PTA Meeting Minutes, March 1, 2017

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Radha, Treasurer

  • Got $360 from the Christmas Tree Sale
  • $220 on gear sales
  • $4400 Valentine’s Day Dance — great, since we did that without alcohol sales this year
  • Readathon made $3000 so far — that’s really great, and it’s not over yet.
  • We are on target with fundraising so far this year. Auction is coming up — biggest event. Even if you can’t attend, you can bid online.
  • Some of things we’ve spent money on: Capeoira, Robotics competition, computers, chess program for 2nd grade

Ms. Rosa, Principal

  • Officially welcoming Ms. Rosa 2. (Rosa Perez Leonetti) She is coming back to Park Slope after years away. She says: Thank you for the warm welcome, very grateful to be here. Let her know if you need anything for your kids.
  • Lead testing. Lead was found in two places — faucet under sink to fill mop buckets, and sink in one of the K classrooms — not one of the ones used for drinking water. Faucets are flushed every Monday morning at 4am.
  • Immigrants — no one is permitted to walk through the door without guidance from Chancellor’s office. We are ready and willing to set up a system of picking kids up/dropping them off if there is a concern and need for this. We don’t want anyone to fear anyone taking them away — we are open to organizing transportation for kids if that is a concern.
  • Regarding transgender kids — if there are kids who are gender fluid, they can use the bathroom of the gender they identify as.

Nina, PTA President

  • Thank you Rosa for the painting of the stairs, the pictures on the walls, the removal of boxes from the cafeteria. Everything looks great.
  • There is also a new bulletin board for parents near the PTA office for sharing info. On Konstella, there is a digital bulletin board we can use as well.
  • The Valentine’s Day Dance was a success! Thank you to the co-chairs who organized –Michelle Dobson and Scott Hardin and to the teachers who donated expriences to the Teacher Raffle.
  • Our first annual Read-a-thon is wrapping up. The final day was 2/28. Our final Tally Day is March 3rd, so all reading logs and sponsor sheets need to be in before 3/3.
  • Read-a-thon Participation certificates, milestone minute buttons and bookmarks will be distributed Friday. The drawings for gift cards (for all kids who reached those benchmarks 125, 250, 500 & 1000 minutes) will be before the end of next week. Participation at the half point was over fifty percent, which is great for a new event. We’ll announce how much it has fundraised after Tall Day on 3/3. The PTA welcomes feedback on the Read-a-thon for next year, as it is a new event. Merideth Finn, Jessica Miksis & Mimi Stauber recognized for spearheading new event.
  • Our Spring Gala / Silent Auction is fast approaching. It will be on 3/18 at Littlefield art and event space. We still need donations to meet our fundraising goals for this event. We also want to encourage people to buy tickets and attend. PS372 ADMIN, staff & teachers are invited as our special guests and don’t pay to attend. The gala typically raises 1/3 of our annual overall PTA budget.
  • We are doing a morning PTA meeting on 4/26 at the ASD site. All families from both sites are welcome to attend this meeting. That same date, we will do an evening PTA meeting at the ICT site.
  • There will be a plant sale on April 28th. Denise Maher of the garden committee is organizing. Money raised will benefit the school’s garden. There will be sign-up opportunities upcoming.
  • Arts and Science Day will be May 6th. Miss Cathy (Science teacher) is heading this event this year. We need some parent volunteers to step up and help run this event.
  • Or perhaps you are family member with a special skill you’d like to share in an activity for kids on Arts & Science Day? We need family and community members to pitch in to make the event successful.

Yvette, Parent Coordinator

  • There are posters around the school that the kids made for Friendship week. And also an initiative from the Diversity Committee in an anti-bullying education effort. There are Friendship signs in Stairwell B and also the main entrance.
  • School surveys have been sent home. Please fill them out and mail them in or fill them out online. No need to return the paper forms to Yvette – just mail them in or do online.
  • 3/9 is Parent teacher conference day. It’s a half day. Dismissal is at 11:40. There is bus service that day. Please make 3 choices when to see your teachers, so that they can accommodate you. Be aware not to double up on choices if you have multiple students in the school.
  • 3/3 is Family as Learning Partners.
  • The DOE has extended the deadline for Pre-K enrollment to 3/3. If you know of people who are looking at the school for Pre-K, let them know. Also, PS372 has its own application process that needs to be followed.