Boyce Middle School PTA Meeting
Minutes
February 10, 2011 – 9:00 a.m.
Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance- The district had a two hour delay therefore, the meeting did not begin until 10:35. Thirteen members were in attendance.
Reading and Approval of Agenda and Minutes- Connie Urban made two changes to the agenda; Spiritwear will report after the School Board Representative and Book Swap was added to the reporting committees and dates were added to the Important Dates/Reminders section. The minutes were approved as read.
Statement of Treasurer – Jenn Slagle reported a beginning cash balance of $103,271.65 and an ending balance of $94,087.18. A motion to pay the bills was made by Julie Halpner, second by Ellen Halloran and the motion carried.
Correspondence – Kristy Lee reported two items of correspondence. A thank you card was received from the Washington City Mission for the 95 coats that were donated by Boyce families. A sympathy card was sent to the family of Caroline Seeton with condolences regarding the sudden passing of her mother.
Special Guest
School Board Representative - Amy Billerbeck reported that the construction is on budget and on schedule for completion in August. Meetings are now taking place regarding the construction of the athletic fields at Boyce. Amy commented on the increased numbers of students playing Lacrosse and how that has put extra strain on the existing fields in the township. One parent, Randi Bick commented that a new concession stand should be constructed at the high school stadium before any concession stand is built at Boyce. Randi also asked about which school board members will be running for election again this year. Amy will be running again along with Angela Peterson, and Rebecca Stern. Lou Piconi will not run for re-election due to the time commitment needed as a board member.
This is the “season of the calendar” in which the school calendar for next year is proposed. The tentative first day will be the week before Labor day and the proposed last day is June 15, 2012. The board is considering a week long Spring Break in 2012 and Amy encouraged anyone with strong opinions on this issue to email Dr. O’toole.
Spiritwear- Holly Spina reported that she solicited 5 companies for bids on apparel. Two responded with proposals: Classic Impressions (Andy Lantzman) and W&L (Ross Glick). Holly and Kathy LaRocco are looking at the pros and cons of each company including logo designs, pricing, product quality, minimums, and turn -around time.
Reports
*Teacher Representative – Justin Gremba- Amy Pfender read a report on behalf of Mr. Gremba.
Good morning. I wanted to approach my position as the teacher representative a little differently this year. My new approach is to provide the members of PTA with an inside look at what is happening in the classrooms. I used to send out monthly emails to the staff asking if there is anything they would like me to report on, and the responses were few. These past two months I have asked them what is interesting and unique about their class and the staff really responded positively. Here are some responses over the past two months.
Mr. Gombar reported that the DG and MG teams are working on gameboards together. Mr. Gombar and Mr. Goelz are constructing gameboards while Mrs. Densmore and Mrs. Myron are working on stories during SS and language arts. Mrs. Noel had two responses over the past two months. First, she wanted to let everyone know that 5th/6th grade general music students are really enjoying the use of all of the instruments borrowed for a year that she received as a grant from the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (a prof. gen. music organization). We have around $10,000 worth of equipment that we will house until next November when
Pittsburgh hosts the national AOSA conference. Afterwards the instruments will move to Chicago for a year for the following year's conference. This is especially great since a lot of our general music instruments were damaged/broken/lost with all of the construction/moving/etc. We were one of 10 Pittsburgh-area schools
selected to receive the use of the instruments for a year. Second, the musical auditions have begun. 5th grade is doing Disney's "101 Dalmations Kids" and 6th is doing Disney's "The Jungle Book Kids." We have over 80 kids interested in participating in each show as well as others interested in getting involved in the stage crew and props/set design crew. She is looking forward to getting started with rehearsals! Mrs. Husak reported that Battle of the Books is coming up at Boyce. Informational meeting was Jan 10th and the kids will have about two months to read the books. Battle will be sometime in March. Date TBA. She wanted to send a special thanks to the PTA. By using combined scholastic dollars from spring and fall book fair, she was able to purchase 30 copies of each of the battle of the books books to give to the kids. Mr. Fal. Reported that his classes are starting to walk on foreign ground. We have begun to use the dell computers to design graphics and text to be cut by the epilog lasers. The new software can burn an image into
wood and cut an image out of Plexiglas. Mrs. Brinkhoff sent a unique assignment that her class completed. She had her class use the flip video camera to make imovies of the story of the life of their pebble (that they picked up from outside of Boyce Middle School). They are then going to be working on putting these
movies along with other facts that they are learning in the History of the Earth Unit into a GLOG. Yes, a GLOG. A glog is an interactive poster. This was the culminating project in the science unit. Mrs. Criner wanted to let the 5th Grade Parents know that they should encourage your children to help in the kitchen. They are all cooking and cleaning up in class and are ready to Help at Home. Just make sure youhave PATIENCE. And for 6th Grade Parents...... The students are operating the sewing machines and ironing. They will have drawstring bags as a final project. Finally, student council is very busy working on two fundraising projects. The first roject, taking place this week, is Valentine Grams. For 50 cents, a student may send a valentine to any student in the building. Student council students will deliver the valentines on Monday, February 14th. The moneyraised is being donated to Autism Speaks. Students are also filling out Valentines during guidance class. This ensures that each and every student will receive a valentine on Monday. Our goal is to raise $500. The second fundraiser is in the beginning stages, and will take place during the Month of May. Boyce will be working with the high school group, Athletes taking Action and Sean Casey. The money raised will be donated to Casey’s Clubhouse to assist with the building of a Miracle Field near the rec center. Additional information will be provided as we move closer to May. Thanks and have a great day.
*Executive Committee
President –Connie Urban thanked all the committee chairs and volunteers who have stepped up to help with PTA.
1st Vice President – Missy Moore had no report.
2nd Vice President – Karen Brown thanked all who participated in the Steeler pep rally which took place Friday before the Super Bowl. Students had a fantastic time. Robbie Halpner wrote his own lyrics to the tune of the song “Dynamite” entitled “Steelermite”. He performed at the rally and did a great job! The song can be viewed on You-tube.
PSSA’s will begin in March, therefore we will begin preparation these next few weeks. The goal is 100% participation. The school will provide a snack. The last week in March, fifth grade will complete the writing tests. Letters and e-alerts will be coming out with more information.
*Standing and Reporting Committees/Reporting Organizations
Apples for Students – Dena Wirth. We earned 294 points for this period and last period we earned 304 points. We are on target to match the points from last year.
Asset Science - Beth Erlanger- Assett Science is a parent volunteer trip to the South Side where we help to take apart, put together and/or clean science kits for schools. It is scheduled for March 22. Please let Beth know if you would like to participate.
Band Parents – Karen Austin/Ann Walsh- 5th and 6th grade musical auditions are well underway. Ms Noel is hoping to have the cast lists for each musical announced by the end of next week or early the following week. Over the next couple of weeks, e-alerts and constant contacts will be sent asking for parent volunteers to help with hair, make-up, stage crew, props, costumes and backstage during performances. She is hoping that 5th grade parents will help backstage for the 6th grade musical and 6th grade parents will help during the 5th grade musical.
Box Tops – Julie Halpner-The last day for Box Tops collection is Friday. We are slightly low compared to last year, despite having a large amount submitted in the Fall. Mrs. Brown will send a reminder e-alert regarding Box Tops.
Book Swap- Book Swap will be held on March1st, 2nd, 3rd in the cafeteria. Students can drop books off on Tuesday and then get tickets for new books. On Weds and Thurs during lunch they may redeem their tickets. They are accepting books, puzzles, and board games in good condition and they may swap for any of those items. They will set a limit on how many items they may take, but the students may drop off as many as they would like. They ask that all items be age appropriate and that games and puzzles have all the pieces. No volunteers are needed.
CALL – Missy Moore had no report.
Chorus Parents – Laura Jones had no report.
Magazines – Maria Miller- Last week was the big push for magazine sales. Great American spoke to students. We should make around $4000 through magazine sale orders if all goes well. Mrs. Brown added that ducks have been given for subscriptions that have been turned in and Mrs. Brown has already “fed” the ducks with money. Magazine sales will continue throughout the school year.
Mini-Bulletin – Lori Houy- Deadline for submissions for the March edition is February 14. Pictures are also welcome! Please email information to .
Odyssey of the Mind – Susan Rosati- No report
Outreach – Alysia Keating/Lora Rutowski- Looking for a local food drive in which we can participate.
Panther's Paw -Susan Rosati/Laura Harrison- No report.
Spelling Bee - Kathy Petley- This is the 2nd year for Spelling Bee. We had 38 students initially, and we are down to our final 7 who will compete today. The winner will represent Boyce in the next level of competition later this Spring.
Spirit Wear - Holly Spina/ Cathy LaRocco-See report above.
Valentine Treat - Debra Engel/Judy Kunkle- The Valentine’s treat will be Rita’s Ice and will be provided to all students at lunch time on Feb. 14th. The flavor will be Blue Raspberry to adapt to those students with allergies.
Unfinished Business
Fundraising for Deer Valley- Missy Moore reported that she has met with three companies who provide wrapping paper fundraisers: Sally Foster, Great American, and Innisbrook. She plans to meet with Market Day as well. Various factors were compared including quality of the product, level of profit, type of sales (internet vs catalog), whether tax is included, shipping costs, etc. A meeting will be held next week to discuss pros/cons and make a final decision regarding the fundraiser for next year. Connie provided a sign-up sheet for those interested in attending this meeting. She will contact people via email with the date and time of the meeting.
Missy also reported that Revolutionary War Day was cancelled and will not be rescheduled. Civil War days will be held in May.
A question was raised by Randi Bick as to why we don’t have handicapped spots for parking in the lot in front of the school. Mrs. Brown said she would look into it and get back to her.
Mini-Bulletin- email submissions to Lori Houy at
Next PTA Meeting – March 9, 6:30 PM
Adjournment- The meeting adjourned at 11:27 am
Dates to Remember:
Feb. 14 ~ All school Valentine Treat
Feb.15 ~ PIE "partners in education" 7:30 PM in HS LGI
Feb. 21 ~ No School (Teachers in service)
Important Websites
· Upper St. Clair School District – www.uscsd.k12.pa.us
· Boyce Middle School PTA – Go to School District website (above); click on “Boyce” in “Schools” drop-down menu in upper left hand corner; click on “PTA” on menu bar at top
· Receiving PTA/PTSO Constant Contact emails – from Boyce PTA page (above), click on “Constant Contact email registration” in left column; or, from School District website (above), click on “Organizations” (top right on menu bar); click “PTA Council”; click “Constant Contact PTA Email list sign-up” on left column
· State PTA – www.papta.org
· National PTA – www.pta.org
· GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) email group – send an email to
· USC Community Foundation – www.mainstreetusc.com (email news to )
REMINDERS:
Memory Book- If you have any pictures of school related events from this school year, please put them on a CD and put it in the mailbox in the Boyce office. Please include what the event is and names of the students in the pictures. Any questions, please contact Shelley Cicchini or Lori Houy.
Please renew your magazine subscriptions online at www.gafundraising.com. Click on “online store- open 24 hours”; enter the Boyce account number (597302); follow directions. 40% of sales will go to Boyce!
Register your Giant Eagle Advantage Card for the Apples for Students Program. Boyce will receive educational supplies based on the number of sales credited to our account. Go to www.gianteagle.com. Go to “my account”; click on “apples for students” to update your account. If you were registered last year for Boyce, you will automatically be assigned to Boyce again this year. If you are a NEW SUPPORTER, please visit the website above; enter your email address under the NEW USER REGISTRATION tab on the right hand side of the page; follow the on-screen instructions. Our school code is 0107. Please ask relatives to help us by registering their Giant Eagle Advantage Cards with our code.