October 7, 2013
The meeting was called to order by Lori Braun at 6:30 p.m.
Lori Braun, Lisa Palma, Karin Arai, Mary Beth Chamberlain, Diane Michaud, Wendy Opin, Jean Aspinwall,
Courtney Devine, Ulari Dike, Jill Hale, Kristin Lentini, Angela Ruggiero, Mary Karas, Elissa Tessier, Lisa
Arcierie, Margie Orliz, Lucy Kampf, Mary Beth Colosky, Janine Mahan, Jennifer Siniscalco, Sandy
Parkerson, Melinda Grove, Henry Fleischman, Karen Guerrera, Bridget Boucaud (guest speaker)
The guest speaker was Bridget Boucaud from CT Safe Routes to School. She spoke to us about “Walk It,
Bike It!”, a federally funded program that encourages kids to bike and walk to school. The free program is managed by the Department of Transportation and provides education, engineering assessment, and incentive packages to support the program. To get started, an “application for assistance” should be completed and then a free site assessment will be done. Mrs. Karas stated that if pursued, this program should be a joint project between the PTA and school administration.
Mary Beth Chamberlain read the minutes from last meeting (8/13/13). Lori Braun made a motion for approval of the minutes. Angela Ruggiero seconded. The minutes were approved by a unanimous vote.
Lisa Palma reviewed the dates for the upcoming PTA meetings for the year (November 4, December 9,
January 6, February 3, March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2). The date for the December meeting has been changed to the second Monday of the month.
There are still several committee vacancies – Field Day, Family Fun Night-Spring, and Fifth Grade
Promotion Reception. In addition, there will be a vacancy for Ice Cream Social in 2015. Janine Mahan would like to have her successor filled by next fall so she can train that person during the 2014 Social.
The Reading is Fun program will be sponsored again this year by Pop’s Pizza and will run during the months of October, November, January, February, and April.
Abby Santa Maria-Nageotte was not present for the meeting. She will e-mail her report.
The secretary did not have anything to report.
Mrs. Karas reported that there has been a good start to the year. The SRI and Reading Assessments are being made. Responsive Classroom Training is ongoing. The first town meeting included a fun flash mob by the 6 th graders as a surprise for the principal.
a. Cultural Committee
– Ulari Dike reported that on November 13 th there will be an assembly featuring
Destiny Africa Choir. There will be two 30 minute shows followed by a Q & A session. Ulari is working with the group on what food to provide. She needs times from the school. Mrs. Karas needs to know what the setup should be.

b. Book Fair
– Wendy Opin reported preliminary sales figures: last year sales of $14,800, this year
$14,400. But online sales will continue through Oct 15 th . If we exceed last year’s sales by 5%, we receive a bonus. The hot book “Candymakers” was not available for the book fair but is available online. Any books bought online can be delivered to the child’s classroom or sent home. Please email Wendy with any suggestions for next year’s book fair. c. Ice Cream Social
– Janine Mahan reported sales of $1,069.50. The ice cream cost $125. Leftover toppings will either be returned, used for auction baskets, or used for the te acher’s ice cream social at the end of the year. d. Open House Treat Sale – Reported a net profit of $1,300. e. Fundraising
– The non-fundraiser letter brought in $600, magnets and bags $30, directory $68,
Genevieve $2,400 ($6,000 sales). Total for the year $3,785. Pie orders are out until Oct 15 th . Gift cards for Stop and Shop can be purchased through the PTA. PTA receives 5% on each card. The next fundraiser will be light bulbs in February. f. School Directory (see note e) g. Auction – Melinda Grove reported progress on the auction: She made a walk-through at Lane; still looking for donations; credit cards can be used during auction using PayPal; she needs parent auction reps for each class (to send out reminder e-mails); there will be a 1 st & 2 nd grade table; leave donations in the office for Melinda to pick up. h. Membership – Ulari Dike reported that last year at this time membership was 128 members for
$3,490; this year is 117/$2,865. The form is on the website and will be put in the Wednesday
Weekly. Elissa Tessier (Townwide PTA rep) reported that other schools have dropped the Teacher
PTA dues to $5 and have seen membership increase exponentially. Currently, teacher PTA dues at Norton is $15. i. Picture This! – Volunteers are needed for this program. Those in attendance who have participated in the past were very enthusiastic about it and encouraged others to try it. j. Sunshine and Helping Hands – The group discussed helping a fifth grader who recently lost his father. A scholarship fund has been set up at Wells
Fargo in the family’s name. A motion to donate $50 to the fund was made by Angela Ruggiero and seconded by Lori Braun. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Helping Hands meets on Fridays from 9 to 11. Children are welcome. k. Scouting
– Henry Fleischman reported that there are 10 new scouts this year, Allen Smith is the new scout master and there is $8,000 in the bank. Karen Guerrera reported that 4 scouts attended camp this summer, in September will be the first camp trip, and there is $10,800 in the bank. The
Norton Brownies will be collecting food for the Cheshire Food Bank at Everybody’s on November
2 nd . l. Quinnipiac Men’s Hockey – Norton night is Saturday, January 11 th . Tickets are $8; the PTA gets about $3. m. Townwide PTA – Elissa Tessier reported the following news from the townwide PTA meeting: 68% of parents don’t know about the Common Core Standard and the changes in testing; most Board of
Ed positions are coming up in June 2014; there will be a BOE Candidate Form on Oct 28 th
(questions can be e-mailed to the candidates); the Vendor Fair will be 3/29/14 in Hamden; the
Annual PTA meeting will be 4/28/14 in Hamden; the State PTA Reflections Awards will be 5/8/14 in
Fairfield; the curriculum for full-day kindergarten was passed by the curriculum board and is going to the BOE, there is a flyer and Facebook page offering more information on full-day kindergarten.
There was no additional old business to discuss.
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A Dodd student recently fell off his bike without helmet and sustained brain damage. A fundraiser is being conducted by Bagelicious. Lori Braun made a motion to donate $50 to the Anthony Moran fund. Janine Mahan seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously approved.
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Mary Beth Chamberlain suggested a guest speaker for this year. Marc Dynder from Ameriprise
Financial can speak about financial planning for college. Lori and Lisa advised that the January or
February meetings are available for speakers. Mary Beth will discuss with Mr. Dynder and determine the best meeting date.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Monday, November 4 th , 6:30 p.m., Norton Cafeteria
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