Join us for our monthly PTO meetings held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00pm in the school library.

Minutes from our June 16, 2010 meeting
by Michaela Hermann, Secretary

Principal’s Report (Mrs. Leddy)
Feinstein: We are a Feinstein Leadership School. Last spring Mrs. Leddy sent an email requesting that Mr. Feinstien fund new Feinstein Leadership t-shirt. He did and Nurse Betty and Kendra St. Hilare measured all the children and than Mrs. Leddy ordered the t-shirts. They were distributed and worn during the school spirit day this week. Mr. Feinstein has given our school a grant, a few years ago, of $10,000 which was used for new computers for staff to use in the conference room. They have proven to be very valuable as well as accessible to the teachers and school professionals, such as school psychologist's. Mrs. Leddy is going to write to Mr. Feinstein again requesting a grant for $18,000 to outfit the 5th grade classrooms with smart boards.

PBIS: (Positve Behavioral Intervention Support) The focus for this intervention method is to focus on addressing behavior in corrective way that is not punitive. The motto is “Respect yourself, respect me, respect for everything I see.” Teachers will use common language that will describe what is expected from the children. PBIS will start in the fall.

RTI: (Response to Intervention) The Francis 3rd grade teachers, as well as Waddington's 3rd grade teachers, received some training this year by the RI Department of Education in this intervention approach that focuses on a shared responsibility for all students. The training focused on math interventions. Currently the math instructions are given in a whole group format, with RTI, there are quick assessments used that have national standard's that will indicate where students fall. Teachers will make modifications to teach students at their level. Mrs. Leddy described how the 3rd grader's that were in the advanced math group worked on a 5 week project with Mrs. Singleton. The group was concentrating on fractions while making a quilt. This allowed the children that needed extra instructions in math to get math instructions that were targeted to their needs. The RTI approach will be applied starting in September.

Library: Mrs. Leddy was pleased to announce that she was able to use some of the budgeted money, given to her by the school department, to replace some very outdated books with new ones. The library has received $6,000 worth of new books! Mrs. Leddy will make another order worth$4,000 and will see if that will be approved. The old books will be donated to poor countries that want English books, even if they are outdated.

September start date and school hour changes: Mrs. Leddy informed the PTO that school is scheduled to start, for the 2010-2011 school year, on Wednesday September 8th. The school calendar is posted on the East Providence School Department website. There has been a change in the school hours. For the elementary schools the school day will begin at 8:55 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. The middle and high school also has new hours, which are posted on the school department website. Mrs. Leddy also mentioned that there will be First Day Celebration which will welcome children and parents to the first day of school. This will allow parents to briefly checkout their child's classroom, have some coffee and pastries in front of the school and have the opportunity to sign up for committees and meet other parents.
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Presidents’s Report (Leslie Tente)
Leslie Tente took a few minutes to talk about the accomplishments that have been made in the last couple of years. The school has garnered some community grants that have enhanced our budget. We were able to bring back the Falcon and focus on school spirit. We have started some school apparel and branded our school logo. The PTO has applied for a 501c3 non-profit status. Leslie thanked all the PTO members that have given their time and effort in making Francis school continue to thrive..

Treasurer’s Report (Sonda Pimental)
Allocations for Surplus Funds: Sonda Pimental reviewed the past 2 month's profit and losses. We have a surplus this year. Sonda explained that we did better in some of the fund raising and events than expected and also some items did not cost as much as what was budgeted for. Some of the surplus will be used to give teacher gift cards to use for supplies for their classroom in June instead of September. The teacher's feel that they will get “more bang for their buck” during the summer because there are better sales during the summer than once school has started. It was voted on and approved by the PTO that we would use $1,678.75 for teacher gift cards to be distributed in June instead of September. For the remaining surplus of funds the school has some technology improvement needs that we would like to apply the surplus to, but it was voted on and approved that we carry over the surplus to September when we will have a better idea of what the school department will pay for and provide the school and what the PTO can buy for the school. Sonda explained that she checked with our CPA and he said that the PTO can carry over the surplus until September. The group was asked if anyone had any other ideas or alternatives instead of deferring the spend down to September, but no one did.

Vote for Teacher Requests: There were 2 teacher requests. There is a need for 4 overhead wall screens and brackets. The cost is $350. The request was voted on and approved.

Peaceful Playgrounds: Sonda Pimental spoke about the Peaceful Playground program that the Newman YMCA is part of. They have been given a grant that has provided them with playground stencils as well as games and activities. They will allow schools to use the stencils to paint some playground games on the blacktops. We will need to purchase the paint. The PTO voted on and approved using some of the surplus to spend money to buy the paint (about $300). A committee will be started to organize the project. The Y also can come to schools and setup games for recess or other events. This will be explored. Sonda mentioned that the school is still waiting to hear about whether we got the grant for the Safe Routes to School which would fund having a side walk built at the end of Horsford Street connecting it to the school to make it safer during drop off and pickup.

Upcoming Events
June 18: Grade 1 and 2 awards @ 12:00 pm
Grade 1 Portfolio Review at 12:45

June 21: Grade 5 Promotion at 10:30
Grade 3 & 4 Awards Day at 1:00 p.m.

June 22: Kindergarten Celebration: Sparky's Puppets

June 23: Grade 5 BBQ 12:15, Talent Show 10:00,
Last Day of School

Have a Happy Summer!