Condit Elementary PTO

Condit Elementary PTO Minutes of the November 3, 2014 PTO meeting

Call to Order: Ali Septimus called the meeting to order at 8:15 am in the Condit library.

Ali Septimus introduced Alison Heath, Condit’s new Curriculum Coordinator. Alison Heath explained that she works with teachers, students, and administrators. She helps manage the targeted assistance received from the Title I federal funding, which includes several prescribed agenda items throughout the year, curriculum, promotion and retention. The Parent Advisory Council (PAC) facilitates parental involvement through the agenda items. The next PAC meeting (November 17th) is partnered with Finnigan Counseling Services and the topic is discipline that works. The Title I funding has also helped bring Ms. Ritchie back as an interventionalist. A parent asked whether Ms. Heath goes through old curriculum items or uses new specific ones for particular groups of children because the parent has identified inaccurate information in her child’s work. Ms. Heath explained that for the curriculum component of her position she teaches the teachers, and that teachers are responsible for the accuracy of information taught.

Ali Septimus also introduced Ms. Ames, a Kindergarten teacher who is serving as the Faculty Representative to the PTO this year.

Officer Reports

President Ali Septimus stated the Condit Groundbreaking turnout was great, and thanked Julia Tamm, Pegi Newhouse, and Alicia Escamilla for their hard work putting together the ceremony. At the Bellaire City Council meeting tonight at 7pm, they are going to proclaim tomorrow, November 4th, 2015 as Condit Elementary Day!

VP Finance Michal Lutfak announced that there will be a 100 Year Gala in March to celebrate Condit’s existence. Reduced tickets are currently on sale through the PTO website through November 21st. After then, the prices will increase. The Family portion of RFTS has done very well this year, raising over $70K, and the Business portion, headed up by Minette Hiller, has received over $25K.

Treasurer Pegi Newhouse passed out copies of the PTO Bylaws with proposed changes. Melanie Carter explained that the current Bylaws state an audit will be conducted each year, and it is proposed to change this to a Review Committee. Copies of this proposed change will remain available in Condit’s front office until the next PTO meeting, at which point we will take a vote. Melanie Carter explained that much research has been done about using a Review Committee, and this is a common approach taken by many nonprofits to avoid the costly and time-intensive official audit, while still conducting a thorough review of the PTO’s financial matters. Melanie thanked Suzi Nelson, Beth Lemon, Jennifer Cross, Ali Septimus, and Anne Stoeber for serving on this year’s Review

of 3 Committee. She also noted that, as a result of the October Review Committee meeting, the Committee is currently formulating a set of proposed changes concerning financial matters, and expects those soon. Melanie Carter also distributed a current Profit and Loss Report. She noted that the School Spirit Store (#1100) currently shows a loss because they just purchased hoodies, but this will change once they are sold. Also, the Student Fundraiser (#1140) still has to pay the fundraising company their cut, so that profit will likely be around $15K for Condit.

Committee Reports

Student Fundraiser: Delivery of items is set for November 11th, and help is needed for this. A magic show for all is coming up.

Sociables: The Sociables events continue to make money for Condit. The events are well done and lots of fun for participants! The next Sociables is December 5th, which is a Condit Market.

Fall Carnival: This year’s Carnival was a success, raising $9,500. Huge thanks to Michal Lutfak and Sarah Levine-Kass for serving as chairs this year. New chairs are needed for next year.

Condit Directory: Julia Tamm and Beth Lemon completed and delivered the Condit Directories. Additional copies may be purchased for $5 each.

Book Fair: This week the Book Fair will be at Condit. Thanks to Whitney Donaldson, Jami Fowler, and Heather Mee for chairing this event.

Holiday Party: A host is needed for the PTO party in December!

Nominating Committee: At the January 12th PTO meeting, we will form a Nominating Committee to select the slate of candidates for next year’s PTO Board.

UIL: Deirdre Rozowski announced an event to be held at Condit on Saturday, November 8th, where a coach will come work with kids for public speaking (for free!). This is a useful topic for those competing in acting, as well as a general useful class for all. Anyone interested can contact her about signing up for the UIL Living Tree group to stay informed.

PAT: Pegi Newhouse stated the Groundbreaking Ceremony was a success, and we can all soon expect to see lots of construction on Condit’s campus. The PAT has asked the builder to keep Condit informed of what phase the construction is in as well as advanced notice of design deadlines so the committee can work together to meet these.

Jennifer Cross distributed the September 2014 PTO meeting minutes for review. Deirdre Rozowski passed a motion to approve these meeting minutes, and Beth Lemon 2nd this motion. A large show of hands approved the motion, and no one dissented. Michal Lutfak suggested we post a link to the minutes (currently available on the PTO website) on the Condit Happenings prior to each PTO meeting.

RFTS: Michal Lutfak stated that $18K of the $73,5K family donations is from company matching. Also, employees of some companies are paid for their volunteer work.

100 Year Gala: Michal Lutfak stated there will be dancing, a band, silent auction, and a Gatsby theme. Volunteers are needed—even opportunities for working parents—for data entry, solicit donations, etc. Tickets are on sale though the PTO website at a reduced rate through November 21st, and then they will increase. Kristi Coffey and Pegi Newhouse are making a Condit coffee table style book that will be for sale. Someone asked if teachers receive a reduced ticket rate. Michal explained that yes, teachers receive a free ticket if they donate, an additional ticket for their spouse for two donated items, a reduced rate for no donations, and parents can

of 3 sponsor a teacher’s ticket price. Julia Tamm suggested we set up babysitting somewhere, like Houston Gymnastics Academy or Let Us Play.

Principal’s Remarks: Dan Greenberg stated the Condit Groundbreaking turnout was great, and that Condit is the first school in the city to break ground. The Book Fair is coming up, as well as Condit Elementary Day, Magnet School tours this week, and UIL. He noted that UIL participants did fantastic at a recent competition. Mr. Greenberg stated that Monday at 6pm, a meeting is being held for any interested parents to incoming Kindergartners for next year for the dual-language program. In response to a question, Mr. Greenberg noted that it is not a magnet program, just a neighborhood dual-language program for zoned kids.

Middle School Application Process: Ms. Grimm held a special session to explain the middle school application process. She distributed sheets on: Important Magnet Dates for All Middle Schools, 4 options to turn in required documents, How to Apply to Magnet and Vanguard Programs, and English/Spanish Middle School Magnet Programs Applications.

Ms. Grimm explained that Condit is a neighborhood school, so all the students are zoned. In contrast, a magnet school is when students apply for a special program, such as fine arts, STEM, health, IB, foreign language, etc. If a student is not zoned to that particular school, s/he must submit an application. She emphasized the importance of determining if your student is interested in a particular school—not just to relying on popular opinion. Ms. Grimm explained that a vanguard program is the equivalent of a gifted and talented (GT) program. Students have to meet a minimum score on a matrix. Every school in HISD has a GT program, but not every school has a vanguard program. The IOWA and Cogat standardized tests configure into the matrix. Kindergartners and 5th graders are taking the Cogat this month. Students in 1st-4th grades who wish to apply for GT status need to request to take the Cogat. In response to a question, Ms. Grimm explained that teachers have a practice assessment for the students, and Ms. Ames added that those are usually conducted and sent home 1-2 days before the actual test. A parent noted that prep materials can be purchased on Amazon.com.

To apply, Ms. Grimm explained that paper applications are available, but the district is pushing online applications. Please note that online, you can choose 10 schools to which to apply and only 5 may be vanguard, so make a list first to ensure no mistakes. Visit campuses this week. Mr. Greenberg noted there is a lot of movement after the initial school drawing in the spring. A parent noted Pin Oak didn’t require uploading any documents, but rather would be able to retrieve students’ report card and standardized test scores from the HISD database. Ms. Grimm stated that she is sending home 4th grade report cards, 1st 9 weeks of 5th grade report cards and Stanford/IOWA scores to parents.

Ms. Grimm also explained that students zoned to Johnson, Pershing, and Long can apply to Pin Oak under the Boundary status. Two of the three houses at Pin Oak are for Boundary students. It is a separate application and she has copies. Mr. Greenberg noted the best source of information for a particular school is from that school, and Ms. Grimm added that there are Magnet Coordinators at the schools who assist in the application process. Cindy Cook is the Coordinator at Pin Oak. Ms. Grimm will post this information on the 5th grade Living Tree.

After applying, it’s a waiting game. Ms. Grimm finds out from the students—not the district—where students get into. She also explained that while siblings get priority for admission, this is not the case if the only current sibling is an outgoing 8th grader. It is important to reply to one school by April 10th, but you can still hear throughout the summer whether you got into another.

Adjournment: 9:15 am

Minutes respectfully submitted by Jennifer Cross, 2014-15 PTO VP of School Services / Support.