December Meeting Notes

Minutes: December 3, 2024 PTO Meeting Date: December 3, 2024
Attended: PTO Meeting Chair: Laurie Kuntz, Megan Gage, Kristin Cooksey, Jill Cox,
Hilda Vazquez, Hien Larson (Principal), Autum Lincoln, Dyan Johnson, Nicole Sachse,
Kate Lord (Treasurer)
Welcome & Intro Vote: Laurie called for a vote to approve the minutes from our
November meeting. Kate moved to approve the minutes and Hilda seconded.
Treasurer’s Report & Budget Review: Kate Lord reviewed the 2024/25 budget review
and outline any changes. Income is almost 19k. We paid for part of bussing and
Grizzly Ranch. It was unexpected because of the weather—projected snow required
charter buses. Kate is working on solving the back tax with the Secretary of State.
Curriculum grants were approved to include sixth grade holiday math and reading
incentives. Fleece jackets for staff from FlyLow for women and men at half off. It will
have embroidery of the mountains and ACMS and ACMS contributed approximately
$2600 which was half. Discuss adding money to Stuco (Student Counsel) expense line
which was a proposal initially. We discussed putting something into the expense line.
Principal’s Update: Hien Larson gave the Principal’s update. She thanked PTO for
transportation to Grizzly Ranch for the 6 th graders. 6 th graders had a good time—the
entire grade went at the same time. We have a rally this Friday and the school needs
tricycles for the rally. It seems like the kids love the rallies and the sprit week activities.
Progress grades go out 12/4 and parents have to view them in Jumprope. Hien says
the emphasis is on work habits and that the school will start doing celebrations each
trimester. She will ask parents to bring food and PTO to provide coffee and tea. It will
be for students who have “3s” in work habits. This Thursday is karaoke and open mic
night at the school. ACMS students and parents are welcome to attend. Winter concert
coming up. The warm coats and toy drive bins are looking empty so Hien encourages
people to donate. Hien thinks the year is going very well.
Grant Requests: Kate Lord reviewed any grant request.
PTO Admin: Our next meeting is scheduled for January 7th. It was discussed whether
we should stick to the schedule and hold it in person at 7:45 am after school drop off
OR hold a Zoom meeting at 6 pm that evening (or pick another date entirely). The
group decided another date would probably work best.
RE: 8 th grade promotional meeting, we discussed when to get going—perhaps February
or March.
Sixth-Grade Outreach: Nicole Sachse had the idea to write a letter targeted
specifically to sixth-grade parents, outlining what PTO does and why/how they can get
involved. We’d roll this out after the holidays–hard copy in backpacks, email/text–with
help from Hien.
Touchdown Tamales: Super Bowl LIX is on Sunday, February 9 . Elvia will check in
with Rosa to see if she’ll cook again. The plan is to run it the same as last year: Last
year, we ordered 12 dozen. Raffle tickets were $10 each, with 10 winners chosen. We
ran a separate (free) raffle for ACMS staff, with two winners chosen. Tentative
Schedule: Blast email on Wed, Jan 29th. Sell tickets through Wed, Feb 5. Choose the
winners on Thurs, Feb 6. Tamales pick up on Fri, Feb 7.
PTO Board & Committee Chairs: President (Laurie K.), Vice President (Brandy C.),
Treasurer (Kate L.), Secretary (Open), Communications (Jill C.), Sponsorships (Brandy
C., Erin V.), Conference Week Lunches (Kate P., Erin V.), Silent Auction (Open), Staff
Appreciation Week (Kristin C.).
Looking Ahead Minimum Day: Wednesday, December 11 Winter Break: December
23–January 3 First Day of School for 2025: Monday, January 6
Adjourn: See you in 2025. Happy holidays, everyone! ✌️❤️