September 8, 2026 - Baldwin Elementary School Intermediate School Library

​

​

Attendees: Brenna Hawley-Craig, Kayla Curry, Tara Burnham, Cat Tarka, Erika Bench, Elizabeth Langham, Lyndsey Perry, Debbie Shaffer, Cait Sidener, Haley Trober, Brittany Wesseling, Rebekah Zweydoff, Tammy Lamb, Shanaye McBride, Rachel Moore, Jaci Walker, Nicole King, Dan Wallsmith

​

• Action Items

  • Brenna

    • Gather block party feedback from members

    • Gather prizes for the Fill the Bullpup Paw assemblies

    • Get the stroll sponsor's logo mock-up, then quote shirt printing

    • Schedule a Bullpup Stroll shirt printing session with helpers

    • Send reminder asking everyone for event photos

    • Expand the new member guide, fundraiser versus non-fundraiser first

    • Fill the vice president and secretary seats

    • Print three door flyers – completed

    • Send digital flyer to Dan and Nicole for color printing – completed

    • Build Zeffy store for remaining trash bag stock – completed

    • Split snack cart food between schools – completed

    • Email volunteers close to achieving membership – completed

    • Move officers into the password manager – completed

  • Tara

    • Reconcile block party Square totals, cash and credit

    • Send an update about the field trip application for skating

    • Send teacher grant information to Dan and Nicole for the newsletter

    • Gather teacher grant submissions October 1 to 5 and send to the group

    • Ask at Baker University about someone to wear the Baxter suit

    • Update the bank password

    • Begin the treasurer transition with Kayla

  • Cat

    • Start marketing Fill the Bullpup Paw

    • Post that trash bags are ending and the remaining stock is in the Zeffy store

    • Post the fall, winter and spring fundraiser explainer

    • Prep the content calendar

    • Post the Halloween snack cart SignUpGenius, around September 23

    • Compose the parent message for Nicole and Dan to send

  • Rebekah

    • Arrange Melinda's parking spot painting

    • Follow up on the Prime Martial Arts donation

  • Dan

    • Print Fill the Bullpup Paw sheets and envelopes

    • Confirm the sound system for the assembly

    • Count remaining trash bag stock – completed

  • Dan and Nicole

    • Put teacher grants in this week's newsletter

    • Advertise that trash bags are ending in the school newsletters

    • Use PowerSchool text for short must-read notices

  • Everyone

    • Check whether the makerspace press can be used for stroll shirts

    • Sign up for snack cart gaps, mini Cheetos and goldfish crackers

    • Share PTO posts to the Baldwin community Facebook groups

    • Think about the teacher cash gift amount and any documentation

  • Not yet assigned

    • Wish Star storage; the shed is full and nothing was settled

    • Whether teachers still pay for stroll shirts now that the sponsor covers them

    • Confirm remaining grade-level field trip requests

    • How to run Square – carried from the agenda, not covered

• Officers

  • President - Brenna

    • Rebekah stepped down effective September 8 after five years in the role

    • Rebekah nominated Brenna; the motion carried

    • Rebekah stays on as an active member and will keep helping with events

  • Vice president - not filled

    • Vacated when Brenna moved up

    • Must be held by a voting member, which limits who can step in now

  • Secretary - not filled

    • Still open; mention at every meeting until filled

  • Marketing - Cat

    • Transition complete and Cat is ready to go

  • Treasurer - Kayla

    • Tara steps down around December

    • Tara tried sending materials over; GroupMe delivery failed

• New Members

  • Cait Sidener - first meeting

    • Daughter Oona, third grade, Miss Barton's class

    • Taking the Intermediate Center snack cart

• Retrospective on Block Party - Rebekah

  • Recap

    • $1,500 budget plus a $100 donation, $1,600 total

      • Spent $1,590; the two bounce houses took $987

    • Rebekah reported $837 back into the budget

      • Tara had calculated $1,418; the room placed the real figure between $800 and $1,400

      • Likely cause is cash entered into the Square report; Tara pulled credit card transactions only

      • Prime Martial Arts kickback still outstanding; their finance lead was on vacation

    • Estimated total back around $900

  • Donations in kind

    • Cody Anno State Farm donated the drinks

    • Members donated hamburger buns and chips

  • Feedback

    • Most successful block party so far based on night-of feedback

    • Being indoors is now considered a significant win

    • Most volunteers the PTO has ever had

    • First year on a Friday; Saturdays had conflicted with kids sports

    • Requests for a third bounce house; the budget could not cover it

    • Not a fundraiser; it is the biggest give-back event to the kids

  • Retrospective sheets

    • Paper sheets collected in person at the meeting

    • Online form for remote attendees was available

    • Plan to run a retrospective after every event going forward

  • Photos

    • Send any photos of any event; used to show families what the PTO does

  • VIP parking spot

    • Melinda still needs to paint it; heat and rain have blocked it

• Wish Star - Rebekah

  • Donor

    • Works with the Shadow Buddies Foundation out of Lenexa

    • Echo Endicott's mom or mother-in-law

  • What they are

    • Plastic stars from the movie Wish that open to hold small items, with a lanyard

    • Fill with candy, stickers, bubbles or a small toy; the star is a gift on its own

  • Quantity

    • Enough for every child at both schools, roughly 700

    • 24 per case

  • Use

    • Possible Fill the Bullpup Paw participation prize

  • Storage - unresolved

    • The shed is full and the boxes are large

    • Offers: Rebekah's garage, Elizabeth west of town, a friend's barn, space on a farm

    • Donor can drop off, or Brenna can pick up on the way back from work

    • Temperature control likely not needed

• Field Trip Form - Tara

  • Status

    • Sent to principals August 28

    • Four applications in: third grade, fifth grade and two from second grade including physical education

    • Kinder, first and fourth have not requested yet; they did not last year either

  • Funding

    • $5 per child this year, down from $6 last year and $7 to $8 previously

    • Two teachers who used the old $6 form have been notified of the change

    • 2nd grade zoo trip runs about $12 per child, so the $5 brings the family ask to $7

    • Three field trips planned this year and one is free

  • Coach Ro's skating application

    • Form language is intended for teacher groups

    • Group preferred the money go toward the zoo trip

    • Tara to send an update

  • Process

    • Requests are approved automatically when they fall within the parameters

    • Teachers must send photos and a recap

    • Parents routinely donate for an extra child or two; teachers share across classrooms

• Teacher Grants - Tara

  • Timing

    • Applications due October 1

    • Vote at the October meeting, around October 5

    • Tara to gather submissions between the 1st and the 5th

  • Status

    • Only two submitted so far; they usually come in faster

    • Link re-sent to Dan and Nicole

    • Going into this week's newsletter

  • Rules, unchanged from last year

    • $1,400 budget

    • Up to $200 per person, including $200 per person on a team request for the same item

    • Unused budget rolls over to spring

  • Discussion

    • Concern raised about double dipping with Baldwin Education Foundation grants

    • Group position: if it is something you can use in your classroom, apply

    • Baldwin Education Foundation grants require an innovative project; PTO grants cover classroom materials

    • Examples funded: alternative seating, weighted items, sensory bins, teacher-created materials

    • Some prior requests were declined for not meeting criteria

• Fill the Bullpup Paw - Brenna

  • Structure

    • First fundraiser of the year and a new one; replaces the trash bag sale

    • Goal is $3,000

    • Fill a paw to $100, then bonus spots after that

    • Each completed paw is a raffle entry

    • Fundraising runs about two weeks after the assembly

  • Assembly - Tuesday September 15

    • 2:30 at the Primary Center, 3:00 at the Intermediate Center

    • Short format: what it is, the prize, then sheets handed out

    • Sheets go out in classrooms rather than at dismissal so they reach families

    • End of day preferred; kids return to class afterward

    • Still need a mascot; Tara asking at Baker University

    • Speaker and microphone needed and charged; Dan has one and Coach Ro has a gym system

    • Brenna presenting with at least Brittany and Tasha

  • Materials

    • Sheets and envelopes printed by Dan and stapled so they stay together

    • Three door flyers for the schools – completed

    • Digital copy to Dan and Nicole for color printing – completed

    • Zeffy QR code on the sheet

    • Back of the sheet is a standard donation form

  • Marketing - Cat

    • New event, so it needs steady promotion

    • Post on socials throughout the two weeks

    • Past Bullpup Stroll sheets often never reached families

  • Prizes - about $85 per school

    • Class at each school that raises the most: extra recess or a spirit day

      • Let the class vote between the options

      • Popcorn either way

    • Primary Center: skate pack

      • Skates about $40

      • Protective gear and helmet about $30

    • Intermediate Center: two options

      • Instant camera and film, about $64 and $20

      • Video game gift card, shown as a laminated Roblox card

    • Equal-value substitute if a parent objects to a game card

    • Prizes on hand at the assembly so kids see what they are working toward

• September Snack Cart - Brenna

  • Date

    • September 16, a Wednesday

    • Snacks come in by Tuesday the 15th

    • Brenna splits donations between the schools at the end of that Tuesday – completed

  • Theme

    • Orange you glad it's hump day, with all treats orange

    • Review the sign

  • Coverage

    • Kayla - Primary Center

    • Cait - Intermediate Center

  • Gaps

    • Still need mini bags of Cheetos and goldfish crackers

  • October

    • Halloween cart already built: no tricks just treats

    • SignUpGenius ready; Cat to post around September 23

    • Cart decorations going into the shed

• Password Manager

  • Set up for five officers – completed

  • Moves passwords out of sheets living in Google Drive

  • Bank password needs changing; a change was forced on this month's login - Tara

• New Member Guide - Brenna

  • Built instead of sending individual emails to new members

  • First expansion: clearly separate fundraisers from non-fundraisers

  • Add short descriptions of each event and its purpose

• Bullpup Stroll Sponsor - Brenna

  • Sponsor

    • Kelsie Kosko, a realtor based in Ottawa who is active in Baldwin

    • Committed $1,200 to cover all stroll t-shirts, which is the quote given

    • Offered more for all the color powder if she is featured

    • Her logo goes on the back of the shirts as the exclusive sponsor

  • Recognition ideas

    • Banner staked at the start line with her name large

    • Baxter stationed at the banner; start line and bracelet pickup there

    • Possible official starter role

  • Shirts

    • About 650 shirts

    • Rebekah has a new press; last year's broke partway through the run

    • Assembly-line session with helpers rather than one person doing all of them

    • Makerspace press may be an option; Angie pressed the top-reader shirts there

    • Need the sponsor's logo mock-up before quoting

    • Open: whether teachers still pay about $5 to $6 per shirt

  • Color powder

    • Vinegar spray may help hold the color; results last year were mixed

    • Baxter will not run with the kids again

• Communication and Social Media

  • Current state

    • Facebook is the main channel; Instagram has about 45 followers

    • PTO posts need sharing into the Baldwin community groups

    • Members should share posts, not only react to them

  • Improvements

    • Dan and Nicole can send short PowerSchool texts for must-read items

    • Assemblies this year to build kid buy-in so information reaches parents

    • A short video was raised as another option

  • Context

    • Communication has been building over the last two to three years

    • Last year some families never received stroll paperwork

• Budget Context

  • Roughly two years of funding left at the current rate

  • Five years without a green year; earlier overspending was covered by COVID funds

  • The last two years have tried to bring spending back under control

  • This year's budget cuts were intentional

• Teacher Cash Gifts for Next Year - Brenna

  • Raised early on purpose, to set the budget at the main meeting rather than in summer

    • Last year required about three summer meetings to rework the budget

    • Not for decision at this meeting

  • History

    • Last year was $100 per teacher, about $7,000, which was over half the budget

    • Cut to $50 this year

    • Entirely budget-dependent; no funds means no gift

  • Open questions

    • Do we do it again if the funds allow?

    • What amount? Holding at $100 is unlikely

    • Requirements: receipts or proof of spend?

  • Discussion

    • Brenna wants to be able to show donors what the money bought

    • Strong pushback that strings turn a gift into another grant application

    • August is the worst time to ask a teacher for a receipt

    • Erika's idea, well received: treat it as reimbursement for classroom spending already done

    • Teachers routinely spend hundreds of their own money before the year starts

    • Cash lets teachers use thrift and used sources that district vendors do not allow

    • If receipts will be required, tell teachers before summer

    • Alternative raised: ask teachers to send photos of what they bought