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Whiting Lane PTO Minutes (10/8/2026)
Fri, Oct 9 1:13pm

Whiting Lane PTO Minutes              October 8, 2026

Meeting called to order at 6:32pm 

Meeting Minutes - John O’Leary- Secretary

Motion to approve minutes made by Alana

Seconded by Jess Damseaux

Motion Approved with Unanimous Consent

Principal's Update: Kelly Sousa Purcell 

  • Current update

    • Reading Under the Stars was wonderful; feedback has been very positive.

    • Curriculum Night was well attended; feedback is always appreciated especially around flow 

    • Board of Education / Town Officer / Whiting Lane Meeting Recap

      • Date: October 1 | Time: 10:30 AM | Location: Whiting Lane Playground

      • Jenny Kowitt & Alana Curren met with School Principal Kelly Sousa Purcell, Board of Education (Julio Duarte & Eric Denny) and town official (Rick Ledwith) at the Whiting Lane playground to discuss concerns regarding medical waste found on the playground. During the meeting, we were also present for a lockdown situation inside the school, which prompted further discussion about additional critical building and safety concerns, including broken ventilation system in the gymnasium,, nonfunctioning windows and shades throughout the school, the ongoing mouse infestation, and a leaking roof resulting in moldy ceiling tiles.

      • Next Steps: We are compiling a comprehensive list of outstanding concerns to review with Julio so that repairs and necessary corrective actions can begin as soon as possible at Whiting Lane.

    • New roof is slated for summer of 2027

  • Facilities and Environment Update

    • Pest Control

      • 1x per month

      • Bigger Abatements Scheduled 2x (Winter Recess and April Break)

    • Garbage Cans on playground

      • Better views of cameras

      • Emptied regularly

    • Playground Equipment Update

      • Post was broken on K-2 swingset, immediately roped off and is now removed, and the town is adding in a new swing set (4-8 weeks turnaround time)

Open Discussion Topics: 

  • Replacing Rusty McMillan’s at-large position with Stephen Pancheri, voted at executive board meeting

  • Expanding the Board for additional at-large members

    • Rachel Holder-Scovill

    • Karina Minchuk

  • Wishlist Items

    • Cassandra Hunt for reading specialists 

Treasurer: Jess Damseaux

See Attached

Past Events: 

  • Reading Under the Stars

    • Well attended, RiverBend is donating $120 to PTO, Bake sale was successful

  • Garden Clean Up

    • Tremendous work accomplished

Fundraising: 

  • Fall Into Fun: Paige Canty

    • Auction is currently open (Konstella)

    • Everyone is invited! It will be a fun event for all with things to do at the event plus the online auction. 

  • Costume Trivia night: Stef Corsi-Travali

    • Costume Trivia Night on Friday, October 30th 5:30 - 6 pm (pizza), 6 - 8 pm (trivia). BYO water bottle for hydration. 

    • Tickets on sale on Konstella 10/5 - or pay with cash/check by emailing treasurer@wlpto.org, or bringing a check to front office made out to Whiting Lane PTO. Can also buy tickets night of, but preference is to purchase them ahead of time so we order enough pizza

    • Price of $5 per person (maximum of $20 per family) includes pizza dinner and entry into the family trivia game

    • We need volunteers for the following roles (no experience required!) -- middle and high school students, parents, guardians, etc. are all welcome and appreciated as volunteers (volunteer sign up live on Konstella 10/1)

      • Pizza server (2 people, 5:15pm - 6:00pm; 1 person 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm): help us reduce the spread of germs in the fall season by wearing gloves and serving pre-cut pizza to attendees.

      • Answer sheet collector and scorer (1-2 people, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm): collect trivia answer sheets for each round and score each group's responses. This role is responsible for helping declare the winner for each round! 

  • Rock & Run Week: Ernest/Alana 

    • Raising money for PTO to sponsor events throughout the year. 

    • While historically a Spring event, moving this to the beginning of the year aids for the Spring testing schedule. 

    • Time slots have been posted

    • Spirit Week | Nov. 9-13

    • Veterans’ Day Breakfast Nov. 11

    • Rock & Run Day Nov. 13 

      • Students will be given grade-specific colored shirts to wear on Friday. 

      • Rain date: Nov. 23

  • Lantern Walk: Jess, Carolyn, Jenny, & Ernest

    • Event for greater community to light lanterns and walk to Whiting Lane with a choir performance in conjunction for the winter solstice. 

    • Planning meeting 10/21/26

    • Website for purchasing live

Food Pantry: Stef Corsi-Travali

  • Food pantry closet sanitized, organized and prepped - thank you Carolyn, Joe and Karina for help. Shopping for first month completed. Started grocery bag distribution on 10/1/26!

  • Pending feedback from Greater Hartford Gives on grant application; decisions expected in November

  • VOLUNTEERS NEEDED to help shop for groceries and bag groceries. Any time commitment helps - email scorsitravali@gmail.com if interested. 

  • Grocery bagging planned for each Wednesday at 2pm after school.

  • Fundraiser at Shake Shack generated $202 – THANK YOU to all from community who ordered and dined at Shake Shack

  • Next restaurant night fundraiser: Chipotle at 966 Farmington Ave in West Hartford on Wednesday, October 21 from 5-9pm. When ordering in person, please present the flyer and 25% of your bill will be donated to the Whiting Lane PTO’s Food Pantry. If you’d like to order online ahead for pickup, go to chipotle.com or use the Chipotle app, select “pickup”, and be sure to use the code NJPVVJA when checking out. 

Room Parents & Volunteers: Alana Curren 

  • September communication has gone out wide to all K-5 families/caregivers and we still need room parent volunteers for: Flammia, Pierce, Cavallo, Puglielli, Torres, Beckley, Martin & Hannan.

  • We always need extra hands at PTO run events; Konstella is the best way to sign up but you can always reach out directly to me: roomparent@wlpto.org 

Outreach

Website/Store update: Ernest Ourso

  • Updating vendor to a local business with his own students in West Hartford Public Schools for school swag. He provides apparel solutions for other local schools (Hall, Aiken, & many more) SeptemberCosmos.com

  • Current cost including shipping is $23.50, the PTO would receive $1.50 back

  • Antonio’s store, shipping cost is included but we will receive $4 back per shirt. 

  • Having a local vendor will help with troubleshooting 

Wadsworth Collaboration: Alana Curren and Jennifer Kowitt

  • Wadsworth is able to provide free tours and free transportation (including accessible transportation)

  • Positive feedback from teachers; have formed a teacher subcommittee and have already scheduled a grade-wide visit (4th grade: gallery and studio program about mythology - connects to districtwide unit on myths)

Hartford Athletics Update: Jess Damseaux

  • September 25, we had a section with 57 tickets sold with a portion coming back to Whiting Lane. Kids were able to participate on the field with players and more. 

Whiting Lane Ski Club: Jess Damseaux

  • Ski Sundown has a program on Sundays for students grade 3-5. Lessons are also available. More information is on Konstella. 

Wolf Pack (Wednesday, 3/10/27) and Yard Goats (Friday, 5/14/27): Alana Curren

  • More information will be coming soon. Deposits are being sent. 

5th Grade Coordinators: Carolyn Considine and Jennifer Kowitt with Erika Tapper

  • Flyer/E-mail distributed to 5th grade families providing information about the year.

  • We have started collecting dues and yearbook photos from families.

  • First bake sale at Reading Under the Stars - huge success!  Thank you to all who donated baked goods and their time.

  • Next steps: Teacher planning meeting and starting to form a yearbook committee.  

Up for a vote:

  • Voting on Expanding the board with additional at large members and elections

    • Motion made by Jess Damseaux, Seconded by Kelly Sousa Purcell 

    • Motion Approved with Unanimous Consent

    • Karina Minchuk, Made by Stef Corsi-Travali, Seconded by Carolyn Considine

    • Motion Approved with Unanimous Consent

    • Rachel Holder-Scovill, Made by Alana Curren, Seconded by Kelly Sousa Purcell

    •  Motion Approved with Unanimous Consent

  • Closing Store and using www.septembercosmos.com

    • Motion made by Kelly Sousa Purcell, Seconded by Stef Corsi-Travali

    • Motion Approved with Unanimous Consent

  • Wish List: Cassandra Hunt

    • Motion made by Carolyn Considine, Seconded Paige Canty

    • Motion Approved with Unanimous Consent

Upcoming Important Dates:

  • Tuesday, 10/13: ELC School Pics & Wednesday, 10/14: K-5 School Pics

  • Saturday, 10/17: Fall into Fun 1-4pm

  • Wednesday 10/21: 

    •  6:30pm: Community Lantern Walk Meeting at Mr. O’s home 9 Beverly Rd

    • 5-9pm: Food Pantry Fundraiser with Chipotle

  • Friday 10/30: 

    • 2:55pm: School Costume Parade - parents and caregivers are welcome to come watch the kids parade around the school in their costumes.

    • 5:30-8pm: Costume Trivia Night in the Whiting Lane Cafeteria

  • Thursday 11/12: PTO Meeting at 6:30pm

  • November 9-13th: Rock & Run Spirit Week

Motion to adjourn meeting made by Alana Curren, Seconded by Jess Damseaux at 7:34 pm.

Motion Approved with Unanimous Consent

Next Meeting: November 12, 2026 @ 6:30pm

Attendance:

Ernest Ourso, Kelly Sousa Purcell, Paige Canty, Stefani Corsi-Travali, KJ Hill, Carolyn Considine, Karina Minchuk, Jessica Damseaux, Emily Thomsen, Alana Curren, Stephen Pancheri, Kim Hannan, Rachel Scovill, Sam Scovill, Amanda Shah, Yi Ting Hong, Antonio Espinosa, Caitlin Lefchak, Jenny Kowitt, Jeremiah Quinlan, Amy Bautista, Joe Dacey