Approval of February PTA Meeting Minutes

Pasadena PTA Meeting – Tuesday March 8th, 2016, called to order at 9:45 am..

Approval of February PTA meeting minutes

1st Motion – Melissa Prushik
2nd Motion – Jessica Corbett

Welcome by Sharon Levine, PTA Vice President

Membership report –currently there are 294 members, of which 269 are parents and 25 are staff. Membership is ongoing so please join!

Treasurer's report, reported by Lori Bornstein – there is $37,174 in our account and we were able to increase programming this year as a result. We still have some outstanding expenses such as Field Day.

The sharefolder is going around. Please check out the PTA website. Michael Rosenstein updates the website as of Sunday with eblasted news and other announcements and flyers.

Principal’s Report by Ms. Heitner

Report cards will be posted next Friday.

Thanks to the PTA for wonderful programming. The 1st grade movie night and the 2nd grade game night were both successes. The 3rd grade Hoedown was very fun.

Right now, Pasadena is shoring up its security so that teachers and staff know what to do in the case of an emergency. We are instituting a process whereby in addition to signing in for all visitors, they will be asked to fill out a label to be adhered onto their clothing where it is clearly visible for identification, and they will turn in their driver's license, major credit card, or keys to Beth, who sits up front and who will act as both the greeter and the 1st line of defense. Upon leaving the building through the front doors only, and not the side or cafeteria doors, each visitor's identification will be returned to them and the label discarded. We will know where the teachers are, and everyone in the building will be accounted for. Pasadena was one of the 1st schools to have the security meeting. The only other school to have had this meeting so far, is Old Bethpage elementary school. In the event of a lockdown, the security procedure will begin from the superintendent who will immediately eblast the parents. Although this may be a little inconvenient, research has shown that this is the best way greeters will know who is in the building and if something isn't right about someone, they can call someone or call for a lockdown.

Here is what the children are doing by grade:

1st graders are studying content literacy and with a focus on animal life cycles in reading. In writing they are starting their 'All About' units and in math, they are finishing up their tens and ones.

2ndgraders are studying non-fiction reading and beginning non-fiction informational writing with the author Gail Gibbons - learning her craft and to write in her likeness. In math, they will be finishing subtracting with two numbers.

3rd graders will be into content literacy book clubs and literary non-fiction for writing, and in math they are finishing up their area units.

4th graders are also studying content literacy book clubs in reading and biographies, in writing. In math, they are adding and subtracting fractions with mixed numbers.

Star Lab is coming to Pasadena. They are an indoor, traveling Planetarium. It is like holding a parachute over ourselves and having a projector project the night sky above us inside where the children can learn astronomy.

Puberty health talks are coming and parents will be getting information home for that. Incoming Kindergarten parents' orientation is also coming up and they will be visiting and told what to expect when their kids enter Pasadena for Kindergarten. Later this year, the incoming Kindergarten students will be taking a tour. Since the report cards are coming out, parents-teachers conferences will be taking place so that parents will have an opportunity to meet with their child's teacher.

Musical Petting Zoo is coming on March 15th at 7:30 pm so that students will have a chance to see the various instruments and decide which one they'd like to play.

The night PTA Book Club is held 45 minutes before evening PTA meetings, the next one being in April. The book being read before the meeting is “The One and Only Ivan” by Catherine Applegate. This is a lovely children's book. We will meet to discuss the book. We will also be selecting the next book for the year's very last book club meeting.

President’s Report by Sharon Levine

The 2016-17 school calendar has been approved and version B that was posted on FB, was adopted. The kids will get the entire President's Week off and school will start after Labor Day. There will be 179 instructional days. There is no school on Election Day. The calendar is available on the school district website.

We want to thank Ms. Heitner for Spirit Week. The kids had a lot of fun with the Vocabulary Parade and other activities planned that week.

Please consider joining the Executive Board of the PTA. Forms will be going home soon. The majority of parents on the board are working parents and there are different levels of involvement. General PTA members on the Nominating Committee are Jan Mintz and Erica Sabatino. The Executive Board members on the Nominating Committee will be announced at a later date. We also have the option of having co-presidents so that that will lighten the load. Ms. Heitner recommends staggering the positions with co-presidents serving one year, then one of them stays on for a second term to the train the new co-president and so on and son on. If you have any questions, you can ask existing board members or email us at the gmail account.

A committee was formed in tandem to the Curriculum Committee to review the 6 Specials, in particular, the Chinese program. The members of this Special committee included all the elementary school principals including Ms. Heitner, Dr. Chan (the World Language Chairperson), Jill Gierasch (Asst. Superintendent for Curriculum), teachers, staff, and a representative for each elementary building. This is a recap of what was discussed:

First off, we talked about the Chinese language program which is a study of the Chinese culture and language. The District had partnered with the Asian Sociey which had provided some funding for the program. The reaction to the program has been mixed. The committee has made several recommendations to the program. Tandem to that, they are changing the way language is handled in the middle school. Currently, 5th graders take a quarter of each foreign language with a quarter spent studying technology and computers. The problem lies in language decision these kids have to make during the second quarter when they haven't even learned any of the languages. So the change being made will be to allow the kids to take quarters of each language for two years and make their choice for 7th grade (CEUs). According to Dr. Chan, the Plainview-Old Bethpage school district was the only one in the nation with language being rotated into a 6-day cycle. Currently, all elementary school students learn 40 mins. of Chinese once every 6 days. Other school districts are on a flex program where they learn one year of one language and another year of another language, for each year of elementary school. However, they are planning on moving away from that model because research showed that children retained basically nothing from that. When they started 2nd grade, they forgot about the language they learned in 1st grade. The model we have right now was lauded as being most beneficial in terms of language study, creativity, etc. The model that works best is when children are seen more than once a week, ideally for 30 min. intervals @3x/a week, which is significantly more than what our children are experiencing right now. Another thing that they found was that children who studied one language during elementary school years were more likely to choose a different language in middle school. Right now, there is only one Chinese class running in Mattlin middle school but as of last night, a meeting at POBMS produced language decision results that warranted a Chinese class for the 2016-17 school year because 24 students showed an interest, moreso than those for French. The benefits to learning only Chinese in elementary school is that the child will know more Chinese upon graduating but may not continue studying that for middle school. Each language is gauged on the amount of hours it takes to be proficient and Chinese happens to be the one requiring the most hours so it was recommended that the start be earlier, hence, in elementary school and children can pick up easily when they are younger. Jill Gierasch came up with a few options strictly for 3rd and 4th grades which I will record feedback and report back for when we next meet. Her options for 1st and 2nd grades will be explored at the next committee meeting and will be presented for feedback at the next PTA meeting. On a side note, parents voiced that as a alternative or in addition to the Chinese program, they wanted more technology/computer learning to be added in. Currently, librarians teach those skills but each child's skill level differs tremendously with some not knowing how to open files, print files, and some not knowing how to save files or type well. They want to embed more technology time during the library period and coordinate the technology offerings across the entire district so that children in each elementary school had about the same amount of computer instruction.

Option 1) 6-Day cycle with Chinese, Art, Music, Library and 2 Gym periods. Chinese will also be added in as a Push-In for 20 mins. twice in the 6 days.

Option 2) 6-Day cycle with Technology, Art, Music, Library and 2 Gym periods with Chinese as two 20-min. Push-Ins. This option gives the children more Chinese than is currently being offered and they also receive more Technology instruction. This would have the librarians teaching both Library AND Technology whereupon the librarians voiced that they would be spread thin in terms of the hours they have in the day to maintain the collections within the library and to also develop Technology lessons for the children. Thus it would make sense to hire a specialized educator for Technology qualified for such instruction to be employed in all four schools. For this, the budget has to be reviewed considering the tax cap, to see if there are sufficient funds.

Option 3) For grade 3, the first two weeks, there would be Art, Chinese, 2 Gym periods, and Library, with two 20 min. Chinese Push-Ins and then for the 3rd and 4th weeks, it would be Art, Technology, 2 Gym periods, and Library, with two 20 min. Chinese Push-Ins. This option satisfies the amount of Chinese hours and also increases the Technology instruction time but it is a rather confusing and convoluted option which may not work for Stratford Road Elementary since they have a more packed schedule than most. For grade 4, the weeks would be flipped from that of the 3rd grade, making Technology lessons precede Chinese for the first two weeks.

Option 4) 5-Day cycle for entire district and this option would be for grades 1-4, with Kindergarten maintaining American Sign Language in their schedules. Library, 2 Gym periods, Music, Art, and Chinese would be THREE 20 min. Push-Ins in a 5-day cycle, with Technology being embedded within the Library program. The problem would be that Technology instruction would not be increased but it would be easier for parents who would know the specials for each day of the week, as they would be set. However, the reason behind the deviation from a 5-day cycle was due to holidays falling on Mondays more than on other days of the week so any special falling on Monday would be most-missed, creating an imbalance. This option would have to be reviewed whether or not the Chinese program came into play.

Option 5) Adding a Technology teacher to Option 1 where the teacher would rotate throughout the school district, teaching 10 lessons as a Technology Push-In at each school. This option would create too many Push-Ins and a loss of classroom time for the regular teachers.

Option 6) Replacing Chinese with Technology in a 6-day cycle where there would be lack of continuity for the Chinese language. With Kindergarteners learning the American Sign Language, then 1st and 2nd graders learning Chinese, and 3rd and 4th graders learning Technology.

We need feedback about the Chinese program, about the Options presented and any questions/comments you may have (you may email: ). A question was brought up about the 40 or 60 mins. worth of Push-Ins and the loss of an hour of regular instruction time and if there would be a lengthening of the school day to meet this deficiency. Also, if the school day were to remain the same would there be a reduction in the amount of units that is to be covered in other subjects? A comment is that the Chinese program is not conversational enough compared to the other languages that are being taught in the school district. Why must Chinese include culture while the other languages are strictly being taught as languages? These will be noted and discussed at the next meeting. The options are not posted on the school or district's websites.

Fundraisers and Committees

Mah-Jong Tournament – reported by Kim Berkowitz. Profitted $940.
Second Grade Night Out – reported by Daniella. All the kids had a lot of fun. Next year, the event can use more parent volunteers.
3rd Grade Hoedown – It was a success and a great night.
Founder's Day Dinner – Chaired by Lori Bornstein. It will be at the Cresthollow Country Club tomorrow night, at 6:15 pm, honoring this year's Pasadena recipients, Leslie Heichman (parent) and Ms. Doherty (teacher) and Jessica Corbett (SEPTA).
Spring Picture Day – will be on Friday, March 11th. There is no preorder. Please simply send back anything you wish not to purchase or a check with what you decided to keep.
Spring Book Fair – takes place on Tues., Mar. 29th and Wed., Mar. 30th for the kids the shop. During parent-teacher conferences on Thurs., it will be set up in the lobby of the school from 1-4 pm, and again from 6-9 pm. While the fall had the 1st and 2nd graders donating snacks and drinks for Staff Appreciation during the conference day, the spring will solicit donations from 3rd and 4th graders for Staff Appreciation. After the school's early dismissal that day, the PTA sets up a nice themed luncheon in the staff lounge for the teachers in appreciation. Dessert donations letter will be going out to everyone regardless of grade for this luncheon.
Parents Night Out – will take place on Fri., May 13th at the Holiday Inn on Sunnyside Blvd. A flyer has been sent home asking for donations towards themed baskets to be raffled at the dinner. Each class is responsible for a theme. There will be prepaid raffle tickets for those who cannot attend. There will be vendors and many raffles.
Plant Sale – An order will be placed soon. We are in the process of discussing a couple of cost discrepancies.
Pretzel Sale – reported by Tracy Miniman. The next pretzel sale will be Fri., March 18th for $2 or you can still prepay for the year by sending in a check for $6.00. Please put your child's name and class on the envelope so that we can identify whose pretzel money it is.
Spirit Wear – Reported by Jessica Corbett. We still have plenty of pajama pants and blankets.
Yearbook Committee – reported by Melissa Prushik and Jessica Corbett. The Yearbook is done! Thanks to Melissa, Jessica, Jenna, Stephanie, Danielle, and Kim who worked very hard on it.
Birthday Box – Chaired by Mira Lim. So far, there have been 24 Birthday Box orders with a profit of about $300 dollars. Please give at least a week's notice because snacks are not stocked due to expiration dates and freshness.
Box Tops/Labels for Education – Chaired by Jessica Gleicher. Just sent out $304 dollar's worth and should be getting a check next month
Cosmo Soccer Game @ Hofstra – Chaired by Leslie Heichman. The game is on Sunday, April 10th at 6 pm. We are doing this with all the schools. Tickets are $15.
Modell's fundraiser for spring sports – Chaired by Leslie Heichman. Dates are tbd.

Community Service – Chaired by Kim Berkowitz.

Little Doctors Blood Drive – This is at Mattlin on Thursday, March 10th from 3:30 – 9:30.
Pennies for Patients starting this week and last till the end of April. We use the slogan: Spare Change Can Change Lives. We are asking for spare change and no soliciting of donations for this to help sick children. All of they money we collect goes to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Cultural Arts – Chaired by Jessica Corbett. The 3rd and 4th graders enjoyed Circus Arts where they had a lot of fun and it was entertaining, learning some Circus Arts during one gym period. Star Labs is coming for 3rd graders to introduce them to astronomy with a portable Solar System for one period.
Curriculum – reported by Sharon Levine. Meeting was canceled.

Health – Chaired by Kim Berkowitz. Nothing to report.
Nutrition – Chaired by Sara Fins. There wasn't too much discussed at the Nutrition Committee meeting last week (3/3). Mr. Cunningham spoke briefly to the principals in his meeting about the issue of offering snacks at the elementary and middle schools at lunch time. They did not have much time to discuss it so will bring it up again in a future meeting. The high school grab and go bottle neck - Whitsons is planning to add another check out table to ease the burden.
Title IX – Chaired by Mira Lim. No meeting yet.

Technology – Reported by Michael Rosenstein. No news.

Transportation – Chaired by Jan Mintz. Christopher Malone is putting together a SMS (text messaging) service to notify parents of emergencies and bus lateness. There will be a Stop Arm Camera Bill voted on in Albany May 24th. This bill would enable a red light camera built in to the STOP arm of the bus, and would enable a picture taken of the car that passed after the bus had stopped and the sign had extended. That vehicle would be subject to a ticket. This would be voted on by members of NYAP (involved with transportation issues). Regarding September and the kindergarten students, there will be a matron on the bus only for the first month. Also in September, there will be universal busing for all students at the high school.

Kindergarten Center – Incoming Kindergarten parents are coming to an orientation here on Mar. 17th.
POB Middle School – Last night was orientation for 6th and 7th grades and in 2 weeks, there will be a parent orientation on Google Chromebooks for the 5th and 6th grades.
MAPOB – The Musical Petting Zoo is on March 15th.

Announcements