Falls Church City Public Schools Elementary PTA Meeting

September 21, 2005

MINUTES

Handouts

  • Falls Church Elementary PTA Meeting Agenda – 9.21.05
  • Virginia PTA 2006 Proposed Legislation Program (PLP)
  • Proposed Falls Church EPTA Budget 2005-2006
  • Falls Church City Public Schools Elementary Draft PTA Meeting Minutes from April 13, 2005 and May 17, 2005

In Attendance: Laura Gogal, Jill Martin, Megan Schlitt, Kathleen Donovan, Catherine Beddow, Trudy Taylor, Kathy Halayko, Charlotte Hyland, Gabriella Abruzzi, Jackie Handly, John Maher, Jen Ciipriano, Ann Divecha, Jackie Bossart, Debbie Schantz-Hiscott, Craig Middlebrook, Rachelle Sharrer, Jennifer Dean, Beth West, Nora Pishner, Ray Carlson, Claudia Williams, Jane Johansen, Judy Fraser, Muliani Lyng, Tom Clinton, Marybeth Connelly, Suzanne Updike, Joyce Migdall, Melissa Surette, Virginia Levri, Charlotte Hyland, Laurie Clark, Mechelle Coppock, Cheryl Fisher and Nancy Delew.

I. Welcome

Laura Gogal, PTA President, welcomed families, staff, and students to the meeting at 7:08pm in the Mt. Daniel cafeteria, and asked attendees to sign-in and informed them of the membership forms that came home with the children. Laura introduced Dr. Lois Berlin as the speaker for the evening.

II. Program: Superintendent Lois Berlin

Dr. Lois Berlin welcomed everyone and indicated that the school year has started off smoothly. Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School (MEHMS) was the first new school opened in the City during the last 50 years. MEHMS will serve 5-8th graders, and T.J. now will only have 2-4th graders. A lot of planning around the opening of MEHMS was conducted and the planning really paid off. Dr. Berlin indicated that the School Board will continue to keep parents updated on changes with the new grade configurations and make sure that it continues to go well. She provided the following information for each of the schools.

Mt. Daniel

  • Expansion plans for the school will include practically doubling the parking spaces and making a much better egress for cars and buses on Oak Street. In the front of the school there will be a loop, which will help the traffic flow in front of the school including drop-offs and pick-ups. The parking area will be completed in the first phase of the project.
  • There will be (4) new kindergarten classrooms on the upper playground area.
  • Currently dealing with Fairfax County for obtaining permits for the reconstruction. Close to getting the site plan approved. (Laura, I would check this piece… I can’t remember exactly what Lois said, but it almost sounds as though we’re back where we were last year.
  • Expect bids in 30 days.
  • Best case scenario for breaking ground would be mid-November. It is expected that the construction will be completed in 9 months which would be end of August.

T.J. Elementary

The School Board purchased the property on W. Cameron Street and is in the process of getting a demolition permit. In the coming weeks, the house on the property will be demolished and this will become additional open space for the school. The City is donating 2 trailers (5 classrooms) to West Baton Rouge and will fill them with personal items.

Mary Ellen Henderson

The school is completed and was finished 2 weeks early. The school is beautiful and the teachers were able to move in and have plenty of time to prepare and set up classrooms before school started. Everyone has transitioned well. Punch list items are being completed at both MEHMS and the high school.

George Mason High School

Welcomed 8-12th grade population. Also, added four new science labs for a total of nine science labs. Punch list items are still being completed in both MEH and high school.

In addition, Dr. Berlin touched on the following information:

  • The school web site has a totally new look. The site is easier to navigate and we’re trying to make sure information is kept current and available to parents.
  • The School Board realizes that a better process is needed for getting in touch with parents in emergency situations. One of the things that has been looked at is a dial out system so that the schools can call all the parents. The system could be isolated per school or school wide. The system will allow more than one number to be input i.e. cell number, home number, or work number. Keep your eyes open for more information.
  • Want to make registration paperwork easier by doing it electronically. Emergency card and contact information etc. should be able to do online eventually. Hope to have this in place by next school year.
  • There has been some reorganization in the central office. With retirement of Dr. Cheryl Fontes, the central office has restructured as follows:
  • Daycare will be under Finance and Operations – will be moved to T.J. to trailer on Oak Street
  • Community Ed classes (hobby) – Fall under Recreation and Parks Department
  • Partnerships with BIE, Chamber of Commerce - created a position as community outreach coordinator to work with schools and community. Mary Beth Connelly will be filling this position.
  • Have hired a full-time receptionist which will coordinate a division-wide calendar and be under Director of Communications.
  • Last position created is a Program Specialist under curriculum instruction – coordinating adult education classroom classes, ESOL classes, Federal programs.
  • Working on a new teacher evaluation program. This summer teachers and administrators collaborated to work on an evaluation to be used for teacher performance which is state mandated. Will train individuals this year. Will implement next year.
  • The school system is working on development of a six-year (strategic?) plan. Bite it off in two year chunks to stay in line with State legislation. (Laura, I’d probably rephrase this last sentence, but I can’t really remember Lois’ description…. I think she meant that the plan would be reviewed every two years or so???)

Questions/Concerns from Attendees

  • Concern about cars zipping by on Oak Street once the construction takes place. Dr. Berlin will discuss with the City and come up with a good solution to ensure safety on S. Oak Street.
  • Expressed frustration about the delay of the Yellow line arriving at Mt. Daniel in the afternoon to pick up the children which in turn makes them later getting home. Dr. Berlin will meet with Kathy and Nancy Hendrickson to discuss and resolve this issue.
  • How will you handle noise of construction? Mrs. Halayko will try to control the noise level as much as possible.
  • Suggested coordinating clinic and daycare concerning medications.
  • Parent noticed at the T.J. coffee that library books have gone to MEHMS . Are there opportunities for new books? Trudy mentioned that there’s been a process that’s been lacking such as weeding and that’s probably why the library looked different. Books are still wonderful and new materials are always needed.
  • Enrollment issue: How do you project this? Dr. Berlin indicated that this year so far we are 25 students under the projection as of two weeks ago. September 30th is the cut-off date to look at numbers. A projection study will be done in 2007. Unknown with construction of condos. Growth is settled at about 2%. Total students are about 1,902. With the addition here at Mt. Daniel and increased space at high school and T.J., we’re fine till 2011. One of the projects the School Board is embarking on is to begin to develop a long range plan for facilities. The biggest growth is in the high school.

III. Treasurer’s Report

A.Adopt Audit Report

Jill Martin reviewed the audit report and indicated there are an approximate checking account balance of $11,170 and an approximate savings account balance of $1,900 for a total start up balance of $13,070. A motion was made to adopt the new report. The audit report was adopted.

  1. Approve 2005-2006 PTA Budget

Jill reviewed the proposed budget. She reviewed the differences and the challenges (changes?) in the budget. At each meeting the treasurer will do a report. There was a motion made to approve the 2005-2006 budget. The budget was approved.HSH

IV. President’s Report

  1. Introduce Officers

Laura Gogal introduced PTA officers.

  1. Approve Minutes from April 13, 2005 and May 17, 2005

Minutes were approved for April 13, 2005 and May 17, 2005 PTA meetings.

  1. Approve Committee Chairs for 2005-2006

A handout with a list of the Committee Chairs for 2005-2006 was provided. Committee chairs were approved.

Per the parent survey circulated at the end of the school year last year, it was determined that the pizza and cookie dough sale would be relinquished and a House and Garden tour would takes its place as a fundraiser.

  1. New Committee – House and Garden Tour

Other schools in the area have done this tour and it has been a successful fundraiser. This is a new idea for the city and hopefully will be successful. Andrea Roberson and Mona Johnston are heading this effort up and the tours will take place on Sunday, April 30th from 12-4 p.m. They’re hoping to get 10 houses on the tour and are looking at all types of homes including renovations, efficient use of indoor and outdoor space, and innovative ideas for homes. Lots of volunteers will be needed for this effort and details about meeting times will be advertised in the Advocate.

  1. Mt. Daniel Book Fair – moved to Spring, March 13-17, 2005.
  1. PTA Communications
  1. Website
  2. E-mail list (send message to )
  3. Newsletter, The Advocate – comes out once a month and Charlotte Hyland is the Editor.
  1. Virginia PTA Proposed Legislation

The VA PTA Legislative Agenda was handed out and is posted on our website. We will vote on the legislative agenda at the next PTA Meeting, October 19th.

Laura introduced Nora Pishner as coordinator for Spanish translation. She indicated that the PTA is interested in having a more diverse group of people participate in the PTA.

V. Principals’ Reports

TJ: Trudy Taylor thanked PTA for the welcome back breakfast. She indicated that the school is quieter without the 5th graders, but they are also missed. The 2nd and 3rd grade classes have 130 students.

  • Two computer labs have been added
  • Back to school night is on September 22nd.
  • First coffee was held today and it was successful. Would like parents to decide on coffee topic. Coffee talks are every third Wednesday of the month; the October one will be listed on the website.
  • She and Asst. Principal Bob Palermo go around the classrooms and give behavior talks to the classes during the first couple of weeks of school.
  • Tiger trails signs will be posted next week. There will be a big celebration for the Tiger Trail on October 5th and there will be a marathon walk to school with Tigersgreeting children as they walk to school.
  • PAWS (Parents Arriving with Students) is new and there haven’t been too many parents dropping off children at these designated areas.
  • Telephone tree has been started with room parents. In case of an emergency, parents can be notified in a quicker and more organized manner.
  • 4th graders – Stanford tests begin next week.
  • Odyssey of the Mind – Have had as many as 10-12 teams competing every year. Heidi Lang has been coordinating this effort and she is looking for help in coordinating this year.

Mt. Daniel: Laura Gogal introduced Kathy Halayko. Kathy indicated the opening of school went very smoothly.

  • Thanked PTA for welcome breakfast and the coffees that the PTA did on the first two days.
  • Today was a welcome back assembly and Mt. Daniel students talked aboutassembly manners.
  • Kindergarten total is 118 students and first grade is 114, and pre-k has 18.
  • Will keep parents informed of renovations which will hopefully start soon.
  • Talked about why the kindergarteners are transitioned on a gradual basis during the first two weeks of school. Mrs. Halayko feels that the brief first two days when students come with parents and parents remain close by is comforting for kindergarteners and makes them want to come back. During the early dismissal afternoons, staff meet with families to learn about each individual child, and the children are having various screenings done including speech and language, and skills and development during the first two weeks of school. She thinks it a valuable time and hopesparents agree.
  • Back-to School Night is October 6th. Will start with ESOL presentation. Open house at 7:00 to walk around the school and visit with specialists. At 7:30 parents may visit the classrooms. (General meeting?)
  • Kindergarten classrooms have new sound systems in their rooms. Easier for the teacher and the kids to hear the voice of the teacher because of amplification from the system.
  • Mrs. Halayko indicated that construction noise will be minimized as much as possible.
  • There will be a few coffees throughout the year. The first coffee will be held on October 12th at 9:30 a.m. on Volunteering.

VI. Committee Reports

A.Outdoor Classroom – Mt. Daniel is going to try and double the number of beds which will give each classroom their own bed. Looking at possibly having a butterfly garden and getting National Wildlife Federation certification. Looking for volunteers. First activity will be in October.

B.Outdoor classroom – T.J. Looking for volunteers. Have a newsletter which will now hopefully be put into the Advocate. Make people more aware of the classroom so more will volunteer. Stay tuned on scheduling.

C. Original Art – Hearing more about this. Classes are working on creating original art and will be completed October 14th. Using a new vendor which will send the original artwork home.

D.Fine arts and assemblies: Tori McKinney books the talent for all the assemblies. Had first assembly at T.J. and will be at Mt. Daniel tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.

On another note, schools and community have been very supportive of hurricane relief efforts. Thus far our schools have donated 22 boxes of health and hygienic materials to the D.C. Armory. Trying to fill the donated trailers with hygienic products. There will be a hygienic drive during the week of 26-30th. This will be addressed at the back-to-school night and through fliers sent home in the backpacks. Also, we will launch project backpack in conjunction with a local Boy Scout troop which will provide gently used backpacks and school supplies. This drive will be at all 3 schools and will be for one week.

E.Reflections art Program – Will get a flier in your backpack. Reflections is a National PTA program that starts at the local schools. Theme is “I Wonder Why”. Our PTA will have impartial judges that will select the top three for each group. Will have an art display at Mt. Daniel and T.J. Entry form is on website and at each school.

F.Membership Directory – Deadlines for the corrections for the directory are this Friday, September 23, 2005. Current members are 496 members and our goal is 700.

G.T.J. Book Fair – Fliers will be coming out soon. Great event and done by Scholastic. All the money from the book fairs goes to the library.

H.Grocery Dollars – Ellen McRae will be at Back-to-school night helping people get enrolled in the grocery bucks program. Can enroll on the Falls Church PTA website by selecting the link.

I.Spirit Wear – New designs will be coming out. Fliers will go out next week in backpacks.

J.Movie Night – First movie will be onfirst Friday, October 7th behind Two Sisters Coffee. Need volunteers for making and selling popcorn and pizza. Rain site is Mary Ellen Henderson Middle school.

K.Wrapping paper – Deadline is Friday the September 23, 2005. Money goes to fine arts assemblies for schools. Also, can place orders on line which takes minimal time. If you order less than $60 you are charged a delivery charge. If more than $60 then there is not a shipping charge. Will get 50% of all the cost of the money. Also mentioned that student aid is available for fundraising. Individuals can go through the teachers or administration at schools for obtaining the funds to purchase items of interest.

In addition, Laurie Clark requested that Committee chairs need to get information to her regarding the PTA website including feedback on the newly renovated site.

VIII. Adjournment – PTAmeetings are held every third Wednesday of each month. Next meeting will be held on October 19, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:54p.m.

Respectfully submitted by:

Megan Schlitt

Recording Secretary

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