December 2022 Meeting Minutes

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Takoma Park Elementary School (TPES)

Parent & Teacher Association Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, December 6, 2022 from 7-8pm on Zoom 

1. Key dates and announcements (see additional details at end of minutes): 

2. LGBTQ+ Inclusion and Support with MCPS Instructional Specialist Yael Astor from MCPS Office of School Support & Well-Being

  • Info re anti bias and antiracist lens/support coming through language arts curriculum at TPES and PBES
  • Using books to cultivate LGBTQ+ affirming spaces – reviewed books available to MoCo teachers featuring LGBTQ+ affirming identity; often the characters’ LGBTQ+ identity is incidental rather than central to the plot
  • Goal is to normalize representation and conversations featuring LGBTQ+ / nonbinary gender expression
  • Presented topics/questions to help continue the conversation at home
  • If children want to opt out of the books, caregivers can speak to child’s teacher and an alternative text will be provided 
    • TPES Dr. Gadsden reports working to normalizing LGBTQ+ stance; working with the children re using gender-specific + gender-neutral bathrooms
    • PBES Ms Oberdorff & Mr Weerts noted that the kids are pushing the conversation about LGBTQ+ support/inclusion – an additional gender-neutral bathroom has been put into the school. Explored how PBES staff are talking to children to support how they identify themselves and how the school can best support them. Rainbow club is having lunch bunches with staff
    • HOW TO GET INVOLVED: Rainbow Club – contact Jon Frederick or Britt Peterson co-chairs of Rainbow Club at RainbowClubTKPK@gmail.com or MoCo virtual Rainbow Club: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EilYbFeV4Mq7lzsPzPiycO2gmT-Ve-cB/view?usp=share_link

3. Thank you to volunteers! TPES and PBES PTA Volunteer Hall of Fame https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ucSOV9NXPnYnnFvkZIKfwYi50KMEnQUtqCarVSSIVJc/edit  

4. TPES Dolphin Drive with Diana Hickey van Houwelingen – About 81% of dolphin drive goal reached, still accepting donations via check or online

5. PBES Panther Appeal with Emma Cheusse surpassed goal and got to $11K+

6. Presentation and Q&A with Children National Medical Center re trifecta of COVID, Flu and RSV and what your family can do to stay as healthy as possible with Stephanie Evers, RN, MPH, Nurse Administrator, School Health Services, Montgomery County 

    • Flu season started earlier and with more cases this year; seeing a rise post-Thanksgiving
    • RSV, flu and Covid; all viruses, spread mostly by droplets. 
    • How to Protect:
      • Teach kids to sneeze / cough into their elbow
      • Keep hands off of your T-zone on your face
      • Keep social distance of six feet when possible
      • Get kids the flu shot 
      • Keep kids home when sick
      • Medical attention sought if signs of dehydration; fever lasting for more than 4-5 days, if signs/sxs of cough don’t improve or get worse, comorbidity with other dx

7. Treasurer’s Reports with TPES PTA Treasurer review of fundraising, membership and spending, teacher scholarships

8. Next meeting: Jan 3, 7pm on Zoom with Mr. Bledsoe and Ms Bozell regarding the reading curriculum and switch to structured literacy.

______________________________________________

List of Upcoming Dates and Announcements

Upcoming Dates/events: 

  • December 7th: virtual Family Financial Fun Night. It is a 20-minute online activity to learn about saving and making good financial decisions that can lead to wonderful discussions with your children about this important topic. Complete the survey at the end of the program and be entered to win one of five $50 Amazon gift cards! You may access the program HERE. See flyer attached in email from Kaitlin Caruso. 
  • December 9th: Little Scholars After School Scholarship Sign-Up Deadline – PBES families who need assistance with tuition for an afterschool club may use this link to sign up for a scholarship.  Little Scholars will then send a code to register for a club so please watch for that code after registering. Please contact Nicole Brown with any questions:  nbrown@littlescholarsllc.com. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScwDpRCICVOh4DgeaHUwDM4dPRbWO5wGihSlGawF6TWSbVrDQ/closedform. 
  • December 12-22:  Little Scholars Registration will be open for After School Clubs that will run from January through March 2023. https://www.littlescholarsllc.com/at/piney-branch/.  If you are able, please donate to support club scholarships at this link: https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com/packet/1082. 
  • By December 14th: TPES Holiday Gift Drive. We are looking for families to (anonymously) adopt a fellow TPES family and generously provide a gift for each of their children.You will be given the gender and age of each child. Each gift should be individually wrapped with a post-it that indicates the age and gender of the child for whom it is intended. Families range in size from one child to five children. If you are interested, please email Kaitlin Caruso (kaitlin.h.caruso@gmail.com) and if you have a preference for family size, please let me know. Gifts will need to be ready to be picked up from your front porch or brought to school by Wednesday, December 14th.
  • December 23-Jan 2: TPES and PBES closed for holidays 
  • Tues, January 3: PTA meeting with Mr. Bledsoe and Ms Bozell regarding the reading curriculum and switch to structured literacy.
  • Mon, January 16: TPES and PBES closed for Martin Luther King Jr/ Day of Service  
  • Fri, January 27: TPES and PBES closed for professional day for teachers/end of quarter grading 
  • Feb 13-17: TPES Book Fair

Announcements and Opportunities:

  • TPES Jolly raffle: Ms Paz has organized a raffle of tokens of gratitude and love, simple gestures and/or acts of kindness at least once or twice a week during the next few months. Consider donating anything from a gift card, “IOU” coupons, treats, etc. Please contact Ms Paz directly. 
  • Holiday gifts for TPES teachers/ staff: room parents will be organizing during month of December 
  • Snack donations for both TPES and PBES to be distributed to teachers and counselors to ensure all kids have access. Nut-free, healthy options requested. Delivery options: please drop off at the main office between 8:30 am-4:30 pm, or order for direct delivery to the school.
  • School Meals Applications due ASAP – free federal meals have ended. All families must either complete the application for Free or Reduced School meals from MCPS or deposit funds to pay for your child’s meals at school.

Deposit funds in your child’s “MySchoolBucks” account – link 

Apply for Free and Reduced Meals at School – link

No child will be turned away – PBES and TPES will ensure every child who requests food receives it, but applications are needed so no debt is accrued. The PTA equity teams are also seeking to support families during this time – please donate to the PBES PTA and TPES PTA and to Tommy’s Pantry to help fill gaps and ensure food access for all in our community. 

Reminder for all volunteers: MCPS Volunteer Training and support guide – please complete this before you are scheduled to volunteer: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URJRNYdUyyL0ghVzZ32xLqPmkE7IwUvcRF2qid89ojA/preview


October 2022 Meeting Minutes

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TPES/PBES October PTA Meeting

Tuesday, October 11, 2022
7:00 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://mcpsmd.zoom.us/j/86551173734?pwd=dmxHVDB6ZnBWOGpObmlxNnQzTHQ4dz09

1. Intro (Margaret)

We’ll discuss social emotional learning curriculum. There will be a breakout room to jump into volunteer training with Dr. Gadsden. Tomorrow is Walk to School day. Tomorrow evening there will be a joint fiesta at Piney Branch. Thursday the 13th there will be a virtual Board of Education Candidates Forum that is sponsored by the League of Women Voters; relevant to anyone who votes for at-large or district candidates.

2. Piney Branch Garden (Robin Hernandez)

Crossroads community food network is a nonprofit serving the TKPK and Langley Park communities. Farmers market, community kitchen. Prior to Covid we were cooking in classrooms and going on field trips to the farmers market. During Covid, we held virtual classes and created a school garden with over 500 hours of volunteer work. Crossroads currently maintains the garden with donations, fundraising, grants, and a team of volunteers. Volunteers offer lessons to 5th graders, exploring the garden with all senses, and providing math, science and history lessons. We need volunteers to support our Monday afternoon classes. The garden has existed for 2 seasons. We hope to include more grades in the programing in the future, and are looking for volunteers for an hour on Monday afternoons. We do offer SSL hours for middle and high school students on half days and no school days. We have done family days in the past, including Dios de los Muertos. 

3.  Panther Appeal (Mary Kathryn Lee)

Looking to raise at least $5,000. Any donations are welcome. Funds are used to support initiatives like equity, literacy support, supplies, staff teacher appreciation, community events, and enrichments like PTA funded after school scholarships. As part of panther appeal, we thought it would be fun to have a friendly competition between grades. We will track participation and amount between grades. Grades could win a fun dance party, or a visit from PB&J. Look for matching donations. Still looking for a few volunteers. 

4.  Treasurer Reports (Kate and Stephen)

Kate says for Piney Branch the income side things look good. It’s the 2nd or 3rd year we haven’t had to ask for membership dues. For fundraising we’re also off to a good start. On the programming side we spent a sizable amount on club scholarships, we’ve also been funding supplies for teachers’ classrooms. Translation for various events. 

Stephen says the income up to now has mostly been donations and membership signups. Membership dues are $30 for single membership. The rest have been donations associated with membership signups. Fundraising will increase after dolphin drive. Expense side is bigger because several expenses were rolled over in summer months. Atrium project Lunch and Learn, helping out with different activities like field day, end of year celebrations. We haven’t spent that much yet this school year. In September we helped teachers for classroom setup. 

5.  Piney Branch SEL Curriculum  (Mrs. Oberdorf, Mrs. Johnson)

Social Emotional Learning at PBES. Karen Johnson is the counselor for 3rd and 5th grade. Mrs. Oberdorf says Ms. Coco-Content had her baby yesterday and everyone is well. 

Counselors do monthly lessons in the classroom. First lesson we did this month was to meet the counselor, in November common sense lessons-3rd grade responsibly, 5th grade bullying. Other lessons include unsafe touch, internet safety, kindness, empathy, problem-solving, careers, self-regulation. We consult with teachers when they have concerns. Since covid, we haven’t run any groups, but when we do the groups are about friendship management. We also are there for crisis response, suicide. We do case management for 504 plans for students. We work closely with the Pupil Personnel Worker, Ms. Wilson, and we also coordinate with her for any students who need additional support of basic needs. School backpacks filled with supplies, coat, gloves. Work with her so parents have access. Member of the student wellbeing team. Teacher referral – teacher may have a concern about students attendance.. Monitor and outreach. Bring about support for that student. 

Mental health awareness week is moved to next week. We will be having several announcements. On Monday we will have a MCPS message and community circle. On Wednesday mediation activities. Thursday students will create care cards in class. Will include a self care tip to share with a friend or family member. Friday will salute the week and encourage students to wear their favorite hats to school.

Mrs. Oberdorf says we also have additional support from MCPS. We’ve been assigned a parent community coordinator. We also have a social worker, Alana Tipton, as well as Tariq Harris who is an instructional specialist in the Department of Student Engagement. We also have a lot of school wide programming. We always start with hello week, to combat social isolations. On Unity day, we wear orange as part of an anti-bullying national initiative. We do a Kindness Pledge every morning on the morning announcements. PB Jelly has a Mailbox, where students write notes recording acts of kindness for peers and staff. Those notes get posted on a bulletin board for recognizing respect and kindness. In addition, we have restorative practices. We talk about our core values. The student wellbeing team addressing needs to students. We are initiating the Leader in Me Classroom for more consistency in the classroom. This is the 1st year of implementation. This summer all of our teachers attended 2 full days of training. For the 1st quarter, we will have 2 major actions. The first is an implementation of lessons so we can start using common language to assign classroom roles. Have a common language in the school to describe how the students are contributing to the classroom community. 

6.  TPES Volunteer Training (Dr. Gadsden)

Rita Pierson says in order for kids and people to be productive and move forward they need positive relationships. Dr. Gadsden says we need you to volunteer. All schools operate with volunteers, private, parochial, etc. We’ve been given staffing based on the staffing policy, but we need more. Outdoor lunch is not a requirement but a request from parents. We want to support it but it takes all of us. We need extra parental support and involvement for loads of extra activities. We are not fully staffed. We’ve been looking for lunch and recess staff but no one has applied. 

We need outdoor lunch volunteers. Today it was canceled because we only have 1 volunteer. Small group reading volunteers. Junior great books is a program used for kids who need enrichment. They will read “great books” like old stories like Icarus and Little red riding hood with some deep questions. There are opportunities with Phonics lessons. Junior greet books is only for 1st and 2nd grade. We need 3 consecutive days in 1 week. For phonics lessons we are asking for 2 days, although it would be great to get a commitment for a month. 

Small group math support:

Our data says our math scores were not good during covid and last year. Kids are struggling. We would like help with small group math support. Looking for computerized math programs that have been shown to help. Math support could be a 1 day volunteer opportunity. You may not be with your child, but you would be making a contribution to your child’s environment. It gives teachers more time to focus on kids that need help. 

Special events coming up:

We want to go back to the old normal. Fun is incredibly healing. Many of our children are in need of more fun in their lives. Fall festival on October 31st. Teachers need more time to plan, and we need help unloading pumpkins. We have a popcorn machine and need volunteers to operate and help distribute. There will be extra recess. Nov 1st will be for 2nd grade because they are going on a field trip Oct. 31. No costumes or makeup. This is about fall so we can be equitable and inclusive. 

Let the teacher know in advance that you are coming. If the teacher is doing a whole class lesson, sit and wait. Encourage children to pay attention to the teacher. If kids are at a center, help kids at center. When there is a sub, circulate the room. 

Requirements for volunteers:

You can’t talk about someone else’s kid. You need to have confidentiality. We want to make sure that kids are socially, emotionally safe in your presence. Child Abuse and Neglect training for all volunteers for anybody coming more than once. The training is good for 3 years. 

Common volunteer scenarios:

Pick up reading materials, go and get kids you were assigned at their classrooms. Then go to a designated spot out in the open like the atrium. Do your lesson, return materials, and go on your way. For outdoor lunch it’s not just your presence. You must stop things that are not appropriate. Talk to the kids as if they are your neighbors kid. Math volunteers expected to take a group of kids to play a math game with kids. Might support kids getting a computer program, showing them how to log in. Do reinforce positive behaviors. If things escalate, do get staff help. There are people there that the kids know. With outdoor lunch kids can be warned, if kids don’t behave they can go back inside. Please step in when you see behaviors that are inappropriate. Say something basic like we keep our hands, feet and objects to ourselves. Do not ever touch anyone’s child. An innocent touch on the shoulder might seem innocent to you but maybe not to the kid. Please don’t yell, if avoidable. Please don’t use inappropriate language. Do not allow yourself to be alone in a closed room with an individual child. 

A sign up form for the reading volunteers and for the fall festival will come out shortly. Room parent coordinators will be reaching out to all parents. Opportunities for classroom volunteering. Some teachers struggle to use volunteers. We will provide professional development for teachers. Grandparents can also volunteer. One parent suggested that Americorps might be a good partner for volunteers. 2nd grade field trip might need volunteers to Sharp’s Farm on October 31st. Every kid can go, and they do not have to pay. Parents can donate an equivalent amount to support folks who can’t pay. 

You can reach out to your room parent to coordinate classroom volunteering. The PTA will follow up with sign-up geniuses for all opportunities. If you are interested, we need help with the parking lot at pick-up or drop-off. Parent volunteers are needed to guide traffic and help with kids getting out of cars. 

TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: September 2022

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Takoma Park Elementary School (TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES) 

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, September 6, 2022 from 7-8pm on Zoom 

 

7:00 Meeting Kick-off  – Kaitlin Caruso, TPES PTA VP of Communications & Emma  Cheuse, PBES PTA President

-Interpreters, including Ursula Indacochea for Spanish translation

-Kaitlin Caruso reviews dates/deadlines below

Updated MCPS School Calendar 2021-2022 

  • Little Scholars sign up until Sept. 13th; PTA-funded scholarship requests are due by Sept. 7th at TPES and by Sept. 9th at PBES 
  • Weds. Sept. 14th: Early Release (1:20 pm)
  • Thurs. Sept. 15th, 6:30-8:00pm, PBES Back to School Night
  • Weds. Sept. 21st: Deadline to enroll for Instrumental Music at PBES, available for all 4th and 5th Graders 
  • Mon. Sept. 26th, No School
  • Tues. Sept. 27th:  Little Scholars After School Clubs begin
  • Fri. Sept. 30th, Early Release (1:20 pm)
  • Sept. 15- Oct. 15: Our schools will be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month 
  • Weds. Oct. 5th, No School
  • Tues. Oct. 11th, Joint PTA Meeting (7pm, Zoom)
  • School Meals Applications due ASAP – free federal meals have ended. Info provided on how to pay
  • No child will be turned away – PBES and TPES will ensure every child who requests food receives it, but applications are needed so no debt is accrued. The PTA equity teams are also seeking to support families during this time – please donate to the PBES PTA and TPES PTA and to Tommy’s Pantry to help fill gaps and ensure food access for all in our community. 

 

Participants added their Back to School questions at this link during the meeting. If we can’t reply today we will follow up.

 

7:10: Principals’ Welcome to the School Year

Mrs. Christine Oberdorf, PBES Principal & Mr. Richard Weerts, PBES Vice Principal

  • Ms. Oberdorf – good first week welcoming 610 students
  • Dr. Zadia Gadsden, TPES Principal & Ms. Joi Hollis, TPES Vice Principal

 

7:20:  PTA Welcome, Calendar & Volunteer Opportunities

Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA President 

  • Goals is to restore PTA contributions to support the school to pre-pandemic levels, help with learning recovery and support students/families have a positive year 
  • Shared updated, hoped-for calendar including events supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, kindness; hopes to strengthen school-family connection
  • Need volunteers to help make these events happen through event support and fundraising
  • Introductions of PBES PTA 

Sara Lewis – Shared a link for a survey in chat/screen for volunteer interest at PBES and TPES; 

  • Reviewed PBES volunteer opportunities on the survey and highlighted special need for volunteers for the book fair, room parents, readathon (last year did not happen at PBES bc not enough volunteers but hoping to return it this year as a key source of fundraising), fish tank, Geobowl (has not occurred the past several years), teacher appreciation in May, organization multicultural events such as black history month, NAACP rep

 

PBES Key Volunteer Teams:

  • Events/In-School Volunteer Team (Contact Sara Lewis, serowe@gmail.com) 
    • Book Fair
    • Room Parents
    • Readathon (literacy event and fundraiser)
    • Fish Tank
    • GeoBowl
    • Teacher, Staff Support and Appreciation
    • Garden Clean-up or Planting
    • Multicultural Community events like Black History Month, Cultural Heritage Night
    • Other in-school volunteer needs like STEAM Night, Kindness/Leadership/Social & Emotional Learning event
    • NAACP Representative
  • Fundraising Team (Contact Mary Kathryn Lee, marykathryn.lee@gmail.com & Emma Cheuse, pbes.pta@gmail.com )
    • Panther Appeal
    • Business Sponsors
    • Other possible fundraising events to fund our ambitious budget this year
  • Equity Team (Contact Desiree Hernandez and Corey Null, d.hernandez0811@gmail.com, corey.null@gmail.com)
    • Social Service and counselor support
    • Translation, interpretation volunteers needed for Spanish and Amharic

 

Link to sign up now to volunteer for these opportunities with PBES PTA https://forms.gle/wLfSEs8M9EiBBcR59 or contact Sara Lewis to link up with a volunteer opportunity that matches your time and interest (serowe@gmail.com). Contact Chris Campbell to help with the School Fish Tank or to serve as a volunteer interpreter in Spanish or Amharic (ccampb4@mac.com). 

 

PBES PTA Executive Committee: board@pbespta.groups.io 

President – Emma Cheuse, pbes.pta@gmail.com 

Executive VP – Sara Lewis

Treasurer – Kate Bauer 

Secretary – Joyce McDonough

Equity Co-VPs: Desiree Hernandez and Corey Null

Fundraising VP: MaryKathryn Lee

Comms VP – Chris Campbell 

Membership VP – Erin Kelley

NAACP delegate needed (please contact pbes.pta@gmail.com if you will volunteer)

 

TPES PTA Overview

Ways to Stay Informed: 

  • Join the PTA listserve! https://groups.io/g/tpespta
  • Weekly TPES newsletter from Dr. Gadsden
  • New weekly PTA newsletter
  • Monthly PTA meetings first Tuesday of every month at 7pm

 

Joyce McDonough, TPES PTA Exec VP & PBES PTA Secretary

  • Introduces herself
  • Thanks to Estelle Jean coordinated kindergarten play dates; thanks for donations of indoor plants; thanks to teachers, administrators
  • Listed ways to stay informed including joining PTA (link provided), weekly TPES letter from Dr Gadsden, weekly PTA newsletter (summary of all of the events), monthly PTA Meetings
  • Listed ways for parents/caregivers to volunteer and get involved including using the survey/volunteer interest form
  • “School fun morning” where volunteers set up stations for kids to play/craft and allow teachers concentrated time to prepare for the next quarter
  • 5 classrooms still need room parents
  • Lunch volunteers; outdoor lunch volunteers organized by Laura Petes
  • Still need some leadership roles
  • This Friday at 4pm there is a playgroup meetup for those interested in organizing Hispanic Heritage month events
  • In school volunteers begin in October: two volunteer requirements (links supplied) child abuse neglect training and proof of vaccination
  • Join the PTA – scholarships available (links provided)

 

TPES PTA Executive Committee: 

President: Margaret McDonnell 

Executive VP: Joyce McDonough

Treasurer: Stephen Tippett

Executive Secretary: Dianne Kirsch

Membership Secretary: Justine Lassman

VP of Communications: Kaitlin Caruso

VP of Membership: Estelle Jean

VP of Fundraising: Diana Hickey van Houwelingen

VP Equity: Jon Frederick

County Delegate: Rebecca Schaeffer

NAACP Representative: Sharon Gaskins

 

Volunteer

Volunteer interest form: https://forms.gle/wLfSEs8M9EiBBcR59 

 

TPES Key Volunteer Teams:

  • Events/In-School Volunteer Team
    • Room Parents (coordinator: Annie Kneedler, akneedler@gmail.com )
    • Dolphin Drive (November; Diana Hickey van Houwelingen, Diana.s.hickey@gmail.com )
    • Book Fair (February; Shivani Sutton, shivani.sutton@gmail.com )
    • Readathon (literacy event and fundraiser – March; Amanda Wagner, helloamandawagner@gmail.com)
    • TKPK5K Race Committee Representative (race in May)
    • Health and Wellness Committee (includes garden, atrium, teacher wellness room): Mari Quenon, mariannaq@gmail.com
      • Garden – work day for native plantings and invasives removal Ellen Marcus, ellen@actsofpaint.com 
    • Multicultural Community events
    • Social Services Coordinator: Kaitlin Caruso, kaitlin.h.caruso@gmail.com
    • Staff Appreciation Committee – vacant – need chair! 

 

One-time volunteer opportunities: 

  • Book Fair (sign up for shifts)
  • Readathon (tally up minutes)
  • Staff appreciation (deliver meal, coffee, etc.)
  • Garden and atrium beautification
  • Field trip chaperones? 
  • School Fun Mornings – fall, winter, spring (supervise fun activity stations so teachers can prep reading/math together as grade level team) 
  • Lunch and/or recess volunteers

 

Regular (weekly or bi-weekly) volunteer opportunities: 

  • Classroom volunteer (work with classroom teachers, often during reading or math centers; can include cutting lamination, decorating bulletin boards, etc.)
  • Lunch and/or recess volunteers 
  • Enrichment reading groups 
  • Outdoor lunch option? If we have parent volunteers, we can host optional outdoor lunch for families who opt-in. 
  • Room Parent (~monthly commitment)

 

Join the TPES PTA: https://tpespta.net/join/

 

For all volunteers: MCPS Volunteer Training and support guide – please complete this before you are scheduled to volunteer: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URJRNYdUyyL0ghVzZ32xLqPmkE7IwUvcRF2qid89ojA/preview

 

7:30:  Back to School Q&A with the Principals & PTAs 

           (facilitated by Kaitlin & Emma)

  • Q: which PBES teachers were able to take the Benchmark Advanced Enrichment? Oberdorff explains that all teachers were required to take this training and took it last year
  • Can you share the PBES MAP scores and break down by demographics? Oberdorff did not have that data for tonight; MAP assessments will begin next week and offered to share it another time
  • Are there any vacancies at PBES? One vacancy for 5th grade teacher
  • TPES – new K family curious about how lunch works / myschoolbucks is organized; Dr. G explains
  • When will the pool reopen at PBES? Ms. Oberdorff has a meeting on Monday with the people re-opening the pool, pool has passed inspection; possibly opening at the end of September
  • Can PBES bring back mid-morning snack for 3rd graders? Ms. Oberdorff explains that there were no snacks during Covid. Did not plan on having a universal snack option bc of disparity in access to snacks and stigma re receiving school snacks. For students who need  snack accommodations can be arranged.
  • Question re safety crossing PBES parking lot – Oberdorff explains that we do have staff available at arrival and dismissal
  • Is PBES taking a new approach to staffing this year? Programming in 4th and 5th grade is different bc of the accelerated math courses offered; in 3rd grade they stay in their homeroom for both.
  • Will there be Covid notifications this year? Gadsden reports yes for TPES
  • MySchoolBucks question – about how to check if/when money was deducted (lunch card is not required but is handy bc it has their ID/Pin number on it
  • For those excited to volunteer reach out to PTA

 

7:45:  PTA Business

 

           PBES PTA: Vote on County PTA Delegate (Nominee: Matthew Stark Blumin)

  • Matthew Stark Blumin volunteered to represent PBES on a county level to strengthen school policies
  • Movement seconded; nomination passed

 

            Treasurer’s Reports and Budget Votes

  Kate Bauer, PBES PTA Treasurer

  • Shared budget
  • Last year did not do a lot of active fundraising, had a substantial carryover, did well with booster PTA donations
  • Last year we put the book fair under fundraising but it becomes a credit for the school to buy books (looks like we raised $10K but actually closer to $2.5K)
  • Readathon is an important PTA fundraiser as well as proceeds for selling Panther gear
  • Expenses – increased on income side
  • Biz sponsorships will be encouraged/recognized this year
  • This year the pool will be opened again and historically the PTA has sponsored the pool rental (it’s a county, not school pool) and helped to pay for lifeguards in December and March typically. It’s a sizable expense that the PTA takes on
  • Fundraising expenses will change in that the readathon will now be moved to this line item; need to replenish the small size Panther gear
  • School support is budgeted at $4K for appreciation and hopefully training this year
  • PTA operating funds: several hundred dollars a year spent on the software running PTA budgeting, membership, etc – but need a volunteer to help transfer to a free option being offered through the state PTA (PayPal fees, translations, childcare at BTS night, etc)
  • Total budget is $8K more than last year but due to ramp up in activities offered to increase connection between school/community
  • Membership voted: voted to pass budget

 

Stephen Tippet, TPES PTA Treasurer

  • Introduced himself
  • Shared budget
  • Proposed budget – PTA fundraises everything they have from their community (no continuing donation support through memberships or grants typically)
  • Membership dues are $3K, plus $2K through membership donations
  • Main incomes areas are Dolphin drive in November ($10K) and readathon in March ($10K). These are low projections based on last year
  • Similar to PBES re book fair – the money is ‘pass through’ comes in as income but goes to Scholastic to purchase books for the school
  • Outreach and social events expenses are $2.5K
  • PTA Admin expenses are $3K
  • School programming expenses (including cultural assemblies, gardening, equity & inclusion, scholarships for enrichment clubs are $19,050
  • Staff support expenses including classroom set-up at $4K, Dr Gadsden Literacy program with black and brown students at $2.5K totals $11,850
  • Budget at $43,500; expecting to leave around $25K for next school year
  • Membership voted to pass and adopt the budget

 

8:00:  Thanks & Next Steps – Emma (PBES PTA)

  • Volunteering encouraged 
  • Oberdorff will send out MAP schedule
  • Dr Gadsden, wanted to stay on to talk to TPES families about Math to answer questions

Become a PTA member, donate, become a sponsor, sign up to volunteer:

Takoma Park Elementary School PTA: https://tpespta.net

Piney Branch Elementary School PTA: https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com


TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: June 2022

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Takoma Park Elementary School(TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES) 

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, June 7, 2022 from 7-8pm on Zoom 

 

Agenda will include: (1) Voting on Executive Committee and bylaws, (2) break-out panels for rising TPMS (graduating 5th grade) and rising PBES (future 3rd grade) families to discuss the process of transitioning to a new school; and (3) importantly, please join to share kudos and appreciation for all PTA parent volunteers from this year, hopes and ideas for the next.

7:00 Welcome from Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA VP of Communications

Upcoming Dates and Announcements – Chris Campbell, TPES VP of Communications. Refer to Updated MCPS School Calendar 2021-2022 

 

 –  Last week of school reminders: 

  • Please respond to your Classroom parent’s message about the end of year class gift and teacher thank you – let’s help our teachers feel appreciated and give them a warm summer send-off after their year of hard work.
  • Remember ASAP to return all library books to TPES and PBES.

 

– Weds. June 8th, 5pm – deadline to vote in the 16th Annual Azalea Awards. Many TPES, PBES and local community volunteers are nominated. https://www.takomafoundation.org/awards/azalea/16th-annual-azalea-awards.html 

  • Weds, June 8th: TPES Field Day 

 

– Weds. June 8th, 4:30-7pm PBES Vaccination Clinic.

Link for Pfizer 5-11: https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/7869020921

Link for Pfizer 12+: https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/0613929087 

 

– Tuesday, June 14th, 9:40am-10:40am: Second Grade Promotion Ceremony at TPMS. Guests limited to two guests per student. Masks will be mandatory. Ceremony will be livestreamed

 

-Thursday, June 16th, 9:45-10:45am (doors open at 9:30am): Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony at PBES. Guests limited to two guests per student. 

  • 3:30pm Clap Out (doors open at 3:15pm – no seating required)


  • Friday, June 17th: Last Day of School (Early release at 1:20pm)
  • Staff appreciation lunch hosted by the PBES PTA

 

7:10:  PTA Volunteer Appreciation & Kudos – Joyce McDonough, TPES PTA Exec VP & Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA VP of Communications

 

7:13:  Executive Committee Voting – PBES Nomination Committee Chair (Shelly Hill), TPES Nomination Committee Chair (Joyce McDonough)

 

PBES PTA Executive Committee for 2022-23

President – Emma Cheuse

– Executive VP – Sara Lewis

– Treasurer – Kate Bauer 

– Secretary – Joyce McDonough

– Equity Co-VPs: Desiree Hernandez and Corey Null

– Fundraising VP: MaryKathryn Lee

– Comms VP – Chris Campbell 

– Membership VP – Erin Kelley

(County delegate – VOLUNTEER NEEDED – please contact pbes.pta@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering and we will follow up at the start of the year).

 

Passed unanimously.

 

TPES PTA Executive Committee for 2022-23

President: Margaret McDonnell 

Executive VP: Joyce McDonough

Treasurer: Stephen Tippett

Executive Secretary: Dianne Kirsch

Membership Secretary: Justine Lassman

VP of Communications; Kaitlin Caruso

VP of Membership: Estelle Jean

VP of Fundraising: Diana Hickey van Houwelingen

VP Equity: Jon Frederick

County Delegate: Rebecca Schaeffer

 

Passed unanimously

 

7:15: By-laws Vote

 

TPES: Joyce McDonough

Updated by-laws need to be approved by our membership at least every three years. Nothing of note has changed except that we are now under Free State PTA, which is the MD arm of the National PTA. 

Motion has passed

(Next PBES bylaws vote planned for next year).

 

Informal vote/feedback for both TPES and PBES PTA: 

Do you prefer to keep most PTA meetings on Zoom next year? 

Would you like to have at least one in-person PTA meeting in the fall to visit the school?

– Chat feedback showed: strong preference for most meetings to be Zoom (“helpful to our family, helpful to be able to do other events,” “brings more people together” “makes it easier”, more participation on Zoom than in-person) and for 1-2 meetings, including one early in the fall and possibly one in late spring (or the last one), to be in-person “to feel connected,” “come together as school communities” or do all business meetings on Zoom and in-person for parents/volunteers “networking, connecting gathering.”  

 

7:20: Treasurer’s Reports and Summer Budget Vote

Stephen Tippett, TPES Treasurer and Kate Bauer, PBES Treasurer 

TPES: Proposing$100 gift card end of year support to each of the teachers for staff appreciation

Tommy’s pantry now officially separate from TPES

PTA taxes submitted and accepted

Available balance now 39,000

Amendment has passed

 

Summer budget:

Outreach and social- end of year party TPES staff

Maintenance Atrium redo

Wellness center redo

Summer book club

Misc funds as needed

Summer budget has passed

 

PBES:
Carryover last year 27,000

Not much income this month

Expenses: PB&J costume

PTA supported Field day t-shirts for students and staff

Operating expenses: insurance, software, translation

Staff support- lunch on last day of school

gift/boxed lunch for 5th grade graduation

 

Summer budget: 

Events and fundraising- to purchase Panther gear in advance

Programs and committees: funds to have available equity committee to support summer school needs

Professional development opportunities for staff

Operating: translating welcome back packets

Summer budget has passed

 

Poll

7:25: TPES to PBES Transition // PBES to TPMS Transition Breakout Rooms

Chris Campbell will help execute breakout rooms. 

 

TPES to PBES Moderator: Amanda Wagner

Panelists: Liz Adams, Meg McDonald, and Lauren Greenberg

 

PBES to TPMS Moderator: Kathryn Bacon Goldman

Panelists: Maya Miller, Kara Lee Monahan and Amy Gibson Grant. 

 

PBES and TPMS Breakout Room for Spanish or Amharic interpretation

Panelist: Emma Cheuse, Luis Meijia, and Hailu Gtsadek

 

  • Topics: I bet there will be many questions that come up organically in the chat box, and the moderators will help to bubble these up to the panelists. Besides this, I think it would be helpful for the panelists to have a few questions that they know the moderators will ask them. I throw out the following questions, but please let me know if you think there are any questions that would be good to ask to the panel!
  1. What are some things you would note about the academic transition to 3rd/6th grade? 
  2. What are some things you would highlight about the social transition to 3rd/6th grade?
  3. What is one piece of advice that you would give to a rising 3rd/6th grade student during their first week of school? What is one piece of advice that you would give to their parents? 
  4. What are some additional tips and tricks for navigating the new school, for parents and students?
  5. What surprised you the most about the transition to PBES/TPMS?

Incoming PBES families, please feel free to put your questions, suggestions for the PTA or for the school into this Google doc, and we will share with the PBES school staff and will help follow up after the meeting if there is a question we can’t get to in this meeting.   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-AmCFI4oX4PGDiIl-ab2VjH5ruN0yJDjaGqHR6EW21A/edit 

 

Become a PTA member: 

Takoma Park Elementary https://tpespta.net

Piney Branch Elementary https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com

 

TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: May 2022

/in , /by

Takoma Park Elementary School(TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES) 

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, May 3, 2022 from 7-8pm on Zoom 

Please mark your calendar for our next PTA meeting on June 7, 7-8pm

Agenda will include: (1) Voting on Executive Committee and bylaws; (2) break-out panels for rising TMPS and PBES families to discuss the process of transitioning to a new school; and (3) importantly, please join to share kudos and appreciation from this year, hopes and ideas for the next.

7:00    Welcome from Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA VP of Communications

Upcoming Dates and Announcements – Chris Campbell, TPES VP of Communications. Refer to Updated MCPS School Calendar 2021-2022 

— TPES Outdoor Lunch Option: The outdoor lunch option is once again open for sign up. Please remember children will be given the option of eating outside only if parents have signed them up using the link below. You must sign your child up again even if you signed up in the past. When children eat outside, they must follow the directions of the adults supervising them. By signing your child up for the option to eat outside you recognize the increased hazards that are associated with rain or low temperatures. We will work diligently to make sure eating outside is safe, comfortable and accessible but during the spring months there may be mud and puddles. Children cannot run around, play in or throw things during outdoor lunch. This sign up will remain open until May 15, 2022, and the new roster of kids eating outside will go into effect on May 3, 2022. Once the sign up closes, there will not be another opportunity to opt into outdoor lunch. Sign Up for Cold Weather Outdoor Lunch

— May 2-6: Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week; TPES PTA is sponsoring a breakfast and ice cream social for teachers and staff. PBES PTA is sponsoring garden gifts, a snack break, lunch, and coffee hour– and asks that families please send art, cards, notes, emails, photos and thank you messages to your student’s teacher and to the school’s main office for all staff by this Thursday May 5, for delivery by Friday.  Let’s help all staff feel appreciated for their hard work this year! Classroom parents, please remind your rooms to participate and please take this as a reminder to thank teachers on behalf of your whole classroom.   

— May 4: Bike to School Day 

– May 4-5: 3rd Grade State Testing (MCAP) at PBES  (schedule link)

— May 12: NAACP Parent Council meeting for Takoma Park ES at 6:30 via Zoom. We will be joined by Dr. Gadsden and will have the opportunity to talk about end of year transitions and how to best support our students over the summer.

— May 18: early release day 

— Sat May 21 4pm: MCPS Night out with DC United 

— May 15-31: Reminder about PTAs and the Takoma Park Safe Routes to School program have organized the 2022 Virtual 5K and Fun Run! Register TODAY to get a free t-shirt and be eligible to win one of four raffled gift cards. Prizes will be raffled every few weeks in the lead-up to the race, so the earlier the registration, the more chances to win! Will include the registration link in the chat: https://runsignup.com/Race/MD/WhereEverYouLovetoRun/TakomaParkSafeRoutestoSchoolVIRTUALTKPK5K

  • PTA Executive Committee Openings- there will be a vote for the TPES and PBES PTA Executive Committee positions for the 2022-2023 school year at the June 7th PTA meeting. The positions are open to all. 

  • TPES: the current President, Executive VP, Treasurer, Executive Secretary, MCCPTA  Delegate, and NAACP Representative are willing to serve a second year and the following positions are available/open: VP of Communications, VP of Membership, VP of Fundraising and VP of Equity. Please contact members of our nominating committee: Joyce, Chris and Kelly.

President Margaret McDonnell
Executive Vice President Joyce McDonough
Treasurer Stephen Tippett
Executive Secretary Diane Kirsch
Membership Secretary vacant
Vice President Communications vacant/TBD
Vice President Membership vacant
Vice President Fundraising vacant
Vice President Equity vacant
MCCPTA Delegate Rebecca Shaeffer
NAACP Representative Sharon Gaskins

  • PBES PTA positions:

PBES 2022-2023
President vacant
Executive Vice President vacant
Treasurer Kate Bauer
Secretary vacant
Vice President Communications Emma Cheuse [may shift to a different spot]
Vice President Membership vacant
Vice President Fundraising vacant
Vice President Equity vacant
MCCPTA Delegate
Appointed, not elected:
NAACP Rep
Gifted and Talented Liaison
Webmaster

  • TPMS: Greg Swaluk joining from TPMS PTA to highlight the need for PTA volunteers at the Middle school next year: 1 min.

7:10-30:  Principals Presentations & Q&A re learning disruption and recovery 

Ms. Oberdorf-

School Improvement plan

Literacy and mathematics instructional focus

Assessment OF and FOR learning

Acceleration of learning

Tutoring and intervention support

Professional learning

 Example of MAP data 3rd grade- Fall 2021- Wnter 2022- increasing the percent of students on grade level

Comparing cohorts of grade level students to see how they are doing

Do data analysis at each level to get big picture

Math Recovery:
Focus on Major Content

3 year plan focused on Eureka math

Continue with curriculum

Focus on foundational principals- catching up building foundational content

Tutoring and summer program

Equip- preassessment tool to allow teachers to preassess before module

Started Jan

Allows for targeted instruction of foundational skills within grade level instruction

Planning for engagement

Hands on opportunities

School wide focus on supporting student discourse

Reading- intentional big picture then focus on smaller picture- seeing where kids are 3rd graders

Left out year of virtual testing

Reading recovery:
consistent instruction at grade level

Move forward into grade level content with supports

Increased direct instruction of foundational skills and word study skills in small reading groups

Tutoring/summer programs

Prioritizing level skills and content

Coteaching

Ongoing progress monitoring to drive planning and instruction

Outside: Doing a lot to increase student wellbeing

Counselor allocation increased to 2.0

School wide kindness initiative- highlight acts of kindness as reported to PB Jelly

To report each other for kindness

Student wellbeing committee

Review student attendance and references from teachers

To give students/ families help that they need

Dr. Gadsden:

Same thing that Mrs. Oberdorf

Data: March 2022

Current KG- toddlers when pandemic start; 1st graders most affected- because virtual pandemic year; 2nd graders- ¾ of KG was in person, so reading less affected.

Reading at target in March 22-

KG: 80%

First: 62%

2nd: 81%

What this data does not show is what the growth that kids made- many kids, although still behind, have grown tremendously this year.

Math:
KG: 91%

1st: 86%

2nd: 77%

Second graders not doing as well in math due to change in curriculum. 2nd graders least amount of exposure to Eureka

Working with teachers to help them adapt to new curriculum and formats.

Data by Categories: 1st grade- reading- reading level, Math- Formative assessment March

Only 4 Asian students- all 4 are meeting benchmarks-

African American 62% Reading 89% math

White: 71 reading/85% math
Hispanics- 25% reading 55 Math

English Language Learners 31/ 63;

FARMS 39/70%

Special Ed/IEP 44/78%

Didn’t take MAP in January

1st grade most impacted and largest group

2nd: challenge- kids came in at Kindergarten reading level, grew 1 year in ¾ of a year, but still not at grade level

Reading/math

AA 84/63

Asian 100/75

W: 82/93

H 33/40

M 76/92

ELL 32/55

Special ED

FARMS

Kindergarten- doing Fantastic!
Generally representative of how students do

Reading/math

AA 80/98

Asian 80/100

W 100/100

H 44/86

ELL 55/ 90

FARMS 64/93

Sp ed 100/100

Summer school

Create ARTS- target kids 2nd language learners

Tutoring

Other programs for recovery

Student wellbeing team working biweekly on attendance

Biggest challenge Attendance- lots of children kept home kids because they were scared would miss school. Can’t teach if kids don’t come to school

After school tutoring in person and bus transportation- for PBES

After school tutoring at TPES 5 days a week

Summer school at middle school for TPES and PBES with KA giving before and aftercare

PBES: Summer school invitations went out for students not on grade level

For TP- tutoring- reached out to specific kids who are behind

MCPS says no one will be turned away even if they were not invited

8 teachers teaching- 200 invitations sent out

Looking to see what response- to see if can open up to more students at a later point

If interested don’t hesitate to reach out to teacher or school

If worried about students losing knowledge/skills over summer, sign them up for summer school even if meeting targets

Summer school will have reading, math and specials

7:30: Emma Cheuse (PBES PTA and volunteer with the Joint PTA Panthers & Dolphins Rainbow Club) will introduce Mark Eckstein to talk about inclusion, support, and affirmation for LGBTQ kids and allies in our schools. Mark is Chair of the MCCPTA LGBTQ Subcommittee and Member of the MCPS PrideAlliance and he will speak to and address questions on resources available for our local schools such as policies and guidelines for LGBTQ+ and gender identity inclusion, anti-bullying, curriculum and family support across the rainbow spectrum.  Please get your questions and comments ready in the chat. 

 

Mark Eckstein MCCPTA

MetroDC has Pride Alliance

LGBTQ at MCPS:

Curriculum:

MCPS will begin an initiative this fall will be doing LGBTQ inclusive curriculum K-12-

Imbedding it into Benchmark curriculum

Has been working on this for 5 years

1 LGBTQ inclusive lesson per grade offering content 2-3 days

Data: if represented in curriculum and seen, bias incidences/bullying will go down

Bias and Bullying-important to use MCPS forms- has spent a lot of time in making them LGBTQ inclusive in terms of language

With reporting get data and funding- so very important for form to be used

Federal Title IX mandates now includes gender identity/expression and sexual orientation

By and large the MCPS LGBTQ doing well and thriving

Lots of affirming initiatives:

MoCo Pride Students

LGBTQ studies class

Restrooms- trying to revamp- refocus bathrooms to improve experience for all students including trans/gender nonconforming

Minimum; at least 1 all gender single stall restroom in each school

Authentic identification- lot of data about virtual learning through the pandemic and hardships for our students because of naming/pronouns

Really try to support students with names and pronouns

In elementary schools big things students using gender neutral pronouns-

Don’t want to out people- can be traumatic

Resources:
List of LGBTQ resources for elementary schools

Annual PRIDE townhall Sat May 21 8:30-12:30 WJ high school

MCPS has new LGBTQ webpage

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/lgbtq/

Netflix series: heartstopper

Devising Freedom

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/LGBTQ/Metro-DC-PFLAG-Gen-Res.pdf

 Closing comments by Jon Frederick (TPES Parent) and volunteer with the Joint PTA Panthers and Dolphins Rainbow Club. Jon will also highlight the Rainbow Club’s next event – Drag Queen Story Hourcohosted by the Takoma Park MD Library on Sunday June 5, 1pm in the Takoma Community Center auditorium, with a meet-and-greet outside afterward.

https://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=3728&EventID=461479&PK= 

7:55    Treasurer’s Reports 

Stephen Tippett, TPES Treasurer and Kate Bauer, PBES Treasurer 

Kate Bauer:
17,000 earmarked grants

Spent 11,000

Need executive committee members next year- will have significant carryover, will need to have more activities next year to do the programing and support the school

Stephen Tippet:

Raised 35,000 (thought it would be less)

Tommy’s pantry separating this month

Spending less than raised. Continuing to spend some money on events through rest of year and into the summer.

Notes from the Principals’ presentation:

Please contact your student’s teacher if you would like to sign up for after-school tutoring and bus transportation.

More info on summer school — Last week some of our students received an invitation to attend summer school.  The goal of this year’s program is to support students who need additional or repeated instruction of the previous grade level and/or are currently achieving below grade level in reading and/or math.  If you received an email about summer school, please use the directions at the link in the message to register in ParentVUE by May 3rd.  If you have any questions please contact Robert Bledsoe, our Reading Specialist at Robert_Bledsoe@mcpsmd.org.

Summer school will have reading, math, and specials.  If you think your child would benefit from summer school and did not receive an invitation by email, please contact your child’s teacher or the principal for information on how to join.

Links from tonight’s meeting with resources.  

Mark Eckstein’s presentation on LGBTQ+ Resources at MCPS

For county-wide information and resources, please feel free to contact Mark Eckstein at markeckstein@hotmail.com or reach out to the Rainbow Club at PBES/TPES at: rainbowclubtkpk@gmail.com

Slides link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FLMLawDpPyB3jjgwT-Vs9JrH2jZHWTPEGMUkkArd4ng/edit#slide=id.g127b1693411_0_124

Here is the Bullying Form to use to report LGBTQ+ or any other bullying incidents, please include specifics to help ensure all incidents are tracked and coded –https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/compliance/

MCCPTA Leaders

–  https://www.mccpta.org/mccpta-leaders.html

Free State Justice

https://freestate-justice.org/

Student Leadership at MCPS – Pride:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/student-leadership/pride.aspx

LGBTQ Resources for Elementary Schools — https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yYQe87ancNwD6s5xBveRmidW8HXlBNmg_eqm4kNM79Y/edit

New MCPS LGBTQ Webpage for staff, students and families — https://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/new-lgbtq-webpage-includes-resources-for-staff-students-and-parents/?fbclid=IwAR0-5ryIe4TGAAVMFI0mqYKb8MDKEGa0Zjm3aiCUxb7JspdZmeNkpQxC5CI

Here is a resource for any attendees who have middle school or older students – GSA Network – Devising Freedom: https://gsanetwork.org/campaigns/devising-freedom/  They are hosting a youth movement assembly on June 21st

Become a PTA member:

Takoma Park Elementary https://tpespta.net

Piney Branch Elementary https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com

TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: April 2022

/in , /by

Takoma Park Elementary School(TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES) 

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, April 5, 2022 from 7-8pm on Zoom 

Please mark your calendar for our next PTA meeting on May 3, 7-8pm.

7:00    Welcome from Chris Campbell, TPES PTA VP of Communications, and sharing of Upcoming Dates and Announcements by Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA VP of Communications

Upcoming Dates and Announcements. Refer to Updated MCPS School Calendar 2021-2022 

— TPES Read-a-Thon report out- Chris Campbell and Sara Lewis

    Phone link is not working- please use computer for the donation

— COVID-19 Vaccine clinics information from MCPS is at this link.

– April 4-6, 9: 4th Grade State Testing (MCAP) at PBES  (schedule link)

– April 6: Spring School Picture Day at PBES for class pictures and individual photos if ordered (see your email and backpack materials from Lifetouch)

— April 11- 18: MCPS spring break (No School)

– April 18: Reminder on Monday April 18, to test your child using the Covid-19 test kit sent home in their backpack, and report negative and positive results online using this online form. If the test is positive, stay home and follow quarantine and isolation guidelines. 

– April 20-21: 3rd Grade State Testing (MCAP) at PBES  (schedule link)

– April 25-27, 29: 5th Grade State Testing (MCAP) at PBES (schedule link)

– April 30 3-5pm, Heffner Center, 42 Oswego Ave. Join us on the playground for the first-ever Rainbow Club play date for Panthers, Dolphins and families with LGBTQ+ kids or parents, all welcome. RSVP to: rainbowclubtkpk@gmail.com.  The Rainbow Club is a new group affiliated with the Takoma Park and Piney Branch Elementary PTAs working to support and connect LGBTQ+ families and kids at our local schools.

— May 2: no school, professional day for teachers 

May 3 PTA meeting: Join us to discuss two important topics for our community schools.  

We will talk with Mark Eckstein,  Chair of the MCCPTA LGBTQ Subcommittee and Member of the MCPS PrideAlliance, about inclusion, support, and affirmation for LGBTQ+ kids, families and allies in our schools.  He will speak to and address questions on resources available for our local schools such as policies and guidelines for LGBTQ+ and gender identity inclusion, anti-bullying, curriculum and family support across the rainbow spectrum. 

And we will discuss learning loss due to the pandemic, the need for additional educational support for kids and families, and ways MCPS and our school principals are helping kids recover as we come out of the pandemic (speakers on this TBA). 

– May 4: Bike to School Day

— May 4-5: 3rd Grade State Testing (MCAP) at PBES  (schedule link)

— May 18: early release day 

— May 15-31: Our local public school PTAs and the Takoma Park Safe Routes to School program are excited to announce the 2022 Virtual 5K and Fun Run! Since this pedestrian safety themed race began in 2009, proceeds exceeding $180,000 have funded safety, health and wellness programs at five area schools, including TPES and PBES. From May 15-31st, race participants–individuals, families, and groups of all sizes–can run a personal 5K and log their time on our race website.

Register TODAY to get a free t-shirt and be eligible to win one of four raffled gift cards. Prizes will be raffled every few weeks in the lead-up to the race, so the earlier the registration, the more chances to win! Will include the registration link in the chat: https://runsignup.com/Race/MD/WhereEverYouLovetoRun/TakomaParkSafeRoutestoSchoolVIRTUALTKPK5K

  • There will be a vote for the TPES and PBES PTA Executive Committee positions for the 2022-2023 school year at the June 6th PTA meeting. The positions are open to all. For TPES, the current President, Executive VP, Treasurer, Executive Secretary, MCCPTA  Delegate, and NAACP Representative are willing to serve a second year and the following positions are available/open: VP of Communications, VP of Membership, VP of Fundraising and VP of Equity. That said, all positions are open. Please look out for an email that provides more information about the positions and how you can express interest to the nominating committee. 
President Margaret McDonnell
Executive Vice President Joyce McDonough
Treasurer Stephen Tippett
Executive Secretary Diane Kirsch
Membership Secretary vacant
Vice President Communications vacant/TBD
Vice President Membership vacant
Vice President Fundraising vacant
Vice President Equity vacant
MCCPTA Delegate Rebecca Shaeffer
NAACP Representative Sharon Gaskins

PBES 2022-2023
President vacant
Executive Vice President vacant
Treasurer Kate Bauer
Secretary vacant
Vice President Communications Emma Cheuse
Vice President Membership vacant
Vice President Fundraising vacant
Vice President Equity vacant
MCCPTA Delegate  
   
Appointed, not elected:  
NAACP Rep  
Gifted and Talented Liaison  
Webmaster  

If you would like more information about the open PTA positions at Piney Branch, please email Shelly Hill at shellyhill711@gmail.com.

7:10: Introduce Mayor Kate Stewart, Margaret McDonnell and Presentation and Q&A with Mayor Kate Stewart

https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/mayor/

Mayor Kate and her husband have lived in Takoma Park since 1995. They raised two kids that went through MCPS schools- her youngest graduated from Blair last year. Kate was first elected to the City Council in 2014 to be Ward 3 representative and became Mayor in 2015. Among her priorities have been to put in place programs and initiatives regarding racial equity, housing affordability, climate change, police reform and increasing community engagement.

In addition to serving as Mayor, Kate is the Vice Chair on the Board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government (MWCOG); the co-chair for the National League of Cities Racial Equity And Leadership Council (REAL) and on the board of the Mayors Innovation Project. Kate is a Principal at ConwayStrategic, where she develops communications strategies and works to shape public opinion on issues related to reproductive rights. Kate received her BA from Haverford College and her MS from the University of Maryland.

Mayor Kate:

  • US government ARPA funding $1.9T to states, districts, counties to recover from C-19. Supposed to use over next four years to help with COVID response and recovery.
  • TKPK: allocated $17.5M- have received half already, next half in coming months. Need to be decided by 12/31/2024 and spent by 12/31/2026. Last March (2021), started working on programming to spend those dollars. During Fall 2021, had open public comment period to ask what was needed and should be prioritized. During Jan-mid March, City Council discussed and debated.
  • City Council has recently decided on the following allocation for ARPA funds:
  • $500K: Emergency Rental assistance
  • $600K: to support two mental health counselors- to help those in the community and help with crisis response, working with the county HHS. Will get referrals from the schools. Some of it will be used to work with principals to look at how the city can provide mental health counselors to our families in our schools here. Once a month, mayor and chief of police meet with local principals.
  • Direct cash assistance
  • Grants to small business
  • Expand recc center activities and scholarships for those who need
  • Wifi hotspot, laptop lending, expand broadband for city’s internet
  • energy efficient upgrades
  • library renovation
  • City/library currently has lots of masks and COVID-19 tests- provided by the county/state- there’s plenty available
    • on COVID-19, setting up vaccine clinics. The library still has masks and test kits- they’ve already distributed over 5K. Testing at Rec center on NH Ave every Weds 9am-6pm.
  • Special events at library:
    • partnering with Dance Exchange on front lawn on Saturdays at 11am
    • event on 4/30 at 1pm
    • regular circle time and in spanish
    • bringing back french and amharic program
    • comics jam and scribblers
  • Rec Center:
    • scholarships for city residents to participate in programs- 100% fee reduction- can find out more on the city website- email rec dept
    • Fitness expo this Sat 4/9 10am-2pm
  • Registration for childcare is open/deadlines: April 21 (for scholarship), April 28 (other city residents); City provides morning and aftercare at NH Ave and Rec Center. https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/recreation/childcare-programs/
  • For Recreation info and day care — call 301-891-7290 or email us at recreation@takomaparkmd.gov . Applications can be found online at https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/recreation/recreation-scholarships/ or at the Takoma Park Community Center or Recreation Center offices.
  • City council is now back meeting in person. Meetings are held every Weds at 7:30pm, unless there’s a presentation and then it starts earlier. Anyone can join meeting in person and ask to provide public comment but if doing so virtually, must sign up by 5 pm the evening (as to avoid zoom bombers). Masks required.
  • Will be discussing City budget for next 6 weeks
  • Anyone can speak public comments- 3 min/person
  • Election- primary in June, main election in November (governor’s race as well as important local elections)
  • For local elections- rank choice voting, 16 and 17 year olds and non-citizen residents can vote
  • will continue to be separate ballots for state and national elections vs local
  • Schools fall under MCPS, not City of TKPK so don’t determine bonuses for school admin and teachers
  • Library renovation to start this summer
  • Piney Branch pool to open soon
  • Even with Lucy retiring, the Safe Routes to school and bike programs are still ongoing.
  • Takoma Junction: proposal rejected by county planning board, company has 30 days to appeal

– Adventist property: under county’s zoning and planning dept in conjunction with planning dept. Currently zoned for single family homes-  we’ve requested to see if other uses.

Here is the link for the minor master plan for the WAH campus: https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/housing-and-community-development/planning-and-community-development/minor-master-plan/

– Safe routes to school- there’s a map looking at walking and biking routes around schools. Grant funding to do programming. $ from the 5K. in the fall, work with city staff to provide helmets for kids.

– mayor’s essay contest; prior to COVID had been held for 4th graders- miss it a lot. winners would come be mayor for the day. anything that the pta wants to do- have groups of students come to the city building. project on planning- can talk to the planners about what they do.

7:50    Treasurer’s Reports 

Stephen Tippett, TPES Treasurer and Kate Bauer, PBES Treasurer 

  • TPES: Still managing finances for Tommy’s pantry
  • Overall doing well
  • Bookfair raised $14K in proceeds- largely in form of Scholastic $ to buy books

PBES: lots of flexibility in budget because no assemblies and no pool

  • Spending more in social services
  • Counseling/equity
  • Staff support increasing

Become a PTA member:

Takoma Park Elementary https://tpespta.net

Piney Branch Elementary https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com

TPES Meeting Minutes: March 2022

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Takoma Park Elementary School(TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES) 

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, March 1, 2022 from 7-8pm on Zoom 

 

Please mark your calendar for our next PTA meeting on April 5 7-8pm 

 

7:00 Welcome from Chris Campbell, TPES PTA VP of Communications, and sharing of Upcoming Dates and Announcements by Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA VP of Communications 

Upcoming Dates and Announcements from the MCPS School Calendar 2021- 2022

 

Upcoming Dates and Announcements: 

 

— Many thanks to Jumana Musa and Sharon Gaskins, our NAACP representatives for the PBES and TPES PTA for arranging for Ben Jealous to speak at our Feb PTA meeting and for organizing a fantastic virtual Black History Night event last Thursday. More than 100 kids joined to learn, share, read passages, listen to music, and create quilts with the theme “My Life Matters because…”  

 

— Feb 25-March 4: TPES Scholastic Book Fair. Over to Shivani Sutton for a quick update and thank you to volunteers.  For more details about the fair, including shopping hours, popular titles, and no-cash payment options, check out our homepage. Please contact Shivani Sutton if you’d like to help out: shivani.sutton@gmail.com.

 

— March 2 and throughout March: COVID-19 Vaccine clinics will be held at PBES every Wednesday. Volunteers are needed both to help out at the clinics and to provide snack donations, which can be dropped off at PBES’s main office. Please keep an eye out for emails from Alisa O’Brien & contact her if you can help: Alisaobrien10@yahoo.com. 

 

– Feb. 28-March 6: Sign-up for PBES After School programs. Scholarships are available.  https://www.hisawyer.com/little-scholars-llc/schedules?sched_ids%5B%5D=101681&schedule_id=   Scholarship sign-up link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScOLDcHUffny8zAg2oB4myGSVmL2ROWo3fzujRkcTdYSFL_lw/viewform 

 

– Thanks to our awesome volunteer Abby Anna, TPES is also offering a range of afterschool programs through Little Scholars starting late spring through the school year. An email went out from Margaret McDonnell this afternoon. Registration will be from March 9-14 (see link in chat: www.littlescholarsllc.com/takoma-park/). If your child is interested but the cost is a barrier for your family, please consider applying for a scholarship by this Friday, March 4 (see link in chat: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAbNSei_bHWy1b0FOW5ZS79SYqlQ3a08GtUXQ-7vDYxJh45g/viewform). We have funding for approx 25 scholarships for families in need. If you’re eligible and approved, we will give you a special code to use instead of payment at registration.  

 

— March 4-31: TPES Read-a-Thon- Chris Campbell and Sara Lewis will present at end of event announcements. 

 

— March 9 at 7pm: Family Tech Talk presentation with an internet safety expert from Trend Micro [please see info in chat]

 

“Texting, gramming, Roblox, Minecraft, TikTok, YouTube. Technology is changing fast, and many of us are struggling to stay one step ahead of our kids and learn everything we can about being online. (Not an easy task when most of them know more about it than we do!)

 

Join us for a virtual Family Tech Talk presentation with an Internet safety expert from Trend Micro, who will share the latest trends, give advice on how to help your child use the Internet responsibly, and answer parent questions in a Q&A session. The Zoom event will be on Mar 09, 2022 (Wed) at 7pm. Click the link at the bottom to join the event.

 

We’ll discuss what our children are doing online—and how to teach them to be smart, safe, and respectful digital citizens. We’ll also cover privacy and security issues, how to encourage responsible Internet use, and even more.

 

In addition to learning some helpful tips, you could win a Trend Micro Internet security product! Five copies of Trend Micro Maximum Security will be raffled off to families attending the event.

 

We hope you join us on March 9th 2022 at 7pm to learn more about this important topic.

 

Event link: https://trendmicro.zoom.us/j/97682566330?pwd=QTRjT2EvWnJsdXJhNG41QURaeEo2UT09 

 

— March 11 and April 1: MCPS Early Release Day for Students (April 1 was formerly a day off) 

 

— April 11- 18: MCPS spring break

 

— May: the City of TKPK has decided that the 5K will be virtual again this year. On a related note, TPES’ Health and Wellness Committee is considering organizing a fun outdoor event- perhaps a kickball tournament- for TPES and PBES teachers, families and students who’d like to join for sometime this spring. Stay tuned! 

 

7:10: TPES Read-a-thon, Sara Lewis and Chris Campbell 

 

7:15: Introduce guests, Margaret McDonnell 

 

7:20: Presentation from representatives from four local non-profits that have kid-friendly service/volunteer opportunities (5 minutes each)

 

– Drennan Lindsay, A Wider Circle

– Abbe Spokane, DC Diaper Bank

– Roxanne Yamashita, Small Things Matter 

– Meg McDonald, Tommy’s Pantry

 

7:40/45: Time for Q&A with Dr Gadsden and Ms Oberdorf regarding the anticipated lifting of mask mandate, TPES’ loss of designation as a focus school, etc 

 

7:50 Treasurer’s Reports 

Stephen Tippett, TPES Treasurer and Kate Bauer, PBES Treasurer 

 

Become a PTA member: 

Takoma Park Elementary https://tpespta.net

Piney Branch Elementary https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com

 

2022 Read-a-thon

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Final Update:

We’re excited to announce that with the conclusion of the Read-a-thon, the students have done an AMAZING job and totaled 287,627 minutes read, meaning the school has smashed the overall goal of 200,000 minutes read! Our students are incredible!

And while the Read-a-thon for 2022 may be officially over, we hope you continue to encourage your kid(s) to dive into a book and discover the joys of reading.

We now hope you will take time to donate to the Read-a-thon in honor of the students for all their hard work, and share the donate link with any family or friends who would be willing to contribute to the Read-a-thon fundraising effort.

We are excited to launch our 9th annual Read-a-thon event! It is our largest fundraising event and it gets the children excited to read!

In Read-a-thon, a child reads for a month to raise funds for the Takoma Park Elementary School PTA.  Read-a-thon runs March 4 – March 31, 2022.  Please encourage your child to read today!

On this page, you will be able to find more information about our Read-a-thon event.

Read-a-thon Donate ButtonTO DONATE:  You may…

  • Make a check payable to TPES PTA and put in the take-home folder or mail to TPES PTA at
    7511 Holly Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912
  • Put cash in an envelope addressed to TPES PTA in the take-home folder
  • Pay online at (the deadline to donate is April 22)

We hope that you enjoy Read-a-thon as much as we enjoy presenting the Read-a-thon.  Your participation is crucial to the success of Read-a-thon.  Happy reading!

The PTA Read-a-thon Committee Co-Chairs

Sara Lewis and Chris Campbell

TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: February 2022

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Takoma Park Elementary School(TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES) 

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, February 8, 2022 from 7-8pm on Zoom 

 

Please mark your calendar for our next PTA meeting on March 7 7-8pm 

 

7:00 Welcome from Chris Campbell, TPES PTA VP of Communications, and sharing of Upcoming Dates and Announcements by Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA VP of Communications 

Upcoming Dates and Announcements from the MCPS School Calendar 2021- 2022

 

Upcoming Dates and Announcements: 

 

— Feb 21: MCPS closed for President’s Day 

 

– Feb. 22: PBES will have another vaccination clinic (probably after school again, 4:30-7pm – watch for follow-up information). 

 

— Feb 24: virtual joint TPES and PBES Black History Month event with Denise Jones, Carpe Diem Arts 

 

— Feb 25-March 4: TPES Scholastic Book Fair: please consider signing up to help out- to set up the fair, break it down, or staff the registers. All volunteers will need to upload proof of COVID-19 vaccination and complete the online training on recognizing child abuse and neglect- instructions for how to do so can be found here. For more details about the fair, including shopping hours, popular titles, and no-cash payment options, check out our homepage. Please contact Shivani Sutton if you’d like to help out: shivani.sutton@gmail.com.

 

— PBES Geo Bowl: We are seeking volunteers for the PBES GEO Bowl. Please contact the PBES PTA if you would like to volunteer. 

 

— March: TPES Read-a-Thon and possibly PBES?

 

–March 11: early release day 

 

— MCCPTA Updates  – The MCCPTA Health and Wellness Committee drafted a COVID mitigation recommendations letter that went forward to the Board of Ed recently. They will create space for conversation about if the letter is supported by the full MCCPTA delegates’ assembly at this month’s MCCPTA delegates assembly. We will share the full letter with folks via the list-servs

 

7:10: Introduction of Ben Jealous by Jumana Musa, PBES PTA NAACP Representative 

 

7:15: Presentation and Q&A with Ben Jealous, American civil rights leader, current president of the People for the American Way, and former president and CEO of NAACP

 

7:50 Treasurer’s Reports 

Stephen Tippett, TPES Treasurer and Kate Bauer, PBES Treasurer 

 

Become a PTA member: 

Takoma Park Elementary https://tpespta.net

Piney Branch Elementary https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com

TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: January 2022

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TPES/PBES January 11, 2022 Meeting Notes

 

Calendar dates:

 

  • Covid-19 At Home Test – ASAP – Test your child for Covid-19 that your child received at school this past Monday.
  • Say Yes to the Test – Free Random testing that happens every Wednesday.
  • Student Vaccine status – please share with the school.
  • Wednesday, January 12 – Early release day
  • Montgomery County Community Conversation
  • TPES Town Hall with Dr Gadsden this Thurs 1/13 at 7pm and PBES Town Hall with Ms Oberdorf next Tues 1/18 at 7pm.
  • Outdoor lunch form
  • Margaret McDonnell comments – it’s been a difficult almost two years and tough start to 2022 for both parents/students and school administrations and teachers.
  • Vaccine and booster opportunities around the county
  • TPES Book Fair Feb 25-March 4
  • PBES School Garden update

 

Presenter – Paige Trevor, Certified Parent Educator (Presentation Slides HERE)

  • Things that make us angry: wake up, hygiene, food, screen, bedtime.
  • Stalling at bedtime
  • Homework
  • Generalize pandemic anger/anxiety
  • Stress factors: pandemic, screens, jobs, etc, over/under caffeinated, house mess, hunger, use the bathroom
  • Shame, blame, and pain and parenting episode
  • Anger/power struggles – kids are looking for more positive power
  • Solutions:

o   Talk to ourselves – they and I can handle this, we can handle this!

o   This behavior is temporary and not directed at me.

o   No one can learn during an anger episode, no access to higher thinking

o   The child is not the problem

o   Basic kid things – brush hair/teeth etc

  • Problem solvers – if X, then Y.
  • Frustration song, get kids’ attention
  • Whispering at kid level

Questions:

o   What to do when kids are freaking out/burnout?

  • If it’s a situation and they are reachable – bring them in. Do you need a hug/at kid level? Some kids just need to unravel.

o   What happens, at kid level, met with crying/complaining?

  • Preview if no brushing, then – you want to try that again?
  • Family Leadership Center – Free classes

 

Q&As –

TPES – 100/150 kids in virtual after testing

 

Three things that parents can do to help:

  • Don’t send kids Covid19 positive to school
  • Any symptoms at all – keep them home
  • Doing the best they can – want to keep kids at school!