Saint Leo the Great Catholic School

The meeting was called to order by school principal, David DiPippa with an opening prayer. Board members in attendance: David DiPippa, Principal, Mary Beth Crosson, PTO President, Theresa Storey, PTO Vice President, Lynn Williams, PTO Recording Secretary, Jennifer Callahan, PTO Corresponding Secretary, Kim Vu, PTO Treasurer, Suzanne Dowd, PTO Member-at-Large, and Deborah Ball, Faculty Representative.

OLD BUSINESS:

• Mrs. Crosson shared a thank you letter written to the PTO from Mrs. LaBarge’s first grade class for the listening centers recently purchased for the K-3 classes. Mr. DiPippa shared another letter from the presenters of the Flag Assembly thanking the PTO and school administration for the opportunity to present at our school and complimenting the children on their outstanding behavior.
• The October PTO Board meeting minutes were approved. A motion was made by Mr. DiPippa to accept the minutes as posted. The motion was seconded by Deborah Ball.
• The new date for Art to Remember will be on May 5, 2009.

Treasurer’s Report: Kim Vu
The approved budget is posted on the website.

• Innisbrook – While this continues to be one of our biggest annual fundraisers, it has been noted that profits over the past few years have steadily declined. Mrs. Crosson requested a history of proceeds and sales of this fundraiser over the last three years to help the board in our decision whether to continue with Innisbrook or look for another provider in order to renew interest.
• Family Fun Night – Profits are expected to be about $1500.00. This was one of our best family fun nights ever. Thank you to Theresa Storey who chaired this event, and her terrific support team for their efforts. Theresa will not be chairing next year’s event and we will need a new chair. Mrs. Storey and Mrs. Dowd spoke on the outstanding contribution the National Junior Honor Society made in manning the game tables and in set up and clean up. The PTO is very appreciative of their hard work. It was suggested by several board members that the PTO make a contribution to the NJHS to assist in needed funds for Honor Society activities. A motion was made by Mrs. Crosson to contribute $500.00 to the NJHS. This motion was seconded by Mrs. Dowd. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously.
• Mr. Allen has purchased ribbons for field day activities. Cost will be about $266.00. Mrs. Crosson motioned that the PTO pay for these ribbons. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Storey. The motion passed unanimously.
• Ms. Vu stated that she has sent in a request for the $50.00 donation for the annual diocesan science fair.

NEW BUSINESS:

• SCRIP – The PTO welcomed Niamh Lowry who presented options for other companies who offer scrip gift cards. Discussion was held to the possible benefits of offering such options. The PTO will offer multiple gift card options for families on a one-time basis for Christmas sales to see how it will be received. Grocery Scrip will continue to be offered through the Knights of Columbus as well. Mrs. Lowry will chair gift card sales.
• Golf Outing - Daryl Manning / Vicki Toenshoff will chair this event. Mr. DiPippa stated that they are hoping for 120 golfers. A $1000.00 deposit has been sent to reserve the facility and date.
• Diocesan PTO Meeting: The PTO welcomed Silvia Molina Neves who is serving as the Diocesan PTO representative for Saint Leo the Great School. Mrs. Molina Neves updated the board on a recent meeting of the Diocesan PTO. She stated that there is a concerted effort being made to market all Diocesan schools as one entity in order to possible obtain better pricing for many expenses. Efforts are also being made to assist schools in developing more uniform websites, understanding that resources for technology vary greatly throughout the Diocesan schools.
• Fundraising – Suzanne Dowd
  Current fundraiser: Chick-Fil-A at Fair Oaks Mall will continue through Thursday.
  Upcoming: Nov 30 – Dec 3 Five Below in the Fair City Mall. This fundraiser will tie in with the gift giving mass on Friday Dec 5th.

Principal’s Notes:

• Mr. DiPippa spoke on his personal goals to keep school enrollment up. He stated that St. Leo’s is one of the few schools in the diocese whose enrollment increased this past year. He will be holding four mini open houses this year. Friday, November 21st and December 9th are the first two scheduled.
• Development committee – Mr. DiPippa stated that this committee will once again be active. Mrs. Furey will chair this committee. One of the primary goals of the development committee is the Father Vager Endowment Fund, which provides for future needs of the school.
• Terra Nova testing data – Mr. DiPippa and Mrs. Polin have had a chance to review Terra Nova testing data trends. St. Leo’s is in excellent shape test wide and well above Diocesan averages. St. Leo’s is also above Diocesan averages in High school placement exam performance. 75% of our students have tested out of Algebra 1 at the high school level on the Algebra exempt exam. Mr. DiPippa is also hoping to get statistics on how well our students do once they are at PVI HS.
• Cultural Arts – Chinese acrobats will be performing on December 8th. Parents are welcomed to any assembly. The Marine Band will perform for K-3 on December 18th.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00. The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 9th in the faculty lounge. All school parents are welcome to attend. The agenda will be posted on the PTO website approximately one week in advance. Anyone wishing to speak at the meeting should contact Mrs. Crosson prior to the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynn S. Williams
Recording Secretary