WSPTA General Membership Meeting
February 8, 2010
PTA President Anne Marie Frascella called meeting to order at 7:39pm
Welcome everyone.
Please review the minutes from our November meeting.
Motion to approve: Joy G.
2nd: Lisa K.
Rob Adams from the Board of Education is with us today and would like to address us.
Good evening everyone and thanks for coming out. Of course the top of everyone’s mind is the budget and how much state aid we will receive, we won’t know that for sure until mid-March. What I can tell you is that we are preparing and planning. We recently visited the Wanaque Reserve residents and held an open forum with about 70-80 people in attendance. We answered their questions and had a great discussion with them. Many of them are retired teachers who were very interested in what we had to say. We need their support; we will be working with them very closely.
We will be holding another Community Outreach meeting on February 24th at 7pm in the Wanaque School Library. We are also trying to use the school website more to post happenings and forums. Does anyone have any questions for me tonight?
Thank you for your time.
AMF: lots of times there are unanswered questions and things might be confusing. The Community Outreach meetings are a great way to get those answers, they really explain what everything means, I encourage you to go!
Rob: Once April comes around we will need to get everyone together, it is a critical year.
AMF: Thanks Rob, Ms. Morales is also here tonight, the floor is yours.
CPM: Report cards are going home on the 11th. Cogats for second and fifth grades are also this month.
AMF: Can you please tell us what the drop off policy is? We are getting mixed information. Can kids be dropped off in the front or do they have to go to their assigned doors?
CPM: Children can go into the school through any door, including the front door.
Officer Reports:
President – AnneMarie Frascella (AMF)
Nothing to report – remember the committee rep forms are up front, if you are heading a committee please be sure to fill one out for the folder and also give me a copy for the files.
We would like to sponsor the Pennies for Peace program as a PTA, we are not allowed to donate to the fund, but we can vote as a group to support the efforts.
Motion: Lisa K.
2nd: Michele A.
We are also working on getting Mrs. Spirko’s spot light, if anyone would like to volunteer to do some price comparisons, we would love the help.
Thanks to Joy G for volunteering.
1st VP – Joy Gurreri
Nothing in this capacity.
2nd VP – Lisa Keyzer
Nothing to report in this capacity.
Treasurer: Sue Katz
There have been no major events, nothing to report.
Corresponding Secretary: Anne Padovano
I have a thank you note from the kindergarten for our continued support of the Thanksgiving feast.
Recording Secretary: Yvette Stoker
Nothing to report tonight
Committee Reports:
Cultural Arts – Joy G.: Liberty Science Center workshops are coming:
4th grade: assembly still on the books from Liberty Science center
3rd grade: will also have an assembly in March
We are also working on a creative writing workshop for the 5th grade. We will have an the group will come in and work one on one with the kids after reading the stories they submit ahead of time.
Bingo – Lisa Keyzer: Finally had our first Bingo, it was not very well attended but we will have another on April 15th and another on May 21st.
Q: Was there a flyer sent home?
LK: Nothing is sent home for bingo, you have to check the website, and the doors and windows around the school.
KB: We are working on putting together an email blast that will go to the membership when something important is posted on the website. We are still all getting used to this technology thing!
AMF: Maybe we can create a virtual flyer and Anne P. can attach it to her email blast each month too.
8th grade committee: Lisa Keyzer – There was a committee meeting a week ago, everything is moving forward nicely. The event will be at Il Palazzo and is funded by the PTA. The PTA hosts the dance, brunch, awards and t-shirts and we ask for $20 from each family to off set the costs.
Tricky Tray: Karen Branciforte – We need some volunteers for soliciting baskets or donations for baskets. This year it will be hard for us to get prizes together, the economy is very bad for everyone.
WW: It is really not that scary, I solicit from Ringwood South into Wanaque. Sometimes I even take my son along.
KB: Sometimes you can get a 2 for 1 instead of a straight donation, anything is accepted and appreciated. Pompton Lakes is untapped for the most part by us, and it is great because it is a confined area. We would like to branch out to Oakland, Riverdale and Bloomingdale as well; any ideas for opening other areas would be great too.
50/50 letters and tickets are going out, as well as letters for family baskets and other donations.
We will also need people to volunteer to set up.
Box Tops: Debby Sloat– Keep sending them in. We are working with the book to order things for the school, just double checking the giving tree so we don’t duplicate anything. We will announce the Jan/Feb winner at the next meeting.
Website: Karen DelSignore - everything seems to be going well. It is clear that people seem to have preferred the paper version, but we are saving money and the environment and we are starting to see a lot more traffic on the site.
Reading Activities: Kathy Dykstra – Superhero party was a lot of fun. The 5th grade fun night will be February 26. $3 per person, it is a sports theme and Mrs. Matteo and Mr. T are setting it all up.
AMF: Remember this is something you can all do for your grade levels. All you have to do is come up with an idea and run with it. Movie nights, Guitar hero nights, Rockband whatever you want!
Membership: Donna Bernardon – still shooting for higher numbers this year, if you know someone who is not a member, please encourage them. (See attached)
Giving Tree: Wendy Weisse – We are working on getting the requests on to the website for those parents who don’t make it into the building during the year.
Spring Egg Hunt: Nothing on this even just yet. Should have a date by the March meeting.
School Apparel: Sue Bruno – We are looking for other opportunities to have a cash and carry sale of the school clothing. Some ideas include: 5th grade fun night, Bingo, Tricky Tray.
Q: Why could we not have a school store?
A: There is no where to have it in the school, we have no open classrooms and we also do not have anyone to man the shop. These are higher ticket items that parents might not like having their kids walk around with that much money in their pockets either. We might be able to do something with taking orders and maybe the student council could get involved. You should talk to Sherri Pietrzak and then go back to Ms. Morales with the idea.
CPM: We would need to have a faculty member in charge and then someone would have to give up a closet.
Q: We could also have some spirit items and things to build school pride and loyalty.
Michele A: I will get some more info for the next meeting.
Q: Every year the PTA donates $ to the kids, why not invest in a storage unit to house all the 8th grade dance and drama props to be used in the future and save some $ down the road? Or even better, what is in the containers in the back?
A: The old furniture is in the containers. We have to hold on to it until someone identifies a school that needs them. That is a state responsibility.
Announcement: 2/23 is the Jump Rope for Heart program after school in the gym for 3-8th grades
2/26 is the 5th grade fun night
3/18 will be the Square dance
April meeting will be moved to 4/13 due to school break
Motion to adjourn until March 8, 2010 at 7:30pm
Motion to adjourn: Joy G.
2nd: Michele A.
Meeting is adjourned until 3/8/2010
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Respectfully submitted but not approved 3/4/2010
