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 7:08PM.

Principal's Report: Mrs. Lisi mentioned that the clay tree that will be used to display students' art work is being assembled in the art room. All the sections will be put together and mounted on the wall next week. Mrs. Lisi would like to arrange some sort of reception to thank the contributors.

This year there are four student teachers. They are currently working with Mrs. Altieri, Mrs. Driscoll, Mrs. Alviano, and Mrs. Crawley.

The winter choral concert is tomorrow, January 17th at 2:00pm.

Treasurer's Report: David Gargaro went over the updated budget.

Vice President's Report: Wendi Barricelli reported that the Book Fair is scheduled for March 26th thru April 1st. The family night will be held on Thursday, March 27th. Anyone interested in helping out with this event, please contact Wendi Barricelli or Lisa Gargaro. The Holiday Shop raised about $1,800. Thank you to all who volunteered their time. Next year it was suggested that the Christmas ornaments be personalized with the student's name. It was also suggested that the shopping be done throughout the year to give a greater selection. The lollipop sales for Valentines will begin soon. The PTO will make 50% profit.

President's Report: Lisa Gargaro stated that Hope Highlands recently installed a beautiful entrance sign to their school. It cost approximately $3500. She asked if it was something Orchard Farms was interested in. Mrs. Lisi said that it was a wonderful idea. Lisa is going to post something on the website to show people and let them know that it is one of the goals of the PTO.

The school committee meeting was rescheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, January 17th at 7:00pm at the Cranston West auditorium. They will take a vote to determine whether the 6th grade will stay in the middle school or return to the elementary schools.

Committee Updates

After-School Activities: Lisa Levin said that the next session of after school activities will begin on February 5th with classes offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Forms will be going out next week.

Box Tops: Barbara Smith White will be collecting all Box Tops in the next few weeks.

CEAB: Rhonda Perrotta went to the January meeting. The representatives from the schools put in a complaint about the ice and snow on the sidewalks and walkways around the school. They felt it was a safety issue and liability. They also raised concerns about the 6th grade issue. April's CEAB meeting will be a presentation on high school requirements.

Cultural Arts: Diane Shelhart has scheduled the Museum of Science to give a presentation on February 12th to grades 3-5. The presentation will be on weather, wind, water, and temperature. The Biomes is scheduled for April 25th for kindergarten and grade 5. She is also working on scheduling an author/poet for the entire school, the Audubon Society for grade 1 and 2, and a meteorologist in May for 4th grade.

Social: Stacy Calvino mentioned that the invitations for the Father Daughter Dance will be going out very soon. They are looking for raffle items for the event. If anyone has raffle items to donate, please contact Dawn Ferry. Josephine McConaghy is working on organizing a Sock Hop in March as the Mother and Son Event.

Sunshine: The food and toy drive were huge successes. Thank you to Jadra and Arlene for organizing the drives. The families were very grateful for the baskets that were put together and given to them over the holidays. CCAP wrote a thank you note to the school expressing their appreciation for our donations. Jadra and Arlene are thinking of organizing another food drive during Easter.

Spirit Wear: We have plenty of inventory that we need to sell. A flyer will be sent out showing photos of what is available.

Website: Steve Kostecke requested that all notices or information be given to him before distributed to the school so that he may post them on the website. Lisa will suggest to him that he hold a workshop for all the chairpersons to teach us how to post our own information on the website. Fliers and forms should all get out in a timely fashion. Some classes have been sending them home late. Mrs. Lisi will let the teachers know that some of the information is time-sensitive.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:02pm.

Laurie Thies
PTO Secretary
secretary@orchardfarms.org