PTA Minutes of General Meeting

PTA Minutes of General Meeting

October 26, 2015

Page 1 of 5

PTAParent Teacher Association 48 Sullivan Way, East Brunswick, NJ 08816

Identification:Lawrence Brook School PTA

General Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

LawrenceBrookSchool

October 26, 2015

Present:Jennifer Campanella, Maria Carbone, Hillary Corburn, Vera Cravo, Aimee Hagan, Leslie Jusinski, Yasna Nasir, Lisa Nesser, Linda Pereira, and Andrianni Viscariello.

Excused/Absent: Sheri Baldelli, John Palmer and Rachel Weitzenkorn

CALL TO ORDER

President Jennifer Campanella called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion to approve the Minutes of the Lawrence Brook PTA’s General Meeting, which took place on September 21, 2015, was made by Andrianni Viscariello.There were no objections. Minutes were approved and were seconded. These Minutes will be signed, filed, and available to read of the PTA website.

OFFICER’S REPORTS

President’s Report: Jennifer Campanella, president, provided a brief overview of Theater Week and thanked everyone involved.

President Elect’s Report: John Palmer, president-elect, was absent.

Treasurer’s Report: Vera Cravo, treasurer, reviewed last year’s closing numbers. Ms. Cravo reviewed budget activity that has taken place since the last meeting.A copy of the current budget was given to the president as well as the recording secretary for filing.

Ms. Cravo reported the following dollar figure in the budget:

• There is a total of $18,925.92 in the combined 3 PTA accounts.
• There is $8,485.63 in the Checking Account; $5,484 in the Tricky Tray Account;$4,965 in the Money Market Account.
• There were minimal expenses in September. Primary expense was $190 for the Kindergarten Ice Cream Social.

Membership Report: Maria Carbone, vice president of membership, noted there were 201 PTA members signed up for the school year; 52 of the members are teachers. Maria reported that we are approximately 32 memberships short from last year.

Fundraising Report: Sheri Baldelli was absent; Linda Pereira presented the report. Ms. Pereira reportedthat $60 was earned from the Chuckee Cheese fundraiser and announced that the clothing from the Spirit Wear sale would arrive in the next few weeks. She added that if someone still wanted to purchase Spirit Wear, s/he could because extra clothing was ordered.

Paperwork on the Artwork Sale is about to go out. Order forms will be due November 9th. This year, the PTA went with a new vendor, Silver Graphics. Orders will be coming in during the first week of December. Ms. Pereira mentioned that she has seen the artwork and that it is colorful and came out very nice this year.

Halloween Fun Night is taking place this week. Prize donations as well as both set up and clean up helpare still needed and welcomed. If families haven’t registered, they can send an email to Ms. Pereira. Families can also pay cash at the door. Attendance is low.

The Gift Card Sale for the holidays is coming up soon. It is very convenient for parents. There are numerous businesses and restaurants from which parents can purchase gift cards and in turn the PTA will receive a percentage of the sale.

A parent in attendance complained about the lack of forms going home and mentioned that this might be the reason that there is a low attendance for Halloween Fun Night.

Mrs. Corburn, Principal of Lawrence Brook Elementary School, noted that the school and the district are going green. The rationale behind the weekly newsletter was for parents to know that all the information would be in one convenient place for them and that it would arrive in their email every Friday. Last year parents had complained that the amount of paper going home was excessive, but if the PTA wanted to pay the bill to send paper home, it could do so.

A number of parents in attendance and PTA Board Members added to the discussion:

• Ms. Cravo noted that Party Funds seem to be low this year. It was suspected that the lack of paperwork was the reason.
• Ms. Nasir and Pat Ciecko, chairpersons of Theater Week, noted that their registration information was initially sent out via email and followed by a print distribution 1-2 weeks before Theater Week began.
• A parent questioned whether or not the PTA could send their own individual emails out for each fundraiser. Former PTA President Jennifer Post noted that if the PTA did that, they would only have access to PTA member emails, which is why the PTA began sending things through the school; Global Connect reached every parent.
• Ms. Nasir also added that we can’t force parents to look at their email and print out the papers. If the PTA felt that the lack of print forms and reminders going home impact sales and event attendance, the PTA needed to find a solution.

Ms. Campanella concluded the conversation by noting that the PTA would pick up the bill for future copies and paper sent home.

Cultural Arts Report: Ms. Nasir, vice president of cultural arts, reported that the assembly featuring Opera Works for Young Audiences went well. The kids loved it.

Ms. Carbone added that $198.90in Box Tops came in one week.

Ms. Nasir ended her report with a reminder that there are no other cultural assemblies scheduled until March.

Corresponding Secretary’s Report: Leslie Jusinski, corresponding secretary, noted that she had several letters to write this past month. Thank you cards were sent out to the Fire Department for its participation in the Kindergarten Ice Cream Social. Two additional thank you letters were sent out for cash donations to the PTA.

The fifth grade had a successful fundraiser by participating in the park clean-up project. The students earned $200 for their efforts.

The Rutgers Reading Log is due November 3rd.

Principal’s Report: Mrs. Corburn started her remarked by noting that parent-teacher conferences went well. She also stated that Theater Week was adorable and the kids did an extremely nice job.

There are three teacher leaves this year. Mrs. Terpenning in the 4th grade is already on leave and has Ms. Patil substituting for her. Mrs. Pellegrino in the first grade will be going on leave next week and has Mrs. Lee substituting for her. Mrs. Sheridan in the fifth grade is scheduled to go on leave.

The fourth and fifth grades took part in an age appropriate assembly on Internet Safety. The assembly was about talking to strangers online. Additionally, the County Prosecutor’s Office is doing a presentation on Cyber Bullying on November 16.

Information about Halloween has been sent out to parents. There will be a list of class parents at the front entrance. Parents of little ones can arrive before the parade to help the teachers get the students dressed in their costumes. All other parents will be permitted inside the building after the parade, which will begin at 2 p.m.

At the November 16 PTA Meeting, Mrs. Corburn and Mrs. Weitzenkorn will be doing two presentations, one on bullying and one on the PARCC. Mrs. Coburn noted that the media reports about the PARCC test were statewide and that the school and district have yet to be notified on their results from the PARCC test. As soon as they know, the parents will know. Parent letters about the PARCC test will be going out sometime between November 25 and December 18.

Election Day is next Tuesday. No lunch will be served because the school will be keeping voters away from the students.

Drop off and pick up continue to be a problem at the Corona entrance. People park in the fire line, and make illegal u-turns and k-turns. When individuals are directed to abide by the law, they make rude statements. It continues to be a very unsafe situation. A number of parents agreed that this has been the worst year yet. As a result, Mrs. Corburn announced that starting sometime in November, everyone will enter the building from the front entrance. There will be somebody there to help direct traffic. Kids in grades 3-5 will still be dismissed at the Sullivan Way door. Pre-school half day attendees will be allowed to use the Corona drop off. Buses will arrive at the back of the building, through the staff parking lot. Hard copies with maps will be sent home announcing the change.

Teacher Liaison Reports: Ms. Weitzenkorn was absent.

Ms. Hagan stated that the Free Cycle Event was a huge success. She also mentioned that the East Brunswick Councilwomanis still working on behalf of last year’s third grade class to get a bill passed to make the Automeris io moththe New Jersey State Moth. The students presented a team presentation and letters of support to State Assembly members last year during National Moth Week.

Ms. Hagan closed her remarks by noting that the students are getting ready for Halloween and that parent-teacher conferences went well.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

Room Parent Coordinator Report: Lisa Nesser, room parent coordinator reminded everyone that the Halloween class parties were this Friday. She reminded class parents to refer to the Safe Foods List and to check labels of everything sent in. If a party coordinator had any questions about a particular food, s/he should ask the nurse if it is safe to serve.

Yearbook Chair Report: Mandavi Kapoor, yearbook chair, was absent.

5th Grade Committee:Ms. Periera stated the 5th grade earned $200 for the park clean up project. 21 students showed up, it was a beautiful day, and the kids had a good time. The class also earned $269 at a recent bake sale.

There will be a bake sale at Halloween Fun Night. Desserts should be sent in Friday morning.

Theater Week: Ms. Nasir and Ms. Ciecko discussed Theater Week. Ms. Ciecko stated that it was fun and went well. Ms. Nasir said that the two ticket booths made everything go very smoothly and they were prepared for those attendees who had not pre-purchased tickets.

Ms. Jusinski mentioned that there should be extra flowers at next year’s event. It was suggested that next year flowers should be sold for $1.50 in advance and $2 at the door. Ms. Ciecko’s boss was thanked for donating the flowers this year.

There was a discussion about ticket prices. Some grandparents complained about the $7 ticket price. It was suggested that perhaps a senior citizens discounts should be considered.

ADJOURNMENT

President Jennifer Campanella adjourned the meeting at 8:12 p.m.

Approved: ______dated ______.

Andrianni Vollas Viscariello