Meeting Called to Order by Rich Hart at 7:37 P.M

November 3, 2009

PTA Minutes

Attendees: Richard Hart, Melinda Kelley, Linda Montgomery, Jennifer Young, Cheryl Moss Herman, Laura Degnon, Erin Lobato, Maureen Murphy, Don Wynne, Stephanie Hart, Ray Gauthier, Nancy Gauthier, Karen Watson, Natalie Childs, Chanda Wyatt, Larla Berggren, Jill Schuck, Kim Testa Marguette Heaven, Arrel Olano, Rosi Peele, Wanta Coates, Bill Baranick.

Meeting called to order by Rich Hart at 7:37 p.m.

Approval of October Minutes:

Motion to approve October Minutes. Motion passed.

Principal's School Update:

Dr. Bill Baranick, the current acting assistant principal for RPES was introduced. Dr. Baranick told the attendees about himself -- that he was a retired principal, but had been back in the schools in some capacity or another ever since. He said he was glad to be at RPES.

Acting Principal Coates told us that the local Rockville election that day, held in the school, went well. She thanked Natalie Childs for organizing parent volunteers to help the children have lunch in their classrooms since the APR was being used for the election. She told us that over 100 parent volunteers had been trained and the last training was held that day. There is a videotape of the training available if anyone was unable to attend the training in person. Tomorrow night is kindergarten literacy night, and parent/teacher conferences are next week so come ready with questions. The school conducted another SIP meeting that Kim Testa and Karla Berggren attended. In the first community service partnership between the PTA and the school, there will be a Walk for Heroes on Veterans Day and the school is inviting uniformed parents to come. The community service committee will also be asking families to bring in donations for the troops.

Sally Foster Update:

Maureen Murphy told the members that Sally Foster sales had raised over $10,000, and that the school will get over $5,000. Orders will be in on November 16th and families should pick up their order on the 16th or the 17th (also during International night). Parent volunteers were sought to help give out the orders. They are looking into the best place to distribute the orders because there may be a problem with keeping them on the stage since Bar-T uses that space.

Scholastic Book Fair:

Erin Lobato gave the report and she noted that the book fair was moved closer to the holidays this year to get away from parent/teacher conferences week. The fair this year will be 11/30 - 12/4. The book fair will be open during the PTA meeting and principal chat on Tuesday and on Thursday, there will be a story telling night. From 6:30 to 7:30, there will be staff readers in the kindergarten wing - Mrs. Coates and other teachers. From 7:30-8:30, there will be a professional storyteller in the APR - the Campfire Baird. The 5th grade promotion committee will sell food and drinks. There was consensus that it would be a good idea to let kids come in their pajamas and bring their teddy bears. Parents can come to the book fair while the kids are listening to the stories.

Restaurant Night:

Ray Gauthier reported that the first restaurant night will be Tuesday, December 8th at California Tortilla in Cabin John from 5-8 p.m. For everyone who says, "proud panther," California Tortilla will donate 25% of the person's order to RPES.

NAACP Council Representative:

The new NAACP Council representative, Marquette Heaven, introduced herself and told the members about the NAACP Council and explained the duties of the representative. She said her goal is to partner with the PTA to get more parents of color involved in the school and in PTA events. She will be attending NAACP Council meetings once each month.

MCCPTA Delegate Update:

Cheryl Moss Herman thanked the parents who sent comments in on the math curriculum. A summary of the comments was "get back to the basics." The summary was sent to the MCCPTA on October 23rd and is posted on the

website. Input received from parents included requests to find out more about the math curriculum and she is not seeking more input from parents so that the school can plan a math night. Parents want a broad perspective about what to expect over the years. Mrs. Coates noted that this also came up at the SIP meeting. Another MCCPTA agenda item relates to the RPES facilities planning process. The Capital Improvements Program (CIP) budget for all the schools in the county will be voted on by the Board of Education in November. The PTA is providing input to MCCPTA testimony regarding RPES that will be presented to Board of Education on November 11th or 12th. Parents can link to the CIP budget on the RPES website. Also take note of the technology modernization schedule and RPES's place on it.

Feasibility Study for Addition Update:

Rich Hart and Don Wynne updated the members on the status of the feasibility study to construct an addition for RPES. Don, Rich, Cheryl Moss-Herman and Mrs. Coates attended the last meeting with county officials and provided feedback from the PTA regarding requests for the addition. The next step will be to select the architect from a list of three provided by the county. A 2 floor addition is most likely with 10 additional classrooms and a few other rooms for other uses. The county agreed to look at fencing Dunster Rd. and will look at the traffic flow at drop-off and pick-up times. They will also look at HVAC issues. When the construction gets closer, the county will host several community forums regarding the addition. Mrs. Shuck asked whether we could get more parking spots. Although it may be too late in the process to add that, the representatives will ask the county.

Membership Update:

Karla Berggren reported that we have 205 members.

Treasurer's Report:

Linda Montgomery reported that we made $1700 from Pizza Bingo and we have received $3800 in donations from the fundraising letter. We have paid out $1300 in teacher reimbursements. The PTA still needs about $5,000-6,000 from a spring activity or activities in order to make our budget. There was some discussion regarding whether donations should be recognized publicly. The consensus was that it was too late to consider doing that this year, but next year we might want to give people who donate to the PTA the option to have their names published somewhere to be determined.

New Business:

Karen Watson reported that the staff apprecation committee was making pies for the staff for Thanksgiving. She is putting a sign-up in the teachers lounge. She will need help with delivery. There was some discussion about delivering the pies on the Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving at a coffee and donut event for the teachers at the book fair.

Guest Speaker:

Dr. Stephanie Hart, local pediatrician and an RPES parent of a 1st grader, lead a discussion about Healthy Eating Habits for a Healthier Child. She made the point that we should all be concerned about this because of the problem of child obesity. Statistics show that 1 in 3 children are overweight or obese. She sees the problem in her office every day. Why is child obesity more a problem now than when we grew up. Four reasons: 1) food is cheaper and more available in larger quantities; 2) prevalence of fast food; 3) TV; and 4) high fructose corn syrup and palm oil were introduced in the 1970s. She gave five suggestions for changes families can make: 1) eat fresh fruits and vegetables; 2) have a family table; 3) do not let your children skip meals or snacks; 4) eat more fiber; and 5) get the junk food out of the house. She made the point that changes should be gradual. She recommends making about one change every two weeks. Several people asked questions and there was much discussion.

Meeting adjourned at 9:07.