Motion to approve meeting minutes made by Orianna Barnett, seconded by Brandy Merritt and passed with no objections

Treasurer Report: Several field trips are underway. PTO does not pay admissions costs, so teachers must collect that money in advance if they want to be admitted.

Fundraising: Fun Run has raised over 32,000.00 so far. The run was a great success. Little Caesar’s pizza night was also successful. Thanks to all the parents who supported these efforts. We are also always collecting box tops.

Fall Carnival: October 27^th is the date and you’ll be seeing volunteer signups and information very soon. An all you can play bracelet was discussed and what price should be charged. The bracelets would not go towards food. We will need a couple credit card readers for the event and dedicated staff to run them.

Motion to sell bands for $15.00 made by Wanda Brann, seconded by Julia Hoffert. Motion passes with no objections.

Motion to charge one dollar for raffle tickets made by Sarah Russell , seconded by Wanda Brann and passed with no objections.

We will be having the raffle during the Fall Carnival again. We have great prizes and per the above vote, tickets will cost $1.

Kiwanis Run earned $1000.00 for the Thurston Pantry. Unfortunately, Kiwanis will not be able to organize the run next year.

Turkey Trot: Look for volunteer signups coming soon. If we don’t have enough volunteers, we may need to shorten the trot. The Nature Center Bridge needs repair, so we won’t be able to go that way this year.

We have so many volunteer-heavy events in the fall, it was recommended that next year we move the Fall Carnival to a Winter Carnival when we don’t have so many events happening.

Frank Comiskey will be looking into repairing the walking bridge in the Nature Center.

Safe Routes Update: Ms Callahan and Alisa Cox have been studying the safety issues students face when coming to school. They are working with safety groups to educate students, as well as police and city groups to do a traffic analysis and look at possible changes. AAPS has also begun to form committees as well. Several areas of need have a signup genius for parents to volunteer. We will be looking for parents to volunteer in the Thurston parking lot as well, since it is extremely busy in the mornings. Mrs. Stewart offered to send info to classroom parents to round up more volunteers.

Principal Report:   Special Education Millage renewal is on the ballot for the November 7^th election. No additional money is being asked for, just a continuation of existing taxes. The Teachers Union strongly supports this millage.

Thanks to Jamie Tomasillo for doing a tremendous job outside with the Fun Run.

No weapons, gore or blood on Halloween costumes for the parade. Masks are allowed, but must be removed upon entering the building.

There is an early release date on October 25^th and pickup will be at 1:29

The State has a new 3^rd grade reading law which will lead to personalized learning plans or Individualized learning plans to help students succeed. Information will be coming home on this program.

We had some plumbing issues with the learning cottages. A pipe broke and was replaced over the weekend. We will also be arranging for parents to view them soon.

Dinner for teachers on the Monday, November 6^th conference night has provided by parent volunteers in the past. Wanda Brann offered to take on the task of ordering food this year.

A “Heron Ball” concept was proposed by Kevin Cox. There would be a Love Ball dances in February during the dead periods. Perhaps broken up into grades so that the whole school doesn’t come at the same time.   Ms York suggested that we could do consecutive Fridays when a custodian is on duty, but not Saturday.

Motion by Jamie Tomasillo to approve mission statement, seconded by Julia Hoffert, and passed with no objections.

A parent spoke about unnecessary idling of vehicles and our responsibility to community health and to be good examples for our children. Letting your engine idle more than 10 seconds actually wastes more fuel than stopping and restarting it. It is also illegal in Ann Arbor. We have Green Schools students working on signage and communication to families.

We will be revisiting the sandbox cover, since it has broken slats.

Mr. Frank has asked for help in cleaning out the shed by the 2^nd and third grade playground alcove. It will be posted in the newsletter.