2016-2017 Holy Cross School
Open PTA Meeting
March 2, 20177:00PM
I.Agenda for meeting is distributed.
II.Opening Prayer – Mr. Belluzzi
III.Committee Reports – Past and Upcoming Events
a.Uniform Sale, Jennifer Bruno. Spring uniform sale will take place on Wednesday, March 29th beginning around 8:15am through 3pm. Set up for the sale will take place on Tuesday, March 28th. Spring and gym uniforms will be available for sale.
b.Faith in Action, Christy Ramos. Friday, April 28th will be the Diocesan Day of Service, Senior Luncheon. Around 70 senior citizens visit Holy Cross from local senior centers. The students participate on the day, and help with the planning and preparation. The “light shine” and a sunrise will be part of the theme for this year, and save-the-dates are going out. It is a special day when our guests feel respected and appreciated.
Faith Sharing is a group of parents, mostly moms, that meet twice a month on Wednesdays. Matthew Kelly’s, “Resisting Happiness”, is the most recent book that will be discussed and is about loving and embracing Catholic faith.
40 and 40 – Emphasizes simplifying your life during Lent. Decluttering your house and donating items to charities during Lent. Coordinating with Bridge of Books for book donations as well.
May 21st, Sunday. This will be the Day of Service Car Wash.
May 25th, Ascension Thursday. Would like to have a Blue Mass at 9am, for all local first responders. An opportunity to say “thank you” and express our gratitude and respect. Would like to have our students create a line outside of Church after the Mass, and applaud them.
c.Ice Skate Outing, Amy Burke. Took place on Friday, February 3rd during Catholic Schools Week. A fun day for our students that went very well.
d.Class Parent Chairs, Mairead Clifford and Kat Smith. All going well for Class Parents this year. Door decorations for Teacher Appreciation day were beautifully done and well appreciated.
e.Alumni Basketball Game, Liz Hempstead. Will take place, Friday, March 10th. High School students and former players have been invited to play our current basketball players. This will be the first annual alumni game in conjunction with the school’s 75th anniversary.
f.Assemblies, Kelley McCarthy Kane. On March 16th at 12:30pm will be the Julius Caesar, Shakespeare assembly for grades 5 – 8. Parents are welcome to attend.
g.BINGO, Melanie Jaenicke. Spring Bingo is on the calendar for Thursday, March 30th. Considering opening up to 5th – 8th grade. (No school Friday, March 31st due to a diocesan teachers’ meeting).
h.Dance for Charity, Sarah Barnwell. Took place on Friday, February 24th for grades 5 – 8. A great evening and students had fun. Still waiting on expenses but expect to exceed what was raised last year for Covenant House which was $3,800. The Tuesday before the dance, a representative from Covenant House visited Holy Cross to speak to our students.
IV.Communication, Beth Camillone.
a.Executive Board – Nomination Committee will be appointed. 4 of the 5 Executive Board positions will need to be filled for next year. Kelley McCarthy Kane, current Assistant Treasurer, will be the Treasurer. According to the By-Laws, all Executive Board members need to have held Committee Chair positions.
b.Committee Chair positions. Some of these will open up. These are 2 year positions. Book Fair and Gala are two that will need to be filled.
V.Treasurer’s Report, Josy Coughlin.
a.The only expense waiting for is Art Appreciation. Christine Cofone is Art Appreciation Chair and she is planning a local author to visit and work with our students during Language Arts and Art classes to develop and publish short stories with illustrations. Author is scheduled to come on April 27th.
PTA is paid up for the year with our expenses to the Diocese of Trenton.
PTA obligation to the school is $83,000, and Josy handed the final commitment balance of $53,000 to Mr. Belluzzi. We are paid in full.
Beth mentioned to everyone that money raised by the PTA goes toward new computers, Assemblies, Art Appreciation. Mr. Belluzzi discussed designating the money toward fixing our gym projector, at least one projector and two new screens will need to be purchased.
VI.News and reminders, Mr. Belluzzi.
a.Terra Novas are next week, March 6th through 10th. There are no specials in the mornings. Friday is a half day.
b.In a few weeks, work will be done on Rumson Road. Traffic will be rerouted for about 3 days to a week. Pick up times may be affected.
c.Marking period ends Friday, March 10th. Report cards distributed the week after.
d.8th graders will be going to Howell to see a speaker on March 24th.
e.Registration is open for the 2017-2018 school year. The registration fee is $200/child until March 15th.
Beth discussed the $83,000 annual PTA obligation to the school….this money is raised throughout the year from PTA fundraising and the yearly family commitment of $350/family. Scrip and Grocery Magic are in place to help families raise this money while they shop. As of today money raised to the school through Scrip and Grocery Magic totals $11,000. Last day for Scrip and Grocery Magic orders is May 15th (for the 2016-2017 school year).
f.Due to funeral services, there is no First Friday mass March 3rd. There will be a mass on April 7th at 7:15am.
Meeting adjourned.