Meeting opening and introduction of parents/committee members.

Parent volunteers are still needed for many committees and events. Thanks to those who signed up to help at curriculum night, and feel free to let us know if you are interested in helping out.

Library Report: Ms. B. is planning a two-day New Book fair in conjunction with the Fall Carnival. There will be an additional Buy One/Get One Free sale in the Spring. We will still be having a used book sale as well. Our author visit last week went over very well. We will be having another author visit in October. Mrs. B. mentioned that she may be interested in collaborating with PTO on future visits (perhaps for the upper level classes.)

Treasurer Report:   Keep up the passive fundraising at stores like Kroger, Busch’s and Amazon Smile.

Fun Run: Everyone should have received information on our biggest fundraiser, Fun Run. Money raised at the Run supports teachers, students, and activities throughout this school year without having to continually ask for money. Be sure to sign up online.

Other Upcoming Events: Fall Carnival and New Book Sale, Thurston Nature Center Workday

Principal Report: Ms. Callahan is the new Assistant Principal at Thurston.

The Modular classrooms are up and running for the fifth graders.

Ms York has asked the construction workers to end their work until next summer on big school projects like the parking lot. Please consider using the safer Remote Drop-Off Zones or walking to pick up your child, since the parking lot traffic is extremely packed at times and crossing the lot or the streets can be dangerous.

With all the traffic and work vehicles on Prairie St, make sure your children are extra careful because there may be blind spots. We received word that one of our students was hit by a vehicle at the intersection of Renfrew and Prairie. Thankfully there were no serious injuries. The district is starting a Safe Schools Initiative to address dangers, but the timeline is not set yet.. Also, it’s better for parents to be late than cause a serious injury by speeding.

It was suggested that we solicit volunteers from the community to assist with crosswalk safety, perhaps through Next Door or the Bromley Buzz.

Parents have set up a Thurston Facebook page for communication, but we must always use social media responsibly with respect for our community members. We don’t want to end the page because of misuse or hurtful comments. A reminder that you should not publicly post pictures of other children without a release from their parents even in a closed group.

If you haven’t seen the video of Haven the Heron on Thurston’s website, please visit it so you know how we are encouraging safety.

Request for $400.00 for the safety video and rights to Haven and the banner in the future. Motion to fund whole amount from Special Request Grants made by Sara Badalamente, seconded by Teresa Hatcher. Motion passes with no objections

A motion was made to adopt a PTO mission statement. Suggestions were taken from the group. An updated statement will be brought to the next meeting for a vote.

Newsletter: We will look into accepting advertising. Laurie Adams volunteered to talk to Thurston Players and other sources to find the best way to handle fees and approval.

Please consider helping out at noon-hour. We could use more staff between 11:00 and 1:30 to supervise children and move them to/from the lunchroom/playground/classroom.

Parents asked how allergies were communicated. There are school policies like the allergy section of the lunchroom tables, but detailed communication comes from the teachers based on individual classroom allergies.