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Fall Conference Meals

To show our appreciation, the PTO will be providing snacks and drinks for the staff during the week of fall conferences as well as a dinner on Thursday evening.  We are looking for volunteers to donate various snacks, drinks, and homemade treats.  Please go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44afac2aa4fa7-fall2 to sign up!  

October 12, 2015, PTO Meeting Minutes

To view the minutes from our September 14, 2015, PTO meeting please go to:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_-TcI1S4ujhgR7wR3B-pWf55fx2-9tScT03Dcpvw4B4/edit?usp=sharing

For the accompanying agenda/slide show please go to:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1CohVAXrEgRa3Ts1_Wn250bBUCu4yNkKw6DndE5VNVUY/edit?usp=sharing

September 14, 2015 PTO meeting minutes

To view the minutes from our September 14, 2015, PTO meeting please go to:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yL-rS_yasWIr47poyXWe-yOBVctEjiTycXhcpDn513w/edit?usp=sharing

For the accompanying agenda/slide show please go to:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_6hqepaIyZAmANjeaVxFQClKRxiKkblyqqKomJlIHS4/edit?usp=sharing

District PTO Directories

15-16 Waukee District PTO Student Directory

The PTO District-Wide Student Directory is a helpful tool that provides contact information for fellow students, schools and other community members. The directory is made available for personal use by school district families and staff and is not intended for business solicitations.

To be included in the directory, you must complete the online entry form by September 18th, 2015.  

Information received will not be edited and will appear in the book as entered online.

If you would like to order a directory, the cost is $10.00 per directory, and payment will be received through Paypal.  You may order a directory when completing the entry form or via the online order form.

Visit the following link to enter student information and order a directory:

https://waukeedistrictpto.wufoo.com/forms/waukee-district-pto-directory-entry-form-1516/

To order a directory without entering any student information click here:

https://waukeedistrictpto.wufoo.com/forms/waukee-district-pto-directory-order-form-1516/

Please note:

Listings will be by child’s LAST name. Children in the same home with different last names will have separate listings.

Parent 2 information section needs to be filled out ONLY if the child resides between two residences.

A national, secure server supports the data entry system. Data information will be kept private and will not be accessible online.

Purchasing a directory is optional.  You may submit your child’s information to the directory without placing an order.

If you have questions, please email: waukeedistrictpto@gmail.com

2015-16 School Supplies

There is still plenty of time to order school supplies for next year.  Remember, every single sale means money directly to the school!  

https://www.educationalproducts.com/ShopPacks/

April 20, 2015 PTO meeting minutes

Waukee Elementary/Vince Meyer Learning Center

       PTO Meeting – Monday, April 20th, 2015

Agenda:

• Welcome and Introductions
• Treasurer’s Report
• Committee/Program Updates/Year in Review
• PTO Openings
• Update from Ms. Tjaden
• Questions/Comments

In attendance: 10 parents/staff

Treasurer’s Report

We have spent $7,137 of the $9,804 budget for the year.  As a reminder, the PTO also presented Ms. Tjaden with a check for $10,000 in January.

A summary of the year’s events is outlined below for each committee for the 2014-2015 school year.

Activities:

• Movie night – Maleficent (100 attending)
• Family Fun Night – basket raffle and various fun events
• Science Fair (45 students participating)

Book Fair:

• Total sales: $10,000 or approx. 2180 books sold
• Roughly 290 books sent to classrooms and WE library
• $117 in coins from Under the Sea coin drop game
• $2,160 in profits going toward future author visit

Conference Meals:

• Fall: Gusto pizza for main meal with parent donations of drinks and snacks
• Spring: Baked potato bar from Iowa Machine Shed for main meal with parent donations of toppings, drinks and snacks throughout the week

Fine Arts:

All grades attended a show at the Civic Center as part of their Applause series.  The following shows were attended by each grade:

• Kindergarten: Stella, Queen of Snow
• 1-2: Peking Acrobats
• 3: Schoolhouse Rock
• 4: Adventures of Robin Hood (last class to go May 20th)
• 5: Peking Acrobats

Emily Colwell, Fine Arts Chair, and LuCinda Beltman will be attending a preview of next year’s shows with the chance to purchase tickets for next year’s Fine Arts activity before the tickets go on sale to the public.  

Fundraising:

• Two different options were offered this year: Save Around booklet and Club’s Choice
• In total, we raised just over $16,000 and students attended an AcroDunk assembly as a reward for their efforts
• As for next year, we are in a contract with Bob for Club’s Choice, but we do have the option to do Save Around book next year
• Considering two additional options for next year: local restaurant fundraising nights where a portion of sales goes to the school and a Waukee Elementary Fun Run

Gardening:

• Recently worked on front bed to uncover 15 plants
• Repaired metal planters at front entry
• Will add potting soil to all planters
• Working on date to plant flowers with special education students in May

Ms. Tjaden said a group of 5th grade students also wanted to get involved with the reading garden to give something back.  They came up with an idea to build a “little free library” (for more information on this concept, click here.)  This is a concept where the community can share their favorite books.  They worked with a teacher at Vince Meyer and Ms. Tjaden’s brother, an industrial tech teacher at the high school, to design and build the library.    

In addition, the art leadership group, along with Mrs. Doud, is planning to install artistic poles as a tribute to each of the 7 habits.  

Membership: No update this meeting.

Party planning: Parties are complete for this school year. There were 3 parties:

• Fall: costumes, games S’mores and crafts
• Winter: donated blankets and scarves for YESS, Cards for elderly and deployed troops and wrapped 350 books for distribution to children plus snacks, games, and crafts
• Valentine’s:  frosted cookies, candy, games and traded Valentine’s cards

Teacher Appreciation:

• Purchased a copy of The Leader in Me for each teacher

Yearbook:

• Roughly 320 sold
• Delivery in May

Program Updates:

Box tops – $2,648.20 earned from winter drive which was paid to our school on 4/15 with the total for the year at $4,709.29

Labels for Education – Earned 35,000 points for teachers to order school merchandise; order will be placed the first part of May

2015/2106 PTO Openings:

• Fundraising Co-Chair
• Gardening Chair
• Yearbook Chair

Please consider volunteering as without volunteers for Gardening and Yearbook, these committees will not be formed for next school year.  Contact LuCinda Beltman if you can donate your time and talents to these important committees.

Update from Ms. Tjaden:

• Boundary Committee:  New boundaries must be formed due to the opening of a new elementary school.  The public forum was held this past week to seek community input.  A formal board-appointed boundary committee will meet this Spring and Fall with recommendations shared before winter break.  We have 3 parent reps for Waukee Elementary on the committee, and they, in conjunction with the rest of the committee and an outside consultant, will consider feedback from the community and their own ideas around priorities (keeping neighborhoods intact, keeping the same feeder schools, diversity of the student building population, how long boundaries in place, etc.) to come up with the boundary recommendations.
• For next school year, 5th grade will be back at Waukee Elementary.  
• Mrs. Ferguson is on maternity leave; she will be out the rest of the school year.  For next fall, Mrs. Ferguson will be moving to Walnut Hills (and Vince Meyer) to be their assistant principal.  We will be sharing an assistant principal with Eason Elementary – Matt Robee.  There are various other staffing changes underway too, and Ms. Tjaden will send a note in the fall about these staffing changes.  
• The Leader In Me effort has been very successful this year.  One aspect the teachers have discussed is how to collaborate with the community and local businesses to a greater degree.  However, before asking for their assistance, the school wanted to showcase all the great work and impact being seen from the Leader In Me program so they could see first-hand how the program is working.
• The team will be hosting a Leadership Day on April 30th, which will highlight the Leader In Me efforts.  Throughout the day, local business representatives will see presentations, student performances, visit classrooms, etc. to learn more about the seven habits and how it’s having an impact at Waukee Elementary/Vince Meyer.

Closing comments from LuCinda, PTO Vice President:

A big thank you to each and every one of you who has helped make this year such a success!

Feburary 23, 2015 PTO meeting minutes

Waukee Elementary/Vince Meyer Learning Center

        PTO Meeting – Monday, February 23rd, 2015

Agenda:

• Welcome and Introductions 
• Treasurer’s Report 
• Committee and Program Updates 
• PTO Openings 
• Dates to Remember 
• Questions/Comments 

In attendance: 7 in attendance

Welcome and Introductions

Treasurer’s Report 

We have spent $6,710 of the $9,804 budget thus far this year.

Activities: Family Fun Night was a success, and the net spend was only $90. The only
concern expressed was waiting in lines.  Discussions are underway for next year’s
planning.  The Waukee YMCA has offered to partner with us on an event, so this will be an
option to consider.

Book Fair: The book fair will take place during the upcoming conference session running
Feb 25-March 5.  The book fair will be held in the Waukee Elementary media center.
There are still a few volunteer spots available, so please consider signing up.

Conference Meals: We will be getting baked potatoes from Iowa Machine Shed and
asking parents to donate toppings.  There are still options to donate, especially for Vince
Meyer.  If it’s easier, you can still send donations to WE for Vince Meyer; just label it
accordingly, and we will make sure it gets to Vince Meyer.

Fine Arts: No update this meeting.  Plans are to continue the performance events for all
grades again next school year.

Fundraising: The school recently enjoyed a performance by Xtreme, a dunking basketball
troop.  This performance was made possible by the fundraising efforts by students.  For
next year, we will also be going with Club’s Choice given the 2-year contract we signed.

Gardening: No update this meeting.

Membership: No update this meeting.

Party planning: Parties are complete for this school year.

Teacher Appreciation: No update this meeting.

Yearbook: Yearbook orders are being taken now.  The deadline to order a yearbook is
March 6th.  There are options for the standard or a personalized cover again this year.

Program Updates: 

• Box tops – Program updates: $2200 collected from January competition for Box Tops (proceeds likely to replace a faulty iPad cart from 4th grade and possibly look to add another).

• Sunny D, Pizza Ranch, Tyson, Labels for Education – please continue to send in program labels.  

PTO Openings:

The following open positions remain at the district and building levels.  The PTO needs
your talents.  Please consider volunteering:

• District PTO Secretary
• Building Secretary
• Fundraising Co-chair
• Gardening Chair
• Yearbook Chair
• Tyson and Pizza Ranch Coordinators

Upcoming Dates:

• Science Fair: February 24th 6-7:15pm
• Book Fair: February 28th through March 5th 
• Apparel orders: flyers will be going home with students soon to give families the option to order Warriors apparel (adult and youth sizes).  All orders and funds handling will be completed online.  Proceeds from orders will be used to offset the cost of renting inflatables for Field Day. 
• PTO Slate Vote: April 7th at the Waukee Library 

Next PTO Meeting: Monday, April 20th at 7pm in the Media Center; at this meeting, Ms.
Tjaden will provide a final update regarding the Leader in Me program and activities.

January 26, 2015 PTO meeting minutes

Waukee Elementary/Vince Meyer Learning Center

        PTO Meeting – Monday, January 26, 2015

Agenda: 

• Welcome 
•  Treasurer’s Report 
• Committee and Program Updates 
• 2015/2016 Openings
• Dates to Remember
• Questions/Comments 

In attendance: 12 in attendance

Treasurer’s Report 

We have spent $4,266 of the $9,794 budget thus far this year leaving $5,528.  In addition,

the PTO was pleased to present Ms. Tjaden with a check for $10,000 for school purchases

from the PTO budget.  

Activities: 

• Family Fun Night is Saturday, February 7th. We will have a basket raffle with themes by grade level as in prior years, and the event will be held at Waukee Elementary.  In addition, local businesses have donated money to purchase big ticket items that will be part of the raffle. 
• We are also planning some activities for the families, including: a duck pull, balloon twisters, face painting, a photo booth, photos with cut-outs, and put-put golf.  The book fair will have a table at the event, and we will have a table selling spirit wear.  
• The group is looking for additional volunteers to help with Family Fun Night.  Any help will be appreciated.  Please refer to the email with the sign-up genius link or the link is also referenced on the flyers sent home with students.  

Science Fair: 

• The Science Fair will be held on February 24th.  Applications are due February 5th,

Book Fair: 

• The book fair will take place during the second conference session running Feb 28-March 5.  The book fair will be held in the Waukee Elementary media center.  Volunteers can sign up via sign-up genius which will be going out soon.  This year’s theme is “Under the Sea: Explore an Ocean of Books”.

Fine Arts: The 1st and 2nd grades will be traveling to the Civic Center to watch the Peking
Acrobats on February 12th.  The 5th graders will be also attending this show on February 13th.

Fundraising: No update this meeting

Gardening: No update this meeting.

Membership: No update this meeting.

Party planning: The Valentine’s Party will be held in classrooms on Friday, February 13th.
As a reminder, candy cannot be given with the valentines.  The classrooms will receive approved treats.

Teacher Appreciation: No update this meeting.

Yearbook: No update this meeting.

Program Updates: 

• Box tops – Please send in your box tops for the competition between classes for next month.   
• Sunny D – no update
• Pizza Ranch, Tyson, Labels for Education – no update 

Openings:

The following positions will be open for the 2015-2016 school year:

• District PTO secretary
• Building PTO secretary
• Gardening Chair
• Yearbook Chair
• Box Tops, Tyson, and Pizza Ranch Coordinators 

Please consider volunteering for the PTO for one of these important positions.


Upcoming Dates:

• Family Fun Night: February 7th 6-8pm
• Valentine’s Party: February 13th  
• Science Fair: February 24th 
• Book Fair: February 28th – March 5th 

Additional announcements from Ms. Tjaden:

• Dr. Wilkerson took a recommendation to move 5th grade students back to WE next year and to move Walnut Hills 5th graders to Vince Meyer.  This is due to the growth in the number of students at Walnut Hills relative to the growth at Waukee Elementary. No action will be taken until February when the school board will review this recommendation.  
• The Waukee School board will also appoint a boundary committee this spring to review boundaries for the elementary schools.  This will, in turn, impact the middle schools due to the feeder pattern where certain schools feed into Waukee Middle School and the others feed into South Middle School.   
• Additional topics discussed in Dr. Wilkerson’s district bulletin included: school start date and the supplemental aid the governor is considering for school funding at 1.25%.  This is not nearly enough.  4% would be a great increase, but we really need 6%.  Please email your members of congress to discuss this important issue and advocate for greater funding levels to support our schools.  In addition, Dr. Wilkerson shared that Waukee receives $6,125 per student, but the amount is set in October from the prior year’s enrollment.  Due to enrollment increases, we are educating over 400 students without funding creating an additional economic strain on our schools.  
• Finally, Ms. Tjaden shared a song about the 7 habits written by a member of the 5th grade staff, Jason Dean, and 5th grade student, Molly McGinness.  It was very impressive!  The song will be shared with students at a future assembly.  

Next PTO Meeting: Monday, February 23rd at 7pm in the WE Media Center.

November 25, 2014 PTO meeting minutes

 Waukee Elementary/Vince Meyer Learning Center

        PTO Meeting – Monday, November 24^th, 2014

Agenda:

·         Welcome and Introductions                                                          

·         Treasurer’s Report  

·         Committee and Program Updates                        

·         Dates to Remember

·         Questions/Comments        

In attendance: 10 in attendance

Welcome and Introductions

Treasurer’s Report

We have spent $2,595 of the $8,400 budget thus far this year. 

Activities:

·         Movie Night was a success.  Attendance was down a bit, but we still had an estimated 100 attending. 

·         Family Fun Night planning is underway with the date set at Saturday, February 7^th. We will have a basket raffle with themes by grade level as in prior years.  We are also planning some activities for the families.  More information will be coming as additional details are finalized.  The event will be held at Waukee Elementary.

·         The group is looking for additional volunteers to help with Family Fun Night.  Any help will be appreciated.  Please let Alysha Mash or LuCinda Beltman know if you are interested. 

Book Fair: The book fair will take place during the second conference session running Feb 25-March 5.  The book fair will be held in the Waukee Elementary media center. 

Conference Meals: Gusto Pizza Co. gave us a discount on pizzas for teacher conference meals.  We also received generous parent donations of salads, snacks, and drinks. 

Fine Arts: No update this meeting.

Fundraising: This year’s fundraiser is complete.  The total net proceeds were just over $16,000.  The fundraising committee would like to thank all the parents for their assistance and for the successful fundraising delivery process that ran very smoothly this year.

Gardening: The reading garden is complete and looks great.  Mrs. Tjaden also recruited help from the groundskeeper to put up new pavers at the front entrance.

Membership: No update this meeting.

Party planning: Planning is underway for the winter parties which will be held on December 19^th.  A portion of each of the parties (approx. 20 minutes) will be dedicated to a student service project.  The Kindergarten and 1^st grader students will be making well wishes cards for after the holidays. 

The Kindergarten cards will be sent to a local nursing home, and the 1^st grader cards will be sent to a troop in the armed forces out of St. Joseph, Missouri.  The 2^nd graders will be making tie scarves, the 3^rd graders child-sized tie blankets, and the 4^th graders larger blankets.  These items will be donated to the YESS (Youth Emergency Shelter Services) and the local police department.  The 5^th graders will be wrapping donated books (approximately 300).  We will be asking parents to donate wrapping paper.  These books will also be donated to a local charity. 

To prepare the materials for these service projects, we will be looking for volunteers to cut the flannel for the tie scarves and blankets.  Please watch for a message to come out about this shortly and the meeting to be held the first week of December.

The remainder of the party will include a game and a snack.  Please share any ideas you have for games or snacks. 

Teacher Appreciation: No update this meeting.

Yearbook: No update this meeting.

Program Updates:

·         Box tops – Please send in your box tops, or you can save them for an upcoming competition between classes to be held in February.  More info to come on this. 

·         Sunny D – Please send in all your Sunny D labels soon.  The book spree ends the end of this month. 

·         Pizza Ranch, Tyson, Labels for Education – no update

Upcoming Dates:

·         Winter Party: December 19^th

·         Family Fun Night: February 7^th

Next PTO Meeting: Monday, January 26^th at 7pm in the Media Center

October 27, 2014 PTO meeting minutes

Waukee Elementary/Vince Meyer Learning Center

        PTO Meeting – Monday, October 27^th, 2014

Agenda:

·         Welcome                                                      

·         Treasurer’s Report/Budget Update                                              

·         Committee Reports

·         Additional Announcements

·         Upcoming Events   

·         Questions/Comments        

In attendance: 20 parents/teachers

Leader In Me Book Discussion:

Prior to the official PTO meeting, Mrs. Tjaden facilitated a discussion of the book, Leader In Me.  The first two chapters were covered through conversation about how the idea got started, what it means to be a Leader In Me school, and efforts underway at WE/Vince Meyer. Our school is one of only 3 schools in the District who have earned this designation and are leading students through this valuable program.  This “book club” will continue starting 30 minutes before the official PTO meeting in November.    

Welcome:

This was the second official PTO meeting of the year.  Much work is already underway, and we are off to a great start to the school year.

Treasurer’s Report/Budget Update:

We have a budget of $8,408 for the year.  The budgeted amounts by committee are as follows:

Committee	Budgeted Amount
Activities	$3,210
Book Fair	$850
Conference Meals	$500
Fine Arts	$1,250
Fundraising	$100
Gardening	$300
General Fund	$568
Party Planning	$500 + asking for $3 per student
Teacher Appreciation	$1,130
TOTAL	$8,408 (plus $3/student for party costs)

Program and Committee Updates - committee updates were provided by each committee chair, or if absent, by the PTO President, LuCinda Beltman. 

Activities:

·         Movie Night will be held on November 14^th in the Waukee Elementary gym.  The Disney movie, Maleficent, will be shown.  The event will be similar to last year where we’ll serve popcorn, candy and water.  Students can wear their PJs and bring blankets to “camp out” on the gym floor to watch the movie and enjoy a snack.  The doors will open at 6:15pm, and we plan to have Kid’s Bop music for the students to enjoy and dance to before the movie begins.  

·         Family Fun Night will be on Saturday, February 7^th at Waukee Elementary.  Activities will take place in the gym, cafeteria, and in the hallways.  Various activities, including the themed basket raffle and family games are planned. 

Book Fair: The book fair will take place during spring conferences occurring Feb. 25 - March 5.  The book fair will be held in the Waukee Elementary media center.  A sign-up will go out the first of the year to request volunteers for set-up, working at the book fair, and tear-down. 

Conference Meals: We were able to secure a significant discount from our local Gusto Pizza Co. to provide pizza and salad for the teachers during conferences.  We will soon be asking for parents to donate drinks and desserts. 

Fine Arts: Again this year, students will be attending live performances at either the Temple Theatre for the Performing Arts or the Civic Center at a cost of $1 per student.  As shared in last meeting’s notes, the shows by grade level and dates of attendance are as follows:

Grade	Show	Date
Kindergarten	Stella, Queen of Snow Two children discover the world of winter in this charming story told through whimsical puppetry.  Adapted from the award-winning STELLA and SAM books	Nov. 6th
1st Grade/2nd Grade	Peking Acrobats Based on the ancient Chinese tradition from more than 2,000 years ago, the Peking Acrobats perform astounding acrobatic feats accompanied by live music.  This group holds a world record for balancing 6 people on 6 chairs, 21-feet high.	Feb. 12th
3rd Grade	Schoolhouse Rock Live! Megahits like “Conjunction Junction”, “Just a Bill”, “Interplanet Janet”, and “Three is a Magic Number” explode onto the stage for a whole new generation.	Nov. 4th
4th Grade	Adventures of Robin Hood In a forest somewhere near you, a band of brothers seeks to rid the land of evil and return hope to the poorly treated.  Fire up student imaginations with this clever and unexpected take on Robin Hood.	May 20th
5th Grade	Peking Acrobats	Feb. 13th

Fundraising: This year, we had two different fundraising options in the packets – the Save Around booklet with local merchant coupons as well as the traditional Club’s Choice.  For the Club’s Choice orders, we will have a pickup night on Wednesday, November 12^th from 3:30pm to 6:00pm.

The totals are still being determined, but we have estimated collecting around $34,000 in orders and cash donations.  Our profit margin from the food sales is 40% and from gift wrap and other items is 50%.  The coupon booklets also have a margin of 50% equating to roughly a 45% margin overall or $17,000 in profit.  This is slightly higher than our profit in recent years.  We still have 120 leftover Save Around books we may try to sell. 

Parent feedback about the fundraiser was positive and parents liked the option of the Save Around books.  There was one issue with misprints of the books, but this has been addressed, and there was a question about whether local locations of merchants like McDonalds and Subway would honor the coupons even though Waukee wasn’t listed as a location that will honor the coupons.    Bob, the fundraising coordinator we work with, said he’d contact local merchants to confirm, and we will be notified regarding what he hears back.  One parent commented that she’d used many already at these locations, and there were no issues.

There was a question about whether WE/Vince Meyer had considered alternative fundraising options like the mile runs that other Waukee schools are hosting.  They buy t-shirts for the students and local merchants donate supplies, and donations made by the community sponsor students on the run.  Schools have also lined up the high school band, cheerleaders, the fire department, etc. to participate.  A significant amount of funds have been raised.  This may be something to consider for future fundraising options in the coming years since we have already completed our one fundraiser this school year.

Gardening: This committee placed summer and fall flowers at the entrance to the school and again worked with the special education students to help with planting.  The upcoming projects include fixing the landscaping fence at the entrance and starting soon will be the development of the reading garden (space behind the kindergarten and art room). The materials have been delivered, and we should be done by early November.  There will also be a Phase 2 where the committee will work with Mrs. Doud, the art teacher, to use student artwork to tie into our Leader In Me theme. 

Membership: This committee coordinates school supply kits and district wide directories and is now wrapping up the delivery of the district directories to those who ordered them. 

Party planning: The first party of the year will be held on Friday, October 31^st.  Each party will include a craft, snack, and a game.  There are still a few supplies needed, but the PTO will cover this cost.  Thank you to all the parents who made donations and helped with the planning and will assist at the parties. 

For our next party in December, the Winter Party, we are considering options to try to incorporate a service project as part of the party, which will allow students to demonstrate the behaviors connecting to our Leader In Me theme.  The goal is that each project will be appropriate by grade level.  Most of the funds will come from the PTO, but some items (for example, if we collect books to donate to shelters, can come from parent donations or through purchasing at a discount book store).  We may also ask the students help wrap the books.  At this point many ideas are being considered.

If anyone has ideas about any organization that can benefit from our assistance, please send your ideas to LuCinda Beltman.  Some ideas mentioned in the meeting include: the food pantry (birthday party materials, food, etc.), YESS, or maybe donating to Blank Children’s Hospital on one of our student’s behalf who may need to use these services.

An informational flyer will go out the second week of December sharing our plans.

Teacher Appreciation: Instead of doing teacher treats this year, the PTO decided to purchase teacher “Leader In Me” books for all teachers.  This will help them facilitate the student learning of the leadership concepts in the book.

Yearbook: Planning for this year’s yearbook is underway.  Last year, we sold 335 yearbooks, 90 with personalized covers at a slightly higher price.  Each had 44 pages.  This year, we’re going with a 40-page option to keep costs lower.  We anticipate the cost will be the same at $15 for the basic yearbook and $20 for the personalized cover. 

The group was asked if they wanted the autograph pages at the end of the yearbook.  Most said they didn’t need these and to include pictures instead.  The group also voted on the cover for the yearbook and chose “Words to Live By” as the cover title to connect to the Leader In Me effort.  For now, we are collecting photos from teachers and from the 4^th and 5^th grade student photographers.    

Program Updates:

·         Box tops – Please send in your box tops, or you can save them for an upcoming competition between classes in January.

·         Sunny D – The Kindergarten through 4^th grade classes will be using Sunny D for their Fall party.  We will turn in the labels (20 labels = 20 books) for the book spree which runs through November 30^th. 

·         Labels for Education – We are collecting these labels on foods, mostly Campbells.  We earn double points from now until November 15^th.     

·         Pizza Ranch, Tyson, – no update

Additional Announcement: Our Giving Trees will go up before fall conferences.  On the trees will be ornaments listing requested items needed by local families in need.  Parents who wish to participate should take an ornament(s), purchase the item(s), and then return the item(s) to school.  Both trees will include items that will go to our own WE/Vince Meyer families in need. 

In the past, we had also partnered with the Waukee Police who sponsored families in need by giving them names of families in our schools.  However, the individual who had coordinated this in the past has retired, so we won’t have as many families receiving assistance this year (2 vs 40 in the past). 

Therefore, if you know of other organizations looking to sponsor a family, please contact Mrs. Tjaden who can give you the names and needs of our local families to ensure we can help as many families as possible.  This could be for specific items, or if an organization/group would want to adopt an entire family, this can be arranged as well.  We also plan to reach out to local churches proactively to ask if they’d be willing to assist.

Upcoming Dates:

·         Fall harvest party is October 31^st;, - 2:30 to 3:15 pm (see Mrs. Tjaden’s note about coming by to pre-register to get in the system to speed up the sign-in process; if not in the system, will need to bring your ID before you’re allowed to be in the school)

·         Fall fundraising delivery on November 12^th in the gym (3:30 to 6pm)

·         Family movie night on November 14^th, at 6:15 pm in the gym

Next PTO Meeting: Monday, 11/24 at 7pm; Before the meeting at 6:30pm, Mrs. Tjaden will be leading the second Leader In Me book study.  Please read chapters 3-4 for this discussion.