Oct. P.T.A. Meeting Minutes

The P.T.A. held its monthly meeting Oct. 10 in the ICT cafeteria.

Wellness Committee Update

The Wellness Committee is currently focusing on:

  • Outdoor time for kids (we are talking to Ms. Rosa about the option of the younger children working with Forest School, and/or partnering with community garden)
  • Nutrition – we are doing monthly celebrations now for birthdays so that there aren’t as many sweets
  • Mindfulness and yoga for The Children’s School 
  • Nutrition
  • Screen time and use in classrooms – looking at policy and seeing how it’s being monitored in schools
  • Parent workshops (e.g. relaxation techniques for kids)
  • Wellness sessions for teachers (e.g. Tai Chi)
  • The Annual Wellness Fair will be on May 16
  • Committee meets once a month, email Madeline Sullivan with questions or ideas

Update from Ms. Rosa

  • Screen time memo has been shared with teachers; no movies to be shown in classrooms; teachers will be monitoring amount of screen time used for instruction. Administration is promoting the idea of not using the screen as a reinforcer in the classroom.
  • Monthly birthday celebrations in classrooms are a change for 1-5th, and PreK and K will continue as usual
  • Teacher workshops in Tai Chi and Meditation will continue
  • We apologize for the bussing issues our community has been experiencing (buses not coming or breaking down). Please let the school administration know what is happening if you are having bussing issues; parents should file a complaint through the OPT hotline; please let the office know if bus was a no-show so that your child is not marked late
  • The school day ends at 3:10 p.m. All children who have not been picked up on time will be moved to the gym. (We understand the challenges of parents who have two pickups at different locations). After 3:26pm your child will be moved to After School and families will be charged a fee.
  • Thank you to those who have been valeting kids in the morning and not parking on sidewalks. Parking on the sidewalk causes a safety hazard for our school community.

School Safety Update

Types of drills and/or events:

  • Evacuation – alarm is pulled and children leave the building and go to designated areas
  • Shelter in – something is happening outside; building is locked and no one is allowed to enter or leave; children will continue learning in classrooms
  • Lock downs – children have to hide, be out of sight, lights off and quiet. This means there is a threat inside the building. There is a key in every classroom easily accessible for all teachers to lock their doors from the inside.
    • Hard lockdown = everyone needs to be hiding; there is an immediate threat. Police department is only one that can lift the lockdown.
    • Soft lockdown = the school responds and adults search/look through building.
  • All communication about drills and events is done over PA system in school
  • Communication to children around safety is done through slideshows and lessons provided by the district. There are different videos for different age groups, exploring such questions as:
    • What does safety mean to you? 
    • What are the ways we keep ourselves safe in everyday life?
    • What is a fire drill?
  • School does not talk about shooting or guns; the language that the school uses is “we are practicing staying safe in case there is an emergency at school”
  • For kids who have sensory needs we have headphones in classrooms ready to go, as the new alarms are very loud.
  • In winter children will not go outside without winter coats for drills; in the event of a real emergency, there will not be time to gather coats
  • There are adults at every checkpoint to guide children through all evacuation drills
  • Generally a fire drill has been taking 35 seconds – 1 minute to get everyone out of the building
  • Kids who are in a bathroom are directed to go to the nearest classroom and find the nearest adult, unless it is a lockdown and then they are told to stay in the bathroom and hide, and lock doors from the inside.
  • There are 4 lockdown and 8 fire (evacuation) drills per year.
  • PS 32 is our primary evacuation site (Hoyt between President and Union). 
  • PS 321 on 7th Avenue is secondary evacuation site.
  • In the event of a real emergency, parents cannot be contacted until school is told they are allowed to contact parents.
  • Make sure you are on Konstella for updates
  • Sign up for Notify NYC 311.gov to receive the fastest information about these events

Emergency Contact Cards (blue cards)

  • Please fill out your card online if you haven’t yet
  • All parents will be notified if they didn’t fill it out

Parent Update (Ms. Yvette)

  • October 15 is the first day for first graders to begin walking upstairs to their classrooms unaccompanied by a parent or family member
  • Families as Math Partners is on Friday Nov 1. Parents must sign in at 512 Carroll St.
  • Middle School Info session – Oct 16 at 8:45 a.m. Fourth and fifth grade parents are welcome. We will go over all information regarding the District 15 Middle School application process at this meeting.
  • Thursday Nov 7 @ 8:45 a.m. will be a middle school Parent Panel with parents who went through middle school application process last year. Current fourth and fifth grade parents will be able to hear from these parents about their experiences and ask questions.
  • Character Day is October 28th; this is when teachers and students will dress as their favorite characters from the books. No masks or weapons allowed in school. This is not a Halloween celebration.

Pizza Friday

  • Begins Friday Oct. 11
  • If you haven’t sent in form or paid please do so ASAP
  • You can pay online at inclusions.org
  • If you do not want your child to get pizza please notify PTA (many children are not signed up but ask for pizza anyway)
  • There are sponsorships available for families in need
  • You may pay for fall session or both fall and spring.
  • Please place separate orders for multiple children
  • Volunteers are needed especially for 2nd shift.
  • Pizza Friday is only for K-5th (no Pre-K)

Visiting Author Event

  • Author Katie Yamasaki is coming to visit K and 1st grade on October 25.
  • Order forms went home in backpacks and are due Friday Oct. 11 for books signed by the author
  • For more information about Katie and her work, visit http://katieyamasaki.com/work/

Picture Day

  • Stomping Ground will be used again for school photos
  • Picture Day will be on Oct. 30 for Carroll St. location and Oct. 31 for Adelphi St.
  • Retakes and Sibling Photo Day is Dec. 13 at Carroll St.
  • We need volunteers on these days to wrangle kids and classes. There will be two shifts; watch for signups on Konstella

Nets Game

  • December 8th @ 3:00 p.m.
  • PS 372 will be seated together and there are two sections to choose from: Section 31 at $140/seat & Section 217 at $50/seat. This is a fundraiser for the P.T.A.
  • Kids will be able to do a high-five with players at halftime
  • All Nets ticket sales will be done online this year. To buy your tickets, please visit: netsgroups.com/ps372

Treasurer Report

  • It has been a smooth transition for our new Treasurers
  • Pizza Friday is one of the biggest fundraisers for the school
    • Still collecting money
    • Updates next month on how well we’re tracking our expectations
  • Please submit reimbursement receipts promptly so we can track expenses throughout the year and budget properly for future expenses

Thank-yous

  • We had a VERY busy day on Friday, October 4th!
    • Costume/Clothing Swap – Katy Crile
    • Movie Night – Kathleen Conner
    • Lice Day – Marion Liang
  • Successful New Families Picnic in September
    • Delicious food and lots of fun!

P.T.A. 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 – first one is October 11 
    • Sign up to help hand out pizza, both early & late shifts available.
  • Book Fair – November 13-14
    • Volunteers will be needed for set up, sales and clean up. 
    • Book fairs are held at both ICT and ASD. All classes get a chance to visit. 
    • Parents can visit during Parent-Teacher conferences
  • Roots & Community – November 23rd — Saturday event
    • School-wide celebration of heritage & community. 
    • Planning committee is forming now. 
    • Need organizers for each country or community represented

Upcoming P.T.A. Events – Mark Your Calendars!

October

  • 10/11      Pizza Friday Begins
  • 10/25      Author Visit – Katie Yamasaki – Grades K & 1
  • 10/28     Character Day 
  • 10/30      Picture Day (ICT site) & 10/31 Picture Day (6:1:1 site)

November

  • 11/1        Parents as Math Partners 
  • 11/13        General PTA Meeting – 8:30am in Cafeteria (Wednesday meeting)
  • 11/13,14    Book Fair (ICT site) & 11/18 Book Fair (6:1:1 site)
  • 11/23        Roots & Community – Saturday, 5:30pm – 8pm

Sign-ups will be on Konstella to volunteer for any of these events!

Number of Attendees: 24