PTSA – Board Meeting(R)

Thursday,January 11th, 2018

PTSA Room @ MHS

Attendees: Cindy Hamer, Leslie Hauben, Melissa Lister, Michele Russo, Paul Popaduik, EileenHans, Julia Hans, MitaBhattacharaya, Jane Heebner, Sharon Howard, Christine Petrane, RaniaElghazaly, Christine Witt, LinaZahlan, Jaime Gostkowski

Call to Order and Welcome: 9:09 am by Cindy Hamer, President

September Meeting Minutes: Approved by Melissa Lister and seconded by Cindy Hamer

Monthly Reports:

Mrs. Heebner – Teacher Report, Cougar Recognition

  • Mrs. Heebner noted that it is quiet right now but once we get to the end of the marking period (1/25), it will be busy for the students
  • Cougar Recognition – emails were sent to MP1 winners and it was also included on morning announcements. Students were instructed on times that they can pick up their cards. Will announce again if she doesn’t get a response
  • Science Olympiad – just started but they will be competing at MIT next week! Robotics just kicked off as well

Julia Hans - Student Rep Report

  • Clocks are running two minutes fast and students are getting marked late since they are using cell time. Can this be fixed/adjusted? Mr. Popaduik said he would make sure this is taken care of today
  • Senior Trip Parent/Student Meeting on 1/30. This is a mandatory meeting for students and parents, otherwise student cannot go on the trip. There are two times scheduled on the 30th, 6:45am and 7pm (approx. 30 mins.)Parents must sign-in at meeting and will be locked out if late. Mr. Popaduik will send out reminder email next week. Info will be posted on Senior Class FB page and on PTSA eblast.
  • Homework free breaks are nice but it’s so stressful before and afterwards since teachers are assigning projects and there are tests and quizzes in beforehand. This year didn’t seem so bad since there were two snow days the week we came back
  • Guidance Counselors are beginning to talk to juniors about colleges – parents should know about this. An email was sent, as per Cindy Hamer. Counselors also gave small presentations in History class to Juniors about colleges. Jane stated that recommendation letters should be requested the summer prior to Senior Year. Teachers have to write these on their own time and the teachers that get the most requests are Sophomore and Junior teachers in Math, Science and English

Paul Popaduik – Principal’s Report

  • Marking Period 2 is pushed back two days to 1/25, due to the snow days
  • 12/19/17 – Nice presentation and ceremony for Ashley Henderson Huff who was a ’00 graduate of MHS and the first woman from NJ killed in Iraq. There were a couple of classes outside for an assembly indoors for Juniors and Seniors. Was the presentation posted? Mr. Popaduik will check and get it done
  • Reminder note going out next Tuesday to the parents about the Senior Trip Meeting

Paul Popaduik – Principal’s Report (Cont’d)

  • New Science course for Freshman next year (class of 2021); name to be announced. Students will have the opportunity to choose Physics or this new science class. Physics is not mandatory for graduation – just Biology. Sharon Howard asked if you can take Physics as a Senior if you don’t take it in Freshman year – undetermined at this point. 8th graders will choose their classes at the end of February so name of science course will be available by then
  • Christine Witt inquired about mid-term Progress Reports. She asked if the e-mail sent out can be more detailed and make it easier to find online. Mr. Popaduik mentioned that the system is antiquated since all of our grades are “live” on Genesis. Mrs. Heebner mentioned that it’s hard to use the “number system” for the progress reports because not all students fit in the “buckets” that are given
  • Winter Formal is scheduled for Friday, February 2nd. Last year it was canceled due to lack of interest
  • Mr. Chris Penna is now the Interim Athletic Director since Tony Maselli retired at the end of the calendar year. Mr. Penna was acting VP while Naomi Green was out. Mr. Popaduik mentioned that he will ask Mr. Penna to send out a letter of introduction to the parents. Interviews for new Athletic Director will take place 2nd-3rd week of March
  • Mr. Popaduik recently attended meeting with county Principals and Superintendents about vaping. The health risks are unknown at this point and some vaping instruments can be manipulated to add illegal substance to it (ie: liquid THC and Fentanyl). They are also very easily concealed and mostly odorless and vapor is only in the air for a couple of seconds. At the meeting, new policies / repercussions were drafted – “Zero tolerance”. Students caught vaping will be suspended out of school two days while substance is being sent out to be tested at the Health Dept. If positive, it will be an automatic four day suspension. Refusal for testing will also result in a “positive” result and a four day suspension. Additionally, it will be reported to the MPD and they will get a citation
  • Cindy brought up that teenage suicide is rampant. Christine Petrane asked “what are we doing proactively since the numbers are climbing” and “what’s causing it?” Christine also mentioned that there’s an excessive amount of homework and this can be part of the problem. Mr. Popaduik said that they are exploring homework now as a district. Kids also put a lot of pressure on themselves by taking too many AP/Honors classes and compete with each other. Michele Russo mentioned that there is a Crisis text line that can be a valuable tool for kids as this is their choice method of communication

RaniaElghazaly- Treasurer’s report, Snack Sales (Eileen Fraker, Kim Galatro)

  • Rania reported that Snack Sales are booming
  • Paid state fee of $64.96
  • Paid out $400 for cougar cards for MP1

Board Member/VP Reports:

Cindy Hamer: Membership Recap

  • Working on “Write a Check” campaign

Michele Russo: SEPTA Report/Staff Appreciation Awards

  • Barn Dance scheduled for 2/9 may need to be rescheduled due to DJ’s availability. If this event ends up being canceled, it will directly affect scholarships
  • Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 16th, at 7pm at UMS. Joanne Tonkin will speak about the Extended School Year program
  • Betsy, Librarian at UMS, has a SEPTA Library for whole district to utilize including parents!
  • Michele received folder of info from Val McAlister about Staff Appreciation Awards which she needs to review. E-mail will probably go out next week

Melissa Lister: Lost & Found

  • Melissa is taking overflow clothing to St. Charles. The lost & found is a mess with clothing, backpacks, etc. Evidently a bowling ball made its way into the bin. Melissa mentioned that Front Office is very helpful in getting electronics back to their owners. Sharon Howard inquired “why are we doing this?” Additionally, are we/will we be getting flack for donating items that don’t belong to us – school should do that. Ellie, Head Custodian, initially asked for a rack to hang clothes and it’s now morphed into something way bigger

Christine Petrane: Senior Scholarships

  • Eileen Hans is “passing the bag” to Christine. Christine will speak with Guidance and we will add “need to be a PTA member” to the scholarship form. Eileen also suggested that there should be a check list of items they need to do on the application. Melissa Lister asked about the “Contribution” question on the application. Eileen confirmed that it’s their contribution to MHS not any other outside organizations

Old Business:

College Presentation for Juniors (Rescheduled to 1/10/18):

  • It was noted that the email from the Guidance Dept came out at 3pm, the day prior so many could not attend the make-up session

Superintendent Meeting:

  • December Meeting was cancelled; next meeting is January 18th

New Business:

Extension of MP2

  • Due to snow days on 1/4 and 1/5, the marking period will be extended to 1/25

Upcoming Events:

2/8/18MHS PTSA Meeting, 9am

2/16/18School Closed

2/19/18School Closed

2/23/18MHS School Musical, 8pm

2/24/18MHS School Musical, 2pm & 8pm

2/24/18MHS Progress Reports Posted

2/27-3/3/18MHS Senior Trip to Disney