The Parent Teacher Association is a 100% volunteer organization made up of Parent volunteers that supplies valuable resources and funding to support all types of school programs. (Check out our Made Possible by HorsemanPTA Contributions Page for some examples.) This web site was created to provide information about the PTA, its officers, events and programs. We invite you to join our organization and make your child’s experience in school an even more memorable one for yourself and your children.
January 19, 2018 Meeting Minutes
PTA Meeting
January 19, 2018
Attendees
Amada Reimundez
Donna Gates
Mitch Sylves-Berry
Daphne Uviller
Brianna Staudt
Leah McVey
Karen Kuhn
Dancy Balestrieri
New VP – JP
Welcome to Brianna Staudt!
Resignation
Karen Kuhn, Secretary, resigned due to child leaving the district and work commitments. Brianna can help with the WordPress web site. We will post position via Jean O’Brien and via Phyllis. Karen will work up a job description with Amada.
Next Meeting
Friday, February 16 at 8:30 AM.
Dates for February Superintendent meeting TBD. We’ve had postponements due to snow days.
Morse
Meeting postponed due to snow day – scheduled for next week.
WI
Photo Days
We’ve had issues with the photography company. There are a lot of children to move through the process and in moving people through the company representatives did not use printed labels for photos. Now we have had mismatches of names and portraits. This is a major issue for the yearbook and identification in the school system (kept last year’s photos for the moment). Yearbook deadline is March and as everything is linked, it will mean an incorrect yearbook.
• Recommend not using Irvin Simon again unless this gets resolved and we are confident it will work more smoothly in the future. Brianna will ask which company Irvington uses.
• Working with the company on support, especially with yearbook. Donna will call to ask what they need to fix the problem and then will work with the school (teachers?) to get corrections.
• Parents directed to contact company directly.
JP
Book fair hours worked out. Ms. Barnett connected PTA with families who volunteered. Sign up Genius going out today and flyers in backpacks. March 12-16, Monday evening event, Weds and Thursday breakfast. Karen will talk to High School musical about volunteers for bringing Beauty and the Beast crossover. Have costumes and need helpers to wear them. Suggestion made to look for diverse people for these opportunities.
Thanksgiving feast went well. Received some complaints from parents that during sing-along not everyone could see their child. Looking at options for next year.
Looking to add more information on pre-school program on web site when it’s re-launched. Want to provide information easily – hours, transportation options, program information, registration. (February launch for new web site!)
Add Communications Committee updates on monthly meeting agenda.
Spirit Wear
There were some issues with parents not happy with timing of delivery of the spirit wear. Andrea is working on resolving the issues. Some chatter on Facebook . JP and Morse orders need to be picked up and distributed.
Middle School
• Adding an advisory period in 2018-19 to have a home base and address issues coming up with social workers: studying, social issues, etc. May send out a short survey to parents.
o Discussion of teaching study skills to students in preparation for high school.
o Joshua also looking at some other programs (AVID).
o Suggestion of using Cahoot to quiz at home
• Hidden Mischief program at high school February 1 to teach parents about drug abuse.
• Busing issues are resolved.
• Reviewing sports and space issues with modified sports (too many kids). Looking to add intramural program so that people have an option that is less competitive and solves numbers issues. Will not approve MS games being played at WI in the future.
• New screen in entrance of Middle School as an information center for students.
• Winter recess more successful with ping pong tables, etc. 7th graders don’t get the gym for indoor recess due to scheduling.
• SRO is outside during lunch period in car making sure students are not leaving the school for lunch. No longer going between the two cafeterias. Will contact Mr. Borsari about this issue in the next superintendent’s meeting.
• Book fair next week. Need help Friday night and Saturday morning.
• DC trip has a wait list due to 4th bus being mostly empty last year. Good funding from Foundation so this is a space issue.
• Issue with employee taking funds last year is being resolved in court. New accounting procedures in place now.
Rivertown Parents Update
• May 2 Hastings offering an event on mindfulness with a Harvard doctor.
• May 18 elementary Tinkering night in Irvington. Limited spaces. Could use support for carpooling with families in need of transportation.
• Looking for Rachel Simmons (author “Odd Girl Out”) for the fall, but negotiating price as it’s very expensive.
• Our contribution for Rivertown Parents is $1000/year.
• “Wilderness” presentation in RiverArts in Irvington this weekend.
• Working on updating the Rivertown Parents web site with information and events.
HorsemanPTA Meeting Minutes – December
PTA MEETING
December 15, 2017 8:30 AM
ATTENDEES
Amada Reimundez
Christina Grillo
Danny Balestrieri
Daphne uviller
Donna Gates
Jennifer Polman
Karen Kuhn
Lauren McBride
Mitch Sylves-Berry
Natasha Kumar
Phyllis Arduino
Samantha Ford
Next meeting January 19th at 8:30 AM
Then February 12th 7:00 PM
Amada will email Nelly to set up January and February superintendent meetings.
FUNDRAISING
Wrapping paper
Did well, but didn’t make as much money as in the past.
WI – 28 orders made $1,718.40
JP – 27 orders made $1,531.20
Morse – 25 orders made $1,306.00
MS – 16 orders made $1,075.20
Total profit $5,630.80
Made over $10K in the past
Timing of the year an issue?
Are people tired of the fundraiser?
Some people didn’t get catalogs
We need to look to find something else.
Square One art
– Announced January with art collection by February.
– Reps are Lauren – Morse, Amada – WI unless someone wants it, JP also covered.
– Art arrives around Mother’s Day.
Other Ideas
Bulbs, seeds, plants and baskets fundraiser has been suggested in the past. Donna will look into this again to see if a spring fundraiser would help recoup expected income from wrapping paper. Mitch will check with Dobbs Ferry. They used a company that shipped directly to the home and had a successful fundraiser.
WI did Kids Stuff coupon book for the circus last year. Did a walkathon this year and raised more money. Not interested in the coupon book this year. It was a lot of work to put them together and timing was not the best. Had over 300 books not returned and made little money. Perhaps we can sell a number of books at events or online – 50% profit. Amada will contact the company to find out minimums and what we sold. Be careful not to cannibalize other sales.
Smencils are also popular with the younger grades.
Chipotle 50% back day. Can sign up at http://chipotle/fundraisers. Can do by school if we want. Amada will follow up with VPs on interest in running this. There is one in Dobbs and one at the Kmart shopping center.
SUPERINTENDENT MEETING
(Thank you Daphne Uviller for the notes.)
Present:
JP: Sara Scipioni
Morse: Christina Grillo
WI: Dancy Balestreri and Daphne Uviller
MS: Phyllis Arduino
HS and Rivertowns PTA: Mitch Sylves-Berry
I. Update on SNAC
Parent representatives from each building (except for WI) have been selected as representatives on this nutrition committee. SNAC is different from the Wellness committee; SNAC focuses only on food in the cafeterias, whereas Wellness will address social/emotional/overall health. WI still needs to pick someone, ASAP.
Reps are:
JP — Sara Scipioni
Morse – Sheila Murphy (a holistic health coach)
WI – to be determined
MS – Jean McLuren (nutritionist)
HS – Katherine McKinley
There will also be two kids selected, one from the high school, to offer a more reflective perspective, and one from WI.
First meeting will be 2nd week of January
II. Federal Tax Bill
– Hurts states that have higher state/local taxes and will impact our district in the not-to-distant future
– Would like PTA to help produce and circulate an info sheet on any issues at budget time to educate voters. Asked us to check with National PTA on advocacy on this issue.
– With more possible options to afford private school, we want to retain our families.
– District has essential, but unglamorous improvements to make like LED bulb and window replacement and blacktopping and three or four of our government bond funding options are likely to disappear with the new tax bill. He hopes to push these improvements through in this May’s budget while we can still take advantage of those options.
III. Other
• There was an update on FLES (foreign language in the elementary schools) – Spanish instruction has begun for all students in K, 1, 2, and will include 3rd graders next year. Discussed how this will change Middle School curriculum in the future (6th grade World Languages may be eliminated)
• Enrollment in the district is more or less steady, with some grades consistently higher than others, but with the range being 194-229 per grade (largest is current 9th grade)
• Discussion of some wishing Dual Language was bigger led to discussion of Dual Language in general, and how it’s being coordinated better than before. Working to improve transition to 5th grade and middle school. Downside of increasing the program is keeping equity in the room (50/50 native English and Spanish speakers) and the cost of teacher hires (special training).
• The district is working hard to operate as a K-12 school, something that can fall through the cracks with our Princeton system (official name of having each grade together, rather than feeder elementary schools). Namely, transitions, or what is sometimes called “articulation,” need to be refined.
Action Items
– Jen will look into what National PTA is doing for advocacy.
– Amada will email DL parents to get some testimonials of the program.
– Branding – communications, web site design, looking to sell the district. DL is one of the crown jewels of the district and uses what could be perceived as a disadvantage as an advantage.
o INCLUSION direction would be smart. Mitch/Jen will look to contribute something for language and culture with Rivertown consortium
o Challenge/Enrichment program is impressive to other districts and parents as well.
o Drama program is also a big deal.
GIFT GIVING
Purchase gifts for families in need.
School VPs took list of families from Amada and will work out purchases/volunteers to purchase items as there are a couple lists running at the moment.
Bus Drivers
Nitasha talked to Transportation Manager about possibly doing something nice for the 40 bus drivers e.g., “adopting a family”. The union manages all of the support staff so there are many more people – more than 100. Suggested that going forward for next year we can do something inclusive like giving out raffle tickets for everyone to get something (if we get donations for items for them). Bus drivers are the least paid in the community.
SUPPORT FOR PTA VPs/PROGRAMS
We need to recruit more people in the PTA. We need to increase the number of VPs, get more bodies to do all the things that we need to do. People sign up to do work and don’t show up.
Put on agenda ideas on how to bring on more people, increase visibility of the PTA and what we do.
BOOK FAIRS
WI book fair was a success – over $15K (keep 25% of pre-tax amount)
Lot of enthusiasm from parents and kids, successful opening night with support from teens for crafts and ice cream
Major problem with people volunteering and not showing up to help.
Middle School – January 23-26
Needs list of volunteers and times. If we don’t have people, should be limit hours of the event if we do not have people
Dancy cannot be there on her own the whole time
Need to get word out about the event and to get volunteers
Phyllis can input people into Sign Up Genius
Get Jean O’Brien to email blast all middle school parents
Consider options for limiting hours, locking up books, etc if we don’t have enough volunteers.
No spring book fair.
Next year consider one bigger event instead of many of them
Meeting adjourned.
HorsemanPTA – November Meeting Minutes
Friday, November 17, 2017 8:30 AM
Attendees:
Amada Reimundez
Andrea Gottschall
Angel Rafter
Christina Grillo
Dancy Balestrieri
Ella Londono
Jennifer Povman
Juliana Aloia
Karen Kuhn
Leah McVey
Mitch Sylves-Berry
Meeting Schedule
Discussed keeping to morning meeting schedule and working on a once-a-quarter evening meeting. Treasurer, Fatima Gianna cannot attend in the mornings but will communicate with her when needed to set up meetings.
Budget completed. Amada will ask Fatima to email it out.
Superintendents meeting
SNAC is a new program to review the lunch menus in the schools. The committee includes a representative from each school and is led by the Athletic Director.
• We have a rep from all schools except for WI.
• Meetings anticipated to be twice a year, with maybe a couple more meetings at the start.
• Ideally 2nd week of December for first meeting, but can do start of the year. First meeting is educating the committee on what the federal rules are for school lunches and then the committee will work to tweak the lunch program under those rules.
Wellness Committee focusing mission on overall wellness – not nutrition-related.
Book Fair
Morse book fair went well – over $10K in sales.
Need to talk about how we take the profit from Scholastic (receive 25% in cash, 50% in scholastic bucks). Can use bucks for resources for schools and maximize the profit you get.
PTA only breaks even so the money we do get from book fairs is already earmarked for other things that the PTA has committed to district-wide. Book fairs support the full district budget. Libraries need hardcover books and there is concern about the titles available but the online teacher catalog is huge and might have more options.
We can do an additional book fair and sell it as a stock up for summer reading at the end of the year. Can be one fair for the entire district to get bonuses or can do buy-one-get-one-free.
WI Book Fair runs the week of November 27, Monday through Friday.
Photo Day
Morse retake coming up
WI changed to January 4
JP 11/28
Rivertown Parents
• Speaker about finances and kids for December may not happen (Ardsley).
• Looking to do a tinkering night in Irvington, looking for space. (Maybe Mercy).
• Biggest interest from parent survey is wellness and resilience
• Talking best practices between the PTAs to support each other. A district did a read-a-thon and made $13K for the PTA. Ran online. Worked it out so that every kid got one sponsor and one prize. (Dobbs Ferry)
• Mercy runs STEM programs on Saturday.
• Angst was our event we shared with everyone. We had over 100 people show up to the evening event. Mr. Whitham shared with 7th and 8th graders first and now wants to show to the 6th grade in the spring. Other districts want to do a screening of it because it got good feedback and press. Panel discussion was really informative and Mr. Borsari did a good job moderating.
• Jean O’Brien’s online safety course in the school was very well-received. We tried to do a safety program that is district-wide, might be good to do in the schools and tailor to the age group. Presentation is on the resources section of the district web site.
• If there is something that is a need to communicate to parents to help them, Jen and Mitch are available to help with that.
Middle School Recap
• Kids getting hungry before the late 12:45 lunch period, especially those who get in super early. Mr. Whitham letting the teachers allow kids to have a snack, be respectful, and use their best judgment.
• 7th math honors change happened and has been beneficial. Working on consistency between classes.
• Working on consistency between English teachers in 7th grade honors.
• Career Fair is 11/28 and is in a new format where parents t tables and kids come around and choose who they want to visit with. Parent Yvonne Ibelli is coordinating. About twenty adults signed up already.
• Parent Portal: Teachers not updating as per guidelines and there are some other issues, such as a possible need to standardize grading criteria among teachers. Would like to find a way to let parents know when portal is about to close for grading week. Student access to the portal is coming.
• SNAC initiative: Generally agreed that middle school food holds up well, but service and time allotment is an issue.
• Bussing issues – sometimes overcrowded in the afternoons. Teachers asked to report any changes to afterschool schedule that might affect number of kids going home, and the MS office will get info to transportation immediately. Also, a rep from the high school will be dispatched to keep an eye on their students as they board. Transportation said they can get an extra van to the middle school in five minutes if told there’s a problem.
• Fundraising – wrapping paper: all orders in; deliveries Dec 7th. Thank you, Donna Gates! Some concern about the variety of paper in this year’s catalog as it was mostly kitchenware.
• Fundraising – spirit wear: order info coming out imminently. Online ordering will be available. Spirit wear can do school-specific items with proceeds going to the school’s budget. MS will have an item.
• Fundraising – Stop and Shop: MS enrollment underway. Using funds from the program for a general activity fund with the first project being a clean up of the recess area around the aqueduct trail.
• Fundraising suggestion that we look into Target frequent shopper program.
• Halloween Monster Ball: Looking to make some improvements for next year.
• Movie night was decently attended and costs were covered.
• Still looking for donations of ping pong tables. Already have two air hockey tables. Very committed to bringing back more fun to recess and offering options to non-sporty types.
• Teachers getting trained on new website, which will roll out end of December/beginning of January.
• Jean O’Brien will hold ½ hour parent training sessions on Google Docs, which all teachers will be using by next year. Dates TBD, but one morning session, and hopefully some concurrent with parent/teacher conference days.
• Suggestion of district-wide family movie night up on the football field in the spring. This would be a fundraiser hosted by a school, then would rotate to another school.
WI Recap
• Staffing: Hard to find qualified applicants for dual language leave replacement.
• Would like more Principal’s Chat theme ideas. The one on internet safety was a HUGE success. Ideas? These could be shared across buildings.
• Afterschool programs: WI is looking to better handle the music programs, library help, play rehearsals, sports practice, etc. in terms of staffing and space and would like to ensure a manageable afterschool schedule for children in 3rd-5th grade.
• District Communications Committee will solicit feedback, probably in form of survey, on how Parent/Teacher conferences went, given new trimester reporting schedule
• Back-to-School night was chaotic and we discussed different ways to manage in the future, including having separate night slots for 3rd grade families and 4th/5th grade and parent volunteers to greet and direct parents.
• WI working with safety consultants on how to keep improving. New color-coded lanyards coming, which visitors will also have to wear.
• $2,005 raised last week at WI clothing drive!
• $1,492 raised by kids at Walk-a-thon
• Class parent tea will be renamed and revamped to be more efficient next year
• WI Stop&Shop dollars will go toward the greenhouse and garden.
• PTA principal funds spent on safety vests, We’re All Wonder books, batteries for translators, and crayons
• Assistant principal is out for a new adopted child in his family.The interim AP is known to the district.
JP
No one in attendance.
Morse
• Wrapping paper went well and submitted. Online orders can still happen but you must pay for shipping.
• Indoor recess program – not enough space for it and it’s a lot of effort for the small group of kids who are interested. Decided not to run this year.
• Working on school communication and outreach via social media. Will wrap school efforts into larger district communications plan in February/March 2018.
Dress Code
A group of parents met with the administration, Dr. Smith and Mr. Whitham about the middle school and high school dress code. Looking to bring to the steering committee and then to work with student groups to talk about options to bring to the Board of Education in the spring.
SEPTA
We should invite them to meet with us, not many come to their meetings.
Mitch will send information on a possible word-learning program that Bonnie has been discussing with her.
HorsemanPTA Meeting Minutes – October
10/23/17
Attendees
Amada Reimundez – President
Dancy Balestrieri – VP WI 3rd grade
Christina Grillo – VP Morse 2nd grade
Juliana Aloia – VP Morse 1st grade
Karen Kuhn – Secretary
Lauren McBride – VP Morse 1st grade
Phyllis Arduino – Membership
Fatima Gianni – Treasurer
Daphne Ulliver – VP WI 4th grade/SHMS 7th grade
Nitassha Kumar – VP Morse 1st grade/SHMS 6th grae
Toya (parent)
Sheila Murphy – VP Morse 2nd grade
Meeting Schedule
Discussion about alternating between morning and evening meetings to allow those who work to join some meetings and to help with family engagement.
Proposed dates/times for remainder of 2017 are:
11/20 – 7:00 PM
12/15 – 8:30 AM
Budget Discussion
The fastest way to reach Fatima is via text.
Reviewed 2016-17 budget and actuals from the end of the summer to determine needs for 2017-18 year.
(NOTE: Budget was approved but then final budget numbers were reviewed in a meeting after this one and will be provided separately.)
Notes and action items:
*VPs need to ask their principals how they want the library fund to be allocated (per class, school library). Fill out the form to request the money needed in the allocation needed.
*VPs need to send a form for what’s approved for the Principal’s Fund and Fatima will write checks.
*Fatima needs receipt even if something is donated to know how much things cost.
*Need to get word out to parents about A+ with Stop n’ Shop to fund PTA. Schools must register every year.
*Mini grants need information and allocation to all the schools.
Morse
Publishing Center no longer needs funding as done in-class.
Morse should use Box Top money to buy pizza party pizza.
WI
Math madness no longer running
Looking for someone (contractor) to take over the plantings in front *Need info from Leah McVey
Principal’s Fund is $750 *Asking Principal Bretti what it was used for last year. Do they need $750?
*Circus funding is different this year and needs to be reviewed.
Middle School
Separate account so it has income listed
*Need to review money for staff luncheon. Leaving $250 to be safe.
Holding money for IRS due to taxes not being paid in the past.
Library Fund/Book fairs:
– Idea of person in charge of books for the school could come select books from book fair instead of getting the $100 per grade checks. (Check with principals)
– $50 line item for people missing money (sales tax) allocated in budget. $200 for the drawer.
– Scholastic Bucks available
Chess Club WI and Morse:
– Instructor will send information on how much the program costs. Apparently we are underpaying and we should be charging more per child. *Amada will give an invoice to Fatima
– Also have scholarships and donations for the program
Superintendent’s Meeting Agenda Items
Communication and having advocates from the PTA in the community
Borsari needs points of contact in the community to help bring him information and to direct people to facts and to communicate with the schools
*Facebook page for HorsemanPTA send to Lauren
Science Night
November 8 at the high school
PTA provides some financial support
Meeting adjourned early due to closure of building.
WANTED: Halloween Costumes
For lots of families, costumes are an expensive item that’s not in the budget. Do you have any clean, gently used Halloween costumes suitable for kids K – 8?
IF SO: Please bring clean new & gently-used kid-appropriate costumes to any of the following locations:
- John Paulding School
- W.L. Morse School
- Washington Irving School
- Sleepy Hollow Middle School
Collection dates: OCT. 4-20
They will be offered to students who don’t have a costume, but who might like to dress up for the Halloween school parades and Trick-or-Treating events around town.
Please help us make this small drive into a huge success, and clean out your “dress-up” closet at the same time – WE’RE THE HALLOWEEN CAPITAL OF NEW YORK , and every kid should get to feel like Spiderman or a Princess for a day if they would like to dress up!
Thank you for your support – Horseman PTA
SE BUSCAN DISFRACES DE HALLOWEEN
Para muchas familias, los disfraces son un artículo costoso que no esta en el presupuesto. ¿Tiene algún disfraz de Halloween limpio y ligeramente usado para los niños de K-8?
SI ES ASI: Traiga los disfraces limpios, nuevos y usados, que sean apropiados para niños acualquiera de los siguientes colegios:
- John Paulding School
- W.L. Morse School
- Washington Irving School
- Sleepy Hollow Middle School
Fechas de recaudación: Oct. 4-20
Se les ofrecerá a los estudiantes que no tienen un disfraz, pero que les gustaría disfrazarse para los desfiles de la escuela de Halloween y eventos de Truco-o-Trato alrededor del pueblo.
Por favor, ayúdanos a hacer que esta pequeña campaña sea un gran éxito, y de paso, limpia sus armarios al mismo tiempo – SOMOS LA CAPITAL DE HALLOWEEN DE NUEVA YORK , y cada niño debe llegar a sentirse como Spiderman o una Princesa por un día si quisieran disfrazarse!
Gracias por su apoyo – Horseman PTA
Horsemen PTA and Rivertown Parents present a screening of “Angst: Raising Awareness around Anxiety”
The Horsemen PTA and Rivertown Parents proudly present a screening of the movie:
Angst: Raising the Awareness around Anxiety
Thursday, October 12th at 7pm
Sleepy Hollow High School Auditorium
This documentary film, brought to you by the producers of Screenagers, looks at anxiety in our youth, its causes and effects, and what we can do about it. Angst interviews students who suffer or have suffered from anxiety, parents and professionals, and explores anxiety’s causes and sociological effects, while offering tools and resources to provide hope.
Panel discussion directly after the movie. The film will have Spanish subtitles and the discussion will be translated.
The Horsemen y Rivertown Parent PTAs presenta con orgullo una proyección de la película:
Angustia: Crear conciencia sobre la ansiedad
Jueves 12 de octubre a las 7 pm
Auditorio de la Escuela Secundaria Sleepy Hollow
Este documental, presentado por los productores de Screenages, analiza la ansiedad en nuestra juventud, sus causas y efectos, y lo que podemos hacer al respecto. “Angustia” entrevista a estudiantes que sufren o han sufrido ansiedad, padres y profesionales, y explora las causas de la ansiedad y los efectos sociológicos, a la vez que ofrece herramientas y recursos para brindar esperanza.
Panel de discusión inmediatamente después de la película. La película tendrá subtítulos en español y la discusión será traducida.
Horseman PTA Meeting Minutes – September 8, 2017
Attendance
Amada Reimundez – President
Andrea Gottschall – VP, 8th grade/Spirit Wear
Angel Rafter – VP, 8th grade
Ben O’Connell – VP, Kindergarten
Christina Grillo – VP, 2nd grade
Dancy Balestrieri – VP, 3rd grade
Daphne Uviller – VP, 4th grade
Donna Gates – VP, 7th grade
Elia Londono – VP, 4th grade
Fiona Galloway – VP, 5th grade
Julianna Aloia – VP, 1st grade
Karina Arreola – VP, 4th grade
Lauren McBride – VP, 1st grade
Leah McVey – VP, 5th grade
Mitch Sylves-Berry – Parent Ed/Rivertown Parents
Nitasha Kumar – VP, 6th grade
Phyllis Arduino – Membership
Samantha Ford – VP, Kindergarten
Sara Scipioni – VP, Kindergarten
Tara Schatzel – VP, 4th grade
Laura Richardson – Box Tops Fundraiser
Sheila Murphy – VP, 2nd grade
Meeting called to order. Introductions.
Thanks to everyone who helped at Morse’s Back to School Night last night.
STAFFING AND EVENT SCHEDULE
Photo Day
Leah McVey will be point person with the photography company for the elementary schools.
JP and Morse – Recruiting
WI – Leah McVey
Book Fair
Dancy Balestrieri will be point person with Scholastic for all schools.
JP: Samantha Ford
Morse: Christina Grillo
WI: Will recruit at Back to School Night
SHMS: Dancy Balestrieri
Wrapping Paper
Donna Gates will be point person with the wrapping paper company for all schools.
JP: Sara Scipioni
Morse: Alison and Sheila Murphy
WI: Leah McVey and Tara Schatzel
SHMS: Angel Rafter
- The flyers are awaiting approval with the superintendent’s office. Once they are approved, Donna will put the packets together for delivery October 20.
- Fundraiser will run from Oct 20-Nov 3. Purchases can be made online.
- The merchandise will be delivered to the schools on December 7. Each school will receive its own delivery.
- Donna will write a detailed email to each Wrapping Paper Chair in the coming weeks.
Square 1 Art
JP: Recruit at Back to School Night
Morse: Lauren McBride
WI: Amada Remundez
- Ms. Barrett asked the chairs need to send an email reminder to the art teachers.
- We will start thinking about this event more in December.
Chess Club
- Amada Remundez will serve as point person with the chess company for Morse and JP.
- Individual coordinators are needed for each school.
Spirit Wear
Andrea Gottschall is the coordinator for all schools.
JP: Christina Grillo will send volunteer information to Andrea when it is all compiled.
Morse: Nitasha Kumar
WI: Leah McVey.
- We will need volunteers to sell Spirit Wear at the various school events, such as Book Fairs, Back to School nights, movie nights.
- High school kids should be available to do this as part of their community service hours.
Class Parent Teas
Budgets for the teas were confirmed as follows:
JP: $250.00
Morse: $75.00
WI: $75.00
Back to School Nights
- Dates were reviewed.
- Need to recruit new volunteers.
- VPs from other schools should try and attend events to staff tables for the home school’s VPs while they are in the class meetings.
- Sign-up sheets for JP and WI were passed out for review. WI sheets have been returned to Christina for small corrections. JP will email any corrections to Christina before their Back to School Night.
- We need volunteers for the WI and JP Back to School Nights.
- Andrea will do Spirit Wear at WI. The Boy and Girl Scouts will also have tables there.
- The Middle School only hosts a Membership Table at their Back to School Night. Amada will send out a reminder email before each Back to School Night.
MEETING SCHEDULING
VP Reminders
- All VPs should check their PTA mailboxes.
- All VPs should set up a meeting schedule with their respective Principal.
PTA Meeting Schedule
- We will start having evening PTA meetings to accommodate people who work during the day.
- We will alternate – one month we will have a morning meeting, the next an evening meeting.
- Right now we are considering Mondays at 7 pm for the evening meetings.
Superintendent Meetings
- The first PTA/Superintendent meeting will take place on Wednesday, 9/20 at 1 pm.
- VPs will rotate attending this meeting.
TREASURER REPORT
All check requests and financial matters should be sent to Fatima using the following treasurer-specific email address: tufsdtreasurer@yahoo.com.
Reimbursement Procedure:
- Forms are on the Horseman PTA web site.
- Reimbursements should be submitted with receipts to Fatima Gianni, Treasurer, as soon as possible after the event.
Budget and Financial Forms Update
- We don’t have a printed budget yet, but it is coming.
- Fatima is in the process of updating all the online financial forms on the website.
OTHER DISCUSSION
Halloween Costume Drive
- VPs need to think about the Halloween costume drive, as Pamela is not directing it this year.
- Each school should think about making a flyer.
- The point person for each school will need to work with the social worker to coordinate the distribution of the costumes.
Middle School Movie Night – November 3
- May sell pizza again as a fundraiser as it was successful last year.
- Not sure if they will let the students vote to pick the movie, or if they will just pick the movie.
- The movie night is for middle school students only.
Selection Committee Training
Please remind parents about the Selection/Hiring Committee Trainings.
Information Sharing
- During the WI VP meeting, Mrs. Bretti asked how the information VPs receive from the principals during these meetings is shared with the greater parent population.
- Monthly updates should be forwarded to Karen as part of the minutes on the website.
- We should have Jean O’Brien include this information as part of her Sunday night email blasts. The blast should include a link to the PTA website.
- Add the PTA web site address to all flyers.
- We are going to try and have more teachers join the PTA and attend our meetings.
- Need to find the PTA Facebook page admins to update them and start using the page for regular updates.
- We will consider setting up VP-specific email addresses next year. For example: Morse@tufsd.org. This email address would be passed down from year to year, to make it consistent.
Swagat
Nitasha mentioned that Swagat will participate in a program which would donate a portion of a night’s proceeds to the Horseman PTA. We should find out more information about the collection and distribution of funds.
TaSH
- Sept. 9 event was canceled due to lack of volunteers.
- We will reschedule for September 30.
- We will sell Spirit Wear and distribute membership forms.
- Christina will send out the sign-up genius as we get closer.
