Loam Delivery
Nancy sent out a note to Dudak’s thanking them for
the loam delivery for the playground.
School
Newsletter
The school newsletter was distributed. It was a
combined effort of the staff and the PTA. It looked very nice, and a
routine has now been established. Newsletters will be done every other
month.
Supermarket
Fundraisers
Hannaford’s now has Perkins School listed on the
pillars for collecting their “dollars” from purchases. Certain
products must be purchased to earn “dollars”. The cashier will
mention when you have earned school dollars and give you a special
receipt. The receipt should then be put in the Perkins’ slot on the
pillar. Marcia also learned that dollars can be earned retroactively at
Price Chopper back to August 31 if you still have the receipts. Lynne
added that the old receipts must be brought to the service desk.
Passport to
Marlow Project
Shelli mentioned that the group walk to the beaver
pond was held on Thursday, October 5, and was enthusiastically attended.
About 10 students currently have their passports, and Shelli will
distribute the rest through the school. Packets have gone home with
students for the beaver pond walk and the Marlow village history walk so
that families who could not attend the group walk can take the walks on
their own time. Discussion followed on future walk ideas, with the
reminder that woods walks should not be scheduled during hunting season.
Shelli plans to do research at this Cheshire County Historical society
to look for information on cellar holes to design a history walk on
Marlow Hill. Marcia mentioned that the gym teacher is excited about this
project and may want to get involved. Marcia is excited about getting
more town groups involved in this project. She would also like to see
about getting an article in the paper about this very positive project.
Shelli would like to do a poster for the school so students can show
where they have hiked.
Fall Fundraiser
The fundraiser has ended. The orders went in to
Genevieve today. This year students raised over $4100, of which the PTA
will receive about $2000. This amount may not include all internet
orders, so it could go a little higher. Next year the Genevieve company
will only be giving 40% of proceeds to schools rather than the current
50%. Therefore, we will need to think about what we could like to do in
the future. People seem to like the items in the Genevieve catalog, so
perhaps we could do two fundraisers a year. Flower bulbs might be a good
idea to look into.
Grant
Nancy mentioned that Lowe’s home improvement stores
offer grants for school improvement projects. She is trying to find the
PTA’s tax-exempt number to allow us to apply for a grant as a
tax-exempt group. If she cannot get the number in time, the school can
also apply for the grant. The grants require that a specific project be
outlined, so we will need to decide on a project.
Nancy suggested using the grant for the installation
costs of the swing set that the PTA would like to purchase. Another idea
would be using the grant to start the fence around the playground.
Discussion followed. The fence idea seems popular, but
the grant money may not be enough to cover this. Nancy and Phyllis will
walk the grounds to get a better idea of what is needed. It was also
suggested that we have a gate that is large enough for cars to get
through to the playground blacktop.
The first grant deadline is October 15, which we will
not be able to meet. The next deadline is February 15.
Playground
Lynne found a swing
set with four seats like the one we currently have. The cost is $1267.20
and it meets ASTM standards. We will also need to meet the ground cover
requirements. We currently have $855.96 in the playground account. We
have raised about $525 through the fundraiser, so that brings us to
$1300. It was suggested that we try to find someone to donate sand for
the ground cover. Mrs. Peterson mentioned that we will have to be
careful about where the swings are placed so that children are properly
supervised.
Marcia suggested we
begin to formulate a plan for the playground. We should formulate long-
term goals. Ms. Antel has mentioned to Shelli that she would like to do
more with vegetable gardens, etc. Nancy suggested that the students have
a playground design contest or create a “dream” playground.
Classroom Parents
Marcia asked if there are classroom parents this year.
Nancy Tomasko is the room parent for grades 1 & 2, and Shelli
volunteered to do grades 3 & 4. Marcia will ask a parent to be the
room parent for grades 5 & 6.
Thanksgiving
Dinner
Nancy listed what each grade will be doing to prepare
for the dinner. Marcia has the list from previous years. Nancy asked if
we can get all PTA forms on disc to make these projects easier to
manage. The forms for requesting food donations should go out one week
before the dinner, and the food should be brought in the Friday before.
Marcia will send out supermarket requests this week. Last year Walmart
donated $50.00. Marcia usually gets tables from the Blanks and will get
them the weekend before. Any number of volunteers will be helpful.
Volunteers should plan to arrive around 9:00 am.
Discussion followed on how many people should be
invited, including using tickets to track the numbers of people coming
and using invitations to invite certain people to come (suggestions
included the road crew (3), bus driver, selectmen (3), librarian,
Jacquie Fay, Jane McCarthy, Mr. Elliot). A notice will also go out to
the specials teachers. Mrs. Peterson suggested inviting the fire chief,
Richard Rock and Mrs. Cunningham. It was also suggested that the art
teacher could do a project for Thanksgiving. Mrs. Peterson will talk to
her about that.
Shelli asked if leftovers from the Thanksgiving dinner
could be given to people who need it. Beth suggested that people bring
in non-perishable items to the Thanksgiving dinner. Marcia will contact
Plums to see if they will distribute items to the needy in the
community.
Craft Fair
Lynne Cafasso will chair the committee. Marcia
suggested using money from the fair and crafts to make baskets for the
needy in town. Students will be charged $3 to participate in the fair.
Lynne showed various crafts the students can do at the fair including
ornaments and beads and notebooks. Students should bring in photos for
certain crafts. Lynne had some more suggestions for cards, making
birdfeeders, etc. The fair is set for Thursday, December 7 from
3:00-4:30 pm. Nancy and Lynne will meet to discuss crafts. Lynne will
coordinate the logistics of the craft fair once the Thanksgiving dinner
is done.
Food Policy
Discussion followed on the food policy. Shelli
explained that we currently have limitations on food. Mrs. Peterson will
look into the school policy. The focus will be on healthful foods and
helping classroom parents to regulate snacks. A list of healthful foods
should be created to help parents make informed choices.
Refreshments
Booth at Open House
There was some discussion around whether or not to
have a refreshments booth at the open house. No decision was made at
this meeting.
Other
Fundraising Ideas to Consider
Marcia presented a brochure with information for
buying a new welcome mat for the school. This would be a rubber mat with
the school name and logo. The cost is about $500. It was suggested we
keep it in mind as a goal for a future fundraiser. Beth and Nancy also
suggested looking into a fundraiser that sells environmentally safe
cleaning products.