Central School PTO Minutes
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Introduction: The meeting began at 9:04 am in the Library. The PTO officers in attendance: Mary Ellen Meindl, Melinda Brom, Michelle Marconi, Jane Wilhelm, Nancy Hutchings, Linda LaBelle, Jennifer Sedivy and Patrick O’Laughlin. Also in attendance: District 96 Superintendent Dr. Lamberson, Central School Principal Dr. Limperis and Central School Teachers Samantha Lutz and Stephanie Musgrave.

Hauser Pride Trip Reports: Elise Castelez, Hannah Claywell and Thomas Leary spoke about their experiences at the Pride Conference. They thanked the PTO for sponsoring them to the conference. They all had an enjoyable time and stated that it was an amazing experience.

Minutes: A motion to approve the April 7th, 2009 minutes was made by Nancy Hutchings and seconded by Allyn Pilewski. The motion passed.

Staff Member and Volunteer of the year: The Executive Board selected Stephanie Musgrave for Staff Member of the year for her work creating the C.A.K.E. program and Dawn Gmitro for Volunteer of the year for her work on the Striding Lion program. Their names are engraved on plaques in the Library.

C.A.K.E.: Central School Teacher Stephanie Musgrave reported that the C.A.K.E. (Courteous And Kind to Everyone) theme has been successful. Every month is dedicated to a character trait and is encouraged during that month. The C.A.K.E. theme will be continued for next year. She also thanked the PTO for their help.

2009/10 Officer’s Election: A motion was made by Beverly Aieta and seconded by Linda LaBelle to accept the officer slate for the 2009/10 Executive Board. The motion passed. The 2009/10 Executive Board is: President: Allyn Pilewski; Co-1st Vice Presidents Committee and Room Parents: Nancy Hutchings and Jennifer Sedivy; 2nd Vice President Fundraising and Philanthropy: Jeanine Vaia; Treasurer: Jane Wilhelm; Recording Secretary: Kate Nessinger; and Parliamentarian: Mary Ellen Meindl.

Officers’ Reports:
President: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that cakes (for the C.A.K.E. theme) will be delivered to classrooms for decoration on May 28th.

Philanthropy: Nancy Hutchings reported that philanthropy requests were made for conference tables, A/R tests, Kindergarten author lists, recycle bins (Ecology Club) and playground stencils. The total cost is approximately $1600. A motion was made to approve the requests for 2009/10 by Michelle Marconi and seconded by Kate Nessinger. The motion passed.

Correspondence: Jennifer Sedivy passed around invitations to the Installation Luncheon at The Chew Chew.

Treasurer: Jane Wilhelm distributed account statements. Items of note: Teacher week cost about $1,000 and we still need to pay for books from the book fair. Please submit any receipts you may have for this year.

Principal’s Report: Dr. Limperis thanked everyone involved in Turn Off the TV Week, it was a lot of fun. On May 12th at 12:05pm we will have a fire drill from the Cafeteria. The 5th Grade D.A.R.E. graduation is on May 15th at 1:30 pm. The last day of school for the 5th Grade is June 4th and June 5th for everyone else. The K.I.T.E. program will be a 4 day a week program for next year. Please pickup information on after school programs in the office. Please note: it doesn’t include a half day program for Kindergarten.

Teacher’s Report: Samantha Lutz reported that the Open House was a huge hit. The Teacher Appreciation week was great. The 4th Grade will take over as patrols for the end of the year. Abe Lincoln was the historical perspectives presentation last Thursday.

Superintendent’s Report: Dr. Lamberson thanked everyone for a fabulous year. Next year the 5th Grade students will have laptops.

PTO Committee Reports:
Teacher Appreciation Week: Melinda Brom reported that the Teachers and Students are having a great time with Teacher Appreciation Week.

Library: Melinda Brom reported that for National Children’s Book Week students can guess their Teacher’s favorite books on the bulletin board in the Library.

Other Business:
April Board of Education Meeting Update: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that school fees will remain the same for 09/10 (same as the past 4 years). The Laptop Coordinator will be Liz Whaley (tech person at Hauser). The technology budget is $171,000 and $150,000 is being reallocated to the laptop program. The computers currently being used by the 5th grade will be used by the other grades. Enrollment per class for Kindergarten was 20 now it has been increased to 23. Only one family has been asked to relocate to another school. The Hardscape/Landscape for Ames has been approved and will begin June 1st, Hauser work is back to the drawing board. National Investigations has been hired for the residency check of all District 96 families. As of April 21st, 1455 are enrolled in District 96.

Announcements: Thank you to Book Fair Chairs: Beverly Aieta and Nancy Hopkins and all the volunteers; Ice Cream Social Chairs: Julie Tucek, Nadine Espisito and all the volunteers; 5th Grade Games Chairs: Deb Gardnier and Olga Prybl Pierdinock and their team of volunteers; Garden Gurus: Michelle Marconi, Kate Nessinger and volunteers; Turn Off TV Week Chairs: Ingrid Lulich, Dorie Skiest and their volunteers; Program Chair: Karen Layng; Talent Show Chairs: Kim Jacobs, Tiffany McManus and volunteers; Teacher Appreciation Luncheon: Maura Braun; Teacher Appreciation Week: Sandy Briolat, Melinda Brom and Lauren Zobel; Webmaster: Chris Hajer; and our Library and Cultural Arts Volunteers.

The meeting adjourned at 10:15 am.
The Minutes are respectfully submitted by Patrick O’Laughlin, Recording Secretary.

Central School PTO Minutes
Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Introduction: The meeting began at 9:00 am in the Library. The PTO officers in attendance: Mary Ellen Meindl, Melinda Brom, Michelle Marconi, Jane Wilhelm, Kathy Dudek, Nancy Hutchings, Linda LaBelle, Jennifer Sedivy and Patrick O’Laughlin. Also in attendance: District 96 Superintendent Dr. Lamberson, Central School Principal Dr. Limperis and Central School Teacher Samantha Lutz.

Minutes: A motion to approve the March 3rd, 2009 minutes was made by Linda LaBelle and seconded by Melinda Brom. The motion passed.

2009/10 Officer’s Election: A motion was made by Beverly Aieta and seconded by Linda LaBelle to accept the officer slate for the 2009/10 Executive Board. The motion passed. The 2009/10 Executive Board is: President: Allyn Pilewski; Co-1st Vice Presidents Committee and Room Parents: Nancy Hutchings and Jennifer Sedivy; 2nd Vice President Fundraising and Philanthropy: Jeanine Vaia; Treasurer: Jane Wilhelm; Recording Secretary: Kate Nessinger; and Parliamentarian: Mary Ellen Meindl.

Officers’ Reports:
President: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that the Ecology Club (sponsored by Mrs. Visek and Mrs. Johnson) requested funding of T-shirts for the April 25th Village cleanup event. A motion was made by Allyn Pilewski and seconded by Lauren Zobel to approve the $100 expense for T-shirts. The motion passed.

Correspondence: Jennifer Sedivy passed around letters from Hauser students going on the Pride trip. Central School’s PTO sponsored three students going to the conference.

Treasurer: Jane Wilhelm distributed account statements noting that $405.00 will be going to Garden Gurus to inject the elm trees in front of the school.

Parliamentarian: Linda LaBelle distributed copies of the revised Bylaws and Standing Rules. A motion to adopt the Central School PTO Bylaws and Standing Rules was made by Melinda Brom and seconded by Jane Wilhelm. The motion passed.

Principal’s Report: Dr. Limperis thanked everyone involved in the Book Fair, it was awesome. The kids loved the visit from 39 Steps author Peter Larangis. In May there will be a fire drill when the children are not in the classroom (during lunch and recess). On Friday, May 8th, from 9-10:30 am the two social workers would like parent volunteers to come and share their views of the social work curriculum. Three volunteers are needed. If you are interested, please contact Mary Ellen Meindl.

Teacher’s Report: Samantha Lutz reported that teachers will meet at the end of April to decide the best fit for the students and teachers for next year. Open house night is April 23rd. Thank you for all the hard work on the Book Fair, the students loved it. Also the author visit was a huge hit. Science in a can is going well; next week is the 6th week.

Superintendent’s Report: Dr. Lamberson reported that for next year, 158 have registered for Kindergarten (59- Central, 18- Hollywood, 33- Blythe and 52- Ames). The numbers will change a little. Ames is the only school beyond capacity. The School Board prefers to change the class size from 20 to 23 for Kindergarten, which would allow Ames to have 6 more students remain at their school. Only one family will need to relocate to another school. Class sizes for next year will be K-3rd: up to 23 and 4-5th: 23. The Kite program gives assistance to Kindergarteners who need extra help to get up to speed. It meets two days a week in groups of 4-6 kids for intense work with specific skill sets to help the students have success in 1st grade. About 28% of all Kindergarteners are in the program (about 30 kids). The District 96 website is up and running. Please check it out and give any questions or comments. There will be scrolling quotes on the site which will be populated with positive messages by parents and students. If you would like to include a message, please contact Mary Ellen Meindl. In April, a project coordinator will be recommended for the Laptop program. The Board still needs to approve the money for the program. 170-175 laptops would be added to the program.

PTO Committee Reports:
Teacher Appreciation Week: Melinda Brom passed around a signup sheet for Teacher Appreciation week.

Book Fair: Beverly Aieta reported that we had a great year for the Book Fair with over $11,400 in sales. Nancy Hopkins entered all the books into the laptop to lookup titles during the Book Fair. The visits with buddies went well. The author Peter Larangis was impressed with how well the kids listened, participated and behaved they were. If anyone is interested in co-chairing next year’s Book Fair, please contact Beverly Aieta.

Other Business:
March Board of Education Meeting Update: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that the Task Force on Before and After School Care has chosen PAV as the provider for the program at school. Hollywood has its own program. If needed, Ames and Blythe will combine for this program. The draft of District 96 school policy is posted on its website. Student lunch fees will remain the same for next year. For the 2009/10 school year, school will increase fees to cover the school supplying wipes, tissues, etc.

Announcements: Thank you to Flying Carpet Club Chair: Aberdeen Ozga and her team of volunteers; Central Book Fair Chairs: Beverly Aieta and Nancy Hopkins and their team of volunteers; Ice Cream Social Chairs: Nadine Espisito and Julie Tucek and their volunteers and the Library and Cultural Arts Volunteers.

The meeting adjourned at 10:02 am.
The Minutes are respectfully submitted by Patrick O’Laughlin, Recording Secretary.

Central School PTO Minutes

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Introduction: The meeting began at 9:04 am in the Library. The PTO officers in attendance: Mary Ellen Meindl, Melinda Brom, Michelle Marconi, Jane Wilhelm, Kathy Dudek, Nancy Hutchings, Linda LaBelle and Patrick O’Laughlin. Also in attendance: District 96 Superintendent Dr. Lamberson, Central School Principal Dr. Limperis, Central School Teachers Mindy Keller and Samantha Lutz.

Minutes: A motion to approve the February 3rd, 2009 minutes was made by Kathy Dudek and seconded by Nancy Hopkins. The motion passed.

Officers’ Reports:

President: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that there will be a Kindergarten registration informational meeting on March 5th and registration will begin the next morning. Dawn Gmitro did great work on putting together the Striding Lion program. The PTA/O Candidate Forum for District 96 & District 208 will be March 10th at Hauser. Nominations are being taken for Volunteer & Staff of the Year award, which will be announced at the May meeting. Please submit any nominations to the suggestion box in the office. Kim Frank is collecting yearbook pictures, so if you have any, please send them to her.

2nd VP of Fundraising: Kathy Dudek reported that paver orders are now being accepted for spring installation.

Treasurer: Jane Wilhelm distributed account statements noting that the student directory ($400) was $50.00 more than budget.

Parliamentarian: Linda LaBelle reported on the revised Standing Rules and Bylaws, including the change in the officer structure. They are posted on the website, so please check it out and send any feedback to Linda.

Superintendent’s Report: Dr. Lamberson reported that the school calendar has been approved for next year. The State Board of Education has awarded Central and Blythe academic excellence awards for being at or above 90% for a 3 year time period. Next year, all schools in District 96 will be in the academic excellence category. The 5 for 4 laptop program is still a proposal being studied, which if approved by the Board of Education will begin with next year’s 5th Grade.

Principal’s Report: Dr. Limperis introduced Mindy Keller as the Administrative Intern. A note from the nurse will be sent home letting parents know when a child goes to the nurse and what was done. A new visitor’s pass will be coming out in the next month listing visitor’s destination and time. The 5 for 4 laptop program will have 3 onsite visits with trainers. The first training for 5th Grade teachers is May 6th. Kindergarten Registration Informational night is Thursday.

Teacher’s Report: Samantha Lutz stated that the past six weeks working on the Striding Lion program has been awesome. The program was totally student made: lyrics, dialogue and choreography. The students who viewed the performance enjoyed it as well. The only cons to the program are that it takes a lot of classroom time (3 times a week for 45-50 minutes for six weeks). Samantha thanked the PTO for their support of this program.

PTO Committee Reports:

Nominating Committee: Melinda Brom presented the nominating committee’s proposed slate for the Central PTO’s Executive Board, which will remain open for 30 days until the election. The slate is as follows: President- Allyn Pilewski; Co-1st Vice Presidents of Committees and Room Parents- Nancy Hutchings and Jennifer Sedivy; 2nd Vice President of Fundraising and Philanthropy- Samantha Durst; 3rd Vice President of Member Services- Jeanine Vaia; Treasurer- Jane Wilhelm; Recording Secretary- Kate Nessinger; and Parlimentarian- Mary Ellen Meindl.

Book Fair: Beverly Aieta reported that the theme of this year’s book fair is “Lights, Camera, Book Fair”. The profit from last year’s book fair allowed us to get many books and 15 DVD players. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Beverly.

Library: Jeannine Glavas invited everyone to the “Tattered Book Club” on Monday, March 9 from 8:30 – 10:00 to cover books.

Talent Show: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that there will be a meeting for the Talent Show on Thursday, March 12 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the Library.

Teacher Appreciation Week: Melinda Brom sent around a donation sheet for Teacher Appreciation Week.

Teacher Appreciation Luncheon: Mary Ellen Meindl sent around a volunteer sheet for volunteers to cover for paraprofessionals to supervise the kids at recess.

Other Business:

February Board of Education Meeting Update: Michelle Marconi reported that the topics for the February Board of Education Meeting were residency verification and Kindergarten enrollment.

D 96 Board of Education Candidates Introduction: We were introduced to the District 96 Board of Education Candidates: Mary Ellen Meindl, Linda LaBelle, Nancy Jensen, Mary Stimming, LaFonzo Palmer and Jennifer Leimberer.

Announcements: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that the Ice Skating party was well attended. Thank you to Dawn Gmitro for all her work on the Striding Lion Program as well as to the teachers for all their effort. Thank you to all the volunteers.

The meeting adjourned at 10:09 am.
The Minutes are respectfully submitted by Patrick O’Laughlin, Recording Secretary.

Central School PTO Minutes

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Introduction: The meeting began at 7:02 pm in the Library. The PTO officers in attendance: Mary Ellen Meindl, Melinda Brom, Jane Wilhelm, Kathy Dudek, Nancy Hutchings, Linda LaBelle, Jennifer Sedivy and Patrick O’Laughlin. Also in attendance: Central School Principal Dr. Limperis.

Minutes: A motion to approve the January 13th, 2009 minutes was made by Linda LaBelle and seconded by Sandy Briolat. The motion passed.

Officers’ Reports

President: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that the District 96 is looking for positive messages from Central parents to parents new to Central. Please send any messages to Mary Ellen about “What I like about Central School”. The district is looking at a new vendor for contacting parents in 2009/10 since School Reach has increased their prices greatly. Dr. Lamberson is looking for members for three advisiory councils: Communication, Before/After School Program and Long term planning for the International Baccalaureate Program at Hauser (will affect current 1st Grade students when they attend Hauser). Upcoming events: Preschool screening February 19th & 20th; Kindergarten registration March 5th at 7 pm; District Hardscape Plan will be addressed at the February Board of Education Meeting; PTA/O Presidents will host a meet and greet for the District 96 candidates on March 10th from 7-9 pm at Hauser.

Treasurer’s Report: Jane Wilhelm distributed the financial statement through January. Items of note: the student directory was paid for today about $400; Innisbrook Internet sales are about $1600; the Riverside Township grant of $1000 for the Striding Lion program is listed under Specialized Fundraising.

Principal’s Report: Dr. Limperis reported that the bully prevention program will be at Hauser tomorrow. With bullying, it is repetition that causes problems. The program helps to identify bullying and cyber bullying. There will be a presentation and question and answer sessions with the trainers and police. So far, the 5th Grade teachers, 6th Grade teachers, 5th & 6th Grade Specials teachers, Social worker, Ms. Berman and Ms. Westin (Asst. Principal at Hauser) have been trained. There are plans to contract with the IVPA to provide training to the other grades. This year, the Kindergarten Tea will be cancelled, since there is an afternoon Kindergarten. The first days of Kindergarten are being redesigned, so if you have any thoughts on what would make school easier for beginning Kindergarten, please email Dr. Limperis. A World Language Committee is being created to look at languages for Central school as well as a timeline for implementation. The Committee will meet once in the spring and six meetings next year. Anyone who is interested to serve on this committee, please contact Dr. Limperis. There will be a new writing program for next year and a new science curriculum is being evaluated. If anyone has an old musical instrument they would like to donate to the music program, please contact Dr. Limperis.

Teacher’s Report: Dr. Limperis gave Samantha Lutz’ report, since she and Michelle Laughlin began a Master’s program tonight. Parent-Teacher conferences will be held on Friday February 13th in the afternoon. Ben and Karen from Striding Lion gave a great performance today and the kids were very inspired. It was called “How the Sun and Moon got in the sky”. A parent is needed to tape the student’s performance on February 26th, since it is required for the Illinois Arts Council grant. There will be a dress rehearsal at 10 am, a performance for the students at 1 pm and an evening performance at 7 pm. The 100th day of school is wrong on the calendar, it should be February 10th. For 5th Grade their last day will be after the clap out. They will not have to come back the following day. Dr. Limperis passed around a 4th Grade project with two hearts: one the student wrote how they were thankful to their families and the other the parents wrote back. In March there will be an all school art project called Youth in Art. Mrs. Mathis will project silhouettes and any creative parents who would like to help put up the display are needed.

PTO Committee Reports

Artist in Residence/Striding Lion: Kathy Dudek reported that K-3 will use voices and bodies to tell stories about characters in their imaginations. All 4th and 5th Grades will use poetry, music and geometry to create an imaginative show. There will be a multigenerational performance on February 11th at 3:30 pm at the Scottish Home.

Preschool Screening: Kathy Dudek stated that 8 volunteers are needed for the preschool screening on February 19th and 20th. It will be a half day commitment to take kids to the screening station and back to their parents.

Library: Jeannine Glavas spoke about an opportunity to volunteer in the Library making book covers on February 9th after drop off at 8:30 am.

Teacher Appreciation Week: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that the Teacher Appreciation Week Committee is co-chaired by Lauren Zobel, Sandy Briolat and Melinda Brom. The first meeting will be Friday in the Library at 9 am. The theme for this year is “Central School Teachers- you take the cake”. Teacher Appreciation Week is in May.

Nominating Committee: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that the Nominating Committee is progressing well and the slate will be presented at the next meeting.

Other Business: District 208 Candidates Mike Welch and Matt Sinde came to speak about their candidacies for District 208 Board of Education. Lisa Freel encouraged all to attend the Riverside Children’s Theater Guild’s performances on February 13, 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22.

Announcements: Thank you to all the volunteers.

The meeting adjourned at 8:02 pm.
The Minutes are respectfully submitted by Patrick O’Laughlin, Recording Secretary.

Central School PTO Minutes

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

Introduction: The meeting began at 9:05 am in the Library. The PTO officers in attendance: Mary Ellen Meindl, Michelle Marconi, Melinda Brom, Jane Wilhelm, Kathy Dudek, Nancy Hutchings, Linda LaBelle, Jennifer Sedivy and Patrick O’Laughlin. Also in attendance: District 96 Superintendent Dr. Lamberson, Central School Principal Dr. Limperis and Central School Teacher Samantha Lutz.

Minutes: A motion to approve the November 11th, 2008 minutes was made by Nancy Hutchings and seconded by Melinda Brom. The motion passed.

Officers’ Reports

President: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that we are working with tight budgets this year, so if a committee can’t work within the budgeted amount, please contact Mary Ellen. For the 2009/10 school year Central is responsible for the 5th Grade games, the District calendar and Halloween windows. Volunteers are needed for the following positions: 5th Grade games coordinator; District Calendar- need to be familiar with Publisher and will meet at end of May with the Principals and PTO/A Presidents to input info into master calendar as well as email changes for drafts in June, July and August; Halloween windows are changing since painting can’t be done at Village Center and Riverside Plumbing (due to limestone façade) and cleanup last year left mess on buildings/sidewalk. Kathy Louthen contacted Riverside Township Manager Richard Tuscher to obtain funding for the Striding Lions program and $1000 was given for the program.

Nominating Committee: Melinda Brom is chairing the Nominating Committee. Melinda reported that the committee is made up of 5 members (two members of the executive board and the remaining three from general membership) and two alternates. The proposed Nominating Committee is: Melinda Brom and Jennifer Sedivy with alternate Michelle Marconi (from the Executive Board) and Erin Durkin, Samantha Durst and Jeannine Glavas with alternate Sandy Briolat (from the general membership). Kathy Louthen made a motion to accept the Nominating Committee and was seconded by Dawn Gmitro. The motion passed.

Parliamentarian’s Report: Linda LaBelle proposed changing the Executive Board from nine to eight members. The 2nd V.P. of Fundraising and 2nd V.P. of Philanthropy positions will be combined into the 2nd V.P. of Fundraising and Philanthropy. The Corresponding Secretary position will be renamed the 3rd V.P. of Member Services. The other positions will remain the same. A motion was made by Jane Wilhelm and seconded by Jeannine Vaia to approve the changes. The motion passed. The vote for the new officers will take place in April.

2nd V.P. – Fundraising’s Report: Kathy Dudek reported that the budget is $27,400. This month $11,000 is coming in and we are on target for the budget.

Correspondence: Jennifer Sedivy reported that the Central School PTO gave a dinner certificate for Perfect Dinner to the Kaminsky Family. This year we had a great specials collection of over $900, which allowed more staff to be given gift cards. Jennifer passed around correspondence, including thank you notes for the gift cards.

Treasurer’s Report: Jane Wilhelm reported that the PTA checking account has been closed, it had about $100. A few checks have not been cashed, so please check with Jane if you have one so that a new check can be issued. On the financial statement, Innisbrook shows $800 under budget; however a $1600 payment is pending.

Superintendent’s Report: Dr. Lamberson reported that enrollment is currently 1452, but next year could be over 1500 (a level not seen since 1970). The economy could increase that number (with more students coming from private schools). This year, Kindergarten is at 164 but next year it might be over 190. A survey is being sent out to all parents to find out if those currently in the district plan on being in the district next year and have kids of Kindergarten age next year or have neighbors who have children who will have kids of Kindergarten age. This will help gauge levels for next year. Mindy Keller is contacting preschools to have an idea of the real number of students. Hopefully the number will come in at or below 184, which would be 8 sections of 23 students. The second draft of the calendar is being worked on. School will start August 25th (1/2 day), winter break will be the week of December 21 & 28, spring break may be the week of March 29th, and the last day will be June 2nd. R.B. will be closed for summer school, due to construction work (60% completed); Hollywood might be the location for R.B.’s summer school. The 5 for 4 program for next year’s 5th grade is going according to the timeline. It will begin in 2009/10. There will also be a one day in-service with Apple to make sure the program can be done the right way for students and staff. There will be a dedicated program manager/facilitator and the laptops will be taken to Hauser to be used there. The School Board is looking at residency requirements (currently only new students/ Kindergarten are validated) and possibly requiring residency to be validated every year. If this happens, validation goes from 180 students to 1200. The District is looking at an alternative process of validating using Residency Authenticators (parent/guardians with one/more students in District 96) who would sign an affidavit stating the student met residency markers during past 12 months. Currently all landlords are contacted by phone to verify leases. This year’s tax levy will increase 3.2% (following the c.p.i.) and next year 0% increase.

Principal’s Report: Dr. Limperis reported on C.A.K.E. awards which are given when students are caught being a good citizen. Every morning there are two winners, one from K-2 and another from 3-5th. All students will be able to watch the inauguration. Fifty three students have signed up for the Computation Club.

Teacher Representative: Samantha Lutz reported that the Striding Lions program begins next week. Samantha thanked all for helping in the classrooms at Christmas.

PTA Committee Reports

09/10 School Supplies: Melanie Strubbe reported that orders can be placed for 09/10 school supplies right after spring break. There will be only online ordering and payment. The supplies will be delivered just after Memorial Day. If you want to help organize the supplies and distribute them, please contact Melanie.

Other Business: The Board of Education Meeting minutes are on the District 96 website.

Announcements: Thank you to all the volunteers.

The meeting adjourned at 10:25 am.
The Minutes are respectfully submitted by Patrick O’Laughlin, Recording Secretary.

Central School PTO Minutes

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Introduction: The meeting began at 7:18 pm in the Library. The PTO officers in attendance: Mary Ellen Meindl, Michelle Marconi, Melinda Brom, Jane Wilhelm, Kathy Dudek, Nancy Hutchings, Linda LaBelle, Jennifer Sedivy and Patrick O’Laughlin. Also in attendance: Central School Principal Dr. Limperis and Central School Teacher Samantha Lutz.

Minutes: The October 7th, 2008 minutes were approved by Nancy Hutchings and seconded by Mary Jo Robling.

Officers’ Reports:

President: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that Hauser’s ISATs increased for the first time in 10 years. We collected $308 in the first submission of Box Tops and have purchased two hockey nets and an aerobic CD from Campbell’s Soup Labels. The results from the skating survey (from 135 skaters) will be posted on the website.

Treasurer’s Report: Jane Wilhelm requested that committee chairs turn in checks with an electronic spreadsheet listing names, amounts and totals to the blue PTO envelope in the office. Fall Family Night cost $717.00.

2nd V.P. – Fundraising’s Report: Kathy Dudek reported that the 100% Fund is $4,000 under budget. A new flyer will go out Wednesday for 2008 contributions.

Principal’s Report: Dr. Limperis reported that this year’s Veteran’s Day program was a success with about 43 veterans attending. Next year there may be a social after the program. November 21st report cards and MAP scores will be distributed. We have two administrative interns this year: Mindy Keller and Carol Devans Faulk. The Interactive Illinois Report Card can be accessed at: iirc.niu.edu and allows access to any school and district in Illinois. It shows ISAT scores comparing those of the school with the district and the state. The color coding is as follows: blue and green – meets/exceeds requirements; yellow – below requirements; red – academic warning. For 2008, 3rd Grade met/exceeded math requirements. The schools are ranked using a school house icon: red-needs improvement; yellow-closing the gap; and purple – 5 years or more of meeting/exceeding goals. The teachers can use this tool to look at topics that their students are not scoring well on as well as at each student to see what would need to be worked on.

Teacher Representative: Samantha Lutz reported that Parent-Teacher conferences are on November 24th from 12:35- 8:30 pm. Students in grades 3-5 can be present at the conference to talk about goals, if they choose. The remainder of the conference will be between the parent and the teacher. The teachers said the Halloween play was awesome and the parties were great. Samantha also passed around Cultural Arts work from Mrs. Teune’s class (artist Andrew Wythe chalk and egg whites), Samantha’s class (Patricia Dobson’s work -Hopi jar, using symbols to tell a story on jars in a drawing) and an art project from Mrs. Mathis’ class (tree paintings).

District 96 Board of Education representative: Cheryl Berdelle, President: Cheryl has been on the Board for 12 years and her third term is up in April 2009. There are four openings on the Board. The Board consists of seven members whose main function is to help the administration and Superintendent set policy for the district. The Board does not micro manage the Principals or Superintendent, if they are not doing their jobs, they will be replaced. The President is selected by the Board at the first meeting for a four year term. The members of the board that are remaining (and whose terms are up in two years) are: Jim Schraidt, Giles McCarthy and Hareena Wakely. The members whose terms are up are Nancy Jensen, Linda Bates, Rich Volpe and Cheryl Berdelle. Board meetings are held the third Tuesday of the month. Items are added to the agenda if the Board President approves them. Public comment is allowed before the meeting, but usually the Board doesn’t comment at that time.

PTA Committee Reports:

Striding Lions: Kathy Dudek reported that the Striding Lions program will take place in January and February. A multigenerational program will be made by the 4th and 5th Grades at the Scottish Home.

Innisbrook: Samantha Durst reported that we raised $6733. The top selling class for K-2 was Mrs. Scaggs and 3-5 was Mr. Elgeness. Each class will receive a pizza party. The top winners were Nicole LaBelle and Destiny Mathis who will receive gift cards to the Zoo. There were many great volunteers, including Deb Catalano, Russ (who unloaded the truck at 7:15 am) and Dr. Limperis. Orders can still be placed on the internet.

Talent Show: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that a modified talent show will take place Tuesday May 26th in the afternoon and Wednesday May 27th in the evening.

P/T Conference Staff Dinner: Nancy Hutchings sent around a sign up sheet for contributing to the Parent-Teacher conference dinner.

Other Business:

Board of Education Meeting Update: Nancy Hutchings reported that enrollment is the agenda item for the November meeting.

Board of Education Elections: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that Art Perry (father of a student at Hollywood), Linda LaBelle and Mary Ellen Meindl are running for the Board of Education. The election is April 11th, 2009.

PTO Business: Linda LaBelle stated that there is a proposal for the Executive Committee for potential changes to the job descriptions of the officers as well as changing from 9 to 8 officers. Under the proposal, the Philanthropy and Fundraising positions would be combined since both go hand in hand. The Corresponding Secretary would become the 3rd V.P. of Member Services and would handle hospitality, track calendar and student directory sign up, child care, reception and correspondence. The President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary and Parliamentarian would be kept the same. The proposal will be posted on the website. A motion to approve the changes will be made at the January meeting for 2009/10. Job description changes and nominations will begin in January/February.

Announcements: Thank you to all the volunteers.

The meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm
The Minutes are respectfully submitted by Patrick O’Laughlin, Recording Secretary.

Central School PTA Minutes

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Introduction: The meeting began at 7:04 pm in the Library. The PTO officers in attendance: Mary Ellen Meindl, Michelle Marconi, Melinda Brom, Jane Wilhelm, Kathy Dudek, Nancy Hutchings, Linda LaBelle, Jennifer Sedivy and Patrick O’Laughlin. Also in attendance: PTA District Regional Director Barb Marglio, PTA Area Representative Kathy Meitzler, Central School Principal Dr. Limperis and Central School Teacher Samantha Lutz.

Vote to Dissolve the Central School PTA: A motion was made by Nancy Hopkins pursuant to Article 13, Section 8 to formally dissolve the Central School PTA and was seconded by Jane Wilhelm. Barb Marglio, PTA District Regional Director stated that she was sorry the decision was made to dissolve the Central School PTA, however that Article 13, Section 8 must be followed. The Central School PTA will yield books/assets to the PTA and cease use of PTA in any publications. Kathy Meitzler stated that if the Central School PTA became a PTO, the PTO would need to file for Illinois tax exemption status (with expenses and legal fees), the PTO would need to obtain liability insurance coverage, the PTO would be bound by IRS end of year forms, the PTO would be under the jurisdiction of the Superintendent and the School Board.

The vote for dissolution of the Central School PTA was passed unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 7:15 pm
The Minutes are respectfully submitted by Patrick O’Laughlin, Recording Secretary.

Central School PTO Minutes

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Introduction: The meeting began at 9:03 am in the Library. The PTO officers in attendance: Mary Ellen Meindl, Michelle Marconi, Melinda Brom, Jane Wilhelm, Kathy Dudek, Nancy Hutchings, Linda LaBelle, Jennifer Sedivy and Patrick O’Laughlin. Also in attendance: Central School Principal Dr. Limperis and Central School Teacher Samantha Lutz.

Minutes: The September 9, 2008 minutes were approved by Nancy Hutchings and seconded by Michelle Hejna.

Officers’ Reports

President: Mary Ellen Meindl passed around a sign up sheet for volunteers to provide dinner to the teachers for the November 24^th Parent-Teacher conferences.

Correspondence: Jennifer Sedivy passed around teacher thank you notes for events and DVDs as well as the sign up sheet for the Hospitality table.

Treasurer’s Report: Jane Wilhelm reported on the budget. Items of note on the accounting: the amount in income under the Yearbook covers the calendar, the directory and the yearbook; the amount in income for the school directory should be switched with the calendar printing; and a profit of $111.50 was made at the Fall Family Fun Night from ice cream sales.

Principal’s Report: Dr. Limperis reported on the district initiatives for the writing program. The overview of the program can be found at www.regieroutman.com. The goal is to help the children to move from dependent to independent writers. For Social Studies, the Scott Foresman series is being used (2nd year of use) which dovetails with the guided reading program. For more information please go to www.sfsocialstudies.com. Dr. Limperis detailed the new K.I.T.E. program (Kindergarteners Improving Toward Excellence). The program is a two day a week program to develop motor skills, handwriting skills (using pilot program “handwriting without tears”, if it goes well, it will be used for all Kindergarten classes). The students are selected for the program based on testing: District-wide 31 students qualified for the program and 28 accepted. The draft of the Civility and Communication Guidelines for District 96 were presented which are: 1) professional/friendly language will only be used, if it isn’t, the conversation will be ended; 2) phone/email correspondence will be returned in one business day; 3) conferences will only be on a scheduled basis; 4) everyone must sign in when visiting the school. The ISATs for this year were 88% or above (met/exceeded standards) in every category. The 3rd grade achieved a 100% in Math.

Teacher Representative: Samantha Lutz reported that Parent-Teacher conferences are Friday. If you were not given a conference time, you will have one in November. Samantha passed around some examples from the 4^th Grade haiku poetry lesson as well as posters on common and proper nouns.

Meet the Teacher: Patty Dost, the P.E. teacher is a U of I grad who has taught at Shepard H.S. as well as St. Louise de Merillac in LaGrange Park. She is in her 11^th year in District 96, where she teaches at Central and Hollywood. P.E. is two times a week for 30 minutes. Every grade’s activities build on the previous year. Now the students are working on the Presidential Fitness test which is a series of sit-ups, pushups and agility exercises. The TDPE room is used for teachers to take students for one day of TDPE per week.

PTA Committee Reports

Flying Carpet Club: Aberdeen Ozga stated that the Flying Carpet Club is in need of volunteers. The program takes place from January- March during lunch and indoor recess periods. Donna Considine located and donated more materials, so we can have two more sessions without having to expend money on more materials. The new volunteer training will be in November and student’s signup will be at the end of November.

Halloween Windows: Nancy Hutchings stated that a flyer will be distributed tomorrow, please respond by Friday. The program is for 1^st-5^th Grade with painting to be done on the weekend (Oct. 16-18). The cost is $5.00

Hike and Bike Week: Tracy Sloan reported that everyone will receive water bottles on Friday and the roller skating party is from 1-3pm.

Original Works Fundraiser: Mary Ellen reported that the Original Works information has been sent out and is due on October 17th.

100% Fund Update: Kathy Dudek reported that the 100% Fund has received about $6000.00. The goal is $11,000.00. Budget plans are available and if your employer offers corporate matching, please enroll in it.

September Board of Education Meeting Update: Jane Wilhelm attended the shortened September 16^th meeting at Ames. The budget of $14 million was adopted. The next board meeting is Tuesday October 21^st at Hollywood.

Other Business

Tax Referendum: Ben Sells, Village Trustee came to speak about the Tax Referendum which has two parts: 1) an advisory referendum whether Riverside wants green oriented practices in the building code and waste removal; 2) a property tax increase equal to about 3 ½%. The village is a non-home rule entity where the Illinois Property Tax Cap is 2 ½% per year, but costs for the village have risen at 7 ½. Over the next 6 years, the village is projecting a $600,000.00 deficit. If the referendum passes, current services will be maintained and there will be an increase of 30% in additional services (increased parks maintenance, hiring additional police detective, ongoing sidewalk replacement program). If the referendum doesn’t pass, the village will make a $400,000.00 reduction in 2009: the community service officer (attends bond court for our officers) would be lost, the North Fire Station would be closed two days per week, Public Works would be cut and the Parks and Recreation Department would be eliminated.

Announcements: Thank you to all the volunteers.

The meeting adjourned at 10:30 am.

The Minutes are respectfully submitted by Patrick O’Laughlin, Recording Secretary.

Central School PTO Minutes

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Introduction: The meeting began at 9:05 am in the Library. The PTA officers in attendance: Mary Ellen Meindl, Michelle Marconi, Melinda Brom, Jane Wilhelm, Kathy Dudek, Nancy Hutchings, Linda LaBelle, Jennifer Sedivy and Patrick O’Laughlin. Also in attendance: District 96 Superintendent Dr. Lamberson, Central School Principal Dr. Limperis and Central School Teacher Samantha Lutz.

Minutes: The June 3, 2008 minutes were approved by Michelle Mendoza and seconded by Jeannine Glavas.

Officers’ Reports

President: Mary Ellen Meindl introduced the current executive board. The Staff of the Year award was presented to Samantha Lutz and the Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Aberdeen Ozga for the work they did with the organization.

Membership: Michelle Marconi reported that calendars are available for $3.00. The student directory will be out in about two weeks and will cost $3.00 if you haven’t paid yet. All Committee chairs have been contacted for this school year.

Hospitality: Jennifer Sedivy passed around a signup sheet for the hospitality table. The PTO is trying to be “green” this year by having a new coffee maker and not having water bottles.

Treasurer’s Report: Jane Wilhelm reported that the 2007-2008 audit was made and was approved. The 2008/09 proposed budget was passed out. Items of note: dues will be paid for 25 members of the PTA (to dissolve); the calendar, directory and roadrunner are separate entries; the Illinois Art Council grant is for $6165 and the cost of the program is $10100; Spring family night is eliminated and $200 is added to the Fall Family Fun night budget; $125 was added to turn off the TV week. A motion was made by Nancy Hopkins to approve the budget and seconded by Nancy Hutchings. The motion passed.

100% Fund: Kristine Adler reported that 39 families have contributed a total amount of $4333.00. Letters about the 100% Fund will go out in October and again in December for tax returns.

Superintendent’s Report: Dr. Lamberson detailed the district goals for this year: identify and practice civility and courtesy as teachers and students; reconstruct the website (www.district96.org) ; grade 5 for 4 program (Mac laptops for students for use during the school year, the laptops will be district property on loan for 4 years to the students. It will be presented to the Board of Education this month for approval. They are looking at grants for this for two years, so that no property taxes are used for this program to start). This year, there is a pilot of parent-teacher-student conferences for 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, and Hauser. The district wants the students to acquire the belief that it is their learning. District enrollment is at a 35 year high (1457), 6% higher than last year. Hauser is 10% higher than last year at 490. Central is at 390 only 50 students away from the all time high in 1969. If enrollment increases beyond space limitations, mobiles might be a possibility (placed in the t-ball field behind Hauser). This year, new student school registration had to be made by a legal guardian who had to provide 5 pieces of identification to prove residency. The district’s private investigator is checking on 4 possible residency issues, of which action will probably occur on 3 of them. The district is pursuing the collection of $31,000 from a family that allegedly misrepresented their residency.

Principal’s Report: Dr. Limperis stated that it was nice to see all the new and returning parents at the meeting. Central will be having a national election day for the students on October 15^th, complete with voting booths. The classroom materials have described the election process and the candidates for president. The new student teachers this year are Pat Hausa (McCarthy) and Becky Margill (Visek). Dr. Limperis reported that the teachers are very excited about the Striding Lion program. The leadership team has created guidelines for civility and courtesy which are: to communicate in a courteous/ friendly manner, return email/ calls in one business day, check the tone of an email — if it is really long it is time for a meeting, the priority is children in the classroom — so if a parent wants to meet please make an appointment, every visitor must register at the office and please wear the visitor badge, and no dogs on school property.

Teacher Representative: Samantha Lutz reported that Parent night is next Thursday, if you can’t make it please contact the teacher. C.A.K.E. is going well. Encourage students to say hi to teachers they see in the hallway and if they don’t know them, introduce themselves.

PTA Committee Reports

Box Tops and Labels: Michelle Hruska will send a flyer out next week about Box tops.

Cultural Arts — Classroom: Nancy Hutchings stated that there is an opportunity to volunteer in your child’s classroom with Cultural Arts. The meeting will be on September 24th at 7pm in the Library.

Family Fun Night: Mary Jurgens reported that Family Fun Night is Friday, September 26th from 5:30-7:30pm. There will be pizza, games, activities, dance and ice cream. Volunteers are still needed.

Flying Carpet Club: Aberdeen Ozga spoke about the Flying Carpet Club, which is a Junior Great Books program held during lunch/recess in the winter. The club members read stories (anthologies) and discuss them. Last year there were 26 parent volunteers and over 100 students. Volunteers are needed for this year.

Halloween Program: Dawn Gmitro and Kim Jacobs are the chairs for this committee. If you are interested, please contact them.

Hike and Bike Week: Will be next month; check the backpacks for info on Wednesday.

Library: Jeannine Glavas thanked everyone who attended the meeting last week. Volunteers are still needed for readers, monthly bulletin board, cover new books, shelving and shelf readers. Please give your cell number if you volunteer so you can be contacted if something changes.

PTO Update: Nancy Hopkins reported that the PTO is formed as a local organization with better insurance, no dues and has officially received 501 (c) 3 tax status. Central PTO has a new website www.centralptonews.org. The last meeting for the PTA will be the November meeting (evening) with the vote to disband. We will have 25 members pay PTA dues of $3.25 each so that we can vote to disband.

Roadrunner Yearbook: Kim Bolton passed around a volunteer sheet to take photos at events, since we want to make sure that someone covers every event at school. Room parents will cover the classroom photos. Ms. Nakis will coordinate the writers and students will also be taking pictures for the yearbook.

Other Business

Central’s PTO Things to know handbook committee appointment: Volunteers are needed to assist in creating a handbook of everything you need to know at Central for new families. The goal is to have the handbook finished by April/May for Kindergarten visitation.

Announcements: Thank you to all the volunteers.

The meeting adjourned at 10:30 am.
The Minutes are respectfully submitted by Patrick O’Laughlin, Recording Secretary.

Central School PTA Minutes

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Introduction: The meeting began at 9:08 am in the Library. The PTA officers in attendance: Mary Ellen Meindl, Michelle Marconi, Melinda Brom, Rick LaBelle, Jane Wilhelm, Kathy Dudek, Nancy Hutchings, Linda LaBelle and Patrick O’Laughlin. Also in attendance: Central School Principal Dr. Limperis and Central School Teacher Samantha Lutz.

Minutes: The May 6, 2008 minutes were approved by Nancy Hutchings and seconded by Jeannine Glavas.

Officers’ Reports

Hospitality: Jennifer Sedivy thanked today’s hostesses: Mary Ellen Meindl, Nancy Hutchings and Michelle Marconi. We are in need of a babysitter for the meetings (9-10:30 for morning PTA meeting), Teacher Appreciation luncheon and Halloween program. The pay is $25-35. Please let Jennifer know if you are interested. Correspondence was passed around including thank you notes from the Teachers for Teacher Appreciation Luncheon at Jem Café and from the students for the Book Fair and Ice Cream Social.

Membership: Michelle Marconi reported that last year 196 families signed up for the PTA, this year 101 have signed up. Everyone who already signed up for the PTA for next year will receive a refund of their PTA dues ($3.25). We will charge for the Roadrunner, the calendar and the student directory. Melinda Brom thanked all the volunteers and stated that we have a wonderful volunteer base. Some committees need chairs for next year especially Birthday Boards, Hike and Bike, PR Media Coordinator, Innisbrook (brings in about $7400- a big part of our budget) and Teacher Appreciation Week. Anyone interested in volunteering, please let Michelle or Melinda know.

Treasurer: Rick LaBelle stated that any expenses need to be in for this school year. Committee chairs should let Rick know if they need more money in the budget for their committee.

Philanthropy: Allyn Pilewski reported that there are two outstanding items: author kits (ordering books and discussion and teacher manuals) and stencils for the blacktop (waiting for district approval). Picnic tables and catering tables are on order.

Principal’s Report: Dr. Limperis stated that it has been a wonderful school year and she is looking forward to next year. Thank you to Bev Aieta for her work with the Book Fair, we received an extra $800 bonus from Scholastic. The Clap Out is tomorrow at 2:45 pm. Ms. Brackett will be going to Hollywood school next year. Mrs Walachek is retiring from the district. Mrs. Gangware left about three weeks ago. The district has hired two full time nurses: Geana Chapp and Judy Dalton. The topic for the June Board of Education Meeting is the district looking at 9th session for Kindergarten due to more children registering for Kindergarten. For next year’s district calendar, the specials classes will be shifted for early release days so that students won’t miss more than 3 sessions.

Teacher Representative: Samantha Lutz reported on the CAKE theme for next school year- be Courteous and Kind to Everyone.

PTA Committee Reports

Box Tops and Labels: Mary Ellen Meindl reported that from the Campbell’s points Patty Dost will be receiving two flip a scores and a jump and reach board. We should have about 6,000 points next year. We have about $398.00 from Box Tops.

Library: We have the Monarch and Caudill texts. Help is needed for shelf reading.

Pavers: Nikki Hajer reported that 5 pavers were sold for $425 profit. The profit for the year was $850.

PTO Committee: Nancy Hopkins reported that the papers will be filed today for tax exempt status for the Central School PTO. A motion was made “To give 9364.60 as a directed gift to District 96 to be used for hardscape and landscape in the area of Central Playground with funds to be returned to Central School PTO if not used by summer 2009″ by Nancy Hopkins and seconded by Allyn Pilewski. The motion passed. A motion was made by Anne Kodama to “transfer funds remaining in the PTA checking account as of the end of the fiscal year to the new PTO checking account” and was seconded by Jane Wilhelm. The motion passed. Jane Wilhelm made a motion to refund the PTA membership fee of $3.25 to those who already paid it and was seconded by Anne Kodama. The motion passed.

Roadrunner update: Kim Bolton reported that Kim Frank and Matthew Heine used Flickr for uploading the photographs, which was easier to pick instead of CD’s. The Roadrunner went to the printer Tuesday after Memorial Day and will be ready for distribution Thursday.

07/08 Talent Show Recap: Colleen Lieggi reported that 113 students, 47 acts, 15 announcers and 6 stage hands were in the Talent Show. They received a lot of positive feedback. The same group of volunteers has been putting on the show for the past 3 years. The students learn performance art, building self esteem and confidence as well as school pride.

Artist in Residence: Mary Ellen Meindl stated that the Illinois Council Grant that Dawn Gmitro has been working on was accepted pending Illinois State budget approval. The grant is a 60/40 split (about $6100), we will need to fundraise about $4,000.00. The grant will be used for the Striding Lion interarts workshop of creative drama. K-3^rd will work one time on the theme of geometry, while the core group of 4^th and 5^th Grade will work the last two weeks of January and February, concluding with a final performance. Mary Ellen stated that one assembly will be eliminated next year (saving about $800) as well as the talent show being held every other year (saving about $500, as well as classroom time used).

Other Business

08/09 Talent Show proposal: Kim Jacobs stated that the break from the Talent show would be difficult for the kids and volunteers. Kim stated that the talent show is aligned with the district mission to inspire creativity. Kim will present the proposal to the August Executive Board meeting. If there are any additional items to include, please contact Tiffany McManus. A motion was made by Kim Bolton and seconded by Sandy Briolat to continue the talent show as an annual event with two performances with a plan for provisions for budget and time issues. A motion was then made to table that motion by Jennifer Sedivy and seconded by Kathy Dudek. The vote was 16 yes, 0 no. The motion was tabled.

Announcements

None.

The meeting adjourned at 10:35 am.
The Minutes are respectfully submitted by Patrick O’Laughlin, Recording Secretary.