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Thursday, April 30, 2009

PTO Elections Approaching!

Attention All MWS Families,

As May draws near, our annual PTO Executive Board Election will be held on Monday, May 18th at the PTO General Meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Media Center. If you are interested in joining the PTO, running for office, or discovering new ways in which you can volunteer your time and support our school, I would like to encourage you to attend. The PTO is/has been responsible for numerous successful events that have taken place throughout our school year and are/have been extremely generous of their time and support. The following positions are open for election with a brief synopsis of the responsibilities that are included with each position:

THE PTO EXECUTIVE BOARD

PRESIDENT
The President should be willing to dedicate 2-4 hours per month for meetings, including the Executive
and General Membership meetings.
Responsibilities
a. Conduct all PTO Executive and General Board meetings.
b. Confer with the Principal prior to all meetings.
c. Prepare agenda prior to meetings.
d. Work with teachers to assess their needs.
e. Attend district meetings, as necessary.
f. Create upcoming school year calendar with Principal and Board members.
g. Interact with the Site Council.
h. Coordinate elections of Board members.
i. Coordinate summer budget meeting.
j. In August, hire/find professional to perform an examination of PTO financial records; and said
professional to prepare a written summary [letter] for presentation to the Board.
k. Vote only to break any ties on motions.

VICE PRESIDENT

The Vice President should be willing to dedicate 2-4 hours per month for meetings, including the
Executive and General Membership meetings.
Responsibilities
a. Conduct PTO Executive and General Board meetings in the absence of the
PTO President.
b. Assist the President with duties as needed.
c. Take and distribute meeting minutes when the Secretary is absent.
d. Organize childcare for the PTO meetings when necessary.
e. Be timekeeper at the PTO General Membership meetings.

SECRETARY
The Secretary should be willing to dedicate 2-4 hours per month for meetings, including the Executive
and General Membership meetings.
Responsibilities
a. Record minutes of the Executive Board meeting and distribute to Board members.
b. Record minutes of the General Membership meeting and distribute to Board members.
c. Make meeting minutes available for the M.W. Savage website.

TREASURER
The Treasurer should be willing to dedicate 4-6 hours per month for meetings, including the Executive
and General Membership meetings.
Responsibilities
a. Responsible for checking/savings account.
b. Receive and deposit all money.
c. Pay out funds in accordance with the approved budget or as authorized by the
Executive Board.
d. Prepare, along with the Executive Board, the yearly budget for the new school year.
e. Present budget and financial report to the Executive Board and General Membership
meetings for approval.
f. Keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures.
g. Prepare year-end financial statements for audit.
h. Monitor and renew tax-exempt status.

PUBLIC RELATIONS/COMMUNICATIONS
The Public Relations/Communications person should be willing to dedicate 2-4 hours per month for
meetings, including the Executive and General Membership meetings.
Responsibilities
a. Coordinate media coverage of PTO sponsored events.
b. Prepare and distribute PTO promotional flyers.
c. Coordinate information for monthly school newsletter.
d. Provide information to Webmaster or individual(s) responsible for maintaining and
updating school website, as it pertains to PTO news, information, and events.

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
The Site Volunteer Coordinator should be willing to dedicate 2-4 hours per month for meetings,
including the Executive and General Membership meetings, with an additional 5 hours per week
commitment.
Responsibilities
a. Find volunteers to coordinate PTO sponsored events.
b. Update volunteer event notebook.
c. Coordinate Volunteer Week.
d. Attend committee meetings as needed.

PTO VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
The PTO Volunteer Coordinator should be willing to dedicate 2-4 hours per month for meetings,
including the Executive and General Membership meetings.
Responsibilities
a. Assist Site Volunteer coordinator in all of the above responsibilities as needed.
b. Track volunteer hours.
c. Send Thank-yous to facilitators.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Willey or Maria Peerboom at your convenience. Thank you for considering this wonderful opportunity to support MWS, and I hope to see you at our May meeting.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Explore Night Electrifies MWS!





As you can see in the images above, the annual Explore Night was held at MW Savage this past Tuesday evening, and the turnout was amazing! Students, families, staff members, and community members all worked in collaboration with the MWS Site Council to plan this wonderful opportunity to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Nearly 175 students entered projects in the Science Fair, which is one big component to this evening, doubling student participation within the last year. Students presented to guests, vendors from throughout the Twin Cities area set up interactive displays, and dinner was served by El Loro to round out the evening.
Thank you to all MWS families who attending Explore Night, and a special thanks to all who contributed toward the planning and execution of such a fantastic experience!