October 12 PTA Member Meeting
Meeting Slides
~Meeting started at 6:30 - 7:15pm~
(Joe Willingham - President)
Called Meeting to order 6:35pm
RULES DISCUSSED: individuals asked to utilize the raise hand feature or chat box for questions. Also, if issues are raised & you have a known solution…please share. If not, let’s work as a team & use the numerous resources to find the proper solution.
(Beth Kelly- VP2/Fundraising Chair) - Budget Overview and Fundraising
BUDGE OVERVIEW:: ensure enough money is raised for teacher's gifts; each year we provide $50 for our teachers to be able to use however they please - to support their classrooms & students; teachers purchase items & complete a form with the PTA Budget Rep for reimbursement up to $50. A large part of our budget goes to this. It’s a way to make our teachers feel loved /supported. Unfortunately,
we weren't able to do this last year.
Insurance - $565 MUST be paid annually. The insurance is required for liability reasons.
Appreciation gifts - we show love and support for our team members with appreciation days for everyone (i.e. principal, assistant principal, librarian, counselors, school nurse, custodians cafeteria staff, etc.).
FUNDRAISING
Last year, PTA had to raise the money through a fundraiser in order to do the teacher appreciation week; approx. $3500 raised in order to spend throughout appreciation week to make sure that teachers felt loved/supported/appreciated; due to the pandemic, PTA had to raise money to assist.
So far: T shirt fundraiser - $400;
Flavors ice cream - $250 + an additional $300 (due to the donation bucket)…we're at approx. $900
SEEKING HELP: the pandemic has created fundraising challenges. We are asking parents to help with any additional resources in fundraising.
MEMBERSHIP DUES: PTA can set the amount that we charge (after further research, we discovered we’re on the lower side compared to other PTA committees); NCPTA requires us to pay $4 off of every membership that we receive; any extra money collected via the dues, goes to any categories in need (i.e. Teacher Appreciation, teacher gifts, etc.) - equated as a mini fundraiser - gaining a little extra funds in order to funnel back into the school.
Marketing Communications. office supplies, banners, websites, bank checks; any way that we're dispersing information that's not electronic; Cost: $500
School Field Trips: approx. $1,000 set aside to ensure that any child in our school that wants to go on a field trip can attend, whether they can afford it or not.
PTA has throughout the years decided to donate $500 to help coach Daniels run a successful field day for the students. Field Day money is typically raised through fundraisers (i.e. Dragon Fly Dash, 5th grade Moving Up Ceremony).
**Estimated minimum of $10-$15K per year to run the PTA program events successfully.
(Stacey Webb VP/Communications Chair) - Teachers Lounge Updates
TEACHERS’ LOUNGE: Before/After photo shown; candy dish needs to be kept full; looking to add backsplash near the sink area (peel & stick option due to funds & easy to maintain); want to start filling the cabinets with plastic dishes, silverware, containers that the teachers can use; contact paper to place the items on; new microwave(s) needed
The teachers really love the new refrigerator that was just donated; kids will have an artwork competition, & the artwork will placed on the refrigerator.
(Joe Willingham - President) Campus Improvement Updates
CAMPUS CLEANUP
Campus CleanUp action to be put in place the next 30 days (early November); 15 to 20 volunteers. Parents can volunteer with picking up litter, clearing any debris from the sidewalks and playgrounds, to drop off/pickup area; Re-doing the yellow lines to be more vibrant & much wider - this will assist our kids & parents, as many drivers have mistakenly hit the curb during drop-off/pick-up (will keep our kids safer).
NC State Guardian Green Space Project: a grant given Dillard to partner with NC State to install gardens and green spaces around the campus. This will be a pretty big project and we have a lot of opportunity for community volunteers.
(Stacey Webb VP/Communications Chair and Beth Kelly- VP2/Fundraising Chair) - Communications, Committee and Teacher Requests
Teacher Appreciation Committee:
will be working with the fundraising committee; assistance needed with communicating & posting on social media platforms in order to get our family members to help with appreciation items.
Fundraising Community Outreach: additional ways to support (i.e. click the smile via Amazon & select Dillard as your preferred school when you make purchases; additional accounts like OfficeMax, Coca Cola, Harris Teeter, Lowe's Foods); online school store or Swag Shop, member hub, etc.
Online Stores for school gear, spiritwear and more open year round
SPIRIT NIGHT: Moe’s, October 26th from 11am to 9pm, mention Dillard take the flyer via PTA website.
MEMBERHUB: any issues with login credentials, please contact Stacey W. This is the vehicle used to send information in addition to following DDMES PTA via social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) - please be mindful of content posted - should be school and/or PTA related, as it applies to the specific social media group.
PTA Calendar If you see something we missed please let us know so we can add it to the calendar. (We try hard to keep updated daily and we love having backup to make sure we stay on top)
(DR. SYKES DDMES Principal) - DDMES School Updates
We've reached a level of weariness; a lot of needs coming out of COVID; a great deal of conversation about academic-loss throughout COVID; & there's a lot of social/emotional needs that are taking precedent, heavily impacting students & staff…it's not a normal year. It’s unfortunate because this is where we would love to have you in the classrooms to help and support, and we're hoping to get to that point. Not able to retrieve substitutes to assist; and teachers can't come every day due to getting sick.
Unfortunately, quite a few resignations due to the mental stress stemming from the pandemic. Hoping to get parent-volunteers in at the very minimum to support lunchtimes, so that teachers can continue to have their lunch breaks, set time aside for themselves to refuel;
GOOD NEWS: Spanish Immersion classes are flourishing. I was in both classes today and the teachers were speaking Spanish; a visitor with the central office was so impressed with how much they’ve learned already, and it's just October. Second quarter will kick off our world language for everybody. So your kiddos will be able to choose whether or not to take French or Spanish for the rest of the school year and for the rest of their career at Dillard. They can start building fluency, & more information will be coming out this week on how they can sign up.
SUPPORTING OUR TEACHERS: I would just say, reach out to your child's teacher and ask what he or she needs. They will be able to best tell you that, and it could vary from day to day. I know for sure the staff feels very supported. I hear that every day, not just from your makeover in the lounge and the treats, but just for people checking in, and parents. So I appreciate all of that from you.
SCHOOL FIELD TRIP MONEY: Because we haven't been on field trips for a while, there have been monies set aside by the school, so PTA may be able to funnel that money towards another need.
We are planning to resume field trips in the spring as long as guidelines allow that, but it also depends on what's going on in the community and metrics. So we might have to lean towards more on campus trips at the end this year.
Q&A -
Question: Are teacher's allowed to order delivery food, like from Grubhub or Uber Eats? Can we send them gift cards for these services to help on days when they don't have time to get lunch?
Answer: Yes, gift cards for those places & any others are welcomed
Visit the DDMES school website to to see Teacher profile sheets for their favorite treats, snacks, drinks, stores and more. Get to know your Teachers. Select your grade level/teacher and click on their names listed on the left side of the screen. When you select their name their Meet the teacher form will display on your screen.
Q: are we a 501 c-3?
A: Yes we can provide anyone with letterhead to help in company requests or company matching donation programs. Contact Beth Kelly or Stacey Webb for resources.
Q: what's the direct Facebook link to the private PTA group?
A: DDMES Dragonfly Families
This is a private group Run by the PTA, though you don’t have to be a PTA member to join. You must complete the required questions to be admitted to the group. This group is for DDMES Families to connect and network with current and new families. If you have a post that you would like to feature that shares other events, news, sales, or benefits, don't hesitate to get in touch with our VP and Communications Chair for the PTA, Stacey P. Webb, at swebbvicepres@ddmespta.com so we can communicate it in the proper channels. There is a public Facebook PTA page where we share public information about upcoming PTA events, School News, Fundraisers and more. Make sure to follow @DDMESPTA on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
*** We do not post PTA updates, news, events etc. on the DDMES Dragonfly Families Private Facebook page. We do manage this page and this Group is a positive sharing group, and we want to maintain that status.
Prize Drawing Winner:
Every PTA Member meeting will end/close with a drawing for a prize for our amazing PTA members to just say thank you for your support to our school, teachers, students and community. We can’t do what we do without you all! Congratulations to Olivia P. as our first prize winner. ($50 to Dave & Busters)
*Meeting adjourned at 7:19pm*
President: Joe Willingham VP / Communications Chair: Stacey P. Webb VP 2/ Fundraising Chair: Beth Kelly VP 3/ Community Engagement Chair: Lisa Padgett Treasurer: Rachel Powell Secretary: Brooke Pristell
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