CPA General Meeting 10/6/11 6:30p.m. Terrace Park Library
In Attendance: Kristen Anderson, Lindsey Watson, Jenny Mao, Tina Raghu, Gregory Radcliffe, Michelle Toshima, Kristin Merrill, Laurel Barkley, Thomas Bragg, Nancy Hunter, Lisa Flynn, Maya Shinn, Sue Wilson-Schmitz, Nancy Erickson, Marilyn Hall, Lina Lewis, Ruth Kenney, Jenny Cain, Pam Gaspers, Russell Jack, Lan Nguyen, Kate Simkowiak, Heather Margo, Hannah Smith, Marit Ernst, Mary Freitas, Mahyar Rahbarrad, Kim Baca, Ginger Everhart, and Dan Everhart.
Introductions
President’s Report
The fundraiser is currently happening. WAETAG is coming up at the end of October and CPA is able to help fund the teachers’ trip. Other than WAETAG, our funds go toward grants and classroom stipends. Pam & Tina met with Tony Byrd who expressed to them that the district supports gifted education and is committed to it. Information about testing will go out on November 3rd, referrals need to be in by November 18th, and the testing happens on December 3rd.
We are working on putting together a classroom contact lists.
Upcoming events are: Bingo Night (Nov 10), prep day for Gifted Ed Day (Jan 12), Gifted Ed Day (Jan 23), and calling for levy votes (Feb 13).
Principal’s Report
Mrs. Freitas followed up on Lisa Flynn’s comments on Gifted Ed Day by updating us on what Gifted Ed means now that funding is guaranteed as part of basic education. The state must now monitor gifted education and all districts must provide gifted education to kids who are identified.
We have added students to the program. The class sizes are currently similar to the neighborhood school. She thanked CPA for supporting the teachers. The teachers are working on aligning the curriculum with state standards for gifted education. Charlotte Aiken, from Vancouver, will be speaking to the teachers in October. We also have an offer from Dr. Nicole Bain, a psychologist, to talk to the teachers about learning differences.
We received grant money for a new flashing beacon on the street for student safety.
The Technology Replacement Levy vote is coming up. Terrace Park has signed up to call supportive voters and remind them to vote the evening of February 13th from 5 p.m. to 6:25 p.m. Expect to see information about the levy in the next week. Michelle Toshima sits on the Citizens’ Planning Committee and reported that there is some concern of voter fatigue. Seventy percent of our voters don’t have school-age kids and have been getting asked to approve school levies a lot lately. Only 50% of our parents are registered voters.
Minutes from 05/05/11 approved – Lisa Flynn motioned, Pam Gaspers seconded.
Gifted Ed Day
Lisa Flynn gave an overview of Gifted Ed Day. Gifted Ed funding is now part of basic education.
Ginger Everhart is overseeing the 4th grade field trip. The 4th graders will have a 3 hour civics education tour including a mock trial. Last year we had over 200 people from our school attend Gifted Ed Day, as opposed to 6 the first year.
Brier Terrace Update
Kristin Merrill and Michelle Toshima provided an update on Brier Terrace. They are now included in CPA. This is the third year that BTMS has had their highly capable program in place and the first year that BTMS parents will get asked about fundraising. All the feedback has been good so far. The challenges at the middle school have been that the students would like to integrate more with regular-ed students and have had the opportunity at BTMS. There are 5 teachers in the highly-capable program and none of them will be attending WAETAG this year.
Michelle Toshima is our rep for the Citizen’s Planning Committee (CPC). Additionally, she attends Gifted Ed Task Force. They will discuss the new goals now that the high-cap program at BTMS is up and running.
2010/2011 Audit Report
Pam Gaspers reported that she and Maya Shinn have completed the audit report. The report was available for view at the meeting.
Treasurer’s Report
Pam reported that we are still collecting for the fundraiser. Our goal is to raise $13,000 and we have raised $8,000 so far.
Additional Items
All 10 of the TP teachers, as well as Mrs. Freitas, are attending WAETAG this year.
Mrs. Hall thanked CPA from the teachers for their WAETAG support.
One parent asked about the relationship between the CPA and the PTA. Pam explained that the two are independent of each other but work together, that CPA only addresses the specific needs of gifted learners. Parents of Challenge students are asked to join the PTA. All parents/guardians are members of CPA by having a child in the highly capable program. While it is not required for CPA parents to join the PTA, it is encouraged.
The school has made adjustments to have the neighborhood students and the Challenge students integrate better. For example, the pods are now set up so that students of the same grade levels are in the same pod regardless of whether the class is a Challenge or neighborhood class. The administration is also considering combining sixth grade camp but they are dealing with some logistical challenges. It will not happen this year, as camp has already happened.
Street Strut is this Saturday at 9Am at Civic Center. It is hosted by the Public Schools Foundation.
Teacher input
Mrs. Hall is happy to see so many primary parents at the meeting. She discussed the afterschool program. In the past, the Public Schools Foundation has donated up to $5,000. This year they have only been able to donate $2,200 so if anyone wants to donate, Costco cash cards would be particularly useful. It goes from 3:30 to 4:45 and is free to parents. All the classes are taught by the teachers and there are such activities as volleyball, cross-county, cooking, jump rope, robotics, trebuchets, Shakespeare and language classes. It is available to students from 3rd grade up. The third graders are invited to be involved with art, music and cooking only, with everything else being available to older students.
Ms. Watson & Ms. Anderson indicated that parents have been very supportive of them and that communication with parents has been great.
Mrs. Erickson is trying to build a library and would welcome donations. She put together a wish list for the book fair.