September 10, 2012 mtg. notes

In attendance:  Jim Goldsmith, Carla Wuthrich, Kim Gordon, Jen Prue, Frank Tworg, Brent Bordeaux, Erin Murray, Chrysanna Burke, Heidi Bouchard, Kate Dodge, Allen Monniere, Greg Glade, Sarah Murphy, Rachel Kring, Jeff Volzer, Mike Hopwood, Gary Miller, Robin Miller, Aimee Babbott, Alecia Vint, Miranda Johnson, Alyssa Lasher, Bob Goudreau, Tracy, Alicia Depot.

1.    Welcome and Introductions

2.    What is PIE?

·      Kate spoke about PiE

o   A way to stay connected to the school and share information in a more meaningful way

o   PIE is Partners In Education (parents, educators, administration, and staff)

o   Fundraising is not the only purpose of PIE (although it is something we do). There are several initiatives for enrichment of students and volunteer opportunities for various projects.

o   PIE meetings are the first Monday of the month. The first hour is an informational session and conversation about a specific topic (see website for listing of topics). The second hour is more specific “work” and planning for projects happening this school year.

3.    Kindergarten 101

·      All Kindergarten teachers have Blogs (see links on HCS website). Weekly newsletters, e-mails, and notes are all great ways that teachers use to keep in touch.

·      Kindergarten is the “Early Explorers” Team on the website

·      Alyssa gave a demonstration of the Smart Board that is used in each kindergarten classroom.

·      A large backpack is recommended (especially in the winter to hold winter clothing and boots). PLEASE LABEL ALL WINTER CLOTHING!

·      UFO bag (unidentified fantastic object) is something each student does. This allows a student to bring in something from home for classmates to guess and share. Toys are okay for this, but otherwise, kids are asked to keep their toys at home.

·      A folder goes home nightly. Announcements, class work, and notes go home (or to school) in these and should be checked daily. Folders are used in grades K-5; so it is a good habit as a family to create in checking the folders daily.

·      Classes are trying to get more paperless; please let your child’s teacher know if you can’t get information via email.

·      On Phys Ed days kids are asked to wear sneakers.

·      Kindergarten has lunch at noon. A morning snack time is made in each classroom. Snack milk or juice can be purchased from the cafeteria for $.50. You can pay using cash or using the online system.

o   Some kids are confused whether they are supposed to get milk (some think it’s free). Parents, feel free to share your preferences for your child with their teacher.

·      Top  (unintentional) secrets of HCS:

o   Folders and e-mail are checked everyday to receive notes from parents. E-mails are checked daily, but not necessarily throughout the day. Folders are the best way to share information for things happening THAT DAY.

§  Notes are required for bus changes. Call the office if the change needs be to made that day.

o   You can leave a phone message for the teacher; however, it’s helpful to re-call the office to let them know you left a message for the teacher if it’s an urgent message.

o   If a parent/guardian is not there to meet the child at the bus stop, the child will continue to ride the bus and come back to school. The bus will radio the message to the office who will send out a call to the parents at the numbers listed at the office. The school and the buses keep in communication throughout the route and can address problems immediately if they arise.

o   Children’s birthdays are celebrated. There are no peanut allergies in kindergarten this year. Cupcakes, fruit-kabobs, fruit, muffins are all options for snack treats. Contact your teacher for numbers and setting up details.

o   All kindergarten parents are welcome to volunteer in the classroom. If you volunteer you need to fill out a form, sign in and get a nametag so that staff know that you’re supposed to be in the building.

o   If you need to bring your child in late or sign them out early do so at the office. The office will call your child out of the classroom.

o   Parking for drop off/pick up is available on the side and lower parking lots. The front is for the buses only. Some parents park at St Jude’s or by Papa Nicks and walk across the street with their kids.

·      Posted Questions (and those asked) were answered:

o   Does someone help my child in the lunch line? Yes. Teachers are more hands on for the first 2 weeks in navigating the lunch line. Teachers can always be made available to help for the first time they try it (even if it’s later in the year).

o   Are kindergartners able to do sports? There are no formal sports at HCS for kindergarten. The Rec Dept has sports for kids in kindergarten. School sponsored sports start in the 6^th grade.

o   Where do the kids go when there is a fire drill? Teachers will try to prepare kindergartners ahead of time. Kids line up and go to St. Jude’s church. They line up in the parking lot, but during bad weather they go inside.

§  There are also occasional “lock down” drills. In this case, it is announced over the loudspeaker. Children gather in one spot in the classroom, doors are locked, police come through to make sure people are where they are supposed to be, then the end of drill is announced over the loudspeaker. Kindergartners are pre-taught what will happen and time is allowed afterwards to briefly talk about what’s happening in these drills. E-mails are often sent home afterwards to share that a lock down drill happened and to share what language is used with the children.

o   ALERT NOW is used to notify parents of urgent/timely news (snow days, early dismissals, closing of the buses to “the hills”, etc).

o   What do I do if my child is sick? If they are sick at home, call the office AND the classroom teacher to share the information.

§  If kids are sick at school, they go to the nurses and she will help determine if a call needs to go to a parent or not. As the teachers get to know the child better, they can help figure out when they need to go to the nurse as well.

o   Is there a better time than another if my child needs to go to appointments? If they miss the beginning of school they will be marked “tardy” (even if it’s an excused absence). In kindergarten, work is more easily caught up; this gets harder as children gets older. If more than 5 tardy’s are accrued, a letter will be sent home (as mandated by the Dept of Education).

§  Official start time for the day is 8:05 am. The cafeteria is open to receive students before school starts. Going to the classroom earlier than 7:50 is at the discretion of the teacher.

Adjourned to Flex Space for next segment of the PIE meeting.

Welcoming of people coming for 2^nd session:  Kelli Brown, Elizabeth Garvey and Doug Stewart were introduced.

PIE Committee Updates:

·      Fundraising Committee: Kim Gordon and Alicia Depot are co-chairs.

o   Working on increasing structure and predictability around fund raising

o   Money raised is shared with teachers through our Funds Distribution Plan (posted on web).  HCS teachers/staff can also apply to PiE for grants twice a year.

o   Box Tops, Meadow Farms, Scholastic Book Fair,Golf Tournament and Open House dinner have been traditional fundraisers.

o   You can go to the PIE section of the HCS website to see all planned fundraisers, how the money is distributed, and other useful info.

o   The Fundraising Committee needs volunteers to help with events and projects.

·      Staff Appreciation: Ali Douglas is the chair. This year this group intends to provide small offerings of appreciation to teachers/staff and to help coordinate the needs of teachers with volunteers.

o   Recent project is to create the staff introduction bulletin board.

o   Looking to gather opportunities for volunteers who can help within the school day and volunteers to help with “take home” projects (cutting out items, organizing binders, etc)

·      Wellness Iniative Team:

o   Previously called the Nutrition Committee

o   Handout shared with mission statement, past projects, and ongoing areas of interest (cafeteria, garden, health)

o   Garden News:

§  Garden harvests have been incorporated into food used in the cafeteria. Part Two helps maintain the garden and harvest.

§  Temporary green house donated by Gardeners Supply; 2^nd grade will be exploring and helping to maintain this this year.

§  Worm composter also now in Mrs. Stanton’s room.

§  Things coming up this year: 2 composters will be gained (with hopes of this project growing over the years); picnic tables will be bought for the garden for kids to eat/teach outside, blueberry garden.

o   Cafeteria Updates:

§  Vermont Education Institute is participating with HCS for a one-year partnership focusing on nutrition education and phys. Ed. At the end of the year, we will apply for a national program.

§  Deb Bissonette is very open for questions, suggestions, and input about the cafeteria program.

§  Family surveys were done last spring, student surveys will come up this year.

§  Parents are volunteering in the cafeteria (chopping fruit and vegetables) and being cafeteria coaches.

o   Maureen Locker will be coming to each classroom this year to teach about nutrition and to offer “new foods” for children to try.

o   Harvest dinner will be at Open House, with volunteers from upper grades asked to help.

o   First Annual Wellness Fair will be held this year. Each class will have a project to share/offer around health and nutrition. This will be open to parents, partnering businesses, and the community.

o   Cooking for Life program will be offered for students in 5-8^th grades. They will learn how to make meals, and be given the ingredients to make it at home.

o   King Arthur Bread is doing a program here on how to make bread.

·      Communication/PR Committee

o   Kate Dodge is the committee at the moment. She would love help with PIE updates for the Viking, sharing information between grades/teachers and website updates.

·      Grade Level Reps:

o   Roles available for immediate filling. Grade reps usually share information at PIE meetings from a “chunk” of 1-2 grades. This can be shared in a variety of ways and is usually done in a way that makes the most sense for the person being the rep. (lots of flexibility hre). Chunks are K-2, 3-5 and 6-8.

Celebrations, Did You Knows, and Help Wanted:

o   K-4 performance is in the works for this fall.  Anyone interested in helping, please contact Kate.  We hope to do a theatre performance (a play) in the fall of 2013.  

o   One student had cherry tomatoes in the garden and loved them…asked for them at home!

o   Jen shared that 6^th graders are receiving iPads, which will be incorporated into classroom for enriched learning. Teachers have been working on learning apps.

o   5^th graders got band instruments today!

o   School Information tab on HCS web site can help you navigate to information.

o   Calendar tab on the HCS homepage has school-wide calendar on Google Calendars…check it out!

o   HCS will be included in engineering week this year. This will happen in late winter for 7/8 grades (possibly grades 5/6). Engineers from the community will come to the school to do prepared lessons/projects with the kids.

o   Sign Up Genius is a common way that committees seek and organize volunteers. Setting up an account is free and you won’t get more e-mail from them!

PIE Meetings to be held on the first Monday of the month at 6 pm   (Next meeting October 1^st)

Aug. 22, 2012 PiE mtg.

Informal planning session

Present: Kate Dodge, Alyssa Lasher, Jen Prue, Ali Douglas, Kim Gordon, Carla Wuthrich

1.     Monday, August 27, 2012 is the ice cream social at 4 pm.

2.     iPads:

·      All HCS teachers are getting iPads (funded from profits from the Part Two program).

·      All 6^th graders will be getting iPads (funded by technology budgets).

·      Questions should be directed to Bob.

3.     Roles: (People agreed to take on certain roles tonight which will help clarify where the openings are when talking with parents at the first mtg. in Sept.)

·      Treasurer: Jim Goldsmith

·      Co-Chairs: Kate Dodge and Alyssa Lasher

·      Secretary: Ali Douglas

·      Fundraising Committee Co-Chairs: Kim Gordon and Alesia Depot

·      Meeting Facilitator: Carla Wuthrich

·      Grade Level Reps: (TBD at the first meeting…Jen Prue willing to help)

·      PR/Communication: Kate Dodge

·      PIT Crew: TBD

·      Staff Appreciation: Ali Douglas

4.     Meeting Structure:

·      First Monday of each month at 6:00 (first hour, topic driven and second hour, working session.)

·      Idea to post calendar items and grade level info. on white board before each mtg. to share information immediately and to spark more in-depth conversation

·      Sept. 10 mtg. - can we set up the room to encourage conversations? Do we want to invite parents of 2^nd and 3^rd graders to serve as peer/mentors? Can we set up a board for people to write questions in advance?

·      Reviewed tentative calendar for the topics for PIE for the year

·      Discussed switching Common Core and Budget topic nights, and including Nutrition

·      9/10 Meeting: Will ask Kate/Alyssa, Kim/Alesia and Ali to speak to the group about plans, hopes, tasks, and how to contact/join in

5.     Treasurer Topics:

·      503 Status to make HCS PIE a non-profit have been going forward.

·      Visa/Debit card is in place to use for purchasing for PIE

·      Setting up accounts at local stores such as Lantmans, Aubachons, and Gardner’s Supply will help reduce reimbursements and the use of the redemption of tax-free status was discussed.

·      Talked about using a pre-paid Visa card with copies of the tax-free sheet to groups at the beginning of the year. If this is do-able, PIE would still ask for receipts to submit (to help plan with budgeting for next year).

·      Is it possible to raise funds specifically for projects such as Nutrition Improvement (not to go to general PIE funds)?

·      Special projects can apply for grants twice a year.  The Nutrition team is one of our already funded categories, projected at about $800.  Additional fundraisers for a specific group will increase the burden on the community and compete with other PiE fundraisers.

·      Disbursement of funds and how much to leave in the account, unallocated?

·      We decided on two annual disbursements, October and February.

·      This will coincide with the grant rounds nicely.

Action Items:

·      Jen will call folks on the board and Bob Mason about talking at the PIE meeting for December

·      Jim will follow up with Kelli about fundraising and how nutrition committee funds are being utilized/planned.  (also will ask for Nutrition Committee folks to talk at November’s meeting)

·      Kate will talk with Bob about how field trips are funded; to make sure that Meadow farms money is being repurposed.

·      Kate will re-do topic calendar and send to those in attendance tonight.

·      Kate will send out an e-mail to try to do another meeting to prepare for the September meeting. (Talked about having it at Ali’s house).

·      Kim will talk to Bob about getting a vertical file folder to display and distribute PIE information.

PIE  

June 4, 2012

In attendance:  Jen Prue, Joyce Wright, Alyssa Lasher, Jim Goldsmith, Kate Dodge, Ali Douglas, Bob Goudreau, Lisa Falcone, Patti Drew, Renee Durochia, Alesia Depot, Kim Gordon, Frank Twarog.

1. Golf Tournament:

• 28 golfers (down from last year), but raised more money than last year.
• Sunday May 19^th, 2013 has been slated for next year’s tournament.
• $3,455 was raised from this event!

 2. Box Tops

• Fund Raising committee has been sorting and mailing in box tops.
• Last batch turned in…raising $1,258 for PIE for this school year.
• Talking about ways of changing incentives for next year.

 3. August Solicitation Letter:

• “What the heck, write a check” campaign. Kate will draft and get out to PiE and Bob for feedback. Referencing Williston, Shelburne, and Richmond’s.
• Letter would go in the start of the year packet that is sent home before school starts in the fall.

 4. Grant Process:

• Fund Raising committee met and chose a pathway for how funds can be distributed (microscopes for Paul Lasher, etc.)
• First effort of grant awards went well, and the financial transactions went smoothly.

 5. Funds Distribution:

• Fund Raising Committee met to talk about how much to disperse and when. A draft of the distribution schedule suggested October 15^th and January 15^th.
• Draft flow chart was shared with the group.
• Money available is a culmination of this year’s efforts as well as the money left by the previous PTO. Therefore, this year will seem a windfall to those receiving money, and will probably not be as generous in subsequent years.
• PiE distributed money that is not spent does not get “frozen” by HCS, as with current school budget amounts per teacher/class.
• Bob suggested that the group might want to keep a larger cushion to plan out for subsequent years and to help keep expectations from staff consistent.
• After Meadow Farms is done, the FR Committee will make disbursements and communicate out about amounts.

 6. Meadow Farms:

• Kate will get contact info from Bob so that she can start organizing/planning for this sales-based fundraiser.
• Many parents will be needed to make this event a success (managing the orders, sorting merchandise, etc).
• Talked about whether or not the initial “pep rally” by Meadow Farms is necessary in its entirety.  Parents don’t like this hard-sales method.

 7. How to increase PIE participation:

• Participants shared frustration with the limited amount of staff participation and the consistent (but small) number of parents who are involved with PiE.
• Reviewed the idea of having a rotating staff sign up for one month per school year to represent their grade level (or be a general staff representative).
• Talked about the PIE process at Williston. They do theirs during the day, rotating parent attendance and allowing teachers to be released from their classroom duties.
• Talk about potential of alternating work and speakers or having separate working meetings to get decisions and keep projects moving.
• Joyce kindly reminded the group that this group is relatively young and that many folks will want to participate now that there are “systems” in place.
• PR needs to be utilized for sharing in the Viking (bi-weekly)…especially within the PIE group.
• More awareness should be made (and sharing/bragging) about what has been done to benefit students and educators.
• More help is needed for the Staff Appreciation Committee to share the effort, cost, and energy.
• Generating an agenda that draws in more teachers and conversation that rises to the Board level will be integral in helping to change the culture and to draw in more interest/participation.
• Make a calendar and schedule topics…make specific invitations to facilitate specific conversations at a PIE meeting.
• Topics to discuss include: Unified Arts, Common Core curriculum,  Kindergarten 101 (in September), adolescence, annual budget, NECAPs, placement process.

 8. K-4 Play

• “Variety show”. Kate has talked with Jenny C about gathering parents. They are trying to do this for this coming fall.
• Parents that expressed interest in the beginning of this year are still interested in doing so.

 9. Ribbon Cutting:

• Ribbon Cutting ceremony is this Monday (June 11, 2012) at 1 pm.
• Kate has invited all the donors. Bob will speak and collaborate with Kate on key speaking points.
• New playground sign is done and will be installed this week.
• Donor sign for ceremony was requested by Bob.  Kate to take care of this.
• Working on getting press coverage (Free Press, The Record, and The Citizen) and a press release will go out.
• Asked for help in identifying people who helped with this project 5 years ago.

 10. Time/Format for Meetings in the 2012-2013 school year:

• Evening times seem to work best with those currently on the committee. 

• Discussion about whether we ought to split the meeting into two separate days/times or keep it on one night and have two parts to the agenda, the first would be "topic-driven" and the second would be "work session/updates from committees."  The Topic part would be 40 mins. of presentation and 20 mins. of discussion.

• Subcommittees might need to meet additionally to get work done and a posted agenda on the wall might help keep these meetings at two hours.

• Agreed to keep PIE meetings on the first Monday of the month at 6 pm. 

• This day/time will be reviewed at the informal August PIE meeting to ensure agreement and availability.

 11. August PIE Meeting:

• Agreed that in order to be organized and ready for a new school year, current PIE members will meet in August. Below are listed agenda items/topics that require further discussion:
• Revisiting the proposed day/time and format for PIE meetings in the ’12-’13 school year.
• Establish calendar (as best as can be anticipated) with fund raising events, school events that need extra help in organizing/completing, PIE discussion topics
• Establishing format and nominees for election of organizational and subcommittee chairs, secretary, time keeper (?), facilitator,
• Tentatively, the meeting date suggested is AUGUST 20^th (Monday) at 6 pm. 

PiE meeting minutes May 7, 2012

PIE
May 7, 2012

In attendance:  Carla Wuthrich, Steve Hyde, Alyssa Lasher, Jeff O’Hara, Amy Sayre, Kelli Brown, Kate Dodge, Jim Goldsmith, Sue Hoeppner, Patti Drew, Lisa Falcone, Doug Stewart, Kim Gordon, Jen Prue, Steve Hyde, Ali Douglas

Part I: Sharing

Placement Process update from Jeff O’Hara

• Jeff will be posting a more “official” and transparent explanation of this process on the website. Below is a simplified version of the placement process shared at tonight’s meeting:

1. Sending grade level teachers will meet together with special educators, guidance (Dave Rast advocates for what/how parents fill out their placement preference forms). Together they try to make a balanced class arrangement for the next school year. “Balanced” means that a class has a whole range of academic, emotional, and social needs…as well as a good boy/girl ratio. Some teaching teams use a rubric to either form or “double check” potential class lists.
2. Unified Arts teachers review lists and make suggestions as needed.
3. Once a class list is drafted, incoming and outgoing teachers meet to share information about students.

A question came up about why 7th and 8th grades are not “straight grades”
and in it’s current teamed configuration.
o Due to the strengths and passions of the teachers currently teaching 7th and 8th grades a mixed teaching approach makes the most sense.
o This also plays into the developmental readiness of students (with the increased capacity to organize a changing schedule and teaching styles of teachers throughout the day)

A tangent conversation was had about parent’s access to curriculum content.
o CSSU has a clear delineation of the curriculum content for each grade level and unified art posted on their website.
o Jeff promised to take this information and make it easily available on the HCS website.
Some conversation had about the potential to change the focus of the traditional fall Open House to a “curriculum night”.

Pre-k to 2nd grade Share:

• End of the year assessments are starting in kindergarten. Also, their ladybug unit is also starting this week.
• June 7th will be the 1st grade play (E-I-E-I-Oops). See Viking for more details as they unfold!
• Some teachers have been at a course on Best Practice. This course will help establish consistent language and approaches between grade levels.
• K-4 art show currently showing at the Carpenter Carse Library 

Grades 3-5:

• History fair is a recent focus for many.
• 4th grade science fair is coming soon… stay tuned for more details.
• K-4 art show currently showing at the Carpenter Carse Library.

Grades 6-8:

• World culture unit is currently going on.
• Choir students will be doing a recording project for a United Nation “Be Peace” project.
• 7th and 8th graders participated in a Children’s Honor Choir last Friday in Middlebury.
• May 31st is the 5-6 band and choir concert
• June 6th is the 7-8 band and choir concert
• 7th grade boys percussion ensemble will be performing for the playground dedication (June 11th)
• 8th graders finished the “romance unit” in guidance.
• 7th graders are currently working on an anger management unit
• Barb Spaulding will be taking students Friday to the Brown Dog Book Store to meet an author.
• 7th graders are planning their end of the year trip to Branbury Beach
• 8th graders are planning their end o the year trip to The Great Escape
• Trent Smith placed 3rd in the statewide Geo Bee…congratulations!
• Looking for 7th and 8th grade parents to help with 8th grade graduation.

Nutrition Committee Update:

• Kelli Brown gave an update of what the Nutrition Committee has been working on. (http://hcsvt.org/Page/2328 )
• An active discussion was had about lunch time concerns, ideas, and happenings including: noise level, time available, food program

Treasurer’s report:

• Jim Goldsmith reviewed suggested scenarios for fulfilling grant requests since PiE is its own entity now, separate from HCS.  We decided to implement a system which includes a PiE Requisition form and clear communication between the PiE Treasurer and Tina, the HCS bookkeeper.  For more details, contact Jim Goldsmith

Last PIE meeting of the year: June 4th at 6 pm

Meeting Minutes

4/2/12

Present: Jim, Patti, Bob, Jenny, Joyce, Kim, Frank, Lisa, Alessa, Carla, Lisa
Missing: Steve, Alyssa, Ali
Next meeting is 5/7/12 @6:00-7:30

Agenda:

Updates and sharing 6-7:10:
Bob:
Kindergarten registration 46 students enrolled, probably 3-4 more so we are looking at a class in the low 50’s. 43 eight graders graduating, this will keep enrollment stable.
The Ayres family got volunteers to set up a fund in Ray’s memory, they organized fixing the drainage for the ball field and paid for more fill, the embankments have been seeded.
The new playground equipment that is coming includes two new benches for the field as well.
Patti suggested that we publicly thank the Ayres and all their helpers. Bob said school would organize a thank-you card and get kids to sign it.
**Frank raised the issue of when the field will be habitable. Bob will call Tom and find out if the field itself has been seeded.
Pre-school through grade 1 literacy night was on March 2nd, about 35 families attended. School personnel attended, Bob reported it went well.
Bob was asked to give a timeline for when information about placement will go out to families. The question was asked specifically, when current kindergartners will know/find out which 1st grade classroom they will be placed in. Bob said he is still waiting for information about retirements, funding opportunities etc…
Bob said they are working on the schedule right now, looking at staffing patterns to add in supports for literacy and math instruction for example. Patti asked if Bob would be able to report out to PIE at the next meeting the specifics of staffing patterns. Patti suggested that we publicize that our next meeting will include info about the placement process, staffing as he knows it, what grade groupings will be getting for music, PE, art. There was a brief discussion of when music stopped being offered at the 7/8th grade level. Bob described the school day and how much is being packed into that time as a reason why music is not a part of the 7/8 curricula.
Frank added a comment about having a discussion about, or acknowledging the role families have to play in picking up with slack. When school has to cut programming, parents will have to fill in the gaps.
Kim (K-2):
Kindergarten classes working on a census unit. They all attended a Flynn performance.
Carla has been working with a group of 2nd graders and literacy skill building. She wanted to know who to go to in order to get student work into the Record. **She will check in with Jen Bradford.
Joyce (3-5):
3rd grade working on an ecology unit
4th grade working on science fair preparation
5th grade-social studies fair, report research and writing=Paul and Joyce, stressing a variety of related skills, are addressing this big project.
Joyce shared a gardening catalogue she wanted to make sure the Garden Initiative had information about this resource.
She went on to ask if the group might be willing to consider funding the purchase of picnic tables so teachers can more easily bring classes to the garden for related instruction. She is looking at this as a way of creating an “outdoor classroom” so more teachers might use the garden as a learning environment. This should be a topic of discussion for the working group to take up. Kate will check in with Kelli about funds and what might already be in the works.
Joyce asked about the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Kate will touch on this in her fund-raising report.
Trent Smith came in 3rd at the state geo-bee.
There is going to be a 5-6 dance, 4/18/12 right after school (3-5). The student council is in charge of this event.
Patti (6-8):
The play preparation is ongoing.
Science update-there is dissection of cow hearts going on. This is new for the classes. Lots of work going on focused on current events; preparing countries for an ongoing world culture fair.

Nutrition Committee Update:
There will be Dietician from UVM is coming for an educational event in the fall. The focus is going to be on federal funding of nutrition.
Junior Iron Chef happened and there was a 2nd grade field trip to Red Wagon.
4/17/12 is the seed-planting event for the garden. The multi-purpose room will serve as the green house for the plants.
Fund-raising Committee:
Box tops continue, trying to streamline the process. The deadline is 4/16/12. There may be one final round if there are willing participants. Kim reported efforts to develop this as a “habit”. Kim has lined up prizes for the fall in hopes of continuing this work.
Playground: Friday April 20th is the date for the next equipment installation. Kate doesn’t think that many volunteers will be needed this time, maybe 5 people for a few hours. If anyone is willing to help, contact Kate Dodge. There is also equipment coming for pre-school equipment and originally the 18th was picked for that installation as well. There is siding work to be done on the white building so this is on hold. When Bob has a new date an email will go out in hopes of having it ready for the fall.
The playground sign is being replaced with a new one! Kate has been working on what has to be on the sign. **It was suggested that Kate contact Rocky Martin about what has to be on the sign based on old agreements.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony: Kate asked for a discussion about a good date. **Bob proposed talking to Deb Bissonette about a date that could include lunch outside and get back to Kate.
Joyce asked about what would happen during the ceremony, Kate said she planned on Bob making formal thank-you presentations to the big donors and hadn’t really gotten past that. Joyce has been working on the students organizing a thank-you. She will coordinate with Kate.
Golf Tournament 5/12/12 at Cedar Knoll. Alyssa Lasher is working on prizes. So far the big-ticket item is: green fees at Vermont National. Kate asked that anyone who can help line up prizes please contact her. Forms to register teams are up on the web site. There is a form for sponsoring a hole as well. PIE needs help “postering the community”. The forms are also on the fund-raising section of the PIE web site.



Communications/PR Committee:
Kate, Jeff O’Hara, Kitty Fraiser and Jess met. Kitty volunteered to be the PIE posting person. There is work being done on a new coordinated calendar, a GOOGLE calendar that can be worked on by PIE (Kitty).
We have a new email address: HCSPIE@cssu.org, this email goes directly to Kitty and Kate (who has access) thinks she can email out to the entire the school community via this email. Kate started a new Google Group; hopefully we can use this to more directly communicate with one another. Bob wants to check with Jess about which “HCS all school” listserv we have access to.
Working Group: 7:10-7:30
Jim Goldsmith is our new treasurer officially. Heather Way is now no longer the treasurer. Kate and Jim are going to set up a new checking account using our TIN.
There was a hefty over-draft charge on the existing account. Kate and Jim are going to work on negotiating this down with the bank.
Kate suggested we have a Treasurer’s Report every meeting. Everyone agreed to this.
Fundraising Update: There was a March deadline for grants. There was funding set aside. There were two applicants: Barb Spaulding requested $600.00 for academic field trips to local colleges and universities. The money would help design a program that allows for academic activities and team building. Money would be used for: bussing, admission to museum’s (Fleming etc), and related learning opportunities that can be planned. Paul Lasher requested $470.00 for 3 LCD monitor microscopes for science units. The 6th grade does not own any microscopes.
There was an ensuing conversation about the science lab that is either being used or not used. It sounds like the cow heart unit is utilizing the science lab. Bob says the main issue is time management of the space and curricula. For example, the space is used for other things that then make it difficult to set-up the lab for science use. This year there is one 7/8 teacher overseeing the science curricula which is making it easier to use the lab efficiently. There were a lot of questions about how to promote more use of the lab for science purposes. Several questions that were generated were: how can parents support the science curricula, are there different ways to look at the scheduling of the science lab space? What would be the next step? Joyce suggested Carla go look at the lab space. Jen suggested Carla contact Stephanie about her curricula and what she could do to support her instruction.
There was discussion about the merits of both grant requests prior to voting. Both funding requests were approved. One recommendation was that the grant request forms be worked on to specify that applicants provide details about proposed activities and expenditures. We also discussed that once money has been granted we need to define expectations around reporting back to PIE once funds have been used. The issue that arises with less fleshed out proposals is: how do we track expenditures. Once a proposal is approved, how/who actually does the purchasing? Jim suggested that the school lays out the funds, and then PIE reimburses HCS. Bob asked to think through this process. Bob then suggested that a check from PIE goes into the team account. Teachers could then draw down the amount in the account.
Joyce suggested we use a standard requisition form that teachers complete prior to disbursement. This is the proposed updated process: the initial grant request (we need a more detailed form), which has to also include the completed requisition, gets submitted to the Fund-Raising/Grant Committee. To further flesh out the process, Bob will talk to Tina, then talk to Jim about fine-tuning this process. Jim and Kate will then talk. In the meantime, Kate will let both Barb and Paul know their requests have been funded.
We need to flesh out what we want in return for payments out: pictures, reporting out at future meetings…
Golf Tournament To-do’s: (the fund-raising group is: Kate, Alessa, Alyssa L, Kim, Kaylin and Bob).

1. We need a PR person
2. We need someone to keep track of online PR
3. We need someone to track registrations (a registrar)-Patti volunteered.
4. We need help getting more sponsorship (let the committee know if you have anyone in mind)
5. We need a golf pro/consultant-**Alessa will talk to Jane at Cedar Knoll

Anyone interested in filling any of these roles, or volunteering on the day, please contact the group)

Any checks from now on must be made out to HCS PIE.

**Jen will contact Karen Cornish about what PIE can do to help with the play.

1. Carla asked if IBM interfaces with HCS, she is interested in helping promote the connection (E-week which includes presentations, projects etc). Bob says IBM does send out an email that announces opportunities). Carla wanted to know how to make this connection to HCS work. Joyce suggested Carla contact Paul and Angela directly about working with the 6th grade team.
2. Carla also brought up the IBM EXCITE camp that is specifically for girls. Campers go to IBM and attend classes, tour the facility and participate in hands-on activities. Info about this opportunity has to be disseminated to teachers so they could plan ahead.

Next meeting agenda:

1. Bob will present information about the placement process, staffing configurations etc.
2. Joyce suggested that at the next meeting having as much information available as possible, including the number of students slated for each class, who we are losing, the shift in space and the reduced number of para-educators for next year would be important. The community needs to have accurate information about the real state of affairs. The thrust of the conversation should be “how can we all pitch in to make this work for all kids”.

To be included in PIE notes:

1. Wizard of Oz announcement.

**To be done items…PIE

PiE meeting March 6, 2012

Click here for meeting minutes in pdf format.

PiE meeting February 6, 2012

A Slice of PIE

A brief recount of the February 6^th PIE meeting.

Please click here to see the full minutes in PDF format.

Sharing Session:

In addition to administration and grade level reports, the following ideas/opportunities were shared:

• Ila Sewal met to share the programs she runs focusing on gymnastics, dance and circus arts. PIE agreed to talk with PE teachers and the music teachers to discern potential of sponsoring a program with an accompanying K-4 variety show.
• Parent survey about cafeteria use and opinions is “closed” and results are being looked at. A similar survey has been created and will be distributed to students in the near future. (Stay tuned for more details!)

Presentation by Jeff and Jessica:

• Jessica (HCS’s own technology integration specialist) was introduced to PIE and a conversation was had about what parents want from a website and how communication can be best shared/distributed.
• Ideas that are being explored include: expanded on-line calendar of events (sports, dances, standardized testing, fundraisers, etc), creating a “live feed” on HCS main website, and utilizing RSS feed to get updates on personal e-mail.
• PIE to consider 2-3 parents who will be able to add to calendar and potentially help Jessica/Deb keep on-line calendars updated.

Working Session:

• Final drafts of fundraising procedures, forms, and teacher funding schedules approved.
• PIE representatives and administration to share these changes and how they impact YOU at an upcoming “chunk” meeting.
• Agreed that next meeting (Tuesday, March 6^th) that both Rosemary Webb and Tom Darling will present on Vermont Lures and entering adolescence respectively. Sharing session items will be presented in a written format to give each guest a full 30 minutes to share/present.

Help Wanted:

• New section to PIE info in the Viking to have a “Help Wanted” section to link teachers with resources and manpower. E-mail Kate Dodge to enter your requests!
• Request for extra yarn for new HCS knitting club made. Yarn donation boxes are in the school and town libraries. All donations appreciated!

Slice of PiE - January 10th, 2012

A Slice of PIE

(A brief recount of the January 10th PIE meeting.)

Please click here to view the full meeting minutes in pdf format.

• PIE has established an updated meeting format that will be tried for the next few months. In this new format you can expect the following:
• A sharing session (lasting approximately 40 minutes) that includes updates from each grade level group, administration and subcommittees, dates of upcoming events, and requests for help/volunteers. The sharing session will also have a segment devoted to general questions, comments, and sharing of concerns.
• The remainder of the PIE meeting will be a working session. Anyone is welcomed to these sessions; however, voting will be limited to a representative of each individual grade level group or subcommittee. (See newly drafted organizational chart to see the 12-15 people who will be eligible to vote).
• In this session you can expect to see collaboration, sharing and approval of forms, procedures, and consideration of fundraising requests (see below for fundraising specifically).

• Box tops for Education and Labels for Education contest starts tomorrow (1/11/12) and will end February 15^th. Classroom who raises the most will win a pizza party!

• The playground fund won a $9,000 grant from the State of Vermont. A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for May 12^th.

• PIE postings in The Viking will now have a “help wanted” section in which teachers and staff can elicit help from parents (and perhaps friends and neighbors of said parents). Requests can include experts in a field to speak, help for classroom tasks/projects, etc. Please e-mail Kate Dodge (dodgeopton@gmavt.net) or Kelli Brown (kelli_mcgonigal@yahoo.com) to get your request for help entered in the next posting!

• Fundraising procedures and criterion continue to be collaborated on diligently by the Fundraising subcommittee and the PIE “working group” session. Stay tuned for more information

PIE December 5, 2011

PIE December 5, 2011

In attendance: Steve Hyde, Joyce Wright, Heather Way, Kim Gordon, Kate Dodge, Kitty Frazier, Renee Durochia, Doug Stewart, Kate Suskin Peterson, Ali Douglas

Due to a conflict in scheduling, many regular attendees and PIE officers were at the HCS school budget meeting. Since the group was smaller in size, a more casual conversation was facilitated. Based on tonight’s meeting, the following notes are offered:

Treasurer’s report

• Jennifer McCuin and Sharon Hanlon have come off the Money Market account for the PIE group.
• Kate Dodge and Heather Way are in the final phases of getting current signers on the PIE checking account
• PIE/PTO representatives listed as signers on the Money Market account are Heather Way, Kate Dodge, and Cynthia Ballas. Cynthia is no longer on PIE (was from PTO) and will be removed from the account.
• Heather reminded folks that forms MUST be used to get reimbursed for money spent on behalf of PIE. Once Fundraising committee has draft for request forms approved, all forms will be posted on the website for anyone in the HCS community to access.
• Anyone can have an item raised for discussion at ANY PIE meeting…just e-mail Ali to get it in. Kate will advertise this in the Viking.

2. Playground update:

· A good volunteer showing was noted this past Saturday morning to help with installing Phase 2 of the HCS playground.

· Photos and article to be written up/published in and upcoming edition of the Citizen. Photos are also up on the HCS Blog.

· Kids won’t be able to play on structure until Wednesday (to let the cement cure)

· Bob Goodreau agreed to fund and install new mulch around the playground. Initially this was slated as a spring project; however, due to available funds and fair weather this will be happening sooner than later.

· For the spring, it is hoped that Phase 3 (the final phase) can be achieved. The hope is to replace the last set of swings and perhaps acquire one more freestanding structure.

· Once the playground is completed, we hope to have an official ribbon cutting ceremony and officially thank the many sponsors and volunteers who made this project successful.

· Kate will contact the Wainer family to give them an update on the playground. The playground/park will keep their name even though the structures they helped to fund will no longer be in place.

· $1173 dollars left in the playground fund to date.

3) Fundraising Update:

• Drafts of the documents on how to request funds, guidelines for what projects are eligible for PIE funding, and the form to request fund were shared with the group. A final draft will be established at next week’s CORE PIE meeting.
• Some details about the previous PTO’s funding systems were shared. Notable items discussed included:
• Each classroom was given an annual sum to sponsor scholarships to cover class trips, busing, and entry fees.
• Additional funds that were requested were capped (one per teacher) and annual field trip funding was given under a “use it or lose it” approach.
• A discussion was had about how/if PIE fundraising dollars will help fund specific PIE generated initiatives. This is something that will be further discussed at the CORE meeting (next Monday).
• Discussed a potential loophole of allowing parents/other HCS staff to “buddy up” with a teacher to request PIE funding for projects that would benefit many children.
• This committee has an ongoing list of fundraising ideas and is coordinating with administration to limit the number of fund raising projects initiated throughout the school year.

4) Non-Profit Status Update:

• Currently, PIE is financially NOT it’s own entity. Funds are held by/through the school and CSSU.
• Bob Mason suggested that PIE become financially independent from the school, and seek a Non-Profit status with our own tax exempt ID number (5013C)
• Kate Dodge is meeting with a PIE member at the Shelburne Community School, as they just went through the process…and will be sharing their experience and information with us.
• Once PIE has completed this lengthy process, the Treasurer will be asked to complete quarterly reports (simple forms that state income and expenses) in addition to her regular PIE responsibilities.

5) Communication:

• A lively conversation was had around the use of technology and how information is exchanged/updated. Ideas that came from this discussion included:
• Is it possible to make a one-page update/informational page that gets distributed on the non-Viking weeks. The intentions being that parents could establish a template and collect pertinent information, then pass it along to Deb Lyman for proofreading and distribution.
• The current calendar on the HCS website is blank and HCS staff all use a Google Calendar to keep track of grade level and school wide events. Is it possible to replace the on-line calendar with a Google calendar that includes whole school and grade level events?
• The group remembered previous sharing about e-mail updates utilized at another school in CESU to alert parents to changes in the calendar. Is this something that is possible for us at HCS?
• Kate Dodge has offered to talk to Jeff about potential opportunities and ways of streamlining where to look on-line for current information about HCS events.

6) CORE PIE meeting:

• As PIE is defining it’s protocols and evolving as an organization, it has been agreed upon that business and sharing will be done in two separate venues.
• Regular PIE meetings (first Monday of the month at 6 pm) will be called “PIE forums” and utilized to open the floor to anyone’s concerns, distribute information, and foster collaboration within the HCS community.
• Once a month there will be a separate PIE CORE meeting consisting of PIE officers, grade level reps (as much as possible), committee chairs, and 1-2 PIE members at large. These meetings will further define PIE’s organization, vet and vote on funding requests, and support the more detailed workings necessary to make PIE successful.
• These meetings are open to anyone; however, only the PIE delegates listed above are expected to attend.
• In sharing this change in format tonight, the group suggested that if administration were only available for one meeting, that this would be the meeting to encourage them to attend.

7) Grade Level updates:

• Steve Hyde reported on behalf of the middle school staff:
• The science fair (and teaching of the scientific method, establishing projects/experiments, and research) is beginning. Science fair is typically in the end of January, so stay tuned for details!
• 6^th grade continues to participate in TA’s (teaching advisory groups) and meet 2-3 times weekly with a sponsoring teacher/staff member.
• These are small groups of 8-10 students who meet regularly to work on group building, community building/support, and to facilitate grade and school-related issues.
• The tea-riffic staff appreciation tokens created by the Staff Appreciation committee were indeed appreciated and gratitude was shared with the PIE group.
• Kim Gordon reported for K-2. All grades are learning about pilgrims and Native Americans. Antidotes of cranberry chutney were exchanged.
• Joyce Wright reported out for 3-5
• Common planning time is now fully occupied with “Kid Talk”.
• Kid talk is the teacher’s first line of support in helping students who seem to be struggling in the classroom. Teachers schedule specific students they have concerns about and “present” what the concerns are and what they’ve tried. All teachers present then collaborate and brain storm ideas of additional supports that can be put in place.
• If the suggestions provided require additional support, then a student’s case is brought to an Educational Support Team meeting, which includes a more formal and extensive team meeting.
• While teachers are utilizing the Kid Talk time well, they have lost their common planning time designated for curriculum development and collaboration on common grade-level assessments.
• In 5^th grade, Newton’s laws are being taught/explored in science and students are learning about US government in social studies (a mock trial to happen soon!)

Action Items;

*Kate Dodge to talk to Jeff about user-friendly and accurate calendar to supplement the “off” weeks of the Viking

*CORE meeting next Monday (12/12/) in the flex space 6-7:30. All are welcomed; however, officers and committee facilitators only are expected to be there.