May 3, 2018 Parent Group Meeting Minutes

  

1.       Welcome

a.       Jil Hartman provided Strawberry Shortcake for the meeting.

b.       Childcare provided!

c.       Deanna Kraak, incoming Parent Group President for 2018-2019 thanked Jil Hartman for her years of dedicated service, commitment, enthusiasm, and passion for the students at ZQuest.  Jil was presented with a bouquet from Edible Arrangements and a gift card.  Thank you Jil for everything that you have done for ZQuest.  Jil will continue to serve ZQuest in other capacities.

2.       Vice President Vote

a.       Candidates:  Dee Worley, Rene Koenig, Nicholas Holland.

b.       Each candidate gave a speech about themselves, their background and why they were interested in the Vice President role.

c.       A ballot vote occurred and was tabulated. Dee Worley will assume the role of Vice President for the 2018-2019 term.

d.       The candidates were all thanked for their willingness to volunteer to serve the parents and students of ZQuest. We still have ways for them to be involved in many other ways!

3.       Volunteer Leaders Recap:

a.       Parent Ambassadors -No report.

b.       Box Tops for Education Coordinator- Anne Kollen- No report.

c.       Shoparoo Cheerleader- Mindi Windemuller.  No report.

d.       Color Run Leader- Mindi Windemuller, Felicia Holland- No report.

e.       Fork it Over Leader- Kyle Murray, Sarah Mullins, Kari Thoreson.  No report.

f.        Quality Car Wash Leader- Tom Smolinski, Krista Schopmeyer.  Tom gave a report that the Quality Carwash Fundraiser made $924.00.  This amount was significantly less than last year’s fundraiser, which was attributed to the change in the way that the fundraiser is structured by Quality Car Wash.  There was interest in trying another fundraiser with Quality in the fall and we will examine ways to make it more profitable.

4.       End of Year Celebration Planning

a.       Planning is underway for the End of Year Celebration Day (Field Day) scheduled this year for Wednesday, June 27. Kyle Murray is soliciting ideas via the Parent Group Facebook page and has a survey there for parents to give input on what activities their kids liked most about the last 2 years. The idea of checking into local camps who might be able to be hired to facilitate a Field Day was also discussed. Nicholas Holland knows someone in management at Camp Geneva and he will contact this person to see if this is a service that they offer. Contact Kyle if you have any questions, suggestions or ways that you can help.

b.       Kyle Murray is working on fundraiser ideas for 7th and 8th graders. They have not had much time to begin to fundraiser since we started the idea of the classes fundraising yearly to save for paying for their big Washington DC trip. Contact Kyle if you would like to help.

5.       Planning for upcoming 3 months

a.       Review May

                                                               i.      Observance:  Memorial Day Parade.  Scheduled for Monday, May 28, 2018.

                                                             ii.      Social Activity: Teacher Appreciation Week May 7-11, 2018. 

1.       There is a Signup Genius to help with this event.  Go to the website www.zquestparents.com and click on the Sign Up Genius Central Link.  Individual ambassadors are organizing appreciations for the teachers of their classes.  Check with your Parent Ambassador if you need more information.

                                                           iii.      Fundraising Events: K-4th Pizza Fundraiser

1.       Organizer(s): Jennifer Kroll, Sarah Mullins.  The kindergarten through 4th Grades are in full swing, using this as a PBL and fundraiser.  Students are signed up to help at the event, and have been learning things and using skills related to it during class.  Kindergarteners have been having a restaurant, learning about the Service industry, making menus etc.  Other grades have been doing posters and publicity.  There is a Signup Genius both to attend and to help with this event.  They can be found by going to www.zquestparents.com and clicking on the Signup Genius Central link.

b.       Plan June

                                                               i.      Celebrations:  End of School Celebrations- June 27, 2018

1.       Organizer: Kyle Murray.  See above.

                                                             ii.      Social Activity: Pop-Up Park Playground

1.       Organizer: Jennifer Kroll, Kristin DeWitt.  More info to come.

                                                           iii.      Fundraising Events: The Color Run

1.       Organizer(s): Mindi Windemuller, The Color Run Cmte

c.       Plan August

                                                               i.      Social Activity: Pop-Up Park Playground

1.       Organizer: Jennifer Kroll, Kristin DeWitt .  More info to come.

                                                             ii.      Enrichment: Curriculum Night

1.       Organizer: Leslie Rindfliesch.  More info to come.  In the planning stages.

d.       Plan September

                                                               i.      No discussion about this.

6.       Educational Speakers for next year: Jennifer Kroll and Sarah Mullins are working on bringing in speakers on a variety of topics for the coming school year. It is desired to have speakers on topics that are of high interest to parents, such as internet safety, ADHD, etc. A survey for parents is being created to get information on which topics would be of the most interest. A survey for teachers is also being created to get information on which topics that they would like parents and/or students to have more knowledge in, and which topics they would be interested in attending themselves. There is a possibility that high-interest events could be opened up to other PTO groups in the district.

7.       Parent question on a STEM teacher.  Anita Saenger noted that Holland Public Schools has a position for a STEM teacher.  It is a specials class that students attend on a weekly basis, like art, gym, spanish and music.  She inquired if this was a possibility at ZQuest.  Leslie responded to the question by noting that at ZQuest, teachers incorporate (and are learning to incorporate more) STEM activities into their PBL lesson plans.  If ZQuest wanted to further explore the route of a stand-alone teacher, then a current specials class would most likely need to be dropped d/t lack of time.

8.       Robotics for ZQuest Inquiry-  A parent asked if Robotics after school would be a possibility for ZQuest.  Leslie responded that we would LOVE to have this as an option, but it would require a parent to facilitate and run the program.  Thus far, no one has volunteered for this. Middle School students are eligible to join any Creekside Middle School clubs, and they do have a robotics club.  Other options are a parent volunteer to arrange for an existing club at the High School or Middle School level to come to ZQuest and do an after school Enrichment activity.  Any parent wishing to volunteer for this can contact Deanna Kraak.

Next Meeting:  September (To Be Determined), 2018.  6:30-8:00pm (all meetings are also publicized as Facebook Parent Group Events).