Kerr PTO

Kerr Elementary PTO

New Treasurer

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Update to the 2019-20 Board After the resignation of our Treasurer, the board appointed a new treasurer to serve out the remainder of the term.

President: Amy Cooper, president@kerrpto.org

Vice President: Dee Dee Malloy, vicepresident@kerrpto.org

Director of Fundraising: Ann Sokalski, fundraisingdirector@kerrpto.org

Secretary: Gwen Harcar, secretary@kerrpto.org

Treasurer: Nicole Kutzner, treasurer@kerrpto.org

In January 2020, the board will appoint the Nominating Committee to accept nominations for the May elections.  If interested in serving on the committee–please contact Erin Berdik erinrdh12@yahoo.com

2018-19 School Year

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Parents,
It is my great pleasure to serve as the Kerr PTO president for the 2018-19 school year. Along with my fellow board members we hope to do our best to bring great programming and enrichment to our children by building up the PTO together.
With the school under construction and us being only in our second year as a PTO we have decided that our theme for the year will be “Build Together.” Every member that joins will get added to our wall of construction cones.
I have been volunteering with at Kerr for the past four years. I have served as chair of the Kerr Directory, Staff Appreciation and our Vendor Blender. As well I served as the Vice President on our PTA board and this is my second year as PTO President.  My day job is as an Interior Design educator at Chatham University and at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division.
My goal this year as the PTO President is to get the Kerr community more involved in the PTO and encourage more participation in meetings, planning and events. I invite each of you to join the PTO and become involved. That can be as little as a making a donation to help keep our programs running, or volunteering at the school with your kids. We also have many volunteering options that can be done on evenings and from the comfort of your own home if your schedule doesn’t permit volunteering during school hours.
I know together we can build a great experience for our students, please feel free to reach out to myself or the rest of the board any time.

Letter from the President:

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Our year is coming to an end but our duties are not.  Just like so many of us are setting plans for our summer, here at the PTO our planning is already well underway for next school year.

Throughout the year we hold events, send home fundraisers, and request your time.  Thank you for being the PTO–your efforts, time, and funds have allowed this organization to enrich the experience at Kerr for our students, staff, and families.

Look at all we accomplished together as a PTO this school year:

  • ASK (After School at Kerr)
  • Bake Sales
  • Fall Class Party
  • Holiday Class Party and Puppet Show Assembly
  • Valentines Class party
  • 5th Grade Committee
    • o Breakfast before Camp Allegheny
    • o Reception after 5th Grade Performance
    • o Yearbook for every student
    • o Reception after Graduation
    • o Organization of Penny Wars
  • Ice Cream Socials (Fall & Spring)
  • Kerr Directory
  • Math Pentathlon
  • Spring Movie Night
  • Used Book Sale
  • 1 Scholastic Book for every child at school at Fall Book Sale
  • Spirit Wear Sale
  • Staff Appreciation Week
  • Summer Send Off with a T-shirt for every child
  • TAG (Traveling Art Gallery)
  • Field Trip for each grade
  • Safety Patrol Outing
  • Yearbook
  • Summer Send Off

It’s been a productive and busy year. We’re glad that we were able to share so many memories with you and your family, and we’re looking to making new ones next year.

Our calendar is set for next year. We’ll be sharing it in the fall, but also check out our online calendar as we have started adding dates.  There are some areas we are seeking volunteers to step up to organize, and you can find those opportunities here.

We’ll be kicking off the year with our 2nd annual Involvement Fair on August 29th.  Right after the Involvement Fair will be our first PTO meeting of the year with special guest Ashley Nestor, Executive Director of Elementary Education and Instruction.

Have a wonderful and safe summer and see you on August 23rd for the first day of school!

 

Election Time

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Members Elect Your New PTO Board on May 23rd at the 6:30pm PTO Meeting located in the Kerr 2nd floor conference room.

We will be electing a Vice President and a Treasurer to the PTO Board.

We have 3 Nominees for the Vice President Position (blurb from nominee below name, if provided):

  • Dee Dee Malloy: Hello, my name is Dee Dee Malloy and I am interested in becoming the new PTO Vice President at Kerr Elementary. Next year, I will have a daughter in the 7th grade at Dorseyville Middle School and a son in the 4th grade at Kerr. I am very excited to be a part of such an innovative and exciting school and feel honored to be nominated for this position.
    I have been active in my children’s school for 7 years as a member of the PTG, fundraising chairperson, and volunteer at their previous school. This year, at Kerr, I have been a member of the party planning committee, and had the great experience of helping out with the Math Pentathlon. I am a member of the PTO and volunteer in the Fox Chapel School District.
    Among my strengths – I am a great team-player, detail-oriented, great at multitasking, I have heart for children, and I enjoy meeting and working with people. I believe the education of this generation is a partnership and we all are responsible to contribute, guide, and mentor the next generation of leaders. We can all make a difference in our community. School should be a safe space to grow and experience leadership opportunities for our kids.
    I would like to continue being involved in my children’s schools in any capacity that I am needed. I believe that I would be an asset to the PTO board of Kerr Elementary, and if afforded the opportunity, I will give my very best if elected as Vice President. Thank you for your consideration!
  • David Turner: I served as an auditor this year reviewing and confirming all of the purchases made by the PTO. I also participated in several PTO meetings.  Next year, my son Ethan will be a second grader, and my daughter Lilly will start kindergarten (Mary, my youngest, will join her siblings at Kerr in three years).  I have also taught as a substitute in all of the schools in the district, and teach full-time in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
  • April Zeiner: My name is April. I am currently a student at Carlow University, working towards my undergrad and master degrees in psychology. I have two boys in Kerr. Elias will be in 4th grade and Corbin will be in 2nd grade this upcoming school year. This current school year, I have been able to help out with the ice cream social and both movie nights. I look forward to helping out with the summer send off and the Chapel Gate swim party. I enjoy being able to participate in PTO meetings but often cannot make it due to evening classes. I hope with the addition of morning meetings, I can be present more often.

 

We have 1 Nominee for the Treasurer Position:

  • John Zeiner: Hi, I’m John. I have two boys, Elias, who will be in 4th grade this upcoming school year and Corbin, who will be in 2nd grade.  The 2017-2018 school year, I have participated in the movie night and attended a PTO meeting. Previously, I served as the auditor of the PTA’s finances.  I am a den leader with Cub Scout Pack 381 where this past year I led the Tiger (1st graders) den.  I work for Gateway Health as a Manager, Corporate Informatics.

 

We encourage attendance at the May 23rd meeting.  If you are unable to come, per our bylaws there are two options.

  1. Absentee voting.  “An absentee ballot shall be accepted if it is delivered to a board member at least 48 hours prior to the election date and is signed by the absentee member.”  (due by May 21st, in writing, to a board member)
  2. Electronic Voting–find the electronic ballot here.

Officer Nominations & Elections

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It’s that time of year when we start thinking about next year!   The PTO Board consists of 4 officers.  Each serve a two year term and elections are staggered with two positions being elected each year.  This year we will elect a Vice President and Treasurer to serve starting in July 2018.

The nominating committee has been elected by our members and is headed by the chair Pam Seifried (pseifried255@gmail.com) along with Christie Leffakis (christieleffakis@gmail.com) and Roseanne LeDonne (rledonne333@gmail.com).  They are tasked with accepting all qualified nominations and present them at the April PTO Meeting  A qualified candidate has been a PTO member for at least 3 months and has been involved or participated in at least 2 PTO events/activities (meetings, volunteer opportunities, committees, etc

You can read more about each position along with the nomination and election process in our bylaws.  Elections will take place during the May PTO Meeting.