OWNCS2 PTO General Meeting Minutes - June
Date, Time, and Location: Thursday, June 9, 2022 at 6:30PM Via Zoom
Meeting called to order by: President- Kathy Vergara at 6:36PM
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, Communications Officer-
Clorinda Rivera; Teacher Representatives: Ms. Valencia. There were 23 attendees; a quorum
was reached.
ORDERS OF BUSINESS
I. School Updates
a. International Day Recap
Thank you to all the volunteers who assisted the school in putting this event
together
There were musical presentations, snacks, food and much more
The kids all loved the opportunity to visit the different countries and learn
more about each other’s culture
Ms. M posted a link in class dojo to view the student’s international
presentation
b. Math Workshop
The final workshop for the upper grades (3-5) was completed on 6/1/22
There were a few parents that registered to come, but not many parents
showed up
Ms. Lucky shared many helpful tips and strategies for parents to help their
children
School will plan to hopefully have additional math workshops next year
PTO will speak with Ms. Lucky about possibly preparing a zoom workshop
where she can present a PowerPoint presentation for parents who cannot
attend in person
c. Summer Programs
Rising Stars and Summer Boost will both run during the summer
It has been agreed upon that both programs will run from 8am -3:30pm
Students that are enrolled in Boost will receive academics with Boost program
in the morning and will join Rising Stars in the afternoon for enrichment
If you are interested in joining Summer Boost or Rising Stars or if you have
any questions regarding the programs please contact Ms. Buonomo for Boost
and Ms. Braswell for Rising Stars.
d. Carnival – Saturday June 18 th
Almost 400 people have RSVP’d to attend. It is strongly suggested that our
OWN families arrive early to avoid lines
All OWN2 students will receive a wristband for unlimited rides on the
bouncers
All attendees must RSVP for the carnival on the PTO website. This includes
OWN2 enrollees, volunteers, children and chaperones (www.own2pto.com)
Volunteers – The PTO welcomes any and all volunteers to assist at the
carnival. Both the morning (10am-2pm) and afternoon (2pm-6pm) slots have
availabilities. All volunteers will get 40 tickets as a thank you
Carnival stations include concession stands, carnival games, pony rides,
prize table and more.
The carnival will have multiple business vendors on site. If there are any
OWN2 families with businesses that are interested in having a vending table
at the carnival, please email OWN2 PTO at pto_own2@owncs.org.
e. Father’s Day
PTO will be sponsoring an arts and crafts project where children will be
making gifts for Father’s Day
This arts and crafts project will be done during school hours and sent home
with students
f. Graduation/Stepping Up Ceremonies
School will be officially closed on June 20 th
The schedule for graduation celebrations will be as follows:
5 th Grade BBQ will still be held on June 20 th . Parents should drop off
their children at 10am and pick them up at 2pm from OWN2.
5 th Grade graduation is scheduled for June 21 st
Kindergarten diploma ceremony will also be held on June 20 th in the
front of the school’s main entrance. Parents are to arrive only at the
designated time slots for their child’s class (K201- 10:30a, K202-
11:00a, K203- 11:30a).
Kindergarteners will then have their celebration at Chuck E Cheese
from 12p to 2pm on June 20 th immediately following the diploma
ceremony. At least one parent should remain with their child while at
Chuck E Cheese.
After 2pm, all OWN2 families are welcomed to join the celebration at
Chuck E Cheese for a ‘Family Day’. Parents who choose to attend
Chuck E Cheese can show the school’s promotional flyer that was
sent on class dojo and/or mention the school’s name upon arrival to
ensure the school receives back 20% of the proceeds as a fundraiser.
Parents will be responsible for the purchase of food/games at this
time.
There will be no other students allowed in the building on June 20 th as it is the
federal holiday, Juneteeth.
For any additional questions feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher, Ms.
Valencia or the PTO.
g. 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
An email was sent out by the school with further information and a short
tutorial
If you need your child’s OSIS# please contact Ms. Valencia
h. School Year Recap
With the support and help of all the OWN2 parents, the PTO was able to hold
many events this school year such as Gobble Grams, Turkey Raffle, Heart
health awareness, Pi Day, and much more
PTO has also been able to assist the school with their many successful
events
PTO welcomes all parent feedback, suggestions and concerns. Please email
anything you wish to convey to pto_own2@owncs.org
i. Next Year’s Goals
21 st Century will begin an after-school program in September, along with
Rising Stars after-school program, and PTO will assist the school in anyway
possible and will provide parents with current and up-to-date information
regarding the programs
PTO will also speak with the school about starting a soccer team at OWN2
for grades 2 to 5
Crossing Guards- If there are any parents that have connections with the
police department the school could greatly use your assistance in helping
push along the request for a crossing guard
International Cookbook- in order to give parents and families additional time
to send in submissions, the international cookbook will be moved to next
school year
PTO has spoken to Mr. Ferguson about switching the school pictures vendor
and received approval to pick a new company for next school year. Parents
can feel free to email in any suggested companies that should be considered.
Contingent upon next year’s NYC COVID stats, the PTO will continue to have
ongoing discussions about allowing parents back into the building
Parent suggestions: During the meeting parents suggested having a ballroom
dancing class and having a talent show where staff perform their talents for
the students.
PTO welcomes all additional ideas and suggestions for next school year.
Please email us your thoughts.
j. New PTO format
PTO received a suggestion from Mr. Ferguson to structure each monthly
PTO meeting based on a particular theme and encouraging parental
participation
All parents that have any information they would like to share during a
monthly meeting (ie: finance, fire safety, health and wellness, etc) are
encouraged to please email the PTO with your information and potential
topics or any other way you would like to contribute.
k. THANK YOU ALL FOR AN AMAZING SCHOOL YEAR!!
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. 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. 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
d. 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 September 2022
Meeting adjourned at 7:44PM
Minutes approved by President, Kathy Vergara
PTO Email: pto_own2@owncs.org
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