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500 Cumberland Road, Pittsburgh PA 15237 Phone: (412)-635-4101 Fax: (412)-635-4115 |
September 2009 Minutes
September 2009 Minutes |
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McKnight Elementary PFA In attendance Heather Schwartzbauer, Mary Mann, Marilyn Adams, Lynn Winger, Valerie Cook, Missy Glass, Courtney Halle, Karen Weidinger, Ellen Caulkins, Paula Misutka, Beverly Washabaugh, Lisa Mertz, Sara Hammel, Kim Kelley, Eileen Coran, Evie Leddon, Lori Root, Carolyn Bergeron, Mike Sheleheda, Tanya Wood, Aimee Brickner, Tammi Fahrney, Sandy Barancyk, Gwen Vogt, Janis Betler, Jennifer Christy, Bridget Rouser, Victoria Sprys, Casey Leczo, Michelle Witsch, Melanie Rutan, Jenna Noker, Donna Hozdic, Patti Scheurich, Johanna Wasileski, Dena Solman, Anne King, Laura Kreutzer, Liz Whitewolf, Lakmini Prematilleke, Heather Earle, Jennifer Shuckrow, Erin Toomey, Jane Wright, Amy Phelps, JoAnn Vandergrift, Rachel Fields, Steve Parks The meeting was called to order by PFA President Heather Schwartzbauer at 9:22 am in the lower gym. Valerie Cook, secretary, was present.
Welcome – Heather Schwartzbauer Heather welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Approval of May Minutes – Heather Schwartzbauer Minutes of the May 6, 2009 meeting were distributed before today’s meeting and were approved as written.
Treasurer’s Report – Mary Mann The financial statements were presented. There was a discussion regarding some of the line items that had been increased from the previous year. These items were presented during the May 6 meeting in the preliminary budget, which was approved by unanimous vote. There was some discussion as to why the financial statements are being presented in ‘budget versus year to date’ formula. Mary explained that we match the budget to how we actually spend the money. Several attendees indicated that it was confusing to read or understand and suggested a change in format. The final budget approval was tabled at this time. The audit of the books revealed some small details that need addressed. Check request procedures have been updated. Both the committee chairperson and the PFA President must sign off on the check request before it can be processed. All committees that collect money must use the white deposit envelopes. We have a newly created committee this year – the finance committee. The creation of this committee came out of the work session in February, and will ultimately take some of the burden off the Treasurer.
Secretary’s Report – Valerie Cook Please sign up if you would like to be included on the PFA’s email distribution list. If you are a committee chair or on a committee, you are already on the list. Please remember to put the PFA logo on all communications that pertain to PFA events and activities. The PFA started a blog (mcknightpfa.blogspot.com) earlier this year. Since it is so new, we are open to ideas anyone may have. Please consider the blog as an additional way to get information out about your event without incurring any additional costs. Please write up your text and it will be posted for you. Committee chair folders are ready for distribution. If the email address or phone number of anyone on your committee changes, please notify me as soon as possible so that I can update our spreadsheet. Something new this year is the policies and procedures manual, which answers a variety of questions you may have when organizing your event. If there is a question that is not answered in the booklet, please notify pfasecretary@gmail.com so that it can be incorporated for next year. The library is looking for volunteers. Please stop in to see Mrs. Ritchie if you would like to help out in the library.
Principal’s Report – Mr. Steve Parks Mr. Parks introduced Assistant Principal Ms. Rachel Fields, who welcomed everyone back to school. Third day enrollment is 769 students, which is down from 804 at the end of school last year. This is mostly due to a low number of Kindergarten students, and a large fifth grade class leaving the school. We are at the threshold for the amount of classes a teacher can teach, so a new team has been added: Physical Education – Mr. Kurt Zaspel, Art – Ms. Danielle Sundo, Music – Ms. Carolyn Steele. The District Wellness Committee requires parents to give a 48 hour notice for treats to be distributed in the classroom as many students at McKnight have severe allergies. We need to possibly look into serving a grade-level specific treat for parties. Any food items in take-home treat bags must be approved as well. Wish list updates: - Picnic tables are here and need to be assembled - The swing set is still in the bid stages The Second Grade Team had asked for magnetic letters but this did not make it on the wish list. The sets of letters cost $680. A motion was made by Jane Wright, and seconded by Karen Weidinger, for the PFA to use funds to pay for the letters; the motion carried. September 23-25 is Camp Kon-O-Kwee for the fifth graders, there will be an orientation on September 11 at 9:15 am for parents.
Faculty Liaison Report – Mrs. JoAnn Vandergrift Thank you to the PFA for all of your financial support. We are the first school to go to Camp Kon-O-Kwee this year. We are running low on metal coffee cans, which are used for the camp cooking activities. Because coffee manufacturers are switching to plastic cans, it is becoming hard to find metal ones. The students really enjoy the cooking activities, but if we cannot find a source of cans, the cooking part will have to be dropped for all future campers. Please contact Mrs. Vandergrift if you will need to contact specific grade level teachers for any PFA activities. Fifth Grade leadership team will again be working with the Abitibi recycling program this year. Please attend Meet the Teacher nights if you are able, as many teachers will have sign up sheets for volunteers, field trips, conferences, etc.
Heather Schwartzbauer thanked the Hospitality Committee for providing the drinks and snacks for today’s meeting. Please consider signing up to bring snacks for one meeting this year.
Standing Committee Reports Fundraising Committee – Eileen Coran Fall Catalog Sales - The kick off assembly is September 3. A letter will go home explaining fundraising and that parents can contribute monetarily if they do not wish to participate in the catalog sale. A “Tiger Pride treat bag” will be given to any student who hands in an order form or a monetary donation. Mr. Parks will be cooking breakfast for the class that has the highest percentage of students participating during this fundraiser. Please consider helping the fundraising committee process the forms, which will be done on September 17, 18 and 21. Square 1 fundraiser – the art for this fundraiser is already being worked on in class. The theme this year is Artic World. The art teachers must choose ideas for the art work based on their curriculum guidelines. Spring fundraiser – we will be selling Sarris candy this year. Ice Cream Social – Mary Mann The social was moved to Thursday night this year, from 5:30 – 8:30 pm. New for this year - Froggy radio station will be located in the gym and will have activities for the kids such as lip syncing, hula hoops and dancing. Everyone will come through the main entrance of the school instead of the cafeteria entrance. Kindergarten BooHoo/Yahoo! – Bev Washabaugh The BooHoo/Yahoo was held on the first day of school. There were 20 people for the morning session and 11 for the afternoon session. The event got positive feedback from those parents who attended. Market Day – Lori Root This is a monthly fundraiser in which the PFA gets 10% back. We need volunteers in a few different areas. For working parents, a good option would be making phone call reminders to those that have placed orders. It would only require about 15 minutes per month. We also need volunteers on pick up days, and would ideally like someone to handle the publicity aspect of this fundraiser, such as advertising in the Megaphone or McKnight Messages. Basket Night – Evie Leddon Some preparations are underway for this fundraiser; we will be having a silent auction this year. We would like to have a co-chair for this event and additional volunteers for the committee. [Secretary’s note: Jenna Noker has agreed to co-chair this event] Megaphone – Evie Leddon The September edition should be out soon, it will be in a newsletter format. Please have the PFA logo included on your submissions. Karen Weidinger suggested that chairpersons who get donations from businesses can put an acknowledgement of thanks in the Megaphone. Membership – Mary Mann Forms are ready to go; they will be sent home in the next Thursday envelope. $10 is the cost of the membership and you will receive a copy of the student directory. Email addresses will be included in the directory. Phone art will be incorporated again this year. Picture Day - Michelle Witsch We have two picture days per school year – this year the dates are September 15 and April 13. We need volunteers to help on those two days. Some parents have responded that they prefer the photo options included with spring pictures and would like to see them paired with the pictures taken in the fall. We will check to see if adding other choices is a viable option. Prepaid Shopping Cards – Sara Hammel Last year our profit was $820, and we need to market this program more aggressively. We would like volunteers to sell the prepaid shopping cards at some events. Shopping cards will also be available during Markey Day pick up. It is hard to compete with Giant Eagle due to their fuelperks program, but you can still earn your fuelperks by purchasing Giant Eagle gift cards through the PFA and using those to pay for your grocery and gift card purchases. Traveling Art Gallery (TAG) – Dena Solman TAG is looking for volunteers to give a half hour presentation on an art print along with a simple craft or snack. We need 6 parents per grade level, so please consider signing up. Presenters would need to be available during the weeks of October 12, November 16 and December 14. To learn more about the TAG program, there is a district-wide presentation at Ingomar Elementary on September 17. Welcome Team – Erin Toomey Chairperson nametags are ready to be picked up, please wear them when you are in the building and you must sign in and out of the PFA’s notebook located in the main office. The Welcome Team will have a small table at the Ice Cream Social to advertise all of the things that the PFA does throughout the year. We are looking for some volunteers to man the table for a short period of time that evening. Please bring a friend to the next PFA meeting!
Announcements If your committee is sending home a flyer to families, the special area teachers have asked that you include copies for them also. When you send your flyer to Mr. Parks for final approval, please copy Mrs. Mazza in on that email as well. If additional flyers are needed she can easily print them. The UBO pep assembly is October 2. We provide drinks for the cheerleaders and band members. We need someone to dress up as the Tiger. We are thinking of incorporating school spirit days, so please let us know if you have any ideas. The PFA will be having a yard sale in the spring. Please share your ideas and we will be looking for people to help organize the event. A representative from our school is urgently needed for the NA Foundation. Northland Library offers a free online tutoring service for students. There will be a link on the PFA blog for more information about the program.
The meeting adjourned at 11:21 am.
Submitted by Please notify the Secretary of any errors or omissions in this report. |
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