President, Shannon Scott, called the regular meeting of the Middle Paxton School Association to order.
Members Present: Shannon Scott, Dawn Durham, Steve Burns, Jenna Shickley, Missie Thrush, Cassie Moyer, Laura Briner, Carla Hagy, Tara Truskey, Laura Updegrave, Kelli Flickinger, Tammy Novinger, Rebecca Novak, Missy Baird, Carol Lopez, Stacy Tinsley, Shannon Sholtis, Kim Snyder, Erin Huff, Missy Funk, Alison Bassett, Kristin Breithaupt and Kim Heck.
Recording Secretary – Carla Hagy
October Minutes - Motion was made by Missie and seconded by Ashley Bullers to approve the October 2011 Minutes. All were in favor. Motion stands approved.
Treasurer – Steve Burns
October Treasurer’s Report: Motion was made by Cassie Moyer and seconded by Tracy to approve the October 2011 Treasurer’s Report. All were in favor. Motion stands approved.
Report from the Executive Board:
Rebecca Novak has volunteered to do the year-end slide show.
We are trying to find grandparents to volunteer to do check-in during American Education week, so that parents don’t have to cut their time short to volunteer and can enjoy observing their student(s). We are looking for volunteers for 9:00 – 11:00, 11:00 – 1:00 and 1:00 – 2:30.
The Board will meet on November 22nd at 5:00 to set-up the Christmas tree. The tree will be decorated with all the items donated during the winter wear drive. The School Spirit committee will also foil the classroom doors for the door decorating contest.
The third grade funds for their field trip have been dispersed.
Congratulations to Ella N. who turned in over 100 Giant bonuscard numbers and won the six (6) Disney on Ice tickets.
An emergency testing will occur on Wednesday at 2:00 all around the Harrisburg area and sirens will go off for three minutes.
Old Business:
Book Fair went well and we had approximately a $900.00 profit.
Grandparents Day went very well. We had 198 Grandparents visit throughout the day. Because Grandparents generally need more assistance and we have such a large number visiting, we will try and have more volunteers to help with check-in next year. We can also have different tables that can sign them in and give them nametags, direct them to the location of their grandchild and sign them up for a lunch.
The fall family fun night was cancelled because of the snow. The only dates that Olympic has available are November 15th, 16th, 29th or 30th from 7:00 until 9:00. These are all weeknights and the time is pretty late. The only other date that they have available is November 28th from 6:15 until 8:15. This is also a weeknight, but it is the last day the kids have off for the Thanksgiving break before they go back to school. It was decided by all that November 28th would be the best date to have the skating party.
Spirit Cups were shipped on Friday and will be delivered tomorrow. There was difficulty collecting money and therefore, the orders got turned into the company later than expected. The orders do not come sorted, so we must do all the sorting. Notification will be sent to parents/guardians regarding the date and time for pick-up, but we are hoping to have it this Friday.
Mrs. Lopez:
Thank you to the Spirit committee for organizing the spirit days.
The parade and parties went well on the 28th. We will consider the same format for next year with the parade in the morning and the parties at the end of the day. It allows for more time for the parties rather than doing the parade and then getting out of the costumes, which runs into the party time.
Helping Hands is held on Day 3 and more and more 4th & 5th grade students are becoming involved in it.
The CD High School Jazz Band performed for the students on November 4th. There were three former Middle Paxton students in the band.
Barb Smith retired, so we have a new librarian. On Day 1 & 2, Kelly Perry will be the new librarian. Mrs. Raab is the librarian on Day 3.
November 16th is Mix It Up at lunch. The students get to sit with students from other classrooms and they ask each other questions.
November 16th is also the first day of American Education Days and it will run for 3 days from 9:30 until 2:30.
November 17th is picture re-take day. Students wishing to get their picture retaken or for those that missed the original day, must bring the packet with them on this day.
The Thanksgiving break is longer than normal. It will be from November 23rd through the 28th.
December 7th is the Holiday concert. The school will be open before the concert, so that parents can walk through the school and see the decorated doors. The band, chorus and orchestra will perform. Teachers are asked to have their doors decorated by this date.
Report cards are being handed out at conferences this marking period. For the other conferences, the report cards will be sent home beforehand.
Dr. Gonzalez and Ford Thompson visited Middle Paxton and took a tour. They indicated that no school in the District would be closing. They are looking at moving school lines and moving students to different schools. Middle Paxton should receive in upwards of 100 new students next year. Our school has a capacity of 600 students and we only currently have 312. The enrollment study from last year did not make these recommendations. Additional teachers will be given to our school to accommodate the additional students. The plan will probably come out at a Board meeting and then it will need to be published in the paper as there is a public comment time they must give. Mrs. Lopez will contact Ford Thompson to arrange for him to come to an MPSA meeting to discuss these possible plans and hear possible concerns and answer questions from parents.
Committee’s:
Assemblies – (Mr. Singleton & Kendra Drawbaugh) – Kendra Drawbaugh will join Mr. Singleton for this committee.
Book Fair – (Tara Truskey & Ellen Wenrich) – Nothing to report.
Eagles Nest – (Kathy Conway) – Nothing to report.
Fifth Grade - (Barb Schmidt & Monica Braddock) – Nothing to report.
Committee’s:
Historian – (Harriet Bull) – Nothing to report.
Hospitality – (Missie Thrush) – Dads & Donuts went very well. We had 169 RSVP’s plus teachers and staff on the first day. We had 189 RSVP’s plus teachers and staff on the second day. We went through 14 dozen of donuts on the first day and 21 dozen on the second day. We only had 3 donuts left on the second day.
Quarter Days are currently going on. With fifth grade providing the snacks we always tend to not have as many snacks for whatever reason. The students love baked goods the most and it is a good idea for parents to make more than they typically would for a class. If we have leftovers, they will be put out for American Education Days along with water.
On December 7th, Diane Shafer will be requesting 4th & 5th grade parents/guardians to provide baked goods to sell at the Winter Concert.
May Fair – (Shannon Scott & Dawn Durham) – Nothing to report.
PAC – (Pat Conway & Jeff Thrush) – Meeting was cancelled, so there is nothing to report.
Publicity – (Carla Hagy) – Nothing to report.
Santa’s Shop – (Cassie Moyer & Liza Smith) – A letter was sent to Mrs. Lopez requesting use of the classroom for the work nights. Tuesday, November 29th and Wednesday November 30th fro 5:30 until 8:00 will be the two work nights to set-up for Santa’s Shop. Emails will be sent to the individuals who indicated their desire to help out with the shop. A letter will be sent home with all students requesting additional volunteers. The online volunteer and teacher schedule is ready. If anyone wants to go online to sign-up they can do so at
Scholarship – (Dawn Durham) – Nothing to report.
School Spirit - (Kelli Flickinger) – There were 8 winners for the fall guestimmation. The door decorating will be November 22nd, and if you would like to come out and help, it would be appreciated. We will have a Spirit Wear sale due to many requests. Two new items were added, tie die sweatshirts ($32.00) and Middle Paxton magnets ($6.00). The orders will be in before the holidays, so if they are Christmas gifts they can be specially packaged or arrangements can be made for delivery. The sizing does run small.
School Store – (Missy Baird & Laura Briner) – School store will occur on Thursday.
Special Events – (Amy Zoellner) – Luncheon is tomorrow.
Student Achievement/Bug Club – (Laura Updegrave) – Waiting on teachers to provide the names of the students who acquired Student Achievement/Bug Club in order for the certificates to be made to use at school store. It will be close since school store is this Thursday.
Ways & Means – (Stacy Tinsley, Laura Updegrave & Ashley Bullers) – Texas Roadhouse is set to begin on November 21st. It will run from November 21st through December 12th. The actual restaurant night will be on January 24th. If you are planning to go to the restaurant night, you can purchase the gift cards and use them that night. We earn a percentage from both even if you use your gift cards.
Next scheduled MPSA meeting December 5, 2011 at 7pm. in the school library.
Minutes submitted by Carla Hagy, Recording Secretary