LEES CORNER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA MEETING
Sept 17, 2014
In attendance: Bob D’Amato, Patrick Kelley, Nina Zaretsky Cristina Dougherty, Julie Chang, Amy Whiteman, Leona, Stout, Monica Mohr, Cheryl Mendis, Tricia Wolff, Kelly& Young Gorman, Erin Mecham, Marta Galysh, Stephanie Baez, Tina Pavarnik, Steve Hilburger, Vanessa Mizushima, Gail Iglesias, Jayne Dodson, Holly Wehrman, Linda Andrews, Leslie Cullen, Rachel DiBartolo, Jenny Anderson, Dionne McGlothin + 17 others joining us online.
The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. by Patrick Kelley.
Principal Report
Technical difficulties with the live streaming but parents should be able to hear us they just may not be able to respond/ask questions.
Back to school nights went really well. We are back to a great start this year. A lot of assessments are going on to figure out where to meet the student needs. Impact on longer Mondays will be great. It will provide common time for subjects throughout the week. The survey results and school goals: enhanced look at literacy. A new writing program is being implemented- Lucy Calkins. SOL scores are one tool to measure progress so keep in mind of other assessments such as DRA that continue to monitor progress. Another goal is the enhancement of technology which gives more opportunities to be on the computer.
Ms. Anderson and Mrs. DiBarto discussed PBIS- Positive Behavior Intervention Support. Be Respectful Be Responsible, Be Kind. It will be fully rolled out in October for full school implementation.
PBIS
Polar Bears- Working together as a team.
Kid Friendly and teacher supported- school-wide matrix with input from all grade levels.
Mistakes Happen- (Problem Solving Conference) We want to take a problem solving approach that is solution focused and viewed as helpful and reflective.
Watchdogs- very successful last year. It will be coming back mid to late October. It should be Wed-Fri this year and for kindergarten it will be half days. More info to come through Keep In Touch (KIT).
Oct 8 is National Walk to School Day (or bike) in support of exercise and nutrition. All morning classes will be walking on the track with a class banner.
Today we signed up to be an Eco School. Looking at designs outside to add gardens and green space. We are focusing this year on conserving energy.
President Report
We have four goals this year
1. Membership Drive- please join by Halloween. We need 40 additional families to join the PTA than in previous years.
2. Expand Student Enrichment Programs and Grow those- Speakers and Assemblies/Cultural arts
3. School Enhancements Projects- school beautification programs
4. Support Teacher Training Opportunities-some teachers will spend some training with Lucy Calkins in person.
New this year- PTA Handbook! This includes PTA calendar, contact information, description of each committee, reimbursement forms, tax exempt certificate and copy of the bylaws. It is all available on www.LeesCornerPTA.org.
We will be doing Boosterathon this year in lieu of Trackathon. We as a board decided this was a good move for the school to try this year. It will help us meet our fundraising goals and is scheduled for April.
Membership- Dionne McGlothin -Back to school night we had 37 families join. 30 Joined from PayPal. We had 163 last year and we want a goal of 240 families this year. We have 545 families. Each family that joins will get a magnet with your membership card. You get lots of good discounts with your membership card!
Vice President Report
Julie Chang explains why there are 2 vice presidents. Julie does more with fundraising and Nina does more with committees.
Christy Youk will be chairing the Boosterathon this year. This company will come and help us raise money for the school. Children are asked to fundraise and the fun run will be April 23rd.
Dining Days Chair is Kay Shear. Sept 30th at Zinga is our first one. You will need to bring a flyer to Zinga.
Hallowingo is Oct 17th.
Effortless Fundraising is being chaired by Renee Clark.
Second VP
Nina Zaretsky- she works with the extra curricular after school activities. All after school activities are listed on the PTA website. The long term calendar is there, descriptions, registration info etc..for all activities. A few are:
Mad Science starts Oct 9
Little Einsteins start Oct 7-9
Girls on the Run will begin Sept 29, with the first practice being Sept 30
Spanish 1-3 start Sept 30, 4-6 begins on Oct 2nd
Two new programs might be Odyssey of the Mind- problem solving small group. This program is completely parent driven program and we are seeing how many people would be interested. The other program is Not Just Dance that will be on Tuesday. This is a theatrical program. Starts in October and they will be running 3 sessions throughout the year. Acting, Dancing, Singing and skits.
Treasurer Report:
Amy Whiteman discussed the audit. This years audit was done on Sept 9th of 2014. Kaileen Galhouse and Denyse Cognetta conducted the audit. Our balance was approx. 23,000 at the end of June 2014. We approved the audit as a group.
The proposed budget was discussed. Dues, donations and fundraising are our 3 main sources of income. Total source of income is about 34,800. We have a balance brought forward of $15,000. Total source of income is $49,833 with both balances brought forward. In the proposed budget there are some small adjustments based on the boards 4 goals for the year. A new exciting addition this year is the PTA software that will enhance so many aspects of how the PTA runs. Total expenses come out to $28, 584. Please see Treasurers report for a complete copy of the budget. We approved the budget as presented.
Topics for Oct and November meetings will be Bullying Prevention and Internet Safety.
New Business
None
Old Business
None
***Please go to the PTA website at www.leescornerpta.org
Meeting was adjourned at 8:11 pm