Flynn PTO Update 5/4/14

Hey There Flynn Families - Looks like mud season/spring is here to stay.  Enjoy the longer days and milder temps.  This is the last week of chess club for the school year.  HUGE thanks to Jon Kuypers and Shanta Eastman for leading this up and introducing a whole new crop of kids to the fun of chess.   Happy gaming!

Minutes from the PTO meeting last week can be found at the end of this post.

HUGE excitement at Flynn this week with the purchase of a Popcorn Maker by the 3rd grade parents.  Staff have already put it to use with a Firefly celebration on Friday.  For all the room parent/ parent organizers at Flynn, this popcorn maker is for the whole school to use - keep it in mind for your next event!

Mark your calendar for Spring Fest! It will be held at the Flynn School playground on May 18 from 1:00 to 4:00. There will be a fun run, bouncy castle, games, face painting, magic show, book swap, bake sale, silent auction, and much more!  Now is a great time to go through your bookshelves to see if you have any books to bring to the swap.  Leftover books will be donated to the summer Bookmobile and to students that might need a couple new books at home for summer reading.

If you have any items or services to donate to the silent auction or if you'd like to volunteer, please contact Tammy Kuypers at kuypers5@yahoo.com.  


Our Annual Staff Appreciation Luncheon is coming up on May 22nd.  A letter went home before break (and a few after...) asking for donations of Food, money or time to help make this event special for our wonderful staff.  We want teachers to know that despite all the hullabaloo concerning the budget and property taxes, we love and appreciate the part they play in our childrens' lives.  All the proposed cuts and flux in the district is highly stressful and we are hoping to give them a brief respite.  

We have some parents that have already signed up for recess duty, some foods pledged and some cash donations to help us buy food for the event. - ThankYou!   If you have not yet contributed, here is how you can help:  (email Kate Belluche at akbelluche@aol.com to pledge time or food donation - I will remind you when the event gets close!)

Recess Duty - If there is enough coverage, teachers can have a longer lunch period to enjoy their meal and visit with their colleagues - coverage will be by pairs of grades - K/1, 2/3, 4/5 - my hope is that each grade will get enough parent volunteers to grant the longer lunch - you are also welcome to spend more than one recess period on the playground (highlighted spaces below need volunteers!!!)

Shift 1      11:15-12:10 *11:35 out	Shift 2    11:55-12:50 *12:15 out	Shift 3      12:15-1:05 * 12:45 out
1.Tracy Truzansky	1.Deb Maher	1. Krista Poquette
2.Heather Simmons	2.Heather Simmons	2.Tammy Kuypers
3.Sarah DeShaw	3.Sarah DeShaw	3.Heather Simmons
4.	4.	4.
5.	5.	5.
6.	6.	6.
7.	7.	7.
8.	8.	8.

Food:- Still Looking for:
2 fruit salads/cut fruit
1 grain salad
1 veggie platter
1 Dessert
4 main dish foods (popular choices in the past have been things like fried rice, peanut noodles, egg rolls, quiche, pasta salad, potato salad)

Donation - Don't have the time and would like to make a contribution?  We are happy to take a small donation that can be used to purchase food for the event.  (send in to office in an envelope marked Staff Appreciation Luncheon)


Extra/Outgrown BIKE???  Looking for a 24 inch bike for a Flynn student (boy)  If you have one to donate please talk to Karen Carr
 ( kcarr@bsdvt.org)


Burlington School Budget Update

More comprehensive information coming out in a day or two - I will be sure to get this info out so you can work on making sense of how a defeated budget might affect District spending, your property taxes and increased cuts to our schools.  Volunteers are also working on scheduling a series of meeting in the NNE to help parents and community members understand what is at stake.  Again, I'll pass along any info.

Points of Interest concerning the upcoming Budget Vote on June 3^rd: 

• ·         $67.4 million budget
• ·        Voters struck down a $66.9 million version on Town Meeting Day.
• ·        Vermont House of Representatives reduced the anticipated state property tax rate — which is driven by school spending statewide — from seven cents to four cents. That rate isn’t set in stone — the Senate decided yet — but using the new figure, board members estimate that the new budget will increase property taxes by 6.5 percent, not  9.9 percent, as the original budget proposed.
• ·        If the $67.4 million budget fails to pass, the default budget, based on last year’s spending, kicks in. The price tag on that one is $66.7 million, and it comes with a 4.7 percent tax increase.  (additional cuts of $900,000 ) 
• ·        The new budget includes a net total of $1.2 million in cuts.
• ·        The cuts include 20 para-educator positions ($500,000), three Spanish teachers elementary- and middle-school level ($240,000) and 3.6 Burlington high school teachers ($300,000). Eliminates $120,000 subsidies for students’ bus fare, $150,000 in professional development programs and $100,000 in professional services. $220,000 by making a 1.5 percent cut across seven different areas of the budget.
• ·        Elimination of police officers in the schools
• ·        Default budget raises the taxes on a $200,000 home by $142.   This proposed budget raises by $186.
• ·        Burlington Spending per pupil – Below statewide average, Below all other Chit county towns but Winooski, Milton and Colchester
• ·        Burlington Tax rates -Below statewide average, Below all other Chitt county towns but Winooski, Milton and Colchester
• ·        Teacher Salaries -Currently lower than all Chittenden County but Winooski and Milton
• ·        80% of our kids go to college,National average  - 61%
•    Tax Difference  (property of $200,000) between the proposed budget and the default budget is an increase of $42.  

 Also Related:  A Conversation On School Budgets Facilitated by Daniel Baron - May 12, 2014 at Burlington College - For more information visit the site  http://schoolbudget.info

Also:  Burlington Friends of Education (BFOE)  https://www.facebook.com/burlingtonfriendsofeducation

Attention 5th Grade Parents - We want to make sure YOUR child is represented in the slideshow during the 5th grade Bridging Ceremony .

IF YOUR CHILD WAS NOT AT FLYNN IN KINDERGARTEN,  I 
would love a picture from about that time frame. I am looking for 
pictures of field trips, special events in the classroom or any events 
where there were lots of JJ Flynn kids. Please email them to me at  
orndorff3b@burlingtontelecom.net BEFORE May 16th. Thanks So Much,
 Sarah Orndorff

Vicki’s Golden Nugget of Parenting Advice (yes, it is Vicki Hoefle again...)

http://www.kidsinthehouse.com/video/golden-nugget-parenting-advice-21 (short video)

Imagine that your child comes home at 25-years-old with her best friend. Everyone is sitting at the table and your child’s best friend ask your child to describe you in one word.

What would your child say? What word would she use?
What do you as a parent want that word to be?
Are you the person you want your child to describe?
How are you demonstrating this value every day?
What actions do you take in relationship with your child that support who you want to be?

The golden nugget of parenting advice? Decide. Decide who you want to be and take the time and make a plan to be that person and practice. Run every decision through this value and practice every day. 

Save the date...

May 6 - chess club - 7:30am in the cafeteria - Last one of the schoolyear!!
May 8- Flynn Chorus Concert - Starts at 6:30 at Hunt Middle School
May 9 - Kindergarten Orientation
May 14, 21 - Kindergarten tours and practice lunch for incoming families
May 18 - Springfest at Flynn - 1pm
May 20 - 5th graders visit Hunt, Parents visit Hunt  at 7pm for an Evening orientation
May 22 - Staff Appreciation Luncheon
May 26 - No school - Memorial Day
June 3- Vote on School Budget (or call city hall today for absentee ballot)
June 9 - 5th Grade Bridging Ceremony - 6pm

June 11 - Last Day of School (note date change due to last snow day...)

PTO MINUTES

Flynn School PTO

Learning Center

May 1,  2014

Free Dinner and Childcare Provided

Meeting Started at: 6:37 pm

6:45 WELCOME and Introductions – Jessica Hook, President

Principal’s Corner- Graham Clark (10 min)

• Claire Noble had a literacy breakfast- a big success
• Popcorn maker has been purchased by 3rd grade and PTO
• Opened up to questions about budget
• 3 less paras
• 2 Sp Ed positions will be hired
• 3 other positions that are budget related
• Spanish will be removed from K-6 program
• A .5 special STEM teacher will be added to 1-5
• Cameras- not completed.  next week 5 additional (it will then be 8 total) will be mounted to the roof       

Treasurer’s Report- Betsy Ward (5 min)  (Jon Dorwart reported)

• see attached report          

Fundraising- Tammy Kuypers (10 min)  

• Anticipating almost $1000 from Ambient
• SpringFest coming May 18 1-4pm- We need volunteers! Please contact Tammy Kuypers
• Games will be added this year- all free as a community event
• Bookswap will return
• Questions came up about the 2nd grade field trip that was cancelled- more information is needed

             

Enrichment- Kim Hunt (10 min)        

• Chess Club
• Consistently around 20-25 students
• Rejos won the tournament
• Next week is the last chess club meeting   
• Play
• A play has been chosen- Marvelous Land of Oz (sequel to Wiz)    
• Dates for play is still being discussed- some conflicts exist with scheduling with Hunt

             

Flynn Family Nights - Heather Simmons (5 minutes)

• Completed

Flynn Family Partnership- Shanta Eastman (5 min)  (reported by Sarah DeShaw)

• Survey about classroom events was passed out     

Room Parents- Lisa Tulkop (5 min)   

• 3rd grade bought a popcorn machine- can be used for the firefly parties
• K did breakfast for teachers last week
• PTO is May- a letter is coming home- volunteers needed for playground duty and food donations

Odds and Ends

• Karen is looking for volunteers to wash ski pants- several people volunteered   
• Calendar magnets- Kate gave info to Jessica- should be completed by end of school year                    

             

OPEN FORUM (10 min)

Kindergarten Tours – May 14th and 21st  10:15-11:15 (Heather, Tammy and Christine?)

7:30 Constance Archer - LegalShield and Identity Theft - Child ID Theft