OWNCS2 PTO General Meeting Minutes - April
Date, Time, and Location: Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 6:30PM Via Zoom
Meeting called to order by: President- Kathy Vergara at 6:32PM
Note Taker(s): Secretary- Esther Wallace
Timekeeper: President- Kathy Vergara
Attendees: President- Kathy Vergara, Vice President-, Vice President- Yaritza Cano, Treasurer- Shaenne Toussaint-Islam, Secretary- Esther Wallace, Teacher Representatives: Ms. Valencia and Mr. McLean. There were 23 attendees; a quorum was reached.
ORDERS OF BUSINESS
I. School Updates
a. March Event Recaps:
· Pi Day/Read-a-thon
i. PTO will make Pi Day an annual event; teachers who participated in the event pie-ing were treated to a lunch from Panera Bread as a thank you
ii. Class 210 won the mid-month contest prize and received a silent disco and pizza party in their classroom
iii. The winning class for the Read-a-thon will also receive a pizza party
iv. The top readers for her upper grades (3-5) and lower grades (K-2) will receive gift cards for scholastic books
v. All children received bookmarks for participating in this year’s read-a-thon
· April Fool’s Day
i. In the hopes of bringing some joy and excitement to the school, the PTO successfully pulled off several pranks within the school. This included things like filling the main office with balloons, taping funny pictures of Nicholas Cage in the staff bathrooms, setting office supplies in jello and more.
ii. Both students and staff thoroughly enjoyed all the fun and activities
iii. Pictures and links to the videos were posted on class dojo and will be also available on the PTO website for viewing
· Art Gallery
i. On 4/14/22 parents were invited into the school for the first time this school year and received a tour of some of the student’s art work
ii. Many parents expressed their overall enjoyment of the art experience
iii. Suggestions were made to have more of the student’s art work available for auction: Due to COVID restrictions the area that was available for auction materials were limited; PTO will speak with Mr. Palacio about expanding next year if more space becomes available.
b. PTO Website – www.own2pto.com
· PTO’s website is now live and can be accessed at anytime for updates and information
· The PTO minutes for the past months of January, February and March can now be viewed on the website
· Website will include helpful links and contact information for the school
· You will also find the link to schedule a Coffee and Conversation time slot with Mr. Wilkins
· There will be pictures from our past events and information about upcoming events
c. Carnival Updates
· PTO is currently still working on obtaining the park permits necessary to hold the carnival at the park across the street from the school
· The carnival’s tentative date is Saturday June 18th. PTO has already obtained vendors for the activities, prizes, concessions, carnival games and DJ
· Once the park permit is approved, parents/kids will receive formal invitations to attend the Carnival
· All OWN2 students will be given wristbands for unlimited rides. However, rides and game tickets will also be available for purchase at the event for those who do not attend OWN
· Volunteers- PTO is asking parents who are interested in volunteering for a shift at a carnival station (collecting tickets, operating a game table, concession stand, etc.) to please email the PTO
d. Graduation
· Ms. Caraballo arranged a popcorn fundraiser for the 5th grader which was very successful and proceeds will go towards graduation expenses
· Kindergarten step up ceremony this year will remain virtual due to the larger group of graduates between the 3 combined classes.
· The school is still working out the logistics for the graduation and stepping up ceremonies as well as graduate activities
· Although not part of the graduation committee, the PTO will support the school with graduation plans any way we can
e. Math Coach – Ms. Lucky
· Math coach is planning on holding in person workshops to help parents understand the different methods currently being taught in the school. The goal is to equip parents with the knowledge needed to support their kids at home, during the holiday breaks and throughout the summer.
· Ms. Lucky plans to hold 4 sessions: 2 for the lower grades (K-2) and 2 for upper grades (3-5). One AM session (likely right after drop off) and one PM session (likely right after school dismissal) per grade group. Due to COVID restrictions, these in person workshops will be limited to only approximately 25 parents per session
· PTO will be coordinate with Ms. Lucky to arrange the best dates and times for these workshops and will inform parents once decided
· Tentative dates that the math coach will be available are: May 3, 11, 12, 20, 21 and June 1st. Each session will run about 30-45 minutes.
· Parents are encouraged to email the PTO (pto_own2@owncs.org) with preferred dates and times so that we can try to accommodate the greatest number possible.
· Parents will also be able to contact the math coach after the workshops to arrange for 1 on 1 meetings for additional tips on how to help their child master the foundations of math
f. International Day – June 8th (during school hours)
· OWN2 will be having an International Day event headed by Mr. Thompson
· Booths will be set up to represent different countries around the world and students will be able to visit the different booths throughout the day. Activities for the students will be provided as well as a passport that will be stamped. The event will conclude with a parade of the countries.
· The list of countries that will currently be represented are: Jamaica, Czech Republic, Canada, Pakistan & India, Trinidad & Tobago, Italy, Colombia, Russia, USA, Guyana, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Japan, Argentina and Nigeria
· Parents who would like to volunteer an additional country booth (that is not currently represented by the school) and can supply the booth with artifacts, information and/or snacks related to that country, please email the PTO or speak with Mr. Thompson
· For the international day event, parents can choose to dress their child up in the native garb of the country of which their family identifies
· Parents who are unable to volunteer can also feel free to donate snacks or artifacts to any of the represented countries that can be displayed at the respective booth
· Any parent willing to volunteer should fill out the Google Form that was sent via emailed regarding International Day. If you did not receive an email, please email the PTO regarding your interest in volunteering. Parents who volunteer within the school will need to show proof of vaccination.
· The school is requesting that staff and volunteers wear a t-shirt particularly made for this event. An emailed form will be sent to all parents who agree to volunteer requesting their t-shirt size. Shirts will be ordered by the school through Vistaprint at a cost of $11 per shirt. Please email the PTO if you have already requested to volunteer but have not received the t-shirt form
· Deadline to complete the t-shirt form is 4/25 and the deadline to submit $11 for the t-shirt payment is 4/29. Contact Ms. Wallace for payment submission.
g. International Day Cookbook
· PTO will be collecting recipes from our OWN2 families of their favorite dishes that represent their family’s background. These recipes will be made into an OWN2 Cookbook
· PTO is requesting that all parents submit their recipes including pictures of the completed dish and/or pictures of their child/family cooking
· Once completed, the cookbook will be a great keepsake for your child to have memories of their family’s recipes as well as those of his friends and classmates
· The cookbook will be sold during the International Day event as well as online through Amazon. The link will be provided to all parents who would like to purchase one themselves or those who would like to share with friends and family.
· Information about how to submit the recipes and pictures will be emailed to all parents shortly. Once received, please submit all information by the first week of May
· Proceeds from the cookbook will go towards the Kindergarten and 5th grade graduation funds
h. Reading Wall
· PTO will be creating a Reading Garden bulletin board and will include your child’s favorite books in our “garden”
· Please submit the name, author and the favorite part of your child’s favorite book using the previous form that was emailed
· If you did not receive the reading wall email, please send your information to the PTO’s email pto_own2@owncs.org
i. NYC Kids RISE
· This is an account through NYC that sets aside money for your child’s college and career training, regardless of U.S. immigration status
· NYC will give $100 to start and parents can continue to add money to the account
· This college fund program is currently only available for Kindergarten aged students and an email was sent out by the school to the parents of those eligible
· Further information will be sent out shortly regarding informational sessions that will be held online
· These accounts can be activated starting in May
j. Teacher Appreciation Week
· An email was sent out providing information regarding teacher appreciation week
· PTO will be providing all OWN2 staff with gifts and surprises all week long on behalf of our parents and students
· Parents who wish to contribute to the week-long events can contact PTO
II. Reminders
a. Join Mr. Wilkins every Friday for Virtual Coffee and Conversation! Time slots are available between 8am and 9am. Please call the main office to schedule or you can find the link on the PTO’s website
b. School Survey- a survey was sent home over the last holiday break; please complete the survey and return. Or complete online at nycschoolsurvey.org. We need high parental participation for the betterment of our children’s education
c. 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
d. Review Our School Raffle- Write positive reviews about OWN2 and as a thanks you will be entered in a raffle to win one of 3 Visa Gift Cards! We are still taking submissions. Email the PTO if you need more details on the contest rules.
e. Google Forms – Several google forms have been emailed out to parents. Please complete and submit in a timely manner so we can ensure school events can run smoothly. If you have not received these forms or need them sent again, please email the PTO
f. Home COVID Test- All children were sent home with COVID tests before the break. Please remember to test your child 24 hours before returning to school and submit the information using the COVID Reporting Form link which was emailed. The deadline to submit the COVID results is 4/25 at 7am
g. 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, May 12th at 6:30PM
Meeting adjourned at 8:07PM
Minutes approved by President, Kathy Vergara
PTO Email: pto_own2@owncs.org
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