East Hanover PTA

2013-2014

Teresa Parry –President

Meeting Minutes

January 15, 2014

Call to Order7:09pm

School News:

  1. FJS – Mrs. Mangione
  2. Thank you for the Teacher Grants. The teachers were extremely happy about receiving them.
  3. Thank you for the Holiday Assembly. The kids had a great time.
  4. Thanks for the Spirit Wear and rushing for the PJ day.
  5. Kindergarten registration is looking about the same as last year.
  6. There will be an Olympic Day to kick off the Olympics.
  7. Volleyball game is tomorrow night at 5:30 pm.
  1. Central – Ms. Falcone
  2. Thank you for the Teacher Grants. The teachers were very happy.
  3. Volleyball game tomorrow night. There will be a teacher team. Tickets are almost sold out.
  4. There is a Reading Incentive program currently underway. The student who reads the most books will win a Kindle E-reader. Gift cards will also be awarded.
  5. The 5th grade mural has been completed. Thank you to all who came and painted. It really looks great and the kids were more involved this year. Would really like to see this program continued.
  6. Andy Wasserman residency received good feedback.
  7. 5th grade Fun Day has been scheduled for June 20th. Met with the committee to come up with ideas. Going to do T-shirts and more water slides. It will end at 4:30 pm.
  8. 3rd grade SOPAC
  9. 5th grade going to the CCM Planetarium next week.
  10. DRA and EnVision testing is going on.
  11. Piloting the PARCC test in the spring. 2 classes in 4th grade (ELA test) and 5th grade (Math test) will participate. There will be one inclusion and one regular class in each grade. Purchased a keyboarding program for kids to practice on.
  1. Middle School – Patty Walters
  2. Clothing Drive
  3. Thank you for teacher grants.
  4. 2/10- Taking pictures for the clubs and sports for yearbook.
  5. 1/30 Science Program Projectyo

Officer Reports:

  1. President – Teresa Parry
  2. Awarded teacher grants. Got a good response to the initial program. Gave about $1000 per school. Look into doing another round in spring?
  3. EHPTA was awarded the Early Bird Award for membership.
  1. FJS VP – Toni Ann Ucci
  2. Looking for a chair for the Fall book fair. Also need more volunteers for them.
  1. Central VP – Lauren Stephen
  2. 5th grade Fun Day: First committee meeting Jan. 29th 7 pm at the EH Library
  3. The mural received a great response from the kids and volunteers. Need to decide if we will sponsor it again for next year. Looking at booking the artist in November so decision needs to be made soon.
  1. Treasurer – Gina Liebhauser
  2. Working on the holiday boutique final numbers.
  1. Secretary – Kelly Aldorisio
  2. Presented minutes from last meeting.
  1. Fundraising – Tina Giuliano
  2. Gertrude Hawk starting 2/20
  3. Book Fairs: 3/4 -5 at FJS, 3/6 -7 at Central
  4. Holiday Grams: Will reach out for a volunteer to head it.
  1. Cultural Arts – Michelle Ruccio & JenDiMaiolo
  2. Andy Wasserman program: received feedback from parents that it was better in the classrooms.
  3. FJ Einstein show next Wednesday
  4. Holiday program at FJ went well.
  5. Joanna Pang coming in March.
  6. Scott Chesney coming to Middle and Central.
  7. Mayhem Poets – coming to Middle for all three grades. Will need to wait a few years before we bring them back again.
  8. Cultural Arts will continue to plan activities with the principals at the schools and keep the PTA updated.
  1. Lunch – Carol Menniti
  2. No issues.

Committee Reports:

  1. Boxtops – Angela Cerese
  2. Distribute information to class moms on how to get bonus Boxtop certificates.
  3. Deadline for next contest is 2/15. Move it to 2/14 to coincide with Valentine’s Day parties. Make sure class moms know all Boxtops need to be in main office.
  1. 5th Grade Fun Day
  2. Because of the heat last year, we may want to consider moving the DJ off the black top.
  3. Need to make sure we add additional insurance to cover the bouncy houses and slides.
  1. 8th Grade Dance
  2. Pie Sale brought in over $600.
  3. Tickets are currently about $50 each. Since this is in line with previous years, they may not consider another fundraiser.
  4. Finalizing details of event.
  5. Will be held last day of school – June 23rd at the Hanover Manor. Will be right after graduation.

Old Business:

  1. Spring Fundraiser
  2. Looking to be held on May 16th.
  3. Currently getting quotes for places and forming a committee.
  1. Spirit Wear
  2. Some items are back ordered but should be done by Monday.
  3. Had to pay for samples so that cut into our initial profits. No additional samples will be needed going forward.
  4. Looking at a Black & Gold line for spring as well as water bottles and blankets.
  5. Opening a sale in February for a few weeks.
  6. Offer a FJS pre-order at Kindergarten Orientation.
  7. Holiday Boutique
  8. Volunteers were lacking this year possibly due to weather issues. Need to look into getting additional chair people and class moms involved.

New Business:

  1. FJS Scholastic Book Fair Chairperson – Tina has someone in mind and will reach out to them.
  2. Middle School Book Fair – Patty to contact Librarian for holding another one in the spring.

Public Discussion:

  1. Mr. Mooney discussed the following items:
  2. A calendar for the Superintendent search has been posted on the website. The first meeting is open to the public. A survey will be posted as well. The PTA can post this information on our website.
  3. Goal for the district to work on: improving network technology. Looking into working with the town so that we can all be linked together. Also looking into drawing funds from the maintenance account to cover expenses.
  4. The district is also looking into updating the phone system at all schools.
  5. PARCC testing – very difficult and we will have a big learning curve.
  6. State monitoring currently underway. QSec is in good shape. Test scores aren’t quite what they should be due to levels being raised from year to year. Something to improve on.

Meeting Adjourned 7:54 pm