Central School PTA Executive Board Meeting
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012, 12 noon
Attendees: Keiko Tannenbaum, Alex Leach, Susan Epstein, Cindy Dircks, Martha Friedland, Ms. Dinelli, Mr. Smith, Ellen Silver, Ms. Dressler, Ms. Priore, Kim Rubin, Mary Conway, Sam Orans, Krista Williams, Daniela Behpour
Mamaroneck Schools Foundation: Ginny Poleman, Sally Cantwell
Apologies: Jen Siegel, Denise Mathieson, Christine Montgomery, Kim Nicastri
UPDATES AND REPORTS:
Approval of Minutes: The minutes from February and March were approved.
Updates from Carol/Joanne:
The Larchmont Acres parking lot continues to be an issue and locking the gate appears to be the only option. The safety of our students must be our top priority. Carol has discussed this with Dr Shaps and he will notify the Board as well. PTA and Carol will monitor the gate and individual letters will be sent to offenders to give a warning that the gate will be locked.
Teacher’s Update:
The teachers expressed gratitude for the Staff Appreciation Lunch. Attending this lunch felt like being at a retreat. The plates, the setting, and the food everything was wonderful and created a great ambiance. The teachers take pleasure in teaching the children and so they appreciate the support from the parents. It was discussed that for next year the PTA would send official invitations to all of the teachers and staff and improve communication about the event both to staff and parents.
Mr. Smith was given plaques to install on the interactive white boards that indicate that they were a gift from the Central School PTA.
Presentation from Mamaroneck Schools Foundation – Special Guests Ginny Poleman and Sally Cantwell
Ginny Poleman, President, and Sally Cantwell, in-coming President, spoke about the grants that were awarded by the MSF foundation to Central School and the selection process. There are 11 members on the Selection Committee that review all of the grants submitted. Teachers submit grants in November and all elements of each grant are carefully reviewed. Distributions to each building are made as equitably as possible. Dr. Shaps was very involved in the process and provided a lot of feedback and made sure that the grants aligned with his vision.
Central School was awarded about $37,500 of the $200,000 total grant money awarded by the MSF this year:
Ø EBooks for the Elementary School Libraries – Spotlight on NY.
This grant will allow each of the four elementary schools to purchase an interactive eBook collection; “Spotlight on New York”, which is specifically aligned with the 4th grade Social Studies curriculum. Each collection contains twelve volumes of interactive, media-rich eBooks with enhanced content related to New York State history. These resources will be used by the 4th grade teachers, the library and in the computer lab. Additionally, students may independently access these online resources to revisit content introduced in the classroom.
Ø Around the World with Videoconferencing.
This grant will provide Central School with a portable, state-of-the-art videoconferencing unit that will enable both students and staff to interact with a variety of people around the world. Without leaving their classrooms, children will be able to communicate interactively with classrooms, both at home and abroad, attend virtual field trips, and talk with and watch demonstrations by experts. Initially, the system will be piloted by Central’s 4th grade teachers, however, the portability will allow all classrooms immediate access.
Ø Yoga for Physical Education Program .
This grant will provide certification for physical education teachers at the Elementary, Middle and High School levels to conduct yoga classes for students of the District. The teachers will attend an intensive 2-day training program, which will certify them to teach the Yoga Ed Curriculum as part of PE. Yoga Ed is a nationally recognized health and fitness curriculum that fulfills the National Challenge PE standards.
Ø First and Second Grade Inclusive Playground.
This grant will aid in the funding of a new inclusive playground and playground surface at Central School. The playground will provide an age-appropriate environment for outdoor play for 1st and 2nd graders with equipment specifically designed to accommodate students with special needs. Kindergarten classes will often use the playground as well.
The MSF nominating process is currently taking place and they are still seeking to fill the positions of Co-Chairs for the Gala and Auction, MSF Branding and Hospitality Chair.
Playground Updates
Sam Orans has been in touch with multiple vendors (all approved by NY State) and presented multiple concepts for the playground structures. The vendors and various structures were discussed. Some vendors included installation in their cost proposals, others did not. It was discussed whether there should be a single structure or multiple structures.
In order to move forward with planning, guiding principles were discussed. It was decided that multiple pieces of play equipment should be included in the design plans, including swings. It was decided that one entire structure should be wheelchair accessible – this would include ramps that would extend to the outside of the wood chip area so the wheelchair could get to the structure.
The current funding status for this project is projected at $20,000 from PNO, $6,500 from MSF. The PTA reserve presently has $35,000 in it. Over the past few years the PTA has invested heavily in Central School through programs, technology, and equipment for the grounds and classrooms. It is good practice to keep some funds in the reserve. The PTA will consider voting on using $20,000 from the reserves for this project. The goal would be to do some of the installation over the summer. The design and vendor that most people liked was Miracle vendor. Sam was charged to find out estimates for certain pieces offered by them.
Nominating Committee Update – Ellen, Martha and Jen
The nominating committee worked very hard to fill the slate for next year.
The new slate will be voted on during the PTA meeting on April 30th and is:
Co-Presidents - Susan Epstein and Martha Friedland
Secretary - Angela Holton
Treasurer - Miran Robarts
VP Communications - Krista Williams and Mary Brennan
VP Parent Services - Kim Rubin and Virginia Marsella
VP School Services - Christine Montgomery and Cathy Bizzard
VP Faculty/Comm. Outreach - Kristen Carpenter and Romy Kirwin
VP Programs- Ellen Silver and Patty Wolff
VP Fundraising Mary Conway and Sam Orans
Recess Equipment Cart
It has been an issue that recess equipments, provided by PTA, are not well kept, especially by upper grades. To improve the situation, it was proposed that equipments will be assigned to grades, not class, and be kept in a more central location. For grades 3-5 a proposal was made to invest in one or two equipment carts that would be kept in the LGI closets and brought out during recess. These carts would store all of the balls, ropes, etc. Spare equipment could be purchased and kept in the PTA room.
Update from PT Council
Building use: the District will now be strictly enforcing the policy of charging custodial fees for weekends. If the event is considered a school event, this fee will not apply. If it were a fundraiser, e.g. Scare Fare, the PTA would be charged. The custodial fee on a Sunday is $93 per hour/one custodian; on Saturday it is $70. This will increase our operating expenses next year and we need to plan accordingly. Discussion is on-going with Dr Shaps on school plays, which could be categorized as "school program". We will receive new guidelines soon.
PT Council discussed PTA dues. MAS charges $20 per family for dues; other two elementary school charge $15Central currently charges $10. It was discussed whether all PTAs need to charge the same membership fee across buildings. Given the growing need for funds for playground and other programs, it was decided that Central feels comfortable raising dues to $15.
School Budget. The request from the PTA Council on phone banking was shared. Some suggested that phone is no longer the most effective way of communicating. Others commented that messages from the Council to be too long and complex. It was agreed that Krista would create our own flyer with succinct messages to encourage parents to vote.
Meeting adjourned at 2:10pm
Respectfully submitted by Alex Leach
Next PTA Exec meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 16th 2012