Marlow PTA
John D. Perkins, Sr. Elementary School
919 NH Rt. 10
Marlow, NH 03456

PTA Meeting Minutes - March 19, 2007

The meeting was called to order at 3:10 pm with 5 members present.

Treasurer’s Report:

The treasurer reviewed the current balance and recent bills that have been paid.

Classroom Enrichment Program:

Nancy mentioned that Mrs. Riley, the art teacher, thanked the PTA for the enrichment program even though she did not participate in it this year due to being new to the school. She is in the process of building up the art program and looks forward to participating next year.

Spring Music Program:

No date has been set for this yet. Nancy will check with Mrs. Moore about it. If the teachers will be staying at school between the end of the day and the program, it would be nice if the PTA made a dinner, as we have in the past.

Observation Deck Garden:

Nancy said that the school board is planning to dedicate the garden near the observation tower to Mrs. Cunningham. She suggested that the garden could use some sprucing up in anticipation of the dedication. It would be nice if the PTA paid for some new mulch as well.

Campbell’s Labels and Box Tops for Education:

Beth said that not enough labels were received for the February 28 deadline to send them in. It was suggested that maybe we could put collection boxes at the store and in the library to bring in more labels. Beth reminded everyone that Campbell’s no longer takes the front panels of the labels. They take just the UPC code with the Campbell’s kid face. Nancy will send out a reminder that we are collecting labels for the school.

Swing Set:

Nancy said she has contacted the insurance company for information about swing sets, but she has not received a clear message from Mrs. Peterson about going ahead and purchasing it. She is not sure if it is a location issue or something else. Discussion followed on the swing set location and whether or not the PTA has enough money if ground preparation is taken into consideration. Nancy asked if we should table the idea for now, or maybe join in with the school board and the improvements they are making to the basketball court. We raised almost $498 for this project. Perhaps we could just move it into the playground fund, which would give us over $1300 and then we could decide what to do next year. No decisions were made. Nancy will try to connect with Mrs. Peterson about it again and then we can move forward.

Teacher Appreciation Day:

Teacher Appreciation Day is May 8 this year. In the past we have asked teachers what they wanted. However, since there were no teachers present at this meeting, it was decided to wait to plan and organize at the April meeting. Past ideas have been a microwave and dinner.

Field Trip Funds:

Nancy mentioned that fundraising has allowed for $4.20 for each child in the field trip account to defer costs of field trips. Money is already being spent. Kindergarten and 1st/2nd grades plan to go to the Montshire Museum.

Field Day:

In the past the PTA has contributed watermelon and popsicles. Beth will remind the PE teacher that she should get started planning this. Nancy will help to organize it with her.

Graduation:

In the past the PTA has purchased atlases for graduating 6th graders. This year we have a big class of 12 students. We have $294 left in the operations budget to cover this, teacher appreciation and field day.

Letterbox Hikes:

No hikes have been taking place over the winter. Shelli was not in attendence, but it was believed that no one has come forward with new ideas since the two fall hikes. It is not clear if the hikes will resume in the spring if there are no volunteer planners.

School T-Shirts:

Sarah brought in pricing information for t-shirts through an internet company out of Boston. Ideas were discussed, and it was agreed that blue t-shirts with white lettering would be best. It was decided that we should come up with two designs featuring the polar bear mascot and lettering that at least includes John D. Perkins Sr. Elementary School, Marlow, NH and the year. The designs could then be presented to students for a vote. Sarah and Stephanie volunteered to come up with the two designs by April 2. Nancy will then bring them in to school on April 3 for student voting.

Since the PTA does not have the money to pay for the t-shirts up front, it was suggested that students pre-order and pay for them. Funds could go into the playground fund. We could also order a few extra shirts. It was agreed that $7.50 would be a reasonable price per shirt, but that we would confirm this at the next meeting. It was also suggested that there might be a sibling discount.

Next Meeting:

Monday, April 2, 2007, 3:00 pm

Meeting was adjourned at 3:55 pm.