PTO Meeting Minutes
October 21, 2008 4:00 pm

Attendance:
Staff: Pam Haldeman, Tammy Vetter, Mary Beth Peter, Cynthia Frank, Alyssa Bartosh
Parents: Shelly Larson, Tracy Ulland, Barb Drexler-Luzum, Dawn Morrison, Nici Dunn

Secretary's Report: Motion to accept September 2008 PTO Meeting minutes.
Motion to Approve. Seconded, Motion Carried.

Treasurer's Report:
- Budget Reports for the 2008-2009 School Year, Fundraiser Projection for 2008-2009, and
2008-2009 Cash Position Report were handed out. A modification of the Projected Remaining Funds Report was discussed and approved due to a grant from Walmart. The year end projection for 6/30/09 was increased from $2,601 to $3,601.
- Fundraising Efforts: Parkview received a $1,000 grant from Walmart. This money will go towards Parkview's Artist in Residence program. The Kathryn Beich Fundraiser is projected t be short but close to our $19,000 goal.
- Parkview Community Connection made $189 at the monthly Dairy Queen Night in September. These funds are available to the PCC program.
- It was noted that fundraising programs at all schools in the district are down, but Parkview is doing very good so far.

Motion to approve Budget Reports. Seconded. Motion carried.

Principal's Report:
- Parkview Staff would like to thank all parents, especially Kris Sieve, for organizing the Conference Dinners. Everything was wonderful and very much appreciated. Thank You for bringing food and helping with set-up and clean-up.
- Student Conferences participation was considered to be very good, with an average of only 2 families missing per class.
- Budget Information for the school-year 2008/09 will be available at next months' meeting after being presented to the staff. The budget is based on enrollment. As of 10/1/2008 Parkview has 698 students enrolled while the projected enrollment number was 720.

President's Report:
- Holiday Spirit Wear Orders were sent out today 10/21/2008.
- Culver's Night was successful.
- We are looking for ideas for this school-years Spring Fling. May 15, 2008 is the reserved date for the Spring Fling. Some ideas are a Dance Night with a hired D.J., Silent Auction Baskets and Pizza or Subs for dinner. A committee for this event is still needed.
- We have a new Fundraiser starting soon with Erberts and Gerberts Subs. The projected date for this event is Saturday, November 8, 2008. Information will be sent home with students soon.
- Family Speaker Night with Mary Sheedy Kurcinka is coming up soon on Thursday, November 6, 2008, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The event is FREE. Please spread the word. A note to families was sent home with students. Mary Sheedy Kurcinka's book "The Spirited Child" will be available for purchases that night, with a 10% discount.



Welcome to Shannon B. from the Public Health Department of Dakota County.
- Shannon studies injuries to adolescents and teenagers. The goal is to prevent risk taking behavior.
- Shannon provided information on the Dakota County "Eat.Talk.Connect!" contest. This contest is based upon research that shows that a key to children and teen's health und success is connecting with family members. The study shows that only 40% of children 17 years and younger eat meals with their family every day. Experts agree that children who eat at least five meals together with their family each week, are less likely to smoke, use drugs or alcohol, or engage in sexual activity; do better in school, eat more nutritionally, and have fewer problems, such as obesity or eating disorders. Visit the "Eat.Talk.Connect!" website for more information on making mealtime a success for everyone. www.DakotaCounty.us (search for ETC). Register until November 19, 2008 and eat with your family and be eligible for fun prizes!

Welcome to Kristyne and Shay from Target (Apple Valley South)
and Tracy Ulland, a Parkview parent, from Target Corp. Headquarters.
Kristyne and Shay provided information for the Target "Take Charge of Education" program. Target is currently holding a competition in their stores. The school with the biggest percentage in increase will receive $100. Take Charge of Education is a great program with great benefits. Up to 1% of all purchases made with a Target REDcard will be donated back to the school of your choice. Grandparents, alumni, friends and neighbors are all welcome to participate in the program. Fundraising tools on how to promote the program are available on the Target website. www.target.com/tcoe. Target gives 5% of its income to communities – over $3 million every week.
Tracy Ulland presented Parkview with a check from the "Take Charge of Education program" in the amount of $1,796.43. Over the past 11 years Parkview has received $23,015.37 through the Target program. There are currently 145 REDcard holders supporting Parkview.
A table with information and applications for this program will be made available at the Speaker Night on November 6, 2008.

Dawn Morrison shared notes from her parent leader meeting with John Currie.
- District 196 is currently conduction a survey looking for parent/student/teacher input on four topics; 1) school year start time, 2) school year breaks, 3) middle and high school daily start times and 4) the addition of world language classes in elementary school. The survey is available on the school district site http://www.district196.org/. The survey is available for input through November 8, 2008. District 196 parents, staff and secondary students are invited to take this online survey.
- Early results show, that survey participants desire 1) the school year to start one week before Labor Day, 2) two short weeks of break in October, instead one week, a shorter winter break with an earlier dismissal in June and a fixed Spring Break (the same week every year), 3) for Middle School to start earlier and High School to start later with Elementary School start times remaining the same and 4) Spanish being the preferred world language choice.

- The district will be moving into new offices by March 1st, 2009.

Meeting Adjourned at 5 pm
Next Meeting is November 18th, 2008