October 2020 PTA Meeting Minutes

11/2/2020 1:39 pm

Wednesday, October 14, 2020 – 6:30 EDT

Present:  Sam Lewis (President), Lee Rushton (Vice-President), Ed Greenaway (Treasurer), Katie Tunney (Lower School Director), Andre Ward (Upper School Director), Karen McLaughlin (SAR Teacher Representative), Amy Browne (Teacher Representative)

Other attendees: Vicki  Spiess, Leila Samara, Kathleen Adams, Amanda Borne, Emily Cusimano, Stefanie Frischknecht, Timothy Yaecker, Anne Essaran, Steve Lewis, Kathryn Hazelton, Kristi Schaefers, Julie Ma, Joy Mello, Kin, Caitlin Unger, Michele Antoniazzi, Sapna Padte, Jane Murphy, Kelley Juarez, Sarah Henderson, Lauren Lee, Sue Kemalian, Katrina Magdol, Pam Foster, Christine Barbuto, Angel Maldonado, Mary Cook, Nancy Curran, Laura Goodbody, Courtney, Deb Brendemuehl, Kevin Bergin

Sponsored by: Grade 3

Agenda

Welcome, Meeting Overview, Introductions, Meet and Greet Breakouts

• Board and directors introduced themselves. Karen McLaughlin introduced herself as the new PTA SAR representative. Amy Browne introduced herself as the new teacher representative.
• Reviewed shared National PTA goals: Advocacy, Education, Building Community.
• Breakout rooms did not work, but members shared name, how they are connected to the Lyndon, and their favorite Halloween costumes.

June 2020 Minutes Approval, Accomplishments, Free Money Fundraisers   

• MOTION to approve June 2020 minutes, seconded and passed. Minutes are posted to PTA Facebook and website.
• PTA funded Lyndon-branded masks for all teachers and staff and a welcome back Breakfast to thank them for all they’ve done to get us off to a great start this year!
• There was an unofficial PTA committees meeting held on September 16 to share information on the various committees under the PTA umbrella and let interested parents know how they can help. The PTA is looking to fill leadership roles for the following committees:
• DEI Committee (ongoing)
• By-law Committee (fall)
• Reflections (fall)
• Book fairs (Oct and Apr)
• Square 1 Art (fall)
• Spellcheck (Feb)
• Kindness Week (Feb)
• Teacher Appreciation (May)
• There are four programs that raise money for our school with little-to-no-effort on our part:
• Box Tops – cut from purchase or download the app and scan receipts post-shopping trip
• Amazon Smile – signup through your Amazon account or app
• Coca-Cola Give – create an account and scan codes under caps or in cartons
• Stop & Shop – register your S&S card for up to two schools

Updates Across the Lyndon

• School Site Council will meet October 15 at 5:30PM via Zoom. Everyone is welcome. New parent board members will be voted on tonight. Returning teacher members are Madison Wolfsberg, with Brendan Murphy as alternate. New teacher members are Dale Leong, Kara Maslen, Joan Coleman, Mallory O'Dwyer, and Jen Carey.
• Citywide Parent Council (CPC) will meet on October 27 at 6PM via Zoom. Everyone is welcome.
• Superintendent has committed to meeting with entire group twice and executive committee twice during 2020-2021 school year.
• Build BPS has been put on hold, though large projects will move forward (including Boston Arts Academy rebuild with delayed opening). Expansion of K-5 schools chosen to become K-6 schools will also continue.
• The district capital campaign will ensure all BPS school buildings will have updated bathrooms, windows, and running water.
• The BPS Vietnamese and Cape Verdean programs are looking for space to expand within an existing BPS school.
• The high school redesign plan is on hold.
• The Schools Without Walls plans are moving forward; and have actually been accelerated thanks to COVID.
• At the moment, 45% of all BPS teachers are BIPOC, 100% of district liaisons are BIPOC, and 78% of all social workers are BIPOC.
• The district is working to create a district-wide policy handbook through an anti-racist lens focused on equity.
• Friends of the Lyndon (FOTL) is working with upper school teachers to purchase 24-inch monitors and the lower school teachers to purchase NEC 50-inch tvs to aid in all teachers Zoom classes. They have secured 40 of an intended 300 faceshields for all teachers and paras in the building. The teachers have requested sidewalk chalk to help create safe distancing in the schoolyard during drop-off/pick-up.  Email joy@lyndonfriends.org if you have chalk to donate.
• Room Parents program has kicked off. Stef Frischknecht sent an introductory email to those who were chosen. Everyone understands that the room parent program will look a bit different this year, at least until we get back into the building. Most classrooms have at least one parent signed up, but two is preferable.  The following classrooms have had no parent volunteers yet: Negele (K2), Trieber (SAR D), Wolfsberg (SAR E), Seventh Grade, Eighth Grade.
• Wellness Committee – Coach Zach is in charge of this group. There was no update.
• Caring Committee gathered just before school started to support a rising 4^th grader who lost his father. Lyndon families were encouraged to sign up on an existing Meal Train site to bring food or donate money. If you’d like to be added to the Caring Committee Listserv, send an email to lyndonhelpers@gmail.com (Julie Ma)
• Lyndon Equity Roundtable will meet on October 16 at 8AM via Zoom. The group was established at the Lyndon as part of a districtwide initiative. It is to look at how we can bring equity to our schools across the district by bringing the voices of typically marginalized groups to the forefront and supporting those in need. This group is lead by Sakeenah Chapman (K1 teacher). Parent volunteers coordinated an effort among our community to collect food and money to purchase giftcards.  $2300 in $25 giftcards to Stop and Shop, Shaw’s, and Target were given to the school directors to distribute as needed to Lyndon families.  Five families have already benefited from this initiative.  The districtwide Equity Roundtable meeting will be held on October 16 from 12-1:30 via Zoom.

Treasurer’s Report

• Balances remain similar to the end of last year, since there has been a halt to fundraising and not much need for spending. Typically the PTA would have already hosted or been preparing for the following fundraising events: Bake Sale, Book Fair, Holiday Concert Raffle, Turkey Trot.
• If anyone has new fundraising ideas, please share them with the board. There has already been a suggestion to hold a Bunny Hop (similar to the Turkey Trot). Discussion during the meeting found support for selling beverages and prepackaged (not homemade) snacks, as we are anticipating long lines on November 3.
• Tunney and Mr. Ward said the school will be closed to students and staff on November 3. All classes will be held remote that day.

Nominations, Elections for SSC, CPC, PTA

• SSC
• The district released a set of rules and regulations for SSC elections this year. The district must be notified in advance of elections, the schools should request translation services, nominees must be present to introduce themselves and for voting, and (according to school by-laws) the school must do their best to have SSC seats filled in a way that represents the make-up of their student body and their families.
• Emailed nominations included: Emily Cusimano, Julie Ma, Katrina Magdol, and two other community members who were not present were nominated to the SSC board. Angel Maldonado was nominated in meeting to the SSC board. Steve Lewis was nominated in meeting to fill the alternate seat.
• Nominations that came through email received a response letting them know they had to be present at the meeting in order to be eligible to be on the ballot. The two who did not show did not respond to that email. All nominees present accepted their nominations.  Concern was raised that the non-present nominees were not offered translation services and it was requested that Sam Lewis reach back out to them post-meeting to offer said services; we will consider a revote in that case.
• A vote was taken through a Google Form and as a show of hands (for those who were having trouble with the Google Form). Emily Cusimano, Julie Ma, Katrina Magdol, Angel Maldonado, and Steve Lewis were voted into the positions they were nominated for. Emily, Julie, Katrina, and Steve all volunteered to step down if any BIPOC community members stepped forward with interest in joining the group.
• CPC – Sarah Henderson was nominated to fill the CPC alternate seat, and she accepted the nomination. A vote was taken through a Google Form and as a show of hands (for those who were having trouble with the Google Form). Sarah Henderson was voted into this position. Sarah Henderson volunteered to step down if any BIPOC community members stepped forward with interest in taking the position.
• PTA – Katie Hazleton was nominated to fill the PTA Secretary position, and she accepted the nomination. A vote was taken through a Google Form and as a show of hands (for those who were having trouble with the Google Form). Katie Hazleton was voted into this position.
• MOTION to approve election results, seconded and passed.

Upcoming Initiatives in Detail, Upcoming Events List

• Square 1 Art usually raises over $2000 for our school. Typically art is completed in the classroom and the teachers coordinate the return of the pieces. There is the option to do this remotely this year. Projects would be distributed to families, parents would have to upload finished work. Shipping of purchases to home would be free. Kick-off would need to happen Nov. 1, so decision on whether we move forward with this program would need to happen soon.
• Book Fair can be all virtual (rewarded with 25% scholastic dollars), drive thru with pre-packaged bundles worth $19.99 or $39.99 (no individual purchase options) (rewarded with 25% cash or 50% scholastic dollars), outdoor (similar to typical fair). Consensus was virtual, with the possibility of utilizing the at home flyers, would be the best option. Was suggested that we look into a way to donate books to those who might not be able to purchase through the book fair, similar to how some families have donated extra money in the past to serve this purpose.
• PTA Family Photo Day would serve as a fundraiser and a way to replace school pictures this year. A local photographer who many Lyndon families hired for Front Porch Photos during quarantine is offering her services for mini sessions to be held at the school or a nearby location where families came get quality digital pictures under two packages: 15 minute session/18-25 photos/$75 ($45 to photographer/$30 to PTA) or 5 minute session/5 photos/$30 ($15 to photographer/$15 to PTA). An alternative would be to use parent volunteers to take the photos. It was also suggested we allow families to donate money to pay for sessions for families in need in our community.
• Lyndon Gear virtual shop will be up and running soon. Please email patricklyndonpta@gmail.com with any items you’d like to see added to our Lyndon Gear virtual shop!
• Reflections is a National PTA initiative encouraging all schools to submit student work. Students should submit original artwork in the following categories: dance choreography, literature, photography, film production, music composition, visual arts. Work is submitted to the local PTA for judging, we then pass our chosen submissions along to the National PTA for the larger competition.  The Lyndon PTA is looking for volunteers to help with coordinating and judging this competition.
• Read for the Record will take place on October 29 for grades K1-3 and SAR A and B via Zoom. It is an effort to set the world record for most people reading the same book on the same day.  At the same time we will be raising awareness of the importance of early childhood literacy and developing a love of reading.  This year’s book is Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away by Sonia Sanchez.
• Join the Outdoor Classroom Committee for bulb planting on October 18.
• The next PTA meeting will be held on November 4 at 6:30 and will be sponsored by grades 6-8.

Meeting adjourned

Minutes submitted by Vice-President, Lee Rushton