Forest Avenue Home & School Association

•  Meeting Minutes

•  June 8, 2016

•  Fitzgeralds

Officers in Attendance: Tara Arnett, Pamela Linden, Elizabeth Nuttycombe, Rebecca Keszkowski, Cheryl Bendel (Katie Renoff, appointed; Kari Kim, appointed during meeting)

Apologies: Jennifer Loeb

Principal: Matthew Murphy

Board of Ed: Tracey St. Auburn

Teachers: Mrs. Curtis

Call to Order - Tara Arnett, President, 7:29 pm

Principal’s Report - Matthew Murphy

•  Air Conditioners: All of the air conditioners are installed and working.

•  Pre-K / K Orientation: Lots of new parents participated in the orientation for the 2016-17 school year; it was a successful event.

•  Nurse’s Office: There was a plumbing issue that affected the Nurse’s Office; renovation should be complete soon.

•  MRP Update: Parents have been busy packing the library books into boxes for storage while the MPR is under renovation this summer; thank you to the volunteers.

•  Maker’s Space: This space will likely be incorporated into the MPR room; the project is based on STEAM; collaboration with Amy Meyers for ideas is underway.

•  New Faculty: The second round of interviews for new Grade 1 teacher are scheduled; the goal is to have someone approved and in place for move up day.

•  Thanks: Mr. Murphy expressed his thanks to the FAHSA for its support throughout the year, noting the high level of skills individuals were able to contribute.

•  Upcoming Events: There are several upcoming dates for end of year events: kindergarden celebrations, beach party, second grade promotion, move up day; the teachers, staff, and students are looking forward to all of the events.

•  An upright piano has been donated for use in the MPR.

Board of Education Report - Tracey St. Auburn

•  The retirees in the school district, including long time FAS kindergarten teacher Mrs. Bendin, were honored last Monday.

•  There is 1 meeting remaining this school year, to be held a week from Monday.

Teacher’s Report - Mrs. Curtis

•  The topics the teachers wanted to raise were covered by Mr. Murphy.

•  Thank you from the faculty for all of FAHSA’s efforts this year.

President’s Report - Tara Arnett

•  Thank you: FAHSA President expressed her thanks to all of the volunteers and committee chairs that made all of this year’s events possible. Some of the notable moments include the welcome back pizza party, the new FAS sign, the STEAM fair, MPR fundraising and MPR design.

•  MPR Update: The color scheme is being re-assessed. Painting will commence when school is out for summer break. Thank you to Duval for her help with the MPR and Helen for the design of the backdrop print. A question was raised with regard to who will be overseeing the project during the summer; Mr. Murphy will be overseeing the project. It was also noted that volunteers are welcome to help re-shelve all of the books prior to the 2016-17 school year commencing.

•  Committee Openings: Most committee chair / co-chairs positions have been filled for the 2016-17 school year. A co-chair for crafts and a food day lead (chicken day) are not yet filled.

•  SCRIP: The SCRIP program benefits all the schools but the program has been dwindling partially because people do not seem to understand what it is. The executive committee met and wants to re-brand / market SCRIPT. Rebecca has agreed to be SCRIPT head with regard to the re-branding (but will not delivering gift cards to homes). FAHSA would love to have as many people participate as possible; proceeds are distributed throughout the schools depending on distribution decisions (for example, FAS is receiving money this year for its Maker’s Space).

•  Kitchen Tour: Scheduled for October 23, 2016; looking for volunteers.

•  Jackals Baseball Night: Tickets were backpacked home tonight (450 tickets sold)

•  Fall Events: See the school calendar. Thank you to Mrs. Dunworth for keeping everyone on track with the calendar. Note: school photos will not be held as early in the school year as last year.

•  Teacher Appreciation Week (TAW): The event was a great success; thank you to coordinators.

•  Spring Carnival: Another successful event; thank you to coordinators.

•  Garden: Lots of fresh veggies and herbs will be available throughout the summer.

•  Teacher Wish Lists (VOTE) - Motion made by Rebecca Keszkowski for 20 teacher gift cards ($100) to be distributed to FAS teachers to be used for classroom supplies, etc. Motion seconded by Julia Javier. All in favor, no objections. Approved.

•  New 1st Vice President - Kari Kim: (VOTE) Pam Linden made the motion for Kari Kim to be the new 1st Vice President; the motion was seconded by Marylou Cabrera. All in favor, no objections. Approved.

•  Outgoing officers: Thank you to the outgoing officers (Pam, Cheryl, and Jennifer); gifts presented in appreciation for their time and effort.

Treasurer’s Report - Cheryl Bendel

•  FAHSA raised well over $40K (excluding MRP / masquerade donations), which is more than the previous year. There were an additional $20K in donations; $17K raised by the masquerade. In total, over $80K was raised.

Committee Reports

•  Lemonade Stand (Marylou Cabrera): The last community service event for the year is Friday, benefiting a local family in need.

•  Enrichment (VOTE) (Amy Meyers): The enrichment committee is working on the enrichment schedule for the 2016-17 school year. Request for $10K for enrichment. Julia Javier motioned for $10K to be reserved for enrichment; Jessica Morris seconded the motion. All approved, no objections. Approved.

•  Summer Play Dates (Michelle Miltello): Summer Play Dates are to be held the week of August 4th and 11th; emails will follow. The committee is also planning a back to school pizza event.

•  Discovery (R. Keszkowski, R. Shpigel): Please provide feedback via the survey; looking to plan class schedule as soon as possible because the committee is planning to have registration open earlier this year than previous years. VOTE - Motion made by Leslie McKenzie to reserve $3700 in funds for the keyboarding classes for the second grade students. Kari Kim seconded the motion. All approved, no objections. Approved.

•  Spirit Wear (Duval Graham, Kristen Siefers): There is an inventory of spirit wear available for sale. Kristen Siefers will be taking over as committee chair. The latest round of spirit wear sales has taken in approximately $2K but FAHSA has not broken even yet due to the inventory; anticipate profit after back to school sale of inventory.

•  Farmigo (Jessica Morris, Christi Mitzak): There have have been 11 Farmigo deliveries, with approximately 15-20 people ordering each week; fundraiser is making approximately $100 per week. Monday deliveries planned over the summer months.

•  2nd Grade Promotion (Katie Renoff, Jeannette Murtha): T-shirts were distributed at the end of May, yearbooks went to print today, flocking is in progress, graduation invitations went home, year book signing party is planned, reception is also planned.

Approve April 2016 Minutes. (VOTE) Motion by Nicki Peach, motion seconded by Pam Linden. All approved, no objections. Approved.

Meeting Adjourned.