Meeting Minutes September 21, 2006
Arbor Heights PTSA
General Meeting Minutes
September 21, 2006
Opening:
President Joe Sharp called the regular meeting of the Arbor Heights PTSA to order at 7:07 p.m. on September 21, 2006 in the school cafeteria. This is the first PTSA meeting of the school year. He welcomed the Kindergarten parents. He also welcomed the “returning faces”. The turnout was great.
Joe announced that Arbor Heights is not on the Seattle school closure list; followed by a round of applause. Joe reminded everyone to be compassionate to the Roxhill staff and families. Several of the families will be at Arbor Heights next year.
Please consider volunteering for one of the PTSA activities or fundraisers. Also, please review the PTSA packet.
The minutes for the May meeting are approved as written. The minutes can be found on the PTSA blog (http://ahptsa.blogspot.com/).
Arbor Heights Principal Report:
Dr. Coram said the first day was very smooth and it was a great opening at school. She said that the 1st Monday of every month (at 9:15 am) there is an all school assembly. For the first assembly, she went over school regulations, etc. Parents are welcome to attend these assemblies.
The Dads and Donuts event is coming up on Tuesday, October 3rd 7:30 – 8:30 am. Dads are welcome to bring their kids. Please RSVP by Friday, September 29th for food count.
Although there are official parent - teacher conferences in November; if you ever a question regarding how your child is doing, feel free to call or email your child’s teacher at any time. Most problems get resolved at the teacher level.
The WASL scores weren’t great last year. The third, fourth and fifth grade teachers are looking at the scores to see what areas need to be strengthened. We have a part time math coach, working with all teachers. Dr. Coram gets a breakdown which can be reviewed and analyzed. Factors, such as class size will be considered along with correlations. So it is easy to see what areas can be improved. Carol is happy to share the curriculum. They might also be on the Seattle School District website. OSP website also has them. (Addison Wesley and TURK are used in combination.)
Parents will receive a letter with the individual child’s scores. They should be out by next week. If all three sections are passed (4th grade last year), there will be a special certificate from the governor.
The WASL will continue to be discussed in future PTSA meetings.
Treasurer Report / review and approve 2006-2007 PTSA budget:
Curt reviewed the budget, page by page, explaining to the new parents how the information is displayed. We always like to have $15,000 - $20,000 at the end of each school year, for the subsequent PTSA year.
When reviewing page 2 of the budget (Fundraising), Curt reminded us all that we need leaders to take ownership and drive fundraising.
When reviewing page 3 (Spending Money), Curt explained that the board approves things under $300. Anything over $300 needs a PTSA quorum to approve. The project voting next month will fall in this category.
The question was raised “Why not put the money in a CD?” Curt explained that it adds a level of inflexibility to the budget. Another question was raised “Why do we have so much money currently in the budget?” Curt explained that we budgeted for a few large projects last year, but things like the school district or the Dept of Transportation dept have covered those costs. That is why we have the budget that we have.
The budget has been approved.
Fundraising Chair Report and Upcoming Events:
We have a new bake sale volunteer. Spaghetti dinner has an immediate need for volunteers.
http://www.escrip.com/ is how you can log a percentage of the money you spend at Safeway (using your Safeway card) to the school. The Target “Take Charge of Education” money (http://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-001825) goes into the Arbor Heights selfhelp fund. Box Tops (http://www.boxtops4education.com) and ink cartridges are also collected. Thriftway also offers a 1% cash back for cash register receipts. It is amazing how the money adds up.
Dads and Donuts is on October 3rd. Darrel is coordinating this event. Fall Cleanup is on September 30th. Bring gardening tools and gloves and work on the landscape around the school. No Pancake breakfast, but perhaps coffee and donuts. Darrel will follow up with the owners of this project (Dave and Rob). Perhaps an additional planting can be done later in the fall.
Regarding other PTSA functions, 2007 School Carnival – Tracy Richards is going to own this. Lost and Found – owner found. Science Fair – we need an owner. Boxtops – Jennifer Beard and Cori will work. A competition could be organized to raise more. Math Conference at the UW Oct 7. Directory for this year. Kirstin Moe (Kirstinmoe@comcast.net) Layne talked about the Bank Day. It is nice to have a number of volunteers. 11:30 – 1 on Wednesdays.
Projects Discussion:
Joe described the project form. We are in a good spot financially. We can do some capital improvements. Regarding pothole fixing etc – phone calls / emails to Richard Staudt (Phone: (206) 252-0710 Email: restaudt@seattleschools.org). Also put information on the website.
School Closures:
We are not on the list. There will not be any additional portables added to the school at this point (and it takes 18 months to get portables added). We could take up to 100 additional students. We have to look at class sizes at all ages. We may have additional classes, depending on numbers. Max class sizes are 28 for younger grades and 32 for higher grades. Public meeting information will be made on the WIKI and the email list.
We should extend an invite to Roxhill Elementary to a PTSA meeting (after the Nov 1 decision) if needed.
New Business:
The sidewalk work will be reversed. The crosswalk on 35th will also be improved. The walking school bus will not happen at this point, due to the fact that we don’t have sidewalks.
The wall, for a punishment, is an issue. Chase games are not allowed, but running should be ok. Are there other punishments that would be more appropriate or not so visible?
Closing:
The regular meeting of the Arbor Heights PTSA wrapped up at 8:35 pm
General Meeting Minutes
September 21, 2006
Opening:
President Joe Sharp called the regular meeting of the Arbor Heights PTSA to order at 7:07 p.m. on September 21, 2006 in the school cafeteria. This is the first PTSA meeting of the school year. He welcomed the Kindergarten parents. He also welcomed the “returning faces”. The turnout was great.
Joe announced that Arbor Heights is not on the Seattle school closure list; followed by a round of applause. Joe reminded everyone to be compassionate to the Roxhill staff and families. Several of the families will be at Arbor Heights next year.
Please consider volunteering for one of the PTSA activities or fundraisers. Also, please review the PTSA packet.
The minutes for the May meeting are approved as written. The minutes can be found on the PTSA blog (http://ahptsa.blogspot.com/).
Arbor Heights Principal Report:
Dr. Coram said the first day was very smooth and it was a great opening at school. She said that the 1st Monday of every month (at 9:15 am) there is an all school assembly. For the first assembly, she went over school regulations, etc. Parents are welcome to attend these assemblies.
The Dads and Donuts event is coming up on Tuesday, October 3rd 7:30 – 8:30 am. Dads are welcome to bring their kids. Please RSVP by Friday, September 29th for food count.
Although there are official parent - teacher conferences in November; if you ever a question regarding how your child is doing, feel free to call or email your child’s teacher at any time. Most problems get resolved at the teacher level.
The WASL scores weren’t great last year. The third, fourth and fifth grade teachers are looking at the scores to see what areas need to be strengthened. We have a part time math coach, working with all teachers. Dr. Coram gets a breakdown which can be reviewed and analyzed. Factors, such as class size will be considered along with correlations. So it is easy to see what areas can be improved. Carol is happy to share the curriculum. They might also be on the Seattle School District website. OSP website also has them. (Addison Wesley and TURK are used in combination.)
Parents will receive a letter with the individual child’s scores. They should be out by next week. If all three sections are passed (4th grade last year), there will be a special certificate from the governor.
The WASL will continue to be discussed in future PTSA meetings.
Treasurer Report / review and approve 2006-2007 PTSA budget:
Curt reviewed the budget, page by page, explaining to the new parents how the information is displayed. We always like to have $15,000 - $20,000 at the end of each school year, for the subsequent PTSA year.
When reviewing page 2 of the budget (Fundraising), Curt reminded us all that we need leaders to take ownership and drive fundraising.
When reviewing page 3 (Spending Money), Curt explained that the board approves things under $300. Anything over $300 needs a PTSA quorum to approve. The project voting next month will fall in this category.
The question was raised “Why not put the money in a CD?” Curt explained that it adds a level of inflexibility to the budget. Another question was raised “Why do we have so much money currently in the budget?” Curt explained that we budgeted for a few large projects last year, but things like the school district or the Dept of Transportation dept have covered those costs. That is why we have the budget that we have.
The budget has been approved.
Fundraising Chair Report and Upcoming Events:
We have a new bake sale volunteer. Spaghetti dinner has an immediate need for volunteers.
http://www.escrip.com/ is how you can log a percentage of the money you spend at Safeway (using your Safeway card) to the school. The Target “Take Charge of Education” money (http://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-001825) goes into the Arbor Heights selfhelp fund. Box Tops (http://www.boxtops4education.com) and ink cartridges are also collected. Thriftway also offers a 1% cash back for cash register receipts. It is amazing how the money adds up.
Dads and Donuts is on October 3rd. Darrel is coordinating this event. Fall Cleanup is on September 30th. Bring gardening tools and gloves and work on the landscape around the school. No Pancake breakfast, but perhaps coffee and donuts. Darrel will follow up with the owners of this project (Dave and Rob). Perhaps an additional planting can be done later in the fall.
Regarding other PTSA functions, 2007 School Carnival – Tracy Richards is going to own this. Lost and Found – owner found. Science Fair – we need an owner. Boxtops – Jennifer Beard and Cori will work. A competition could be organized to raise more. Math Conference at the UW Oct 7. Directory for this year. Kirstin Moe (Kirstinmoe@comcast.net) Layne talked about the Bank Day. It is nice to have a number of volunteers. 11:30 – 1 on Wednesdays.
Projects Discussion:
Joe described the project form. We are in a good spot financially. We can do some capital improvements. Regarding pothole fixing etc – phone calls / emails to Richard Staudt (Phone: (206) 252-0710 Email: restaudt@seattleschools.org). Also put information on the website.
School Closures:
We are not on the list. There will not be any additional portables added to the school at this point (and it takes 18 months to get portables added). We could take up to 100 additional students. We have to look at class sizes at all ages. We may have additional classes, depending on numbers. Max class sizes are 28 for younger grades and 32 for higher grades. Public meeting information will be made on the WIKI and the email list.
We should extend an invite to Roxhill Elementary to a PTSA meeting (after the Nov 1 decision) if needed.
New Business:
The sidewalk work will be reversed. The crosswalk on 35th will also be improved. The walking school bus will not happen at this point, due to the fact that we don’t have sidewalks.
The wall, for a punishment, is an issue. Chase games are not allowed, but running should be ok. Are there other punishments that would be more appropriate or not so visible?
Closing:
The regular meeting of the Arbor Heights PTSA wrapped up at 8:35 pm
posted by Tammy Wooley at 10:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home