Meeting Minutes September 15, 2005
Arbor Heights PTSA
General Meeting Minutes
September 15, 2005
Opening:
The regular meeting of the Arbor Heights PTSA was called to order at 7:04 p.m. on September 15, 2005 in the school cafeteria by President Joe Sharp. Participants received a packet of information, including PTSA Board of Directors contact information, Event Coordinator summary, volunteer jobs & description, Project Idea form, May 2005 General meeting minutes, 2005-2006 Proposed Budget, PTSA membership envelopes, and 2004-2005 Project status.
PTSA President Welcome – Joe Sharp:
Joe welcomed the parents and teachers. Our goal is to try to stick with the times set on the agenda. A lot of work has been done on the school facilities and a number of good projects are planned for this year.
Joe introduced the PTSA Officers. Joe Sharp is President. Curt Knox is Treasurer. Darrel Riley is Vice President. Tammy Wooley and Tracy Richards are Co-Secretaries. Cori Roed is Fundraising chair. The Legislative chair is open.
Joe reviewed the distributed information packet. We will send out the PTSA calendar soon. There are a lot of open volunteer positions. Cori will expand on those later. Job descriptions are included in the packet. Joe gave some examples of projects which were completed last year, including the film on the upstairs classroom windows.
We reviewed the meeting minutes from last June. The meeting minutes were approved as written. Joe gave the reminder to get out and vote on Sept 20th.
Arbor Heights Principal Report - Dr. Coram:
The Arbor Heights enrollment is at 323. The school is funded for 332. In order to add a few more students, two families from the wait list have been contacted, two families are returning and three families are new to the area. Gatewood Elementary does not have a wait list.
The Powerful Writers program, a K-5 writing program, was kicked off today. All the teachers have been trained. There is a parent component to powerful writers. Information on parent training will be sent out soon. Author George Shannon will be visiting Arbor Heights on Sept 20th. Dr Coram is looking at having literacy as the theme at the open house. The Tullys (by Thriftway) is looking at sponsoring a few coffee house nights, where students can read their powerful writing stories.
The Moore and Dewey families, along with Mr. Ahlness suggested having a coin drive to raise money for the Katrina victims. The kid centered drive will start tomorrow. A large Mason jar is in the office and will be filled up with the coins donated by the kids. The staff will match up to $1000. The money will be donated to either Mercy Corps (http://www.mercycorps.org/), The Humane Society (http://www.hsus.org/),
or International Reading Association (http://www.reading.org/). The kids will select the organization to donate to tomorrow.
The WASL scores are in. The 5th grade student scores will be sent home. There were slight dips in reading and math. The writing score has risen. For more information on the Arbor Heights WASL scores, go to www.greatschools.net and look up Arbor Heights Elementary.
September 27th will be the third annual Dads and Donuts. It is for Dads and their children and it will be held in the library. The goal is to encourage the participation of Dads in the school. We need volunteers to help coordinate and would love to see a Dad coordinate.
October 13th will be the Arbor Heights Open House and Spaghetti Dinner. We need volunteers to coordinate the spaghetti portion of this event.
The third annual Endolyn Joes Night is tentatively the 25 of October (Tuesday).
A survey regarding the Parent - Teacher Conferences has been sent home. The survey is regarding whether to have three full conference days (the three days before Thanksgiving) or seven partial conference days (as stated in the school calendar). There will be one evening of conferences regardless of the survey results.
PTSA Treasurer Report – Curt Knox:
Curt started the treasurer report with how we did last year. Last year’s actual results were just over $36,000 as compared to the budgeted results of $22,700, which is good news. Fundraising projects did $1,300 better than predicted. In addition, the carnival made money last year. The other income category raised almost $5000 more than planned.
Under the income usage category, the 5th grade camp was self sufficient. The purchase of playground benches was postponed due to the mold work. The safety patrol stipend was covered by the school district. The student teacher program came in under budget.
Curt then discussed the proposed budget for this year. A proposed budget was voted on at the last PTSA meeting, last year. We re-voted to approve the budget at this meeting. Curt went over the revised and original budget column. The more money the PTSA brings in, the more we can do. The budget was approved.
Several companies will match cash donations– make sure that your company matches, when possible. United Way drive is coming up – consider donations to Arbor Heights through this drive.
On the 20th of October, we will vote on PTSA projects to work on. We will need a quorum to vote on these projects.
PTSA Fundraising Chair Report – Cori Roed:
Cori announced that a number of the volunteer positions will be filled by last year’s coordinators. Thank you! Artist in Residence is an open position; it happens in March. We need a bake sale coordinator. Wrapping paper – we need people to help total orders and distribute boxes. We need a “Box Tops for Education” coordinator. For the Poinsettia sale, Ramona will help with but we need a coordinator. For the Original Works fund raising project, Cristen will help with but we need a coordinator. Oil for kids (http://www.oilforkids.com/) – with a $40 purchase from Oil for Kids you receive 4 oil changes, 4 tire rotations and 4 maintenance inspections from a participating ASE certified auto repair facility located in your community. EScrip (http://www.escrip.com/) – Safeway and other stores contribute a percentage of your grocery loyalty cards to Arbor heights (8560762 is the id). They currently have a 10% back to school – certificate in the mail with a redemption coupon; turn it in to the school (Marilyn) before Oct 11. Schoolpop.com (http://www.schoolpop.com) is an online shopping site where a percentage of the purchase price will go to Arbor Heights . Raffles have been done in the past with some success. If someone is interested in coordinating a fundraising project, contact the PTSA Board. We need a 5th grade parent to coordinate fund raising for the spring camp. Ink cartridge collection – don’t throw away those cartridges. We typically make $75 per drop. Separate from the fund raising Shelly is going to do the carnival again. Ramona will help coordinate the 5th grade camp.
We will send out an updated volunteer list with the minutes.
Please fill out and turn in the Volunteers Wanted form. Being a volunteer is a great way for kindergarten parents to get involved. The kindergarten parents had a PTSA meeting attendance contest and Mr. Wilkie’s class won a popcorn party.
PTSA Project Ideas – Joe Sharp:
Joe shared the PTSA project status from last year. For the mold remediation project, we hired (and the school district funded) an independent mold consultant. The project status handout outlines the progress on the other projects. Shyla is looking into a “Safety Grant” to pay for the road / walkway work; she will follow up on status. The “safe routes to school” grant can be applied for by the school or the school district. Shyla will look more into the two grants. Perhaps sending emails to the Mayor will get something started. It would be good if we can have the city pay for all changes.
A parent suggested that it would be nice to get a four car length area for drop off only. Dr. Coram said she can put something in the bulletin. One suggestion is to make 104th street a one way street during specified hours. This would require a neighborhood agreement.
Fill out the project idea sheet and drop it off at the office by Oct 6. Voting on the submitted projects will be at the next PTSA general meeting, October 20th. Joe described the dot voting process.
PTSA Communication – Tammy Wooley / Tracy Richards:
Tammy explained the various communication avenues we will use this year. We will send out the PTSA General Meeting minutes of every meeting, via email to those parents whose email addresses we have. We will also have a PTSA Information page in the Weekly Bulletin. The PTSA General Meeting minutes will also be posted on the Arbor Heights website (http://www.arborheights.com). There is also a PTSA bulletin board which will have a PTSA schedule and fund raising information posted. We need someone to keep this bulletin board up to date.
Mold Project Status Report – Joe Sharp / Scott Roed:
Joe gave a status on the mold which was found under the school’s portable rooms. The school district and several Arbor Heights parents created a task force which met weekly over the summer to help insure the mold issue got fixed properly. Scott Roed did a great job of pushing to get the problem fixed. David Anderson (an independent mold expert) was hired to be our expert in overseeing the project. Richard stout and Fred Stevens, from school district, also participated on the task force.
The mold and water problems are mostly under control now. Heating and ventilation throughout the school has been replaced. Drainage has been improved. Pipes and damaged building materials have been fixed. The school district stepped up and did a lot of work on this. Mike Skutak’s boss represented the school district at this September PTSA General meeting. The PTSA gives a big thank you to the school district.
A question was raised regarding those parents whose children were tested; what happened with the results? David Anderson has the results. Scott will follow up with David to get the info back to the parents. There are doctors on contract for parents who want further testing on their children. Contact Joe for more info. Richard can help provide info. The Air Quality website page (http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/air/index.htm) will be updated with this information.
New Business:
Mark Ahlness asked about Carol Long’s garden. When the French drain went in (for the mold project), the garden was torn up. Ms Long is considering doing a tub garden; this is something that can be listed as a project idea. Dr Coram said she is looking to establish a similar garden somewhere on the school premises. The school district would like to work with her on it.
Dr. Coram said she is considering having a donation wall or walkway where people / businesses purchase tiles to raise money.
Please fill out a PTSA envelope at the meeting or drop off at the main desk at the office. In order to vote, you need to be a member of the PTSA.
If you haven’t signed in on the sign up sheet, please do so. We will add you to the email list.
Closing:
Darrel Riley (vice president) wanted to thank the PTSA board for their hard work thus far this year. The regular meeting of the Arbor Heights PTSA wrapped up at 8:30 p.m.
General Meeting Minutes
September 15, 2005
Opening:
The regular meeting of the Arbor Heights PTSA was called to order at 7:04 p.m. on September 15, 2005 in the school cafeteria by President Joe Sharp. Participants received a packet of information, including PTSA Board of Directors contact information, Event Coordinator summary, volunteer jobs & description, Project Idea form, May 2005 General meeting minutes, 2005-2006 Proposed Budget, PTSA membership envelopes, and 2004-2005 Project status.
PTSA President Welcome – Joe Sharp:
Joe welcomed the parents and teachers. Our goal is to try to stick with the times set on the agenda. A lot of work has been done on the school facilities and a number of good projects are planned for this year.
Joe introduced the PTSA Officers. Joe Sharp is President. Curt Knox is Treasurer. Darrel Riley is Vice President. Tammy Wooley and Tracy Richards are Co-Secretaries. Cori Roed is Fundraising chair. The Legislative chair is open.
Joe reviewed the distributed information packet. We will send out the PTSA calendar soon. There are a lot of open volunteer positions. Cori will expand on those later. Job descriptions are included in the packet. Joe gave some examples of projects which were completed last year, including the film on the upstairs classroom windows.
We reviewed the meeting minutes from last June. The meeting minutes were approved as written. Joe gave the reminder to get out and vote on Sept 20th.
Arbor Heights Principal Report - Dr. Coram:
The Arbor Heights enrollment is at 323. The school is funded for 332. In order to add a few more students, two families from the wait list have been contacted, two families are returning and three families are new to the area. Gatewood Elementary does not have a wait list.
The Powerful Writers program, a K-5 writing program, was kicked off today. All the teachers have been trained. There is a parent component to powerful writers. Information on parent training will be sent out soon. Author George Shannon will be visiting Arbor Heights on Sept 20th. Dr Coram is looking at having literacy as the theme at the open house. The Tullys (by Thriftway) is looking at sponsoring a few coffee house nights, where students can read their powerful writing stories.
The Moore and Dewey families, along with Mr. Ahlness suggested having a coin drive to raise money for the Katrina victims. The kid centered drive will start tomorrow. A large Mason jar is in the office and will be filled up with the coins donated by the kids. The staff will match up to $1000. The money will be donated to either Mercy Corps (http://www.mercycorps.org/), The Humane Society (http://www.hsus.org/),
or International Reading Association (http://www.reading.org/). The kids will select the organization to donate to tomorrow.
The WASL scores are in. The 5th grade student scores will be sent home. There were slight dips in reading and math. The writing score has risen. For more information on the Arbor Heights WASL scores, go to www.greatschools.net and look up Arbor Heights Elementary.
September 27th will be the third annual Dads and Donuts. It is for Dads and their children and it will be held in the library. The goal is to encourage the participation of Dads in the school. We need volunteers to help coordinate and would love to see a Dad coordinate.
October 13th will be the Arbor Heights Open House and Spaghetti Dinner. We need volunteers to coordinate the spaghetti portion of this event.
The third annual Endolyn Joes Night is tentatively the 25 of October (Tuesday).
A survey regarding the Parent - Teacher Conferences has been sent home. The survey is regarding whether to have three full conference days (the three days before Thanksgiving) or seven partial conference days (as stated in the school calendar). There will be one evening of conferences regardless of the survey results.
PTSA Treasurer Report – Curt Knox:
Curt started the treasurer report with how we did last year. Last year’s actual results were just over $36,000 as compared to the budgeted results of $22,700, which is good news. Fundraising projects did $1,300 better than predicted. In addition, the carnival made money last year. The other income category raised almost $5000 more than planned.
Under the income usage category, the 5th grade camp was self sufficient. The purchase of playground benches was postponed due to the mold work. The safety patrol stipend was covered by the school district. The student teacher program came in under budget.
Curt then discussed the proposed budget for this year. A proposed budget was voted on at the last PTSA meeting, last year. We re-voted to approve the budget at this meeting. Curt went over the revised and original budget column. The more money the PTSA brings in, the more we can do. The budget was approved.
Several companies will match cash donations– make sure that your company matches, when possible. United Way drive is coming up – consider donations to Arbor Heights through this drive.
On the 20th of October, we will vote on PTSA projects to work on. We will need a quorum to vote on these projects.
PTSA Fundraising Chair Report – Cori Roed:
Cori announced that a number of the volunteer positions will be filled by last year’s coordinators. Thank you! Artist in Residence is an open position; it happens in March. We need a bake sale coordinator. Wrapping paper – we need people to help total orders and distribute boxes. We need a “Box Tops for Education” coordinator. For the Poinsettia sale, Ramona will help with but we need a coordinator. For the Original Works fund raising project, Cristen will help with but we need a coordinator. Oil for kids (http://www.oilforkids.com/) – with a $40 purchase from Oil for Kids you receive 4 oil changes, 4 tire rotations and 4 maintenance inspections from a participating ASE certified auto repair facility located in your community. EScrip (http://www.escrip.com/) – Safeway and other stores contribute a percentage of your grocery loyalty cards to Arbor heights (8560762 is the id). They currently have a 10% back to school – certificate in the mail with a redemption coupon; turn it in to the school (Marilyn) before Oct 11. Schoolpop.com (http://www.schoolpop.com) is an online shopping site where a percentage of the purchase price will go to Arbor Heights . Raffles have been done in the past with some success. If someone is interested in coordinating a fundraising project, contact the PTSA Board. We need a 5th grade parent to coordinate fund raising for the spring camp. Ink cartridge collection – don’t throw away those cartridges. We typically make $75 per drop. Separate from the fund raising Shelly is going to do the carnival again. Ramona will help coordinate the 5th grade camp.
We will send out an updated volunteer list with the minutes.
Please fill out and turn in the Volunteers Wanted form. Being a volunteer is a great way for kindergarten parents to get involved. The kindergarten parents had a PTSA meeting attendance contest and Mr. Wilkie’s class won a popcorn party.
PTSA Project Ideas – Joe Sharp:
Joe shared the PTSA project status from last year. For the mold remediation project, we hired (and the school district funded) an independent mold consultant. The project status handout outlines the progress on the other projects. Shyla is looking into a “Safety Grant” to pay for the road / walkway work; she will follow up on status. The “safe routes to school” grant can be applied for by the school or the school district. Shyla will look more into the two grants. Perhaps sending emails to the Mayor will get something started. It would be good if we can have the city pay for all changes.
A parent suggested that it would be nice to get a four car length area for drop off only. Dr. Coram said she can put something in the bulletin. One suggestion is to make 104th street a one way street during specified hours. This would require a neighborhood agreement.
Fill out the project idea sheet and drop it off at the office by Oct 6. Voting on the submitted projects will be at the next PTSA general meeting, October 20th. Joe described the dot voting process.
PTSA Communication – Tammy Wooley / Tracy Richards:
Tammy explained the various communication avenues we will use this year. We will send out the PTSA General Meeting minutes of every meeting, via email to those parents whose email addresses we have. We will also have a PTSA Information page in the Weekly Bulletin. The PTSA General Meeting minutes will also be posted on the Arbor Heights website (http://www.arborheights.com). There is also a PTSA bulletin board which will have a PTSA schedule and fund raising information posted. We need someone to keep this bulletin board up to date.
Mold Project Status Report – Joe Sharp / Scott Roed:
Joe gave a status on the mold which was found under the school’s portable rooms. The school district and several Arbor Heights parents created a task force which met weekly over the summer to help insure the mold issue got fixed properly. Scott Roed did a great job of pushing to get the problem fixed. David Anderson (an independent mold expert) was hired to be our expert in overseeing the project. Richard stout and Fred Stevens, from school district, also participated on the task force.
The mold and water problems are mostly under control now. Heating and ventilation throughout the school has been replaced. Drainage has been improved. Pipes and damaged building materials have been fixed. The school district stepped up and did a lot of work on this. Mike Skutak’s boss represented the school district at this September PTSA General meeting. The PTSA gives a big thank you to the school district.
A question was raised regarding those parents whose children were tested; what happened with the results? David Anderson has the results. Scott will follow up with David to get the info back to the parents. There are doctors on contract for parents who want further testing on their children. Contact Joe for more info. Richard can help provide info. The Air Quality website page (http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/air/index.htm) will be updated with this information.
New Business:
Mark Ahlness asked about Carol Long’s garden. When the French drain went in (for the mold project), the garden was torn up. Ms Long is considering doing a tub garden; this is something that can be listed as a project idea. Dr Coram said she is looking to establish a similar garden somewhere on the school premises. The school district would like to work with her on it.
Dr. Coram said she is considering having a donation wall or walkway where people / businesses purchase tiles to raise money.
Please fill out a PTSA envelope at the meeting or drop off at the main desk at the office. In order to vote, you need to be a member of the PTSA.
If you haven’t signed in on the sign up sheet, please do so. We will add you to the email list.
Closing:
Darrel Riley (vice president) wanted to thank the PTSA board for their hard work thus far this year. The regular meeting of the Arbor Heights PTSA wrapped up at 8:30 p.m.
posted by Mark Ahlness at 10:34 AM
1 Comments:
Good start to your blog! You should continue to post on a regular basis. Have you ever thought about Custom Made Wristbands as a fundraiser? They are really popular this year.
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