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June Agenda

AGENDA

Hoosic Valley PTO

Meeting date: 6/20/23 @ 6:30pm

Meeting location:  Elementary School library 

  • Call to Order
  • Minutes:  Review of minutes
  • Treasurer Report
  • Committee Reports
    • Yearbook
    • School Supply
  • Unfinished (Old) business 
    • Plants for staff room
    • Senior gifts
    • Senior Scholarships
    • Volunteer Recognition
    • Zillah program
    • Camp Day
    • Fall fundraiser
  • New Business
    • Opportunities for spirit wear/stuffed animals
    • Color Run
  • Funding Requests
  • Future Discussion
  • Adjournment

Hoosic Valley PTO

Meeting Minutes

Date: April 18, 2023

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Hoosic Valley Elementary School library

In Attendance

President: Liz Ruepp

Vice President: Lissa Kalbfliesh

Secretary: Lisa Meehan

Treasurer: not present

In Person attendees:  Denile Paro, Tiffany Hurley, Stacy Maxon, Jacqui Paglialonga, Kim Macica, Stacey Kyea

Virtual attendees: none

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 6:35pm

Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the March meeting were approved.

Committee Reports

  • Yearbook – Deadline to purchase has been set at April 30 in order to receive and distribute in a timely fashion. Currently,the  number ordered is down from previous years – flyers just went home so hopefully orders will increase in the upcoming weeks. Please help spread the word by sharing on social media.

Unfinished (Old) Business:

  • Plants for staff room:  delivered soon.
  • Senior gifts: 80 pairs of socks were ordered, similar to last year for a cost of approximately $400. These will be distributed at the senior picnic.
  • Senior Scholarships: The committee will begin reviewing these in the next week. Deadline is 5/1. See Carolyn Gifford with any questions.
  • Teacher Appreciation: Survey sent out, handful of responses are mixed. Will allow more time, but currently the results, with logistics and finances point to a boxed lunch. Liz will look into options and reach out for assistance in the coming weeks.
  • Meet the Board Candidates Night: Currently appears to be only 1 petition turned in. In that case, this event will not be held. Deadline is 4/17 so will assess after that date.
  • Learning Fair: To be held the day of the BOE elections in the gym (May 16). Flyers went home with kids recently. Open to 4th-6th grade students. Format and subject can be anything the student would like to focus on, worked on outside of school. See Amanda Akin for details or to assist with setup on that day.
  • Stewart’s Holiday Match:  received an award of $1000 for classroom libraries. This falls short of the amount needed for giving a meaningful amount to each teacher. Still looking for ideas to raise those additional $2000 to meet this need. First avenue will be just to ask for donations for this and see where that ends up.
  • School Supply Kits: Currently being coordinated with same vendor as last year: Bright School Kitz. Awaiting updated lists from 2 grades. Sale will be live in mid-May until mid-June.

New Business

  • Book Fair Week Activity: Book fair is first week of May. Discussion regarding activity to be held in conjunction with it. Possibilities were discussed and consensus was Book Fair Bingo night on 5/5 at 6:30. See Liz or Denile if you would like to help out – with Bingo night or with book fair.
  • Vendor Refund: Discussed and approved refunding $60 to a vendor who got ill and could not attend the vendor fair. Agreed to put a clause regarding this situation in to the contract for future years: that refunds will be granted on a case-by-case basis.
  • Volunteer Recognition: Discussed acknowledging the small number of members who provide extensive volunteer hours for the PTO sponsored activities and programs. This was done in the past with mugs and pens. See Liz or Lissa with any ideas.
  • Google phone number: Agreed to activate the google phone number to be associated with PTO to have a single access point that can remain consistent as officers change over time.
  • Website Updates:  Liz and Lissa will be moving the website out of WordPress format into Google hosted site to create a more user friendly experience as well as being easier to keep contents up to date, accessible and relevant. Reach out if you would like to assist with this project.
  • Calendar Magnets: Agreed to move forward with creating a magnetic school calendar for 2023-2024 to offer to dues paying members as a perk of membership. Liz will work on getting that set up through an online vendor in the coming months.

Funding Requests

  • HV Community Partners requested a donation to support After Prom activities. Unanimous agreement to match last year’s donation of $400 for this event.
  • Unanimously agreed to reimburse Liz $162 for cost of the banner in support of the Odyssey of the Minds Teams. Banner was purchased at Vital Signs in Cohoes and is undated so can be used for future years.

Future Discussion 

  • Kim Macica would like to create a library tour similar to the one being done by UHLS. Discussed creating a similar activity possibly with prizes and/or with linking to PARP.

Next Meeting

Date: May 15, 2023, 6:30 pm Elementary School library

Motion to adjourn was at 7:40pm

submitted: LJM 4/24/23

MAY AGENDA

Hoosic Valley PTO

Meeting date:5/15/23 @ 6:30pm

Meeting location:  Elementary School library 

  • Call to Order
  • Minutes:  Review of minutes
  • Treasurer Report
  • Committee Reports
    • Yearbook
    • School Supply
  • Unfinished (Old) business 
    • Plants for staff room
    • Senior gifts
    • Senior Scholarships
    • Teacher Appreciation
    • Meet the Candidate
    • Learning Fair
    • Book fair
    • Volunteer Recognition
    • Google Phone Number
  • New Business
    • Zillah program
  • Funding Requests
    • Camp Day
  • Future Discussion
  • Adjournment 

Meet The BOE Candidate 2023

The school budget vote and Board of Education vote will be on May 16th.

Anyone who is a U.S. citizen, 18 years or older, and a resident of the Hoosic Valley Central School District for at least 30 days prior to the vote. You do not need to own property in the school district to be eligible to vote.

This year there is one candidate running for one seat on the board. Rather than holding an inperson event we will be accepting questions on our website and posting the candidate’s responses.

The questions may be submitted until May 8th and we will be posting the questions and responses on our website by May 12th.

About Amanda Akin

I have resided in the Hoosic Valley school district for 34 years and attended and
graduated from Hoosic Valley Central School. I currently reside in Johnsonville with my
husband (also a former student and graduate of Hoosic Valley) and 3 children ages 12,
9 and 8 who are all engaged in school activities, programs, and sports that the district
has been able to offer them.
I believe in encouraging our students to be active members in our community. With my
children in school, I have strived to be an active member of the school community. I
have been involved in HVAA and coached my kids along with many others in softball
and soccer over the years. I have held positions in PTO and supported programs they
have been able to offer. I have coached and assisted Odyssey of the Mind teams, assist
with the elementary musical and many other volunteer opportunities through the school
and community.
I have been a Registered Nurse for 13 years and currently work with children and their
families to obtain supportive services in the home and community. This has given me
insight on what children with special needs and their families need from the school
system.
I will challenge myself and others to make the best decisions for the students, staff, and
all residents of the Hoosic Valley community.
I will continually strive for improvement and excellence in our district for our students,
teachers, and community.
I look forward to working with current board members to give our students the best
education possible while supporting fiscal responsibility for our community.

APRIL 2023 AGENDA

Hoosic Valley PTO

Meeting date:4/18/23 @ 6:30pm

Meeting location:  Elementary School library 

  • Call to Order
  • Minutes:  Review of minutes
  • Treasurer Report
  • Committee Reports
    • Yearbook
  • Unfinished (Old) business 
    • Plants for staff room
    • Senior gifts
    • Senior Scholarships
    • Teacher Appreciation
    • Meet the Candidate
    • Learning Fair
    • Holiday Match  – ideas to increase/match donations

New Business

  • Book fair
    •  Family activity one night?
    • Teacher Appreciation tie in?
  • Refund vendor fair check due to medical emergency
    • Refund policy?
  • Volunteer Recognition
  • Google Phone Number
  • Website – host & security
  • Calendar Magnets for next year?
  • Funding Requests
    • Community Partners After Prom
    • Retroactive – Odyssey banner $162
  • Future Discussion
  • Adjournment 

March 2023 Minutes

Hoosic Valley PTO

Meeting Minutes

Date: March 21, 2023

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Hoosic Valley Elementary School library

In Attendance

President: Liz Ruepp

Vice President: Lissa Kalbfliesh

Secretary: Lisa Meehan

Treasurer: Carolyn Gifford

In Person attendees:  Denile Paro, Tiffany Hurley, Stacy Maxon

Virtual attendees: none

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 6:34pm

Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the January meeting were approved.

Committee Reports

  • Treasurer Report: Treasurer report account balance of $30020.66
    • Still some outstanding reconciliations from Vendor Fair and Odyssey of the Mind t-shirts.
    • Significant upcoming expenses include PARP reimbursement and senior scholarships..
  • Yearbook – Deadline to purchase has been set at April 30 in order to receive and distribute in a timely fashion. Work continues and candid pictures still needed. See Tiffany Hurley if you would like to help.
    • Marketing for yearbooks begins immediately – social media posts, in school campaign and flyers to go home with kids in the next few weeks.
  • Vendor Fair – Denile Paro reported that the event was successful with 48 vendors in attendance. Last minute cancellations were able to be filled, food sales and raffle went smoothly.. Mixed comments from vendors – some reported less traffic. Perhaps consider moving the weekend depending on when Easter falls next year. This committee is looking for a co-chair for next year – please contact Liz or Denile if you are interested.
    • Also, a great big thank you to the 4-5 volunteers who make this day a success. Please consider getting involved next year – many hands!

Unfinished (Old) Business:

  • Plants for staff room:  Even more donations have been received, to be delivered soon.
  • Writing Olympics: Unfortunately, this event will not be held this year due to scheduling issues and lack of volunteers. It was suggested to try it again next year but move it to January when there are fewer conflicting events.
  • Stewart’s Holiday Match:  received an award of $1000 for classroom libraries. This falls short of the amount needed for giving a meaningful amount to each teacher. Looking for ideas to raise those additional $2000 to meet this need. Any ideas should be forwarded to Liz.
  • STEAM night: This event was not able to get started in time for this school year. Lisa suggested having an initial meeting this year to setup up goals and targets to keep us on track for establishing this event next year. Liz will forward that request to Mrs. Greco.
  • Spring Pictures: All students PreK-6 were photographed on 3/10. The vendor continues to be incredibly efficient at getting through all the students with the least amount of disruption. Families can still order pictures on the website: Adirondack School Portraits.
    • Thank you to Liz and Megan Luskin for assisting that day with getting kids photographed.

New Business

  • Senior gifts:  After a brief discussion,it was decided to go with socks again this year for every graduating senior.
  • Senior Scholarships: Looking for volunteers to serve in reviewing applications and selecting recipients based on outlined criteria for the 3 awards that HVPTO sponsors. Please contact Carolyn Gifford if you are interested.
  • Teacher Appreciation Day: The official day is on 5/2, soliciting ideas for a unique way to appreciate our teachers and staff at Hoosic Valley. Last year was baked potato bar and tacos which was a big hit but a lot of work for the few volunteers. Please bring forward any ideas to Liz ASAP.
  • PARP: The program kicked off and is going well. Thanks to Mrs. Silverman and all the teachers who stayed to decorate the school and build enthusiasm for this great reading program that also benefits Ronald McDonald House in Albany.
  • Meet the Candidate Night: May be held in early May, depending on the number of candidates who submit petitions to run for the single seat. Stay tuned and reach out to Liz if you have interest in assisting with this event to benefit the community.
  • School Banking: Broadview Credit Union is bringing back a kids banking program, however it will be outside the realm of school. They are offering a donation to PTO if we distribute information to students. This was tabled until better information is gathered and the deadline to act is June 30.
  • Learning Fair:  This event will coincide with BOE/School Budget vote night on 5/16. Participation was low last year but it is expected to build back up this year. Amanda Akin has agreed to coordinate the event –  please contact her or Liz if you are interested in helping. 
  • School Supply Kits: It was agreed to continue with the same vendor as last year- Bright School Kitz.  Lisa Meehan is looking for a co-chair on this as she begins to work on getting updated lists from teachers and quotes in place for ordering. Contact Lisa or Liz if you are interested in assisting. Help is especially needed on kit delivery day during the last week in August.
  • Summer Fundraiser Help Needed:  We expect HVPTO to be called up to assist with the 50/50 raffle at the Schaghticoke Summer Concert. This is a very easy and lucrative fundraiser and it takes just a few people a few hours of time on a summer evening. Please consider volunteering when the details are released and request for assistance is made.
  • Yearbook Signing Party:  Tiffany Hurley suggested hosting a Friday evening event to distribute and sign yearbooks for those who ordered them. This could be a fun family event and give “early access” to yearbooks. It was agreed that we should try to hold this event. See Tiffany if you are interested in assisting with planning the details or assisting at the event.
  • Zillah Herrington Fund: The balance needs boosting since Scholastic has changed policies about getting books through the BOGO book fair. In the past, local businesses were solicited to obtain monies for this specific program which was well received. 
  • HVPTO Officer elections:  If you are interested in running for any of the offices for this organization, or if you have any questions regarding officer positions, please reach out and let it be known. 

Funding Requests

  • No funding requests were received.

Future Discussion 

  • Guptills skating night – Unable to contact Guptills so this event will not happen.

Next Meeting

Date: April 18, 2023, 6:30 pm Elementary School library

Motion to adjourn was at 8:00pm

submitted: LJM 3/27/23

January 2023 Minutes

Date: January 17, 2023

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Hoosic Valley Elementary School library

In Attendance

President: Liz Ruepp

Vice President: Lissa Kalbfliesh

Secretary: Lisa Meehan

Treasurer: Carolyn Gifford

In Person attendees:  Denile Paro, Kimberley Macica, Tiffany Hurley, Sarah Weber

Virtual attendees: Stacey Kyea, Jacqui Paglialonga

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 6:33pm

Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the December meeting were not available

Committee Reports

  • Treasurer Report: Full report was distributed showing outcome for all of the fall fundraisers: current balance $8908.97.

Tax filing is complete with accountant for this fiscal year

  • Yearbook – all the school pictures are uploaded, ready to begin layout. Candid shots of school and community events are requested. Still looking to add more staff, including district office staff members. See Tiffany Hurley if you would like to help.

Unfinished (Old) Business:

  • Plants for staff room:  Donations have been received, to be delivered soon.
  • Writing Olympics: Carolyn has offered to chair this event, Sarah Weber has offered to proofread submissions. If there is an event night formed, NJHS may be willing to be involved but specific dates and times need to be established as soon as possible. See Carolyn if you would like to help.
  • Stewart’s Holiday Match:  was applied for – citing classroom library funds as the earmark
  • STEAM night: Liz was able to discuss with Mrs. Greco. Still need to finalize a date – evening, weeknight is likely (not 3/31 as discussed previously).  NJHS may be able to assist with logistics, they will let us know when the date/time are chosen. Timing being considered is late March.

Jessia Clark, Lisa Meehan and Jacqui Paglialonga have volunteered to assist with this planning/event. See Liz if you want to help.

  • Vendor Fair: Most vendor slots are full, payments are being made through Cheddar up. Date is 3/12 from 11-3. Vendor setup begins at 9. Class of 2026 and Mrs. Neary will be selling food – this is important as vendors have no other access to food during the day. 

After discussion, 9th grade class will be offered the ability to run and share profits of a 50/50 raffle. 

Additional assistance needed will be publicity – Express paper, flyers around town and social media. Also, day of help with floor marking, setup, basket raffle, take down – see Denile Paro if you can help.

New Business

  • Spring pictures will be 3/10 – unlike previous years, all kids will get spring pictures taken. Day of help will likely be needed – reach out to Liz if you are interested.

Funding Requests

  • No funding requests were received.

Future Discussion 

  • Guptills skating night – Liz Ruepp is still looking into details for this.

Next Meeting

Date: February 15, 2023, 6:30 pm Elementary School library

Motion to adjourn was at 7:21pm

submitted: LJM 2/6/23

March 2023 Agenda

Hoosic Valley PTO

Meeting date:3/21/23 @ 6:30pm

Meeting location:  Elementary School library 

  • Call to Order
  • Minutes:  Review of minutes
  • Treasurer Report
  • Committee Reports
    • Yearbook
    • Vendor Fair
  • Unfinished (Old) business 
    • Plants for staff room
    • Writing Olympics
    • Stewart’s Holiday Match
    • STEAM night
    • Spring Pictures

New Business

  • Senior gifts
  • Senior Scholarships
  • Teacher Appreciation
  • PARP
  • Meet the Candidate
  • School Banking
  • Learning Fair

Funding Requests

Future Discussion

Adjournment 

January 2023 AGENDA

Hoosic Valley PTO

Meeting date:1/17/23 @ 6:30pm

Meeting location:  Elementary School library 

  • Call to Order
  • Minutes:  Review of minutes
  • Treasurer Report
  • Committee Reports 
    • Yearbook
  • Unfinished (Old) business 
    • Plants for staff room
    • Writing Olympics
    • Stewarts Holiday Match
    • STEAM night
  • New Buisness
  • Funding Requests
  • Future Discussion
  • Adjournment 

November Meeting Minutes

Hoosic Valley PTO

meeting Minutes

Date:November 15, 2022

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Hoosic Valley Elementary School library

In Attendance

President: Liz Ruepp

Vice President: Lissa Kalbfliesh

Secretary: Lisa Meehan

Treasurer: Carolyn Gifford

In Person attendees:  Demile Paro, Kimberley Macica, Stacey Kyea, Tiffany Hurley, Sarah Weber

Virtual attendees: None

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 6:31pm

Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the October meeting were approved unanimously 

Committee Reports

  • Treasurer Report: Money minder up to date – no outstanding transactions; currently preparing for tax filing with accountant
  • Yearbook: Tiffany Hurley reported that the theme has been chosen, work is being done and pictures are being collected for school and classroom activities. Please upload pictures to the link on the hvpto website.

Unfinished (Old) Business:

  • Halloween Night: Trunk or treat went amazingly well, huge attendance and lots of positive feedback. Lessons learned will lead to a few logistic changes for next year regarding candy donation and candy hand out. Also need to emphasize that this is not a drop off event! Next year will be October 27 and Mrs Macica reported that NJHS would like to be involved this year for games in the gym.
  • School pictures took place Oct 21 and 22 – all went well for the most part. Thanks to the volunteers who assisted with that.
  • Numerous plants were obtained through donation by a community member, for staff rooms – expect to see those soon.
  • Book fair: Most successful book fair ever: total sales $8588.64 leading to profit of $1913.11, which will largely cover the need for the Zillah Herrington program in spring. Also had $900 in scholastic dollars to spend which were used partly to obtain library books and the remaining went to obtain ZH books. Big thanks to the volunteers on this, but note that it’s crucial that we find a volunteer to head this up for future book fairs.
  • Conference Night Teacher Potluck: successful event, appreciated by teachers and staff. Especially popular were grab and go items like pizza and garbage bread. Leaving takeout containers was also a big hit and made cleanup easier. Thanks to those who donated, set up and cleaned up!

New Business

  • Festival of Wreaths: Communication for this went out and publicized on website and facebook- currently have 10 wreath commitments and expecting more. Call for volunteers to sell tickets during band and chorus concerts (12/8 and 12/15) as well as during ornament night on Dec 2nd will go out on Parent Square and Facebook, or see Liz. Wreaths we’ll be hung on 12/1 after school.
  • Ornament Painting night: This will be on 12/2 6-7:30pm, coordinates with Festival of Wreaths. Order forms went out and online ordering has been set up thru cheddar up. Ornaments are expected to be returned and distributed the week ofDecember  19th.

Funding Requests

  • The funding request by Erin McCaullife for $220 to fund a field trip for art students to Mass MoCA was rescinded as the cost was covered by MAC.
  • No funding requests were received.

Future Discussion 

  • Guptills skating night discussed as a winter activity. Liz Ruepp will call for details and scheduling options to be discussed next month.
  • Discussion of hosting a STEAM night with area businesses doing presentations and activities for students. NJHS may be able to assist with logistics. Proposed date for consideration is 3/31 in evening. Suggestion was made to consider setting the activity up to include the junior high students as well. Committee will be forming shortly – reach out to Liz or Lisa if you are interested.

Next Meeting

Date: December20, 2022, 6:30 pm Elementary School library

Motion to adjourn was at 7:20pm

submitted: LJM 12/11/22