Wreath and Poinsettia Fundraiser

 

Sherwood Charter School Parent Advisory Committee

PAC Meeting – February 3, 2022

MINUTES

Location: Zoom

Board Members in attendance:  Tamara Potruch (chair), Roxie Anderson (Treasurer), Jen Crosby (co-chair), Ashley Weston (co-secretary)

Parents in attendance: 4

Staff in attendance: Nora Stuckey

CALL TO ORDER-  6:31pm by Tamara Potruch

Tamara read PAC mission and HEART skills.

Roxie Anderson makes a motion to approve the minutes of the January 6, 2022 meeting, and Lambie Swenson seconds.  Motion passes approving the minutes.

Principal’s Corner

Mrs. Raboli was unable to attend, but checked in with Tamara earlier to let her know that she was working hard to fill the Kindergarten position left open by Mrs. Connolly’s exit and that she would be happy to answer any questions that parents would like to send her way.

Teacher Liaison Report

Mrs. Stuckey mentioned that Heart week is just around the corner.  Next week in PE, the K-5 classes will be starting the Heart challenge, talking about how to stay healthy, heart disease, etc., and that more information would be provided in the Thursday email.

Treasurer’s Report

Roxie presented the treasurer’s report and mentioned that she would link the January report in the chat if anyone is interested in taking a look.  Currently we have $16,777.17 in our Chase bank account, $52.10 in BottleDrop, and $590.09 in PayPal.  

Roxie said that Korrin suggested including some financial documents from here on out and that parents can feel free to contact Roxie if there is any information that they would like to see specifically.  

Roxie said that the Scrip gift card fundraiser we have used in the past is all online now and that she opened an account.  There is no penalty if we decide to not use it.  She said it is available if anyone would like to order gift cards through it and test it out.  Jen said we used to use it a lot during teacher appreciation week to purchase gift cards and then would earn a percent back, so this might be an option that we want to look into again.  It appears that a parent is currently signed up to take charge or help with teacher appreciation week, so Roxie will send info their way and look into it further. 

Tamara said that she has to pay for the PAC P.O. Box, which went up in price to $240 this year.  She will pay for it and then get reimbursed by the PAC.  

UPDATES, NEW BUSINESS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Spirit Wear Update

Lambie said that the Spirit Wear order had been placed and should be here in a couple of weeks.  She said we sold over $1400 and paid out $1100, which is great since we usually we just break even.  It was the biggest order we’ve seen in a while.  Lambie was able to use some stock that was already on hand to fulfill an order at no additional cost to us and able to get discounts on some larger orders that really helped with our total amount.  She will give the money to school on Monday. Tamara thanked Lambie for taking on this project.  

Puzzle Event Update

Tamara reported that 84 students had requested puzzles and that they had all been delivered to the students.  She’s been getting tons of entries already.  She accidentally put the wrong picture submission deadline date of February 3rd on the driveway letterboard sign, but students still have until February 4th to submit pictures.  Tamara will choose a name by randomizer this weekend, and it will be announced on Monday in order to get the Handel’s gift card to the winner by our DNO event at Handel’s on February 10th. 

Dining Night Out Update

Earlier, Tara Garcia texted recent DNO information to Tamara.  December was our Chipotle DNO, and we earned $89.  January was our Red Robin DNO and we earned $99.  February will be Handel’s, and April will be The Old Spaghetti Factory.  Tamara said she’d heard that Mary Woodward Elementary in Tigard did a McDonalds DNO option and raised almost $2000, so she had asked Tara to look into that possibility.  

Scholastic Book Fair Update

Jen was not there yet, so Tamara began by passing on the information that Jen shared with her previously.  Scholastic is no longer offering online book fairs as an option, only in person.  For schools that are still following Covid guidelines, they offer other options, such as each class walking through separately, putting a post-it with their name on it on books they are interested in, and paying with money that has been previously put in their Scholastic eWallet.  This still requires a volunteer with each class to run the purchases and SCS is still not allowing volunteers at this time.  Another option would be window shopping and wish lists for kids/families to park and shop during carline time.  Our upcoming book fair would’ve been in March.  It was decided as a PAC board to remove the March option to reduce stress on teachers, principal, etc. Our goal is to have one in May, as it’s important to still try and have it so that we can use Scholastic dollars for Read-a-thon winner gifts. Tiffany asked about the possibility of getting Barnes and Noble gift cards if we’re not able to have the book fair.  Tamara said that was a great idea but then it would be taking money out of the library budget unlike Scholastic dollars.  A parent mentioned that she has participated in store book fairs in the past that have benefitted schools. 

Read-a-thon

Tamara said that original dates for the Read-a-thon were 2/27-3/2, ending on Dr. Seuss’ birthday, but Jen and Shannon wanted a bit more time to get organized on it instead.  It will run tentatively from 3/2-3/14.  Funds raised will go to the library.  Even though students don’t currently have access to the library, this allows us to purchase new books and to pay for library software needed. 

When Jen joined the meeting, she was able to provide further information regarding the Read-a-thon and clarified the dates.  She said that flyers for the Read-a-thon should be in backpacks in mid February either Thursday the 10th or the 17th, with a start date of Wednesday, March 2.  It was discussed that we should maybe have teachers pass out the flyers on a Wednesday in case they forget and then can do it on Thursday if needed.  It may be a problem to send it too early in case it gets lost or if kids start logging their minutes too early.  Jen said that we could potentially have it ready in backpacks on February 23.  Roxie suggested making a digital copy available in case it gets lost. The flyer will include a reading log on one side.  There will be only a paper copy of the log instead of an online log like last year.  We will not be using the tracker with PledgeStar this year, as few used that option last year.  Jen mentioned another feature added to the reading log would be a place for parents to initial at the end of the form to sign off on total minutes read, adding an extra layer of accountability, as it was noted that last year some students may have logged inaccurate minutes.  Jen said that she is going to see if the office will let her and Shannon stand outside at carline in Dr. Seuss’ character costumes to publicize the event. 

There will be class rewards again this year since we’re back in school in person.  Jen needs to talk with the office about how that will work. In the past pizza parties were a class prize for the most money raised, but she’s not sure if that will be possible or not since kids can’t eat in the classroom currently and will look into other options.  There will prizes for grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8, including: class with the most money raised, individual rewards for most reading minutes per grade (likely Mudpuddles gift card, could possibly still be Scholastic dollars if we have a book fair), most money raised per grade (also gift card reward), overall reading minutes in each age division.  There may also be a runner up in some categories if the same person was to win, with the winner getting a $10 gift card and the runner up getting a $5 gift card.  

Jen said that printing plus rewards is estimated to be about $300.  It could be less if we’re able to use Scholastic dollars as rewards. We have previously partnered with Mudpuddles who gave us a 20% discount for books for the library when we bought Mudpuddles gift cards that are specifically labeled to be used for books. 

Other New Business

There will be a See’s Candy fundraiser coming up in March.  Tamara said that we are planning just an online version and that it was very successful last year.  The product is shipped directly to families and will be available before spring break, arriving in time for Easter.

There is a Teacher/Staff luncheon on March 4.  Second and third grade will be hosting this time. 

Tamara said that the SCS Auction is coming up and that we should start seeing more information coming through soon about it.  In the past , we have had class baskets available to bid on in the auction.  Tamara asked for any further input on this, such as theme suggestions. Roxie said that her family participated last time and that it is great when it is clear what the money is going to. Mrs. Stuckey and Roxie mentioned class baskets last time included themes of game night, beach, movie, garden, and picnic. Tamara asked if teachers should pick a theme or just get assigned one. Roxie suggested assigning them but giving them the option to choose if they’re really passionate about a certain one.  Other themes suggested included Lego, s’mores, and pets. 

Tamara opened the floor for any other questions or comments.  She said there is currently not a PAC sponsored family event planned for the spring, but we are open to options. She shared that we want to be sure to let the SCS teachers and staff know that the parents appreciate, love, and thank them for all that they do.  

 

UPCOMING DATES

Campus Clean-Up Thursdays, 4:00pm

Dining Nights Out (DNO) - Handles’s Ice Cream Thursday, February 10th 

Read-a-Thon March 2nd-March 14th

See’s Candy Fundraiser March 14-April 1

Next PAC General Meeting on March 3 at 6:30pm on Zoom.

Tamara adjourned this meeting at 7:23pm.