February PTO Meeting was cancelled.

​PTO Board Meeting Minutes
 
Date:  January 23, 2017
Time:  6:00 PM
Location:  Brighten Academy
 
______________________________________________________________________________
 
 
The meeting was called to order by Keena Kister, PTO President at approximately 6:05.  She gave opening remarks, welcomed everybody to the meeting, and thanked them for coming. 
 
December meeting minutes were approved. 
 
Budget Update:  Current balance is $10,949.63 
*Spirit Night profits from CFA Arbor Place on January 12th still to be determined.  Manager is to hand-deliver check to Brighten by the end of the month. 
 
Upcoming Events:
*Yearbook ordering continues through March 10th; flyers have come home in student binders/folders
*Variety Show - Friday, February 10th starting at 6:00
            -opportunities for those still in need of volunteer hours
            -sign-up link will be created and be available on Bloomz
*Tumbler Fundraiser to begin school-wide February 7th and go til the 28th
            -more details will be announced closer to the date
            -a variety of tumblers will be offered to sell
*Next Spirit Night - Mojobas on Monday, February 6th from 6:00-8:00
*Club Pictures - February 16th          **It is possible that these pictures could
*Class Pictures - February 28th            be on the same day.  Still trying to get it
                                                          worked out.
 
 
 
 
 
 
(January Meeting Minutes Continued)
 
Community Partners
*Parents were encouraged to continue to send in box tops and to download the Shoparoo app to their smart phone.  The Shoparoo app was explained in further detail:  Save your receipt from anywhere - restaurant, department store, grocery store, etc and take a picture of it using the Shoparoo app. 
*Both box tops and the Shoparoo app raise money for our school.
*$200 has been raised from Shoparoo so far!
 
Teacher Assistance Review
*Mrs. Lijoi was able to purchase materials for science lab.
*Mrs. Harris was able to purchase art supplies.
*Kindergarten was able to purchase a new curriculum to be used daily.
 
New Business
*There are extra spirit shirts available for purchase.  Both the long-sleeved t-shirts and sweatshirts are available for purchase.  However, no sizes larger than X-large are left.
*Planning for “Facility Upgrades” (what parents voted to fund earlier in the year)is still in the works.  Nothing has been formally decided at this time. 
 
Reminders
*Parents were reminded to log hours on “Track it Forward” website.
*If parents send in 3 reams of copy paper, this is equal to 1 volunteer hour.
*Consequences for lack of hours - report cards will be held.

PTO Board Meeting Minutes
 
Date:  December 12, 2016
Time:  6:00 PM
Location:  Brighten Academy
 
______________________________________________________________________________
 
 
The meeting was called to order by Keena Kister, PTO President at approximately 6:00.  She gave opening remarks, welcomed everybody to the meeting, and thanked them for coming. 
 
November meeting minutes were approved. 
 
Budget Update:  Current balance is $7918.00 
*Mistletoe Market was a success with 48 vendors resulting in $1200.00 ($25/booth).
 
Upcoming Events:
*Secret Santa Giftshop will be open in the atrium this week for students to shop.
*Yearbook ordering will begin Monday, January 9th.
*Variety Show try-outs will be Wednesday, January 18th and Friday, January 20th. 
 
Spirit Nights: The fifth spirit night of the year was held on 12/07/16 at Buffalo Wild Wings. The next spirit night will take place after the new year at Chick-fil-a in Arbor Place Mall.  It will be on Thursday, January 12th and will take place all day. 
 
 
 
 
 
(December Meeting Minutes Continued)
 
Community Partners
*Parents were encouraged to continue to send in box tops and to download the Shoparoo app to their smart phone.  The Shoparoo app was explained in further detail:  Save your receipt from anywhere - restaurant, department store, grocery store, etc and take a picture of it using the Shoparoo app. 
*Both box tops and the Shoparoo app raise money for our school.
 
New Business
*Spirit shirts have arrived and will be distributed. 

​PTO Board Meeting Minutes
 
Date:  November 28, 2016
Time:  6:00 PM
Location:  Brighten Academy
 
______________________________________________________________________________
 
 
The meeting was called to order by Keena Kister, PTO President at approximately 6:00.  She gave opening remarks, welcomed everybody to the meeting, and thanked them for coming. 
 
October meeting minutes were approved. 
 
Budget Update:  Current balance is $8052.58. 
*Oktoberfest Profits:  $8745.61
*Mrs. Rogers has asked for a $150 loan for concessions.
*It was agreed that Mrs. Lijoi will receive a $200 gift card for supplies to get her classroom set up.
*5th grade has asked for chart paper (approx $80).
 
 
Upcoming Events:
*Mistletoe Market
            - It is to be held this Saturday, December 3, from 10AM-4PM.
-     We currently have 48 vendors at $25/booth ($1200).
-     Santa’s workshop will be available where kids can shop.
            - A Santa has been secured and will be available for pictures.
            - Still in need of volunteers to help in the mid-afternoon.
 
Spirit Nights:  The fourth spirit night of the year was held on 11/15/16 at Jump n Joy.  Still waiting to hear on the amount of funds raised at this event.  The next spirit night will be held on Wednesday, 12/07/16 from 5-10 at Buffalo Wild Wings.
(November Meeting Minutes Continued)
 
Community Partners
*Box Tops: $625 raised so far
*Shoparoo: $142 raised so far (currently have 91 supporters)
*Coke Rewards
 
New Business
*Last minute spirit shirt orders are available but has to be done tonight by midnight (order form available at tonight’s meeting).
*Bleachers will be arriving tomorrow for the gym - cost is $3185.
*John and Mary Franklin Foundation Grant is $5000 and received every 2 years.
*Reminder to track volunteer hours at trackitforward website.  Parents will receive 1 hour for attending a PTO meeting regardless of how long it lasts.

​Printable Version

​PTO Board Meeting Minutes
 
Date:  October 24, 2016
Time:  6:00 PM
Location:  Brighten Academy
 
______________________________________________________________________________
 
 
The meeting was called to order by Keena Kister, PTO President at approximately 6:00.  She gave opening remarks, welcomed everybody to the meeting, and thanked them for coming. 
 
September meeting minutes were approved. 
 
Budget Update:  Current balance is $4885.41. 
*Budget vote decision was for facility upgrades.  Print out of the results is available upon request. 
*Playground Update:  PTO has fulfilled its financial duty and has paid a total of $50,000 towards the playground, as agreed upon.  These funds were raised during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years. 
 
Membership Update:  PTO is still accepting memberships to join PTO.
 
Upcoming Events:
*Oktoberfest:  To be held this Friday, October 28th from 6-9PM.  Flyer was sent out last week regarding wrist band sales.  An updated Bloomz post has just been made to clear any confusion regarding Oktoberfest.  Oktoberfest will consist of the following:  middle school zone, trunk or treat (contest between the cars), face painting, photobooth, 50/50 raffle, class sponsored games by the room moms, bouncy houses, $3 meal vouchers, Kona Ice, dance parties.
 
*Mistletoe Market - to be held in December; still looking for vendors
 
*Santa’s Workshop - volunteers needed to assist with kids
 
*Fundraiser - to be held the week of November 7-14; more detailed information to be announced
 
Spirit Nights:  The third spirit night of the year was held on 10/13/16 at Panda Express and was a success with $183.74 raised.  The next spirit night will be held on Tuesday, 11/15/16 from 5-9 at Jump n Joy. 
 
Room Mom Update:  Room moms were thanked for organizing class games for Oktoberfest.  Upcoming room mom meeting date TBA.
             
Playground Status:  The ribbon cutting for the playground will be Thursday, October 27th at 2:15.  The playground will be closed during Oktoberfest. 
 
New Business:  Keena to discuss the Franklin Foundation Grant for our school. 
 

​PTO Board Meeting Minutes
 
Date:  September 26, 2016
Time:  6:00 PM
Location:  Brighten Academy
 
______________________________________________________________________________
 
 
The meeting was called to order by Keena Kister, PTO President at approximately 6:05.  She gave opening remarks, welcomed everybody to the meeting, and thanked them for coming. 
 
August meeting minutes were approved.  Meeting minutes will now be available online. 
 
Budget Update:  The financials discussed were as follows:  movie fest expenses/profits, spirit shirt profits, membership profits, and surprise grant from Greystone was announced (grant of $250).  Budget proposal was passed out, and it was announced that the budget vote would take place by email.
 
Spirit Week Update:  Winners for most class spirit and door decorating contest were announced:
*Most class spirit:                                           *Door decorating contest                   Bolling (red floor)                                           Anderson (red floor)
            Curtis (blue floor)                                           Pardue (blue floor)
            Brown (green floor)                            Brown (green floor)
Spirit week pictures can be found online, and there are available spirit shirts still left. 
 
Spirit Nights:  The second spirit night of the year was held this past week on 9/21/16 at Yogli Mogli and was a success with just over $400 raised.  The next spirit night will be held on Thursday, 10/13/16 from 5-9 at Panda Express. 
 
 
(September 26, 2016 Minutes Continued)
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities:   
            *Help with ice cream social this upcoming Friday after school (9/30/16). 
            *Help with Oktoberfest which will be held on Friday, 10/28/16.  It was
             emphasized that this is PTO’s biggest moneymaker event and help was
             solicited at this meeting. 
 
Room Mom Information: 
            *Donations for auction baskets (Birdies Fore Brighten) are due this
             Friday, 9/30/16.
            *If you are the sole room mom of a class, you get 10 volunteer hours for
             year.  If you are a co-room mom of a class, you get 5 volunteer hours for
             the year. 
            *Room moms were encouraged to utilize the room mom FB page in an
              effort to share ideas. 
 
Membership:  We currently have 300 PTO members, and of these members, 43 are staff members.    
 
Community Partners Update: 
            *Shoparoo App - School started with 22 supporters, and the number has
             now increased to 81 supporters.  Goal is to get >100 supporters. 
            *Kroger Community Rewards - Brighten received $194 last quarter.
            *Brighten Bricks - These bricks will go on sale again in the near future. 
 
Yearbook Update:  Mrs. Witcher encouraged parents to use the app “hjeshare” to upload and share pictures, and she also encouraged the use of hashtag #bacharter when uploading pictures to social media so she could select some of these pictures to go in the yearbook.    
 
Playground:  The sod has been laid, and the playground should be finished by the 2nd week of October.    
 
Volunteer of the Month:  It was decided by the PTO Board that the volunteer of the month for August is Lanonia “Elle” Dean.  She was given a $5 Bagel Meister gift card.  

PTO Board Meeting Minutes
 
Date:  August 22, 2016
Time:  6:00 PM
Location:  Brighten Academy
 
______________________________________________________________________________
 
 
The meeting was called to order by Keena Kister, PTO President at approximately 6:00.  She gave opening remarks, welcomed everybody to the meeting, and allowed the PTO Board to introduce themselves.
 
Minutes from May’s meeting were approved. and it was determined that the current PTO Balance ($46,688.81) will be allotted mostly to playground expenses.
 
Membership:  We currently have 172 PTO members.  It was discussed that only paid members can vote where $ raised will go this year.  Membership dues can be paid by cash, check, or online. 
 
Discontinuation of Bloomz:  It has been decided that Bloomz will be discontinued due to it being too repetitious.  Currently we only have 45 members on Bloomz, and most of the communication is already done via website, email, FB page, and paper flyers.  It will be formally discontinued after tonight’s meeting.
 
Spirit Nights:  The first spirit night of the year was held this past week at Blue Agave and was a success with $400 raised.  The next spirit night will be held on Wednesday, September 21st from 1-4 at Yogli Mogli. 
 
Room Mom Information:  There will be a meeting on September 6th at 2:30 (location TBA) for this year’s room moms.  Currently there are 4 teacher pot luck lunches planned for this year.
 
(August 22, 2016 Minutes Continued)
 
Spirit Week:  Spirit week will be held the week of September 12-16.  A request was made at this meeting for any parent volunteers who would be willing to assist Joanna with spirit week.  She met with these volunteers separately to discuss preliminary plans/give input.
 
New 2nd Grade Curriculum:  Mountain Math and Language Curriculum has been approved and purchased for the 2nd grade.  Approval for 3 years (cost approx $247).
 
Box Tops:  Last year approx $3200 was raised from box tops which was used to purchase 8 microphones for the school.  The goal for this year is $4000 ($5per child).  This money will hopefully go towards purchasing a digital sign for the school.  Additional money making opportunities for the school:  Shoparoo App and My Coke Rewards.
 
Yearbook Update:  The same company will be used, and each yearbook will cost $45.  Yearbook sales will be January-March.  After March the price will increase to $50.
 
Playground:  Expected to be done at the end of September.  New structures have been picked out to include activities (ie hopscotch, 4-square, chalkboards).
 
Birdies for Brighten:  The annual golfing event is coming up on October 18th.  Volunteer credits can be earned for helping, playing, or donating a raffle basket.  A 4-person team will cost $400.  A save-the-date email has been sent out.
 
Spirit Shirts:  Orders due Wednesday, 8/24 and the order will be placed that night.  Orders can be made online.