Orchard Farms PTO

Executive Board in attendance: Lisa Gargaro, President, Wendi Barricelli, Vice-President, Mrs. Pauline Lisi, Principal and 2nd Vice-President, David Gargaro, Treasurer, and Laurie Thies, Secretary.

Meeting was called to order at 7:03PM.

Lisa Gargaro thanked everyone for coming to the PTO meeting. New attendees introduced themselves.

Principal’s Report: Mrs. Lisi, along with Mrs. Iacovone, the art teacher, talked about the clay tree project. Each student was given a section of clay. Using stencils, the students made clay leaves that were then sent to the kiln. These leaves will be mounted on plywood and assembled to create a clay tree. This tree will be mounted in the school’s foyer to display pieces of students’ work throughout the school year.

Thursday, November 15th at 7:00pm will be the 5th Grade Wax Museum.

Vice President’s Report: Wendi Barricelli had nothing new to report.

Treasurer’s Report: David Gargaro asked if anyone had questions on the budget that will be voted on this evening. No questions were presented.

President’s Report: Lisa Gargaro reported on the issue of keeping 6th grade in the elementary schools. The city has formed a committee to discuss this issue. Overcrowding is a problem in the middle schools. The school committee is trying to save money and get rid of the portables at the middle schools. Lisa mentioned that by moving 6th grade back to the elementary schools, it will eliminate the need for an assistant principal at each of the middle schools. One parent mentioned that the committee was originally formed to look at the tracking issue, but that issue has been put on hold. If 6th grade is brought back to the elementary schools, Orchard Farms may need to use the classrooms currently designated for art and music. The next meeting will be on December 12th. A public comment session will be held on December 17th. Lisa will inform us of the place and time of these meetings.

The Corn Maze at Salisbury Farms was a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone who helped and who brought a baked good. Lisa wanted to give special thanks to Lee Iassonga and Dawn Ferry for all their help.

Orchard Farms made $370 from the Macy’s shopping tickets.

Old Business: Several votes were taken. Lisa Gargaro motioned to approve the proposed 2007-2008 budget. Wendi Barricelli seconded the motion. The budget was approved by a majority vote. Lisa Gargaro motioned to change the by-laws to state that a balance of $8,000 will be brought forward each year instead of $5,000. Wendi Barricelli seconded the motion. The change was approved by a majority vote. Lisa Gargaro motioned to move the holiday shop from sunshine committee to fundraising committee. Wendi Barricelli seconded the motion. The change was approved by a majority vote. Lisa Gargaro motioned to add a website committee to the by-laws. Wendi Barricelli seconded the motion. The addition was approved by a majority vote. Lisa Gargaro motioned to approve Mrs. Lisi’s request for $875 for the clay tree project. Wendi Barricelli seconded the motion. The request was approved by a majority vote.

Last month a parent had questioned several of the items on the expense report. Lisa Gargaro wrote an itemized list of all expenditures and explained how the checks are processed. The list was passed around to all the members at the PTO meeting.

New Business: The PTO is sponsoring a guest speaker to come to the school on December 5th at 6:30opm. His name is Dr. Laurence Fillippelli. He will speak on Internet Safety. The PTO will cover the $300 cost for his presentation. Lisa will send out a flyer notifying everyone of the presentation.

Committee Updates

After-School Activities: Lisa Levin said that this fall’s after-school activities session is going well. The next session will begin in February.

Box Tops: Barbara Smith White stated that we will receive a check for $995.

CEAB: Rhonda Perrotta has volunteered to be the CEAB representative.

Cultural Arts: No update.

Ice Cream Sales: Ice cream sales are running smoothly. Thank you to everyone who signed up to sell ice cream.

Membership: No update.

Photo & Publicity: The picture boards look great. Thank you to Lee Iassogna for taking the pictures and creating the boards.

Social: Stacy Calvino met with her committee this morning. Save the date announcements will be sent home before the holidays. Invitations to the Father and Daughter Event will be sent home in January. Josephine McConaghy is working on organizing a Sock Hop in March as the Mother and Son Event.

Sunshine: The food drive is coming up. A flier will be sent home soon. Each student will be asked to contribute one turkey dollar in addition to canned items. The backpack and coat drive are also underway.

VICS: Karen Fargnoli reported that the VICS Bingo night is scheduled for March 28th, 2008. The ticket price this year is $10.

Website: Steve Kostecke has added the lunch menu to the website. If anyone has information or dates to add on the website, please contact Steve at webmaster@orchardfarms.org and he will include it.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:44pm.

Laurie Thies
PTO Secretary