3 Oct Meeting Notes

Those who arrived early for the meeting were challenged by Co-President Daniela Werner to draw a tree. Blank sheets of paper and crayons were distributed for those who were game to try the experiment, which promised to tell us a little more about ourselves. Everyone seemed to enjoy the theraputic exercise, coloring some beautiful and exotic trees!

The meeting itself began promptly at 7:00PM with an brief introduction of Co-Presidents Daniela and Deana Schlauch, elected at the meeting on 12 Sept.

Penny Drive

Maryhelen Freeman updated everyone on the results of the Penny Drive. A highly successful project, this round netted over $1100! This included only a week of actual classroom participation, but our enthusiasic children have worked it well. Mrs Anderson's class was the big winner, bringing in $184.53.

The next penny drive will be held in January, but classes are encouraged to bring in pennies whenever possible and save them for this future date.

Timberland Savings Bank has offered to help publicize the drive in their next issue of Timberland Views Newsletter, which is distributed to all account holders. This would be mailed out in early January.

We need to find someone who will oversee the cans, help distribute them in the community or even just where they work or frequent. These cans would need to be checked frequently and filled cans could be left at the school. Mary Elmore will count and return these to the school to be picked up and rotated in for full cans. Maryhelen suggested that a phone number be printed on the cans, so that if the cans became full, businesses could contact someone to have them picked up. She offered to have her own number printed on the cans if the volunteer overseeing the project were uncomfortable giving their own. Please contact MaryHelen if you are interested in filling this position or even distributing one or two cans. It doesn't take a lot of effort if we all work together!

Sock Hop Open House

Daniela filled us in on the plans for the Sock Hop Open House on 10 October. This will prove to be our most interesting and family-fun Open House yet, if things go as planned! The festivities will start at 6PM with an assembly conducted by Principal Karen Ellingson. She will introduce the staff, welcome the families of our students, and visitors. They will then be invited to visit their child's classroom and talk with the teachers.

At 7PM, the party really gets underway. A DJ will be playing music in the gym area for everyone to Rock and Roll as they enjoy some quality time together. Daniela's girl scout troop will be manning the Concessions Stand, where you can get Pizza by the Slice or a Hot Dog for just $1 each. Soda and Chips will also be available for $.50, making it an affordable meal for any size family. Food will be on a first come basis, and monies raised will be used for the Library project.

Daniela also suggested a photo opportunity, having a backdrop available that families could pose at and have an instant photo taken as a souvenir. She volunteered to use leather coats and poodle skirts gathered and made by her Girl Scout Troop.

T-Shirts/Sweatshirts

It was also decided that this would be a kickoff for our T-Shirts/Sweatshirts for the 2000-2001 year. We will promote a "Spirit Day" on the 10th of October. Kids will be encouraged to show their Cougar Pride by wearing RED RED RED! As much red and white as possible. We'll build on this to sell T-Shirts and Sweatshirts with the Cougar Logo on them. These will be ordered from M&M Graphics, the company that did our shirts last year. Principal Ellingson suggested that we use the Cougar artwork that was designed for the soon-to-be-unveiled mural. Everone seemed to agree that this Cougar was very impressive, beautifully done, and not scary or fierce looking in any way.

Cash Back for Schools

Principal Ellingson has registered our school for the Southshore Mall Cash Back for Schools competition! This is something that everyone could get involved with...who doesn't like shopping and spending money? The top five schools will receive cash awards in the amount of $100-$1500, so it is well worth our while to make sure that we get credit for every dollar spent at Southshore Mall, Les Schwab, or Five Star. Be sure to ask for a Cash Back Recipt from these establishments when you shop!

Rachel Takagi has already been hard at work, providing each child at OSE with an envelope for their parents, friends, and family to submit their receipts. After these have been registered for the school, they can be returned via these envelopes.

Ocean Shores IGA has agreed to be a drop-off point for these receipts, provided PIE provides the envelopes for distribution, and collects the envelopes frequently. Principal Ellingson suggested that we check on the legality of these being collected at a place of business before instituting this phase of the program.

Judy Mayhew also suggested that these envelopes be held for only 6 months, and that this be clearly communicated so that we would not be held reponsible for receipts not picked up by their submitters.

Campbell's Labels for Education

Jody Cadle reported that Ocean Shores IGA had actively become involved in the Labels for Education Project. They have constructed a drop box for both Campbell's Labels and GM BoxTops for Education, both great programs. These will need to be picked up by PIE, perhaps at the same time that the receipts are picked up. And since a number of PIE members work at Ocean Shores IGA, they might be amenable to taking on this responsibility? Angie Hall will also be hanging special tags that will clearly mark the products that are eligible for each program, making it more visible and easy for everyone to participate in.

Newsletter

Daniela offered to head up a quarterly newsletter, informing parents and community members what is happening in PIE. This will be a good chance for us to involve others who may not even know that we exist! Invite your friends and neighbors to come to the meetings, whether they intend to volunteer or not. Those who attend are at least informed of goings on and can offer suggestions!

Budget

Mary Elmore has spent a considerable amount of time and effort in preparing the budget to be approved for 2000-2001. This budget takes into account monies spent in previous years and potential income for the coming year. This budget was unanimously approved. She included a larger budget for teacher appreciation, citing the need for not only teacher appreciation week, but "warm fuzzies" throughout the year for these talented educators who do such wonderful things with our precious children. And of course, we all agree on that!

Coin Counting

Maryhelen Freeman did, somewhat tongue in cheek, suggest that we add a coin counter to the budget request. With a sigh, she admitted that these would cost in the neighborhood of $1600, perhaps a bit much for our budget. However, Mrs Beebe suggested that Anchor Savings Bank does have a coin counter that we might be able to use, pending the repair of the penny counter.

YoYo Assembly

One of the budget items was $600 to provide at least one assembly for the coming year. The Yo Yo assembly was discussed, as the kids seemed to very much enjoy this entertainer. "Yo Yo Man" had a program in which he offered to come and present the assembly for free, providing we sold YoYo's for a time after the assembly. PIE would receive 10% of these profits. We sold $700 worth of Yo Yo's, netting a $70 income. But the kids enjoyed it, and nearly all of them were sporting a new Yo Yo.

Playground Fund

It is time to beging to use our playground fund, as we have been gathering funds for some time and donors are beginning to wonder what they have been donating to! We need to assemble a playground committee that, with teacher involvement, will decide how best to spend this money. Some suggestions from Ms Bjerke were another tether ball setup, benches for those who wanted to read instead of active play, or soccer goals.

The soccer goals were discussed at length, as they can be both cumbersome and expensive. A good alternative would be to build these of PVC pipe as the North Beach Soccer Association has done. These are very durable, lightweight, portable, easy to store, inexpensive, and also inexpensive to repair.

A covered play area is a highly favored idea in this land of plentiful rain. The best place for this was decided to be South of the gym area. It is already black topped and would be accessible from the gym, making it easy to staff during these play times. It would need to be of the appropriate building code, and also big enough to accomodate the nearly 200 students that could be at recess at any given time.

Kurt Freeman generously offered to get estimates on the cost of this covered playground area.

Library Project

Deana worked with others on a tentative plan for the Library Project. Kurt Freeman had reviewed these plans and indicated that we would be well within our estiamted budget for this project, as well as having a plan that would be easy to build. Fathers would be asked to donate their time and talents in building these bookshelves to save labor costs. The entire project would cost approximately $1200-$1300.

Christmas Tree Auction

The next big project will be our annual Christmas Tree Auction. This will be held the first Friday after Thanksgiving Break, giving families a chance to enjoy the tree for the entire season. The trees need to be ordered, picked up, set up on stands, and then the teachers have their classes decorate these for auction. The kids enjoy bidding on their tree, and businesses should be encouraged to bid on a tree to be displayed. Deana will also plan the Christmas Craft Fair to draw more of a crowd to bid on these trees. Booths will be offered at a small fee ($15) to crafters to display their wares. Ms Ellingson will discuss times of setup, and hours of operation.

Kurt and Maryhelen Freeman will offer to pick up and deliver the trees, provided that someone else calls to arrange for the trees and the stands are ready when the trees arrive. Mary Elmore offered to call and arrange the trees.

High School Co-ordination

Since many of us have children in both the High School and the Elementary, it was suggested that we have someone co-ordinate our schedule with that of the High School before planning any major event. Angie Hall agreed to review both schedules.

Make a Difference Day

Jody Cadle took just a moment to inform everyone of the upcoming Family Emergency Preparedness Fair in celebration of Make a Difference Day. Ocean Shores IGA will be hosting their second annual event, which will feature much of the information offered last year, but focus this year on lost and missing children. Parents are encouraged to bring their children in on 28 October from 1-3 to have their child's photo and fingerprints taken for a Polaroid KidCare ID kit, or update kits acquired last year. There will also be instruction on GH Search and Rescue's Hug a Tree Program, as well as Escape School. Hot Dogs and Pepsi will be sold at a great price, making a fun lunch during the event. Proceeds will go to the Hug a Tree Program.

Parents and others are also encouraged to Make a Difference, themselves by donating items needed by the school for their Emergency Evacuation Kits or for classroom needs. Lists of possible items can be obtained at Ocean Shores IGA, and baskets will be available to receive these items on 28 October.

Pumpkin Auction

Mr Barbero noted that his class would be hosting the annual Pumpkin Auction on October 24, so be sure to come and purchase a beautifully decorated pumpkin to celebrate the Halloween Holiday!

Tree Follow Up

The tree exercise turned out to be a fun thing, for most of us, who learned that perhaps we are more artistic than we thought! And we learned a little bit about our personality traits, as well. A nice little touch for the evening, making it as much a social event as a planning event. Perfect for busy moms and dads who devote so much time to making the district a better place for our kids and our teachers.

Thanks to everyone who attended, remember to bring a friend next month. Let's make it a fun time for all and an organization that can move mountains.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact the PIE Officers (listed on our home page) or by contacting webmaster/secretary Jody Cadle at [email protected].