PTA January Meeting minutes 1/9/20

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PTA General Meeting Minutes

January 9, 2020

Ms. Yvette (on behalf of Ms. Rosa)

  • All of the classes on the 3rd floor got new doors.
  • If parents are in the school building during a drill, please follow the protocol. Teachers will take students, please follow their lead.
  • Seussical (5th-grade musical) will be on February 12 at 6th p.m. Please come see it, free of charge, students will see it during two daytime performances
  • Enrichment – began on Monday so please let teachers know what days your children are in enrichment and what class they are taking.
  • Parents as Reading Partners is tomorrow Friday 1/9 after drop off.
  • PreK parents don’t forget to sign up online for Kindergarten by January 21.
  • Siblings – please let us know if you have younger children that will be applying for The Children’s School next year as a new student.
  • 5th-grade parents who have a child applying for Mark Twain – Yvette sent out info about auditions. If you have any problems please call the Twain directly.
  • Busing has started to improve a bit from the beginning of the year.

Movie Night

  • Admission is free.
  • This event will be on Friday, January 10. 
  • The movie is Garfield. Rated PG.
  • A parent is donating the pizza from Brooklyn Pizza Market
  • There will be a 50/50 raffle. There will also be popcorn, lemonade, etc. for sale like last year. 
  • Yard and dance room will both be closed. At the last school event in the gym, some drums in the dance room got damaged and so the room cannot be available for use. 
  • Students will be asked to take the Star Pledge, and parents will be reminded that this is not a drop-off event. 
  • We still need volunteers to sell concessions.

Book Swap

  • It will take place Friday, January 10 from 6-7:30 on stage in the gym, as part of Movie Night.
  • We still need volunteers!
  • The swap will be accepting school-age books in good condition only. 
  • Limit 10 books per family.
  • Second Chance charity will take extra books; the teachers and librarians will be able to take leftover books as well.

Readathon

  • Raised about $17,000 last year. 20% of the money goes directly to the school library to buy new books. Packets will come home in backpacks last week of January with instructions regarding how to participate. 
  • All reading counts! Reading to children, reading with children, spending time with books, homework reading, reading on a Kindle, audible books, etc.
  • You do not have to donate money to this event, participation earns kids prizes.
  • Takes place for the entire month of February.
  • Badges given for numbers of minutes read.
  • Certificate for all participants.
  • Kids helping the school too
    • Ask sponsors to donate for minutes read
  • Community Bookstore is our partner in this project.
  • Class with most participation in every grade gets bookmarks.
  • Classes that reach 100% participation get a pizza party.
  • Looking for a new event co-chair.
  • First committee meeting is on Friday 1/17 after drop off in the cafeteria

5th Grade Musical – Seussical

  • Kids have been working hard learning lines and songs for new musical 
  • Open to all PS 372 families
  • Free tickets
  • Combines efforts from our Theatre, Dance, and Music teachers
  • Fun show, come support our kids
  • February 12 @ 6:00 PM
  • All students will see the show for free during two performances during the day for lower and upper grades

Auction & Party News

  • Friday 3/27 at Littlefield, a save-the-date will come out end of January
  • Join the committee and get involved in the fun!
  • Volunteers Still Needed for:
    • Planning the party, decorations, & promotions
    • Soliciting Donations & Sponsorships
    • Picking up Donations in Your Neighborhood 
    • Working on Bidding for Good for Auction items
  • Ticket prices are reduced this year! Early bird $35, regular $45. Teacher and staff free. Spouses of teacher/staff $35. 
  • Insa will be doing food.
  • Theme is “Out of this World” – Space!
  • Online auction will begin on 3/20 online. You can participate through that even if you don’t come to the event through Bidding For Good.
  • Get your babysitters now! Adult-only event.

Treasurer Report

  • Three major fundraisers each year –
    • Pizza Friday is one of the biggest fundraisers for the school
    • Session 2 starts in February (we have already raised $38,000 this year, and target for the year is $62,000)
    • Annual Appeal – Major Fundraiser – letters went home in December – please help! We have raised $8,000 so far and the yearly goal is $35,000. Please donate! Fundraising is ongoing and you can do it online.
    • Auction & Party – Early Spring, adults-only party – join the fun & support the school
  • Small fundraisers continue throughout the year:
    • Shopping online through our programs, like Amazon Smile
    • Readathon, Gear sales, PTA Fun Run, etc.
  • The PTA has decided not to charge admission to many events (Movie Nights, Roots & Community, Arts & Science Day, and more) to broaden community involvement.

Funding Votes

  • Air Conditioners – We did it! Work will be starting during February Break, and continue during breaks since DOE does not allow work to be done during school hours. The money we raised will purchase three air conditioners plus all electrical components and window guards. The other three units will be put in at a later date.
  • Performing Arts needs microphone headsets for Seussical and future productions. Have to replace older, non-working units.
    • Need to hear 12 kids with solos, currently only have 4 working sets
    • Parent is lending us belt units, antennas, and base stations this year
    • We need to buy 8 headsets, which will work with other units in the future
    • Will cost $700 to buy 8 headsets to equip all 12 kids who have leading roles
  • Performing Arts wants to give the cast of Seussical souvenir shirts with logo and cast names on shirts. Estimated cost $300 for shirts plus setup & shipping. 
  • Approved ASD Dance mirrors 2 years ago, but cost increased, need $466.32 extra.

Voting

The following items were voted on at this meeting:

  1. Buy headsets for theatre program ($700): A parent is donating the rest of the equipment needed for this year. APPROVED
  2. Souvenir t-shirts for Seussical cast ($300): APPROVED
  3. Dance mirrors for ASD site: ($466) APPROVED

Diversity Committee 

  • Needs new members. 
  • Diversity Committee works with Ms. Rosa on recruitment and outreach to get families from neighborhoods like Red Hook and Sunset Park to know about our school. 
  • The school has actually gotten less diverse over the past several years and we have a goal to be more diverse on all fronts. 
  • Email is diversitycommittee@ps372.org. Meets once a month.

Thank Yous

  • Tatum & Adam Strum – Roots & Community organizers
  • Jessica Miksis & Book Fair Committee 
  • Marion Liang for organizing Lice Day – not glamorous, but important!
  • 3rd Grade Parents – Bake Sale during Winterfest
  • Katy Crile – Book Swap organizer – extra books will be donated to charity
  • Jaclyn LaRosa & Stephanie DeVito – Pizza Friday Co-Chairs
  • Yvette for her continued support of the PTA and events between both sites
  • Parent Volunteers – Without you, none of these events would be possible!

PTA Volunteer Opportunities

We need you! Please let us know if you would like to help at any of these events. We rely on volunteers to make all of our events take place:

  • Pizza Fridays – every Friday – sign up on Konstella
    • Sign up to help hand out pizza, both early & late shifts available.
  • Movie Night & Book Swap – Friday, Jan. 10th 6 pm 
    • Need book swappers & food salespeople
  • Readathon – Committee meets January 17th – 8:30 am in Cafeteria
    • Need helpers to organize and tally the minutes at the middle and end of month
  • Valentine’s Day Dance – February 8th – Saturday in Gym 5 – 8 pm
    • Help with setup and decorations, especially loading net for balloon drop!
  • Auction & Party – March 27th – Friday evening at Littlefields 
    • Help with donations, decorations, and Bidding for Good

Number of attendees: 28

Submitted by Mimi Stauber-Levy