February 2024
Tavelli PTO Board Meeting
2.8.24
6 - 7 pm – Tavelli Media Center
Attendees: Melissa Adams, Heather Reider, Corinne Deuel, Monica Smith, Shirley Woods, Erin Erdkamp, Molly Anderson, Laura Taggart
Minutes
School Updates
Yearbook
Cover Contest has been announced and Ms. Robinson is helping guide students and give them supplies; due March 22
Laura is helping with the online design
Book Vending Machine
Donation to PTO for purchase and initial fill of the machine
Monica ordered and it will take about 4 weeks
May need a plan for getting it into the school
Linda has purchased a Scholastic book package to fill with the first round of books
Students will use tokens to pick books for things like rewards and birthdays, etc.
Kindness Night - Feb 21, 5:30-6:30
Mini Grant for games and snacks
Mrs. Schooley’s class is running stations to make friendship bracelets, a photo booth, etc.
Classified Appreciation Week - Feb 12-16
PTO providing Coffee Stop on 2/12 for all staff
PTO providing Fiona’s lunch on 2/13 for Classified employees (Monica will p/u and Brittany will decorate room so they can all eat together)
Licensed staff decorating the lounge and providing mocktails and snacks
Valentine’s parties money distributed on 2/8 ($25 to each classroom and preschool)
Read Across America - March 4-8
Literacy Night - March 4, 5:30-6:30 pm
PTO to provide snacks and books for a giveaway
Monica will purchase 100 books, more geared toward younger students, using our Scholastic Bucks
About $4000 earned from our Fall Book Fair
Summer Blast Off
Food trucks
Mac’n - power is available if they bring extension cords
No for Sunny Sky Pies, so look into Brown Butter Bakery
Kona Ice if they can do two servers
Monica will reach out to the Hot Dog guy and Heather will contact the taco truck
Mini Grants
First grade would like $672 for admission to FoCoMod - APPROVED
Trash along Lemay
Shirley will put in a request for a cleanup
Tiger Trek Walk-a-thon - March 28
Kick Off Thursday, Feb. 29 with pledge packets sent home and emailed
Melissa is working with Business Sponsors
$1600 to date; due March 1
T-shirt Design Contest is running through Feb. 23
Heather has done Pledgestar setup; just need to test it
Brittany is working on prize donations
Please reach out to her if you have any businesses that she could ask or if you ask for us
Heather will work with Jane to send out call for volunteers
Need to purchase cuties and plastic bracelets
Monica will see if she has a balloon arch big enough for the start/finish line
Look into having bubbles at the start/finish line
Talk to Mr. Deal about adding obstacles next year (ie: hula hoops, jump ropes)
Community/Fundraiser Nights
Planter with Mother Gardener - Cortney, a Tavelli parent, proposed hosting an herb planting class for families; need to figure out location (will need district approval if done in the cafeteria) and some other logistics
Some consideration about it being a fundraiser because we want to be sensitive about things with a cost
Could it tie into the Learning Garden in any way? Melissa will connect Cortney with Erin
Garden Update
Ms. Buggle has two fifth grade students that are interested in taking on a project in the garden; they will be working with Ms. Musante to grow tomato and pepper plants in the hydroponics towers then with Erin to transplant the plants into the garden in the Spring
Erin reached out to several seed companies for donations and now we are receiving seeds from 4 companies; the quantity they donate is much more than we need, so want to come up with a way to give them to our Tavelli community with a request for some of them to be grown for the school and donated back in the Spring for planting.
Heather will connect Erin with Anna Wright about helping to prep seed packets and a flyer (include a link to the PTO website) and distribute to families (potentially having them return starters on Steam Day?)
Erin and Dr. McKelvey are brainstorming ways to have more student engagement in the garden
Will submit a mini grant application for the garden again to include a new hose, long-handle sprayer and more, smaller watering cans so more students can help at one time
Garden clean up will happen before Spring planting; date TBD
Garden cleanup is left until Spring because it is currently an insect habitat. During winter, insects like native bees live in and under the dead plants and emerge in the Spring. This encourages biodiversity, reduces pest pressure and increases pollination/yields.
Budget
Next big goal is updates to the Media Center, which is part of the original building built in 1968
PTO to consider small updates to the lounge, such as new ice machine
Reallocation of Nature Center budget for Mini Grants and Teacher Hospitality - APPROVED
Nature Center total was under $20,000 and we budgeted $40,000
Instead of paying Linda one time at the end of the year, we are now paying quarterly, so our school account balance is mostly caught up at this time
Bank account at about $43,000 with about $5,000 outstanding currently, so propose that we reallocate the $20,000 balance to Mini Grants and Staff Hospitality evenly since those are our areas of biggest impact and most enjoyment
Mini Grants budgeted at $3000, but we have used nearly $5000 already
Staff Hospitality budgeted at $5000 plus the extra $2000 parent donation and have used all with about $1000 coming out next week for Classified
Board Recruiting
Current board will let Heather know about their desires for next year
Recruiting letters and website updates will start in late Feb/early March
Directory - Second round opt-in due Feb 15
About 20 new entries as of 2/8
ACTION ITEMS + OWNERS
Website Updates - events and minutes + Melissa
Student Directory + Melissa and Heather
Board Recruiting + Heather
Snacks for community nights+ Brittany
Yearbook + Laura + Lehman and Merrill
PTO Newsletter + Board
Update Budget monthly + Monica
Walk-a-thon + Board