CATONSVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PTA MEETING – November 1, 2007

Attendance:  Dawn Aul, Terry Bock, Eric Costello, Ed Doll, Bernadine Eads, Debbie Herrera, Becky Jankowski, Phillip Juengst, Mary Kalb, May McGowan, Linda Miller, Sabrina N’Diaye, Melissa O’Brien, Lisa O’Keefe, David Sattler, Bhek Simmons, Elizabeth thor Straten, Mary Weiss, Beverly Willis & Susan Younts.

David Sattler, PTA President, called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.

Minutes to Last Meeting:

• Approved
  
   

Treasurer’s Report:

·         Nothing to report

Administrator Report:

• Ms. Moore will be on medical leave.  She is expecting twins at the end of this month and will be on bed rest until the birth.  Ms. Barbara Davis will be returning to help fill in until Ms.  Moore is back from maternity leave.
• Dr. Rodriguez, his assistant Lisa Sampson and Debbie Zahn from the Office of Mathematics came to visit the school.  During his visit, they were able to interact with a representative teacher from each grade level and discuss various school issues.  They were pleased with all of the efforts of our staff.
• The School Improvement team will meet on Nov 12 at 3:30pm in the library.  So far, 7 parents and several teachers will represent the school to talk about the school needs, thoughts for next year.
• Please note that the cafeteria staff will not be able to heat up food for the students.
• If you need to have your child dismissed from school early, please do not rely on an email to the teacher.  Sometimes the teachers cannot access their emails until the end of the day or they may not be working that day and substitutes are not able to access personal emails.  Please follow up with a written note as well.

 Teacher Liaison Report (shared by Ms McGowan and Ms Kaufman):

• Sarah Sattler will be organizing the next Panera Bread fundraiser.
• Forms for reimbursement from the PTA for teacher’s expenses are available from Debbie Herrera.  She will also email Ms McGowan the form for distribution.
• American Education Week begins November 12.  Grades 4 and 5 will host parents on Monday, the PreK and Kindergartners will host parents on Tuesday.  Grades 1 and 3 will have Wednesday and parents of the 2^nd graders will be expected on Thursday.  Anyone not able to attend on their scheduled day is invited to stop by any day of the week.
• November 19^th is parent-teacher conference day.  There will be no school for students on this day.

School Happenings:

• The Fall Festival went smoothly.  We went slightly over budget due to the increased prices of pumpkins this year.  282 tickets were sold for the event.
• Our Fall Fundraisers has been completed.  The PTA made $5006.90 and earned $500 in free books.  Congratulations to Brianna Gmeinwieser (Ms Lloyd’s class) for being the top seller.  Brianna sold over $750 of merchandise.  Ms. Powell’s class had the most students selling.  The merchandise is expected to be delivered around December 4^th. 
• Kids Stuff books were distributed.  The PTA made $1,350 from this fundraiser.  There are still around 20 outstanding books.  If you have not returned your book and/or your money, please do so immediately.  Those books aren’t free for the taking.  Also please don’t pull out coupons from the book unless you are planning to purchase it!
• Fall Cleanup committee worked diligently on October 13^th to improve our yard.  A new bench replaced the one that was falling apart while the bench around the tree near the parking lot was stained and varnished.  Volunteers will be needed for the spring clean up (date to be determined) as Ed Doll has lots more planned!  Please come out and enjoy the sunshine and make some new friends. 
• Spiritwear was handed out.  Additional order forms will be sent back around as there were lots of interested parties who missed out the first time.  A selection of the spiritwear is on display in the school’s office for your viewing.
• The Scholastic Book Fair will be from November 12 – 16^th.  Family night will be Wednesday, November 14^th.
• The Hospitality Committee is looking for volunteers to donate food items for the American Education Week/Scholastic Book Fair. 
• The PTA has a total of 137 members this year.  There is still time to turn in your membership dues and hang out with the cool kids at the PTA meetings!
• The school directory is ready to be printed.  Look for it in your child’s Thursday folder soon.
• The Bull Roast is scheduled for Friday, November 16^th.  All had a great time last year and the team of Brian Lewis and Ed Doll have more fun in store for us this year.  Buy your tickets early before they sell out!  Tickets will be $35 each or a table of 10 for $325.
• The Talent Show is looking for a date on the calendar.  They are shooting for early May.
• Bernadine Eads will be hosting the Spring Fair this year on May 10^th.  A beautiful day, tons of races and games along with lots of crafts and food left everyone smiling last year.  I’m sure that it will be just as much fun this year!
• Staph Infections are on the rise throughout the nation.  CES has trained all staff to deal with this in the event and Ms Miller wants everyone to know that every precaution is being taken.  Hand sanitizer is filled by the custodial staff on an as needed basis.
• Reflections flyers will be sent out in next Thursday’s folder.
• Anyone looking for a good time?  The Baltimore Opera gives out free tickets to students (parent must also attend) for dress rehearsals.  They will be doing Madam Butterfly in the spring. 
• The PTA would like to look into several suggested school improvements.  Suggestions so far include paving the parking lot and getting a new sign in the front of the school.  Anyone with other suggestions, please attend the next PTA meeting and voice your opinion!

 Meeting adjourned at 8:12 p.m.  Next PTA meeting will be Thursday, December 6, 2007.

Meeting minutes are submitted by Dawn Aul, PTA recording secretary.