September 2022 Meeting Minutes

9/22/2022 4:42 pm

PTA MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 2022

“Planning” Meeting 

 Wednesday, September 14, 2022 – 6:30 EDT

 Present:  Maya Dias (President), Leila Samara (Vice-President), Jessica Williamson (Secretary), Jessica Grande (Treasurer)

 Other in-person attendees: Catherine Carney (Management Team), Blanca Burgos (Family Liaison), Andre Ward (Management Team), Anne Essaran, Natalie Fleury, Lorena Almeida, Emily Chapman, Jill Grady, Chris Rohrig, Colleen Leger, Danielle ?, Bonnie Carey, Erin ?, Jenn Schiarrizi, Kajahl Fitzgerald, Carrie Greenaway, Sapna Padte, Nicole O’Neil

Zoom attendees: Pam Foster, Cara Tuttle, Jenny Marcelin, Devaki Perryman, Michele Anonizzi, Michelle Gruosi, Kristin O’Donnell, Evan Schlossberg, Yessenia Alison Garcia Maldonado (?) 

Agenda

 Welcome, Meeting Overview, Introductions 6:30pm - 6:50pm

• Maya welcomed everyone to the meeting. Explained this is a PTA Planning meeting. Last year we were very reactive, this year let’s be proactive. 
• Introductions of Blanca Burgos, PTA Board Members, Catherine Carney, Andre Ward

PTA School year Plan, 6:50 – 7:10

• Reminder that the PTA is here for all children, not just those who are members of the PTA. 
• Review of the 2022-2023 School Year PTA Plan 
• Focus: Social Emotional (SEL) support for students, staff and the community; School Site Council (SSC) support and accountability, Lyndon Staff Engagement
• Theme: Clarity, Communication and Community 
• We’ll be discussing the planning document with the school management team 
• SEL topics: better strategies to support 6th - 8th graders 
• Maya suggests every three months an open forum that is separate from the PTA where people can raise issues 
• Explanation of the School Site Council (SSC) 
• Lyndon Staff Engagement - explanation that we want staff to feel supported and celebrated but to also have clear accountability and responsibility framework.
• Communication 
• We’ve had positive feedback from community about frequency of comms, we’ll continue
• Annual blanket PTA Permission form? 
• What happens if a kids’ parent doesn’t sign the form? 
• Mr. Ward - if the event is during school hours, we’re covered. if it’s outside of the school hours there are other concerns
• Supta - keep photography in mind, don’t include that on permission form
• New Fundraising idea - Lyndon Lion Alumni Association - explore how to set this up: bylaws finances and set up a PTA subcommittee to lead this
• Huge untapped resource, this building has been here for 100 years, find folks 
• Long-term goal: improve the 6-8th grade academic and extracurricular standards 
• Supta noted - this is not just a reflection of our school, this is happening across the district 
• Maya - keep in the back of your mind that there’s still a lot going on 

Volunteer Opportunities

Call for Nominations

• School Site Council - two-year term - 6 parents needed 
• Citywide Parent Council - voice of parents across the district - 1 parent 
• SpEdPAC - 1 representative needed for Parent Advisory Committee
• DELAC - launched in 15-16 - also need 1 parent (Jenny Marcelin to volunteered over Zoom) 

Committee Overview

• Fundraising, Advocacy, Library, etc.
• Remember that CORI needs to be completed to be a volunteer (PTA, room parent, etc.)
• Question - when is it good to come and complete the ID / CORI - Ms. Carney suggested after morning drop-off

Safety Issue 

Drop off/pick up traffic safety:

• K-3 grade a parent/caregiver MUST drop off 
• 4th grade and older - this is ok but pull right up and 
• please don’t park in front of driveways 
• Snow shoveling - we have two parent volunteers, but we could use more to clear the playground 
• Suggestion in chat - please send home a note that explains these safety guidelines

Audit

• We need auditors of our budget 

Upcoming Events listed including:

• October 5 PTA meeting - nominations 
• School Site Council meeting is scheduled for September 22nd at 6pm

Open Forum 7:35pm 

Bonnie - brought up the closet. Maya - it will be turned into “The Lyndon Boutique” (Bonnie is chair of the caring committee)

Lorena - curriculum night? Confirmed that it will be 10/3/2022 in person. She asked if parents are allowed to contribute to the curriculum. Maya - yes, a pilot school is allowed to contribute to the curriculum, but it will be up to SSC and we need an empowered SSC. including the bylaws need to be rewritten 

Maya - the school doesn't do a great job of communicating the good things that happen. The school needs to let us know all the supplementary work they do.

Elections for SSC happen at the next PTA meeting. To nominate yourself, reach out to the current SSC or to the PTA. 

We are asking SSC to post their by-law and minutes online too. Meetings are every third Thursday. 

Ms. Carney - one of the most important things to be involved in on the SSC is the hiring committee but it can be a bit time consuming. 

Plug for room parents. 

Meeting Adjourned - 7:56pm