December 2016 General Meeting Minutes

By PresidentOn In Minutes

Helman Elementary PTA

December 2016 General Meeting Minutes

Date, Time, Location: Thursday December 8, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. in the library.

Meeting called to order by Joe Shannon at 6:30 p.m.

Attendance: Michelle Cuddeback, Shane Hunter, Joe Shannon, Mia Driscoll, Amy Merwin, Avril Betoushana, Jessica Bendaw, Camile Siders.

There were 8 in attendance and a quorum was reached. We have no guests.

Minutes: Meeting minutes from 11/10/16 were read and approved with clarifications added.

Old Business:

Giving Snowflake- given by Michelle Cuddeback

  • There has not been a large request for receiving gifts, but there are many requests of families wishing to fulfill the requests. Malinda has a “wait list” of families looking to gift.
  • Michelle will check in with teachers one more time. Malinda and Michelle will contact previous year recipient families to see if they could use further assistance. It can be a sensitive topic.
  • Today, she received some requests from Mia, so the wait list will be notified.
  • Although the deadline for requests has passed, as long as there is sufficient time for gifts to be bought before the Holiday break, those requests will certainly be honored.

Henry the Dragon Costume- given by Avril Betoushana

  • Avril will check in with Farrah on the progress. She is currently working on the interior of the costume. Outer fabric swatches will be considered soon. The deadline for completion is in place.

Matt Damon Fundraiser- given by Michelle Cuddeback and Joe Shannon

  • Michelle spoke with Matt about doing a “Storytelling Night with Matt Damon” where we can sell his books.  He has done storytelling nights at Helman in years past and it would be fun to bring that event back.
  • Mia moves that we hold a free “Storytelling with Matt Damon Night” Fundraiser. Michelle seconds the motion and all are in favor.
  • If Matt is in agreement, it will take place Friday February 24th at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. Mats will be laid out for sitting and children can come wearing pajamas if they’d like. Maybe snacks, NO POPCORN! This snack didn’t work in the past.

First Lego League- given by Michelle Cuddeback

  • Our first team of ten 5th graders is concluding their season and their final competition is this coming Sunday at North Middle School in Grants Pass. It’s an all day competition with three challenges as well as going before a judging panel.
  • The “Problem” project they did was a solar oven, and they went to True South Solar, a local business and learned about solar energy.
  • Kristi Cox and Bridget Bloch went above and beyond in coaching this first team. There was a lot to learn and organize and they did an amazing job!
  • Bridgit Bloch is willing to hold the club until Spring Break, as there are many other projects the students can continue to work on.
  • We will need new volunteers for this club next year.

New Business:

Talent Show-  given by Joe Shannon

  • We need a parent volunteer to run this event. Darcy Fitch and Stacy Poole ran this event last year and would be good resources for event info.
  • Amy Merwin volunteers to help run the event, with the assistance of at least one other person if not a little committee.
  • We brainstormed potential people to approach. Denise Finney, Cara Carlson, any others? Check the volunteer list for this event, that was gathered at the Yahoo/Boohoo coffee event, for volunteers.

Committee Reports:

Treasurer’s Report- given by Shane Hunter

  • Walk-A-Thon donations are still trickling in.
  • State and insurance dues have been paid.
  • Shane needs The Square password and is given Becky’s contact information to obtain it.
  • Purchasing many tee shirts and sweatshirts for the 50th Anniversary.
  • We are half way through the year and not many class room grant monies have been used by the teachers. Michelle shared that some of the teachers are reserving money to augment their field trip budgets towards the end of the year, bills will be coming in. There has been more money spent than what is showing in the report.
  • Shane is also waiting on a receipt to pay out for First Lego League.

5oth Anniversary Committee- given by Joe Shannon

  • This event will take place Wednesday January 25th, as a 9 a.m. assembly for the students. Community members, parents and Helman Alumni will also be invited to the event.
  • Coffee and cake will be served to attending parents and Alumni after the students return to class. Students will be served cake with their classrooms.
  • Event Flyers will be made for handing out to community members, hung around town and possibly put an ad in the Local’s Guide or Sneak Preview? Give the flyer to the Chamber to advertise?
  • Tee/Sweat shirt preorders have been submitted, they haven’t been completed yet, the printer is having computer issues. The order was supposed to arrive before break, as many people are giving the shirts as gifts. Given the delay, we still hope to receive them before the break in about two weeks.
  • Shirts will be available for purchase all throughout next school year.
  • We have a “30th Anniversary” Banner that we could refurbish for the event.
  • Mia moves to create a Budget Line item for up to $300 for the 50th Anniversary Event. Amy seconds the motion and all are in favor.

School Board Committee- given by John Williams

  • Superintendent search is in progress. In about 10 days, the job post will go live.  The board will collect resumes for 1 ½ months. There is a hiring committee and the whole community is invited to participate on things such as resume review and interview team.
  • There are ongoing challenges with high school students and online social media etiquette. There was recently an incident at AHS between a graduated female and a male student involving sexual assault/harassment. The female took her complaint to FB after she felt unsupported by the school. John wished to assure us that the District takes these types of cases very seriously and takes action procedurally based on state and Federal laws and rules for how schools should deal with sexual assault/harassment. One lesson he sees is how the District can communicate better with the school body in incidences like this. Another lesson is to teach our children young about social media etiquette.

Open Items:

  • Avril is in process of completing the School Directory. The only thing left to do is have Malinda print out the pages and then Avril can complete the binding process. Close to 300 books to put together.
  • Classroom Parent Volunteers- Avril is still working on finding parent volunteers for classrooms that still don’t have them. There was a sheet that was created last year as an attempt to assist the teachers and class parents in communicating their needs for this role in the classroom. To the knowledge of the attending group, that info sheet has not been utilized this year.
  • Art Installation Project Proposal- given by Jessica Bendaw
  1. Offered as an idea to bring more opportunities for Art to the school.
  2. This is a proposal for a ‘Legacy Project” art piece created by the student body and would reside permanently on the the school property, a gift to the school and the community, paid for by PTA with possible community materials donations.
  3. Lisa Lord, a Mosaic mirror artist from Bozeman, MT, with 8 years of experience working as an Artist in Residence at Longfellow Elementary in Bozeman, working with students from K-5th grade on large and small scale mosaic projects. She often incorporates current class curriculum into the project.
  4. Lisa cuts all the glass and does the grouting. The students are involved in actual placement of the pieces, creating the art. A Theme for the piece would be agreed on and Lisa would conduct an informational meeting either by school assembly or short individual classroom talks explaining the process and procedures.
  5. We could do a small piece or something as large a wall mural. How many students involved, depends on the size of the project.
  6. Lisa charges $35 per hour (billed only for actually class/student work time) plus the materials fee. The materials fee depends on the size and detail of the piece. Example: a 7 ft. by 5 ft., 3ft. by 5 ft. (2x) 3 wall instillation took her 60 hours to complete.
  7. Mia emphasized the desire to have the entire student body participate, during school hours.
  8. Some questions and further info to gather:

What does a “materials fee” look like for a large wall, more detailed installation?

What is a good size project to enable school wide participation?

How to organize this whole event with minimal impact to classroom time?

  • Money Spending Ideas-
  1. Portable Sound System- on a cart, mic jacks etc. $500
  2. Mural Art Project
  3. Grill
  4. Soundboards
  5. Long term storage solutions, for Mayfair and others
  6. Drum Kit for the Music Room
  7. Art Program

Next Meeting on Thursday January 12th 2017 at 6:30 p.m., in the library

Meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. by Joe Shannon

Minutes compiled by Jessica Bendaw, Recording Secretary