PTO Executive Board Meeting - Branchburg PTO

Minutes of the PTO Executive Board Meeting
January 6,
2010
Meeting
called to order by Lisa Middleton at 7:30pm.
ATTENDANCE:
Lisa Middleton, President Gail Murphy, Past President
Alice Fahy‐Elwood, 1
Request
st VP Helen Schuler, Rec. Sec.
Patricia Rodgers, Treasu rer
Laurie Hauser, Sr. Fund
Amy Pacini, Jr. Fund Req ues t Toni Gooding, Pub. Sec.
Michele Cross, Sr. BCM S
Jamie Kebart, Jr. BCMS
Cathy Palmieri, Sr. SB
Virginia Chiesa, Jr. SB
Nancy
Douglas, Jr. OY
Kate Zaleski, Sr. WES
Gina Cocivera‐Wright, Jr. WES
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVES:
WES: Ms. Becky Gensel, Principle, Mrs. MaryAnn Bryden and Mrs.
Pauline Carl, Faculty Reps.
OY: Mr. Matt Barbosa, Principle; Ms. Lauren Klein, Faculty Rep.
SB: Ms. Heather Mastroserio, Faculty Rep.
BCMS: Mr. Bill Feldman, Principle,
Ms. Angel Vorwick, Faculty Rep.
BOE: Mrs. Trish Santos
Superintendent:
Mr. Ken Knops
Director
of Curriculum: Ms. Karen Conant
President’s Report ­ Presented by Lisa Middleton
Lisa welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for coming. The Kindergarten Registration for the
2010 – 2011 school year will take place on February 2nd and 3rd from 9:30 to 11:00 and again from 1:30 to
3:00.
Lisa asked anyone available to sit at the PTO table to answer questions and distribute information to
parents
to please contact her by email ASAP.
Recording Secretary Report ­ Presented by Helen Schuler
Minutes from the October Executive Board Meeting were distributed via email by Helen Schuler prior to the
meeting and reviewed. There were no changes. A motion was made by Michele Cross to accept the minutes,
which was seconded by Alice Elwood. All were in favor. There was a large volume of correspondence from
all of the schools which was circulated for all to review. The December minutes will be completed this month
and distributed via email prior to the February meeting. Helen asked that everyone please email their notes
from the meeting to her to ensure accuracy in the minutes each month. Please email them to Helen Schuler
a t hrschuler@comcast.net.
Thank you!
First Vice President’s Report –Presented by Alice Fahy­Elwood
Alice reported that an abundance of plates and napkins are still being stored at her home. All chairpersons
should check with her before buying paper products for future events. The number of cups are dwindling so
they may need to be bought but please contact Alice prior to making purchases.

Second Vice President’s Report– Elise Sorge
In
Elise’s absence, Lisa mentioned that the final membership information was being worked on and the
numbers
would be available in the near future.
Treasurer's Report – Patricia Rodgers
We had budgeted an income of $33,500 for this year, to date we have earned $40,000. This amount will
be reduced when we purchase year end gifts but we’re off to a good start. Please continue to think of
ways to increase the PTO income and send your ideas to Lisa.
Publicity Secretary's Report –
Articles should be forwarded to Toni Gooding by January 15 th for the February newsletter. The next
newsletter will be sparse because there are not many activities going on right now. Our Facebook is set up
any we currently have 81 members. Please continue to spread the news that the PTO has a Facebook page
and we are also in the process of setting up a website. Further details are at the end of our report.
Notice Secretary’s Report ­ Wendy Kotlar
Please
email any flyers to Wendy going forward that need to be posted on the Website. She will seek the
proper
approval from the Superintendent. Wendy and Lisa will maintain the Facebook page for PTO.
Fund Distribution Committee ­ Presented by
Laurie Hauser
The
following events/funding were approved:
• Rock Roots Program at Old York School in January 2010
• Odyssey Experience for BCMS 6 th grade students in April 2010
Board of Education Report – Presented by Trish Santos
Katherine Attwood has been approved by the Board of Education as our new Business Administrator.
She
will begin February 1, 2010. The current budget is being worked on and will be presented at an
upcoming
meeting.
Superintendent Report ­ Ken Knops
Mr. Knops reminded the board of the upcoming Parent presentation on Bullying, Cyber Bullying and
Youth
Depression which will be held at BCMS on January 20th
at 7:30. The students had seen this
assembly in December and were greatly moved by the speaker’s story.
Mr. Knops also mentioned how upset our entire school district was in reaction to the bomb and assault
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threat that occurred in December at the Bridgewater/Raritan High School. He will seek approval for the
Honeywell Alert System as part of an Emergency Response Plan that can notify parents in the event of
emergency situations in the School District. He would also like to bring about change in the way schools
practice
their fire drills. More information will be provided as solutions are found to improve these
emergency
practices.
Instruction Report – Karen Conant
Ms.
Conant was only able to quickly present an overview of Phase III of integrating the State BOE Adoption of
Language Arts Literacy and Mathematics.
The Professional Development Plans are in order and being implemented.
We are continuing to revise the curriculum to meet the New Jersey Standard requirements.
Details of all ongoing curriculum updates can be located on the District Website.
BCMS­ Presented by Angela Vorwick
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School Reports
• The BCMS instrumental and vocal music programs had a chance to showcase their talents at our winter
concerts in December. Both programs received great reviews from the audiences that attended.
• The student council organized a successful winter dance in December. The Valentine’s dance is
scheduled for February 5 th . The student council is organizing a talent show scheduled for the end
of March.
• On December 11, the Peer Leader organization from Somerville H.S. visited our school and spoke to
each grade level separately on issues related to peer pressure and dangerous behavior. The high school
students role played skits and had students participate in activities as ways to convey information.
• On January 20, Mr. Halligan will be addressing parents on cyber bullying. The presentation will take
place in the main gym at 7PM.
• The PTO will be sponsoring games night for the 6 th grade students on January 22
• The boys and girls basketball teams both are off to good starts. They played 6 games so far and the girls
lost 1 and the boys lost 2.
• CMS-TV
airs from 5-6 PM, Monday through Wednesday on cablevision channel 14. I would like to
show
a sample of the most recent program that is on Wednesdays.
Mr.
Feldman presented a 10 minute segment from the CMS‐TV broadcast .
Stony Brook School – Presented by Heather Mastroserio

Thank You:
• A very special thank you to the PTO for the homeroom gifts! The teachers and students enjoyed playing
their new games! (share thank you cards)
• Thank you to the homeroom parents for their help with the holiday parties. The students expressed that
they really enjoyed the activities, crafts, games, treats, etc.
Stony Brook Happenings:
• On December 11 th , the Raritan Valley Community College Dance Troupe presented an assembly where
they performed and taught the students about various forms of dance.
• Mrs. and Miss Palermo were very proud that the Stony Brook choir and band students put together a
great winter concert on December 15 th .
• This week, the 5 th grade students are going on field trips to Buehler Science Center. The t-shirts that
they made were designed by each homeroom with their own mission patch. Mrs. Burke taught the
students several lessons about space missions and mission patches in preparation for this trip. On the
field trip, students participate in a simulation of a mission to the moon. The students are given specific
roles and spend half their time in mission control and the other half in the space shuttle. The students
will get a second opportunity to wear their shirts when they hold press conferences with the 4 th grade
classes and share information about their roles and their missions. The teachers and students really
enjoy this project and appreciate that the PTO provides the funds for the t-shirts! (share t-shirt that has
all 6 patches on it)
Upcoming Events:
• Winter Intramurals will begin on January 12 th .
• D.A.R.E. graduation will be held sometime at the end of January, more information will be coming from
the D.A.R.E. officers.
• The 4 th grade classes are going to Liberty Science Center on January 14 th .
• Mr. Altmire will be hosting a Principal’s Coffee on January 20 th , and Mr. Randy Casey will be speaking
to the parents.
• On January 26 th , we are having an assembly about the environment.
• 5 th grade Games Night will be on January 29 th .
• The last day of the 2 nd marking period is February 1 st .
Old York ­Presented by Laurie Klein
Thank You!
• Students and faculty would like to thank you for the classroom gifts. They have already been put to great
use with the cold weather!
• Old York teachers would like to thank you for your generous contributions to the PTO book fair. With
your donations we were able to add great books to our classroom libraries.
News
• Miss Ferranti was recognized as one of Magic 98.3’s Teacher Who Makes Magic. As the students
entered in the morning they listened to 98.3 as an essay written about her was read. Congratulations to
Miss Ferranti!
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• Students attended a Mercado Day Assembly led by Senora Goodfriend. 5 th grade students had the
opportunity to participate in an actual Mercado (Spanish Market).
• The Old York School Council, which consists of 4 th and 5 th grade students, held a bake sale in
December. The student council plans on polling the student body to decide what their profits will go
towards. The students were in charge of advertising, baking, and selling the goods. They did a fantastic
job in all areas.
• Students also attended the Winter Band and Chorus concert. The 4 th and 5 th grade participants did a
wonderful job performing and the audience had a great time listening and tapping along to the music. At
the end of the concert, Miss Palermo led the whole school in a sing-along which was very much
enjoyed.
Upcoming Events
• On 1/20 all grades will be attending the Rock Roots Assembly. This assembly teaches students about the
early roots of Rock and Roll.
• Third Grade students will be going to Raritan Valley Community College on 1/22 to see “Click, Clack,
Moo.”
Whiton – Presented by Pauline Carl
When Whiton staff thought about this PTO meeting there was a flood of emails, with appreciation to be
conveyed from the various grade levels.
• For PRE-k Mrs. Lunemann mentions “boas, crowns, top hats and food” the children just loved, and
in the case of the boas, crowns and top hats still do love.
• Mrs. Harwood for Preschool mentions that yesterday, with their first grade visitors from Mrs.
Eelman and Mrs. Shilling’s class, they used the games that were donated. “They especially enjoyed
the cookie toss and Beddy-Bye Baby game. The games were such a big hit that the information
spilled over into news the Preschool told in the library.”
• Mrs. Roman, Mrs. Apsley and Mrs. DeSapio represent Kindergarten, with Mrs. Roman writing
“thank them for the holiday gifts – we really appreciate them every year!” Mrs. Apsley wants you to
know “the children were so excited with the PTO gifts and loved the markers and games…They
were just thrilled. Please thank all…for their generous gifts.” Mrs. DeSapio added, “Please let them
know that I and my classes always appreciate all the help at the book fair, plus the gifts of the
wonderful books… to enhance the classroom library. We also… thank everyone for our holiday
gifts, will be very much used by all.”
First and second grade staff send their thanks for another reason.
• Mrs. Abey expresses feelings of first grade staff, saying they “appreciate these games and things during
the cold indoor recess days.”
• Mrs. Blauvelt, Ms. Forrestall and Mrs. Marvin also want you to know how thankful second grade
students and staff are for the holiday class gift. Ms. Forrestall reports, “The children have been playing
Jenga nonstop during inside recess!”
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Ms. Gensel notes that “All the students were delighted with the delicious treats provided by the homeroom
parents. A huge thank you goes to all of the coordinators who made sure each class had a treat. We also offer
our heartfelt thank-you to Gina and Kate for their hard work with the pancake breakfast, delivering treats, and
wrapping all the gifts for the classroom. Better “Santa’s” could not have been found!”
At the Library Mrs. DePaolo and Mrs. Carl were delighted by the December news of your generous gift. It will
enable the Library to provide for more grade level needs as well as some student interest needs. One example is
that the Whiton Library collection is being reevaluated because the increased enrollment in Pre classes is
requiring new and additional materials for the Pre staff and students.
On a different note, Mr. Gottshalk and Mrs. Kolbe report that “our 2 nd graders are now over 400 miles total in
the Walking Club.” In 2009, second graders walked 397 and one half miles. Staff walked 197 miles. The plan
is to pass 1000 miles by school year’s end.
Old Business:
Web Host for the PTO ‐ Toni Gooding researched the options the PTO could use to help us establish a
website. She sent out the information to all the board members prior to our meeting. There was a short
discussion on the necessity of the site which was favored by the majority to allow the PTO to post quicker
with more freedom of content. Becky Gensel motioned for us to set up the website through a company
called Blue Host for $83.40 and Cathy Palmieri seconded the motion. The PTO will need to amend the By‐
Laws and job description of the Web Secretary’s position to maintain the website in the future.
New Business: 1. Coordinated events coming up at each of the schools, please see school websites for details.
2. Sixth grade games night is January 22nd
and Fifth grade games night is January 29th at BCMS.
3. Scholastic Book Fair – Laurie reported that we made our budgeted number in the fall but was
suggesting that we consider incorporating it into the WES Snuggle Up and Read program in
February to draw a greater number of families to purchase books while at the event.
4. Spirit Wear was opening up their website for a short period of time in January to allow the sale
of additional sports clothing at BCMS.
Lisa
Middleton adjourned the meeting at 8:50pm. Patty Rodgers motioned the adjournment, which was
seconded by Toni Gooding.
Minutes recorded by:
Helen Schuler, Recording Secretary
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