Epiphany School PTG General Meeting Agenda
January 8, 2025 6:00 P.M.
Call to Order – 6:02pm
Prayer- led by Fr. Toomey
Roll Call – taken via Zoom and attendance sheet
Allison Dix
Sister Kathleen
Fr. Toomey
Meredith DeSalva-Gaffney
Sara Kitts
Jennifer Hughey
Doug Gilson, Jr.
Greg Hughey
Kirstie Lake
Amy Niemiec
Samantha Souder
Brian Rich
Maria Northup
Dr. Charles Bingham
Cheryl Ciotti
Leslie Canavan
Lindsey Smith
Amanda Simpson
Rachael Mwangi
Courtney Dickey
Kristen Sweeney
1. Approval of Minutes – Greg motioned to approve, motion seconded; Minutes approved.
2. Basketball tournament - Brian Rich spoke. Tournament to kick off 2/15; run for 3 full weekends and 2 full weeks. It is likely to run until 3/2. We need a lot of help from volunteers. Greg H and Sara K have offered to help, but we need much more in many areas of the tournament. Volunteer sign up in today’s (1/8) Wednesday envelope. The hours count towards volunteer hours and you don’t need clearances to volunteer. We made a lot of money last year. Those funds help towards tuition assistance, and it’s a great way to get Epiphany’s name into the community.
3. Principal’s updates
a. Sister Kathleen said we sold 981 of the 1,000 lottery tickets. 36 families participated in the lotto tickets. Each family that sold tickets needs 15 hours of volunteer service. Each family needs to send home the paper about breakdown of volunteer hours. Paper form will go home next week. You can sell 1 box of Gertrude Hawk candy to get 2 hours. We need volunteers and we need the money to come in in order to be able to credit the tuition.
b. Arts and education will be coming during Catholic Schools Week. There is an artist coming 10 times in the coming months at a rate of $250/day. We are able to do this because of a grant from Leprino’s.
c. For Catholic Schools Week, there was a flyer sent home with what you can do to help promote Epiphany School. Please complete that by Wednesday, 1/15 so they can be displayed in the halls.
d. The Catholic School Strategic Plan from the Diocese of Scranton was sent home to each family today. It captures what is going on in each school in the diocese.
4. Treasurer’s report – The circus made $1350. Spaghetti dinner made $1150. PTG sponsored the ice cream party for 4th grade for having sold the most circus tickets. PTG sponsored the Thanksgiving dinner. PTG will be sponsoring teacher luncheon for CSW and snacks for open house. PTG will sponsor the lottery ticket board for the adult raffle for Catholic Schools Week. PTG will be supporting future programs for the students.
5. Catholic Schools Week - Opening Mass 1/26 at 11am followed by open house. PTG will have a table in the gym and a list of volunteer opportunities, some requiring clearances and others not. PTG will be sponsoring 2 raffles: a lottery ticket board for adults and a Squishmallow + $20 for children. Chances will be going home 1/13.
6. Book Fair 1/22-1/26 will be run by Sara Kitts. Volunteer sign up in today’s (1/8) envelope.
7. Mission Day – Mission Day is March 4. We need 12 volunteers and volunteers need clearances. They can arrive around 12:30 and stay until about 2:30. Volunteers will run a game and help with cleanup afterwards. Volunteers receive about 2 volunteer hours. Volunteer opportunity via signup genius to go out closer to event. PTG will buy the plastic bags that zip shut so students can put their names on one.
8. Kids/Parents Night Out – Saturday, March 15 – Games, food, pizza, and snacks for kids right before St. Patrick’s Day. Forms will go out about a month ahead of time and there is a minimum number of kids needed to run it. It is another volunteer opportunity – with clearances.
9. Chicken BBQ fundraiser – This event is tentatively scheduled one Saturday in April at Lowe’s. Greg Hughey has volunteered to run this with PTG. Event
probably needs 12 people during the day, possibly during two different shifts. Clearances are not needed to volunteer. More information to come.
10. School Wide Event - PTG is sponsoring a school wide event using the funds we have raised. PTG has explored some options and has focused on a group called Science Heros. We would be looking at March or April to try to bring them into the school. They encourage and include many students in the various science experiments they perform.
11. Open Forum
a. Courtney Dickey – volunteered to donate Ziploc bags for mission day and asked how many students there are (100 needed). PTG no longer needs to do this.
b. Maria Northup – has clearances but needs to turn them in. They can be turned into main office. It’s never too late to turn in clearances, even mid-school year. Once on file, person can start volunteering.
c. Ms. Ciotti - Why don’t people who volunteer at basketball tournament need clearances? Children will be present. Answer: It isn’t a school sponsored event. It’s a public event. This question was brought up last year too, and we investigated. No clearances are needed because of the circumstances under which event occurs (public and not school-sponsored). Sara Kitts added that getting clearances is not difficult and doesn’t take a lot of time. Allison said we can double check with Brian Rich about this concern. Amanda Simpson added clearances are good for years.
Next general PTG meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12. Minutes will be available.
Meredith motioned to adjourned. Ms. Ciotti seconded. Meeting adjourned at 6:24pm.