ECS PCO

The PCO Steering Committee consists of up to fifteen seats, all of which are filled by parents of children currently enrolled as students at ECS. In accordance with the mission of the PCO, the Steering Committee shall: direct and plan the activities of the PCO in general; coordinate the specific efforts and activities of PCO committees and initiatives; facilitate communication within the school community (Board of Trustees, employees, and parents); and carry out all routine tasks necessary for the fulfillment of the PCO mission.

2023–2024 Steering Committee Members:

• Chairperson- Becky Marinov (parents@ecspco.org)

• Primary School VC- Kaitlin Dichiera (primaryvc@ecspco.org)

• Intermediate School VC- Sarah Bartholomew-Fisher (intermediatevc@ecspco.org)

• Middle School VC- Amanda Backeris (middlevc@ecspco.org)

• High School VC- Vacant (highschoolvc@ecspco.org)

• Secretary- Anne Marie Rizaldy (secretary@ecspco.org)

• Treasurer- Jill Farringdon & Brian Henry (treasurer@ecspco.org)

• Communications Committee Chair-Louise-Marie Oleksiuk (newsletter@ecspco.org)

• Community Support Committee Chair - Vacant (communitysupport@ecspco.org)

• DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Committee Chair-Jonathan Baldwin (dei@ecspco.org)

• Events Committee Coordinator -Molly Campe (events@ecspco.org)

• Fundraising Committee Chair-Lauren Thompson & Stevie Sheridan (fundraising@ecspco.org)

• Volunteer Coordinator - Molly Campe (volunteer@ecspco.org)

• Board Representative- Tia Chutz (boardrep@ecspco.org)

• Member at large- Araceli Gonzaga

• Member at large- Carol Ann Welsh

Important Documents

• Steering Committee Responsibilities and Committee Structure.

• PCO By-Laws

• Tuesday, August 29th, 2023 at 6PM **Steering only**

  • August 29th, 2023 Meeting Minutes

• Wednesday, September 6th, 2023 at 6PM

  • No meeting minutes

• Wednesday, October 4th, 2023 at 6PM

  • October 4th, 2023 Meeting Minutes

• Wednesday, November 1st, 2023 at 6PM

  • Nov. 1, 2023 Meeting Minutes

• Wednesday, December 6th, 2023 at 6PM

  • Presentation on Pediatric Anxiety Disorders_Dr. Winkeller

• Wednesday, January 10th, 2024 at 6PM

  • Jan 10, 2024 Meeting Minutes

• Wednesday, February 7th, 2024 at 6PM

  • Presentation on Health Snacks for Kids_Jenny Nguyen

• Wednesday, March 6th, 2024 at 6PM

• Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024 at 6PM (CANCELED)

• Wednesday, May 1st, 2024 at 6PM

• Wednesday, June 5th, 2024 at 6PM **Steering only**

Visit the ECS Calendar for more information about ECS and ECS PCO meetings and events

THANK YOU to our ECS families for your participation in this Fall's ECS Staff Appreciation Holiday Gift Collection. Thanks to your incredible support & generosity, we will be able to meet our goal of giving each staff member a $50 gift card!!!

We look forward to extending our show of gratitude toward ECS staff during this year's **Staff Appreciation Week** which will be taking place the week of May 6th - 10th.

There are many fun events planned throughout the week (see below).

Here are two ways that you can help:

1. Sign-up HERE to help make signs and/or pick-up and deliver goods to the various ECS buildings

2. Donate toward the ECS PCO Staff Appreciation End-of-Year Gift Collection. (now through April 24th, 2024)

100% of the total amount collected will be divided among homebase teachers, specialists, E-Day, and staff in the form of gift cards. Our goal is to be able to give each staff person a $50 gift card.

Contributions can be made via PayPal or by check. We’re sorry, but cash cannot be accepted. Checks should be made payable to “ECS PCO” and sent to Jill Farringdon, 5539 Pocusset Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. If you send a check, you will receive an email confirmation that the check has been received.

A suggested donation is $15-$20 per student attending ECS (remember, this is to be split among more than 250 staff members), but we are so very grateful for any amount you can comfortably give; no amount is too little (or too much)

The deadline for making contributions is Wednesday, April 24th.

Visit this ecspgh.org/pco to stay up-to-date on the collected amount.

Questions? E-mail: staffappreciation@ecspco.org

• 6/30/23 Report

• 6/30/23 Financials Budget

• 7/31/23 Report

• 7/31/23 Financials Budget

• 8/31/23 Report

• 8/31/23 Financials Budget

• 9/30/23 Report

• 9/30/23 Financials Budget

• 10/31/23 Report

• 10/31/23 Financials Budget

• 11/30/23/ Report

• 11/30/23 Financials Budget

• 12/31/23 Report

• 12/31/23 Financials Budget

• 1/31/24 Financials Budget

• 1/31/24 Report

• 3/31/24 Financials Budget

• 3/31/24 Report

View the ECS PCO 2023–2024 Budget HERE.

• Box Tops for Education: Download the new app and collect Box Top labels for ECS everytime you shop. Go to www.boxtops4education.com/newbtfe for more information on the new app and collection process.

• Oliver's Labels: ECS PCO earns a 20% commission from all purchases made through this link www.oliverslabels.com/ecspco. You'll find a wide variety of labels for kids and adults, bag tags, wall decals, car decals, business decals, and more.

• Emily Press Labels: We partner with Emily Press Labels to offer customized ironon or stickon labels for clothing, lunchboxes, books, water bottles and more! We earn commission from every sale. http://www.emilypress.com/ecs

• Rite Aid Wellness + Card ­ RXfundraising: Do you have a Rite Aid Wellness + card? Link it to RXfundraising and earn money for ECS every time you use your card at Rite Aid. Go HERE for details and to sign up.

Thank you to our ECS community for your generous contributions to our Fall Plant Sale. We look forward to a great Spring Plant Sale in 2024.

Questions? Please contact Michelle at plantsale@ecspco.org.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR ECS COMMUNITY!

The PCO would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all those who donated to its Friendsgiving campaign. In just a few weeks, we raised nearly $5,000, all of which goes right back to the ECS Community via Mini-Grants, student and teacher support, assistance with school social events, and the many fun family gatherings the PCO hosts throughout the year. It's truly wonderful to see so many families supporting the PCO's efforts, and we encourage anyone who is interested in learning more to attend a meeting and get involved in whatever capacity feels right for you.

• May 9th, 2024 from 4-9PM: Millie’s in Lawrenceville located at 3803 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201. Additional details are available here

Blooming Bash was a BLAST!

After six dormant years, The Blooming Bash had a triumphant return! Caregivers, teachers, administrators and board members gathered to celebrate our school and raise funds for our community. Over $12,000 was raised for mini-grants (most recently robotics supplies and Kona Ice for 5th grade promotion), social events & staff appreciation.

Huge shout out to JENNY and PHAT NGUYEN who donated their amazing space Ineffable Cà Phê and to the host committee for creating such a great experience!

We'd also like to thank our wonderful sponsors for helping make this event possible:

• We'd like to thank Ineffable Cà Phê and our wonderful sponsors for helping make this event possible.

  • Mountain Laurel- $1,000:

    • FHLBank

    • Five Points Artisan Bakeshop

    • The Kingsley Association

    • Meyer Unkovic & Scott

  • Butterfly Milkweed- $500:

    • Common Good Labs

    • Connections Dental

      • Duolingo

      • Point Breeze Veterinary Clinic

      • Primerica Financial Services

      • Tim Gyves at Compass RE

  • Black-Eyed Susan- $250

    • Carbon Compost

    • Espresso a Mano

  • In-Kind Sponsor

    • BB&Bur

    • Trace Brewing

• ECS PCO Blooming Bash hosting committee

  • Molly Campe

  • Araceli Gonzaga

  • Sophie Mackey

  • Becky Marinov

  • Jocelyn Mayr

  • Jenny Nguyen

  • Phat Nguyen

  • Louise-Marie Oleksiuk

  • Stevie Sheridan

  • Katie Sloan

ECS’s annual Spring Flower & Plant Sale is back in time for Spring planting!

ORDER BY APRIL 27th. Pick-up May 17th at the Intermediate School.

Browse plants and place orders: https://ecspco.square.site/shop/plant-sale/29

Annual bedding flowers, hanging baskets, and individual potted flowers are available from a local, woman-owned business. We are also offering organic vegetable, herb, and native pollinator seedlings from Grow Pittsburgh.

We need many hands to make this fundraiser happen! Please sign up to help here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0845ADAD2EA5FA7-48670959-spring

May 17th: Spring Flower & Plant Sale pick-up at the ECS Intermediate school

Email uniforms@ecspco.org with any questions about the ECS PCO uniform re-use market

ECS PCO Uniform Re-Sale Dates

• Friday, May 17th, 2024 from 5-7pm at the ECS Intermediate School

• Gently used uniforms will be collected at the primary and intermediate schools from May 6th through May 15th. Bins will be located in the entryway.

1. Complete the application.

2. After completing the online application, it will be automatically routed to the mini-grants committee.

3. The PCO Mini-Grants Committee will review and score each application based on the criteria listed under Mini-Grants Judging Criteria and provide their recommendations to the PCO Steering Committee. The mini-grants committee may request additional information to clarify sections of the application.

4. All PCO Steering Committee members will vote on whether or not to award the recommended applications.

5. Applicants will be notified of the approval or rejection once recommendations have been accepted by the PCO.

Once an application has been approved, there are three ways to gain access to these funds

• Personally pay for the approved expenses and be reimbursed by the PCO.

• Submit a purchase order with the vendor invoice for the approved expenses to the PCO Treasurer (treasurer@ecspco.org) and the vendor will be paid directly.

• Submit a purchase order with order details for the approved expenses to the PCO Treasurer and the PCO Treasurer will order and pay for the items directly

All expense receipts must be submitted using the online Purchase and Reimbursement Forms, 60 days after the grant is approved. Please notify the Mini Grants committee (minigrants@ecspco.org) and PCO Treasurer (treasurer@ecspco.org) if you do not plan to utilize the funds within 60 days of approval. All Mini Grants must be used by the end of June of the school year in which they are awarded.

The ECS PCO complete Purchase and Reimbursement Forms and Instructions can be found on the ECS PCO website at https://ecspgh.org/pco#PCOFinances

• Number of students benefiting

• Level of enhancement or innovation;

• Sustainability/percentage of reusable products

• Maintenance costs and solutions

• Connection to curriculum.

Note: We are unable to fund field trips and home learning pods.

Each of these criteria will receive a rating of 1 – 5 from members of the Mini-Grants Committee, with 5 being the highest possible score for each. Each member of the Committee will provide a total score for each grant along with a recommended award, which are then averaged and voted on by the Committee before being submitted to the PCO Steering committee for final approval.

The Committee may recommend an award that is less than the full amount requested in your application.

Coming Soon!

• Email the PCO Chair at parents@ecspco.org.

• Email the PCO School Board Representative at boardrep@ecspco.org

• Email the PCO DEI Chair at DEI@ecspco.org

View the Volunteer Page in ECS’s Family Portal.

Follow, like, and join ECS and the PCO on social media!

ECS Parent Community Organization

• PCO on Facebook

• PCO Instagram

Parent Facebook pages

• ECS Transportation Connections

ECS Social Media

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

View ECS’s Contact page to get in touch with the school.

Looking to email a specific faculty/staff member? View the staff directory.