Motion to approve previous minutes made by Sarah Russell seconded by Kelly Delp and approved with no objections.

Vote Announcements: There is a Safe Routes Chair position that is proposed to become a voting chair, as well as making the Vice Principal a voting member and decreasing the number of members-at-large from three to two.

Motion made by Amy Sonntag to make the Vice Principal a voting member of the Thurston PTO thereby aligning with the PTOC bylaws. Motion seconded by Jamie Tomasillo and passed with no objections.

An email vote will go out to the board to decide whether the Safe Routes Chair will become a voting member and whether we move from three members-at-large to two. Current members would serve out their existing terms.

Principals’ update:   You should have received emails from Ms. York regarding the tightening of building security and the question regarding whether February 15^th will in fact be a school day. Science Fair will change dates to 2/11 in conjunction with NAAPID. Field Day will likely also change dates to May 31^st, one week later than originally stated. We welcome a new ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) teacher, Ms. Wright, to Thurston.

Ice Skating Event: Cassandra from the Ice Cube spoke about the timing issues caused by the AAPS busses. She recommended looking into charter busses or possibly a drop-off by AAPS busses and a pickup by charter busses. Current pricing for AAPS whole day buses is $800.00 while whole day Charter busses would be over $2000.00 so we would possibly look to donors to cover the cost.

Upcoming events: Winter Carnival is on 2/8, NAAPID on 2/11, Science Fair 2/11, Talent Show 2/14 with auditions 1/18, Kindergarten Round-up 2/21. Jeanette Hokett gave an estimate of upcoming costs for the Winter Carnival for a total of $2180.00 which is in line with past budgets. We will utilize the existing evening custodial staff, so no additional custodial charges are expected. Motion to advance Winter Carnival $2200.00 made by Amy Sonntag, seconded by Kelly Delp and passed with no objections.

Fundraising Chair: Little Caesars pizza kits are our next fundraiser, followed by another Chuck E. Cheese night where teachers will get to enter the ticket blaster if they attend. It was noted that our Pizza Kit sales were lagging behind last years’ spring sales.

Community Service Club will be collecting non-perishables at the Winter Carnival and possibly selling crafts to support the Thurston Pantry. They will be having a food drive over several weeks to support Thurston families in need. Protein-rich items are especially needed.

Thurston Nature Center: Several members of the Thurston Nature Center Board attended the meeting including the TNC Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and Land Stewards. The TNC formed from a group of Thurston parents in the 1960’s and continues to maintain the area today with an unpaid, all-volunteer staff. The Board is trying to educate the public on the membership as well as the work done by the TNC. The Land Stewards spoke about the need for native plants to populate the area in order to keep the butterflies and other important insects alive. They try to remove invasive plants and plant native ones to keep the area healthy. Thurston students have been planting trees and plants in the area for over fifty years, and the TNC would like to strengthen that relationship which has waned in recent years. There was a discussion about ways to involve Clague, Logan and other local schools to support the TNC. There are several upcoming community events, including the rescheduled broom hockey event on February 2^nd, to show the neighborhood what the nature center offers. There are also opportunities for self-guided tours of the TNC features and native plants.

Open Discussion: The new security system requires groups to reserve space through Rec & Ed to have access to the building. If no group member has a key, the custodial staff will have a schedule and know to let one group member in the building. That member will then be responsible to let in all members of their group. Ideally, there will be a key-holding staff member for each group to let all other members in.

January 30^th is the next early release day.

The office is in need of pants for all student sizes. Please donate any that you may have lying around. Pull-up pants and athletic pants work well for many body types.

The PTO’s goal is to deliver a timeline for updating the Thurston bylaws by the February Meeting.