School Rewards

Setting the Agenda for October 6th Meeting

We're setting up the agenda for our next meeting on Wednesday, October 6th at 6:30 pm. Please submit your agenda requests to Marcie (at symbol) craftraft (dot symbol) com or post in the comments below by Saturday, October 2nd. Thank you!

Minutes from September 15, 2010 Meeting

GORMAN FORT BANKS’ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PTO MEETING MINUTES

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

BOARD MEMBERS:  Co-Presidents: Marcie Moline and Dawn Manning, Co-Vice Presidents: Cindy Silva and Jill Dorr, Treasurer: Jodee Harris, Co-Secretaries: Jackie Drevos and Kristen Fainga’a

Co-President Marcie Moline called the PTO meeting to order and invited Mrs. Pearson to share her report.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

Mrs. Pearson welcomed everyone to another school year.  She discussed the past Summer Reading initiative program that took place over the summer.

Mrs. Pearson also addressed PTO’s wish to have teacher participation at meetings.  Mrs. Pearson expressed that it is impossible to have teacher representation at morning meetings as that would require a substitute teacher to cover the teacher’s classroom in order to attend morning meetings.

Mrs. Pearson also expressed there is great need for volunteers!

                  VOLUNTEER REQUESTS EXPRESSED AT THE MEETING:

·       Carolyn Gagnon followed Mrs. Pearson by asking for morning volunteers to greet and assist with morning drop-off.  2-3 volunteers are needed per day from 7:45-8:00 AM.  A sign-up sheet was circulated.  Please contact Carolyn Gagnon or a PTO member if interested in volunteering.

·       Marcie Moline spoke on behalf of Jill Dorr.  5-10 volunteers are needed to retrieve the messages left on the Absentee Hotline voicemail starting at approximately 8:30.   This volunteer position allows parents to bring younger siblings and ensures the safety of our Gorman Fort Banks students.  Please contact Jill Dorr or a member of the PTO if interested.

·       Dawn Hurley expressed the need for Library Volunteers as well as volunteers for the upcoming Scholastic Book Fair.  Library Volunteers also allows you to bring  younger siblings to join you.  Book Fair cashier volunteers are needed on September 27, 28 and 29.  Please contact Dawn Hurley or the PTO board if interested in helping. 

·       Carolyn Gagnon also expressed the need for Friday morning volunteers to substitute in the classrooms from 10:00-11:30 AM Please see Carolyn Gagnon if interested.

PRESIDENTS’ REPORT:

Marcie Moline circulated a sign up sheet requesting parents to specify the areas they are interested in volunteering.  Cara Huberman will create a master list highlighting parents’ requests.

Marcie invited Cara Huberman to share her idea of having an ice-cream social.  Cara shared the idea of having an evening ice-cream social in conjunction with the fall book fair.  A vote was taken to post-pone until the spring. 

FUNDRAISING:

Marcie Moline invited Shannon Girard and Cara Huberman to share their ideas for fall/spring fundraisers. 

                  Shannon Girard offered the following three ideas:

·       Crazy About Cookies:  selling cookie dough

·       Keeping It Local:  Have local vendors sell goods at a vendor fair to benefit school

·       Kids Artwork:                  In collaboration with the art teacher parents could have their child’s artwork scanned onto various products: mug, mouse pad, wallet etc

Cara Huberman:

·       Good Earth Candle Company of Rowley: selling candles

·       New England Coffee Company of Malden:  selling coffee and tea

·       Harbor Sweets of Salem: selling gourmet chocolates

·       Maine Maple Products, Inc: selling maple products

PTO members expressed appreciation to Cara and Shannon for their research and diverse options. 

*It was voted to sell cookie dough.  Details to follow.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

                  As of September 15, 2010 the ending balance was:

·       $7493.60

o   $542.00 was raised during Spring Clothing Drive

o   -220.00 deposit to Oochworld

UPCOMING EVENTS:

·       OOCHWORLD:  Friday, October 8, 2010 for grades 1-5

o   An anti-bullying program by Brett Outchcunis, please visitwww.oochworld.com

o   Cost is being shared by Fort Banks and Cummings schools

·       SPOOKY BINGO:  Friday, October 22, 2010

o   Students come dressed in school appropriate costume.  Improvements will be made to allow for better sound and visuals.

o   Tickets will be sold in advance

ADDITIONAL ITEMS:

·       Room parents were selected at the end of meeting.  Room parents were later notified.

·       It was expressed to hold a clothing drive.  Christine Bernstein will look into logistics and dates.

·       Members expressed the possible need to create a fundraising sub-committee.

·       Carolyn Gagnon voiced the need to hold limited detailed discussions/comments to specific committee meetings.  This will help keep PTO meetings on target and time sensitive.

·       Marcie Moline asked for a volunteer to assist with updating the PTO blog to keep families informed.  Nikki Tsiotis graciously offered to help.

o   www.fortbankspto.blogspot.com

Please contact Dawn or Marice with any ideas, comments or feedback:

                  Marcie:  marcie (at sign) gmail (dot symbol) com

                  Dawn:   kmanningfamily (at sign) comcast (dot symbol) net

Next meeting October 6, 2010 at 6:30 PM in the school cafeteria.

                                   

PTO Agenda for Wednesday, September 15

Setting the Agenda for our First PTO Meeting

Our first PTO meeting for the academic year is Wednesday, September 15th at 8:30 am in the school cafeteria. It will be chock full of information and volunteer activities for the year. If you have agenda items for this upcoming meeting, please submit them in the comments no later than Saturday, September 11th. If your request does not make it into the September 15th meeting agenda, please feel free to contact the PTO Executive Board to discuss your request.

Kindergarten Tea for Parents and Guardians

Friday, September 3rd, from 8:30-9:30 a.m. is an opportunity for pre-k and kindergarten parents/guardians to get an overview of information that should be given to the school (i.e. access to nurse, lunches, etc.). This is also an informal opportunity to meet one another.

Kindergarten Social is Rain or Shine

Despite the weather, today's Kindergarten Social is rain or shine from 3 pm to 4:30 pm. We hope you can stop by. Click here for the school playground location.

Meet After School Program Representatives at the Kindergarten Social

We will have representatives from all the after school programs at this Sunday's Kindergarten Social. Ask your questions and pick up sign up forms from:

• For Kids Only
• Kathy's Place Youth Center
• Winthrop Parks & Recreation
• YMCA East Boston

Join us in the playground from 3 to 4:30 pm.

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Kindergarten Social

Click here to download a PDF of the flier.

If you have a child entering kindergarten at the school, you and your child are invited to a Kindergarten Social! Sunday, August 22nd from 3 to 4:30 PM. Come meet other parents and classmates. Network, exchange phone numbers and e-mails. Veteran PTO parents will be on hand to answer your questions and offer advice. After school program representatives will be available to answer your questions.

Please contact Marcie Moline or Kristen Fainga'a with questions about the event.

If you're on Facebook...

If you're on Facebook, please support the school by voting for the William P. Gorman Fort Banks Elementary school in the Kohl's Cares program on Facebook. Could you imagine how awesome the outdoor landscaping and playground could be with $500,000? Imagine the luxury of waiting to pick up your child under a roofed sidewalk that had nice evergreens to break the wind from the ball fields?

Summer Reading Program

Announcing the 2010 Summer Reading program. 






Click on the links below to download information about the program.

• Information and rules of the program
• Suggested Reading List
• Reading Log

Successfully complete the program and get a free cone from Twist n' Shake.

Many of the titles are available at the Winthrop Public Library to borrow. If they don't have it, you may request the book through their inter-library loan and the NOBLE network. Visit the Winthrop Public Library's website for hours, directions and their online searchable catalog. Also, check out Noble for Kids with child-friendly links to fun web sites and activities. 

Clothing Drive on Thursday, June 10 from 9 am until noon

Reduce Reuse Recycle

Recycling of textiles can help reduce our impact on the planet

It’s time to clean out your drawers and closets and recycle what you no longer have use for! We need your:

• Clothing
• All wearable clothing items, including coats and jackets
• Shoes
• Paired shoes (heels under 1.5”) and sneakers
• Accessories
• Pocketbooks
• Scarves
• Belts
• Linens
• Draperies & curtains
• Sheets, pillowcases, bed spreads, blankets & towels
• New & Used Toys
• Small, stuffed toys

Everything must be free of wetness, moisture, grease, mold, solvents or food waste.

Thanks, but no thanks. We can’t take any:
Appliances, bulky toys, single shoes, shoes with heels over 1.5”, winter boots, skates, gummies or flip-flops, rugs, carpets, pillows, electric blankets, industrial uniforms, disposable clothing, hospital or medical garments; diapers (of any type). Also, do not include other industrial textiles such as, painters’ drop cloths, theatrical curtains, textile waste, wiping rags and shop towels. We can’t take JUNK!

All of Winthrop is invited to bring their donation. The Fort Banks PTO thanks everyone for their participation in this fundraising effort!