PTO Meeting Minutes ~ October 18, 2007

The meeting began at 7:07 pm.

Jenness DeBruler, the PTO Vice President, welcomed the group of parents and teachers to the PTO meeting.

The September Minutes were approved as written.

Jenness thanked the parents that have volunteered their time so far this year.
She also discussed the traffic problem during parent drop-off and pick-up. She would like to make Lamarque Avenue a one-way street between the hours of 8-9:00am and 3-4:00pm to try to avoid accidents from happening. This same procedure has already been implemented at the other elementary schools in North Port. In order for this to happen, parents would need to write letters/ sign a petition to show support for this cause. Contact Jenness at pto@lamarquepto.org for more information.

Mrs. Mancheno welcomed the group, and was pleased by the turnout for the meeting. She stated that on Tuesday, Mr. Hutchinson received the 5-star school award for Lamarque. It is an honor and shows a great deal of commitment by the teachers, staff, and parents. Plus, Lamarque was able to earn it in their first year of operation.
She thanked the PTO board and PALS committee for their commitment of time and for organizing a great network for parents to volunteer.
Mrs. Mancheno mentioned that a couple of our students won the essay contest sponsored by the City of North Port to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. She read the essay entitled, “Why I love North Port.”
She said that we also must focus on our community and what we are going to do to better our community and environment. We have been having a food drive and it has been very successful. She noticed that in some of the 5th grade classrooms, the teachers have incorporated the food drive into their reading and math lessons. Two classes are even competing against each other.
The 5th grade Science Fair and Spelling Bee are coming up next week. Each month we will celebrate the Citizen of the Month. It is based on exemplifying the character trait of the month. There will also be a Talent Show coming up in November.

Mr. Hutchinson discussed the Lovely Lunch Manners program that has been instituted. Children receive tickets for having good manners in the cafeteria and for every three tickets they receive, they get a certificate. Tickets are then pulled and the winners get to have lunch with Mrs. Mancheno and Mr. Hutchinson one day. The children are really working for their tickets. A parent brought up a concern regarding those children eating with their parents are not eligible to receive a ticket. Mr. Hutchinson understood the concern and will be talking with the cafeteria aides.

Kim Deeb, the PALS/Volunteer coordinator, thanked everyone for their great support of our school and for the hard work all of our volunteers are doing. She discussed the process of registering to volunteer. She stated that currently there are 120 people waiting to get approved by the county. The system is backed up due to so many people in the entire county signing up. Which is also a good thing. For those waiting, you can still volunteer by signing up for the Take Work Home Club.
She also stated that we have received $317 from Box Tops in Nov. and we have 3200 points. We also have 3500 points for Campbells, and 14000 points in Nestle water labels, which equal PE equipment. Keep on saving your box tops and labels and bring them in.

Jenness DeBruler discussed the upcoming Lamarque events.
Fall Book Fair - Oct. 22 – 26, Parent Night is Oct. 23
Spirit Night at Wendy’s – Oct. 25 - 10% of the sales go to Lamarque
Fall picture retakes (children in uniforms) - November 5

Jenness also reminded the group of the following special events:
Pride-a-thon – Nov. 16
Holiday Shop – Dec. 10 - 14
Run with the Lions 5K – Jan. 19
Field Day – March 15
Luau & Silent Auction – April 19

(Volunteer sign-up sheets in back)

Mrs. Mancheno answered questions from the floor.

The meeting adjourned at 8:05 pm.

PTO Board members were available for questions following the meeting.