Winter Newsletter
Dear Conant Community,
It’s hard to believe, but we’re wrapping up the 2019 portion of the 2019-2020 school year. I know it’s only 40% of the academic year, but with the cold we endured in November and the December snows, it sure feels longer. We’re in the final stretch of the year and look forward to a nice winter break.
But, before we look ahead, let’s take a moment to look back and reflect on the last months of 2019. Be warned, we have covered some ground. I recommend you grab your favorite cup of cheer, sit back and relax as you read through this. Perhaps even read it over several sittings while on winter break.
August:
● The PTO’s Welcoming Committee hosted Kindergarten and New Family orientations!
● The PTO’s Hospitality Committee hosted the teachers welcome lunch
○ Please consider volunteering! This is a nice event to welcome the teachers back and start the new year on the right foot; but it does take volunteers to make it successful.
September:
● Back to School Picnic (should we start calling this a “play date”?) - by all accounts it was a success. It was great to see so many families playing together so early in the year!
● The PTO’s Breakfast With Families team hosted the breakfast festivities as a precursor to the first PTO General Assembly of the Year. We entertained a special guest of honor, Superintendent Peter Light, at that meeting to discuss the recently approved at Town Meeting Gates-Douglas school project.
October:
● The PTO’s School Picture team did a great job organizing school pictures - never an easy task!
● CRAFT FAIR!!!! One of Conant’s largest and most important fund raisers. The Craft Fair team basically ran a small business, yet again, to help raise important funds for the Conant Community. The overall contribution of this event to this year’s finances is $8,672. This amount is slightly lower than in years past, but it did include a significant investment in signage that should pay dividends in the future. Otherwise, the contribution of this event is consistent with prior Craft Fairs. Further, by all accounts, the vendors, were pleased with our efforts in this year’s fair. Keep up the good work!
○ On a side note, we, the Conant Community, are fortunate to have a Craft Fair team leading a fund raising activity (small business) such as this. Normally, elementary school fund raising is dependent 3rd party for-profit event organizers. Such a structure lowers the amount the PTO actually gets to keep. Our Craft Fair is largely funded by the vendors and craft fair attendees. We should all appreciate the hard work that goes into making this a success as well as cherish the opportunity to keep this successful. Please consider volunteering and being a part of such an important fund raiser.
● Enrichment Assembly (K-3) - Tanglewood Marionettes presented Cinderella. This why we, the PTO (and that includes you!!!) raise funds. We get the opportunity to provide these types of experiences to our students. This is the fun part!!!
● Author Visit - Gregory Mone - to be repetitive: “This why we, the PTO (and that includes you!!!) raise funds. We get the opportunity to provide these types of experiences to our students. This is the fun part!!!”
● Annual Appeal (www.conantpto.org):
○ We launched the annual donation appeal at the end of October with a target raise of $14,000, consistent with years past. I’m happy to report that we have raised $5,190 thus far. This amount represents 37% of the target goal which isn’t too bad considering we’re about 40% of the way into the year. Let’s see what we can do to raise even more in the next 6 months of the year. I will be sure to send out an additional appeal in January - make my life easier and contribute before then (please!!!). Any contribution you can make would be appreciated.
○ We are a 501(c)(3) charity - Contributions are tax deductible!
○ While $14,000 is the target, another worthy target would be participation rate. As of the date of this newsletter, just 30 families have contributed out of the 300+ in the Conant Community. If the remaining 270+ (90%+) families contributed a nominal amount ($33?), we could reach our goal. But any amount would be appreciated (and well deployed!). And don’t forget to apply for a company match if available! I thank you in advance.
○ The PTO is comprised of all of Conant’s families; and all of Conant’s students are the beneficiaries. This all falls apart if we’re not working together.
November:
● Book Fair!!! - The Book Fair team hosted the PTO’s 4th largest fund-raising event during the week of November 18 - 22. The Silver Unicorn (https://silverunicornbooks.com/) offered 25% of sales as a gift to the PTO. Based on sales, the PTO received almost $2,000!!! Thank you Book Fair team for your efforts!
○ We recognize that you can buy books just about anywhere, probably for less than what the Silver Unicorn charges. However, this event is important because we get to support a local business while receiving 25% of the proceeds as a contribution to the PTO. While you may be paying more, take comfort in the fact that more of that money will go to the PTO and stay in town.
● K-3 Movie Night - thank you to the Movie Night team for putting together a well-received movie night.
● Polar Pride - the PTO launched the sale of Polar Pride gear, primarily duffel bags and totes for immediate availability; though t-shirts and water bottles have been ordered and should be available before winter break. Please visit www.conantpto.org for additional purchasing opportunities.
December:
● PTO General Assembly - cancelled. Darn snow day.
○ Please join us on January 10 at 7:50 AM for Breakfast with Families followed by the PTO General Assembly at 9:00 AM
● Grades 4-6 Movie Night - also cancelled.
○ The Movie Night Team and the PTO Board are interested in hearing some feedback that can help make these movie nights successful. Please let us know what’s on your minds.
If you’ve been keeping score, we’ve raised $15,862 thus far this year! This represents 48% of the targeted fund-raise. Let’s focus on 2020 and what we can do to raise even more. The PTO raises these funds to cover expenses and experiences not covered by the District. The more we raise, the more we experiences we can offer our students. We’re all in this together. This is our PTO.
Looking Ahead - 2020 and Beyond:
Please make note of the following important event dates in January 2020 (yes, the new year)
● 1/10 Breakfast with Families/ PTO General assembly
○ 7:50 AM, PTO meeting begins at 9:00 AM
● 1/24 games night
● The Welcoming Committee will also be hosting/sponsoring kindergarten tours in January (dates TBD)
○ please let us know if you are interested in volunteering
As fun and exciting as those events were, we have more to accomplish and more fun to have. At the end of last school year / beginning of this school year, we set out a spending target of almost $33,000. That budget included about $27,000 (the remainder being PTO event/activity related expenses) in spending for Conant not covered by the District, comprised largely of the following:
● Staff fee estimates ($15,000)
● Assemblies/Enrichment ($4,000)
● Teacher Discretionary Funds ($3,000)
● Author Program ($2,000)
● Principal discretionary/scholarship funds ($1,000)
Over recent years, we have benefited from an ever lower staff fee burden; and that trend is expected to continue. Importantly, for the 2019-2020 academic year, you will be pleased to know that our actual staff fee burden is just $5,400!!! This represents additional current capacity of $9,600!
When presented with this excess capacity opportunity, Mr. Sugrue and Mrs. Dressler were quick to offer suggestions on how to improve the academic well being of our students. They immediately identified opportunities to enhance the students’ learning experience by acquiring 20 refurbished iPads for the early grades to share, as well as Kibo coding / robotics blocks also for the early grades. The PTO Board was happy to approve these expenditures. And to speak to how fast we can operate, the coding blocks are already on premise and will be implemented shortly! How’s that for the PTO in action? These are the results of your efforts - thank you!
Importantly, while the required PTO burden is now lower, we, the PTO (and that still includes you, even if you didn’t read this far!!!), possess the power to enhance our students’ learning experiences. Remember, this is a primary function of the PTO - we pick up where the District leaves off. If our efforts can lead to unique and valuable experiences for our students, we can all be better off. Besides, would you rather pay for staff fees or fun learning experiences? We’re in a great position to enhance the value of a Conant education. Our students will appreciate our efforts that lead to the experiences that help them realize their potential and build them into the students, citizens and adults we expect of them.
Volunteering
I’d be remiss if I didn’t discuss volunteering. The PTO, and its events, can only succeed with the help and support of its volunteers (you!!!). As professional as we make our events look, we volunteers are just like you in every respect.
We kindly ask that you consider financial support (addressed above, but I’ll say it again anyway: please contribute what you can (www.conantpto.org)); but support can also come in the form of physical presence and effort. The PTO cannot sponsor or host an event if we cannot provide the requisite amount of volunteer support. If our (that still includes you) events are to be successful, we need your participation. Send me a note (president@conantpto.org) or submit a volunteer survey on the website (www.conantpto.org). I’ll make sure you get paired up with an event or activity that suits everyone’s needs.
We do this not for ourselves, but for our students. Let’s keep that in mind and we can work towards a successful remainder of the year.
The PTO thanks you for your contributions and your efforts.
Jimmy Reichert
PTO President