WWMS PTO Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
WWMS School Library
Attendance: Lisa Purro, Sandra Cardella, Pauline Rankins, Lori Donadio, Mr. Davis, Mr.
Panciera, Lukanya Wilborn, Franca Biales, Dawn Quintiliano, Chris Brenchak, Sheila Giardina,
Lori Salazar, Carla Hass
1.
2.
Welcome and Introduction. Meeting was called to order at 6:40pm by Lori Salazar, CoPresident.
Guest Speaker. Brian Pereira, Director of Students, Vinal Technical School, 60 Daniels
Street, Middletown. Mr. Pereira gave a PowerPoint presentation portraying Vinal as a
competitive high school learning environment that provides a unique combination of
academic and technical education. Students rotate every 91 days between their core classes
and their tech classes. Vinal graduates will receive both a high school diploma as well as a
trade certificate. 78% of Vinal grads go to a four year college with a trade back up. Mr.
Pereira will be making the same presentation to the students at Wilson on Wednesday,
October 26th. Students interested in attending Vinal are encouraged to attend the open
house on November 10th, 6pm-8pm, in the school gym. Applications are available at
www.cttech.org and are due by December 16th.
3. Leader to Detractor Scale. Mr. Davis discussed the Leader to Detractor Scale that he has
adapted for use at Wilson. The scale is based on five levels of leadership, responsibility and
respect. Students use the scale to see where they are on a day-to-day basis. The five levels
are: Leader (consistently contributes to an activity; teaches others to lead), Contributor
(partly responsible for adding to an activity), Participant (takes part in an activity), Observer
(not fully engaged in activity; acts as a bystander), Detractor (takes away from/devalues an
activity). The goal is for the students, at the least, to be a participant. Even in their worst
subject, they must find a way to be engaged. Students who are Contributors, adding one
positive thing to each class every day, will most definitely impact their grade. Please find
the scale on the Wilson website and get to know it. Ask your child where he/she falls on the
scale.
4. Student Governance Council. Carla Hass and Lori Donadio, members of the Student
Governance Council Nomination Committee, gave an update on the nomination committee.
The Student Governance Council will be made up of 7 parents, 5 teachers and 2 community
members. The goal of the SGC is to improve communication between the school, parents,
students and community. The nomination committee has received applications from
parents seeking a seat on the SGC. The election will be held on October 26 th. Parents who
have not applied to be on the SGC but who would still like to be involved will be able to join
subcommittees once the council is up and running.
5. PTO Budget Review. Co-presidents Lori Salazar and Sheila Giardina discussed our budget.
The fall fundraiser was very successful. The money earned will be disbursed to the teams
based on their sales and does not go into the general fund. The PTO has already funded
$650 for speakers/assemblies this year, which leaves us with less than $1000. The figures
will be reflected in next month’s treasurer’s report, once the fundraiser figures have been
set.
6. Reports and General Information
a. Review of September minutes. Minutes were read and reviewed. They are
available on the website.
b. MSA Update. The Reflections Program packets will be going out soon and are
due back on November 30th. The MSA will be asking student council members
to help with the book drive, which stocks the book mobile. MSA meetings are
now being held in the former VoAg building, next to Wilson. MSA meets on the
fourth Monday of every month. The next meeting is October 24th.
c. School Dance. The first dance is scheduled for Friday, October 28th and will have
a Halloween theme. Students may dress up in costume, however, masks are
not allowed. Tickets are available during PRIDE period and are $5 each. Tickets
are not for sale on the day of the dance nor are they available at the door, so
remind your child to purchase their ticket in advance. Student Council organizes
the Wilson school dances, the teachers chaperone, and the PTO provides the
snacks and drinks, flyers to follow with more dance information.
d. Fundraisers:
1. A & L Student Services. The fall fundraiser was a huge success,
bringing in just under $22,000 in sales. Our profit is yet to be
determined because there were several different parts to the
fundraiser and each gives a different percentage of profit. Thank
you all who supported this fundraiser.
2. Cartridge World. Mr. Panciera, Coordinator and 7M Social
Studies Teacher, requested that all families send their used
printer cartridges in to the school. The school receives $0.50$1.00 for each cartridge and will use the money raised to
purchase recycling bins for the café. Last year the school raised
about $400, and our goal is the same for this year. Mr. Panciera
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
will be posting an updated list of accepted cartridges on the
Wilson website.
Stop and Shop A+ School Rewards. Currently we have 161
people registered on Stop and Shop. A portion of each purchase
you make is donated to our school. It does NOT affect your gas
rewards. Please sign up; it’s a great way to contribute financially
to our school, without having to spend any additional money.
It’s essentially “free money”. Also, if you participated last year,
please remember to sign up again. The program does not carry
over from one school year to the next. Sign up by visiting the
website at www.stopandshop.com/aplus or by emailing Lori
Salazar @ saltran@comcast.net . All you need to do is provide
the 13-digit number surrounding the barcode on the back of the
card and your last name. We can sign your card up for you!
Price Chopper Tools for Schools Program. This program awards
points rather than making a cash donation. The school is able to
use the points to purchase supplies and gym equipment. Last
year we had a very small number of parents participating and
were still able to purchase some volleyballs. We have tripled the
number of parents signed up this year…if you haven’t signed up
yet, please do so at www.pricechopper.com (hit the Program
sign-up link or the Tools for Schools link). Or email your Price
Chopper number with your name to Lori Salazar @
saltran@comcast.net. This does NOT affect your gas rewards.
Chili’s Giveback Night. The first Chili’s Giveback night is
scheduled for tomorrow, October 20th. Lukanya Wilborn has
booked six Chili’s nights throughout this school year.
Election Day Bake Sale. Calling all bakers! The PTO has gotten
approval to hold a bake sale at the high school on Election Day.
In the past we have offered a variety of baked goods as well as
lunch items (chili, soups, stuffed breads, pizzas) and it has been
very profitable. Volunteers and bakers are needed. Please
contact Lori Salazar (saltran@comcast.net) if you are able to help
with this event.
Box Tops. We are in the process of restarting this program due to
the many calls we have received from parents wanting to know if
we collect them. If you are interested in helping cut and count
box tops please contact Lori Salazar (saltran@comcast.net).
7. Open Forum. Franca Biales, BOE candidate and Wilson parent, addressed the PTO in regard
to her campaign for a Democratic seat on the BOE.
Meeting ended at 8:10
Minutes respectfully submitted by Christine Brenchak, Secretary