PFA Meeting Minutes

PFA Meeting Minutes October 18, 2010

Present: Lisa Johnson, Debbie Rubenstein, Lynnda Columbo, Faye Kovner, Christine Bianco, Randy Margulis, Susan Monane, Regina Cox, Maria Kist, Mark Kastan, Donna Sirlin, Randy Miller, Eve Tucker, Suzanne Nathin, Lisa Strick, Barbara Willock, Angela Pierro, Sara DeLange, Eileen Janowsky, Lori Gottheim, Stephanie Wang

Meeting called to order at 9:06 a.m.

President’s Report: By Laws passed and tabled for the next 2 years which in then, old vs. new will be addressed. Back to School Night went great. Kudos to the membership committee. The remaining directories were labeled, placed in the main office, and an email went out to the members directing them where to pick them up. A chair and co- chair is needed for Spirit Day. Freshman Breakfast went smoothly. Thank you to the PTO/PFA Liaisons for their help. To date we have raised $12,000 thru the TDA Account Tagging Program. Right now we are in talks with Valley National Bank, trying to get them on board. Help is needed with the printing of Agendas.

Treasurers Report: Checking: $ 16, 515.34 Savings: 500.23 Total: $ 17,015.57

Principals Report: Sarah started out by saying “Thank You”, to the Hospitality Committee for the Freshman Breakfast. The Community Life printed an article/picture covering our “Dressed in Black for Humanity”. It is posted outside the main office. It is budget season. We are already reviewing our 8th Grade enrollment. On Wednesday, October 27th, there is an 8th Grade Parent/Student Program at 7:00 p.m. at Hills. On Monday, November 22nd, 7:00 p.m. at Hills, there will be a meeting to voice your opinion on what you would like in a Superintendent. January applications and resumes will be submitted. There are three teachers expecting, Ms. Donnelly, Ms. Spano and Ms Sandhage. They are due towards the end of the school year.

Administrative Secretary’s Report: Nothing to report.

Recording Secretary’s Report: Nothing to report.

Teacher Representative/Guidance: Frank Cherichello. Freshman Conferences are underway. We are starting to get them logged into Naviance. Starting next school year, we are going to use “E-Docs” for the submission of teacher recommendations. On Thursday, October 21st, the College Fair is being held at Northern Valley H.S., Old Tappan. The students should be checking there e-mails regularly.

Student Government Liaison: Stephanie Wang. On September 30th we had “Color Wars”. We saw a vast improvement in participation. It may have had to do with the competitive factor of each grade wearing different colors. The class of 2013 had a candy fundraiser and they made $60.

BOE Liaison: Mark Kastan. There is a BOE Meeting tonight at 7:30. The next meeting will be on November 1st. The Superintendent search will be year round. The official job posting will be made at the end of the year. In regards to the recent vote, if you have any other concerns or questions, please contact the Mayor and Council. The BOE has nothing to do with it.

PTO Liaison, Montvale Schools: Sarah Delange. Thank you to all of the parents who helped with the Freshman Breakfast. The District received the Language Arts Grades from recent state testing and they were not good. Teachers will be taking workshops to help improve our grades. Our Trunk or Treat Fundraiser will be held on Halloween on Memorial Drive. The price is $15. The Lifetime station will run a show titled “Paperless PTO”. Mike Kerin will be featured. As always, we want to thank the members of our community who continually support the needs of a family who was struck with the sudden loss of their mother/wife back in June. The MEF is holding there annual “Casino Night” in November. Last Thursday, the Principal of our Middle School, Mark Maire, had a meeting with Ms. Van Gunten and the guidance counselors.

PFA Liaison, WCL Schools: Eileen Janowsky. There was a tragic death of a mom in the community. A meal chain has been set up for the family and the PFA is providing lunches for the children. We are changing the times of our meetings from 9:30 to 8:30 to help out the working parents. For our Thanksgiving Fundraiser, we are selling cakes and pies. Our book sale is going on. The middle school is holding a “Tolerance” program.

Old business/New Business: We received a piano over the summer at an extremely discounted price from a fellow resident. The Steinway Piano was appraised at $40,000; however, the resident sold it to the school for a mere $15,000. The PFA gifted $2,000 for the extras that were needed. We will be adding a bagel breakfast for the freshman’s during the PSAT’S. We need a volunteer to take this on.

Hills/Valley Coalition: Gayle Mangold/ Donna Sirlin. On Sunday, October 17th, our band played at the Newark Basilica. It was a great honor being that no other school has ever had the privilege of playing there. It was beautiful. We are looking to fund a program in the spring dealing with teen depression/suicide how to help identify and prevent. We need volunteers. River Houston, a speaker on the college circuit, will be addressing the 10th and 11th grades. The freshman will be shown the film “Binge Drinking”. The seniors will watch the film “Stone Cold 2”. There is a documentary called “Race to Nowhere” told by children. It deals with the reality of overachieving and the effects it has on students. We are looking into a possible fundraiser where we would charge admission to watch the film. If we do so, 50 percent of the proceeds would have to go back to the organization, or we can pay a flat licensing fee. We are looking to bring a program into the middle schools called “Pressure/Parent/Stressed out kids.

Website: Maria Kist is retiring. We are looking for a new assistant. We need a procedure on sending e-blasts for other groups. We are tabling this for further discussions. Mike made adjustments so faculty can login to our website to buy tickets for fundraisers. We are looking into the possibility of teachers becoming members. We have the ability to send e-blasts to specific grades.

Military Bridge: Still looking for volunteers. The freshman students will help set-up.

Career Day: Friday, November 19th. So far we have 45 presenters.

Fashion Show: We will have our 1st meeting on November 10th. Mailings are ready to go out.

Expense Reimbursement: Please note if you want to be reimbursed for any and all expenses, there is an invoice you have to fill out. You must mail the invoice, with a copy of your receipts attached to it, to the Treasurer.

Scholarship: Letters should be going out soon to the seniors and local businesses.

Non-Event-Event: Will be going out after Military Bridge. We are looking into the first weeks of November.

Newsletter: The due date for all articles is October 29th. Will send out and email blast.

Ways n means: The senior seminar will be held on June 1st. We would like to make it a longer day. We can do a bagel/coffee breakfast, with a boxed/bagged lunch.

Safe Grad: The $2,500 down payment was made to the facility. On January 30th, a deposit for transportation will be needed. 200 bags were ordered and there will be no year printed on them so any extras can be used for the next year.

Meeting was adjourned at 10:55 a.m. The next meeting will be on Monday, December 13th, 9:00 a.m.