Seth Paine PTO Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, January 5th, 2016
7:00 pm in the Library
1. Welcome and President's Report – Tara Elder
Meeting called to order at 7:09pm.
2.
Roll Call taken from sign in sheet – Sara Woitel
Alex Block, Cindy Malin, Debbie Miller, Debbie Theys-Dice, Diane Bohorquez, Emily
Kopp, Jennifer Kallaus, Karen Lodewyck, Katie Carney, Kim Wrzesinski, Kristyn Zoibi,
Marie Rothermel, Rachel Kamin, Sara Woitel, Suzanne Lyons, Tara Elder, Tracy
Suykerbuyk
3.
Approval of Past Minutes – Sara Woitel
Motion to Approve November 3rd minutes was made by: Emily Kopp
Seconded by: Cindy Malin
Motion Carried.
4. Principals’ Report –Marie Rothermel
2nd Grade CogAT—All 2nd Grade students in the district will be taking the CogAT
(Cognitive Abilities Test) in February. This assessment measures a student’s ability to
reason with words, quantitative concepts, and spatial/figural drawings.
ACCESS Testing—All ELL students will take part in ACCESS testing during the months
of January/February. This assists the district in gauging the level of learning according to
the WIDA standards.
Winter MAP and F&P Testing- Select students have been identified for the Winter MAP
and F&P benchmark testing. Letters were sent home this week with those participating
students.
The Parent Feed + Project B3—The district will be offering a 90 minute digital
responsibility awareness event for parents and students. Parents will get up-to-date
information about what the “digital generation” is doing online and students will be led
through fun activities and discussions on how they can be digitally responsible and avoid
cyberbullying.
5Essentials Survey—The district will again be administering the 5Essentials survey this
year. The survey window will be open on January 11, allowing teachers, parents, and students
(grades 6-12) across Illinois to have an opportunity to participate in the fourth annual Illinois
5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the learning climate
of the school. As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the
important elements of the school’s effectiveness. District 95 has chosen to provide the optional
5Essentials parent survey. If at least 20% of a school’s parents complete the survey, a parent
supplement will be generated for schools in May 2016. Please look for this invitation in an email
next week and provide us your feedback.
Important upcoming dates
Jan.13 - After School Tae Kwon Do
Jan. 15 - Institute Day
Jan. 18 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Jan. 25 - After School Book Club
Jan. 28 – School Board Meeting
5. Teachers' Report – Mrs Lyons, Ms Block, Ms Bohorquez, Ms Lodewyck
Face to Face was a smashing success, they love to come to Seth Paine and make sure that
they are available every December! Thank you for dinner during conferences. PTO is an
amazing presence that helps the school. Alice Troyer is looking for volunteers in the library.
6. Treasurer’s Report – Tracy Suykerbuyk
The No Catalog fundraiser didn’t hit our goal, so there may be an additional fundraiser in the
spring. Tracy is busy preparing taxes for the first time as our own 529! Go Tracy!
7. Operations
a. Newsletter – Christy Medley
Deadline for submissions is January 25th (or earlier!) for the next newsletter
b. Yearbook – Christy Middlebrook
5th Graders need to submit Kindergarten pictures for the year book!
c. District 95 Representative – Doug Good
No update
8.
Community Development
a. Restaurant Night – Sue Richards
Culvers made $350 plus $180 from the 50/50 raffle. The winner graciously donated the
money back to the school! Jersey Mikes restaurant brought in $75. The next restaurant night
will be in February at Beelow’s!
b. Joanie’s Closet – Vicki Pesch
Joanie’s Closet’s fundraising dance is at Mae Whitney on February 5th at 7pm. It is $30 per
couple with additional children at $10. Please consider attending! It is a fun night for a great
cause!
c. Seth Paine Soiree – Sherri Roben/Cindy Malin
The Soiree is scheduled for March 12th from 7-11pm at Wynstone Country Club! Mark your
calendars! Invitations will come out at the end of the month. Teachers are free! Cash Bar!
Donations for the silent auction are being accepted, an email will come out soon. Gift cards
are being accepted for a fun game as well as wine donations!
d. Hospitality – Jen O’Gara
The soup luncheon for the teachers is on January 28th. Please sign up to bring soup or a
dessert.
e. Fun Fair – Christy Middlebrook
Fun Fair does not currently have a date but will likely be at Main Street Sports with a similar
setup as last year.
9. Health Enrichment
a. Olympics – David Finn
Discussions are underway for the Olympics! The Olympics replaces Field Days every 4
years. Currently, discussions are if we should go to the high school like we have in previous
years or stay at Seth Paine. Bussing is expensive but the high school has the stadium and a
more authentic feel. It is a special day, further details to come soon.
b. Girls on the Run – Cindy Malin
Girls on the Run is open to 3rd – 5th grade girls and occurs after school from March through
May. The running program promotes team building and self esteemed. Martine and Foster
will assist as coaches as well as 4 others. Currently can accept 45 girls.
c. Boy’s Running Club – Kim Wrzesinski
The boy’s running club is becoming a reality! We have volunteers for running and coaching
as well as a loose curriculum. An email is going out to look for potential volunteers with a
committee meeting planned in the next couple of weeks. Middle School Cross Country will
run a workshop and provide motivation!
10. Arts Enrichment
a. School Play – Cindy Malin
Everyone is practicing hard on Peter Pan! Conversation has been ongoing concerning having
the children “fly” during the show. The initial price of $2000 was previously ok’d during a
PTO meeting, but the price went up to almost $5000. The decision was to not go forward.
b. Talent Show – Laura Dekker and Amy Sparkowski
No update
c. Keepsake Art Program – Debbie Miller and Debbie Theys-Dice
Supplies have shipped and should be received soon. The art will be complete in time for
Mother’s Day. Looking at giving the kids a choice if they would like to stay in from recess to
participate if we can get parent volunteers. Also plan a family night or after school.
11. Academic Enrichment
a. In School Assemblies – Debbie Miller & Debbie Theys-Dice
The next assembly will be March 15th with an author that is willing to do five 50 minute
assemblies (one for every grade!) and an evening presentation. At the soiree, we will auction
off dinner with the author!
b. Book Club – Rachel Kamin & Tracy Suykerbuyk
January 25th is the next book club. Need volunteers, teachers please send home sign up
genius.
c. Grant Program – Susan Short
No update
d. 2nd Grade Teddy Bear Factory – Sara Woitel
The factory is March 22nd from 9-10am. Planning has begun!
e. 2nd Grade Teddy Bear Celebration – Lisa Rucker and Jodi Echelbarger
The celebration is April 11th in the evening. Planning has begun!
f. 1st and 2nd Grade After School Enrichment – David Finn
No update
g. 3rd-5th Grade After School Enrichment – Marie Mirabella and Christy
Middlebrook
Bat Lady was a success in November! Tae Kwon Do will do an after school program in
January and possibly have classes at school once a week for 4 weeks which they will donate
the fees back to Seth Paine.
12. Fundraising
a. No Stress Fundraising – Tara Elder
Looking into a Family Fundraiser night at Orbit Roller Rink to help supplement the No Stress.
Looking for someone to chair.
b. Feed the Dragon – Kim Wrzensinski
CURRENT YTD WINNERS: Box Tops: Reinstein / Labels: Brawley - PM
November Winners:
Box tops – 1st is Tomczyk/Weider, 2nd is Reinstein, and 3rd is Marello
Labels – 1st is Block, 2nd is Lyons, 3rd is Tomczyk/Weider
We have $1914.50 pending from Target and $1112.70 from Box Tops! We plan on
implementing a writing utensil’s recycling program and are working through a snag with
Amazon Smiles.
c. Taft Fundraising – Cindy Malin
Taft fundraising has made over $4000 so far which translates to a $69 per child donation from
the PTO. The current cost of Taft is $205 and parents to pay the difference.
d. Book Fair – Tracy Suykerbuyk
The November Book Fair was down $1,000 from the year prior even though it was open an extra
2 days. Looking for suggestions to improve.
13. Old Business:
14. New Business: 5th Grade Copy Parents have a lot of copying, in some cases up to 4-5 hours a
week using 8 reams of paper a day. The copying of work sheets is a district wide policy
based on price. If anyone is available to help the 5th grade parents, it would be appreciated!
15. Adjournment
Motion to Adjourn: Kim Wrzesinski
Seconded: Katie Carney
Motion Carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:17pm