Anyone with questions about Thurston PTO or interest in getting involved with our many groups and committees can email pto.thurstonelementary@gmail.com for more information.

Ms. York Spoke about the allergy concerns in the lunchroom, and the importance of children understanding the dangers of sharing foods. She also said we will be starting Safe Schools routes to Thurston.

Janice Stewart and Anne Geidner are the teacher reps this year and will trade off attending meetings. Ms. Stewart spoke about the importance of the upcoming schoolboard elections. She offered to answer any questions from parents regarding the candidates. She also talked about how much staff look forward to teaching your children.

Amy Sontagg mentioned the need for several committee positions. This is a great way to get to know people and learn about Thurston while helping the school community.

Representatives/committee heads are needed for the following positions

PTOC Representative: All local PTO’s send a representative to PTOC meetings. This is where district-wide decisions are disseminated and ideas are shared by different schools

Staff Appreciation: This person would plan a monthly “thank you” to the staff and teachers

Scrip Cards: Arrange for purchase of gift cards from various stores. When these cards are used, Thurston gets a percentage of the sale. (It has been run different ways, but some suggestions included ordering by request, having parents use the website directly, or that someone organize a teacher/parent wish-list)

Chess Tournament: There is an advisor available to the person interested in organizing this event

Ice Cream Social Assistant: Help the team organize activities/food for this even

Academic Games: 4^th and 5^th graders participate in this group that did very well last year. We can’t continue the games if we don’t get a volunteer, so please consider getting involved)

PTO president Jullie Koehn will be leaving after this year and welcomes anyone who would like to shadow the position or just ask questions.

Kellly Delp spoke about fundraising. Boxtops for Education information was sent home. Please send in the box tops to your child’s classroom as they do add up quickly. There is also a new online system. Money earned this year goes to the Thurston Library.

Fun Run is on Friday October 21^st and is Thurston’s biggest fundraiser. Money earned goes toward financing events for the entire year, including all bussing costs and the bulk of fees for field trips. There will be weekly prizes as well as an all-school event if we meet our goal. This is the last year the company will offer a full-service Fun Run. They will only provide the website support. Parent volunteers will be needed next year if the current incarnation of Fun Run is continued.

Little Caesar’s pizza night continues this year, but with a few changes. This year Thurston will get $2.00 for each family, but you must bring the monthly blue flyer with you. It is no longer limited to just deep dish pizza to earn rewards. It is usually the second Tuesday of the month.

PTO Thrift Shop is a resale store that supports local PTO’s with their profits. Shopping there helps us earn money. They are also having a raffle this year where half of the sales go to Thurston. If you are having an event, think about selling raffle tickets. Contact the PTO for information.

We have a PTO meeting in two weeks so that we can get back to our regular “First Tuesday” schedule.

We will be discussing the budget further in future meetings

Request for wooden signs for the garden boxes from the special requests budget, since the laminated signs fall apart. The signs will have themes for each class, not teacher names. Beth Hoecker-Martinez motions for $250.00 for these signs (8 total), seconded by Brandy C. Merritt. The motion passes with no objections and one abstention.

We are still looking for room parents for several classrooms. If you have a child in either Anderson, Geidner, Vanderhoff, Yip, Seavitt, Muglia, or Fisher please consider this position. These people email out event announcements and get volunteers for classroom parties, etc.

Halloween is coming up. Please don’t send in anything that could be considered a weapon or any messy/gory makeup. Also be aware if a costume can catch on things or is a tripping hazard.

Bagel Friday will be beginning soon, but only one Friday per month.

Frank Commiskey spoke about the need for volunteers to keep up with Thurston’s rain gardens, vegetable gardens, and landscaping. The District only pays for mowing the grass. All else falls on the PTO or volunteers.

Two of our Store Fundraising partners have chosen to end their participation. Meijer and Target will no longer give a percentage of purchases to Thurston. An updated list of partners can be found on the PTO website at www.a2schools.org/Page/9352