September 2023 Anana PTO Minutes

Tuesday, September 12, 2023; 6:30 pm CDT Anana Elementary School Library and Zoom

PARTICIPANTS

PRESENTATION SLIDES

• September 2023 Anana PTO Meeting Slides

MEETING DETAILS

WELCOME

• Meeting called to order 6:30 pm by Anana PTO Vice President Angela Freeman

PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE

The School Based Leadership Tearn met this summer and updated our school E9uity Vision statement to reflect what we want to be true for all students coming out of Covid and moving forward.

“At Milele Chikasa Anana Elementary School our Crew will foster a strong sense of purpose and belonging, celebrate our diverse identities, and instill the Anana Attributes. We will cultivate a love for learning by inspiring our students to continuously seek knowledge and positively impact their community and world.”

We started with a list of character traits and whittled it down to 8 characteristics that we are calling the Anana Attributes that we will focus on throughout the year. Below you will find the Attributes in our new Anana Affirmation.

We are Milele Chikasa Anana Elementary School.

• I am respectful. I take care of others, all property and learning.
• I am responsible. I own my words, my thoughts, and my actions.
• I have integrity. I do the right thing, even when no one is watching.
• I show initiative. I do not waste time because it is too valuable and I am too precious and bright.
• I persevere. New or hard things will not get me down.
• I am an advocate. I stand up for myself, others, and causes I believe in.
• I demonstrate citizenship. I use my voice to positively impact my school, my community, and my world.
• Together we are strong! We are CREW!

TREASURER’S REPORT

• Recent fundraising for the Anana Dash
  • $500 sponsorships from Envision IT and McDermott’s Service and Repair
  • $120 sponsorship from Haven Gluten Free
  • $100 sponsorships from Sondel Family Veterinary Clinic and Janisch Family
  • Brennan’s Market to provide fruit for snacks after the event
  • In-kind gift certificate donations from Vitense Golfland and Rejuvenation Spa
• Recent projects funded
  • Staff welcome breakfast
  • Ice Cream Social at Back to School Night
• Upcoming expenses
  • Anana Dash
• BoxTops for Education is an ongoing fund raiser

UPCOMING/ONGOING EVENTS

• Anana Dash: Friday, October 13th
  • Students and staff will spend around 20 minutes participating (run, walk, or roll)
  • Students will collect pledges to raise funds for the PTO activities throughout the year
  • There will be an all-school prize if we meet our fundraising goals
  • Two grade levels will participate at the same time
    • 8:05-8:50 am: 2nd and 3rd grade
    • 9:05-9:50 am:4th and 5th grade
    • 12:30-1:15 pm: Kindergarten and 1^st grade
  • Sign-up to help out! https://bit.ly/AnanaDash2023

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

• Opportunities to improve communication by the PTO Board to the school community
  • Suggestion from Kindra Goehler-Bender, a marketing professional, to work with the PTO secretary to increase communication and gather information from administrative staff
  • Letting parents know what is going on; for example, why did kids come home with tags on their bags (i.e., the tags for bussing)
  • Possibility of using the Base Camp Ap
  • People need to see something 7 times to make it stick
  • Gather everything in one place that comprises school information, etc.
  • Aiming to build and strengthen the relationship between the PTO Board and the school
  • Could work together to create a communication channel; unified area for collecting donations, etc.
• Principal Prochnow talked about the School Improvement Plan (SIP); looking to improve attendance, looking at ways to strengthen culture and climate; creating a place where students feel like they belong; reinforcing who we are as a “Crew/Tearn”; move into instruction in school; student showcases at the end of the year
  • Attendance goal
    • For average attendance at end of year, DPI re9uires 90%. Last year Anana had 88%.
    • Want to ensure that the sense of belonging helps to support and encourage families to come to school
    • Students are allowed up to 20 parent-excused absences. After exceeding 20, need to get a doctor’s note.
    • Reasons why a parent may not call in an excused absence; are there barriers to reporting absences (e.g., is the voicemail too long when they call the office)?
    • The school makes safe arrival calls – goal to make those before 10 am

• Working to educate and inform parents on how to report absences- teacher can get a message and report to the office and excuse the absence; can also do it online through Infinite Campus
• Absence policies. Instruction starts at 7:40 am; if students arrive after 9 am – they are counted as tardy. Three times counts as one unexcused absence; Principal Prochnow and staff are working to make sure they are clear on the attendance policies
• School bussing is a concern; Principal Prochnow said that there is a push to create systems to streamline so they take off early or on time from Anana; bus drivers knowing names of students; Anana students are some of the first on/off the bus
  • Release time is 1:15 for Monday; kids come out a little earlier than that (e.g., 1:05-1:10); bus drivers and Anana staff are learning their bussers and getting them on so that they get on the

bus to keep processes moving for other schools

• Opportunities to improve communication from the school to families
  • Question about getting the information out in a more timely way (e.g., welcome-back night)
• What are some ways to get out the word about PTO meetings?
  • Parents – have to opt in for emails from PTO; sign up here: https://bit.ly/AnanaPTOEmail
  • Looking for how to let people know ahead of time – everyone relies on the reminders!
  • Invite someone you haven’t seen here
• What are some ways to make people feel like the PTO meetings are a good use of their time?
  • People have to feel like they are doing something with their time

O There will be many events throughout the school year for parents/guardians to get involved, e.g., Anana Dash, “Donuts with Dear Ones” event in November.

Meeting adjourned at 7:45pm

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES!

Anana PTO members, your help is needed for the following events! A sign-up genius will be sent out for each event; please let us know if you are interested in helping out!

ANANA DASH

• Friday, October 13th
• Please sign up to help out! https://bit.ly/AnanaDash2023