Parent Group Meeting Notes
October 8, 2019
Sign-in sheet was passed around. Introductions were waived.
Principal’s Report:
John Nader:
The bench for the memorial for former principal Glenn Helver has been ordered and delivery is expected October 28. They received the mock-up and it looks good. A dedication ceremony has been set for November 25th and John requested that one representative from the Parent Group be there.
The Special Education Parent Advisory Expo is set for October 19. The theme is safety. There will be a parent from the school, a Clinton Township fireman, making a presentation as well as presentations on the SMART Bus, Sex Health, and children with special health concern needs.
Joe Delegato will be retiring at the end of December. They are in the process of finding someone to replace him. In the interim, Nick will be helping out.
John wanted to thank Lauren Steiner and Tony Wozniki for attending the meeting. They both came back after a full day of work to support and participate in the meeting.
Jackie Galvan, the LPG Secretary, was not able to attend the meeting. Her son Jackson has a swimming class and her staff can no longer work in the evenings. If Jackie is unable to find a replacement, a volunteer will be needed to take meeting notes. This may be addressed at the next meeting.
Nick DeVault:
Picture day is scheduled for October 16th. The make-up day will be sometime in November – not yet determined.
October 10th is Apple Crunch Day. Westview Orchards donated all the apples for this event with more than 300 extra apples in the garage. Every center-based school in the MISD will participate in this 7th Annual Michigan’s Apple Crunch. At 1:00 p.m. every student and staff in the MISD will bite into a fresh apple from a Macomb County orchard.
Lauren Steiner:
Student Council election prep has begun. Students that run will make a speech and promote their campaign with posters. First year students are not allowed to run. Permission slips for students to participate are due October 17th. There will be a video presentation of all the candidates shown to the students at the October 31st assembly. November 6th is Election Day and everyone is encouraged to vote. Photos of the candidates are on the ballots and students simply circle the candidate they wish to vote for. This election process helps teach the students about the voting process and accountability and responsibilities associated with running for office.
Boo Grams are currently on sale. Funds received for Student Council activities are put in the Student Council fund and voted on later as to where the money will be used. They try to use the funds in ways to better the school.
Treasurer’s Report:
Being that this month’s meeting was held early in the month, no new statement had been received. There was a deposit made after the last meeting and several checks written, but no new amount was available.
Old Business:
Halloween Dance/Lutz & Beyond Seminar: Lisa Dukicin reported that everything was going well for the planning of the dance. So far there were 20 responses for volunteers and that along with high school volunteers which Tony Wozniki was requesting and Teacher/Staff support, there should be enough support. Sheri Page would be contacting all the volunteers to request donations for apple cider, water, and donut holes as well as scheduling them to work at the dance. Verellen Orchards has been secured to donate all the apples for the dance and Lisa will be making the caramel sauce. Julie offered to pickup the apples and bring to dance. Student responses for the dance has been very good – a record according to Nick. So far there are 49 students registered with several weeks to go before the deadline.
The Lutz & Beyond Seminar flyers went out and the response has been excellent. So far there are 41 parents signed up. The meeting will be held in the quad which can comfortably hold 50 people, so if the responses go beyond that, John said they will need to get creative. All the agencies have been booked and are set except for Community Mental Health. Joe Delagato and Nick DeVault will cover that portion of the presentation.
Parent/Teacher Conferences and Volunteer Sponsored Lunch: Conferences have been set for November 14th. John anticipates approximately 30 teachers and staff will be in the building for conferences. Julie will be coordinating the food and service for the lunch/dinner the Parent Group sponsors. There are 19 parents signed up to support this event.
Spirit Wear: Ann Martin reports that she isn’t as far along as she had hoped. She has selected nine items to offer and will have samples available for parents to look at for Conferences, not the Halloween Dance. Several new items are being considered, one being a letterman jacket for around $40. Ann is working with Dawn to see if they can get an “L” for the front of the jacket and having a custom paw print made for the back. Ann will offer the PAW’s shirt and polo shirts again, as requested. The remaining items will be different than previous sales. John indicated that some parents have been inquiring about apparel and has told them a flyer will be coming out soon. Ann confirmed that a Christmas delivery is still possible.
Achatz Pie: Norma was not able to make the meeting, but Sandy Young reported for her. Orders are due by October 16. Delivery is scheduled for October 30th between 4 and 5 pm. Pie cans be picked up between 5 and 6:30. This later time has made it possible for more people to participate because of work schedules. There was some concern as to what happens if a pie is not able to picked up during the pickup time and John indicated that as long as there weren’t too many, they would be able to find a place for them. He will include a reminder in this week’s announcements about the fundraiser and deadline for orders.
Retail Replacements: Last month John reported that we had lost two retailers that supported our Retail Support Class – Lord & Taylor and Salvation Army. Joe Delegato and Nick DeVault have been working to find replacements and have secured Macy’s. This new venue is working well. They include the students in staff meetings, although the students are not allowed to talk, but they are able to attend. At Home and Marshall’s have also been secured and should be starting soon.
Many other retailers show great interest at the store level but moving up through the upper management levels is a slow process. Other stores that are currently working on authorization are Hobby Lobby, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Costco. Katie Foukes said that Dick’s Sporting Goods was very interested and corporate was supposed to be getting back with her shortly as well as Costco.
Other Business: Barb Parker will not be able to attend the LPG meetings for the next few months, as Megan has Special Olympic commitments. She is however working on the Alumni list. Flyers were printed off and she has been delivering them to various organizations to build up the database of Alumni. Julie said she would touch base with her before the next meeting for an update.
New Business:
Lottery Tree: Tony Wozniki will be working on this fundraiser. $100 of scratch off tickets will be purchased by John and beginning at the Halloween Dance, raffle tickets will be on sale. The official flyer will be sent home on October 28th. The drawing will be held the night of Teacher Conferences, November 14th. Tickets will be sold for $1 with discounts available as follows: 1 for $1, 6 for $5, and 15 for $10. In the past this fundraiser has brought in between $400 and $500.
Ornaments/Holiday Luncheon: Julie had photos of four different ornaments (Santa Hat, Stocking, Cardinal, and Sloth) that she passed around requesting the meeting attendees to vote on which one they liked best. She selected ornaments that were different than all previous year. The Sloth won. She will order ornaments for 275 students plus 75 teachers and staff. Personalization will be done during Teacher Conferences. Before Julie leaves at the end of the year, she will have photographs available of all the ornaments for the past 8 years so the incoming group won’t repeat ornaments.
This year the Parent Group is starting a new tradition of having a special “Completer’s” ornament. To commemorate their completion in 2020, an ornament with a graduation cap, star and book will be personalized with “2020 Lutz Completer” and given to the completers. This will be in addition to the 2019 ornament, be put in a separate bag, and given to their teachers to distribute.
The Holiday Luncheon will be held the last day of school in December on the 19th. The LPG will meet around 9 a.m. in the Wildcat Room to assemble the goodie bags (including an ornament and candy cane). Bags are ready so plates, napkins, and the goodie bags can be divided for the 18 classes as well as office and other staff. The Young’s have volunteered to donate all the water for the luncheon. They will purchase 20 cases of water and bring to the December meeting. Each class will receive a case of water and the two remaining cases will be divided between the remaining staff and the volunteers.
The next meeting is Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lutz cafeteria.
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