September 2007

Volume 1, I ssue 1

Hill Elementary School PTO Newsletter

Greetings! We hope you all had a wonderful summer and are as excited as we are to begin the new school year at Hill. This is our first year as PTO presidents and we are greatly looking forward to making this year a success. One of our major goals is to increase awareness of and participation in PTO events. Our first step to accomplishing this is to do away with the membership dues previously required to join the PTO. That means that just by being an involved parent or teacher, you are already a full member of the Hill School PTO! Congratulations!

What you decide to do with that is now up to you. We have lots of ideas for the year but they will be so much better with your suggestions and participation. After all, we all have the same goals in mind – to create the best educational environment possible for our children. And with a community like Hill – full of dedicated parents and the finest teachers – we’re off to a great start! So, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions or concerns please, PLEASE give us a call or an email. We need to know what you think and how we can continue to

make Hill School the very BEST!

OH NO! Not another fundraiser!

We’ve all said it and there’s no

denying it: the PTO sponsors a lot

of fundraisers. Some are big

money makers like the upcoming

Entertainment Book sale and Sally

Foster fundraiser and some are

considered more of a ‘service’

such as the Holiday Shoppe or

Poinsettia sale. And some are a

little of both like Market Day or

Arby’s night. We also offer Scrip,

Box Tops and Campbell’s Soup

labels that do not require any

extra money on your part – just a

little extra work. So that feeling

you might have every week of “oh

no, another fundraiser” might not

be just your imagination. Do we

expect you to participate in every

one of those? Absolutely not!

But frankly, we need money to

support our kids and our

programs. Therefore, we try to

offer a little bit of everything so

you are able to pick and choose

what makes sense for your

family. And, if none of the above

interests you, a onetime

monetary donation is more than

welcome. Remember to ask for a

receipt. Your donation is tax

deductible!

Stacey Bettelon

Chr ist ine Garrett

PTO Co-Presidents

September

Events

Market Day pickup Wednesday 9/12

Entertainment Book sale begins Friday 9/14

First PTO meeting Tuesday 9/18

PTO Budget meeting

Monday 9/24

Fundraising is

an opportunity.

….Not an

obligation.

From your PTO co-presidents, Stacey Bettelon boysrus@wideopenwest.com 248-619-9117

Christine Garrett chrisgarrett@comcast.net 248-619-0670

Of course we need funds to support

all of the great programs we help

sponsor. But equally important is

your time. So regardless of your

level of financial participation, we’d

love to have you help in other ways.

No level of participation is too much

or too small. From helping at

classroom parties to leading a Jr.

Great Books group, chairing a board

Where does the money go?

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position or assisting in the clinic,

sharing ideas at PTO meetings or

driving your child to the talent show,

all of these activities show our kids

they are important and help our Hill

community thrive. Opportunities

abound! Please take a look at the

volunteer signup sheet in this folder

and see what interests you!

Good question! The answer is really up to you. Please join us at our PTO Budget meeting (Monday, Sept 24 in the LGI room) to help decide how

best to allocate this year’s PTO funds. Typical annual expenses include:

Student monthly magazine subscriptions i.e. Time For Kids

School assemblies – outside groups are paid for entirely by PTO funds – and are so beneficial!

$150 per teacher for classroom enrichment to help relieve personal contributions our teachers make to their classes. Did you know some teachers spend hundreds of dollars of their own money every year on our kids?

5th grade camp subsidy

Junior Great Books

Authors in Autumn

Family Fun activities

many more…….

A bit more on opportunities………

Last year’s major purchases included:

Learning Software

3rd & 4th grade biography books

DVDs

Physical Ed Equipment

More…..

View last year’s Treasurer’s Report on the website or PTO bulletin board for exact figures

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Clinic: Responsible for recruiting and

training volunteers to supervise the clinic

during lunch hours. Makes monthly calls or a

calendar to remind all volunteers the schedule

for the following month. Recruits additional

volunteers throughout the year as needed.

Advises office staff of needed clinic supplies.

Family Picnic: Organizes and schedules the

end of the year picnic. Uses PTO funds to buy

food and supplies. Schedules activities,

creates and distributes flyers to publicize and

coordinates volunteers. Works with Treasurer

for deposits and payments.

Fifth Grade Celebration: End of the year

celebration for outgoing 5th graders. Sets up

meetings with 5th grade parents, accepts

volunteers for sub-committee chair positions

and coordinates planned activities with

parents/teachers/staff.

Open PTO Board Positions

Historian: Keeps permanent record book

containing items of PTO history and publicity.

Holiday Shoppe: Annual after-school

holiday shopping experience for Hill students

in December. Chair determines dates,

reserves rooms, publicizes, chooses products

for sale, sets up store and coordinates

volunteers. Re-stocks merchandise for 2nd

day’s sale. Additional opportunity for bake

sale in the waiting area. Works with Treasurer

for deposits and payments.

About our meetings: At the meetings we plan our fundraisers and decide the best ways to spend our income. We also get inside information from our teachers and principal on school and district happenings and occasionally have outside speakers present district or community information. Our meetings are casual, fun, informative and welcome to everyone. Not just board members. Not just ‘moms’.

We meet once a month in the LGI room (former

media center) at Hill. We try to keep the meetings to

about one hour but occasionally we’re having so

much fun they go over. No problem if you need to

leave early. Meetings are not mandatory but they are

the only way to VOTE. If you are unable to attend but

have information you would like disseminated at a

meeting, please send Stacey and Christine an email

with pertinent information a couple of days before

the meeting.

About information sharing -- IMPORTANT: As a PTO member, any correspondence you send to the school or individual classrooms on behalf of the PTO (fundraising, class parties, events, etc.) must

PTO procedures and answers to frequently asked questions

include a date AND be approved by the Hill school office. You may either email a copy to Mrs. Childress or provide her with a paper copy for approval BEFORE printing off 400 copies. After it has been approved, please make sure she has a paper copy of the distributed material. She keeps a copy of all correspondence in order to answer questions from parents or teachers in relation to PTO events.

About the copier: The Hill copier may be used to copy PTO related material. Please see Mrs. Childress for the copy code.

About deposits and reimbursements: ALL deposits and reimbursement requests must be accompanied by a completed deposit or reimbursement form. No exceptions. Forms can be found in the PTO file cabinet in the copy room across from the office or on the PTO website. About the school sign: To have your event displayed on the school sign, please fill out an Outdoor Sign Request available in the PTO file cabinet or on the website.

More questions? See Stacey or Christine!

Talk to Stacey Bettelon for more information or to

volunteer for one of these positions. Don’t forget! All

positions can be co-chaired with a friend!

Did you know?

By saving Box Tops for Education labels

we get cash? Ten cents for every Box Top

submitted. That was $854 last year!

WOW! Those little Box Tops can sure add

up to a lot.

By saving Campbell's Soup labels (UPCs)

we earn free educational merchandise for

our school from the Campbell family of

brands. Please remember – we now need

the UPC codes, not the front label.

We’re on the Web!

http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us Then click on PTO.

Take a look at the website for

information like meeting minutes, treasurer’s reports, calendar of

events and PTO forms.

Do you want information about your event or position included on

the website? Do you want your email address added to your name

on the board members list?

Just email me the info and I will make sure it gets added!

Christine Garrett

Website Chair

chrisgarrett@comcast.net

FALL FUNDRAISERS

Get ready to SHOP and support Hill with 50% of your purchase!

We have chosen Sally Foster giftwrap and gift products as our Fall Fundraiser this year. The products this year are AMAZING and they have everything you need to do your holiday or special occasion shopping.

Our sale will run from October 15th-November 1st with Delivery on November 29th.

If anyone is interested in helping with the Fall Fundraiser please contact Denise Benesch @ 248-457-0695.

Entertainment Book Sale: They're back! Once again PTO will be selling Entertainment Books for the low, low price of $20. They are coupon books for discounts at restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, movie theaters, vacation spots and more. It can pay for itself in just one day! Sale starts 9/14.

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Do you think you have some pictures that might be

great for the yearbook? We would love to have

pictures - anything taken by (about) January 15,

2008. Get them to me on CD or give me prints (you

might not get these back), or drop them off in the

office. Description of what (field trip, party), who

(names, class, grade) and when would be very helpful.

I am also looking for a parent to help with the fifth

grade collage. Anyone who wants to help or has

questions – Email Padma Kuppa at

padma.kuppa@gmail.com.

Stayed tuned for information on

Arby’s night!

Earn money for the PTO by eating with

fellow students and staff at Arby’s one

night a month. What could be better

than spending time with your friends AND

not cooking?

Look for dates and more information soon!

October 22-26

I'd like volunteers who are willing to brainstorm some new ways to tell our kids we care about the choices they make.

Thank you, Kathy Liskey – Safe Homes Chair

Attention

Photographers!

Save the dates! PTO meetings are the 2nd Monday of each month at 7pm with the EXCEPTION of the September meeting and the Budget meeting:

September 18 (Tuesday) September 24 –(Monday) budget meeting October 8 November 12 December 10 January 14 February 11 March 10 April 14 May 12 June 9

April 9 – Blood Drive

Internet order

deadline THURS Noon

Pickup Dates WED

2:30-3:30

9/6 9/12

10/4 10/10

11/1 11/7

12/6 12/12

1/17 1/23

2/7 2/13

3/13 3/19

4/17 4/23

5/15 5/21

6/5 6/11

See Beth Mayne or Jennifer Wooley – your Market Day co-chairs - for more

information

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OFFICERS: PRESIDENT(S): Christine Garrett/Stacey

Bettelon VICE-PRESIDENT(S): Peggy Rusgo/Carol

Haggarty RECORDING SECRETARY: Denise Benesch CORRESPONDING SECRETARY: Cheri

McQueen TREASURER(S): Diana Petrinko/Linda

Gaines

CHAIRPERSONS: ART SMARTS: Dawn Zandi BLOOD DRIVE/CPR: Karen Purrenhage/Coleen Giniel CADRE: Jim Roll *CLINIC: ~~~ OPEN ~~~ *FAMILY PICNIC: ~~~ OPEN ~~~ *FIFTH GRADE CELEBRATION: ~~~ OPEN ~~~ HILL SPIRIT STORE: Peggy Rusgo *HISTORIAN: ~~~ OPEN ~~~ *HOLIDAY SHOPPE: ~~~ OPEN ~~~ HOSPITALITY: Peggy Rusgo/Carol Haggarty JR. GREAT BOOKS: Carole Birney/Christine Garrett MEMBERSHIP/NOMINATION: Stacey Bettelon ROOM PARENT: Jodi Bezenah/Karen

Purrenhage/Pat Grandy SAFE HOMES: Kathy Liskey SCHOOL BOARD LIAISON: Jagdish Karira SCHOOL PICTURES: Krista Adamo SCHOOL SIGN: Kim Leonard STUDENT DIRECTORY: Carole Birney TALENT SHOW: Christine Stanichuk TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK: AnneMarie

DeVito/Danielle Buser WEBSITE: Christine Garrett YEARBOOK: Padma Kuppa

WAYS AND MEANS: BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION: Brenda Klein CAMPBELLS SOUP LABELS: Val

Doozan/Suzanne Bohr ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS: Paulette

Mattia/Linda Gaines/Chrissy Gulan FALL FUNDRAISER: Denise Benesch LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA KITS: Anna Loree MARKET DAY: Beth Mayne/Jennifer Wooley ARBY’S NIGHT: Margaret Harlan/Christine

Stanichuk SCRIP: Jodi Bezenah T-SHIRT/SWEATSHIRT SALE: Renee Zaits

2007 – 2008 PTO Board Members

If you are interested in submitting a cash donation to help fund the 2007-08 Hill Elementary PTO projects, please include this completed portion in a sealed envelope addressed to Stacey Bettelon and Christine Garrett.

Make checks payable to HILL PTO. Thank you for your generosity.

Name_____________________________________________________________________________________

Child’s name_______________________________________Teacher_____________________________

Would you like a receipt? Yes No