PTO Meeting Minutes - June 2025

BLE PTO General Meeting
Monday, June 9, 2025
5:00pm - 6:20pm
Library

Attendees:
Gretchen Archuleta, President, parent
Linda O’Shaughnessy, Interim Principal
Lisa Carrell, parent
Angela Burke, BLE Classroom Teacher

Agenda Items
BLE Events:
Family BBQ - Debrief
Garden Day - Debrief
Ice Cream Social - During first PTO meeting in September
Java Jitters - Discuss potential for new event
PTO Recruitment
Other Business

Family BBQ - Debrief
Mrs. O’Shaughnessy doesn’t have the numbers on this yet.
Do we need to consider having the PTO be more involved in the future or getting volunteers?

Garden Day - Debrief
We cleaned out the PTO shed.

Ice Cream Social Open House - 9/9
We’d like to bring this back. In the past, PTO would dress up as ice cream people and serve ice cream. Would be great for parents and students to be able to meet the new principal.
Potentially could make this a PTO Recruitment event and hold this during the first PTO meeting.
Consider having a box for people to submit ideas to.
We need volunteers to scoop ice cream. Would love to have teachers help with this and dress up in ice cream costumes.
Can we get any ice cream donations - from Sweetlees? Humble Cow? Baskin Robins?
Simple topping options.
Plan to have sign-ups for all the PTO roles during this event.
ACTION: All teachers are at BLE on August 27th. Needs to be brought up to teachers that we need volunteers on this day. We should tell Kyle about this. Mrs. Burke made a note about this too.

Java Jitters (New Event to Bring in Kindergarten Parents) - 9/8
This is an idea for kindergarten parents who can meet other kinder parents after drop off on the first day (Monday for kindergarteners) and have a cup of coffee and a donut. Goal: Meet other parents, intro to the PTO.
ACTION: Check with the new principal to make sure he likes this idea.
ACTION: Have kinder teachers hand out a flyer for this at strong start conferences.
ACTION: Lisa to coordinate the event.

PTO Recruitment
We could do a room parent for each classroom who serves as the liaison between the PTO and classrooms.
ACTION: Put something out at the strong start conference. Consider giving something out to room parents - maybe a free yearbook?
Gretchen put together a list of roles.
Would we like to have grade levels be in charge of events? Could be an idea if we don’t get enough parents to help.
Could be helpful to have a digital directory. Have them fill out a google form.
ACTION: Have a QR code to scan that’s given out at strong start for people to signup for the directory.
ACTION: Planning to share info about PTO and an invite to the first PTO meeting during the Strong Start Conferences.
ACTION: Make a flyer to include Info about ice cream social, Digital directory sign-up, Room Parents
ACTION: Separate flyer to Java Jitters.

PTO Annual Actions
Gretchen elected president.
Chelsi elected vice-president.
Lisa elected Secretary / Treasurer.
ACTION: Gretchen and Lisa to meet over the summer to change banks and set the budget.

Other Business / Reports
Request from Mrs. Burke for a steamroller for life skills. PTO approved expense and planning to include this in the fundraising goal for fun run in the fall.
ACTION: Mrs. Burke to work with life skills about the timing of this order.
Tumwater Hill has a cool resource with lots of FAQs for teachers. We should have something like this and add in some PTO questions.
May need to consider stipends for a few other groups- preschool, etc.
Fluency Flight through iready might be able to replace Reflex (addition and subtraction). Might still need the fraction program.
ACTION: Mrs. Burke to talk to teachers about their opinion about making this change.
Last year paid $3500 for science program. Did a different show instead this year and it cost list. Could consider doing the science program every other year.
ACTION: Mrs. Burke to talk to teachers about rotating things.
We need to buy new flags.
ACTION: Gretchen to contact Lori W to get new flags.