January 2013 PTO Minutes January 10, 2013 Carol McDonald, PTO President, welcomed everyone to the first

PTO meeting of 2013. Principal's Report John Lyons welcomed everyone and wished everyone in attendance a Happy New Year. He hoped everyone had a great holiday break. He then talked about the discussions in the media in regards to the current flu season. Mr. Lyons encouraged everyone to wash their hands. January 10, 2013 Pine Glen hosted an administrative council. This council is composed of all the principals in the district, directors of various departments, assistant superintendent and superintendent. As part of the meeting, walk-throughs of the classrooms are done. Mr. Lyons reported that any member of the council would be happy to tell you that they had an enjoyable time talking to all the students and hearing about what they have learned. Mr. Lyons thanked the PTO for their assistance with the Family Fund. This made a big difference in the lives of some students at Pine Glen for the holidays. The Student Council recently organized the Snoopy Pajama Day and helped to raise $305 to support Massachusetts General Hospital. The Winter Concerts were a huge success and everyone who attended or watched the concerts on the Blog really enjoyed it. Mr. Lyons stated one of his favorite parts of the holiday season was reading the Polar Express to the kindergartners. Principal Lyons recently met with Detective Thomas Fournier. Detective Fournier is the youth service officer for Burlington Public Schools. Mr. Lyons and Detective Fournier did a walk-through of the building and reviewed the safety plan. He was very impressed by the professionalism of the staff and thought Pine Glen School does a great job keeping the students safe. The fifth graders recently enjoyed their Gutter Boat Races. They made boats and got to test out their designs. They had a lot of fun. Topsfield Public Schools came recently to Pine Glen and were thrilled at what they saw with the curriculum, RTI, Technology, the progress report, universal screen, and Lightspeed Sound Systems. Topsfield representatives kept saying how Pine Glen Elementary School is an amazing school! Updates It was announced that two recent fundraisers were a success. The SCRIP fundraiser had a profit of $459, the KidStuff Coupon Book had a profit of $1300. The REMAX Balloon Raffle will be extended through the day of the upcoming Pine Glen Carnival due to lack of sales. The annual Pine Glen Carnival will be April 6, 2013. Debbie Murphy and Michelle Grossman will cochair this fundraiser. The Pine Glen Volunteer form was distributed and discussed. Everyone in attendance was encouraged to sign up for activities that need a chairperson.

Budget Overview Adrienne Mattson, PTO Treasurer, provided all attendees with a printed updated budget as of January 10, 2013. Vote on request for funds Laura D'Elia Library Media Specialist requested $1905 for the purchase of 144 titles for the Graphic Novel Collection in the library. There is a significant need for these titles as the library does not have many and a lot of students enjoy reading these. The request was voted on and approved by PTO member attendees. Special Guest- Patrick Larkin, Assistant Superintendent of Burlington Public Schools Mr. Larkin introduced himself and welcomed everyone to the meeting. Before becoming Assistant Superintendent Mr. Larkin was the Principal of Burlington High School for five years. Mr. Larkin discussed some of his thoughts on the current initiatives at the schools and future initiatives. He believes that the school culture is healthy with adults and students respectful of each other. Mr. Larkin discussed integrating technology into the classrooms. He believes technology helps meet the objectives of lessons and provides more engaging classrooms. There is now 1:1 iPads for students in grades 6-12. There is also an iPad 1:1 pilot for all first grade students in the district and 4th, 5th Grades at Pine Glen. Mr. Larkin would like to see more parent involvement with the iPads and plans on setting up specific nights when parents can come and learn more about them. Mr. Larkin discussed a new app that will be live at the end of February called School Connect. Burlington Public Schools will be the second school in the state to have this app. This will provide a one spot access for parents and educators to go to see what is happening in the school district. It also allows for improved communication and for teachers to send push notifications. Mr. Larkin provided time for attendees to ask questions. A PTO member asked how the later start at the high school went in regards to exams. Mr. Larkin felt the students were more rested but there was no change in assessment results. Mr. Larkin feels there is a need for more time for staff professional development. A PTO member asked what the plan is for the high enrollment of the current Pine Glen Kindergarten Class. Both Mr. Larkin and Mr. Lyons stated that they are aware of the high enrollment and are looking into solutions for next year to keep teacher to student ratio at a targeted range of 1:18. The current ratio for the present kindergarten class is 1:20 or 1:21. Attendance: John Lyons, Carol McDonald, Adrienne Mattson, Joanne Shortell, Doohee Chang, Alison Varrell, Ginelle Davidson, Beth Reith, Patrick Larkin, Lillian Mahoney, Patti Heldenbergh, Monica Brown