October 2023 Meeting Minutes

10/19/2023 9:24 pm

PTA MEETING MINUTES October 2023

 Wednesday, October 4, 2023 – 6:30 EDT

  

Present: Ryan Kelly (Vice-President), Jessica Grande (Treasurer), Marisa Alverez (President), Danielle Collin (Secretary)

Other in-person attendees: Bonnie Carey, Courtney Golden, Rob Televi, Brian Cook, Nicole O’Neil, Chris Audette (co-leader), Michelle Morrissey (co-leader),  Jenny Marcelin, Kelly Lepley, Leila Samara, Amy Browne (teacher rep.), Steve Lewis, Samantha Lewis, Stephanie

Zoom attendees: Blanca Burgos (Family Liaison), Emily Chapman, Carrie Greenaway, Alfonso Pruneda, Julia Negele, Molly & Ben Yi, Erin Talevi, Femaris Pena, Cynthia Hamilton, Steve Mitchell, Meghan Bernazzani, Jeremy, Laura Goodbody.

AGENDA

Welcome, Meeting Overview, Introductions, Minutes Approval

• Marisa welcomed everyone to the meeting-the SSC elections and PTA meeting
• Marisa introduced Chris and Michelle as co-leaders in addition to Blanca as Family Liaison
• Marisa explained the election process and what seats were available. 

SSC Election

• SSC (School Site Council) - School Governing Board
• As a pilot school, our SSC acts as the governing board of the school. Working together with the school leaders, district superintendent, staff and other advisory councils, the SSC oversees all decisions related to: staffing, budget, curriculum and assessment, governance, scheduling, and professional development. 
• 3 representatives + 1 alternate needed
• 2 year term
• CPC (Citywide Parent Council)
• Made up entirely of current BPS parent/caregiver volunteers, the CPC is the official voice of all  38,000 BPS families. The CPC is the umbrella organization of each of our 125 schools’ School Parent Councils (SPCs - this includes the PTA), and we are constituted by the elected representatives from each of our schools. We advocate as one voice for all of our of students and their families.
• 1 representative + 1 alternate needed
• 1 year term
• SpEdPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council)
• 20% of the students in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) system (> 11,000) have disabilities and require services based on their own individual needs. SpEdPAC council advocates on behalf of these children at the Lyndon and throughout the district. 
• 1 representative needed
• 1 year term
• DELAC (District English Learner Advisory Council)
• A multicultural and multiethnic, parent-led committee comprised of English Learner (EL) parents and community members whose task is to provide recommendations to school and district officials in regards to programs and services provided to EL students. Official voice of all our 17,000 EL families in the district.
• 1 representative needed
• 1 year term
• Call for Nominations
• SSC (3 parents and 1 alternate) 2 years
• CPC 1 parent and 1 alternate 1 year term
• SpEdPAC 1 parent 1 year term
• DELAC 1 parent 1 year term
• Introduce Candidates
• CPC
•    Steve Lewis   
• DELAC
• Jenny Marcelin
• SpEdPAC
• SSC
• Katie Clarke: Katie lives in West Roxbury with her husband Jeremy and their three children Theodore, Winifred and Bernadette. Katie’s son started his first year at the Lyndon this year in K1. Katie is a United States Navy Veteran who completed 3 deployments spanning 15 countries during 6 years of service. She holds both a Bachelors of Science and Masters Degree in Psychology. She is currently a Neuropathology Research Coordinator at the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as a certified Massachusetts School Counselor with 3 years of public school experience. Katie is passionate about developing educational models that focus on autonomy, belonging and competency for students. She is a passionate mental health advocate with experience driving change in legislation to make mental health services more accessible and equitable for all students. Katie hopes  to bring her unique experiences, education and dedication to community mental health to The Lyndon with a position on the SSC. She hopes to use the incredible community and opportunities for collaboration to improve educational and community outcomes for all students.
• Brian Cook:
• Rob Televi:

SSC - Nicole O’Neil speaks on

• Pilot School, what it is
• SSC, who they are, what they do. They are the governing board. The importance of active participants to make changes within the school. 

 

Call for Nominations: 

• Marisa calls for nominations:
• Leila nominates Brian Cook
• Marisa nominates Katie Clark
• Brian for Rob Talevi
• Marisa for Jenny Marcelin (DELAC)
• Rob nominates Emily Chapman (emily is stepping down)
• Blanca nominates Alfonso Pruneda SSC) , he accepts and will participate in the election.
• Leila nominates Steve Lewis for (CPC)

SSC - Brian Cook, speaks and shares information about himself on why he is running. He discusses reasons for stepping down and re-running.

SSC - Rob Televi, speaks and shares information on himself. He previously sat as an alternative and is running for a full seat this year. He previously worked with co-leaders on de-leading process.

SSC - Katie Clarke, speaks and shares information on herself and why she is running. She discusses her military background and why she is running. Brand new parent, social emotional learning is important to her. Equity inclusive is important to raise awareness. Deep reflection is required for important changes.

SSC - Alfonso Pruneda, 2 children at the Lyndon, he is accepting and eager to be involved.

CPC - Steve Lewis, speaks on his past involvements (4 years on, 2 years off), focus on any BPS person has a voice. 

 

DELAC - Jenny Marcein, speaks on her involvement, joining last year. Election for co chair is next year. She expresses why DELAC is important to her and why she wants to be the voice to show support. She is happy to serve again.  

Voting Opens

• Voting opens, people submit votes, and it remains open til 7:30pm. 
• Blanca asks if voting is only for parents, faculty does not vote as they have their own reps. 

 

PTA Goals for the year:

• Focus on Bringing the Community together
• These are the goals that the board has, but we are always open to what the community is interested in. Please let us know if you have any other priorities and ideas.
• Marisa ask for feedback from the community

 

PTA is recruiting volunteers for:

• Room Parents: ASAP, Ongoing 
• Outdoor Classroom: Now, Ongoing
• Turkey Trot: Now, event date 11/18/23
• Read for the Record: Now, event date 10/26/23
• Book Fair: Now, event date 10/23/23 - 10/27/23
• Election Day Bake Sale: Now, event date 11/7/23
• Drop Off Brigade: ASAP, Ongoing 

 

Room Parent Program

• Second room parent needed for:
• 2nd - Reese
• 3rd - Leroy
• 4th - Doherty
• Two room parents needed:
• 4th/5th - Coyne
• Middle School -  Carroll, Clifford, Lopez, Mason

        New Middle School focus volunteer opportunities 

 

Dropoff/pick up traffic safety

• STOP- DROP AND GO
• FOR SAFETY, KIDS MUST EXIT VEHICLES ON SCHOOL SIDE
• PLEASE DON’T BLOCK NEIGHBORS DRIVEWAYS OR TRAFFIC
• THE CROSSING GUARDS ARE HERE FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL FAMILIES- PLEASE RESPECT THEIR INSTRUCTIONS
• PTA TRAFFIC SAFETY BRIGADE: 
• VOLUNTEERS NEEDED DAILY FROM 9:10-9:30

 

Outdoor Classroom Updates;

• Eco Friendly Fridays (EFF): We are doing 2 upcoming fall sessions
• Seed-sational 10/6
• 10/22
• Volunteers needed to help set-up and coordinate EFF’s, and help out in the garden throughout the year.
• To Volunteer/questions email: Patricklyndonpta@gmail.com

Upcoming events: 

• Square 1 Art begins Oct 2nd
• PTA Mixer! October 13
• Adults only
• 7pm doors open
• 8:30 musical bingo
• RSVP today on the PTA website
• Bookfair
• October 23-27
• Volunteers needed
• Lelia discuss the teachers bins, you can purchase books for teachers 
• Push for e-wallet (teachers will have e-wallets as well)
• Happening in the middle of the school/hallway so students can still have library time
• Read for the record
• October 26th
• Book = with Lots of Love
• Looking for volunteers (particularly for grades 1 and up)
• Sam Lewis speaks on who, what, when and why
• Craft, will be a pinata
• Reading times vary per teacher
• Election Day bake sale
• November 7th
• Volunteers needed: bakers or buyers to donate baked goods, in-person on 11/7 to run the sale

• Turkey Trot – it is on the 18th of November

• The fundraising committee needs help.
• We also need help on the day of

• Setting up
• Cleaning up
• Running errands
• As much or as little of a commitment from you
• The middle schoolers can volunteer or they can run
• We are looking for a medium-sized kid to wear the turkey trot costume

 

Treasurer’s Updates

• September 2023 Income
• $540: Parent PTA Memberships
• $1,200 Projected
• $205: PTA Donations made with the membership
• $1,000 Projected
• September 2023 Expenses
• $750 Administrative - Membership Toolkit
• $761 Community Building - Kindergarten Coffee and Pizza Party
• $169 Scripps National Spelling Bee
• $478 Teacher Reimbursements
• $40 Room Parent Breakfast - Please submit your receipts
• Collaboration with FOTL - Pizza Pitch Ideas
• PTA to fund $500 towards indoor recess kits
• $500 was our exact budget item for “Lunch & Recess”
• More to come
• ex: FOTL may fund math software this year, PTA can add into the budget for next year

 

Audit is underway

FOTL (Friends of the Lyndon) - Kelly speaks on the following: 

• FOTL held their first Pizza Pitch event last week and it was a huge success! We had over eight pitches from teachers and staff. They got back to teachers today on which pitches they will be funding. 

 

• CORN HOLE is fast approaching! Please see flyers and QR code to register. This is a great parents night out and fundraising opportunity for FOTL. 
• YMCA babysitting is available, please email FOTL directly if interested.

• JOIN US!
• Meetings - 3rd Wednesday of the month
• @7:30pm (10/18, 11/15, 12/20)
  
  
• CONTACT US!
• Instagram: lyndonfriends
• Facebook: Friends of the Lyndon
• Email: lyndonfriends@gmail.com

 

Join the PTA - enroll as a member

 

SSC Committee Updates

• First meeting last month and discussed retreat and agenda and hopes for the upcoming year
• Creation of committees, encourage more involvement from anyone with the following committees: 

 

• Personnel

• Budget

• Facialites

• Team Lydon

• Evaluation

• Lyndon NEXT

 

 

Voting is now closed 7:35pm

PTA Mixer

• What is the reason and expectation of the event
• Discuss partnership with YMCA and availability for PTA events. 

 

Election Results

• SSC: Katie Clarke, Brian Cooke, Alfonso Pruneda, Rob Televi (alternate) 
• CPC: Steve Lewis
• SpEdPAC
• DELAC: Jenny Marecelin
• Vote to approve the results: Approved

 

Upcoming Events:

• Oct. 2nd - Square 1 Art begins!
• Oct. 6th - 3:30pm Eco-Friendly Friday
• Oct. 13th - PTA Mixer! (Adults only)
• Oct. 20th - 3:30pm Eco-Friendly Friday
• Oct. 23rd- Oct 27th - Fall Scholastic Book Fair
• Oct. 26th- Read For the Record- With Lots of Love
• Nov. 1st - PTA Meeting 
• Nov. 7th - Election Day Bake Sale
• Nov. 16th - FOTL Cornhole Tournament (Adults Only)
• Nov. 18th - Turkey Trot

 

Meeting adjourned.  

Minutes submitted by Danielle Collin