Kent Gardens PTA Meeting Minutes

October 7, 2014

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 8:50 a.m.

There were 28 attendees.

Old Business:

The minutes from the September 9, 2014 meeting were adopted.

Principal’s Report:

  • The Principal’s coffee took place right before this meeting.
  • The food recovery program began yesterday. A parent asked about whether the Styrofoam trays could also be recycled or used elsewhere. Mrs. McGuigan said KGES throws away about 500 trays per day and FCPS has a lot of regulations on this issue. A parent will look into recycling options.
  • AAP Curriculum information night is on 10/16. Debbie Wines is presenting the AAP Info. Night.
  • The Back to School Night survey is still open.
  • The school has received approval to hire another instructional aide. She will start in October.
  • The next Cobra Connection will contain a link regarding the long-term strategic planning committee discussed at the last meeting. Mrs. McGuigan is working on a plan to put out to parents.
  • A parent has offered to run a daily math instruction program for students in grades 4-6. It is very structured and only intended for students who desire additional math challenge. Messages have been remitted to parents.
  • The new cafeteria tables cost $1000/each. The PTA purchased two of them. It's been quieter and more orderly with the new longer tables rather than the round ones.
  • Strategic planning day: They worked with the teachers on a school improvement plan. The school schedules these strategic planning days to make up some of the time lost due to full day Mondays.The teachers miss their Monday afternoons as they used that time for meetings and planning. Teachers are now staying later and starting earlier to make up some of that time. Team meetings are now outside of school hours. One of the planning days was in September and there will be three more. Every teacher has 60 minutes of planning time per day and one hour of team planning per week. They have been discussing the ‘power of one’ and how teachers can make a connection with children and the teachers have really supported each other as well.
  • The CogAT testing window is scheduled for 10/ 14-10/24. The plan is to test the 2nd grade on October 14, 15, and 16. It's a three-day test and about 45 minutes each day. Then there are make-up days.

President’s Update:

  • The PTA held a dinner for teachers on Back to School Night. The teachers appreciated it.
  • Instead of a November lunch for teacher appreciation, the PTA is going to schedule different times when there is an early release or work day to provide teachers with a breakfast or lunch. This allows the teachers to feel appreciated throughout the year.
  • After School Academies have started. Other upcoming events include the Chipotle Family Dining Fundraiser, Walk to School Day, and the Read-A-Thon.
  • Reflections Program: Kristine Thomas has extended the deadline to October 20.
  • The PTA is looking into bringing outside speakers to some of the PTA meetings. One suggestion has been to have a discussion on healthy eating.
  • There will be an online auction in January.
  • There will be a cultural program in November.
  • November 8 is International Night.

Events Update:

  • The family movie night was a success.
  • Walk or Bike to School Day is tomorrow.
  • Volunteers are still needed for the Read-A-Thon. Parent volunteers are needed to wear costumes, and children will be allowed to dress up as favorite characters.
  • Information will be going home soon about donating items for indoor recess.
  • On Friday, information will go out regarding "get caught reading." Parents are encouraged to take pictures of their children reading and the PTA will use those photographs to create a mural.

Fundraising Update:

  • Read-A-Thon: Raising money will be a happy byproduct of the Read-A-Thon.
  • The Chipotle Family Dining fundraiser is tonight.
  • There will be a Pulcinella family dinner night in January.
  • The Armchair fundraiser is ongoing.

Treasurer’s Report:

  • The year is off to a great start.
  • The Armchair fundraiser is doing well and the Chess Club is exceeding what we budgeted for.
  • Other categories such as Popcorn Club, family fun nights, etc., are off to a good start.
  • There are new categories to track new fundraising efforts (ex: categories for the Read-A-Thon and restaurant rewards program have been created).
  • For the amazon.comprogram, parents can also usesmile.comto get there, but the school gets a smaller percentage of the purchase amount. This program is an effortless way for the school to raise money.
  • At the end of last year, the PTA had a transfer from the reserve fund when the school’s projectors came in.
  • Grocery loyalty card program: Giant’s program starts in October. Giant is the one store that allows the PTA to enroll for you. Safeway and Harris Teeter require you to sign up.
  • Book fair money raised goes directly to the library.

The next PTA meeting is November 13 at 7:00 p.m. We will have a presentation by the school counselor, social worker and possibly school psychologist at 6:30 p.m. with respect to the topic of Bullying.

Adjournment:

A motion was made and passed at 9:40 a.m.