Barton Hills Elementary 2015-2016 PTA
Executive Board Meeting Minutes
September 8, 2015
Members Present: Kati Achtermann, Nicole Truelock, Bob Gillett, Wendy Chennault, Stacey Gardner, Sean Moran, Becky Pursley, Jennifer Volk, Aaron Mitchamore, April Smith, Marit Weisenberg
President Nicole Truelock called the meeting to order at 6:34.
Approval of Minutes from 9/3/15
Bob moved to approve the minutes. Stacey seconded the motion.
ACPTA
Nicole asked for a report on ACPTA. Kathleen Schneeman will have to resign her position so a new representative is needed. Each PTA is asked to answer the question “What is the number one need that your school could benefit from the Austin High community or feeder middles school…student volunteers, parent forums, community events, etc.?” What resources do we want from them to strengthen their presence? Volunteers from these other schools? Inviting all feeder schools to Austin High football games?
Stacey says what we do need from Austin High is more community interaction and a way to reach out that identifies AHS to the population of BHE that is not already thinking about it. Bob asked why this is a concern of ours now and Sean mentioned that AHS is losing enrollment—elementary is really strong, but parents get scared about middle and high school and pull the kids from AISD middle school and high schools. The goal of asking and answering the above question is to create a strong pipeline all the way to high school. Stacey brought up that we provide a significant population to the magnet programs; this is why we need to create a strong pipeline among the vertical team. Often parents are not fully aware of what each middle and high school has to offer.
Nicole proposed that AHS students set up a Math Buddies program; then our kids see the teenagers there and begin to think about going there when of age. Nicole will ask Kathleen to share this idea at the next meeting. Jennifer suggested advertising AHS plays, sports games, etc. to put in our emailed newsletter. Kati agreed and will do this for the vertical team.
Principal’s Report
School has started off great! BHE has 417 students this year. Back to School Night went well; construction is still going on, but it will be finished soon. The laptops the PTA purchased have arrived--half are in first grade classrooms, the other set is with Mr. Treanor while deciding how to disseminate them. The iPads purchased by the PTA are already in classrooms. Science and math materials purchased are in use in classrooms. Teachers and kids should have access no later than the end of this week (by Sept. 11) to Achieve 3000. All money that was allocated for spending has been spent and is out and about in the school.
Mrs. Perry/CATCH Report
BHE won the Let’s Move! Active Schools campaign. This is a sub-initiative of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign. BHE is one of 525 schools across the US to win this award and it is thanks to all Mrs. Perry, the teachers, and the CATCH committee has done.
Kati mentioned the staff would do about six hours of professional development about creating an inclusive school environment. The content will be about embracing diversity, no bullying, and eliminating gender stereotyping. It will address how adults talk with kids about these issues. A letter will go home with the students next week in Thursday folders. BHE is one of 10 campuses to do this.
Stacey asked Kati to address the status of our reading specialist. The school board has made a strong commitment to reading and ensuring kids are on grade level, including dyslexic students. Dr. Cruz has funded a full-time reading specialist on every campus. Ms. Fuller is still only available ½ time, but Kati is about to fill the other ½ time slot.
Carnival
Gloria Williamson was in a bad scooter accident and she sent an email to Nicole regarding what happened and resigning from her position as a chair of carnival. She will be an honorary chair instead, and Rebecca Forchione has stepped in to take her place. The carnival committee could use a 4th person. Gloria’s Girl Scout Troop will contact all the silent auction partners on her behalf. The carnival chairs hope to get a rock wall and some inflatables; the Monster Toss will be retired; a game called Minute to Win It will be added; Cake Walk is back. Great prizes are on hand again this year like Disney Land tickets, ACL tickets, etc. Chairs will be here next month to fill us in on wristbands.
School Supplies
Jennifer Volk gave update on working with Educational Products, Inc. (EPI). Sold 189 packs, or around $9904 worth of products. There was a problem with the EPI website and orders not going through the first time. Of the 189 packs, 130 individual orders, 5 parents ordered but received nothing (4%). The contact at EPI was willing to place last minute orders, but said every parent should have receipt. One parent did place last minute order but the supplies still are not here.
Do we change vendors because of this? We don’t make money from this service and have no allegiance to EPI. Kati pointed out that this is not the first year to have a problem with them, but the problems are usually minor and can be worked around. Jennifer went to every Austin elementary school’s website to find other vendors. School Kids, Staples’ company, is used by a lot of schools. When putting together a package of supplies from them, the PTA must be specific about brands, otherwise Staples’ brands will be used in their packs. Jennifer brought a sample box of supplies and Becky will spearhead getting teacher feedback on Staple’s brands of items. Jennifer is waiting to hear back about the price of the packs. Other companies are out there, but EPI and Staples’ are the two biggies. Staples does guarantee all non-consumables (notebooks, scissors, etc.) and will replace if they fail during the year. Staples also offers a program for needy kids—about 8% of our population falls within this category.
Three ways to work with needy families and school supplies: 1) Teachers build a wish list asking parents to buy extra kits for those who can’t afford them. However, this is a fairly large contribution for parents ($30-50) and the teachers are left not knowing how many kits they will really receive. 2) A donation box could be included as part of the order process for needy kids but we don’t know if the company will offer it. 3) If we sign our contract early (December or February—need to find out) we get about a 5% discount that is passed on to parents. Instead of passing it on to parents, we capture it and use it for needy kids. This year we would have gotten about $400 back. Then we could buy specifically what we need. School Kid’s does have a program that includes discounted kits. The families with needs are known in our school population, for the most part, so the kits purchased for them would not be totally generic (we would match them with the grade-specific needs). Jennifer will be back in November or December to decide how to proceed when more members of the PTA will be present to vote on whether or not to change vendors and help the families in our school who cannot afford supplies.
Annual fund
So far $5500 has been donated from about 50 families. It’s a little low, but will rebound. Sherine has ideas like a collection day once a week where parents can drop off funding after assembly.
Enrichment
Chess club is new this year with 45 members. Math Pentathalon and Lego League are plugging along—a few kids have signed up. Sept. 19 is the day that all coaches learn the games for Math Pent. We don’t have much information yet about Lego League.
Cultural Arts
Susie is going through everything that has come in and is looking into bringing more events showcasing South America. A new chair is shadowing her.
Greenworks
Denny Biggs is new chair.
Parties with a Purpose
So far we have a Poker Party and are hoping to get at least 6 parties throughout the year. The focus needs to be on advertising more and getting more hosts.
A few chairs of committees are still needed but are slowly being filled.
CATCH Committee
Jennifer Pollard couldn’t be here tonight. CATCH wants to support Greenworks and get more from our gardens to our kitchen. The salad bar is back and Courtney would like teachers to make a salad, then have their picture taken with it so kids can say, “I’ll have a Pursley today!”. BHE is a leader in AISD elementary schools to offer the salad bar. Take your parent to lunch day/week in November. CATCH has been allotted $250/year but may need more money because BHE will not be receiving the Fuel Up to Play grant money this year.
Treasurer’s Report
Sean presented the budget. BHE has collected $8400 for actuals in our account. Hospitality has been busy and has spent $201 of $650 budget. Every year we sell about 3 t-shirts to parents, but Bob brought in more than 20 sales for t-shirts. This may continue to be a source of income for the PTA. Aaron pointed out that all the money the PTA receives is from parents, no matter how we allocate it from events and sales.
The PTA filed an extension for our audit—the PTA is fine.
Nicole thanked everyone for Back to School Night; she is appreciative for all the volunteering and helping out. It went well.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm.