PTA Meeting Notes – 2010-11 School Year
May 10, 2011
The meeting was called to order at 7:33
The slate of officers introduced themselves.
There were 15 PTA members present. The slate was presented: Tea West: president.
VP: 6th Cindy Keeting and Kellie Blake; 7th grade Gaye Danowitz and Tammy King: 8th grade Linda Silversteen and Betsy Palmer; Treasurer: Maureen Dymond; Secretary: Nancy Hull
The ballot was approved as submitted.
Principal’s Report: The new slate of officers was welcomed. There is a parent academy workshop at Rosa Parks tomorrow night. Guide Services is the presenter and the topic is on the teen years. It begins at 7:00 to 8:30.
The career expo is at the end of the week. The students will hear guest speakers in most of their classes. Tom Kiernine from WRC news is the keynote speaker.
MAP R testing is in progress for the 6th grade this week. This test shows growth in reading development as compared to the beginning of the year. The algebra HSA is coming up on May 18th. There will be minor changes to the day for those students who are affected.
The plays and band concerts are next week and the week after. The awards ceremonies are scheduled for the mornings of the last week of May and the first week or June.
The last day of school there will be a carnival for the students. There will be different stations outside of the school (weather permitting) and the grade levels rotate through the stations. There is a need for volunteers to help serve the food. Gina Woodward is the volunteer coordinator for this event.
8th Grade Dance is on June 4th. The decorations are carnival themed. We need 10 people to take down the decorations at Longwood after-prom at 4:30 am on May 22nd. There will be a DJ, time capsule opening and food. There is also a need for help to decorate Rosa Parks for the dance on June 4th.
Treasurer’s Report: The budget was presented.
Dr. Jones thanked the outgoing officers for their service to the PTA and school. She is so grateful for the community’s support for the school. She looks forward to working with the PTA in the coming year.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 by our new president Tea West.
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April 12, 2011
The meeting was called to order at 7:34
Nurse Linda Ralli came to discuss a health forum that is coming up on May 3rd at Farquhar in conjunction with the other feeder school nurse Mrs. Rafferty. The forum is to improve communication between parents and teens. John McCarthy, Robert Roth and Molly Love will be the speakers. The topics will include: risky behaviors and preventing teen pregnancy. There will be refreshments and door prizes. The forum is to be attended with your middle school child. Linda would like for us to spread the word. Child care will be provided for younger children and a Spanish interpreter will be available too. Forms are available for registration or you can call or email the nurse at Lynda_J_Ralli@mcpsmd.org.
Principal’s Report The Dolphin Digest is available on the website. The science MSA’s are currently being completed. Attendance for the MSA’s has been excellent. Quarter 4 is underway and the staff is working hard to ensure the students’ are completing their work. That tends to be a problem this time of year. The dress code is being monitored too.
There are 2 Parent Academies in the community this month and next. April 13 is: Understanding ADHD and the May 11th workshop is: The Teen Years: Effective Parenting Skills. The first will be at Farquhar and the second one is here at Rosa Parks. These workshops are very good.
Fuel Up to Play 60 is a health and fitness initiative to encourage eating well and being active for 60 minutes a day. May 3rd at 1:42 there will be ‘flash mob’ dance that the students will have learned during PE. This is a nationwide event that Rosa Parks will be a part of.
Algebra HSA is on May 18th. Many 8th grade and some 7th grade students will be taking this.
Ginger testified at the county council hearing last week. The council will have their final vote on the budget on May 18th. The hope is that the budget will not be cut further.
The 6th grade VP’s are invited to attend the feeder school PTA meetings to answer any questions the parents may have about middle school. The next meetings are on May 3rd.
8th grade is preparing for the dance. There are many volunteers already available to help with this event. There will also be some of the activities from the after prom party for the students to enjoy.
New Slate of Officers for next year will be going on the list serve. The slate includes: President : Tea West , 8th grade VP: Betsy Palmer and Linda Silverstein 7th grade VP: Tammy King and Gaye Lubell-Danowitz 6th grade VP: Kellie Blake and Cindy Keating Treasurer: Maureen Dymond Secretary: Nancy Hull. We will vote on the slate at our next meeting.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:22
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PTA Notes for March 8, 2011
The meeting was called to order at 7:43
The minutes from the last meeting were approved.
Principal’s Report: The first 2 days have been great. There were only a few absences. The pep rally was well received by the staff, students and visitors. Tammy and Roni’s help with the sound was greatly appreciated. The energy of the dance line was amazing. The Poms and the Step Team initiated routines for the Pep Rally. The routines were great.
Interim reports are coming out soon. They are available on edline. If you are active on edline it will appear in the account. If you’re account is inactive you will receive a mailed interim report. The date for this is March 11th.
Black History Month celebration was February 23rd. Students read poems, raps, speeches etc. There was tremendous support for the event.
The summer school classes are budget dependent. There may be cut backs rather than elimination of programs. Last summer RPMS partnered with FMS to offer both reading and math programs. The reading program is for remediation. However, the math programs offered are both acceleration and remediation.
Orientation is also budget dependent. The allocations for the above programs will be coming out soon. Look for flyers which will come out to help the school gauge interest.
Beautification Day is March 19th. Mark Glaudemanns is in charge of this event. Dr. Jones will help publicize the Olney Mill clean up day that is scheduled for the same day.
Career Expo is coming May 6th. Parents come to present in classes about their careers. The school tries to match people with the subject area. They still need more volunteers. The form is on the website.
Staffing for next year is based on the projected enrollment: class size will increase by 1 and there will be some involuntary transfers. There may be some additions to the allocations in May. The projection for next year’s enrollment is 880.
Mr. Brubaker will be filling in for Mrs. Swan while she is on maternity leave.
A letter will go on the web in the next few days after the county website is updated.
The Hershey Park trip field trip notes are out. Chaperones are needed for this event.
The school will be beginning a program to help motivate the kids to eat healthy and get active. A Redskin will be coming to the school to kick this off. The details will follow.
The community muffins which were provided on the half day were greatly appreciated by the staff.
Treasurer’s Report: There was a question about the spirit wear budget item which will be discussed with the treasurer who wasn’t present this evening.
The question was raised: what happens if the money doesn’t get spent? Those monies are rolled over to the following year.
Nominating Committee: The needs: secretary, president, treasurer, 2 6th grade VPs. This election will take place in May. We need to present the slate at next month’s meeting. Please let Michele know if you are able to help with the nominations or if you know of anyone who may be interested in serving on the board.
New Business:
Box Tops are rolling along. Rosa Parks received checks totaling over $400! There is a box top sweepstakes on the box top website during the month of March. The school can win $5000 if we win the sweepstakes. Clip the tops and send them in. The box top club is meeting and having a great time helping to clip and count the tops.
There is a resolution from the Montgomery County Council of PTA’s supporting in state tuition for undocumented students who meet certain requirements. We can either support this resolution or choose to remain silent. Quorum was established, 8 voted against, 2 abstained, 0 for supporting the resolution.
Rosa Parks was able to continue funding the after school activities when rec extra was discontinued. Ginger will advocate for this program at the next county council meeting. Ginger will advocate for the after school programs that serve children who are not affluent or who will otherwise go home to an empty house. Dr. Jones asked that she advocate for the cuts to the middle school counselors as a safety net for the most at-risk kids.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:05
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October 12, 2010
The meeting was called to order at 7:35
Principal’s report: The Dolphin Digest was sent out electronically via Edline. You may request a mailed copy. Each grade level has an update regarding curriculum. The calendar is at the back of the digest. The clubs are beginning and the activity buses are running too.
There has been a 6th grade dance as well as the first dance of the year. Attendance was down—probably due to Sherwood’s homecoming. SGA will be selling entertainment coupon books later in October. Each child will bring home 1 book. Send it back if you don’t want it. Denise Talley is the SGA sponsor. Red ribbon week is the last week in October to promote staying alcohol and drug free. October 29 will be costume day—with lots of guidelines regarding appropriate costumes. There is an afterschool chorus program that will hopefully generate interest in Chorus classes.
Vendors have been sending out information regarding Back to School Kits that can be a service for families. An interest poll is being developed to determine the need.
The school nurse, Linda Riley, would like to present information from Caron (a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center) as well as plan a walk for diabetes in the spring.
MSA testing is scheduled for the beginning of March.
There is a need for someone to supervise the students who are practicing for the Talent show. This occurs in the spring.
- Final budget: The budget was passed out to all who attended the meeting.
- Membership: We have approximately 300 member families. The directory may be ready for distribution the first week in November.
- 6th grade VP position Gaye Lubell-Danowitz has volunteered to be the 2nd vp for the 6th grade. She was voted in unanimously.
- Book fair shop ‘til you drop night: it will be the Tuesday of book fair week. This is also the week of Hanukah, so the shopping night will be earlier in the week than usual—November 30th. An Arts Night tied in with the Spring concert is being planned for later in the year. This is a way to promote the arts.
- Funding new incentive program: Dolphin Dollars asked for funding from the PTA. The staff would like to raffle prizes every quarter. The students earn dolphin dollars for displaying one of the 4 core values. We will allocate $200 for the program and revisit the issue later.
- 8th grade Hershey Park trip—no new information, we are waiting to hear from the teachers. No chaperones are usually used. The staff supervises the students.
- Outdoor ed: supplies are needed—paper towels etc. There will be a parent meeting regarding outdoor ed on the second Tuesday, November 9th. A packet will be coming home from the school.
- Fundraising efforts for cameras: We are looking for corporate donors for the money to get the cameras fully funded. We need about $2000 more.
- Box Tops: there is a plastic container in each classroom to collect box tops. Have your student put the tops in the box in their TAP class. The goal is to raise $2000—which has been done before! There will be an incentive for the class that collects the most. Donuts before winter break and another incentive in Spring.
- MCCPTA: there are 2 resolutions regarding where to cut the budget. You are encouraged to vote November 2nd. If the ambulance fee doesn’t get approved, the money that would have come from the fees would need to be found elsewhere. The rec- extra programs may be cut as well as other recreational department programs.
- The REC-extra after-school coordinator discussed the elimination of the program due to a reallocation of fees. These programs keep the middle school students in a safe environment to socialize and develop various skills. A memo was passed out outlining the ambulance fee issue. The bottom line is we don’t pay the fee—the insurance companies pay. No bills are ever sent to residents. If the ambulance fee is voted down—the county will lose 12-14 million dollars in funding.
- Feb. 10, 2011 at Farquhar Middle School—the entire board of education will be at the school for a meet and greet. The agenda will be developed in the coming months. This happens every 5 years for the cluster. We will not have this opportunity again for another 5 years. Michelle brought up meeting before the December meeting and discussing common middle school concerns. Ginger and Michelle will meet prior to this to discuss the top 4-5 concerns.
- Career Expo—next year in May. We are in need of speakers to rotate through the classes. Angie Ryder is organizing this and beginning early!
- The NAACP representative needs funding for refreshments for different events throughout the year. December 1st Blair HS invites all to come out for a toy drive.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:51
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