PTO Board Meeting Minutes, September 1, 2008

Members Present: Father Paul, Olivia Carrillo, Diana Girskis, Joe Chavez, Tom Olona, Maribeth Spensiero, Jimmy Mueckay, Phil Le Franc, Robert Mahan, Ann Marie Smith, Doug Bennett and Mandy Viole. Absent: Alex Perez. The meeting began at 6:35 p.m. and adjourned at 8:10p.m.

Opening/Closing: Father Paul opened and closed the meeting with a prayer.

The minutes from the August meeting were reviewed and clarification was made to item #8a, Fundraising. Joe mentioned that the school has two major fundraising events each year. They are the Jog-A-Thon and Auction Dance. The goal should be to keep focused on these two major fundraising events so we are able to reach our full potential and not have to ask parents, friends and family members to support “smaller” fundraising events throughout the year. Also, fundraising events should benefit the entire school or athletic program not a particular event or sports program. Fundraising ideas should be directed to Bob Mahan for review. Father Paul suggested that we look into fund raising events that would not require an out of pocket expense but could bring in extra money for the school. Examples are recycling ink containers, collecting box tops or turning in used cell phones.

Note: These minutes are not finalized and are subject to change after review by the PTO Board at the upcoming board meeting.


I. Father Paul:
a) Catholic Loyalty Cards: Father Paul provided an update on the Catholic Loyalty program. Initially when the program was first set up, the number of local vendors was around 35-40. The program now has over 100 local vendors who are participating. Father Paul would like to see each parish and school family use the cards as there is no out of pocket expense. A presentation by a company representative will be given at the General PTO meeting.
b) New Property/Pre-School Update: Work is continuing at the new property. The classrooms are being updated and furniture has been ordered. We are waiting for the licensing paperwork to be completed. Hope to have the facility ready at least by the end of the year.
c) Seminarian Rafael: Father Paul introduced Rafael, who is a visiting seminarian from St. John’s in Camarillo. Rafael will be here from September to the middle of June. Rafael is originally from Uganda and hopes to learn many new things here in the United States. He is excited to be apart of the parish community this year.
d) Mass Participation: Father Paul mentioned that many of the school families do not attend mass regularly. Father Tim has been working to update the 9am children’s mass to try to get more families involved and participating in the liturgy. In addition, surveys will be sent out to families to get a feel for what they expect from mass and the, church community etc. All families are encouraged to participate in weekly mass as we are a parish school and work together with the parish to build a sense of community.

II. Principal-Olivia Carrillo:
a) First Day of School: The first day of school went very well. Ms. Carrillo was able to visit all the classrooms to welcome the children back to school.
b) Fundraising: Ms. Carrillo gave Bob information on a cell phone fundraiser and also suggested we look into collecting Box Tops. Father Paul mentioned that the parish families also help collecting the box tops and an announcement should be made at mass to inform the parish members. Ann Marie volunteered to be the coordinator.
c) School Reach: Ms. Carrillo participated in a demonstration for an updated phone system that would allow school wide messages to be sent out directly to parents in the event of an emergency. The phone system can also send out reminders for upcoming events and text messages. Everyone agreed this was a great tool to add and the system should be implemented. Parent will be informed about the new system and the General PTO Meeting.
d) Server: A new server should be installed shortly, this will eliminate the need to use gmail. The final cost was lower than anticipated.
e) Virtus Training: Ms. Carrillo confirmed again that everyone who volunteers at the school will need to complete the Virtus Training. This is a mandatory requirement. The new handbook that was passed out on September 2, 2008 included a handout that is required to be completed. Tom will check what the requirements are to conduct the training session so perhaps he can teach the class for the school parents. Fingerprinting is required for supervisor roles, i.e. field trips, yard duty etc. Records indicating who has completed the training session is available in the office.

III. President-Joe Chavez:
a) General PTO Meeting: Confirmed the first General PTO meeting will be held September 16th from 7:00 to 8:30pm. Topics will include the following: Catholic Loyalty presentation by company representative Joe Malek, Virtus Training requirements, Carpool, School Reach (new phone system information to parents), Scrip update from Jenn Bunt, Fundraising (confirm the target goal for this year), Nestle Container (information parents of the container and the purpose of storing it on site).
b) Kinder Picnic: The picnic went very well. Thank you to Mandy and Ann Marie for organizing the picnic. Ann Marie mentioned that Liz Perez took the lead in organizing the event.
c) School Directory: Mrs. Leon has volunteered to update the directory again this year. The forms for updated information were included in today’s Home Messenger.
d) Back to School Night: Back to School Night is scheduled for September 18th at 6pm (K-5) and September 25th at 6pm for 6, 7 and 8th grades. No assistance is needed from the PTO Board.
e) Participation Hours Sign-Up Sheets: The sign-up sheets from the first day of school were passed out to the responsible PTO member. PTO members were asked to review the list and try to find a chairperson. The sheets will also be available at the General PTO meeting. Joe mentioned that the chairperson will get 40 hours for the responsibility of being the chair; this includes room parents and car pool participants who commit for the entire year. Mandy is going to print the free dress passes.
f) Participation Hours: Joe suggested that a form be included in the annual re-registration packet so families can confirm how they will meet their 40 hour participation requirement. This way the families will confirm ahead of time their plans to reach the 40 hour goal and the various committee members will be able to start planning right away.

IV.Athletics: Jimmy Mueckay: Jimmy reviewed the cost of participating in the swim team including the cost per swim meet, swim suit and the cost for practices. Swimming is one of the more expensive sports and does require that practices are held away from the school. The car wash fundraiser would be to help pay for the cost of the practices. Ms. Carrillo confirmed that the cost to join the swim team is $50 per family. The sports fee needs to be kept consistent for all school athletic events.

V. Maintenance: Phil Le Franc
a. Carpool: Phil and Doug have done a lot of work on the carpool and have a great system in place now. They are always looking for more volunteers. Confirmed the goal is to have 5 volunteers each day.

VI. Fundraising:-Robert Mahan:
a) Auction Event: The auction will be held April 25, 2009 at the Castaways in Burbank. The event will be a mid-day affair 11am to 4pm. Confirmed the funds will be for the electrical upgrade. Goal is to start promoting the event right away. November will be the target date for distributing the raffle tickets.
b) Jog-A-Thon: The Jog-A-Thon will be held on November 21st. Bob has emailed Anne Marie to see if she would be able to help coordinate the event again.

Important Upcoming Events:
September 16: General PTO Meeting
September 18: Back to School Night-Kinder-5th
September 25: Back to School Night-6, 7 & 8
September 27: Back to School Hop and Book Fair Opens


Note: These minutes are not finalized and are subject to change after review by the PTO Board at the upcoming board meeting.