March 2026

Written By Tavelli PTO

Approved on 4/1/26

Tavelli PTO Meeting 3.4.26 – 8:30 am – Tavelli Science Room

Attendance: 

Melissa Adams, Heather Reider, Monica Smith, Amanda Lager Gleason, Heather Nydahl, Mike Ochs, Caty Ochs, Katelyn Greenwald, Kate Walker, Christine Hendricks, Leyla Badillo, Ben Irwin, Pete Gronewoller 

Minutes

  • Welcome and Introduction

    • Attendance Sheet 

  • Vote on Last Meeting’s Minutes

    • Approved Unanimously 

  • School Updates (Christine)

    • Mac Bus sign up is nearly full and some outside groups are coming to help with Steam activities 

      • Bus in the St. Patrick’s Day parade (March 14) - need kids to walk (let Melissa know if you want to participate) 

        • Consider tiger paws, pom poms, candy

        • Leyla will make flyers 

    • Read Across America Week is happening now, spirit days and activities to have fun with reading

    • Steam Night planning is going well, some great community partners committed

    • Enrollment is looking OK for next year

      • 485 enrollment as of right now

      • 3 sections in 3 grades based on current budget (K, 1, 2) 

      • More kids than projected so may be able to petition in the fall for hiring more 

  • SAC/DAB Committee Updates (Kate)

    • DAB

      • PSD approved RIF (not performance based, but budget cuts)

        • Estimated 37 overages of core (licensed) teachers

        • No teachers are “safe” and principals will make the decisions; Board will look over everything and teachers may be placed at a new school and/or get first dibs if positions open back up based on enrollment 

        • Tavelli has a few first-year/probationary teachers that may have to be cut, but most classified positions will remain with the exemption of a few hours

      • District wide $8-17 million cut for next school year

      • Board of Education Community Engagement Sessions throughout the year; Board would really like people to attend, want to hear what community members have to say; those who have attended say they do feel heard 

  • Events/Projects

    • Walk-a-thon - March 26

      • Fundraising Update + Business Sponsorships

        • Pledgestar: $6900 as of today 

        • Business: $6050 ($2200 more than last year; 17 businesses)

        • Money will be used to complete Phase 3 of Media Center Renovation and refresh staff lounge (see below)

      • Volunteer opportunities on Event Day

        • Signup Genius was in Thursday note last week+ PTO Newsletter

        • Need lots of volunteers for a variety of roles: PTO Lead, Color Helper, Tally Helper, Bubbles/Course helper, Water/Cuties

      • Prize updates 

        • Pickup - Heather will email the spreadsheet; PLEASE HELP!

      • T-shirt Design Winner

        • Thanks Kate for displaying designs + tallying votes

        • Winner will be announced this week via phone call and morning announcement 

      • Purchases

        • Powder colors (ordered/received), funnels, water bottles, cuties

      • Marketing 

        • PTO Buttons, signs for door, banner for fence (we have these!)

        • Need: Tiger Trek Stickers (Leyla to order), Reminder Checklist, Signs

      • Staff Lounge Improvements (Ben)

        • Ben chatted with district to understand what we are able to do (cosmetics, nothing structural) 

        • Survey respondents (26 respondents)

        • In-school session on March 4th

          • Up-vote the ideas they like best and add others

        • Once our ideas are finalized, we’ll talk to district facilities about codes and maintenance, then PTO will decide on timeline and execution 

    • Dining Fundraiser Updates

      • Elevated Sandwiches - $250; they were swamped and happy; thanks to all who went

      • Music City North - March 11, 5-8 pm 

    • Yearbook

      • Cover Contest launched

      • Could reuse their T-shirt Design 

      • No digital designs this year 

      • Designs due March 27

      • Orders - 114 yearbooks sold (as of 3/3)

    • Summer Blast Off - May 6 (Rain date May 14)

      • Picking an earlier date to hopefully avoid afternoon storms

      • Should we call it Countdown to Summer

      • indoor/outdoor games, possible foam party, face painting, etc. 

      • Food trucks - Kona Ice, Josh & Johns, ice cream truck

      • Will schedule separate “committee” meeting after spring break to finalize plans 

    • CMAS Celebration

      • Grades 3-5 

      • Considering Chippers Lanes field trip for their hard work (currently a surprise for the students; typically tie it in with the Kona Ice party) 

    • Book Fair - April 27-May 1

      • Volunteer sign up will be released in early April 

  • Board Recruiting for 26/27

    • Current board let Melissa know if you want to be on the ballot again if reached your 2nd year in position

    • Review Bylaws for term lengths (office roles are 2 year terms, eligible for only 1 year term if needed)

    • Any additional people are welcome to put their names on the ballot

    • Voting will take place at the April meeting

  • Teacher Appreciation and Retirements

    • First week of May, so planning in April 

  • Budget

    • Supported field trips and art room supplies in the past month

    • Update the Statement of Activities for this year and post the 24-25 SoA on the website 

      • MarComm Team is interested in long-range fundraising; an idea is to form a separate 3-year Mac Bus committee/campaign 


Tavelli PTO
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February 2026