November 29, 2022 | PTO Meeting (virtual)

Welcome & Introductions                                           Amy McHugh
Principal Update Ms. Hager

• Good evening everyone! Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving break. Thank you for the leadership with the bowling event, that was a great experience.
• The open houses have been extremely successful. There was great attendance and great questions asked. We are looking forward to the other open houses we have coming up for the 2023 school year
• It has been a great few days seeing the families come in and have lunch with their students.
• We are encouraging everyone to stay connected and don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email.
• The playground is underway, so if you’re ever on campus, check it out. It should be ready by spring of 2023.​

Committee & Event Updates
Beautification Day Recap/Ongoing Projects Lauren Price/Carrie Gelinas

• There are two beautification days a year, we did Nov 5th for the fall. We worked on setting up the lost and found, cleaning off chalk from the walls near the cafeteria, and setting up and organizing supplies in the Whistlestop.
• Our next one is going to be in April and we will work on painting some games on the blacktop.
• We also worked on a lost and found that is under the stairwell, and we need kids and parents to go through and claim their items.
• The school is still in need of “Whistlestop” clothing in case of accidents
• Whistlestop items needed: socks, girls leggings (6-adult medium), boys sweatpants/gym shorts (6-adult small), new underwear (size 6 - adult small)

Fall Festival Recap Ashley Seymour

• We sold 346 wristbands including the presale and sold $89 worth of tickets
• The wristbands were a big hit this year!
• Ended up raising $3,239 after our expenses which was more than we anticipated
• We hope to do this again next year with more games and vendors
• For Jan: We are tentatively thinking about Edge City Brewing for a new member/new parent meeting about bringing on new people
• This would just be a way for all of the parents to get together and get to know each other

Mother Son Event Recap Siri Nutting

• Mother son was a week and a half ago and we went to Bowlero in Matthews.
• It was great to see all of the kids and parents bonding
• There were 100 people, a private room, and plenty of food!

Spirit Wear/School Store Lauren Buras/Jennifer Needham

• Finally opening the online school store on Thursday the 1st. 
• The plan is to have it open for a week
• We will push something through on parents square and a flier
• We have a lot of options to choose from, tumblers, shirts, socks, etc
• You can have it shipped to you or pick it up from the printer
• Q: is there a turnaround time?
• A: 10 - 14 business days once we close the store, which would be Dec 8th
• If there is anything you would like to add to the store, let us know, there are still a few more days to get that done

Book Fair 12/1-12/9 Jen Wilson/Lindsey Scheumiester

• Book Fair starts on Thursday and it will run until next Friday.
• We will be alternating morning between 2 grades starting with K and 1st grade.
• Those morning times are from 8:45 - 9:15 and we could use some volunteers to help with that
• Scholastic now has us calculating tax, so it will be a little complicated.
• There will be Breakfast with Books on Friday, coffee, and food between 8 and 9:15 - family will have to sign in so please have your DL ready
• Thursday, Dec 8th - after hour shopping from 4:30 - 6. We are cutting it off at 6 so parents and students can make the choir concert
• Q: Is there a sign up genius A: yes, its been on the ParentSquare

Spirit Rock Sign Up Katy Heard

• The Spring Spirit Rock sign up will go out to the public on 12/1.  
• 2/13-2/17 and 4/24-4/27 - reserved for PTO and Boosterthon fun run

Restaurant Spirit Nights Amy McHugh (for Lauren Ely)

• Hungry Howie’s Spirit Night on Nov 3rd raised $114.60 and we also had Hawthorne’s Spirit Night on Nov 17 $94.58
• Hawthorne’s one is coming up again for Jan 19th - invite a friend this time so we can raise a little more
• If you have any restaurant suggestions please email [email protected] - we are having a little trouble getting restaurants to communicate back to us

Grade Level Get Togethers Amy McHugh

• 4th grade was this past weekend, great turnout, not huge, but it was a holiday weekend.

K 12/3 1-3 PM William Davie Park
1 12/10 1-3 PM William Davie Park
2 12/10 3-5 PM Freedom Park, meet @ Panthers Training Pad

• Still looking for someone to run the 5th grade one please email [email protected]. 3rd grade is in the planning stages.
• We will try to do it again in the spring so if you missed it this time, hopefully you can attend then

Room Parents (Winter Parties - dates below)   Amy McHugh (for Faith Atwood)

• Room parents will be coordinating winder parties
• Dates: 12/15 (K-2) and 12/16 (3-5)
• Faith is our Room Parent Coordinator and will reach out to the room parents early next week with some guidance
• Parents please be looking out for more information from your room parents

Teacher Appreciation Week 2/13-2/17 Theresa Matheny/Melissa English

• Will be in Feb this year 13-17th the week of valentines day. There will be special treats, gifts, food, and a big meal for the staff
• There will be a planning meeting. Melissa and Theresa have signed up to coordinate the whole event, but we need more people. We were thinking Fri Dec 9th at the school or on zoom

Fun Run Update Katherine Lesch

• Will reach out to the list of the people who have signed up to volunteer and try to get a meeting together
• This event takes a lot of hands on deck, so please reach out if you’re interested in being involved, we could always use more people.
• If Ashley DiPalma has reached out to you regarding an event committee, please be sure to respond to her so we know if you’re still interested or not.

Career Day Co-Chair (3/10)

• Ashley Seymour has volunteered to be the co-chair for this. This is March 10th
• Fun day for all of the kids
• If anyone else is interested in helping with this event, please let us know.

We are still looking for a Chair/Co-chair for Beginners’ Day (5/4) 

• Amy chaired this last year so she is able to help
• Welcome incoming Kindergarteners.

Questions/Discussion All

• We should let people know what we are running to raise money for during the fun run to engage more parents

Girls on the run update

• We have enough support right now to have 1 team at Lansdowne
• This program is for girls in 3rd to 5th grade

* If you would ever like to contribute pictures or ideas for the newsletter, you can reach out to Linda Rhyne ([email protected]) She also has places on FB for you to add pictures

Upcoming Dates:
12/1 Hungry Howie’s Spirit Night
12/1 - 12/9 Book Fair
12/2 Breakfast with Books 8-9:15 AM
12/8 Book Fair Shop Night 4:30-6 PM
        Musical Performance 6:30 PM
12/15 K-2 Winter Parties
12/16 3-5 Winter Parties
Lansdowne School Tour 10-11 AM
12/20 - 30 Winter Break
1/2 Teacher Workday, NO SCHOOL
1/3 Classes Resume
1/5 Hungry Howie’s Spirit Night
1/16 MLK, Jr. Holiday - NO SCHOOL
1/19 Restaurant Spirit Night Hawthorne’s Pizza
1/24 End of 2nd Quarter
1/25 Teacher Workday - No School
1/26 Principal’s Chat 8 - 8:40 AM
1/30 SIT Meeting (virtual) 6-7 PM

Next PTO Meeting:
2/23 PTO Meeting & IB Night of Kindness, 5:30 PM