Cardinal Forest PTA meeting minutes December 12, 2006
Call to OrderThe meeting was called to order at 12:12.
Opening/General announcements Susan Lepley welcomed everyone to our PTA meeting/holiday celebration. She mentioned that the minutes will be posted on the school website in English, Spanish, Korean, and classic Arabic. A summary will also be in the monthly newsletter.
Approval of minutes from October 24, 2006 The minutes were approved.
Principal's Report Welcome everyone and thanks for taking time out of your afternoon to join us. Parents are the core of what makes Cardinal Forest so great. We have a wonderful cadre of parents here who make fantastic, significant contributions to the school. You are all over the school and the core and essence of what makes Cardinal Forest great. Thanks.
We have been receiving business partner inquiries. A Maryland business that operates Burger King restaurants has agreed to become a business partner. We are always looking for connections to help students understand that what they are learning here at school will be used in the business world. Burger King wants to help educate families about nutrition and portion control and exercise.
Recently Ms. Biehl and Mrs. Bassler received a grant from OIWENS Bully Prevention Awareness Program. Last week there were trainers here and they trained a member from every grade level team in our school. From this, we've determined, that our positive outcomes program, with our parent/student support, is ready to dovetail into this program of bully prevention awareness. Here at Cardinal Forest, we qualify bullying as something that happens again and again...not just a one-time thing. It is also awareness of what they are doing or what others are doing, and how to solve it. Bystanders can be given the tools to help come to the aide of a potential victim. The POP committee will meet with the OIWENS Bully Prevention committee and figure out how to dovetail into this. Thank you to Beth Schomber for her participation as the parent liaison. Staff development partially covered the costs of getting substitutes for this program. I am asking that PTA funds make up the difference. After much discussion, it was pointed out that $400 was already budgeted for staff development. We raised plenty of money in the fall fundraiser to add $150 to this line item. The PTA voted on the motion to up the line item of staff development from $400 to $550 and it was approved.
We have received the equivalent of $13,000 worth of obsolete equipment from a donation from the USDA. It is Pentium III type equipment. A bag of RAM boards came in. We now have PC capabilities all the way down to the 2nd grade classrooms and we'll soon add at least 2 first grade classes. We are getting donations of equipment from schools that are upgrading their own systems. Thanks to all who talk up this program. Don't forget that we are still in the recycled computer cartridge business.
Starting in January, two Tuesday's per month the library will be open for parents to come in and learn how to use Blackboard. We are targeting our 5th/6th grade parents because they will need to understand this program when their children go to middle school. We want to smooth the way and help prepare parents and students for this transition.
We now have a site license for the Type to Learn program. Teachers are now being trained. Staring in kindergarten, every student will have his or her own program account. They will be able to progress through the Type to Learn program on an individual basis and the program will follow them each year.
The Strategies Lab will be open in January. Thanks to the PTA, whose generous donations have helped to support this Lab. The Strategies Lab will offer EVERY STUDENT the opportunity to work on a higher level and learn critical thinking skills. Look for a letter about this to go home sometime in January.
For the January meeting, I'd like to invite PTA members to the upstairs lab to see the SOL data using the smart board. The School Plan focuses on math, in particular. We are diligently revising our math teachers' skills to differentiate the level of teaching in math to best meet the needs of our students.
I'd like to end on a sad note. Nancy Mercer will be leaving us. She would like to thank the parents for the support of her program. She was dependent on the parents for the successes of her program. Before she leaves, she has taken the time to train our upper level teachers on how to administer the DRA. She has been promoted to a Vice Principal position at Franconia Elementary School. We are excited for her, but will miss her great teaching skill and dedication. This is a great loss for Cardinal Forest, but a tremendous gain for Franconia Elementary.
Treasurer's Report Robin Skobel announced that the annual audit has been completed. Mr. Barnard volunteered to do the audit and to do our taxes, as well. The PTA voted and the motion was passed to enter the audit into the PTA's financial records for the year. As for our budget…we have taken in lots of money and people have started to spend money. Dues have been paid and everything is balanced out.
Teacher Liaison's ReportsThere were no teacher liaison reports today.
Committee Reports
Bingo This was a good and successful night. Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers. So many parents came to help…even some whose kids graduated from Cardinal Forest! Keene Mill Elementary had their Bingo night on the same night and that explains our lower than expected numbers. The evening was great!
Business Partners This is going great. We have had great interest from many folks. An after school homework club, based on technology, may be on the horizon. SCORE tutoring has called and is interested in having a business partner fellowship. A Baptist Church and Bank of America are also interested. Hopefully, all can get together to benefit our kids and our community.
T-Shirt sales The tye-dye shirts look great and sales went well. We will have one more round of orders for the regular spirit wear. All orders will be due by 12Jan. Shirts should be delivered by mid Feb.
Odyssey of the Mind We had enough students sign up to form 10 teams. Unfortunately, we only had enough parent volunteers to coach 7 teams. In the last month, we have lost three additional coaches. If we cannot find replacement coaches, we will have to disband those teams. Contact Laura Lamoureux 703-569-0482 if you are interested in coaching a team. Thanks
Old Business none
New Business
Fall Fundraiser The fall fundraiser with Lavender west great. They are phenomenal to work with. For the past two years we have made $10,000 profit each year, using this company. If we choose to use them again next year, Lavender is offering an addition 2% profit, if we sign with them by December 31, 2006. Also, Lisa Rabe has offered to chair this again, next year…if we use Lavender. A motion was passed to use Lavender for the 2007 Fall fundraiser. The motion was approved.
Teacher Workshop Funding This was covered in the Principals Report.
4th Grade Fieldtrip Fundraising Can we make a line item in the budget for Colonial Days? The 4th grade would like to recommend that some of the funds raised for the fieldtrip to Jamestown be used to cover the expenses of Colonial Days. There was a motion to amend the budget so that it reflects a 4th grade fundraiser line. This way the 4th grade can use the money as it sees fit. The motion passed.
The next PTA meeting will be Tuesday, 16 January at 7:00 pm.
January PTA Calendar
| January 10 | Principal's Coffee |
| January 12 | Reflections Celebration |
| January 15 | Martin Luther King Jr's Holiday |
| January 16 | PTA Meeting 7pm |
| January 25 and 26 | Teacher Workdays - no school |
This page was updated on Thursday, January 25, 2007