LPG

December 11, 2018

Meeting Minutes

Principal’s/Assistant Principal’s Report

John Nader reported the following:

1. Student Council Week of Giving Stocking Stuffers – Students, staff, and parents stuffed more than 120 stockings for the Department of Human Services. John commented how nice it was to see the students working alongside the parents and staff. There were a ton of donations and all were used to stuff the stockings which will be delivered to the Department of Human Services to be given away before Christmas.
2. Last Thursday, December 6th the Ring Ceremony for completers was held in the gym. Thirty young adults received rings that were bought by the MISD School Board. The kids were thrilled with their new rings which have both their first and last names engraved in them.
3. The post that was made by Lisa on the LPG website and Facebook Page to thank all those involved with stuffing the stockings and all the families that made donations was sent to the staff and included in the weekly announcements.
4. This week the Lutz staff will be presenting food cards to needy families. Through 50/50 raffles, the staff helps to support this effort. Tony takes care of making sure the families receive the cards.
5. The only thing John would say about the Student/Staff Hockey game was: No one was hurt! According to Nick, the teachers won.

While Ilene was pulling the bank account information, Ann asked why the latest class photos were not hung in the lobby. John explained that this was because they were unable to locate a source to expand or update the current photo cascade. They have been looking to no avail. The past three years are in the office and conference rooms.

Current Account Balance

Ilene reported:

Account Balance: $13,282.60 (does not include Spirit Wear)

Pay outs: $421.63 (includes ornaments and odds and ends for upcoming Holiday Luncheon, $80 in gift cards for outgoing LPG President and VP, and $243 for Halloween Pizza)

Deposits: $658 for Lottery Tree

There was some discussion as to the amount of checks that needed endorsing and the possibility of purchasing a stamp rather than writing the endorsement on each check. Ilene reported she had discussed purchasing one with Julie; they are approximately $20.

Spirit Wear Recap

Ann reported:

$2790 in Spirit Wear (received 38 checks; 60 orders – 8 staff, 3 bus drivers, and the rest were students; a total of 116 items ordered) was sold. Delivery is scheduled for 12/18. Joe is supposed to get a van and a student to pickup the order when it is ready anytime between Thursday 12/13 and Tuesday 12/18 morning. Ilene volunteered to help Ann sort/distribute the Spirit Wear on Tuesday 12/18, as did Lisa. Volunteer shirts were low priority on the order and may not be delivered along with the other items.

Ann commented that perhaps getting the samples earlier next year (for the Halloween dance) might allow us to offer better colors, as a few of the items chosen had to be changed when orders were placed because the colors were no longer available. Others contended that having this as a “Christmas” delivery was a good selling point. Everyone was happy with the product selection.

Holiday Luncheon/Holiday Activity Day

Lisa reported the progress for the Holiday Luncheon being held on December 20, 2018.

• 20 cases of water were donated by Jim and Sandra Young and delivered at the meeting.
• 3 Bags of Chinet plates (165 per bag) were donated by Kellie Miller’s parents and are under the desk in the office.
• Napkins have been purchased by Julie and will be brought the day of the luncheon.
• Everything for the goody bags (bags, ornaments, and candy canes) are all set and ready to be assembled.

Lisa called Stoney’s Pizza and spoke with Steve regarding the pizza. It will be $20 per tray of pizza which is 24 pieces split between two boxes of 12. Lisa explained that only pepperoni pizza would be supplied and asked if Nick could have a note sent home by the teachers and/or have John include a message in the upcoming weekly announcements informing parents that the Parent Group would be providing water and pepperoni pizza for lunch and if their student preferred to bring a lunch, they should send one in with their student.

An email will be sent out to all the volunteers informing them of the 9:00 meeting time in the WildCat room to assemble goody bags as well as requesting a volunteer to pick up the pizza at 10:30 so it can be served to the students between 11:00 and 11:30. Ilene stated that if no parent volunteered, she was willing to do it with Nick’s help. If all else fails, we would request delivery and give the delivery person a $20 tip.

Parent/Teacher Conference Meal Recap

Nick declared that all the teachers/staff were thrilled with the food and the wonderful spread put out by the Parent Group. Lisa credited Julie for the phenomenal job she did along with all the great parents who donated food and time, especially Gloria for her help in cleaning up when everything was said and done. All the parents that signed up to bring food did so. There was a lot of food leftover, so notes were made on how to tweak it for the following year. Nick had no complaints with the leftovers sent home with him.

Snowball Dance Update, January 17, 2019

Ilene explained that she was working with Norma on this dance. Norma was the co-chair in the hopes that next year she will take over the dance and select another co-chair to work with, when Ilene is no longer in the parent group because her daughter is a completer. In the past this dance has been smaller than both the Halloween and Hawaiian and only small snacks were provided. At one of the first meetings of the year, many of the parents voted to have pizza served at all the dances. Ilene requested we revisit this. It was discussed and voted on and decided that pizza would not be served.

The snacks Ilene is leaning towards are powdered sugar donut holes, rice crispy treats, and popcorn. Bread sticks were suggested, but more information would be needed to decide if it was a viable option (cost, availability, convenience, etc.). Ilene will discuss more with Norma and provide an update at the next meeting.

2019 Topics for Discussion

Ann brought up the Lou Laroo Fundraising option that was suggested by Bob and Mary Johnson. She believes this would be an easy fundraiser to do but would need to get all the specifics. Nick suggested we discuss this at a future meeting once a decision is reached as far as what type of group the LPG wanted to be.

Fundraising options opened the discussion on:

• The possibility of having a gazebo built behind the school
• An anonymous parent that has offered to possibly set the LPG up as a 501(c3) fundraising group
• Setting a purpose/goal for fundraising efforts

Nick commented that there were many options including setting a limit of $20,000 bank balance as the goal then stopping or maintaining that balance until something could be decided or setting up a long-term goal.

Sandra and Jim thought possibly there were companies that would volunteer their time and/or services to build a gazebo, or possibly having Chippewa High School students build it as they complete various projects through school programs. Nick mentioned that the MISD would need to approve any type of structure and they have specific requirements/guidelines for additions to school property. Also, anything over $23,000 (guesstimate) would need to be bid-out. Anything below that amount did not have to be but would still need to follow the guidelines set forth by the MISD.

Ann suggested the possibility of having benches in the front of the school for those students that tire easily, or Friendship Benches might be another option.

Next Meeting January 8 @ 6:30 PM. We will have a special visitor as our Assistant Superintendent (Justin Michalak) will attend to discuss “What is New in Special Education”.