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PTO Meeting Minutes – January 22, 2018

Happy New Year!

Principal’s Report:  Mr. Dillon led by discussing the success of our December Giving Tree and the Holiday Concerts.  He then let us know that we will be getting a survey from SurveyWorks soon for families and students to fill out.  It will be all online, but there will be paper copies available for those that need one.  These survey responses provide very important information that help Robertson be the best it can be.  

There will be no February Vacation this school year but there is no school on Monday, February 19th in observance of President’s Day as well as on Tuesday, February 20th which is a voluntary teacher Professional Development day.  

Kindergarten registration is going on currently.  For more information, please check out facebook and the Warwick Public Schools website.  

April will bring the RICAS testing (which is the replacement for the PARCC testing) for the 3rd through 6th graders.  This test is done on Chromebooks and will begin with ELA followed by Math.  A great deal of information can be learned from this testing so Mr. Dillon hopes that everyone will be taking it and doing their best.  

There was a question for Mr. Dillon regarding the status of the teacher contracts at this point.  He said the details are almost sorted out, however the salary issues are still in limbo.  A follow-up question was asked about whether the implementation of the new contract would mean our students would be able to go on field trips again.  Mr. Dillon thought the answer was yes, however, Ms. Conley added that the bussing and admission costs for such trips are high and that is now the issue holding back field trips.  She said the teachers have their heads together and are trying to come up with some reasonably priced options for our students.  

There were a series of question from parents in attendance regarding the school consolidation/5th grade moving up to Winman Middle School/redistricting.  Mr. Dillon believes that plans have not changed and that the 5th graders will indeed be moving up to middle school in September.  He also told us about the planning crew that is working on figuring out how Robertson will be able to accommodate the 75-85 new students that will be coming to the school due to the redistricting.  He is advocating for our needs and more information on this will be coming at the February meeting.  It was suggested that we hold a New Family Picnic in the summer to welcome the newcomers to our school community, but Mr. Dillon said that all the schools district wide will be planning these sorts of things so that everything is done very uniformly and consistently.  

President’s Report:  PTO President, Ellen Polo, opened by talking about the success of the Holiday Shop.  She talked about the mobile planetarium that is coming to the school in April and also provided a reminder that Box Tops are due soon.  

Treasurer’s Report:  Treasurer, Julie Yelle, was unable to attend due to illness, however reported that we have around $16,000 in our account.  We just received a check from Box Tops for $478 as well as a $1500 grant from the Mayor’s office which will be used to fund the after school dance program.  Our Holiday Shop made about $1200.

Committee Report:

Fundraising:  We have not help any fundraisers since Yankee Candle/Mixed Bags so there will be something coming out soon so we can start planning for Field Day, the Spring Fling and any field trips that we can help with.  The Calendar Raffle will be that next fundraiser, donations of gift cards are welcome and appreciated.

Cultural Arts:  We are hosting an African Dance assembly for the students to enjoy in February.  

Sunshine/Hospitality:  This month we gave to a mom in the community who is recovering from illness.   

School Store:  Ms. Polo reported that the School Store brought in $510.45, which is a lot of erasers!  

Fifth/Sixth Grade Representatives:  Mrs. Costa reported that fundraising is almost done but they are planning to have a Penny War between the grades as well as a 5th grade Robertson v. Greenwood basketball game where both PTO’s would split the profits and could sell spirit wear.  The 6th grade has $3100 and has already paid for half of the yearbooks and the 5th grade has $2500 and has not paid for yearbooks as of yet.  Raffle baskets at the Spring Fling will be a good fundraiser for the graduating classes, as well as a carwash and ring pop sale.   

VOWS:  Anthony Sinapi from Volunteers of Warwick Schools was unable to attend, however asked Mr. Dillon to mention that they are always looking for volunteers.

Social Events:  The Spring Fling is coming up on May 18th at the Crowne Plaza.  Food will be served buffet style and there will be a DJ as well as a Photo Booth.  Talks about pricing are still underway.

After School Enrichment:  Jen’s Yoga will be coming after school for kids from Kindergarten to 3rd grade this spring.  We discussed some after school programs for the 4th through 6th graders and some ideas that were mentioned were:  YMCA, Boys and Girls Club and Active Science.  There will be a Robotics program in February for the 5th graders.  The PTO helped the program by buying a robotics kit and the Tollgate and Pilgrim High School students come for 8 days to help the students build and program. Parent volunteers will be needed for this great after school program.   

All proceeds go directly to the students and the school in some way and financial records are well documented for public review.

If you are not already a PTO member, I encourage you to join. You do not have to volunteer for every event: any amount of time is appreciated. You do not need to have any particular skills: each event has a variety of “talents” needed. You do not have to help at the school site: many activities can be coordinated at home over the phone or by using email.

In whatever way you choose to help the PTO this year, you will always be supporting the students, teachers and the Principal!