Held in the Library on September 10, 2013
In Attendance:
Terri Voltz
Suzanne Cromer
Sabrina Finkbeiner
Stephanie Griffo
William Crockett
Luisa Price
Paulette Carrieri
Renee Brown
John Sykes
Jeremy Parrish
Lucy Shockley
Mary Ann Wilson
Nick Keith
Maryann Hiscock
Jenna Hiscock
Kim Davis
Karin Evanoff
Meeting called to order @ 6:42pm by Paulette
OLD BUSINESS:
Minutes: Read August Minutes…Lucy asked a question about the “Oracle starting in September/October” She understood from the August meeting the Oracle would start in mid October. Lucy’s question was corrected by Nick to say “mid October”…Motion: Renee 2nd: Lucy All approved 0 opposed motion carried and was officially changed by Paulette.
Budget: Budget approved from the May PTSA meeting…Notes from the Audit Committee for 2012-2013 Budget Review stated that 3 names needed to be on the PTSA Bank Account (right now we have treasurer and president)
Maryann Hiscock is our new treasurer…If monies are needed for reimbursement, then please use the form from last year and submit to Maryann. A third name will be added ASAP. Renee (outgoing treasurer) has given all necessary paperwork to Maryann for a smooth transition.
Membership: Kim Davis said we have 52 parents, 32 teachers, and 47 students as current members. There is a bit of lag time due to Kim and Renee working together. Kim inputs the information into the NC database and Renee handles the membership fees and donations. Right now, donations are in the amount of $406.79. ANY BOARD OR COMMITTEE CHAIR NEEDS TO JOIN PTSA NOW. Also, sign up through the wcpss.net to volunteer with the students….
Membership forms are on our PTSA website. Paulette asked Terri to see if the form for online/paypal information could be updated to include more than their name.
Kim will try to set up a table of the football games for membership and put forms in the library.
Position Profiles: Paulette wanted every committee chair to submit a “Position Profile” for their committee….if you have not done so, please sign up with Paulette tonight to schedule a time for the two of you to work together to have the profiles completed as soon as possible.
Paulette created a new way of sharing information within the roles of the PTSA… She has set up 3 VP positions, VP of Communications (Lucy), VP of Ways and Means (Renee) and VP of Programs (Mary Ann). Standing or special committee chairs need to report to their individual VP instead of everyone on all committees reporting to Paulette. Paulette is not able to handle all the messages she receives in a timely manner; she feels pulled in many directions, and feels she needs to be looking at the whole PTSA, and not trying to fix every single mishap or problem that may arise. Sabrina made a motion to approve of the new structure, Maryann seconded it… 16 approved; 1 opposed (Kim)
Defining PTSA Board, Special and Standing Committees: Paulette wanted to let us know about voting privileges for specific committees…Paulette stated she looked at what committees were year-long commitments (Grounds, Membership) and what were short term commitments (Teacher Grants, Scholarships). We currently have 2 positions open in the Standing Committee Category, one is Corporate Sponsorship and the other is Community Outreach…1 position in the School Improvement Process Team for a sophomore parent…Karin Evanoff wanted to know what the SIP was in relation to the high school. After Mr. Crockett’s and Paulette’s brief descriptions of what the team does, Renee made a motion to nominate Karin Evanoff as the rep and Mary Ann seconded it…all approved…0 opposed….Since the SIP will meet monthly with the school’s other SIP members, discussion incurred as to whether the SIP should be included as standing committee. Majority felt that it should. Paulette said she was unsure because of the unique nature of this committee and because of the voting privileges afforded to standing committee members. Lucy suggested the SIP become 1 vote; instead of 4…which would make our quorum a higher number…Paulette will look at the bylaws and check with NCPTA and report back to the Board..
Special committees do not have voting rights at the PTSA Board Meetings.
NEW BUSINESS:
Volunteer Coordinator: Due to Jennifer Sikes not continuing in her role, we have a new coordinator, Becky Ruth. Hopefully, Becky will soon be able to get the volunteer emails and try to start matching jobs to volunteers.
VP of Ways and Means: Renee has decided to take on this role for this year.
Miscellaneous Comments from President:
- Please respond to emails/phone calls in a timely manner…check email at least 1 a day
- Presented PTSA mission statement that Mary Ann Wilson had previously requested to see
- Passed around a letter from Nathan who was one of our 2013 Scholarship recipients
- Gave us an update of the ticket sales for the yearbook and suggestions about next year’s plan. We received $68.00 in ticket sales….tickets were $1.00/ticket…the winner of the yearbook was drawn and the winner was Nicole Smit.
- Mr. Crockett suggested having raffle tickets available at athletic events…$70.00 is the price of the yearbook…Lucy suggested $2.00 for raffle ticket and an airhead….no motion was made
- A big thank you to Ms. Luna did suggest a couple of dates for selling tickets next year and is willing to work with us to increase sales.
- VIC card information is now on our website….check it out and make sure to link your card.
- Reminder to check PTSA box in the workroom in the office.
- Suggested committee chairs add their pertinent information to the calendar on our website.
Grounds: John Sykes, committee chair for this new position to the PTSA has been in contact with various people to decide the best landscape design from the gym to carpool lane. John has met with Mr. Crockett, Mr. Stallworth, Mr. Parrish and Mr. Ruston (head custodian) for their input on the design ideas by Alison Pockat, a landscape architect. John would like to include a labyrinth and meditation garden which would be an asset for all students. John’s ideas include soil amended, remove dead trees, remove lirope (which is not on the Wake County approved plant list) and mulch. John needs to include only plants which are Wake County approved for beautification.
John has set up a School Beautification Day on Saturday, October 26th 9:00am-1:00pm….needs plenty of volunteers, wheelbarrows, pitchforks, shovels, rakes, etc. John also asked about Hospitality providing water and snacks for the volunteers. He has contacted NC State Fraternity/Pan Hellenic Association for volunteers for 10/26. In the mean time, John will research and apply for grants to fund this newly formed committee.
Karin did mention to John about the following items: talk with Wake Co. Planner-Ryan Klonker; the stadium’s upcoming construction; and Atlantic Mulch maybe able to donate gravel/mulch. Karin stated that John needed to look at the stadium’s plans and not work in the proposed areas.
Paulette mentioned to Nick and Jenna about documenting the process of the beautification…maybe the Oracle and/or the Torch
Special Education Update: Suzanne talked with us about a grant for getting IPADS for the Autistic classroom….the students do not have technology in classrooms…the students do have a their own garden they work on throughout the year….The students have started a car washing business at the school. The teachers coordinate with various teachers to get their cars washed ($20.00)…PTSA members can also have their cars washed for the same price…Students are available to stuff envelopes, if PTSA needs this done. The students also make Jag bows for money; collected $400.00 so far but, would like another project/craft idea to make and sell. Suzanne also suggested the PTSA sponsor a pizza party for the special needs students…criteria would be their GPA, number of volunteers hours, and/or number of goals completed for a specific amount of time. The students would also like to set a time for their classes to go shopping at the Jag Junction School Store….also would appreciate any older spirit wear items for purchase.
Healthy Schools Grant and Schools of Excellence: Mary Ann mentioned that the $5,000.00 Healthy School Grant, Wake County was not listed. Mary Ann also reported for our PTSA to enroll in the School of Excellence, we would need to look at our PTSA and evaluate our programs/activities/events to see if we are providing educational, arts/cultural exploration, nutrition and safety for our school community.
Update of Leadership Training: Paulette and Lucy talked about their training with the NC PTA…In recruiting volunteers for various positions, our board and committee chairs should reflect our community here at Athens. Mrs. Sabrina Finkbeiner suggested getting in touch with other high schools to see how their PTSA/PTA looks and operates
Upcoming Events: Mr. Crockett reminded us of Open House on 9/17…parents will received a blank schedule for their student’s classes…student will need to complete. Membership and Hospitality will have tables at the Open House. Freshman Coffee: Discuss the tutoring program, homebase by administration and include more question time.
Homebase Update: Mr. Parrish told us the students have been given their log in information…however, parents will be able to access the homebase program at the end of 1st quarter, hopefully:)
Future Business:
- Terri will offer website training to any interested parties…just let her know
- Training for the Conflict of Code and Ethics will need to be addressed at the October meeting
- Will need to rewrite Standing Rules-by October 8th….VP will need to meet with individual chairs
Meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm