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Bryan PTA Meeting Minutes December 6, 2006
Attendance: Steve Rozier, Ginny Whiteside, Joel Palmer, Leslie Landwehr, Dawn Bignall, Jennifer Westervelt, Charles Farrey, Chris Sensel, Laura Narolski, Connie Chalich, Margie Feidler, Barb Richardson, Marina Green, Shari Mueller
Principal Palmer’s Report:
v Mrs. Sorenson won an Excel grant for marimba. v The Veteran’s Day Assembly was held- pictures and cards are displayed in the hall v The Ident-a-Kid program came to Bryan. v Student Body Elections were held. A full swearing-in ceremony followed. v Mrs. Godbout’s class won the Box Tops for Education Contest v Skate Night at Skate Plaza was a success with fun for all who attended. v The District 271 Art Show took place with Leslie Landwehr participating v Lakes Middle School presented the Storyville Assembly which the kids enjoyed. v The Turkey Trot, Turkey Trot Assembly and the family Thanksgiving dinner were all successful parts of our Thanksgiving celebration followed by days off for the holiday. v We completed the first parent-teacher conferences of the year with most parents participating. v The 4th and 5th Graders completed Direct Math and Direct Writing Assessments last week. v The Scholastic Book fair is going on all week in the school library hosted by Mrs. LaVigne. This is a fundraiser for the library. v The kindergarten, first and second graders will be performing at a concert tomorrow night. v ISAT Field tests for the 4th and 5th grade will be starting next week. The tests have been revised and seem to be much more interesting for the kids. v Some of the 4th and 5th grade kids will b participating in a geography bee with Mr. Turner and will be having a strings concert in January. v We will be having a Kindness Sing-A-Long Assembly led by Mr. Palmer, Mrs. Sorenson and the Student Council. v January 9th the 5th graders will be going to Fernan Elementary to participate in a human rights assembly led by a local polio survivor. v We have been invited to participate in a Triple Play Night with Borah Elementary January 12th or 19th. No final decision has been made. Class Act
Mr. Palmer shared that the teachers think Class Act is a wonderful program, but that they have some questions about it. The teachers would like to know if they could nominate more than 2 kids per month as they are worried that at the end of the year there would be just a few kids left that were never recognized. They were also wondering if there had to be a treat given to the selected kids and, if so, if it could be given out at the end of the day.
Some teachers announced their selections in class and kids had the perception that their teacher had “picked” certain children “over” others. It was clarified that the award was intended to recognize children for citizenship rather than for academic achievement. It was also mentioned that the intent of sending the postcard home was to include the parents of those children in the recognition and that it really could just be a family celebration. Another perspective voiced was that life is not always fair, that kids understand this and that if all the children got the award, it would lose it’s meaning. Mrs. Whiteside reminded us that in the elementary school environment teachers try to recognize the wonderful traits of each of their students. There was also some discussion about having a certificate replace the treat and it was noted that the post card is a written keepsake in and of itself.
In the end it was decided that if the teachers wanted to nominate up to 2 boys and 2 girls for each class that they could. It was also decided that it would be up to the teachers in the older grades if they wanted to recognize the kids verbally in class. If the PTA wishes to continue giving the kids a treat, a volunteer will hand them out at the end of the day. If buttons are given as part of the reward, the verbiage will be cleared with the teachers before they are ordered. The kids’ names on the bulletin board will be made larger so that the names and grades are more easily seen by all.
General Business
Minutes from the November meeting were approved as written.
A detailed treasurer’s report was presented by Marina Green. It was noted verbally that much of the money raised by the fundraiser has already been earmarked for particular projects including assemblies, school events and the Wish List mini-grant program. This leaves only $6700.00 in the general fund account.
Wish List (Mini-Grant) Committee
Charles Farrey presented the following requests for mini grant approval on behalf of the wish list committee.
v 14 Licenses for ABC Teach submitted by Sharon Davis and Cathy Bayes. Cost=$350.00 The PTA could purchase these in January as the license is good for one calendar year and teachers could still use the resource for some of the next school year.
v State books for the library submitted by Mrs. LaVigne. Cost=$797.50 This would replace the current set of state books that are about 10 years old and used by many of the students for reports, etc. This is a long term investment.
v A centralized ball rack submitted by Todd Davis, the PE Teacher. Cost=$154.88. Initial concerns about the quality of the rack have been alleviated. Mr. Palmer announced that Mr. Davis has resigned but that he would ensure that the plan for using the rack would be carried out as proposed.
v Two portable infared audio systems submitted by Mr. Palmer. Estimated Cost=$2,200.00. Clixie Larson demonstrated the system for the committee. It may be possible for the PTA to purchase 1-2 additional units each year. Mr. Palmer has money in his budget for any required repairs to the system and negotiations are continuing with the company in an effort to get an extra battery pack or microphone included at no additional cost. Mr. Palmer will be submitting an Idaho Community Foundation Grant in January for some additional units.
It was moved and seconded that we purchase the above 4 items for a total of $3502.38. This was followed by a unanimous “Aye” vote from the PTA members in attendance.
The Wish List committee encourages teachers to continue to submit their grant requests and to try to do this as much in advance as possible. There is some concern that the teachers are working on the “old system” of reimbursement requests based on submitted receipts. There are now 2 options for teachers seeking funding for projects/items: using the petty cash given to each teacher or submitting a mini grant request. The Wish List Committee meets on the 4th Tuesday of each month to review requests. Due to the holidays, however, the next meeting will be on January 9th.
Legacy Fund
After reviewing the entire budget, the PTA Board is interested in exploring the idea of using the remaining $6000.00 to purchase a “legacy item” that would have a long standing impact for the school. Sheri Mueller drafted a survey tool to get feedback about what that “legacy item” should be.
One of the ideas being proposed by the board is the purchase of a closed-circuit TV system for use throughout the school. This system could be used when kids are doing morning announcements, for doing a presentation for multiple classrooms without having to have an assembly or go room to room or as a communication tool during emergencies. Specific questions about cost of such a system, wiring limitations, etc. were voiced. Some people worried that the staff may have something completely different in mind and that they should have more of a say in what we buy. Caution was also voiced that this purchase should not impose something on the staff that is not a good fit for them (for example: funding field trips which would result in extra work and planning for the teachers). It was then pointed out that the closed- circuit TV system was not a final decision, just one of many possibilities.
The survey will be re-written in an effort to invite ideas from others. Since 80-85% of the kids participated in raising funds, the survey will be sent home in Wednesday folders. Staff will also be invited to participate. Survey results will be presented at a later date.
Santa Shop
The Santa Shop will be set up in the north portable this year. Gift prices range from 25 cents to $25.00 with most gifts ranging from $3.00 - $5.00. Santa Shop gives children the opportunity to purchase gifts for their immediate family members. They bring money to school and select the gifts themselves. A flier was sent home in Wednesday folders today that explained the Santa Shop and encouraged parents to give kids ways to earn money to spend. Each teacher will be receiving Santa Bucks that can be given out as rewards or to kids that don’t bring money to school. Extra Santa Bucks should be turned in for use by other classrooms. Monday the 11th will be the preview day for the kids and then each classroom will be brought out to shop at their designated time Tuesday the 12th and Wednesday the 13th. We need more volunteers to help out in the store on Tuesday and Wednesday. Staff testified that the kids “light-up” when they have the opportunity to pick things out on their own and that the smiles last all week!
Sorenson
A letter regarding the effort to keep Sorenson Elementary open was distributed just as an FYI so that people would be aware of the situation and have the opportunity to look into this issue on their own. Sorenson has 209 students and it’s closure would impact Bryan and other area elementary schools.
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