PTA General Meeting minutes
May 8, 2012
I. PRESIDENT’S REPORT
A. Meeting called to order at 9:32 AM by Donna Widmann
B. Welcome to new board members Jennifer Beason (Treasurer) and Michelle Bassi (VP Enrichment). Thank you to Terri Maas and Eileen Boffa, outgoing Treasurer and VP Enrichment, for their service the past two years.
C. Request for changes to April’s PTA general meeting minutes. No changes noted. Minutes approved as posted.
D. Audit committee is needed for July. Jennifer Beason will be the chair. Michelle Bassi, Amy Sutcliffe, Alissa Chrisos volunteered for the committee. Kris Dalaly will be the alternate.
II. PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
A. Chorus concert tomorrow; assembly in afternoon
B. There are some great summer programs coming up. The district is bringing in the Center for Gifted from NIU. Camp Invention is a program designed for exploration and creativity. It is open to anyone (don’t have to be in PA or require a recommendation) and will be held at Fry Elementary beginning June 18. There is another program available, for kids that do above average work. They don’t necessarily need to be in the PA program, but a teacher recommendation form is required. Scholarship money is available for the program as well. The program will be held at Scullen during the last 2 weeks of June. It is a ½ day program running M – Th. Students can choose 3 different classes. The program is offered to students in grades Pre-K through 8th. There will also be a Harry Potter festival, another Center for Gifted event, held at Patterson this Saturday for grades 2-8.
C. 5th Grade celebration will be held during the day this year.
D. The book fair is here this week. It is open today for preview and will be open late tomorrow night.
E. There are two events going on at the school tomorrow evening: 1st grade musical and 3rd grade habitat night. Mrs. Frost requested feedback on how multiple events at school go.
F. Reminder that there is no school on Monday.
G. Parent input form (class request forms) need to be complete by end of this week. Class list development will be starting next week.
H. Patterson will be losing a 2nd grade staff member and a 5th grade staff member. There will be 3 sections of K-2 and 4 sections of grades 3-5. Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Steen will both be full time, so 1st grade teachers will be Mrs. Wohlfeil, Mrs, Steen, and Mrs. Harris. The maximum class size for 2nd grade is 31.
I. New principals and administrators were announced at the board meeting last night, as well as more releases. LMC assistants will be going to ½ time and Mrs. Frost isn’t sure if we will have Kindergarten reading intervention person (KIT). This staff member works with K and 1st grade and is a grant funded position through state. Patterson was able to retain some specialty areas (1/2 time social worker and music).
J. There will be no summer mailing this year. It will save hundreds of dollars. All students in the district should be going electronic. All parents will need to know their child’s student ID number(s) in case information, such as teacher assignments, are posted on the school’s front doors. There was some discussion on how the school could maybe distribute this information before the end of the year. Mrs. Frost may ask Beth to print labels to be affixed to all report cards, and parents would need to be informed (e.g. listserv) to hang onto that information. The PTA membership form and Meet and Greet info won’t go out either since there is no mailing. We will put everything on website and have printouts at Meet and Greet.
K. Curriculum night will be later in September.
L. Math common core will start in the fall.
M. Mrs. Arnquist thanked the PTA for their participation in the upcoming retirement party being held May 23 after school.
III. TREASURER’S REPORT
A. Expenses: from PTA president’s discretionary fund for 4 retirement gift cards and greeting cards; Hospitality for Teacher Appreciation breakfast and luncheon; Family Fun: DJ and Snacks; Bridge workbooks
B. Income: Boxtop check; Bridge workbook sales; School Supply kit sales; Yearbook sales; Variety Show snack sales
C. There is still much activity outstanding (Field Day, Yearbooks, 5th Grade celebration, etc.)
IV. VP COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. Administration: Karen Amundsen
1. She still needs a rep for IPSN.
2. Field Day planning is underway. The date is Tuesday, May 29, with a rain date of May 30. The volunteer sheet went out and there have been 65 responses already. Mini backpacks were ordered for the give away and the snack will be bomb pops.
3. 5th grade celebration planning continues to run smoothly. There will be a meeting tomorrow to review final details. The DVD is almost done. Amy Martin has done a great job putting it all together. Need to ask some 4th grade parents to help out with snack and maybe run an item in listserv requesting volunteers.
4. Kris Dalaly reported that the Yearbook is done and at the printer. It was decided that teachers will receive the yearbooks on the 30th to distribute if they want.
5. There will be no movie day this year. Instead, there will be a Staff vs. Student kickball game.
6. Michelle Bassi reported that Chick-fil-A donated 85 breakfast sandwiches for the Teacher Appreciation Breakfast. Teachers that received massages also received a 30 minute gift certificate as well. The Teacher Appreciation luncheon went well except for some issues with delivery.
7. Michelle Bassi reported that the Clerical desk has been running smoothly and Esther DeSouza will be taking over.
B. Enrichment: Eileen Boffa
1. Colleen needs a co-chair for Art Awareness. Things are already very organized and easy to run.
2. Need chair for Reflections and co-chair for Variety Show for next year
C. Finance: Janet Juarez
1. Jet’s Night is today and tonight. People can order online and Jet’s offers delivery.
2. Summer Bridge: 106 books were sold for a profit of $336
3. Apparel committee is working on spec sheet for items to be sold in the fall
4. Cookie dough: 340 units were sold for a profit of $2180
5. School Supply kits: The deadline to turn in forms and money is this Friday. 318 kits have been sold so far. Ingrid Arnquist asked if will there be extra kits available for new people that move at last minute? We order one extra kit per grade each year.
6. Amy Sutcliffe reported on the Fall Carnival. Planning is still in progress. She is looking for teacher volunteers to work in hour shifts for games. She also left information in the teachers’ lounge for suggestions for raffle. Kids love to win things to do with their individual teachers (have lunch with a teacher, ice cream, etc.)
V. NEW BUSINESS: Alissa Chrisos moves to move $900.00 from Classroom Enrichment for Fall Carnival budget. The motion was seconded. Motion passes.
VI. OLD BUSINESS: None
VII. Meeting adjourned at 10:25 AM
VIII. Members present
Donna Widmann / Terri Maas / Katie Purse / Ingrid ArnquistEileen Boffa / Alissa Chrisos / Michelle Frost / Becky Swartz
Michelle Bassi / Amy Sutcliffe / Karen Amundsen / Janet Juarez
Kris Dalaly / Jennifer Beason