Minutes
Columbia Middle School PTO Minutes
September 29th, 2014
The meeting was called to order by PTO President Donna Mouchtaris at 8:11 pm.
PTO President Mouchtaris welcomed everyone in attendance.
Approval of Minutes - Recording Secretary John Foster
Minutes of the previous meetings were presented. Motion and seconded. Same approved by
those in attendance.
Corresponding Secretary Report – Amy Coviello
Nothing at this time
Treasurer Report – Eva Dooley
Budget was presented for school year. Motion and seconded. Same approved by those in attendance.
Principal’s Report – Mr. Geiger
Nothing at this time. All items covered in Principal’s Forum
Vice Principal's Report – Ms. Acosta
Nothing at this time as same items covered under Principals Forum.
Teacher Representative Report – Dr. Sempepos/Ms. Prendeville
Dr. Sempepos spoke about the Week of Respect which took place the first week of October. This is always worked on with the Guidance Dept. and it was decided that there would be one cause to focus on. This year’s cause was “Be A Hero”. This would enable staff and students to connect as the staff would share about who their hero was. Monies raised will go to the Wounded Warrior Project. There was also a poster contest along with videos and local hero’s coming to the school to speak to students. Red Ribbon week was also discussed and expanded upon with Mrs. Acosta.
President Report – Donna Mouchtaris
Two Board of Education seats will be open for election. Bill Cassano is running for one seat as a write in candidate.
November 1st will show that Columbia will have complete wireless access in school.
PTO donations- Letter drafted to show donations in excess of $230,000.00 from all 6 district PTOs.
Gift to school that was voted on two years ago was the air conditioners in classrooms. This was originally turned down by the District due to wiring upgrades needed with the school. Currently 8 classrooms are un-air-conditioned. The electrical needs were evaluated. The architect who evaluated the wiring says that there is no upgrade needed at each electrical panel. Each unit will need it's own wiring from the panel to the air conditioner unit. The PTO will need to cover the materials cost for the units' installation. With this the total cost will be approx $5595.92 for air conditioners. District will do the wiring. Motion and seconded. Same approved by those in attendance.
Vice President's Report – Angela Penna
Special Education Parent Advisory Committee Schedule 2014-2015 as follows:
Wednesday, September 24, 2014 - 1:00 pm
Clausen Administrative Complex in the 1stFloor Business Office conference room
Wednesday, October 29, 2014 - 7:00 pm • GLHS Media Center
How To Improve Communication Skills with Your Child
Mrs. Kathy Kayne, Speech-Language Specialist
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 7:00 pm -GLHS Media CenterTeaching Encouraging Social Skills in the Home Community
Dr. Elizabeth Doerrbecker, Psy.D., BCBA
Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - 1:00 pm
2ndFloor of the Clausen Administrative Complex in the large conference room
Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - 7:00 pm - GlHS Media Center
How to Handle Homework and Other Academic Preparation ... and Not Ruin Your Relationship With Your Child
Dr. Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University
Academic Director, The Collaborative, Rutgers' Center for Community-Based Research and
Service (engage.rutgers.edu), Coordinator, Improving School Climate for Academic and Life Success (ISCAlS), Rutgers Center for Applied Psychology.
Author of the new e-book, "Emotionally Intelligent Parenting," for the Kindle at Amazon.com and for the Nook at Barnesandnoble.com and a book for parents, "Talking Treasure: Stories to Help Build Emotional Intelligence and Resilience in Young Children."
Wednesday, May 13, 2015 -1:00 pm
2ndFloor of the Clausen Administrative Complex in the large conference room
New members are welcome and encouraged to attend! These meetings/workshops are subject to change once the district calendar has been completed. Please check the Special Services website for an accurate, up-to-date list of SEPAC meeting dates. Additional workshops and parent training opportunities will be posted in the Fall when they have been coordinated with surrounding districts and the Morris-Union Jointure Commission.
This year we welcome our new Supervisor of Special Education, Mr. Kevin Morra, as well as many new staff members!
Committee Reports-
Alliance – Jeanne Mirabella
Nothing at this time
Audit- Laura Raftery, Monica Szalus
Nothing at this time
Board of Education Liaison – Jess Germansky
Nothing at this time
Cultural Arts – Meredith McRae, Elisa Probst, Ruth Brogden
More information next month on schedule, etc.
Curriculum Liaison - Donna Mouchtaris, Angela Penna
Meeting is on October 29th. More info to follow.
Directory – Carla McGlynn
Forms are in and process started in October. This should be finalized by end of the month.
Enrichment- Patty Branthover, Diane O’Halloran, Lei Xie
Nothing at this time
Environmental Coordinator – AnnMarie Sieczka
Nothing at this time
Family Care and Concern – Angela Ippolito-Stallone
Nothing at this time
Media Center/Book Fair – Jean Marie Vreeland, Kathy Matfes, Carla McGlynn, Dominque Klausner
Book Fair- 6th grade teachers were invited to spend $832.00 in Scholastic Bucks earned from last year's Book Fair. The teachers ordered 2 book cases and 6 fiction and non fiction selections for their classroom libraries.
Membership – Maureen Pergola
We currently have 439 parent members of the PTO representing 293 families.
38 faculty members have joined the PTO.
As of meeting, we have collected a total of $2385 in dues and an additional $6965 in donations for a total of $9350.
Reminder that all committee chairs are required to submit membership dues.
We will continue to collect dues and donations through the next few months.
Publicity – Natalie Safer
Nothing at this time
Special Education Liaison – Jeanne Mirabella, Angela Penna
Nothing at this time
Committee Reports- (cont.)
Teacher Grants – Christine DelDuca
Mrs. Bocach and Mr. Boff requested a grant to join Flocabulary.com. motion and seconded. Same approved by those in attendance
Teacher/Staff Appreciation – Bridget Niegel, Tracey Wahlers
Nothing at this time
Teen Arts – Allison Pierce, Susannah Schwarz, Donna Delargy
Nothing at this time
Volunteers – Erin Buckley
Nothing at this time
Ways and Means – Diane O’Halloran, Audrey Reilly
Nothing at this time
Website Coordinator – Maribel Proano
Nothing at this time
Old Business
Nothing at this time
New Business
Nothing at this time
Announcements
Nothing at this time
Next Meeting
October 21, 2014 6:30PM with Principal's Forum
Motion to adjourn was made at 8:30pm and was passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
John Foster
John Foster
CMS PTO Recording Secretary