TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: March 2019

/in /by

Takoma Park Elementary School (TPES)

PTA Meeting

Tuesday, March 5, 2019. 7-8pm

 

7pm: Welcome: Upcoming Events and Announcements, Lia Salza Goldstein)

 

Lia previewed the following upcoming events for everyone’s calendars.

March 22: Kids Adventures Summer Camp Kick Off @PBES 6.30-8.30pm
Parents vs Kids soccer game, crafts, face painting, food.

March 28: STEM night, 6.30-8pm. A great family night out, please attend.

April 2: PTA meeting featuring another great PEP workshop – Understanding Friendship and Bullying that has been designed for the TPES age group

April 17-22: Spring break, no school (enjoy!)

May 2-3: Kindergarten orientation – no school for current Kindergarteners.
(Note: Kids Adventures will only be open for current KA attendees on these days).

May 5: TkPk5k – family friendly road race that benefits your health and our school. More details below and www.tkpk5k.com .

June 5: Due to snow days this will no longer a professional development day but will now be a regular school day.

June 12: 2nd grade promotion ceremony (more details to follow)

June 14: Due to snow days this is now the last day of the current school year.

 

Treasurer’s Report, Erin Kelley

Fairly quiet month for the accounts, Erin noted:

  • Cash flow looks to be down $10,000. We are waiting for reimbursement for the STEM grant (which funded robotics materials and recent assemblies). Reimbursement from the State can take up to 6 weeks, paperwork has been submitted.
  • Membership dues are a little lower than expected due to lower than expected membership rates this year.
  • The book fair was extremely successful and raised over $12,000 of materials that will be going back to our classrooms and Media Center. On the accounts, book fair figures are represented as an expense and an income because the school is reimbursed in books rather than money. Thanks to Shivani Sutton and Kate Ivcevich for leading the fair, to all the volunteers and to everyone who participated – a great event and fundraiser for the school.

 

 

Readathon Update, Sara Lewis

The readathon is now underway and will run through March 28.

Please remind your child to record their minutes and to keep the calendar in the folder – crucial it is there on Friday mornings.

Each Friday will be a dress-up day to make it fun along with prizes and certificates for participating kids. More details and reminders will be in dolphin folders.

Some questions already raised:

  • If my child doesn’t have a sponsor should they still participate?
    Yes! It’s not just about fundraising, it’s most importantly about encouraging kids to read – focus is on the minutes and not the money. Kids are earning leaves, certificates etc for minutes and not for money!
  • Do you need more volunteers?
    Yes, especially for Fridays. Mornings (10am-11.30am) and Afternoon (2.30pm – 3.45pm). If you have flexibility and would be willing to volunteer then please get in touch (serowe@gmail.com)
  • When do you need sponsorship pledges to come in?
    The deadline for submitting pledges is 12 April.

 

After School Clubs (Lia, for Virginia Davis)

The next session opened at 7pm on March 5. You can now sign up online for the next session of enrichment clubs after school.

Following a successful campaign to get the word out about our scholarship program, we now have a big need for more. If you are signing up your child please consider adding a donation for a scholarship too.

 

Run Club (Sasha Johnson and Sarah VanWye, TPES reps for TKPK5K)

The Takoma Park 5k  will be held on May 5. Registration is now open! Scholarships are available for the race, if you know anyone who would benefit please reach out to Sasha or Sarah.

A 4 week training programme for TPES kids will begin next month on Thursday mornings at 8.30am (from April 4). The run club is free for kids and the PTA’s wellnesss committee will be providing free healthy snacks. The club’s goal is to help TPES students prepare for the race, work on movement goals and have some fun! The run club could use a few more volunteers, even if just for 1 or 2 sessions.

March 19 – please eat at Mark’s Kitchen that day, a portion of proceeds will go to TkPk5K funds that night and those funds come back to Takoma Park schools.

 

 

 

Safe Routes to School and the TKPK5K
(Lucy Neher, Special Projects Coordinator, City of Takoma Park)

Lucy briefed the meeting on Safe Routes to School, TKPK5k and special projects.

Infrastructure

We are committed to making Takoma Park a walkable and bike-able city. Recent / upcoming initiatives include:

  • A pop-up bike lane on Maple Ave later this year
  • The old wooden stairs behind TPES down to the community center have been removed and will be replaced by trees/shrubs
  • Additional bike racks and sidewalk building
  • Redoing school zone signage for consistent and fresh look.

In May we will be applying for a grant to put a sidewalk on Chestnut and Hodges and a raised crosswalk at Hodges / Holly. There is strong neighbourhood support.

Programming

Safe Routes to School has a range of regular programming:

  • Walk to school day (will be October 9 this year). 5 Takoma Park schools participate, builds enthusiasm and safety knowledge about walking to school.
  • Pedestrian safety exercise with Kindergarten classes
  • Bike rodeo at PBES with 4th Bikes and an obstacle course, focus is on learning to ride safely (not how to ride!)
  • TKPK5K (5 May). Started in 2009 with 350 people, grown to 1500 runners. Nearly every year it has given $5000 to the PTAs of each of the 5 schools – city keeps none of the money – schools spend funds on wellbeing activities run by the PTA wellbeing committees. Lots of local business support, so please say thank you to those businesses!
  • Bike to school day (May 8)
  • Camp (I Can Shine) – teaches bike riding to 30 students (aged 8-13) with disabilities. The camp runs over a week with a host of volunteers.

More details https://takomaparkmd.gov/initiatives/safe-routes-to-school/ .

Additional Business: Health and Wellness Committee, TPES PTA

The two people Chairs of this successful, well-funded committee are stepping down. The committee has had a significant positive effect on TPES. If you are interested for next year please get in touch with Lia.

Additional Business: Grants, Tracey Mathias

Tracey, one of primary authors of the STEM grant, briefed the meeting about the grant purchases (robots for 1st and 2nd graders; 2 special assemblies for Kindergarteners facilitated by the Blair robotics team). There will be an exhibition at STEM night.

The meeting agreed TPES/PTA will maintain the robotics purchases/replace broken pieces. TPES will also maintain our relationship with the Blair robotics team next year. Dr Gadsen suggested Tracey work with PBES on the grant this year instead. This will bring the same benefits to PBES students and enable TPES students to continue their robotics journey when they move to PBES. Thank you to Tracey for her hard work in obtaining the grant!

TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: February 2019

/in /by

Takoma Park Elementary School (TPES)

PTA Meeting

Tuesday, February 5, 2019. 6.45-8pm

 

7pm: Welcome: Upcoming Events and Announcements, Lia Salza Goldstein)

Lia previewed the following upcoming events for everyone’s calendars.

Friday Feb 1 – Friday Feb 8: Scholastic Book Fair

Monday Feb 18: Presidents Day – no school

Tuesday March 5: PTA Meeting, Healthy Kids

Tuesday April 2: PTA Meeting, PEP: Understanding Friendship and Bullying

 

7.05pm: TPES PTA Treasurer’s Report, Erin Kelley (Treasurer)

No significant highlights for this month but Erin noted:

  • Dolphin Drive income was higher than forecast – thanks to all who donated
  • We’ve had 236 members join the PTA this year which is lower than expected – there is still time to join!
  • After-school club scholarships were all covered for the Winter period but it looks likely we will need more for the Spring session.
  • We are still waiting for reimbursement of the $10,000 grant for STEM – Erin is chasing this and expects it shortly. Thanks again to Tracey Mathias for her work!

 

TPES/PBES Basketball Game, Mark Ivcevich (Basketball Game, Chair)

This year’s game will be on Thursday May 16 from 6 – 8pm and will be held at Takoma Academy (8120 Carroll Ave).

There are lots of opportunities to volunteer, get involved and sign-up to play. Please keep an eye out on the PTA listserv and look out for information coming home in dolphin folders.

Readathon Update, Sara Lewis (Readathon Co-Chair)

This will be our 6th year of the readathon. Not only does it get our kids inspired and excited to read, it is our biggest fundraiser of the year with $17,000 raised last year. We hope to raise a similar amount this year but we encourage all children to participate even if they aren’t collecting sponsorships.

The readathon runs March 4–29 with special events including a kick-off assembly.

We are still looking for volunteers in 3 main areas:

  • Work that can be done at home – includes creating achievement certificates, creating leaves / trees with kids names on them and inooutting minutes read into a database
  • Friday mornings at school – tallying up minutes from the children’s readathon sheets
  • Friday afternoons at school – handing out prizes to all our readers.

Clubs and Enrichment, Shana Sabbath (Equity Committee Chair)

Following a successful campaign to get the word out about our scholarship program, we now have a big need for more. The PTA provides a number of scholarships and the vendor provides one scholarship per filled club too, but we usually have more need than that. In the past the PTA has been able to meet all requests but having expanded our outreach this year, demand is up so we need to find more funding.

Additional donations would be very welcome. You will also be able to add a scholarship donation when you sign your child up for a club, please consider doing so if you are able.

 

A to Z Connect School Directory, Tim Gronniger (Parent Volunteer)

In response to many parents requests for a school directory Tim has been working on creating a TPES Directory in the A to Z Connect app. The app contains 520 TPES student records. If you asked not to be included in the school directory then your information will not be there. You can download the app from the iOSapp store or Google Play (search for ‘AtoZ Connect’, when you first log in you will be asked to validate your information. Once you’ve done that you will be able to look up contact information for children in your child’s class(es). Tim would welcome any feedback. Lia passed on the PTA’s thanks to Tim for picking up such a big and important piece of work.

 

Volunteer Update: Exec Team 2019-2020, Sarah Corcoran (Volunteer Coordinator)

Lucy briefed the meeting on Safe Routes to School, TKPK5k and special projects.

We are committed to making Takoma Park a walkable and bike-able city. Recent / upcoming initiatives include:

  • A pop-up bike lane on Maple Ave later this year
  • The old wooden stairs behind TPES down to the community center have been removed and will be replaced by trees/shrubs

 

7.30pm: Literacy Presentation, Ms Ard-Gales (TPES Assistant Principal)

Ms Ard-Gales delivered a comprehensive presentation covering literacy and an overview of the reading program at TPES, before answering questions from PTA meeting attendees. A copy of the presentation is attached.

TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: January 2019

/in /by

Takoma Park Elementary School PTA

Meeting Minutes, January 8, 2019, 7-8 pm, APR

Attendance: 36

 

Welcome and Upcoming Events: Lia Salza, President

  • Saturday, January 12: MCPS/MCCPTA Mental Health and Wellness Forum, 1-5pm, Wood Middle School, Rockville. There will be programs on bullying, mental health first aid, etc.
  • Monday, January 21: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – no school
  • Friday, January 25: early release
  • Monday, January 28: Professional Day – no school
  • February 1-8: Scholastic Book Fair
  • Tuesday, February 5: PTA Meeting – Literacy
  • Monday, February 18: President’s Day – no school
  • March – Read-a-Thon!

 

Updates:

TPES Treasurer’s Report: Erin Kelley, Treasurer

  • Everything is on track with fundraisers and expenditures; we’re looking forward to the Read-a-Thon, which is the largest fundraiser of the year.
  • Announcement of grants:
    • Shana Sabbath wrote an application for the PTA and received a grant from the Takoma Foundation. The grant will support equity initiatives at TPES and the Young Scholars program.
    • Tracee Matthias wrote an application for a STEM grant that secured $10k for a variety of STEM programs at TPES, including a new fleet of Lego robots.
    • Both of these grants were identified and spearheaded by parents committed to these important areas of school support and improvement. Have ideas? Let’s talk!
  • Question regarding Politics&Prose fundraiser: we currently don’t have a parent volunteer to run this (and other similar) fundraisers – if you’re interested, please contact Sarah Corcoran (volunteer coordinator).

 

TPES Clubs/Enrichment Update: Virginia Davis, Clubs Coordinator, and Shana Sabbath, Equity Chair

  • Enrollment is now closed for the winter TPES club session. Ten scholarships were provided (an increase in the number being requested, which is great).
  • If you have ideas for clubs, please email them to tpesclubs@gmail.com

 

Book Fair Update: Kate Ivcevich and Shivani Sutton, Book Fair Chairs

  • The TPES Scholastic Book Fair will take place from February 1-8, both during the day and in the evenings (late hours on Tuesday and Thursday). Dave Burbank from the TP Library and authors will be leading activities in the evenings.
  • Kids will get to visit the fair early in the week and make wish lists; it’s also possible to send money (cash, credit cards, checks, e-wallet) with them, so they can purchase while at school
  • Teachers will have wish lists available for those interested to make donations.
  • This “fundraiser” doesn’t bring cash into the school, it provides the media center and classrooms with new books, and is a significant source of classroom materials for the school.
  • 90-minute sign-up opportunities will be available on the TPES PTA website soon; more information about the book fair, opportunities to assist, and ways of sending money with your kids will come home soon.

 

Read-a-Thon:

  • The Read-a-Thon is the PTA’s largest fundraiser of the year, and is a lot of fun.
  • Begins in early March (Dr. Seuss’ birthday) and lasts for the entire month.
  • It encourages kids to read or be read to by tracking and sponsoring minutes read. Have kids ask grandparents/aunts/uncles to sponsor them.
  • We need a chair (ideally 2 people) to coordinate the effort – which includes helping with a school assembly,  overseeing the weekly gathering of charts and data, making there is a binder of materials, and you will receive lots of support from the school and other parents. Are you interested? Even a little? Please contact Lia Salza (President) or Sarah Corcoran (volunteer coordinator).

 

Announcements from Dr. Gadsden

  • Snow is coming! Be sure to check all available resources to make sure you get accurate updates on school closures, delays, and early closures.
  • The playground is up and running, and the kids all approve! Thanks to all of the parent volunteers who helped to make that happen.

Adjourn

Summer Camp Fair

Participating programs: Nature Lab, Lowell School, Takoma Rec Center, Little Loft, Glen Echo Park, Barrie School, The Y Silver Spring, Girl Scouts, Roda Movement, Flag Star Football, Montgomery Parks: Totally Tennis, Takoma Sports, Takoma Park Child Development Center, The Evergreen School

TPES/PBES Meeting Minutes: November 2018

/in /by

TPES/PBES PTA Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, November 13 2018, 6..45-8.30pm

 

Attendees: 58

 

Welcome: Lia Goldstein, TPES PTA President
Lia welcomed parents from TPES and PBES to our first joint PTA meeting of the school year before providing details of upcoming school and PTA events including:

–        Tuesday December 4: TPES International Night
A family event held at TPES from 7-9pm featuring a dance performance and international pot luck. Families are strongly encouraged to attend this event..

–        Wednesday December 12: PBES December PTA Meeting

 

TPES Updates, Treasurer’s Report: Erin Kelley, TPES PTA Treasurer
No significant changes to the budget since the last PTA meeting. Erin highlighted:

–        Dolphin Drive, one of the PTA’s big fundraisers of the year, was getting close to its goal of $7500. Families were encouraged to donate prior to Thanksgiving if able and to reach out to extended family (e.g. grandparents) to ask for contributions.

–        PTA Membership is close to target but more members would be welcome. Attendees are encouraged to join (details on PTA website) if they are not already members.

–       The PTA’s cash balance remains robust thanks to amount of money coming into the school via donations and PTA events – thank you to everyone in the school community who is part of that.

TPES Updates, Dolphin Drive: Whitney Phend, TPES PTA Fundraising Lead
Whitney explained there are 2 major PTA fundraisers each year: the Dolphin Drive in the fall and the Readathon in Spring time. There had been at least one school fundraiser, not run by the PTA, earlier this year but no further school fundraisers were planned.
The Dolphin Drive was close to reaching target already. Attendees were reminded that donations can be made online – including on your phone – via the PTA website.

TPES Updates, Volunteer Needs: Lia Goldstein, TPES PTA President
There is always a need for more volunteers – specific opportunities are advertised on the PTA listserv and the PTA website, check it out!

Current volunteer needs/opportunities include:

–        Atrium watering volunteers

–        Lunchtime/recess volunteers

–        Volunteers to help with registration for school clubs at dismissal time

–       Upcoming spring events

TPES Updates, Membership: Erin Kelley, TPES PTA Treasurer
Membership fee income is close to our annual $5,000 goal already this year but new members are always encouraged – the more memberships we have, the more money in the PTA funds to support our school.
PTA memberships start from $12 for a standard member.
Each membership includes a mandatory $1 to the Country and $4.25 to the State, the remainder goes directly to the TPES PTA to support our programs.

PBES Update: Frex Azcarate, PBES PTA President
Fred introduced Cynthia Greenberg, Assistant Principal PBES. Ms Greenberg apologised that Ms Oberdorf, the new Principal of PBES, was unable to attend this evening due to a family bereavement. Ms Greenberg provided some additional updates:

–        PBES gym floor has a pervasive water leak which is restricting Physical Education to one half of the gym. A temporary repair will be carried out in late November/early December with a big, hopefully final, repair in the summer break.

–        The new Counselling team and new staff were settling in well.

–        The new music teacher is introducing a new PBES tradition – a musical!

–        Parent-teacher conferences were already underway and the school year is off to a great start!

PBES Updates, Call to 2nd Grade parents: Dalia Hochman
As a new PBES parent and former TPES parent, Dalia shared her experience that PTA involvement at PBES trickles off and she hoped to get 2nd grade parents thinking about getting involved at PBES prior to next year. There are lots of opportunities – big and small- so any parents who want to learn more about PBES, the PTA or start getting involved now should get in touch with Dalia. Dalia has sent an email to the TPES PTA listserv with her contact information.

PBES Updates, Addition: Fred Azcarate, PBES PTA President
The Superintendent’s Capital Improvements Plan included a possible addition (6 classrooms and a few auxiliary rooms) for PBES. There are 4 options, 3 of which would keep the pool and 1 would remove it (there has been lots of advocacy for keeping the pool). The updated Superintendent Plan determined there would be no new elementary school but there would be additions at 4 schools including PBES.
Opening of the new addition is slated for Fall 2021, with the school likely to stay open throughout the construction period. There will be parent engagement in due course, so look out for communications.

8pm: Meeting adjourned for PEP workshop, Power Tools for Power Struggles.

Join the PTA and other TPES families for a summer playdate!

/in /by

We hope everyone is having a great summer! With less than 2 months left until school starts again, we’d love to have TPES families (especially those with students new to the school) join us for one of two SUMMER PLAYDATES at the TPES playground on:
Sunday, July 28 from 10 AM – noon
or
Sunday, August 11 from 2 PM – 4 PM

Come see old friends and meet new ones before the start of the new school year. (And meet some current PTA officers and members, hear more about what the PTA does, and consider joining us!)

While this event is a great chance for rising kindergarteners and families new to TPES to come to the school and meet, all TPES students and families are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Any questions? Contact lauren.k.greenberg@gmail.com