PTO

September 10, 2024

Time: 6:00 pm

In Attendance

Rick Koepke, Amy Ebeling, Amanda Musson, Celline Lakus, Rebecca Jarek, Chelse Wodalski, Kaytlyn Gawlik, Katelyn Schiro, Melissa Meyer, Jennie Zastrow, Whitney Grzesiak, Michelle Hendricks, and Kaitlyn Bruening

Approval of May's Meeting Minutes 

Treasurers Report

• Credits: $779.50 – Open House sales (shoe charms, tshirts, and book tokens)
• Expenses: $1,020.32 – Evergreen t-shirts, Kindness spirit sticks, key rings.  Pending: $675 (Spirit Sticks for Halloween and Walk/Bike/Roll)
• Balance: $10,111.22

Principal's Report

• Great start to school year - first couple weeks are spent on teaching rules and procedures to save time on educational instruction the rest of the year
• S.O.A.R. Expectation Matrix
• Recess Rodeo
• New this year: expectations around bullying and harassment – what does it look like, what to do if you witness it happening  
• Fall screeners are taking place - this is the first of three assessments throughout the year 
• iReady used for Math assessment, and (new under Act20) Pearson aimswebPlus used for Reading assessment  
• These screeners help determine WIN time instruction
• Thanks to PTO for help making Open house a productive event - scavenger hunt is a good activity

2024-2025 School Year Planning

• Rough budget presented for the year
• Up to $600 requested and approved for SOAR Store restock
• Melissa will put together wishlist and send to Amy to order
• Up to $300 requested and approved for student snacks
• Amy will place an Amazon order

Upcoming Events

• September 15 - Bike Path Volunteer Day 
  • Currently don’t have any volunteers signed up to help.
  • Rick will reach out to Rick J. and Dan B. to possibly reschedule with the promise of food to those who help. 
  • Up to $100 approved to feed volunteers at a future date
• September 18 - Dine Out @ Sam’s Pizza
• October 1 - Fall Fundraiser starts
  • Cherrydale was selected as a vendor
  • 45% profit with two-year contract, website and paper options
  • Prizes are included, as well as $250 shopping spree that PTO can use towards Teacher Appreciation Week
  • Suggestion was made to offer a “buy-out” option for families who want the prizes, but don’t want to sell - which could be an option for spring ButterBraid fundraiser when PTO handles the prizes
• No Dine Out Night scheduled for October due to Cherrydale fundraiser
• October 9 - Walk, Bike, and Roll to School
  • Rescheduled from 10/3 due to You Matter Day
  • Rick to reach out to Lamers to reroute bus drop-off that day
  • Spirit Sticks ordered, need to purchase muffins
• October 27 - Trunk-or-Treat 
  • Celline will head-up a planning committee to be requested on Volunteer Tracker
  • Rebecca will work on invitation fliers to send to local organizations, as well as a candy donation request to families

Open Discussion

Two board members will be stepping down at end of the year - PTO will need new volunteers

Next Meeting

October 8, 2024 at 6:00 pm

Meeting adjourned at 6:52 pm
 

August 13, 2024

Time: 6:00 pm

In Attendance: Rick Koepke, Amy Ebeling, Amanda Musson, and Celline Lakus

Approval of May's Meeting Minutes

Treasurer's Report

• Credits: $15.73 – PayPal Transfer
• Expenses: $350 – Spirit Monkey (spirit sticks). Pending: $999 (Spirit Monkey, MS Graphics)
• Balance: $10,352.04

Principal's Report

New Staff at Evergreen

• Kindergarten - Gawlik
• 1st Grade - Garrigan and Reissner
• 3rd Grade - Schiro (former student teacher at Evergreen)
• 5th Grade - Leonhard 
• Special Education - Matter
• Social Worker - Schlagenhaft 
• English Learner Assistant - Feng Yang
• Reading Interventionist - Crist (former 5th grade teacher at Evergreen) 

August Events

August 26 (9am) - Bridge to Kindergarten 

• Rebecca will provide presentation during parent orientation (Amanda will also attend)
• Place yard signs at school on Sunday, August 25

August 27 (6-7pm) - Playground Meet-Up for grades K-2

• Amy will purchase popsicles and provide first aid kit
• Amanda will bring scissors, trash bags, and paper towel
• Mr Koepke will bring out balls 

August 28 (6-7pm) - Playground Meet-Up for grades 3-5

• Amy will purchase popsicles and provide first aid kit
• Amanda will bring scissors, trash bags, and paper towel
• Mr Koepke will bring out balls 

August 29 (4-6pm) - Open House (setup starting at 3pm)

• Set up stamp locations for checklist
• PTO Table in the Nest - photo ops, sale items (t-shirts, shoe charms, book vending machine tokens), prizes for check list (spirit sticks with keyring)
• QR Codes available for cashless options - Need to print pricing sheet showing fees
• Need seed money for sales
• Need to create sheet explaining spirit sticks
• Create sheet with Wi-Fi network and password

September 3-6 - First week of School
Mr Koepke will post for volunteers to help with drop-off and lunchtime

2024-2025 School Year Planning

• Fall plans in progress  including Walk/Bike/Roll to School, a fall fundraiser, Dine Out Nights and Truck-or-Treat event
• Budget is being drafted. Celline and Amy will work together to finalize a yearly budget, likely for September meeting.
• Priority for this year - identify new board members.  Would like to work with teachers for the younger grades to identify parents who may be a good fit for PTO Board.  We will be in need of at least 2 members for next school year.  

Dine Out Nights

• September 18 - Sam’s Pizza
• November 16 - Cedar Creek Grill
• December 9 - Red Robin

Walk/Bike/Roll to School - October 3

Trunk or Treat

• October 27 - possibly 4-6pm
• Ask family for candy donations 1-2 weeks prior to the event
• Involve community organizations and/or businesses to have a trunk at the event (Boy/Girl Scouts, Boys & Girls Club, local businesses, etc.)
• Families volunteer to have trunks at the event - PTO provides the candy
• Possibly include the walking trail with decorations, other ideas?

Book Vending Machine

• New book order arrived to stock the machine for Open House
• SOAR Store award changed to 10 tickets for a book (we will pilot this and see if it should be changed in the future)

Fall Fundraiser

• Strongly considering a catalog sale with Cherrydale or Club’s Choice (need to research which company seems the best fit)
• Ruling out doing another Read-A-Thon this year

Bike Trail

• Making good progress.  There is a dirt trail and clay material is being added
• Future project: fund an entryway to the trail with a cement area, gazebo and signage

Safety and Drill Information

• New safety program - Run, Hide, Take Action (staff voted to change original title of Run, Hide, Fight)
• All staff are getting trained
• Each classroom will have a “Bee Ready” book that will illustrate the new program (some pages will be tweaked to be less “scary”)

Next Meeting - September 10 at 6pm

Meeting adjourned at 7pm
 

May 14, 2024

Time: 6:00 pm

In Attendance: Rick Koepke, Amy Ebeling, Amanda Musson, Jeanna Scholes, Rebecca Jarek, Celline Lakus, Brian Zell, Tammy McFarlane and Ann Heinzen

Approval of April’s Meeting Minutes

Treasurer’s Report

• Credits: $3,070.63 – Literacy Night book sales, token sales, and book fair sales
• Expenses: $7,846.80 – Ice Cream Truck, babysitting, author visit and books, vending machine books, bikes for raffle, Teacher Appreciation Week
• Balance: $20,422.83 + $15.73 (PayPal) + $114.64 (Venmo)

Principal’s Report

iReady Assessments taking place

We typically perform better than the national average, so our goal is to see our median growth reach 120%-130% over the course of the year.

Playground

• Communication board has been installed on outside wall next to playground 
• Video has been created for morning announcements to introduce it to kids and explain its use  

Track and Field Day (today) paired with Heritage Day

Presentations included India, Puerto Rico, Australia, Brazil, Hmong, and the HS Culture Club presented on German, Spanish, and Hmong heritage. 

Recap of Events

May 7 – Literacy Night 

• Well attended – may repeat this in the future, or switch to a Math Night instead
• Book fair sales brought in $1896.67 profit - Will be used first for keyboard trays, rest will go towards keeping the book vending machine stocked
• Expenses Approved:
  • Author Books $1,173.85  
  • Vending Machine books $1,852.66  
  • Bikes $540 

May 6-10 – Appreciation Week

• Teachers enjoyed the games/prizes as well as all the extra gifts and lovin’ from students and families 
  • Request was made to include “Sponsored by PTO” disclaimer on future advertisements
• Still searching for the final scratch-off winner

Upcoming Events and Approvals

• May 28 - Fifth Grade Field Trip - $944.94 to help with cost of movies and trampoline park - Approved
• May 30 - Bounce House Day - Jeanna will purchase popsicles for this day
• June 3 - School Staff Meal - $500 budgeted - PTO will discuss offline and get something ordered

Scholarship Award

Anna Weiland was awarded $500

Book Vending Machine - Token Award Policy

Vending machine Tokens will be added to the S.O.A.R. Store price list starting this week

• Two S.O.A.R. slips = 1 token; limit 1 token per student per S.O.A.R. Store day
• Amy will create informational flier; Rick will update price list

Annual Vote of Directors and Officers

• Jeanna Scholes is stepping down as Treasurer after this school year
• Celline Lakus approved as incoming Treasurer
  • Amy and Jeanna will meet with Celline to help transition everything over

Next Meeting

TBD - August 2024

Meeting adjourned @ 6:45pm

April 9th, 2024

Time: 5:58 pm
In Attendance:
Rick Koepke, Amy Ebeling, Amanda Musson, Jeanna Scholes, Rebecca Jarek, Celline Lakus, Michelle Branton, Eric Heeren, Sarah Lammert, Dawn Hanson 
Approval of March’s Meeting Minutes

Treasurer’s Report

Credits: $312.70 – Transfer from PayPal,

Butter Braids fundraiser

Expenses: $21,656 – Babysitting, 3rd Grade field trip (Imaginarium), Butter Braids, Butter Braid prizes (Squishmallows), Book vending machine
Balance: $20,394.95

Principal’s Report

• Fun activities to end the year
• May 14th – Track & Field Day (grades 1-4)
• May 14th – You Matter Day
• Looking to parents for Heritage Day presenters
• May 17th – 4th Grade Madison field trip
• Kindergarten field trips ongoing
• May 24th – 5th Grade Track day
• May 24th – Memorial Day program
• May 28th – 5th Grade field trip (Movie & Trampoline Park)
• May 29th – Talent Show
• May 30th – Bounce House Day

Dine Out Nights can continue next year
Principals discussed rule of “Two Fundraisers per year” and agreed that Dine Out Nights are classified as events and business donations

Recap of March Events

• Mar 9 – final Dine Out Night at Cedar Creek Grill ($253 donation)  
• Mar 13 - Butter Braid delivery - Prizes awarded (Squishmallows to top 5 sellers, ice cream truck to school) 

Parent/Caregiver Survey Results

• Improvements were made to parent communication after last year’s survey
  • WIN Group descriptions communicated
  • Checklist of “on/below” given to parents after 1st and 3rd quarters
  • Student work shared on SeeSaw
  • Postcards sent out to families
  • Everest Pride emails
  • This year only 49 parents provided feedback (down from 111 last year)
  • On a scale of 1-5, Evergreen’s overall mean was 4.05 (down from 4.1 last year), with 34.63% (down from 35.56%) of response selections being “Strongly Agree” or “Top Box”

Highest Satisfaction items

• I believe my child has the necessary classroom supplies and equipment for effective learning
• I believe the school is clean and well maintained
• I believe this school positively impacts my child’s growth and development

Lowest Satisfaction items

• I receive positive phone calls, emails, or notes about my child from the school
• I believe school rules are enforced consistently at this school
• I regularly receive feedback from school staff on how well my child is learning
• Welcoming additional feedback on how the school can continue to improve and what a “5” rating looks like

Communication Board

In process - Working to get the graphics ready for print

Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week  

• Calendar of themed days ready to send out to families with suggestions of how they can participate in the fun
• PTO needs to meet offline to discuss and shop for teacher gifts and treats 

Literacy Night - May 7th, 5-7pm

• Bike raffle to entice kids to come – must attend to receive free entry
• Two bikes from Rothschild PD and Rib Mountain Cycle, with possibility of more bikes from PTO if we can get the same pricing deal
• Volunteers needed
• Welcome Station (1 per hour) – hand out maps and schedule
• Book Vending Machine (PTO will staff this)
• Revealed during author visit in afternoon
• Plugged in and selling tokens for $5/ea
• Book Fair in IMC (2-3 per hour)
• PTO to provide seed money
• Proceeds go to vending machine packs from Scholastic
• Author Book-Signing Station in old lobby (PTO will staff this)
• Need to work on a pre-sale form for books, similar to Sparky kits
• Games in Nest (1 per hour)
• Movement in Gym (1 per hour)
• 3 Guest Readers (0 volunteers needed) – art room, music room, fishbowl

D.A.R.E. + 4th Graders Event - May 17th

Officer Jeff working on new event to bring the elementary schools together in punt/pass/kick competition
Conflict: falls on same day as 4th Grade Madison fieldtrip for Evergreen & Riverside, so ¾ of our PTO will be unavailable to help

Bucky Badger Meet-and-Greet

Amy is working to secure a meet-and-greet with Bucky Badger for the 4th Grade field trip to Madison

Next Meeting
May 14, 2024 @ 6:00 pm

Meeting adjourned @ 7:10pm

March 12, 2024

Time: 6:00 pm

In Attendance:

Rick Koepke, Amy Ebeling, Amanda Musson, Jeanna Scholes, Rebecca Jarek, Celline Lakus, Kendra Vanslyke, Amanda Winter, Kami Resch 

Approval of February’s Meeting Minutes

Treasurer’s Report

• Credits: $23,824.25 – Butterbraids, Texas Roadhouse DineOut, T-shirt/Charms sales
• Expenses: $2,509.19 – Decodable textbooks, Bingo Night popcorn & prizes, Quicken membership 
• Balance: $41,737.89

Principal’s Report

• 4th & 5th Grade Music Programs coming up on March 19th  
• 3rd Grade Field Trip + Imaginarium (see fund request)  
• Science curriculum under review this next year; looking for data across the district  
• Reminder to parents to check your kids’ phones to see what they’ve been up to

Recap of February Events

2/15 Parent/Teacher Conference meal – Teachers love this - thanks to the families who donated time, money and supplies.  

• 2/21 Dine Out @ Texas Roadhouse - $133.55 donation and largest event they hosted to date
  • Dine Out events have brought in $2405 to date 
• 2/27 and 2/29 Bingo Nights – well attended again, but need to add more candy bars to the prize bin for next time.
  • $150 to Big Brothers Big Sisters for popcorn sales

Butter Braid Fundraiser

• $9,503 profit, surpassing goal of $8,000
• Pick-up scheduled for 3/13 @ 5:30pm – NO ROOM FOR STORAGE
• Ice Cream Truck reward coming in April (see fund request)

Communication Board

• Two quotes
  • $750 MS Graphics
  • $386 Hayes Graphics (see fund request) 

Teacher Appreciation Week – May 6-10 

• Staff Favorites survey created – Rick will send Google Form to staff, and get us a count of how many to plan for  
• Weekly schedule created to encourage family participation
• PTO schedule of activities still in discussion stage (see fund request)
  • Rick will take care of Thursday

Book Vending Machine - Update 

• Delivered today! In hiding until “big reveal” during Literacy Night  
• Next step – book selection 
  • Committee of PTO, Reading Specialist and Teachers 
  • Need diversity in books, as part of funding requirements 

Literacy Night (with ELA/SS Committee) - May 7th, 5-7pm

• Author visit – Refe and Susan Tuma (see fund request)
  • Two assemblies in afternoon (K-2 and 3-5) plus book signing during evening event 
  • Trying to work with Janke Bookstore for mass purchase of books
  • Unveil vending machine during assemblies to get kids excited  
• Book Fair (evening hours only – not during school)  
• Celebrity Readers  
• Reading Games/Activities  
• Potential bike give-away from Rothschild PD / Rib Mountain Cycles  
• PTO sell tokens for vending machine
  • Consider Venmo account for non-cash option

Fund Requests

• 3rd Grade Field Trip = $438 ($6/person for entry into Imaginarium) – APPROVED
• Ice Cream Truck = $1375 ($2.75/ice cream for all students & staff) – APPROVED
• Communication Board = $386 (Hayes Graphics quote) – APPROVED
• Teacher Appreciation Week = $1,000 budget – APPROVED

Next Meeting

April 9, 2024 at 6:00 pm

Meeting adjourned at 6:48pm

February 13, 2024

Time: 6:00 pm
In Attendance:
Rick Koepke, Amy Ebeling, Amanda Musson, Jeanna Scholes, Celline Lakus, Chelse Wodalski, Kathy Kowalke, Isaac Bray, and Sarah Kwick

Approval of January’s Meeting Minutes

Treasurer’s Report

• Credits: $11,161.43 – Greenheck Foundation and Marshfield Area Foundation (book vending machine funding), Sparky Donations, Qdoba Dine Out, Polito’s Dine Out, and American Giving Foundation (donation)
• Expenses: $2,436.00 – Glow Party Supplies (black lights, decorations, refreshments), Glow Party DJ, Parent Teacher Conference Meal, and Dice (Bingo Night)
• Balance: $20,422.83
• Paypal Balance: $58.20

Principal’s Report
You Matter Day – Feb 8

• Great parent participation on sharing about their careers.
• Students had a fun and engaging day.
• Time spent with buddies doing an interest survey and discussing how that could apply to jobS they would be interested in.
• 3 Screen Assembly – “Yes I Can”

New therapy dog coming soon to Evergreen – Jake Koepke passed his therapy dog certification!

Recap of January Events
Jan 24 - Dine Out Night at Polito’s ($263 donation)
Jan 27 - Glow Party

• Successful first weekend event at school.
• Good volunteer participation.
• Great feedback overall. Students were talking about the event very positively.

February Events
Feb 15 – Parent Teacher Conference Meal

• PTO providing Sam’s Pizza, to be delivered to The Nest at 11:45am.
• Sign-up Genius went very well for parent donations. PTO purchased the remaining items.
• Providing our Paypal link paid off, with $60 received in donated funds.

Feb 21 – Texas Roadhouse Dine Out Night

• Flyers going home Feb 19. Present flyer between 4-8pm for 10% donation to Evergreen.

BINGO NIGHTS – Feb 27 (grades K-1-2) and Feb 29 (grades 3-4-5)

• PTO will have Evergreen t-shirts for sale (cash only).
• Popcorn sales by Boys and Girls Club.
• Math Committee will be providing take home bags to include math games to play at home, including dice purchased by PTO.
• Leftover prizes from last year’s Bingo Nights will be used.
• Mr Koepke will set up Volunteer Tracker sign-up for popcorn poppers on the afternoons of Feb 27 and Feb 29.
• Decision made to cancel the April Bingo Nights to focus on the May 7 Literacy Night.

March Events
Mar 9 – Dine Out Night at Cedar Creek Grill
Mention “Evergreen PTO” for 20% donation between 7am-10pm (food sales only).

Butter Braids Sale

• Company reached out after sale started that there could be an online ordering component, but decided to stick with paper order forms only.
• Order form available for staff ordering.
• Sale running from 2/13-2/27.
• Top 5 sellers will receive a 16 inch Squishmallow. If siblings/families are top sellers, each child will receive a prize (we have extra Squishmallows).

Teacher Appreciation Week

• Hollywood theme planned for the week’s events.
• Teachers appreciate any kind of recognition and enjoyed last year’s activities.

Book Vending Machine

• All funding has been secured.
• Artwork proof available and everyone present approved the design.
  • Amy will send email approval to the company to initiate production. 5-6 weeks anticipated for production.
• A PTO Scholastic account has been set up for book purchases.
  • PTO will work with the Reading Committee to start the book selection process.
• In addition to the token provided with the machine, we ordered an additional 200.
  • Tokens will be provided to teachers to pass out for rewards, available to purchase at the SOAR store, and to purchase at PTO events.

Literacy Night - May 7th 

Reading Committee is in the planning stages for this event.

• Book Fair is already booked and will only be held that night (not during the school day).
  • Book Fair will require volunteers.
• Possible movement activity.
• Possible literacy games to play with your family.
• Possible Word Bingo.
• Public unveiling of Book Vending Machine.
• Potential author visit. Amy will look into a couple of options and check their availability. The author visit may work better as a school day assembly and once we have a better idea of cost/availability of authors, Mr Koepke will check with other schools to see if there is interest in sharing the cost/event.

Fund Requests

• $104.98 approved for dice for math games to be handed out at Bingo Nights
• $2,000 approved for buses for 4th grade field trip to Madison
• $71.88 approved for Quicken software for Treasurer’s reporting
• $2,000 approved for decodable text books

Next Meeting
March 12 @ 6 pm
Meeting adjourned @ 6:50pm

January 9, 2023
Time: 6:03 pm
In Attendance: Rick Koepke, Amanda Musson, Jeanna Scholes, Rebecca Jarek, Celline Lakus, Tonya Brost, Gretchen Fox, Nicole Anderson (Absent: Amy Ebeling)

Approval of November Meeting Minutes

Treasurer's Report

• Credits: $3,438.80 – Final Read-a-Thon donations, transfer of PayPal funds, Red Robin Dine Out donation
• Expenses: $3,980.99 – School pretzels, Gratitude Gram treats ,Babysitting, Butterbraid prizes, Glow Party (DJ, PhotoBooth, make-and-take supplies) 
• Balance:  $12,571.09

Principal's Report

• The next You-Matter Day is scheduled for 2/8 with a theme of Career Day 
• Morning session will see the students rotating through 15-minute presentations by willing Evergreen parents 
• Friday’s newsletter will include a survey for parents to fill out
• Afternoon session will be a 3-Screen Assembly with their buddies, while teachers have some extra planning time  
• Parent/Caregiver Survey was emailed out today 
• Results from last year’s survey brought several changes to this year’s practices. Looking forward to receiving more feedback to see how the school can improve.  

Recap of November and December Events

Name That Tune 
11/3 = Ms Lammert 
11/17 = Ms Widmann 
12/15 = Ms Vanslyke  
Dine Out Nights
11/15 = Red Robin ($864.69 donation) 
12/13 = Qdoba ($132.74 donation)  

January Events
Name That Tune 
1/5 and 1/19 

Dine Out Night = 1/24 @ Polito’s, 4:00-8:00pm  
All sales will generate a 15% donation

Glow Party = 1/27, 6:00-8:00pm 
DJ and blacklights in gym  
Free to attend – no registration required 
Students working on glowing art projects in Art class  
Evergreen has disco ball we can use
Photo Booth, cookies & water, and Make-and-Take event in the Nest  
Asking $5.00 donation and advanced registration for make-and-take kits; limited to first 300 to register
Looking for volunteers to set-up, clean-up, and man a station

Upcoming February Events
2/2 – Name That Tune
2/13 to 2/27 – Butterbraid fundraiser
Delivery in March just before spring break
2/15 – Parent/Teacher Conference meal
Need to have Lunch ready in the Nest by teacher’s Noon break
2/21 – Dine Out Night @ Texas Roadhouse, 4:00-8:00pm
2/27 – Bingo Night (targeted towards K-2)
2/29 – Bingo Night (targeted towards 3-5)
Need to check supply of leftover prizes before next PTO meeting  

Woodland Trail Update

• R. Koepke and Jason Jablonski walked the trail with Dan Borchardt and gave a verbal go-ahead.  
• Brush-cutting, felling trees and clearing trails has begun, with lots of progress being made in the mild-weather  
• Need to bring this to the school board at 2/21 meeting
• R. Koepke, R. Jarek and volunteers can put together a presentation 

Scholarship
Online form was submitted during the meeting to confirm our intentions to fund a $500 scholarship offer to a graduating senior this year

Fund Requests
$750 approved for 3-Screen Assembly on 2/8
$600 approved for Teacher Meal on 2/15 

Next Meeting 
February 13th, 2023 at 6 pm 

April meeting rescheduled for Monday, April 8th, due to Bingo Night on April 9th 
Meeting adjourned at 6:50 pm

November 14, 2023

Time: 5:59 pm

In Attendance

Rick Koepke, Amy Ebeling, Amanda Musson, Jeanna Scholes, Rebecca Jarek, Becky Pagel, Leeanna Vandenberg, Danielle Zoesch, Celline Lakus, Rick Jarek, Dan Borchardt

Approval of October’s Meeting Minutes

Treasurer’s Report

• Credits: $9,568.38 – Staff T Shirts, Read-a-Thon donations, Panera Dine Out event
• Expenses: $1,500.10 – Babysitting, Read-a-Thon bookmarks & pizza parties, Microsoft renewal
• Balance: $8,068.28 (plus $246.29 PayPal balance) with $362.12 in outstanding expenses
• BMO account closed, new account is at Intercity State Bank

Principal’s Report

• Interested in working for the district? We are short-staffed and always looking for good candidates. Refer a friend! 
  • Find openings and apply at WECAN
• Held the first (of three) “You Matter Day” on 10/25, focusing on mental & physical wellness
  •  This month’s focus is Gratitude
  •  Older students “buddy” with younger students, made mural of eagle feathers
• Parent/Teacher Conferences
  • Based on last year’s parent/caregiver survey results, teachers included WIN Report as well as academic report. This was well-received and appreciated.
• Three Surveys this time of year:
  • BloomSights = student survey, assessing feelings of loneliness, bullying, peer connections, etc.
  •  B.E.S.T. Screener = teacher survey, identifies and quantifies Behavioral, Emotional, Social Traits and risk factors in students
  • Connections app = assesses student/staff connections and feelings of safety. App shows photos and asks “do you feel you can go to this person for help?”

Woodland Trail

• There is interest in creating a system of mountain bike trails in the wooded area surrounding Evergreen.
  • 3-Phase Build would take approx. two-three years to complete
  • Material is being donated and would need to be stockpiled on property until building begins summer of 2024
  • Educational opportunities exist along planned trails = Wisconsin geology, plantlife, etc.
  • Potentially can have students name the trails, create artwork for the signage, etc.
  • Contact Dan Borchardt or Rick Jarek with questions/comments

Recap of October Events

Read-A-Thon Fundraiser – 10/5 to 10/19 -

• Brought in $13,806 in donations.
• Read-A-Thon keeps 20%, leaving $11,044.81 for PTO
• First check ($8835.85) was received and deposited, second and final check expected later this month

Name That Tune

• 10/6 = Sendelbach
• 10/20 = Hanson & Widmann

Dine Out Night – 10/17 @ Panera Bread

• 25% give-back = $341.53 for PTO
• Parent-Teacher Conference Meal – 10/25
  • PTO provided Jimmy Johns, Evergreen families contributed the rest
  • Was much appreciated, and saved on PTO budget. Will repeat this sign-up again in Spring!

November Events

• Name That Tune – 11/3 and 11/17
• Dine Out Night – 11/15, all day @ Red Robin
  • 20% give-back – must present flyer or mention PTO
  • Sign-up posted on FB for student-helpers (all helpers will receive coupon for free kid’s meal)

December Events

• Name That Tune – 12/1 and 12/15
• Dine Out Night – 12/13 @ Qdoba (4pm-8pm)
• NO PTO MEETING IN DECEMBER

Book Vending Machine Update

• Grant for first-half was received (B.A. and Esther Greenheck Foundation)
• Still waiting to hear back on grant for second-half (Beyond Pencils and Beyond Crayons)
  •  Can also request from the Bonnie Jean Fund if this falls through.
• We are optimistic and expecting to order the vending machine by the end of the month

Winter Dance Party – January 27, 6-8PM

• Location (Evergreen Nest and Gym) and DJ (Belky from 95.5 WIFC) have been secured
• Other ideas: glow party, stuff-your-own-Sparky-the-Eagle, cookies (can order through food service), simple yard games
• Looking for committee of parent volunteers to get started

Spring Fundraiser

• Order forms arrive 1/30/24
• Collect orders 2/13 to 2/27
• PTO submits orders by 3/4
• Deliver Date 3/13 @ 5pm
• Families must pick-up that evening!

Fund Requests

• $50 approved for Gratitude Grams – Amanda already purchased (Rebecca to design, Jeanna to print)
• $200 approved for pretzels refill – Amy ordered 10 boxes during meeting
• $1500 approved for Winter Dance/Party
• Future needs
  • Possible bean-bag refill for Library (PTO to email Eric Hereen for input)
  • Jodi Robbins still working on Communication Board 

Next Meeting
January 9, 2024 @ 6 pm

Meeting adjourned @ 6:59 pm
 

October 10, 2023

Time: 6:03pm

In Attendance: Rick Koepke, Amy Ebeling, Amanda Musson, Jeanna Scholes, Rebecca Jarek, Courtney Neumann, Rebecca Stadler, Celline Lakus

Approval of September’s Meeting Minutes

Treasurer’s Report

Credits: $1343.00 – staff t-shirts & Sam’s Pizza night 

Expenses: $655.27 – teacher pencil sharpener, babysitting, wellness committee drinks, Walk/Bike/Roll muffins, SOAR Store prizes, RAT popcorn

Balance: $5,045 (plus $320.13 PayPal balance) with $759 in outstanding expenses

Principal’s Report
Last month, reported on teaching procedures. This month, concluding the Assessment phase.

Academic assessment – iReady is used to assess Math & Reading.  These results will be used to determine students’ WIN time targets as well as noting where to base instruction plans.
Student Wellness assessment – BloomSights is used in grades 1-5 to assess students’ feelings of loneliness, bullying, peer connections, teacher relationships, learning environment, etc.
Evergreen’s goal is to raise score from 67.82% to 75% by 2024

Recap of September Events
Dine Out Night – 9/20 @ Sam’s Pizza
Went REALLY well – 15% came to a $670 donation. Largest give-back night Sam’s ever hosted.  If we do this again, they will double their staff for us. 

Name That Tune – 9/22
Mrs Kwick-Baltz was the winner
Walk, Bike, Roll to School – 9/27
Can’t plan for weather, but everything else went smoothly.

Approved funding to clean Sparky costume

October Events

Read-A-Thon – 10/5 to 10/19
Off to a slow start, similar to past years – need to hype it up more Prizes now on display in IMC
5th Grade Students can write material into their morning announcements PTO can send info to teachers to post on SeeSaw, and also YouTube videos

Students loved the popcorn last Friday.  Sparky bookmarks being distributed this Friday, targeting next Friday (10/20) to award prizes
PTO to generate a script to go along with the bookmarks, also requesting willing volunteers to be pied if we reach $15,000

Name That Tune – coming up again on 10/20
Mrs Sendlebach won 10/6
Dine Out Night – 10/17 @ Panera Bread (4:00-8:00pm) MUST present our flier (digital or paper copy will work) in-person or use code if ordering online Must reach $150 in sales to qualify for 25% donation

Parent-Teacher Conference Meal – 10/25
PTO will work on having food catered and ready in time for teachers’ scheduled break @ 4:00

November Events

Name That Tune 11/3 and 11/17
Rebecca taking over on 11/17 in Amy’s absence
Dine Out Night – 11/15 @ Red Robin (all day)
May request Celebrity Servers and Sparky again
Rebecca will contact Red Robin to get yard signs and stickers to help advertise

2023-24 School Year Planning
Event Dates
Bingo Nights = Feb 27 & 29, and April 9 & 11 (need to reschedule April PTO meeting)
 Reading Committee and Math Committee will piggy-back on these events (sight-word BINGO, etc.)

Donuts with Parents
Had a few requests for this event; however the last time this event was held, volunteers were sparse and students were crying because they didn’t have a grown-up who could participate.
We will instead focus our energy on other events this year.

Staff T-shirt Orders
All paid orders have been delivered; still waiting on one unpaid order.

Book Vending Machine
Have not heard back on our application for $10,000 Creske Foundation grant, so applied for two other grants instead B.A. and Esther Greenheck Foundation approved $3,750
Should hear back from Beyond Pencils and Beyond Crayons grant by end of month
PTO will create Scholastic account to use when ordering books. 

Butter Braid Fundraiser
Spring fundraiser scheduled for 2/13 to 2/27, Delivery on 3/13 at 5pm Rick will submit fundraiser application.

Winter Dance/Party
Targeting Saturday 1/27 - Families can come-and-go between 6-8pm, with no teacher participation expected. Jeanna will book DJ. PTO to Greenheck to reserve Evergreen for the event. Planning Committee needed. PTO to get write-up to Kristel, as several parents have already indicated their willingness to help with Family Nights  

Playground Upgrades
Teacher request was made for a Communication Board to be installed on the playground – Approx $3,000. PTO will work with Special Education teachers to understand their needs and order.
PTO looking into playground resurfacing – poured rubber similar to JoJo’s Jungle, Riverlife Park, Oak Island, and Airport Park. Next step is to request quotes from a couple of companies. Neumann has heard of another school receiving a grant for a similar project – she will reach out to them and share info with us.

Next Meeting
November 14, 2023 @ 6 pm
Meeting adjourned @ 7:15 pm