PTSO General Membership Meeting

PTSO General Membership Meeting September 9, 2014 – 7:03pm

In Attendance: Kathy Baker, Linda Russ, Judy Schmid, Helen Chang-Lin, Dr. Elizabeth Noto, Anisha Mathur, Lexi Swinimer, Tara Adamowicz, Barbara Fink, Courtney Rae, Edna Howard, Sanjita Sethi, Mary Zormelo, Jamie Johnson, Pam Stone, Kristy Brewer, D’Andrea Abdullah, Monique Howe-Freeman, (18)

Helen Chang-Lin motioned to approve June minutes. Kristy Brewer seconded. June 2014 Minutes approved.

Principal Report –Dr. Elizabeth Noto

 Welcome.  PISA Results will be discussed next month  Homecoming is the Week of Sep 22. There will be a varied bell schedule: 30 minute advisory in morning. Dressed up students go to cafeteria for judging. Points are awarded by class.  Fair at the Falls: SCA will report  Powder Puff was Oct 3 had to be moved to Oct 2 due to major holiday on Oct 3  Pri”Roar”ities is rebranding flex. Flex will now be one class instead of two. All teachers will be available for instruction. There will still be 20 minutes of SSR but there will be no bell signaling the end. Students may continue to read if they want. Students can flex in one direction. Teachers will no longer be manning hallways.  Graduation: Currently it is scheduled at PFHS. There is a Principal meeting tomorrow where I will see if there is anyway of moving it to the Patriot Center

Community Outreach Liaison: Anisha Mathur  Homecoming week is Sep 22nd-26th. Homecoming Theme: Around the World Spirit Days: Monday: America, Tuesday: Black Tie, Wednesday: Geek Chique, Thursday: Travelers, Friday: Class Colors. Class Halls: Seniors: Rio De Janiero, Juniors: Rome, Sophomores: London, Freshmen: Beijing, SCA NYC  Fair at the Falls will be held Friday before homecoming. Activities are free and include a Petting zoo, moon bounce, dunk tank. The food will be free as well. It is being advertised through a door to door campaign, Flyers will be sent to elementary schools and it will be advertised at school and put on the SCA website. No help is needed from the PTSO at this time  SCA has Twitter account

SCA – Lexi Swinimer  SCA started working the week after school ended last year  Pep Rallies were prescheduled and are listed in students’ agendas  Homecoming tickets: Tickets will be on sale next Thursday for $25  Dance permission forms came home at the beginning of the school year. There are additional permission forms needed if a guest is coming from another school  Sat Sept 20 first day of decorating in hallways 10-4, Sunday the 21st from 1-6 and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday decorating may begin at 6:30 AM Judging Wed 5:30  Soab applications are due Sep 15th, Freshmen officer election will be done at the end of this week

Treasurer’s Report : Linda Russ

 Membership is doing very well $2870 After last Friday BTSN up to 44 families $3700 Almost hit our $4000 goal  We’re not involved with ABC anymore.  $1800 ornaments $1140 Panther Cards  Keep Pushing Amazon  No outgoing expenses yet

Teacher Rep: Monique Howe-Freeman

 Missy had asked me what teachers’ wanted/liked about last year. We like everything you do for us. Teachers really appreciate gifts cards especially from Target, Chipotle, ChickFilA, Barnes and Noble and Amazon

MSAAC: Jamie Johnson

 MSAAC is a Sub committee of the LCPS School board. It is comprised of a network of parents, school administration, students and school board members. The committee provides a respectful platform for keeping parents informed by discussing various topics such as advocacy for equal education and closing the achievement gap.  You do not have to be a delegate to attend the meetings.  There was no meeting in June  Meetings are held the third Wednesday of the month at 7:00 in the LCPS Building.  The next meeting is Sep 17th. Terry Breeden the new Assistant Superintendent of Instruction will be introduced.  In the past we have held an Academic Fair, conducted joint meetings with CAMPUS and partner with other groups.  In August LCPS conducted a beginning teacher institute where teachers spent two days participating in workshops and break out sessions. MSAAC presented a workshop on diversity

Programs: Helen Chang-Lin

 SAT Test Prep Program Forms are on the table and will be on website  This year there will be three extended courses instead of 2 and only 1 power course  Over the summer we ran a test prep program through Kaplan over 11 days and brought in $1088 pure profit  Will check Dr. Otten’s availability to work with seniors on their college essays  Not doing Toastmasters this year. Sent 3 kids to Dominion last year  Kaplan Practice Tests will continue this year (We held 2 sessions of 50 students last year). Dominion allows our kids to participate in their Toastmasters program. We will allow their kids to sign up for the Practice Tests here. 3 practice test dates (2 of which will be combo) will be posted on the website

Hospitality: Missy Hooper (Kathy Baker reporting)

 If interested contact Missy

Membership – Kathy Baker

 34 faculty members have signed up so far. Some made additional donations  170 families. Our goal is for 500 families to sign up by November 1st  Senior Families: New this year – The deadline to register in order to apply for the PTSO Scholarship is November 1st

Fundraising – Ali (Kathy Baker reporting)

 Ornaments: Sold 59, ordered 350  Panther Cards: They are new cards this year and are being sold for $20 instead of $10 . The Football program is selling them also

LEAP – Kathy Baker

 Meetings are held once a month at 7:00 PM on the second Wednesday of the month at the LCPS building. There is a link on the PTSO website  This month’s topic is School Safety: How to combat Bullying and More. It is a Panel driven discussion with a Q&A session.  Anyone is eligible to attend

New Business:

 Graduation: This year’s venue is currently Potomac Falls High School. There is a Principal’s meeting tomorrow where Dr. Noto will see if there’s any chance in moving it to the Patriot Center.

 Project Graduation: (Jamie Johnson reporting) All night Grad party is for Seniors only. We haven’t decided on a location yet. We will put out a survey out as soon as possible. Last year Project Graduation was conducted on the Spirit of Washington. Two years before it was at Dave and Busters. Project Grad requires alot of volunteers. There is a committee that has many senior parents on it this year. We will need underclass parents as well. I need a cochair. Project Grad Meetings will be after monthly PTSO meetings starting next month  No other questions

Meeting Adjourned at 7:45.

The next meeting will be October 14th at 7:00PM