Maple PTO Minutes
September 2nd, 2015
PTO Update
501c3 approval attained by IRS granting PTO not-for-profit, tax exempt status. State of Illinois still
pending
78% of Maple families have registered for PTO. Teacher registration underway.
Spiritwear orders underway, samples in teachers’ lounge, deadline is Friday September 11th.
Embroid Me service for uniforms going well, positive feedback from parents. One note was that they
don’t have enough small sizes for petite individuals.
Speakers will be scheduled for parent nights in January and March, topics to be determined. A
suggestion sheet was distributed.
Sixth grade dance starts Thursday, September 10th. 70 kids have enrolled. The first class is free for
those who have not yet registered so that kids can try it out and there is still time to sign up!
PTO will continue to help promote student spirit at Maple. Dr. Wegley suggested Andrew Pappas, an 8th
grader, as Student Leader for school spirit.
Dr. Carter and Mrs. Holzkopf Update
The new wellness center is up and running. This was paid for using Lew Blond funds as well as district
funds.
The Maple bronze mustang bust was unveiled before the holidays. Again it will be mounted and on
display outside the west gym and the kids will be encouraged to rub its nose for good luck.
PTO Hospitality team hosted a fabulous lunch for the teachers’ first day. Again many thanks.
There are 119 new 6th graders, smallest class of the three. There were many new move-ins this year.
Dr. Wegley has the villages looking at the traffic flow patterns of all three schools to see if there are any
changes or efficiencies that can be introduced to make drop-off and pick-up run more smoothly.
Tryouts were held for soccer and volleyball teams. No cuts were needed this year.
A student survey on clubs and activities is in the works. It will inquire about students’ intentions for
participation and their interests, as well as take suggestions for new clubs.
The Maple Leaf award will be re-introduced this year. New awards for the Character Counts Pillars will
be introduced this year. These will be cards that are filled out by teachers and staff and submitted daily
when they notice a student exhibiting one of the pillars. Awards will be announced during lunchtime.
Rewards include ear buds, sunglasses, #1 foam hands, and footballs.
Student Council Elections are coming up. Informational meeting for the students will be held September
8th and the assembly for speeches and elections will be held on September 29th.
This year MAP testing will be shortened to eliminate the language usage portion, and utilize only the
reading and math portions. The students will take the test using their iPads in their respective LA and
math class, but it should only take one class session of each. This will free up the library considerably, as
it usually is tied up for 6 weeks during the year due to MAP testing there.
No date yet from the state from PARC testing. This year testing will be reduced to one day. A science
component will be added for grades 5 through 7.
Next Generation Science Standards have been released, and align pretty well with what Maple has
already. Melissa Hirsch forming a committee to make some tweaks to the curriculum so it conforms.
New STEM program introduced this year for Maple students. Sixth graders are required to take one
quarter of STEM class as part of their Allied Arts rotation this year. Still being determined whether it will
be offered as an Alllied Arts elective to 7th and 8th or will be required. Kristin Leverso will be teaching.
RTI (Response to Intervention) is piloting a parallel instruction in reading and math for a 9 week session
to those qualified students, in lieu of World Language. The class will meet daily vs. the past 1 period per
week. The hope with a shorter more intensive program is to get the kids in and out to their normal
curriculum. There will be 2 classes each with 6 kids.
The district wide Environmental Awareness Committee is underway. They can use suggestions, parent
support, and also student involvement. It was suggested they connect with the Student Council and
PTO. Initiatives have included Trashless Tuesday, water bottle dispensers, and school recycling.
Westcott’s new carpeting is 100% recyclable. Discussion centered around how to promote reusable
lunch boxes to reduce waste. Dr. Carter recommended carpooling at Maple.