TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: September 2020

 

7:00    Welcome- Executive Committee Introductions

TPES intros

PBES intros

 

7:05    Setting The Stage For Success At Home – Dr. Gadsden

Have a regular space for your child at home

(Table), floor, beds, where ever comfortable. Encourage not to use blanket to cover up especially if covering head

If you have to fuss at your child- mute your child’s computer and turn camera off if possible.

Plan your escape- plan to back away from your child when in virtual environment

Plan to get a little further away if possible each day

Try to limit your conversation while they are in class

Do not talk to the teacher

Pack your patience. We have to go through this journey together.

 

 

7:10     Upcoming Dates and Announcements from the MCPS Calendar

Friday, Sept 4: Early Release Day (half day of instruction)

Mon, Sept 7: No School

Friday, Sept 25: 4-6pm PBES Garden Group Open House

Fri, Oct 2: Early Release Day  (half day of instruction)

Tues, Oct 6: PTA Meeting 7-8pm

 

7:15    Keeping up with PTA news and opportunities

Chris Campbell & Lauren Greenberg, TPES VP Communications

Lauren Greenberg: Groups.io-

First time you post- it has to go through moderation

If you want to reply to a post on the listserv, it will go to whole list

 

Chris Campbell: go to PTA website; being updated regularly

 

 

Gabe Seiden, PBES VP Communications

Gabe Seiden: Join the PTA, and staying connected

PBES PTA newsletter New here- can sign in, join PTA, join Parent listserv

Can contact PTA board members through the website as well

 

We also need more translation help

 

 

7:20    Family & School Engagement – stay connected during the pandemic

Sarah Lewis, TPES Classroom Parent Coordinator

Need room parents; room parents ask as liason between parents, teachers, and school, working to build community in the classroom to make sure every family is as involved as they would like to be.
Room parent in process to send out 2 different google docs; spreadsheet;

Trying to see if people need help with school supplies, translation

 

Sarah Davidson, PBES Classroom Parent Coordinator

If you want to be a Room parent at PBES, contact Sarah.

 

 

Sara Hoverter & Deepa Sundararaman, PBES Newcomers Group Co-Chairs

  • Families who have just moved to Takoma Park and/or are new to Piney Branch Elementary School (by moving up from TPES) are invited to connect; email Sara Hoverter (shoverter@gmail.com)

 

7:25    Parent Share: Virtual Learning Hacks

  • Parents, guardians, & caregivers are invited to share tips, resources, & device recommendations for increasing virtual learning focus & flow at home

 

7:50    Get Involved! Open volunteer opportunities, big and small:

Health & Wellness committee            Readathon committee

Multicultural Arts Assembly coordinators    Social Services committee

Teacher Appreciation committee        Equity committee

Nominating committee                Translation volunteers

 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://mcpsmd.zoom.us/j/92354293478?pwd=M3U4VEhMb3J5eFBVbzNmTjNlV05NUT09

 

Meeting ID: 923 5429 3478

Passcode: 973459

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You can become a PTA member online:

Takoma Park Elementary https://www.tpespta.net

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

 

TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: July 2020

Takoma Park Elementary School (TPES)

PTA Meeting

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

7:00pm-8:00pm

Location: Playground

PTA Elections

We wrapped up 2019-2020 with a discussion of the summer budget, and selected our PTA leaders for next year. Please connect with us to lend your time to health & wellness, fundraising, teacher appreciation. While we anticipate an unconventional school year ahead, your involvement and support continues to be important for our childrens’ success!

Future PTA Meetings

All future PTA meetings will be held virtually until further notice. Once the school year begins, we will meet the first Tuesday of each month via Zoom. Please find our Zoom login info below.

7:00    Welcome / Events and Announcements

NOW is the time to enroll your rising Kindergartener for the 2020-2021 school year!

Here are 3 options for registering your child:

  1. ONLINE — Follow this link: https://bit.ly/MCPS_Regustration_Survey
  2. OVER THE PHONE. –  Call 240-740-5999 to register
  3. BY MAIL–  Call 240-740-5999 to request forms to be mailed to your home.

 

¿Tiene un niño que tiene 5 años y que estará en el jardín de infantes el próximo año? ¿O tiene un amigo o vecino cuyo hijo está en edad escolar y asistirá al jardín de infantes en el otoño?

AHORA es el momento de inscribirse para el año escolar 2020-2021. Aquí hay 3 opciones para registrar a su hijo:

  1. EN LÍNEA: siga este enlace: https://bit.ly/MCPS_Regustration_Survey
  2. SOBRE EL TELEFONO. – Llame al 240-740-5999 para registrarse
  3. POR CORREO: llame al 240-740-5999

 

7:05    Treasurer’s Report / Summer Budget/ School Year Budget

Kelley Skelton, Treasurer

 

  • Need to add 2 items to our budget from last year. Also received a $2000 grant from Dollar General (thanks Tracee Matthias) that was used to support kids while at home during this pandemic.  Motion to add 2 items to budget was approved unanimously.
  • The only item from last year that we didn’t do in full was Readathon.
  • Fundraising for food support with the Middle School cluster (TPMS and its 3 feeder elementary schools) has been going really well (raised $103k so far). All funds run through TPES.  Expenses so far are under School Programs Expenses item and have been $89k so far.
  • We had a surplus budget year last year of $18,000.
  • No comments on budget report from last year.
  • Next year taking a very conservative approach to budget given the uncertainty around what will happen. In-person fundraisers may not happen.  We are projecting a much lower income level this year but are not decreasing projected expenditures.  We will utilize the surplus from prior years to make up this difference.
  • Question was asked if the surplus was including food support funds. There are restricted surplus funds for the food support program but we also have surplus funds to draw upon that are not part of the food support effort.
  • Staff support includes classroom setup funds for teachers, as well as equity and inclusion activities, staff appreciation, and playground supplies (in case we come back). We did take out a few items.
  • Motion to adopt the 2020-21 budget was approved unanimously.

 

 

7:15     Supply Kits

Sasha Johnson, Becca Albertus

Deadline to order is 8/1. Link: https://www.educationalproducts.com/ShopPacks

School Code: TAK008 (3 letters/3 numbers)

 

  • We work with an outside company that packages school supplies that are needed by grade. This year, since we don’t know if we will be at school, supplies will be delivered directly to homes.
  • PTA does earn a small profit from the kits.
  • Cost for supplies is $26 for K, $29 for 1st and $45 for 2nd. Cost is based on the supplies on the list provided by the school.  There is a shipping fee.
  • Supplies will be delivered to your home by Aug. 22, order by Aug 1.
  • There is an option to buy kits for students in need. Those are typically given to Mr. Althofer to distribute.  If you order one to be delivered to your house, you can contact Becca (beccaj@gmail.com) for help getting it to the school.

 

7:20    Committee Recruitment 

Committee Chairs – please contact chairs if you would like to participate in these committees in any way.

Health & Wellness – Amanda Berhaupt-Glickstein: amanda.berhaupt@gmail.com

  • The H&W Committee is responsible for things like the yoga club, and purchasing of sensory equipment for teachers and hallways. Would like to get more involved with gardening next year.

Cultural Arts – Malawi Welles: malawi.welles@gmail.com

Staff Appreciation – Allison Belemvire: allison.belemvire@gmail.com

Fundraising- Kelly Young: ppuff007aol@yahoo.com

Equity – Chai Shenoy: chai.shenoy@gmail.com

After School Clubs – Virginia Davis: virginiasdavis@gmail.com

 

7:25     2020-2021 Elections

Executive Committee Proposed Slate:

President – Meghan McDonald

Executive VP – Caleb Gibson

Treasurer – Kelley Skelton

Co – VP Communications – Lauren Greenberg & Chris Campbell

VP Membership – Samer Sadek

VP Fundraising – Kelly Young

VP Equity – Chai Shenoy

Membership Secretary- Becca Jones-Albertus

Executive Secretary – Allison Belemvire

MCCPTA Delegate – Joyce McDonough

 

  • No other nominees offered.
  • Motion to adopt the 2020-2021 executive committee slate was unanimously approved.

 

7:40    Adjourn

 

PTA  Meetings Dates 2020-2021

August 4 / September 1 / October 6 / November 3 / December 1 /January 5 / February 2 / March 2 / April 6 /May 4 / June 1

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82755716748

Meeting ID: 827 5571 6748

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Spanish Interpretation: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85452610722

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Key Dates for Fall 2020

IMPORTANT DATES:

– “MyMCPS Classroom” Training 

Wednesday, August 19 at 7pm: new & kindergarten families

Thursday, August 20 at 7pm: all returning families

(please see email from Dr. Gadsden or post on our https://groups.io/g/tpespta list for more information)

– Kindergarten Back To School Night 
Thursday, 8/27 at 7pm (Zoom info TBA)
 Virtual Open House for all TPES students
Friday, August 28 from 3pm to 4pm
– 1st & 2nd grade Back To School Night
Wednesday, 9/2 at 7pm (Zoom info TBA)
– Joint PTA Meeting for TPES & PBES
Tuesday, September 1 at 7pm
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 827 5571 6748
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Meeting ID: 827 5571 6748
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Technological Support for New and Returning Families: Zoom meetings on August 19 and August 20

Technological Support

Whether you are a new or returning family to Takoma Park Elementary and/or Piney Branch Elementary, we hope you’ll join us for a Zoom meeting with parent Stacy Kosko to review the MYMCPS Classroom online platform and some ways it will be used this year. We’re offering two trainings based on level of need.

Wednesday, August 19 at 7pm: new & kindergarten families

Thursday, August 20 at 7pm: all returning families

Topic: New Families “MyMCPS Classroom” Training

Time: Aug 19, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://umd.zoom.us/j/93193383681

Meeting ID: 931 9338 3681

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Meeting ID: 931 9338 3681

Find your local number: https://umd.zoom.us/u/aDo9ICHxF

Topic: Returning families “MyMCPS Classroom” training

Time: Aug 20, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 970 3295 9874

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Meeting ID: 970 3295 9874

Find your local number: https://umd.zoom.us/u/ac8uYUOuU8

_._,_._,_

Building Family Connections for the 2020-2021 School Year

Family Connection

– The PTA would like to give parents the opportunity to connect with one another for the sake of learning pods, child care, and sharing resources during the pandemic.  To accompany the lists that were shared by the school, the PTA has created temporary Google Sheets for each grade level so that parents can enter basic contact information in order to communicate with other parents in their child’s classroom.

– From now until 9/1, we’re hoping you’ll help us spread the word about these google sheets where parents can share information, if they choose. This will be especially helpful for kindergarten and new families as they begin to build connections within their neighborhood and community.

– If your child has been assigned 1st grade, room 4, click on the 1st Grade link below and along the bottom of the sheet you can find tabs identifying each room. Find your child’s room and enter in the information if you wish to reach out to other parents in the room. We hope this will be a starting point for parents to possibly coordinate learning pods, child care, etc., during the coming school year.

 

Once students are assigned to a teacher and classroom parents are established, we will close these lists. These sheets will be available until Tuesday, September 1.

Classroom groupings (without teacher) from Dr. Gadsden:

Kindergarten Classes

 

First Grade Classes

 

Second Grade Classes

 

Google sheets for sharing family information with peers

A message from Ms. Paz about login and password information…

Greetings;

Many parents are reaching out to me, trying to get the log in and password for their children.

Log in is the student’s ID number.  Passwords are going to be distribute

at a later time, before school starts.

If you need your child’s ID number, feel free to email me directly at;

Johanna_A_Paz@mcpsmd.org or text to; 301 910-6145.

Once I know when the passwords are available, I will send a notification.

Thanks…and please be safe.

Stay well!

Joy

Johanna A. Paz,

Administrative Secretary to

Dr. Zadia T. Gadsden,

Principal

Takoma Park Elementary School

7511 Holly Avenue

Takoma Park, Maryland 20912

240 740-0980

Order school supply kits through the PTA for 2020-2021

TPES Community –
The PTA’s school supply sale is now available through August 1, 2020! For new TPES families, every year the PTA works with a vendor to make grade required school supplies available for sale. It’s a convenient way to get supply shopping done and the sales provide a financial boost for the PTA. While we do not know how the upcoming school year will start, we made the decision to move forward with the traditional sale because it gives parents and guardians the option to purchase next year’s supplies entirely from home – a convenience that is important right now.
To purchase school supplies please visit: www.educationalproducts.com/shoppacks
 
The TPES “code” is TAK008. K kits are selling for $26, First grade kits are selling for $29 and Second grade kits are selling at $45. The costs of the kits are determined based on the school’s grade level supply requirements.
The PTA has made the decision not to distribute supplies in-person this year because of the uncertainty about access to school buildings in August. All school supplies purchased through the sale will be delivered directly to the address of your choice by August 17th. There is a shipping fee. As in the past, you can purchase a donation kit to give to TPES for distribution to students who need supplies.
We know this is an uncertain time for all of us. We hope everyone is staying healthy and safe.

 

If you have any questions about the sale please reach out to us directly.
Thank you –
Sasha Johnson
(outgoing PTA VP Fundraising)
Becca Jones Albertus
PTA Membership Secretary

PTA Reimbursement Request Forms

TPES Parents and Staff-

Thank you for your commitment to our school! If you have expenses to be reimbursed with PTA funds, please use the forms below to submit that information. Please note there are separate forms for parents (or other community members) and for staff.

ATTACH ORIGINAL RECEIPTS FOR ALL ITEMS AND PLACE INTO PTA TREASURER MAILBOX OR EMAIL RECEIPTS WITH SIGNED FORM TO TREASURER@TPESPTA.NET
Both the signed form and receipt(s) are required for reimbursement.

Parent Expense Reimbursement Request Form

Staff Expense Reimbursement Request Form

Online resources to support learning, activity, and mental health

Whether you’re looking for kid-focused yoga videos, a link to watch Mo Willems teach your child to draw a pigeon, or strategies for balancing the whole family’s needs at this time, the internet can help! Here are a number of sites that have pulled together some of the best resources available online:

The Washington Post has put together a pretty exhaustive list of resources in areas ranging from “Reading” to “Mental Wellness” to “Physical Activity” to “Theater and Dance.” Each link has a short description, and there are hundreds of options, generally separated by target age range.

For some additional curated resources, as well as guidance on how to manage family stress and how to talk to children of different ages about the new coronavirus, check out this page from the University of Maryland’s Department of Family Science.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has created this site with basic information on SARS-COV-2, and if you scroll to the end you will see links to articles like “Getting Children Outside While Social Distancing” or “Cloth Face Coverings for Children” that may answer many of your questions about how to best keep your kids both sane and safe at this time.

TPES PTA Meeting Minutes: March 2020

7:00 Upcoming Events & Announcements

Feb 28 – March 26: TPES Readathon

  • Your children should have gotten a Readathon calendar and are hopefully recording their minutes. We strongly encourage children to keep their calendars in their Dolphin folders as minutes are counted on Fridays.  If you lose your calendar, there is a link on the PTA website.
  • Still in need of volunteers for Friday mornings and afternoon or over the weekend. Please Sign up here
  • We do Spirit Days every Friday to celebrate Reading. This Friday is book character day.  There will be reminder emails and flyers.

 

March 6: PBES ESOL Book Club 6:30-7:30pm (pizza provided)

  • 10 students and their parents will come and discuss with Ms. Karen and the librarian. There will be one more book club this school year and hope to have another over the summer.  This is supported by the TP Library and Takoma Foundation, PBES PTA and Friends of the TP Library, who provide the book and the pizza after.
  • We could use help with funding and also spreading the word about the next book club.
  • We are looking for ideas for other services or events that we could support with PBES ESOL staff. Contact Gina Lambright: lambright@gmail.com

 

March 12: PBES Spring Photos

March 15: PBES rebuild meeting with Mayor Stewart @Community Ctr, 4pm-5pm

  • More information in a section below

 

March 16-17: PBES GeoBowl

March 24: TKPK5K Fundraiser at Mark’s Kitchen (15% of sales)

 

March 26: PBES International Night at the TP Middle School

  • Would love to have donated supplies (e.g., free samples or trays of food) for the event. Contact Sarah Goupell: sgoupell@gmail.com to volunteer.

 

March 27: Early Release for all Students

1:30 – 3:30; Garden Pop-Up Art Event at PBES

  • PB hoping to have an outdoor garden once the weather is better. Until then, will be putting decorations in the lobby.  Would love to have families from both schools involved in setting this up.  The first activity is right after the early dismissal, will make tissue paper flowers and seedlings.  People will be able to take home a succulent or seedling.  There will be a flyer and permission slip going out for PBES in a couple of weeks.
  • Looking for a group of parents to help make this committee more robust and inclusive.
  • School gardens are great for kids, staff in many ways and are really fun.
  • Selling a sustainability item – the uni-tensil (a reusable fork/knife/spoon that is durable) – for $5 to help raise funds for the garden.
  • Email Rachel at raypublichealth@gmail.com or call 617-821-3855 to get involved.

 

April 1: PBES Talent Show & Early Bird Registration Deadline for TKPK5K

April 6-13: Spring Break (NO SCHOOL)

April 14: TPES / PBES PTA Meeting at PBES, 6:45 – 8:00pm

 

TPES / PBES Basketball Game will be looking for volunteers.  Information coming soon on both school emails.  The date will be early May.  Email mkdowd@gmail.com to volunteer.

 

 

7:10 Welcome – WHAT does the PTA do & WHO are we?

Multicultural Arts Assemblies Committees at PBES & TPES

Malawi Welles

  • This committee is a great way to get involved and impact what your children see in school. It starts in October going to the Arts Fair in Rockville to see the performances of MCPS approved vendors. It’s a lot of fun.
  • We had Patagonia Winds in December at TPES and we will have Rhythms and Rhymes for Wise Young Minds on March 26. For PBES, will have the Power of Positivity and Rhythms and Rhymes.
  • Please reach out to welles@gmail.com to get involved. It’s a great opportunity and we have money left for other performances before the end of the year.

 

 

7:15 PBES Rebuild Advocacy Update

PTA Presidents Sarah Goupell (PBES) & Meg McDonald (TPES)

  • Sunday, March 15 from 4-5pm at the TP Community Center with Mayor Stewart and others
  • Hoping for a strong contingent of parents from TPES, PBES and parents with even younger children.
  • Purpose of the meeting is to get up to speed on the options for a new building for PBES.Specifically we will be talking about the land where the Adventist Community Hospital was located.  T-shirts will be provided.

 

7:20 Treasurers’ Reports & Fundraising Updates

Kelley Skelton, Treasurer & Shivani Sutton TPES Book Fair co-coordinator

  • We are doing great. We have about 15% of our funds still to come in this year – through the Readathon.  We have a $16k budget for the Readathon. Looking to ramp up spending on equity initiatives and to support our teachers over the next month.
  • All of the funds we raise at the book fairs go to the school. Raised $14k in Scholastic dollars which will be shared by the Media Center, the classrooms and the specialists in the school.  The PTA provides $12 vouchers to FARMS students (partnering with classroom teachers to identify those kids) to enable them to purchase books at the book fair.  Woods (Reading specialist) also uses her funds to send books home to this population of students over the summer.  This year we had a large number of books under $5.
  • Shivani is looking for a book fair partner for next year.

 

Amy Gibson Grant, Treasurer (PBES) & Angela Reimer, VP Fundraising (PBES)

  • PBES has done all income generation for the year. Poolapolooza was great for community building but not a great fundraiser so will reevaluate for next year.
  • Extra $2000 we weren’t anticipating came in December. We are in a great financial position for the spring.

 

7:25 After-School Clubs Updates

Virginia Davis (TPES Clubs) & Annelies Echols (PBES Clubs)

  • Last session of after-school clubs runs March 24 – May 21. Today is the last day to register.
  • We had 2 previous sessions with 100-250 students participating throughout the year, with several dozen students receiving scholarships from PTA to participate.
  • Looking for new volunteers to take over this next year as Virginia and Annelies will be moving on. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Shana at sabbathshana@gmail.com

 

7:30 SafeRoutes to School Program and the Takoma 5K

Susan Campbell & William Ince, PBES Takoma 5K organizers

Sarah Van Wye & Sasha Johnson, TPES Takoma 5K organizers

Lucy Neher, Safe Routes to School Coordinator for City of Takoma Park

  • Race is Sunday, May 3. It’s the 12th annual race.  Had 1500 people last year.  City does planning with individuals from each of the 5 schools involved.
  • Registration is open: https://www.tkpk5k.com/ There is a discount if you sign up before April 1.
  • Scholarships are being offered this year, will see information about that coming out soon
  • This is a great opportunity to support wellness and fitness programs at all of the schools. All of the proceeds go to the schools, with at least 50% used for health, wellness and fitness activities.
  • Safe Routes to School is federally funded with measures set out at the beginning of each grant cycle. We have gotten the grant since 2007 and will be applying again this year.  All of the money is programmatic, not for infrastructure.  For example, we looked at building sidewalks in areas near the schools that don’t have them, but that isn’t covered by the grant right now.
  • We work with the kids during the year about safety.
  • Trying to make TP more pedestrian and bike friendly.
  • Looking for feedback on what is wanted for future programming through the online survey that is sent out.
  • Looking to get bikes for each school that can be used during PE to help all kids learn to ride.
  • Do iCan Shine bike camp over the summer for kids with disabilities aged 8-14. It is amazing and wonderful program.  It is open to anyone in the state to attend.  They come for 75 minutes a day for 5 days, and learn how to ride a bike independently.
  • If there is interest in doing a bike helmet sale here (currently done at TPMS), can get very good $6.95 helmets.
  • A lot more students walked and biked to school in 2008 compared to 2016.
  • New equity themed sensory fitness route being built around the schools and park with fitness-based activities and a prompt for kindness and equity-based actions. Working to go through the park too.  Will be stencils on the ground.  Should take 15-30 minutes to do the route.  Would be happy to talk about any ideas you have.
  • Fundraiser at Mark’s Kitchen on April 24. 15% of all proceeds are donated.  Willow Street Yoga also doing 4 donation classes leading up to the race.
  • There are lots of opportunities to volunteer, as well. You can sign up on the website: https://www.tkpk5k.com/
  • There will be a Run Club Thursday mornings at TPES through the month of April to help kids prepare for the ¼ mile, 1 mile or 5K race.

 

Next PTA Meeting: Tuesday, April 14 at PBES.  (The first Tuesday of the month is Spring Break.)