Attendees:

Jacki Geoghegan

Angel Rafter

Paul Pirozzi

Dancy Balestrieri

Thomas Lipping

Leah McVey

Christina Grillo

Pamela Louis

Phyllis Arduino

Nitasha Kumar

Donna Gates

Amada Reimundez

Mitch Sylves-Berry

Jen Povman

Andrea Gottschall

-Welcome/TASH update

Our meeting was called to order at 8:37 A.M. by Angel. Christina Grillo gave a summary of the PTA’s 1^st TASH representation last Saturday at Patriot Park. A table was manned with flyer hand-outs and crafts for children. Foot traffic was light, perhaps due to spring sports practices. PTA agreed to try and keep a presence at TASH this fall. Jen Povman agreed to help man our table. Christina said she will sign us up again for a table in September. The board suggested selling spirit-wear at these events. Christina also agreed to send an email reminder in August to the board to help represent at our table in September.

-Rivertown Parents Update

Mitch Sylves-Berry reminded Christina and all board members that all registered PTA members have access to the email distribution list of Rivertown Parents. Mitch noted the following upcoming Rivertown events: Tinker night, kid’s money management workshop, a college transition seminar, and a mental health presentation that will be hosted by Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow.

-PTA Branding

The board agreed on focusing their efforts on branding, getting more recognition in the community for our PTA. Some ideas included posting pictures on our horsemen website, utilizing Jean O’Brien’s email blasts more frequently, creating a position on the board for nursery school representative. The rep could attend nursery school events and inform new parents how PTA works. Members of the board also suggested that chairpersons of past events post various tips and protocol procedures of said events on our website as guidelines for new chairpersons in future years. Phyllis Arduino has agreed to attend and represent PTA at certain events this summer, for example, Shakespeare in the Park. If 3^rd Friday should return, the board agreed to get a table at this event.

-School Updates

JP-Nitasha Kumar said they had their last principal meeting. She mentioned that PTA wants to be a part of the prek/k registration next calendar year at JP. Fun day is all set for June 21^st. Registration for kindergarten was moved up to January and February (earlier than last year).

Morse- Dancy Balestrieri mentioned that field day was last Friday June 9^th, and all leftover food was donated to the Life Center in Sleepy Hollow, with thanks to Christina for coordinating a wonderful day! Dancy spoke with Principal Holland and they agreed he would address bullying and specifically social media bullying at Morse. Dancy mentioned to Mr. Holland the idea of having a Morse PTA representative present at any principal/parent meetings if the parent wished. The PTA’s position regarding this issue is to suggest to any affected parties the appropriate chain of command to follow with instances of concern. Parents should always advocate for the child by keeping the lines of communications open with teachers first, and if necessary, escalate up the chain of command at the appropriate school and ultimately with the district superintendent. Jen Povman and other board members suggested a statement be included at back to school night regarding all bullying.

WI- Field day will be tomorrow June 15^th and they are hoping for more volunteers to help out at the event.

MS- The middle school transition committee met yesterday to discuss new ideas to help children make the transition from WI to MS more smoothly. The committee hopes to meet with the new MS principal in July. Pam suggested putting some bullet points on the horsemen PTA website to help parents and kids with their transition.

-PTA Board Position Planning

Jacki Geoghegan distributed a printout of the latest PTA board positions for next calendar year. She advised the board that she received some email responses for possible volunteers for next year. She suggested to the appropriate board members to follow up with these individuals.

-Miscellaneous

The board agreed that the wrapping paper fundraiser will continue next year, the board needs to select the best vendor for this event.

Pam noted that we still could use some more Halloween costumes for this October. She suggested mentioning this costume drive at our TASH table in September.

Pam and a few others suggested forming a committee to bring together all of our community fundraisers for better planning and cooperation; a calendar meeting of sorts that would reduce redundancy and hopefully eliminate the feeling of fundraising fatigue in our community.

In conclusion, Jacki and Angel thanked all board members for their tireless efforts during their tenure as co-presidents. Of special note, Paul Pirozzi, Kelley Anniccherico, Thomas Lipping and Katie Scully, who will be retiring from their positions this year. Donna Gates led the board in thanking Jacki and Angel for all of their hard work as co-presidents, and presented them with gift cards and flowers as a token of the board’s appreciation.

Our meeting adjourned at 9:55 AM

Many thanks to all who stopped by to visit us at TaSH today. We’ll be at the TaSH again in the fall.

Attendees:

Jacki Geoghegan

Angel Rafter

Paul Pirozzi

Dancy Balestrieri

Thomas Lipping

Lauren McBride

Kelley Anniccherico

Leah McVey

Christina Grillo

Karen Kuhn

Pamela Louis

*Pamela Fisk (Director of Human Resources)

Elia Londono

Karina Arreola

Phyllis Arduino

Daphne Uvilles

Juliana Aloia

Nitasha Kumar

Donna Gates

-Welcome:

Our meeting was called to order at 8:33 A.M. by Angel and Jacki. Director of Human Resources, Pam Fisk was in attendance, and the board went around the table with introductions. Pam advised the board that the district will be hosting a 1 hour training seminar this summer for individuals interested in participating on any district wide interview committees. The training will focus on appropriate and legal questions to be asked of potential candidates, in addition to other important information. Pam will have a flyer distributed communicating the details to our community. The board also agreed to send any other suggestions to her at pfisk@tufsd.org.

-Angst (Breaking the Stigma around Anxiety):

Indie-Flix Foundation is offering our district this documentary that focuses on anxiety, its causes and effects, and what we can do about it. This is the same foundation that brought us the Screenagers documentary. The target audience is 5^th graders and up. The cost is $1,000.00; however, Indie-Flix is providing our district with a 40% discount on the cost if we book before Memorial Day. Jacki is asking the board for feedback by early next week. http://www.indieflixfoundation.org/angst/.

-PTA Planning

Jacki asked the board to email their intentions for next year PTA positions. Jacki created a “Help Wanted” flyer to communicate open PTA Board positions to the district. The flyer will be distributed via backpack mail, and will be included in Jean O’Brien’s weekly email blast.

-PTA Branding

Christina Grillo questioned why our PTA isn’t better attended. Angel and other board members agreed that we have very low brand recognition. The board suggested that our monthly meeting dates go out in Jean’s email blast. Pam Louis mentioned Emily McCormack as a resource to help with our brand recognition. Nitasha suggested a digital newsletter to improve our presence. Some board members suggested holding some of our monthly meetings in the evenings with principals, and different administrative positions as guest members.

-Parent/Teacher Conference schedule

The district will be changing the academic year for K-5^th grade back to trimesters with the parent-teacher conferences occurring before the distribution of report cards to the homes. The board agreed that this format will help to give parents ample time before report cards to know where their child needs improvements. It should also move the conferences away from simply reading off of the report cards.

-Fundraising & TASH initiative

June 10^th is the first date on the TASH calendar where we will have our Horsemen PTA table set up to create more community awareness. Christina also mentioned that she will have copies of our new “Help Wanted” flyer on the table to help recruit new board members.

-Volunteer Thank You Event & PTA Book Drive

Instead of a daytime event thanking the volunteers in our district, the board is considering an after-hours event, perhaps in a park, where volunteers can bring their children. There would be light refreshments served. There is a PTA Used Book Drive currently in progress.

The gently used books can be donated from May 22-June 9th at any of the school buildings. Jacki is in need of volunteers to help sort these books the week of June 12^th. If available, please contact Jacki Geoghegan at jacki_geoghegan@yahoo.com.

-Miscellaneous Questions/Discussions

Pam Louis mentioned that there seems to be some issues regarding the transition of students from WI to the middle school. Angel and Pam agreed to meet with Ms. Bretti, Ms. Strippoli and Ms. Mullin to discuss.

-School Updates

MS- Mitch is working on setting up a meeting with the new principal in June. The middle school spring dance will take place tonight, Friday May 19^th.

WI- The staff appreciation lunch was a success, with many compliments from the staff. The 5^th graders have completed their gardening project in the front of W.I. Amy White and Leah McVey will take over the greenhouse project at W.I. Angel advised the W.I. VP’s that PTA will provide the same amount of funding for field day inflatables as last year.

Morse- Staff Appreciation Luncheon was a success, with flowers and raffles. Many thanks to Melissa Miller and her help in organizing this event. Christina Grillo mentioned the planting project that is underway in front of Morse school. They are working on having a 4-square board painted on the playground. Leah advised Christina to speak with Ms. Chulla about the 1^st grade Publishing project.

JP- The staff Appreciation Luncheon was a big hit. Our meeting adjourned at 9:49 AM, our last meeting is scheduled for Friday June 9^th.

Attendees:

Angel Rafter

Paul Pirozzi

Mitch Sylves-Berry

Amada Reimundez

Dancy Balestrieri

Andrea Gottschall

Thomas Lipping

Jen Povman

Fiona Galloway

Sheila Emery Murphy

Lauren McBride

Kelley Anniccherico

Samantha Ford-Godette

Tara Schatzel

Leah McVey

-Welcome:

Our meeting was called to order at 8:36 A.M. by Angel.

-Fundraising & TASH initiative

Christina Grillo spoke with TASH (farmers market at Patriot Park). They are OK if Horsemen PTA sets up a table at their Saturday event in the spring and fall. Sheila, Nitasha and Christina will have a table with crafts and PTA membership forms (and other literature taken from Horsemen website) from the hours of 8:30-2PM. Please consider volunteering some time for this event. June 10^th is the first date on the TASH calendar. High School students can receive community service credit for their volunteer efforts. Please email cdgrillo@gmail.com to volunteer. Jen Povman mentioned that she will stop by on June 10^th to help out at the table.

Without a chair willing to run the “Bulbs” fundraiser, the board agreed to table this event for next year. Kelley mentioned that she will consider chairing this event next year.

-Rivertown Parents

On April 20^th Rivertown Parents hosted a “Family Tinker Night” at Dobbs Ferry High School. A family learning program on all things science, designed for K-5 children and their parents. Our district is expected to host one event a year. Mitch will summarize a few ideas in an email, and the PTA board agreed to email feedback as well as any other ideas.

-WI Garden

Leah mentioned the need for volunteer gardeners. She and Tom will distribute a flyer in the WI backpack mail requesting volunteers. Westover landscape is under new ownership and will be working with WI to improve the garden. Leah mentioned the need for a master design garden plan. The budget has $400 allocated to the garden. The WI garden needs $250 for mulch, perennials, annuals etc. The board discussed approaching The Foundations for additional funding. Leah and Tom will have a discussion with Ms. Bretti and email the results to Jacki and Angel.

-PTA Planning:

Angel reminded the board to email their intentions for next year’s PTA to her and Jacki. We need a new president, Treasurer, and Secretary.

-Used Book Drive

There will be a used book drive in late May/early June. Jacki will send out a flyer asking for books and volunteers to sort.

-School Updates

-MS

Andrea advised that Spirit wear sales just closed. They will open again if orders exceed 12 items or more. 8^th Grade students are currently on the Washington D.C. field trip.

-WI

There is a hiring process in progress at WI due to bigger incoming class sizes, resignations and maternity leaves.

-Morse

There were no Morse representatives available this month to discuss school updates.

-JP

ESL teacher Helen Sanchez-Zhu will be retiring at the end of this school year and JP is looking for a replacement. The Peabody Preserve field trip has been postponed numerous times due to inclement weather.

-Miscellaneous Questions/Discussions

Andrea Gottschall noted that mini-grant requests have been added to the High School’s future agenda.

Tara noted a drop-off in volunteer participation this year.

The board agreed that we need a new Horsemen PTA banner. The board also discussed the need to increase our membership numbers and the branding of Horsemen PTA. Next month’s agenda will include discussing some ideas to improve our overall memberships. The board suggested holding an event at the Kindergarten registration, such as a tea social for incoming parents/families.

Our meeting adjourned at 9:37 AM, our next meeting is scheduled for Friday May 19th at 8:30 AM.

Attendees:

Jacki Geoghegan

Angel Rafter

Paul Pirozzi

Mitch Sylves-Berry

Amada Reimundez

Dancy Balestrieri

Andrea Gottschall

Christina Grillo

Juliana Aloia

Thomas Lipping

Jen Povman

Fiona Galloway

Katie Scully

Nitasha Kumar

Sheila Emery Murphy

Karen Kuhn

Lauren McBride

Kelley Anniccherico

Samantha Ford

Pam Louis

Tara Schatzel

-Welcome:

Our meeting was called to order at 8:39 A.M. by Jacki.

-Budget:

Angel and Kelley distributed copies of a more comprehensive budget. We are waiting to hear from NY State PTA and or the IRS for the OK to roll the middle school budget into our overall budget. Kelley requested that checks be submitted for deposit within a week of your event (or receiving the checks) to avoid any bank fees for returned checks to our account. The board discussed and agreed that box top campaigns should continue to be administrated by each school, and not centralized to the PTA.

-PTA Planning:

Jacki asked the board to consider who will return. We need a new President, Treasurer, and Secretary. All volunteers please email Jacki/Angel. Dancy suggested adding a book fair chair position to the board.

-TASH Springtime Presence

Christina Grillo spoke with TASH (farmers market at Patriot Park). They are OK if Horsemen PTA sets up a table at their Saturday event in the spring and fall. Christina suggested a table with crafts, face painting and other games from the hours of 8:30-2PM. Please consider volunteering some time for this event. June 10^th is the first date on the TASH calendar. High School students can receive community service credit for their volunteer efforts. Please email cdgrillo@gmail.com to volunteer.

-Fundraising

Donna has been researching a bulb/flower sale fundraiser. Samples from different vendors were passed around and Donna is working on deadline dates, minimum order requirements and other variables. “Flower-Power” vendor ships direct to customers, have a 10 day turnaround, and charges $6 for shipping and handling per order. Tara agreed to research other wrapping paper vendors since Innisbrook no longer provides this service. The board asked if there is an itemization of past wrapping paper results from Charleston Wrap to determine how much was raised from wrapping paper, and how much came from other merchandise. Donna agreed to request this information from our vendor. Donna was able to get this information from the vendor and it appears to be almost 50/50.

The board agreed to a wrapping paper campaign in the fall instead of Yankee Candle. The board agreed that a school supply fundraiser would be difficult to coordinate with the school supply needs/list and the profit margin wouldn’t be worthwhile. Amada suggested a mother/son dance event. Most board members agreed that a mother/son dinner might be better attended. Applebee’s and other restaurants are usually very helpful sponsoring these type events. Amada will look into this.

-Mini Grant

Thank you to Mitch for hosting our mini grant meeting. Approximately $4,500 was meted out in grants. We are waiting to hear from the district’s buildings and Grounds Dept. regarding outdoor play equipment on the East side of the JP building. Four grants were fully funded and four grants were partially funded this year, while managing to stay within our budget.

-School Updates

-MS

Andrea suggested that the middle school was considering creating separate school dances next year for the 6^th graders vs. 7^th and 8^th graders. Spirit Wear is marketing new school specific t-shirts for the middle school, flyers will be distributed soon. If these items sell, Spirit Wear will probably expand the merchandise to include the other schools. The middle school received a new clothing (rolling) rack for the steaming of 8^th grade graduation gowns.

-WI

The meeting for WI was postponed until next month due to snow days.

-Morse

Over $1,200 was raised by the Box tops challenge at Morse. An anonymous group donated funds to cover the unpaid school lunch balances at Morse. Thursday March 16^th was Math Night, and the event was well attended and went well. Kindness month (March) is currently being emphasized by the staff at Morse. Trip around the community is coming up soon for Morse students.

-JP

The book fair finished up at JP and was very successful. Sales revenue exceeded $8,200 this year, creating a profit margin of more than $2,000. The PJ party was a success with arts and craft events, and volunteer readings. Thanks to Andrea for organizing the many student volunteers. And a huge thanks to Mrs. Barnett and the staff at JP for their support and help with the PJ party and book fair through out the week. The meeting for JP was postponed until next month due to snow days.

-Relay for Life

Jacki advised that this fundraising event is sponsored by the American Cancer Society and will be held June 3^rd and 4^th. It is an overnight event for the entire community. There are many volunteer opportunities, you can start a team, join a team, or support a team. People can attend the event without camping out if they prefer.

Our meeting adjourned at 10:21 AM, our next meeting is scheduled for Friday April 21st at 8:30 AM.

Attendees:

Jacki Geoghegan

Paul Pirozzi

Mitch Sylves-Berry

Leah Mc Vey

Amada Reimundez

Dancy Balestrieri

Andrea Gottschall

Fiona Galloway

Christina Grillo

Juliana Aloia

Thomas Lipping

Phyllis Arduino

Elia Londono

Donna Gates

-Welcome and Intros:

Our meeting was called to order at 8:35 A.M. by Jacki.

-Budget:

Angel and Kelley were not in attendance; however, they have everything ready for our March meeting. Analysis of last year’s revenue and expenses show that we broke even. We won’t be looking to add new line items, and budget cuts should not be required if we keep expenses constant.

-Fundraising

There will be a brunch preview on March 14^th hosted by Miss Chocolate, a possible new fundraising vendor. The board discussed Innisbrook vs. Charleston vendor, although no decision was finalized. Andrea G. suggested a plant/bulb sale, just not the same time as the wrapping paper campaign. Christina Grillo will speak with a representative of the TASH farmers market about getting Horsemen PTA a table. Phyllis suggested a new idea; “Summer in a Box”, a fundraising event that packages the sale of summer items such as flip-flops, sunscreen, hats, creams, and bathing suits.

-Calendar Overview

The calendar committee will be presenting to the Board of Education in March, to set up dates for next year’s school calendar. The options are similar to our current school year.

-Screenagers Recap and Finding Kind Trailer

Feedback was very positive from this well attended event. Parents and kids seemed to agree that it was a great conversation starter and everyone seemed to get a lot out of this very informative presentation. The same company that offered this event is now offering another video called “Finding Kind”.  Two friends travel across the country and expose the truth behind girl against girl bullying. Jacki showed the PTA board a preview video. Viewing of this video would be free, due to our purchase of “Screenagers”. PTA suggested opening it to Rivertown Parents and marketing the event through Girl Scouts. Andrea G. agreed to speak to Ardsley district concerning their opinion, and see if they have viewed/hosted this. The board discussed if it should only be shown in the evening, and whether to show it only to girls, or the coed population as well.

-School Updates

-MS

The book fair was held in the library this year. We are awaiting the results of a survey that was sent out for feedback. We are hoping to hold this event in the auditorium next year, due to a lack of space in the MS library. There are more than 180 students attending the D.C. trip this year. The trip is fully funded for students who need financial assistance. The board discussed having basic guideline requirements in place for scholarship assistance in the future. The middle school dance went well, and was well attended. The variety show was last night and any funds raised there will be going to the arts dept.

-WI

The blood drive will be held at WI on Thursday, March 2^nd from 11:30 to 7:30 PM. The jump rope and Kid Stuff Coupon book events are currently in progress. A gardening plan/design is still needed. The principal chat helped explain that when the temperature is 25 or below, kids are kept inside. There are strict guidelines in place about kids not allowed to touch the snow and must stay on the black top when there is snow. Indoor recess is still in need of adult volunteers.

-Morse

Box tops challenge is currently underway, and the students are very involved as the competition heats up.

-JP

The principal chat was mostly concerning volunteers for the book fair. Juliana will submit her check for last year’s square 1 art to Kelley A.

The Mini-grant committee meeting will be rescheduled for Feb. 27^th or March 1^st.

Our meeting adjourned at 10:16 AM, our next meeting is scheduled for Friday March 17th at 8:30 AM.