OWNCS2 PTO General Meeting Minutes - January
Date, Time, and Location: Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 6:30PM Via Zoom
Meeting called to order by: President- Kathy Vergara at 6:35PM
Note Taker(s): Secretary- Esther Wallace
Timekeeper: President- Kathy Vergara
Attendees: President- Kathy Vergara, Secretary- Esther Wallace, Communications Officer-
Clorinda Rivera, Treasurer- Shaenne Toussaint-Islam; Principal- Mr. Wilkins, Teacher
Representatives: Ms. Valencia, Ms. Hynes. There were 30 attendees; a quorum was reached.
ORDERS OF BUSINESS
I. PTO/School Updates
a. Thank you
PTO would like to thank all of our parent volunteers who have been assisting
with PTO events and fundraising especially at our Wednesday snack table
If there are any parents who are available to volunteer at the PTO snack table
during school dismissal or during afterschool dismissal please email the PTO
All volunteer efforts are greatly appreciated
b. PTO elections
This is the last year of the current PTO board members second term
Elections will be held for next school year’s PTO board members
All positions will be up for election: President, Vice President, Treasurer,
Secretary, Communication Officer
There is also a need for 3 parents to volunteer to be on the election
committee. These volunteers will be responsible for things such as gathering
the names of the nominees, counting ballots and announcing the winners
A separate zoom meeting will be held to provide more information about the
PTO elections and positions. The hope is to have the new PTO members
work along with the current PTO board to have a smooth transition into next
school year
Parents interested in running for a PTO position or in being part of the
election committee can email the PTO
c. Lateness Policy- Mr. Wilkins
Currently students are marked late when arriving after 8:10am. Students have
been seen arriving considerably later than the cut off time which may cause
them to miss essential instruction
In an effort to encourage student arrival before the start of 1 st period the new
cut off time for lateness will be moved to 7:50am which is when school begins
The goal for this policy will tentatively go into effect at the start of the 3 rd
marking quarter
In an effort to have one cohesive late policy throughout all the OWN schools,
Mr. Wilkins will be meeting again with the other OWN principals to work
through the logistics such as possible grace periods and exceptions
To encourage compliance with late policy, the school will continue to reward
students for being on time. The school will also start sending out notices for
students with excessive absences and/or lateness.
d. Middle School Preparation
Parents have requested to receive information about middle school deadlines,
tests and application process prior to their child reaching 5 th grade.
Mr. Wilkins agrees that the early, the better. The school will plan to start
giving information regarding Middle School application process starting in 4 th
grade
All parents and students can feel free to reach out to the school guidance
counselor, Ms. Jannat if there are any questions regarding middle schools,
specialized tests or deadlines (sjannat@owncs.org)
e. After School Activities
Sylvan tutoring program provides additional test prep support for students in
grades 3-5. Any parents interested in signing up can request applications
from the student’s teachers
21 st Century after school program- will start introducing Alvin Ailey dance to
lower grade students once a week to go along with the other sports, art and
homework help that is currently being received. If interested in signing up for
21 st Century, please email Mrs. Wallace or Mrs. Buonomo
f. Traffic Concerns
PTO met with Mr. Ferguson and was informed that a new request for speed
bumps has been made and the city will be looking into the request further
As per Mr. Wilkins, the school has been collecting data on the traffic safety
incidents
The school was informed by city officials that a traffic light will be placed at
78 th street and Conduit (near Ozone Diner)
Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Ferguson will also revisit the request to a school crossing
guard with city officials
g. School Open House
Mr. McLean will be hosting an Open House Movie Night on Saturday Jan 28 th
at OWN2
There will be information on enrollment process
Popcorn will be provided by PTO- any parents interested in volunteering to
hand out popcorn can email the PTO
Invite all families with children who are interested in learning more about
OWN2
h. International Day - 6/8/23
Mr. Thompson will be hosting another international day festival this year
Last year’s International Day was a huge success for staff and students
This year’s International Day will focus on South America, Central America
and Spain.
However, children and families can feel free to represent their countries of
origin or pick a country that they are found of
This year’s activities will include red carpet fashion modeling, international
cuisine, live entertainment and more
Mr. Thompson is requesting parents to volunteer to help with the set up and
at the different country tables
Any parents interested in volunteering on June 8 th during the school day can
email Mr. Thompson
II. PTO Events
a. Heart Health Awareness
February is Heart Health month
Last year the PTO dressed as members of the “Royal Court of Heart Health”
and visited all the classroom passing out treats, coloring pages, information
and stress balls for the staff
This year February 3, 2023 will be a school wide wear RED day. PTO invites
all students and staff to wear red as we once again visit our students’
classrooms with fun health facts and treats
Heart Wall- PTO will once again transform their school bulletin board into a
Heart Wall. Parents and students will be asked to send in the names of all
those who they hold dear to their hearts so that it can be placed on our wall.
Donations are optional but appreciated. Heart wall form will be sent home
with students soon
Pi Day (3/14) – We will once again have Pi Day on March 14 th where
teachers/administration graciously allows students to “pie” them in the face
for our enjoyment. Last year’s Pi Day was an overwhelming success and the
PTO $5,000 which was put towards the end of year carnival. This year we
hope to exceed what we made last year and will have great prizes for the top
classes and students
Top 3 fundraising classes get to watch Pi Day live in the multipurpose
room and will have the chance to “pie” a teacher
PTO is also looking into have a Movie Day for the top fundraising
class at a private theater
The top 5 th grader will get all his/her senior dues paid by the PTO
Parents, if you have any ideas for Pi Day prizes, email the PTO and let us
know!
Staff Steps Challenge- PTO will be challenging OWN2 staff to a friendly Steps
Challenge. To promote heart health and increased movement the PTO will be
asking for staff to create teams of 2 and try and accomplish the most steps in a
month. We will keep staff and parents up-to-date with the leader boards so we
can all cheer on our teachers and staff members
III. Reminders
a. Winter Break will be from Mon Feb 20 th – Feb 24 th – school will be closed
b. Traffic and Congestion – Please remember to be courteous when picking up and
dropping off your child. Do not double and triple park in front of the school building as
this creates an unsafe environment for our students and families
c. School Calendar – Remember to continue checking the school website regularly for
any changes to the school calendar related to Half Days or Holidays
CLOSING
Next meeting is Thursday, February 16th at 6:30PM
Meeting adjourned at 7:27PM
Minutes approved by President, Kathy Vergara
PTO Email: pto_own2@owncs.org
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