PTO Board Members:
- Cate Leonardis, President
- Tara Ziliolli, Vice President
- Carey Begley, Treasurer
- Marie Reffler, Recording Secretary
- Sarah O’Connor, Corresponding Secretary
- Lauren Leibler, Corresponding Secretary
Call to Order:
08:43 am
- Welcome
- Introduction of the Board
Updates from the Board
President
- Welcome Lauren- Lauren will be filling in the rest of the school year as Corresponding Secretary, as Sarah continues to recover.
- Teacher Christmas Breakfast- Thank you to Debbie Lajewsky and Kelly Jarmon for an amazing spread. Teachers were very appreciative and it was a great morale booster.
- Looking for more teacher/staff appreciation ideas. Perhaps Valentine’s notes. Will ask class parents to organize something, such as printing a template off of Pinterest.
- Spring Lake Pizzeria Day- Since the first one was a success, we are having another fundraiser on Thursday, January 28th. From 11a-9p purchase anything on the menu and 20% will be donated to the Sea Girt PTO. Includes takeout, delivery or dine in. Must mention SGES when paying.
- Mueller’s Crumb Cake Sale- Thank you to Dana Reid for looking into this fundraising opportunity. Thinking around Easter time since they don’t reopen until March 2nd. Will be a similar format to the previous successful pie sale where orders will be picked up at Dana’s house.
- Father/Daughter Dance- Jen Perry and Kerry Walsifier are busy organizing the event. It is postponed until the spring and they are looking into “cool ideas” such as possibly doing an activity instead of a dance. More details to follow.
Vice President
- Tara is reaching out to Jean Louise for possibly having an Easter chocolate fundraiser. She is waiting to hear from them if they can accommodate both St. Catherine’s and SGES. If not, she may repeat the Old Monmouth fundraiser that was done in the past. Jen Harter volunteered to assist since she is familiar with Old Monmouth.
Treasurer
- Carrie gave a rundown of money raised this school year so far. Spring Lake Pizzeria Day and Sneakers Plus have been successful. Barlow’s was not, but we still have been able to cover administrative expenses, which during a pandemic, is pretty good.
- Carrie brought up ordering school supplies. Although it is not a significant money maker for the PTO, according to Mr. Papera, it is easy for the school to set up and parents found it convenient. Last year, approximately ⅓ of SGES students placed orders, and the supplies were picked up in the gym. If we decide on repeating it this year, the ordering deadline will be in March.
- Carrie also mentioned that we no longer have car magnets available. Consensus is that they are well liked, so she will reach out to John Flynn and possibly reorder.
Recording Secretary
- No updates at this time
Corresponding Secretary
- No updates at this time
Principal
- Mr. Papera mentioned that the teachers liked the Sneakers Plus pop-up store and that there’s an interest for another one. He mentioned that the hoody and the fleece were well received. Cate will reach out to Janine D’Altrui.
- Mr. Papera also gave a COVID update, basically saying that we are doing “really good” despite the prevalence all around us. There have been a few situations requiring quarantining, and he saw a large number of students switch to remote learning around the holidays. He does feel that “being here is the best thing for kids” but reminded us of the CDC guidelines for attending school with symptoms or returning after a positive test or contact.
- Mr. Papera also expressed the need for word-of-mouth recruiting since they cannot organize any open houses this year. At this point, they are expecting to accept tuition students in the fall. If you know of anyone who may be interested in enrolling their child, please have them contact the school.
Other Committee Chair Updates
- Book Fair- Claire Beggans discussed the 2 week Scholastic book fair fundraiser. She said orders were lower than she had hoped, but it was simple to organize. She is waiting on the final profit number but has been discussing with her contact possibly doing an outside book fair in the spring. Mr Papera is hopeful that this will be allowed.
Dates to Remember
- 1/18/2021- MLK Day (staff and faculty only)
Comments from the Floor
- Discussed that Teacher Appreciation is the week of May 3rd. In the past, presents were given in person for each of the 5 days of the week and daily activities were encouraged. This year, however, because of COVID we may have to repeat last year’s outdoor box setup. Class parents may need to create a box where parents/students can drop off gifts. More info to follow as we get closer.
Meeting Adjourned: 09:26am