Chestnutwold Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)

General Meeting Minutes: April 12th, 2023

April ChCK Trait- Responsibility

“Taking responsibility for oneself is by definition an act of kindness.” -Sharon Salzberg

Welcome to our Marcy Hockfield, our interim Principal and Welcome to Dr. George Ramoundos

Dr. Ramoundos Remarks - George Ramoundos Asst HR Director for SDHT (soon to be director 7/1) and John Nolen - Interim HR Director for SDHT came to Chestnutwold to share that they are in the process of hiring a new principal and wanted to get feedback from the teachers and parents about what qualities they would like to see in the new principal. They will send the feedback with the admin team and keep it in mind when hiring. The following are the remarks from the crowd: Leads staff with understanding, strong communicator with school community, sensitive to the kids w/special needs and present for meetings, fully understands 504/IEP process, understanding with curriculum, prefer a teacher of color that more reflects our community, someone diverse and inclusive, knowledgeable with Positive Behavior plans, special ed background, elementary school background, experience with families and community, a team builder, proven record of fostering communities’ culture, proactive (not reactive) to situations and policies, up to date on current studies and modern easy of teaching, knowledgeable with race and sex (LGBTQ) issues - specifically with children, be part of the community, inviting to new members of the community, meaningful connections with children, participation in after school/pto events, know we have amazing teachers and be there to support them, willingness to be part of PTO, we have the most parent participation of any elementary school - keep it going, post pandemic understanding, understand teachers make representations of us as a school community. He said the hiring process is very rigorous and takes months. He cannot reveal specific details because it is a private process but he assures the school that they are very committed to finding the best candidate for Chestnutwold they can. They were asked what they are looking for in an ideal candidate and they commented: someone who will develop relationships, is well read & understands primary education, hopefully they have an elementary background, are passionate about teaching, are joyful, like people (teachers, students, and children), who stand up for what’s right, and have plans to grow with the SEL program.

Teacher’s Remarks - Ms. Martin (3rd grade) and Ms. Neery (4th grade reading specialist) - Thank you for the wobble chairs; the kids love them. Ms. Gretchen says thank you for the carpet. Reminder - lost & found is getting filled again. Racks have been moved back down to the 1st grade door hallway. Ms. Munch thanks the PTO for the funding of her “caught being kind” magnets. (program coming soon!)

Principal’s Remarks - Marcy Hockfield - Chestnutwold is a really lovely place and has been really really wonderful - great staff, parents, kids. She has no regrets about coming back to work here. She also noted that the issues we have are small and can be fixed; everyone works as a team and it seems like that is just the way of things here. She recognized Mr. Ummarino as a lovely guy who has worked hard to hol this place together over the last few months. She is pleased with the amazing classrooms and happy kids. She also thanked the PTO for all the events coming up, there seems to be “a million things happening.” The teachers commented that - Marcy has been great for Chestnutwold and the staff.

Recording Secretary Remarks

Proposal for last month's minutes to be passed, as they have been posted and no one has come forward with corrections. - Minutes Pass!

President Update

Variety Show thank you - (Matthew Stanford) - AWESOME show - so many talented kids!
March Madness! Thank you (Joe Petrucci) and to everyone who participated- raised $425 for the PTO

Congratulations to our winners Adam Langley, Frank Kishel &Tori Reed

Parent Social- April 28th at the CREC for QUIZZO. Registration is now open! $25/pp
Taddeo’s Plant Sale- May 5-7- flier will be sent out next week
Bake Sale/ Clothing Drive- May 16th

Treasurers’ Report

PTO Treasurer Report - March 2023

Bank balance on 3/31/2023 ended at $24,409.52 down from February’s ending balance of $26,567.79

Deposits totaled $2,460. This was mostly due to:

$250 Quizzo
$850 March Madness
$1,160 Lovelines

Expenditures totaled $4,618.27. This was mostly due to:

$3,427.27 Classroom Enhancements
$500 Twilight Run
$275 Roots and Shoots

Chairmen Announcements

VP of After School Activities

Running Club has started! Thanks Alex Pickel. Club will culminate with the Chase.
Chestnutwold Chase 5k and 1 mile Fun Run - Sunday May 21st
Roots and Shoots - Thanks Rebecca Phelan for cleaning up the gardens around school. For Earth Day they are proposing a terra recycling presentation for the kids in the cafeteria (This did not pass admin proposal.)

$83 was raised at the scrap metal recycling event and lots of junk was saved from going to the landfill

Twilight Run - sign up by friday for a chance for Chestnutwold to win a water ice party

VP of In School Activities

Artist In Residence - Matt Phelan will be in school tmw, 4/13 for 2 assemblies (1-2 & 3-5). He will visit the Kindergarten classrooms as well.

Art Show (May 4th) - May 4th - might need some more volunteers, but seems like everything is going well.

The last time this happened was 2019 - starts with a concert and then visitors can wander the school, looking in classrooms at all the different kinds of art on display. It’s a fun event for the whole family and the kids love sharing their work.

IDC Update - next month’s meeting is about behavior consequences. Any feedback, questions, or comments that you would like proposed should be emailed to the committee before the end of the month.

Upcoming Dates/Events

4/28: Parent Social Quizzo @ the CREC

5/5-5/7: Taddeo’s Plant Sale

Next Meeting- May 3rd- will vote on Board Members for next year’s PTO

Questions/Comments/Concerns:

Will there be field trips this year? - Yes! Ms. Hockfield will be sending out an email about it, but all grades are doing field trips (most to the zoo)!
Notice that the 1st Chatter of the year will be coming out this week - thanks to the PTO and the Teachers for all their help getting this issue published.