Minutes from April 23 Meeting

Great News

• Boyden-Hull web site has a new look -- thanks to Sandy Groom-Meeks.
• Student council sold 300 wristbands to help the Mesman family. They will arrive the middle of May.
• We're going to restart the recycling program, thanks to Mrs. Bakker and Mrs. Harman, who, along with Sunday Ford, promoted this idea to students in conjunction with Earth Day. We speak about "Leaving a Legacy" and this is part of the legacy these two women will leave at B-H. Fourth and fifth graders will take care of this program.
• We had great success with the "Reach for the Stars" reading program:


• 82% of students participated.
• 115,255 minutes read.
• Students received $4,500 in books.
• School received $2,100 in books for classrooms, $1,000 in books for the libray and $1,400 for the PTO fund.
• The class in grades TK-2 with the highest percentage of participation was Mrs. Zoet's class (1C). The class in grades 3-6 with the highest percentage of participation was Mrs. Bakker's class (5A). Both classes received ice cream parties.
  
• Many organizations and people deserve thanks for the success of this program:
  


• Thanks to American State Bank, Iowa State Bank and Citizens State Bank for donating $100 each. Also, American State Bank donated a new presidential dollar coin and bookmark to each child who met the goal.
• Thanks to Foreign Candy Company for donating candy to each child who met the goal.
• Thanks to Dan's Food Center for donating the ice cream for the class parties.
• Thanks to Demco Manufacutring for donating paper and envelopes.
• Thanks to Mr. Kerr for getting a crew cut in front of the entire school.
• Thanks to Kristi Van Voorst for giving Mr. Kerr the haircut.

New Business

• "Reach for the Stars" went very well. Some noted they wished for a greater variety of books. Right now, "Reach for the Stars" will be an every-other-year program for our school.
• We now have enough money to purchase the popcorn machine. We anticipate spending $850 on this. Peggi O. will look into this. She will also talk to local businesses about donating popcorn supplies.
• 501c3 has to be set up for the PTO. Mr. Kerr will get this set up. We will need to elect officers.

Parent Volunteers

• We have around 15 responses.
• Pam W. will set this up for next year.
• Parents are willing to help out at home - cutting out items for bulletin boards, etc.

Yearbook

• We received 170 orders. We decided to order 200 copies. Extras will be sold to those wanting them and donated to local libraries.
• We need to recognize Maurer Photography in the yearbook. Greta G. will include this.
• Next year Photography by Mark will take school pictures during the 2nd week of school.
• Greta G. will look for yearbook software to make layout easier for next year.

Handbook Changes

• We looked at changes to the student handbook proposed by SIAC.
• Grading will be more consistent among grades.
• Behavior guidelines will also be more consistent.
• A question was raised about how quiet the lunchroom is and if it's necessary to have it so quiet. The school is working on keeping order during lunch because the noise level used to be chaotic.
• A concern was brought up about the music played on the buses.
• Boyden-Hull will no longer announce school cancellations on KELO, Channel 11.

Fundraising

• Conferences next fall will be September 18 and 27. We plan on having a Scholastic Book Fair during that time, staffed by PTO members.
• We will look at selling t-shirts in the fall.
• For fundraising next year, we plan on the book fair, yearbook, t-shirts and concessions for unclaimed jr. high activities and activities that occur at the elementary school.
• Fundraisers will be spaced out throughout the year.
  

Other Business

• Next year AR will begin with a STAR assessment to determine students' abilities. Goals will then be based on point values, rather than number of books.
• Question was raised about the viability of the Foster Grandparent program.
• Pam W. treated everyone to delicious gooey Caramel Bars. Here's her recipe:
  

  Caramel Bars
  Crust:
  3/4 c. butter
  1 c. flour
  1 c. oatmeal
  3/4 c. brown sugar
  1 tsp. baking soda
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  Mix all together and press 3/4 of mixture in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
  
  Top:
  32 caramels
  2 Tbsp. cream
  2 Tbsp. butter
  6 oz. chocolate chips
  
  Melt caramels, cream and butter together. Pour over crust. Then sprinkle on chocolate chips and remaining crust mixture. Bake another 10 minutes.

Next Meeting

• The next meeting will be on Monday, May 21 at 7:30pm in the Boyden-Hull Elementary Art Room.
• At the next meeting, Title I instructors will explain their program and Mr. Kerr will report on a reading conference he attended.