PTA Meeting Agenda
PTA: North Side Elementary
Date: October 6, 2015
Time: 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
9 PTA members and 4 Board members were in attendance: Melanie Gingrich, Amanda Rosencrance, Sarah Box, Mary Towns, Holly Hodgson, Micki Freedman, Nicole Elbertson, Rachel Fraser, Colleen DeFrank, Meredith Bomgardner, Kristen Hanford, and Andrea Cavoli.
- President’s Welcome
· Please sign in- Andrea Cavoli welcomed all members, introduced Board members who were in attendance and asked that attendees sign in.
· Volunteering Badging- Andrea Cavoli highly recommended that all parents/guardians who want to volunteer at school get an official volunteer badge through Central Dauphin School District. It is better to err on the safe side and have it just in case, even if you only volunteer once during the school year.
· Board Positions open for 2016-2018: The Secretary, Vice President of Activities, Vice President of Membership and Volunteers and Vice President of Communication will be up for reelection in June 2016. Interested members, please contact Andrea Cavoli or current Board members for information.
- Principal’s Comments / Teachers Remarks
· PBIS Night- On Thursday, October 8, from 5:30-7:30 pm, North Side staff will host a family game night at school. Food will be offered at no cost to North Side students. Pizza, drinks and snacks will be available to purchase for family members. Families will receive a game card and travel from classroom to classroom to participate in games such as Plinko, Banana Grams, Chutes & Ladders, Memory, and Yahtzee receive a stamp for every game completed. All the games will be adapted to PBIS, promote positive behavior, teamwork and conversation with families. Completed game cards will be entered into a raffle to win a prize pack. Students will also receive a high five for participating.
· There will be a PSSA Celebration because students in grades 4th-5th met or exceeded their math and reading scores.
· Volunteering Badging- In addition to volunteer badges, volunteers will need to check in at the office, show their driver’s license, have it scanned and get a sticker that must be worn and visible during their volunteer shift. To save time, it is recommended that volunteers come in prior to events and show their driver’s license.
- Membership Report- Meredith Bomgardner announced that there are currently 116 members, 20 of which are men. This number is lower than in year’s past. Reasons for low number may have to do with confusion about getting a volunteer badge and being a PTA member. Plans to increase membership include sending home the membership form again as well as highlighting what the PTA does for the school.
- 2015-2016 Budget- Kristen Hanford provided copies of the budget. There were no questions regarding the information. Rachel Fraser approved the budget and Micki Freedman seconded it
- Committee Chair Updates
· Race for Education- Andrea Cavoli, Micki Freedman and Rachel Fraser provided an update. Approximately 3300 mailers were going out that week. This number is down from prior year’s: 4019 in 2012 and 3900 in 2013. On average, our school brought in 5 labels/student which is the goal. Volunteers needed during the school day to help open mailers, record donations and file mailers. A Time-to-Sign-Up Sheet will be emailed out for volunteers to sign up.
· Mrs. Rosencrance, one of our first grade teachers, commented on how Time to sign up volunteer sheets are good to have for teachers. They are able to see where, when and how they can help.
· Skating Party- Andrea Cavoli shared on Kim Ramberger’s behalf. Kim reported that we had roughly the same number of attendees as last year, a good turnout, but not over the top. We profited $100 from the event and paid a $75 deposit to secure next year’s spot in September. We can get the deposit back if we would like to cancel the event. We may want to consider moving it to January or February when people want to get out of the house.
· Mrs. Rosencrance and Mrs. Box suggested a special fund be set up or find a way to offer financial assistance for those families who cannot afford some of the events.
· Book Fair- Meredith Bomgardner shared that the Book Fair is doing well. They are tossing around new ideas such as how to get a book into every child’s hands. Some of the Scholastic Dollars earned through the Book Fair will be used to purchase Scholastic News for grades Kindergarten through 5th. Scholastic News provides non-fiction and current events information.
· Dudes & Donuts- Micki Freedman, Committee Chair, reported that food has been ordered and expects a great turnout based on the RSVPs. She has enough volunteers to help with the event.
· Super Male Readers- Colleen DeFrank, Committee Chair, reported that about ¾ of the classrooms have super readers coming in. She was hoping to fill the remaining spaces over the next few days. Mrs. Box offered to have staff members read in rooms that do not have readers.
· Spirit Events- Nicole Elbertson, Committee Chair, shared that Get Air was a success. 130 people attended and we profited approximately $400. On Monday, October 5, we had a Spirit event at Panera Bread and will find out the results at the end of the week. The next Spirit events are Color Me Mine on November 4-11, Hershey Bears on November 20, and Five Below on December 4-6.
· Picture Day- Picture Day is Thursday, October 15. Julie Clemens, Committee Chair, worked with Mrs. Wagner, School Secretary, to organize the day and set up a volunteer schedule.
· Brain Show- Andrea Cavoli reported that the PTA has booked the Brain Show for Friday, November 13. There will be an assembly during the day and a FREE family event in the evening from 6:30-8:00 pm at school.
- Communication- Andrea Cavoli reported on Leslie Weiner’s behalf. Leslie has set up a Facebook page called ‘North Side Elementary Community’ to help promote events and share information. She will continue to update the PTA website found on the North Side web page. Primary communication will be via school wide emails from Mrs. Box and hardcopy flyers that will go home with students.
- Fundraising and Consumer Rewards
· Andrea Cavoli announced that we are not going to do KidStuff this year due to the number of fundraisers currently scheduled. We may alternate every year with Race for Education and KidStuff. At this time, our major fundraiser is Race for Education with the R&K Sub Sale, Spirit Wear, Car Magnets and Spirit Nights as the minors.
· For Consumer Rewards, North Side currently participates in Mighty Nest, Amazon Smile, Boxtops, Shoparoo, Target and Giant. We will not be doing Cartridges for Kids because a lot of work is involved with very little payoff.
- Teacher Conference Luncheon- Barb Plesco is organizing a lunch for teachers during parent teacher conferences on Tuesday, November 3. She typically selects a theme and asks for food and beverage donations based on this theme.
- New Business for Future Meetings
The next PTA meeting will be held Tuesday, December 1 at 7:00 pm in the school library.