Mrs. Robson's and Mrs. Serafin's fifth grade students are hosting a Mini Mall on December 17th to sell products they have worked hard to create and market over the past few months during an economics exploration.  Fourth and sixth grade students will be invited to come do some holiday shopping at the Mini Mall.  Look for a flyer to come home soon with information on the products being sold and prices.  Fourth and sixth grade students can bring cash on December 17th to purchase items created by our fifth grade students.

Boosters meeting December 5, 2014

Present: Kimberley Wormley, Laura Cooper, Kurt Rightmeyer, Melinda Keller, Terrie Marshall, Brian Olson, Mike Berger, Cerae Speidel, Robyn O’Leary, Wendy Sylvester

Absent: James McMillan (his daughter was just born a few days ago!)

Kimberley called the meeting to order.  There was discussion of how to get the proposed Boosters agenda out to the Teach community prior to meetings.  The secretary (Laura) will submit a newsletter announcement through Janet fifteen days prior to the next Boosters meeting with the proposed agenda, asking for additional agenda items.

Allie is working on a tri fold brochure which would introduce Teach to prospective parents.  Kim has a draft; those interested in having input should contact Kim.  ****ACTION ITEM: have this brochure in print in time for Open House, Spring 2015.*****

Kimberley reported that Kate Stevens wrote and sent thank you letters to school board members and facilities staff, thanking them for their roles in the move to Teach’s new home.

In the next newsletter, there will be a call for parents to help form a fundraising and financial stewardship committee for financial stewardship of Boosters funds.  The committee would make recommendations to the Boosters for what to do with surplus funds, and could also look into grants, evaluating the effectiveness of Boosters fundraising efforts, etc.  Melinda (co-VP) said that she could collaborate on grant writing.  Brian (current Treasurer) would be part of the committee.  The purpose is to propose expenditure of Boosters assets carried over from prior years and to answer the question of whether or not our menu of fundraising should change or remain the same.  Establishing a policy for fundraising could be part of this committee’s activities. 

The minutes from the November meeting had been sent via email and posting on the Google drive.  Kimberley made a motion to approve the minutes as amended; Brian Olson seconded and all present were in favor, none opposed or abstaining. 

Teresa Larsen, school library tech, then spoke.  She herself does not track AR tests; AR test results are tracked by computer as students take tests.  “Encyclopedias” that were referred to in the 11-7-14 minutes should be noted as “reference books.”  Teresa will get information out to parents on how to access e-books and online reference materials.  From the district website, parents can click on the link for Teach Library.  Also under the Teach website, one can click on student resources.  There was a discussion of establishing an Amazon wish list; however, the school district determines that books must be ordered through Tidal Wave, which catalogues the books.  All books that end up in the school library must be approved through the district, so if books are purchased through a source like Amazon, they may not be approved for library use.  Mike Berger called for a vote on purchasing the district librarian’s request for reference books (PO #CG158012013).  There were no votes in favor of purchasing these reference materials.  Kimberley, Brian, Terrie, Robyn, Kurt, Melinda all voted to NOT use Boosters funds to purchase these books.  The consensus was that the Boosters would like to look into options for purchasing reference materials.  ****ACTION ITEM: Robyn will partner with Teresa Larsen to help determine library needs and how to progress in obtaining books that are needed.  They will bring their findings back to the Boosters.****  Brian, as Treasurer, brought up the point that there are not currently funds in the Boosters budget for funding a books purchase of $1000 (which was the amount of the reference books in that purchase order).

Brian reviewed the current status of Parent Pledges (see attachment).  There was discussion of how to contact those families that have not responded at all to the pledge request.  Kimberley asked if each grade rep could send out an email asking each of those families to contact their grade rep(???) if they have not yet pledged.  After January 16^th, Kimberley is planning on calling those families who have not responded by that point. 

Brian reported that the Boosters indeed carries liability insurance for events, so events such as the Derby Days and other gatherings (Chili Cook-off, etc,) are covered.  He also reported that the 2013-14 tax return has been submitted. 

In light of the liability issue being resolved, Mike moved that Boosters approve a $1000 deposit for the spring fundraiser (Derby Days).  Terrie seconded the motion and all present were in favor, none opposed or abstaining. 

Report from Grade reps: Cerae reported that Camp Ocean Pines was fun, action packed, and full of learning opportunities.  Regarding the Bog Brothers/Sisters event coming up this weekend, she was told by another parent in Mr. Crabb’s class that Mr. Crabb has spent $150 of his own money on supplied for this event.  There was discussion of “service learning”: the Big Bros/Sisters event is the only Teach-supported event that is a service oriented activity.  Robyn moved that Boosters reimburse Mr. Crabb up to $150 for the expenses he has incurred towards putting on the Big Brothers/Big Sisters event.  Kurt seconded the motion with all in favor, none opposed or abstaining.  A line item will be added to the Boosters yearly budget to support this event financially. 

Kurt reported on upcoming Electives.  There is a need for sports and a cooking class.  Since space is at a premium, outdoor activities are encouraged.  ****ACTION ITEM: Kurt will get an item to Janet for the next newsletter, asking for additional volunteers for Electives.****

Cerae wanted grade reps to know that they have $200 per classroom for party expenses/supplies for the 2014-15year. 

There was discussion of an equipment swap (possibly in January) to assist 5^th grade families in gear for the Yosemite trip in February.  ****ACTION ITEM:  5^th and 6^th grade reps coordinate equipment swap for Yosemite equipment.*****          

There was a thank you to those who are helping with the Gaga ball arena. 

Wendy Sylvester’s business (Docu-Team??) has helped with shredding old Boosters documents; Kimberley will write a thank you note.   

There were some needs expressed: 

1. The Teach Family directory has not yet happened; Matt Wormley has done this in the past; getting the information during this transition year has been a little tricky thus far; it will most likely come out early next year. 

2. Boosters need a proposal for what needs to be rented for the school play.  Kimberley will ask Dondi for this.  A date is needed for this event, and $1500 has been budgeted and is available.****

3. ****ACTION ITEM: There is a School-wide variety show scheduled for January 29^th, and there is no budget allocated for that. ****

****ACTION ITEM: Robyn will post on Facebook for Elective volunteers needed ASAP, as one or even two instructors for 12-13 children is a stretch.****

****ACTION ITEM: Mike, who will be assisting his wife Kristina with a sewing Elective, reported that they still did not have vital information about Electives, and will ask Kurt to disseminate details to all parents: when, what day of the week, how many weeks, how long is each meeting?****

****ACTION ITEM: CeRae has a sewing machine to loan to Mike and Kristina.****

Kimberley brought up questions that came up this week when a student transferred to Teach: if a student transfers to Teach mid-year, do we present the pledge materials and ask for a pledge amount from them?  If a student leaves, do we refund any part of previously paid pledge?  Kimberley will get contact information for the new family and make contact along with Cerae as 4^th grade rep.  There was discussion that the amount of both pledge and any potential refund would be pro-rated for the elapsed time, but no policy was proposed or voted on.

Kimberley moved to close the meeting, Robyn seconded the motion with all present in favor, none opposed or abstaining. 

Respectfully submitted,

Laura Cooper, secretary

Exhibits:

1. Scholastic Book Order 10/06/2014 and 10/08/2014

2. Estimate for MPR Sound System, Bill Gaines Audio, Inc. $12,441,56

3.  Quote for Library Encyclopedia Set, World Book, Inc. $1,064.88

4. Draft Tri-Fold Brochure on Pledge Payments & Volunteering

5. Treasurer’s charts

Parent Volunteers for Electives:

• Melinda Keller (Renaissance Games and Studies)

• Kristina Berger (Michael Berger's wife) (sewing)

• Lyn Cowgill (robotics or electronics)

• Robyn O' Leary (newspaper journalism and publication)

• Dondi Hubley (Theater acting)

• Eric Collins, (robotics or programming)

• Suzanne Mulay and Amy McKay (graphics design in coordination with the Yearbook)

• Timothy Crooks (Basic Computer Programming)

• Tetsuo Uyeda (Taiko drumming)

• Cerae Speidel (theater set design for the play)

• Matt Wormley (computer gaming)

• Paige Wright (jewelry making). 

• If Mrs. Robson teaches a hip hop dance class that gives us fourteen volunteers and 13 classes.

Teach Boosters Club Board Meeting, November 7, 2014

(As corrected.)

Teach Boosters Club Board Meeting, November 7, 2014

Present: Kimberley Wormley, Laura Cooper, Altee Vigil, Mike Berger, Robyn O’Leary, Melissa Keller, Terrie Marshall, Teresa Larsen, Brian Olson, James McMillen and Donde Hubbley.  Paige arrived later in the meeting. 

Kimberley called the meeting to order and asked people to review the many things that we have to celebrate (see attached), such as exceeding our fundraising goals for all the scheduled fundraisers so far this year.  The schedule of future Boosters meetings will be appended to these minutes.

Next was approval of past minutes: these were posted ahead of time on the Teach school website.  Melinda moved to accept the minutes as amended; Kimberley seconded the motion which passed with all in favor, none opposed or abstaining. 

There was then discussion of changing the Boosters board composition in order to be in compliance with our bylaws.  Laura Cooper reviewed that the bylaws state that the board must be comprised of seven members, one of whom must be a staff person appointed by the school principal.  At the May meeting, seven board members were voted, in, but none were staff.  Laura volunteered to continue as secretary but step down as a board member, thereby making room for Mr. McMillen to appoint a staff member.  Kimberley moved that Laura remain as secretary but vacate her space on the Boosters board, and James McMillen appointed himself as staff representative.   Melinda seconded this motion, which passed with all present in favor, none opposed or abstaining. 

Teresa Larsen, library tech, was present.  She asked that the Boosters form a Battle of the Books committee.  Robyn O’Leary identified herself as the chair of this event.  There was discussion of the Battle event, with the following areas covered: Mr. McMillen requested that it be more parent-driven than teacher-driven.  The library tech could assist by tracking student AR tests leading up to the event.  Teresa said she would help individual classes stage mock battles in advance of the Battle so that students know what to expect.  Mr. McMillen will check to see who the teacher rep is for this event (Mr. Crabb or Mrs. Robson).  There was discussion of AR tests and if the system is open; Teresa stated that it is indeed open until 3 pm M, Tu, W and Friday.  Melissa asked about Society of Women Engineers students being involved and there was discussion of background checks that the district requires (TB test and completion of volunteer paperwork). 

Teresa Larsen gave the Boosters a purchase order that the district librarian had put together for building the Teach reference library, and asked if Boosters would like to help fund this purchase.  ***ACTION ITEM: Kimberley will check to see what has been spent of the Scholastic credit.***  There was a discussion of how best to utilize resources for purchasing reference materials, and the feeling was that these tend to not be widely utilized in school libraries.  Mr. McMillen said that one option would be to use money to fund a device available in classrooms that would connect to online resources with be appropriate filters.  Teresa brought up that students have e-books available for use, and all present said that they would love a mini seminar in order to know how to do this.  ****ACTION ITEM: One suggestion was for Teresa to send home a sheet that explains how to connect with these books.****  Brian said that the amount of the proposed purchase order is about $1064.  Teresa explained that when ordering books for the school library, the district approves purchases and orders books through a particular website.  But there is also the option of Teresa ordering some books/materials directly through Amazon or another vendor, and obtaining reimbursement through the Boosters if the Boosters Club wishes to assist in this way. 

The Boosters will take the Scholastic proposed book order under consideration and make a decision at the next meeting.  Some questions raised were: What do teachers feel they need based on their lesson plans for the year?  What books does Teach actually have, all told (most are still boxed up since library shelving is not yet in)?  What is needed to help with teaching the new science standards?  Mr. McMillen said that science specialists may be present at each school site as early as next year to assist with science standards resources.  The library shelving is coming later in November.  Robyn proposed that the Boosters table the library discussion until the library is unpacked and the staff can make their classroom needs known. 

Paige arrived at this point in the meeting. 

Altee Vigil and Erica Stewart are co-chairs of the Derby Days event.  Altee said that they are moving ahead with planning for the event.  They want to keep the theme but are searching for a new venue, as Teach has outgrown the Café Roma space which has been generously given in the past by Vanessa and Marco Rizzo. There was a brief review of the Derby Days event for those unfamiliar with it.  It is a fundraising evening that is adults only, with a silent auction, as well as a mock “race” between horses that are decorated by each class.  Different venues were discussed: the SLO Country Club ($2000 for venue, $50-60 plate), Elks Club ($800 for venue, $35 plate), John Rourke’s new barn with a casino night (John would not charge for the space, $2850 for AMS, a group that would run gaming tables, no sit-down dinner but instead hors d’ouevres with caterer so cost will depend, approximately $30/ticket).  There was also discussion of possibly using food truck/wineries/brewery to pour.  *****ACTION ITEM: Altee will check with John Rourke about his fire/liability coverage.*****  There was discussion of how to help the evening move so that people don’t get bored and leave prior to the silent auction as had been observed by Altee at another event. 

After much discussion, all present felt that Derby Days being held at the Rourke Barn was a great idea.   Saturday, May 16^th, 2015 was discussed as a date.  Altee will go ahead and move towards that goal, getting answers to questions about liability, etc. 

Paige shared info on the Scrip program.  She has sent home additional paper order forms.  Brian is handling checks so that people do not have to go through the Presto Pay process.  There was discussion about some of the reasons that this program is under-utilized such as people using their “points” rewards credit cards and not wanting to pay ahead of time as is the case for gift cards. 

Mr. McMillen then gave his principals’ report.  First item was the Gaga ball pit.  Jim Schimmer has made the pit and it is now stored between classrooms on the Teach campus.  Mr. McMillen would like for the pit to be pulled out once a month or so, assembled on Monday and torn down on Friday afternoon.  He is hoping Boosters could ask for volunteers via Face Book to do that so that the pit can be better utilized. 

Mr. McMillen covered a new behavior system that is being implemented, due to noticing that when he’s not on campus, there is a slight rise in playground “incidents.”  The new system will consist of “positive” slips and “refocus” slips.  The positive slips will get put into a container in the classroom and there will be drawings during the month for spirit wear, etc.  Refocus slips will be filled out by teachers or the principal.  (See the attached slip as an example.)  Laura Cooper asked about having something similar to the SLOCA practice of writing something about the character trait they are studying on chalkboards around the SLOCA campus (i.e. how have you demonstrated “Kindness” today?).  ****ACTION ITEM: Mr. McMillen will explore where a board like this could go.  Donde pointed out that the student council might take that on as a project for the year.****

There was then discussion of the sound system that is currently being shared between Teach and Bishops Peak.  Mr. McMillen said that he and Mr. Block have determined that this was a BP purchase.  Bill Gaines has put together a “dream system” proposal (attached to these minutes) for Teach.  There was discussion of renting rather than buying, which avoids the problem of technology becoming quickly outdated.  Bill Gaines has also rented BP/Teach in the past.  ****ACTION ITEM: Kimberley said that Melinda and she talked about a friend who might be able to lend equipment, possibly including lights.****  The talent show is coming up on January 29^th and a sound system will be needed for that, as well as for the 6^th grade play.  Robyn asked how sound/lighting is traditionally funded at other school sites.  Mr. McMillen said that about $200 is what he could come up with in district funding towards a system.  Kimberley asked if we could get by with rental of what we need for January, then form a parent committee, get some proposals together, then make a formal motion and buy equipment. 

****ACTION ITEM:  Kimberley will set up a committee to figure out the use of excess funds from previous years.  One question the committee will address is how large the rainy day fund needs to be.  Brian will help advise the committee.****  Mr. McMillen said that he would advise doing short term rental of sound/lighting equipment for this year, and then put together a prioritized list of sound/light items which he will get from Bill Gaines.  Once a system is decided upon, if we can learn about it in advance, Donde will see if students could help run the sound/lights. 

Mr. McMillen then discussed the passage of Measure D.  Every site is supposed to form a facilities committee that will help determine how that site’s little bit of Measure D funds will get spent.  At Teach, Mr. McMillen has established that we need bell/intercom system.  Other ideas are the “common area” for which Jim Schimmer, among others, has been lobbying (trees, etc.).  Mr. McMillen would like parent involvement from Boosters to help with this facilities committee.  ****ACTION ITEM:  Kimberley and Mike said that they would both be interested in serving, to help be good stewards of the funds being utilized.****  There was discussion of the lease with SLOCA which runs for another 4 years.  Kimberley pointed out that Teach will be hosting the district ???? meeting on January 22^nd, 2015.  There was discussion about having an opportunity to talk a bit about the opportunities and challenges for the new Teach site.  There was also discussion of where Teach is in the hierarchy of Measure D funding (Mr. McMillen says that we are similar to Sinshiemer in that this site was retrofitted at the same time about 13 years ago). 

Mr. McMillen would like Teach to be a one-to-one school site (one student to one electronic device).  We were given money to replace computers that are 8 years old or older.  There are options with those funds.  Some that were discussed were iPads or Google Chrome notebooks.  Apple apparently does not furnish adequate tech support to school sites using Apple products, as Mr. McMillen has found through firsthand experience.  There is also a website that might be utilized for funding such as Donors Choose (this is a site for private online donation; teachers put what their needs are on the website and donors match funds).   There may be other opportunities like private grant money, matching funds, etc., in order to make Teach a one-to-one site by the end of the year.   

****ACTION ITEM: Donde will send Kimberley an email and Kim will send that to Kristen Admundsen…  ??????****

There being no more time to continue the meeting and no other pressing business, Mr. McMillen moved to adjourn the meeting.  Brian Olson seconded the motion with all present in favor, none opposed or abstaining. 

Respectfully submitted,

Laura Cooper, secretary for Boosters

Interim Boosters meeting October 17, 2014

Board members Present: President Kimberley Wormley, Treasurer Brian Olson, Secretary Laura Cooper, Board Member at Large Terri Marshall. 

Others Present: 4^th Grade Class Rep CeRae Speidel, 5^th Grade Class Rep Mike Berger, International Day Co-Chairs Nara Clark and Pia Laurie.

Kimberley called this meeting to discuss some interim Booster items. First was a short discussion of the board composition. Laura Cooper, current board member and secretary, has volunteered to step down as a voting board member but will continue to serve as secretary. This change will be put forward and voted on at the next meeting. Laura will communicate with principal McMillen to make sure he can be there at the next board meeting, as the other board composition issue is that he must put forward a staff person to serve as a board member, and this person must be duly elected as soon as can be to ensure compliance with our bylaws.

Next item was discussion of when International Day Chairs will meet and get information out to interested parents and the school community as a whole.  The Int’l Day chairs are planning to meet in late January and will put out information at that time about the event and how parents can become involved. 

Next was discussion of Electives.  Since these come up in January, the proximity necessitates information to the Teach community coming out very soon. Terrie Marshall and Mike Berger stepped forward to help Kurt Rightmeyer get information out. It has been proposed that there be a meeting on October 24^th to sketch out a plan to raise up a team of parent volunteers for electives.

There is continued interest in getting the Infosnap volunteer data so that other chairs/reps/board members may know which parents have already indicated their volunteer interests. Nara indicated that the Infosnap data had already been transferred to Christine Kimball. Kimberley will follow up with Christine. 

Mike Berger moved that the Boosters add a Teach Boosters budget line item of $300 for International Day. Brian Olson seconded the motion which carried with all board members present (4 board members) in favor, none opposed or abstaining.  Mike Berger moved that the Boosters add a budget line item of $500 for Electives. Kimberley seconded the motion which passed with all board members present (4 board members) in favor, none opposed or abstaining. 

There was discussion of recess equipment, but this topic was tabled until Principal McMillen can be present to help guide options in terms of safety concerns, etc.

There was discussion of how all the classes were doing in terms of pledge forms. Laura will contact Wendy Sylvester, 5^th grade room rep, to see if Wendy can email parents in a way similar to CeRae’s contact with 4^th grade parents, to raise awareness of need for those forms being returned so that the Boosters know what all families’ needs are in terms of assistance or ability to donate funds.  Kimberley will follow up individually with families who will follow up individually with families who have neither turned in a pledge form nor submitted a pledged donation.  Brian will send the latest numbers on monies collected, pledge forms received by class to all board members and reps/chairs so that they have this information when talking with parents. 

There was a question about what teachers wanted in terms of class parties for the year; CeRae will check and see what teachers have decided about parties for the year as teachers were going to select dates for class parties.  She will bring this information to the November meeting. 

CeRae reported that she has been organizing GoogleDocs and making new folders organized by year so that the most recent info can be more easily located.  She asked for feedback from people in terms of if this was making it easier to find items to assist in the process. The immediate reaction was one of gratitude for CeRae having taken on such a worthy and onerous task. 

Kimberley has been cleaning out the Boosters storage area, and found a cache of outdated electronic equipment.  She will put an announcement out to the Teach Community to see if anyone has a claim to any of it; what is not collected by the end of December will be donated or otherwise disposed of.  She also has found boxes full of outdated financial records, which will be shredded if the records are older than 7 years.  Wendy Sylvester has offered the shredding services of DocuTeam for this. Kimberley will bring boxes to the Nov. Boosters Board meeting so that people can assist with pre-shredding prep after the meeting wraps up. 

There being no further business, Laura Cooper moved that the meeting be adjourned; Mike Berger seconded the motion with all present in favor, none opposed or abstaining.

Respectfully submitted,

Laura Cooper, Boosters Club secretary