MONTA VISTA April PTA Meeting Summary
(Not Minutes – Thanks Jill Nakamura)
President’s
Report – Thank you to
Kate Finn for coordinating the Career Day speakers (rest of the report on home
page)
Treasurer’s Report and Grants – Debbie
Casanova
The
Budget Committee needs to be formed with Diane Polgar
(incoming Treasurer), Suman, and April.
If anyone is interested, email Debbie or Suman.
Grant
Requests:
Debbie mentioned
that $8,000 is available to spend on grants or carry over to the 09-10 school
year.
1. Barbara Goldman and Loy Oppus
requested $100-$125 to fund prizes for the Bike/’walk to School Day. Judy Wilson moved to allocate funds not to
exceed $125 for student prizes at Bike/Walk to School Day. Motion carried.
2. Students from the Community Leadership
class are planning a Benefit Concert on Saturday, May 30th where all proceeds
will go to FHFSN (Friends Helping Friends with Special Needs). High school and middle school musicians will
perform in MV’s auditorium. The
Community Leadership class is requesting funding for flowers and food for the
musicians, hiring technicians, and printing costs for flyers and posters. Judy Wilson made a motion not to exceed $200
to the Community Leadership class for the Benefit Concert. Motion carried.
3. April stated that Challenge Day costs about
$5,000 for each day/ twice a year. Currently, the PTA’s budget is $2,000.
4. A new sound system will be installed in the
gym for rallies and performances. The
cost is $2,000.
5. More benches and/or tables with umbrellas
and benches are needed along the perimeter of the rally court. Debbie said it costs $5,000 for eight benches
or $625 each. April suggested installing
umbrellas to the round cement cylinders to offer shade as students sat on them.
Judy Wilson made
a motion to spend $3,000 for Challenge Day, $2,000 toward the sound system in
the gym, and the remainder, up to $3,000, for the benches and umbrellas up to
April’s discretion. Motion carried.
Debbie also
noted that the landscaping still has $1,800 left. April mentioned that Diana Goularte will speak to Debbie regarding a question about
the seals.
Committee
Reports:
Honorary Service Awards (HSA) – Diane Bodwin and Helene Davis
Diane presented
the first HSA award to Monica Libby, and Helene acknowledged Diane Bodwin for their outstanding service and dedication. Corky Chew, Nancy Gilbert, and Linda Toda
were also recognized as recipients.
Diane presented Cathy Gatley with the Golden
Oak Award for her significant contributions to the welfare of children and
youth in the school and the community.
The HSA Banquet is May 8th at the Quinlin
Center.
Bike/Walk to
School Day – Loy Oppus-Moe and Barbara Goldman
Loy reported
that the Bike/Walk to School Day is Wednesday, May 20th. Barbara encouraged Kennedy and Lincoln to
participate. There will be a classroom
competition where the class with the most tickets wins. Loy circulated a sign up to donate food or
help out.
New Business:
Elections – Valerie Hayes and Suman Ganapathy
Valerie presented the 2009-2010 Executive
Board:
President
Suman Ganapathy
Executive Vice
President Lisa
Bates
Secretary Jill
Nakamura
Treasurer
Diane Polgar
Financial
Secretary
Theresa Chen
Auditor Robin Andy
Historian
Maureen Schneider
Student
Representative ASB
President
Parliamentarian Valerie
Hayes
1st VP
(Information) Judy Wilson
Membership
(School, Front End) Chanchal Sahai
2nd VP (Student
Services)
Barbara Goldman
SAT/PSAT
Seminars Mandie Law
Reflections Fran Hardee
Emergency
Preparation Debbie Casanova
3rd VP
(Communication) Renuka Alladi
4th VP
(Hospitality)
Pam Siu
Suman opened the floor for any additional
nominations. None were presented so the
nominations were closed. The slate was
approved.
Goals and Budget
Committee – Suman Ganapathy
and Debbie Casanova
To be discussed
at the next meeting.
Convention
Attendees – Lisa, student attendee, more?
No report due to
time constraint.
Parent Link – Suman Ganapathy and Judy Wilson
April reported
that Parent Link takes veteran parents and links them with new parents to the
MV community. Volunteers could call new
parents to make them feel welcome by answering questions. Cathy Gatley
suggested an area during Running of the Bulls where new parents could meet,
socialize, and have snacks.
Staff
Appreciation – Pam Siu
Staff
Appreciation Lunch is Friday, May 8th.
If anyone can provide a vegetarian pasta salad, please email Pam.
Invite Kennedy
and Lawson Parents to Next Meeting? – Suman Ganapathy
It was decided
to invite Kennedy and Lawson Parents to the May meeting.
Next PTA
meeting: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 7:00
p.m. in the library.
The meeting was
adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
The parent
workshop, “State of College Admissions and What it Means For You?”
presented by Purvi Mody of
Insight Education will follow in the library.
MONTA VISTA PTA Meeting Summary
(Not Minutes – Thanks Jill Nakamura)
MONTA VISTA PTA MINUTES
March 24, 2009
Monta
Vista will host the April 21st board meeting. Recognitions will be presented at the
beginning of the meeting from 6:30 - 7:15.
The next coffee is this Thursday, March 26th.
Debbie presented reports for March.
Committee
Reports:
Loy reported that the Bike/Walk to School Day is scheduled for
Wednesday, May 20th.
A sign-up sheet for volunteers and food was distributed which is
also on School Loop and the MV website.
Maureen suggested distributing handouts about helmet fitting.
Next PTA meeting: Tuesday,
April 28, 2009 time to be determined.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:37 p.m.
A parent workshop presented by Carol Satterlee
and Lisa Fairchild from Family on the Edge followed the PTA meeting at 7:30 in
the library.
Respectfully submitted,
Jill Nakamura
Monta
Vista PTA Secretary
MONTA
February 24, 2009
Suman mentioned that Loy needs volunteers for the Bike/Walk-to-School
Day in May.
Debbie presented reports for January and February.
Committee
Reports:
Michelle Balmeo gave an update on the fundraiser for the trip to the
American South scheduled for March 12th –17th. The dinner
is this Saturday from 6:30 in the field house.
So far, 100 tickets at $20 each have been sold. She is anticipating about a $1,500 profit
that includes Site Council funding and cost cutting measures. The total estimated cost is $1,15 for 40 students, therefore, the kids will not need to
pay the final payment of $300-$350.
Michelle presented a grant request for the PTA to sponsor two teachers
(Andrew Sturgill and herself) to fund expenses for
hotel, airfare for one, and substitutes’ costs. The grant total is $1,594. Michelle will save $270-$280 if a volunteer
donates their time to substitute. Motion to pay up to $1,600, if needed, to
sponsor two teachers to attend the American Studies field trip for this school yea was made, voted onr. Motion carried
Career Day/Job Shadow – See Principal’s Report.
Coffee with April – Thursday, March 26th
Bike/Walk-to-School Day – See President’s Report.
Next PTA meeting: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in the
café. Parent seminar by Carol Satterlee and Lisa Fairchild from Families on the Edge will
follow the PTA meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the library.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:36 p.m.
The parent
workshop, “How to Determine Success in High School” by Linda Silvius from Project Cornerstone followed the PTA meeting.
PTA MEETING SUMMARY -
January 27, 2009
Brad has been at Monta
Vista for 19 years as a teacher, coach, athletic director, and assistant
principal. He gave an overview of his
responsibilities which include the School Site Council,
Graduation/Baccalaureate, new teacher orientation, and STAR testing. Monta Vista has
been chosen by the federal government to participate in The National Assessment
Evaluation Program (NAEP) that will test 150 randomly chosen seniors. Fifty students will take a math test, 50 will
take a science test, and 50 will take an English test. Students will not know
in advance which test (90 min.) they will be given. Tests will be proctored by an outside
source. Scores will be posted as a group
by the government. Brad thanked the PTA
for supporting all of the new teachers.
Megan Birdsong, Library Media Teacher
Megan is the point of contact for School
Loop. Currently, about 50 out of 115
teachers use School Loop. It is an
elective communication tool for teachers, and cannot be mandated. The district is working on uniformity across
all school sites for common information which will be available after the
February break. The main benefits of
School Loop are support for struggling students and communication to students
and parents. Group discussions take
place in which content must be school related, and is closely monitored.
Suman reported on behalf of Nausheen. The date of the Science and Engineering Fair
will be set next week. The Student
Academics Commission will begin contacting companies and ask employees to serve
as judges along with the PTA and science teachers. Nausheen would like
to report at the next meeting since everything will be set by then.
The report was made by Debbie. Motion to allocate funds for Every
15 Minutes was made, seconded, voted upon and passed.
Mandie mentioned that
the SAT chemistry review classes are full (40 students) and more than 20
students are on the waiting list. Mandie moved to revise the SAT/PSAT budget for the
2009-2010 school year to increase net income by
$2000. Motion carried.
Membership is down 20% from last year. In these tough times, it is important to support PTA and children.
We need another membership drive to request people to become memebrs, and show support to the cause of children and
education.
Committee
Reports:
This year, there were only 13 participants,
submitting 16 entries in all the categories.
Fourteen made it to council, and 7 were winners in all 6 categories.
These were forwarded to the 6th District PTA (
Nominating Committee – Election of a committee
So far, Judy has spent $800. The following presentations are scheduled:
February 24th: Project Cornerstone ($150 per hour), a
non-profit organization, trains adults to raise
healthy children. They will give a
presentation from 7:30-9:00.
March 24th: Carol Satterlee and
Lisa Fairchild are family coaches from Family on the Edge.
April 21st: Purvi Mody of Insight Education will present a college-based presentation.
May: Dr.
Jerald Shapiro of
PTSA Vote
The biggest benefit is that we can be a united
association with the parent-staff-student element, all advocating for children
and education. Students can become members
of the PSTA which provides them with leadership opportunities. Students will report at each meeting. Membership fees were discussed noting that
$3.85 goes to the PTA. Cathy Gatley moved to become a PTSA. The motion carried with one opposition. Valerie moved to set the dues at $10 for the
1st member, $18 for the 2nd member, and $5 for each
subsequent member of the PTSA for the 2009-2010 school year. Motion carried.
To be discussed at the February meeting.
Suman reported that Richard Prinz needs 5-6
volunteers for the next Challenge Day on Thursday, March 5th. The program will take place from
8:00-3:00. Email Suman
or Richard if interested. Applications
are currently on School Loop and in the office.
The American Studies class is planning a 6-day
field trip in March. Forty students will
travel to the American South from
SANP is looking for volunteers during the
graduation ceremony (5:00-7:00) and at the party (9:00-5:00). Email Suman if
interested. Judy will send out a list as well.
Next PTA meeting: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in
the library (Project Cornerstone is scheduled from 7:30-9:00)
MONTA
November 25, 2008
(Not to be Mistaken For Minutes)
(Thanks Jill Nakamura).
The Cupertino
Area Chinese Language Commission and CUSD, FUHSD, and De Anza College found
sponsors to send educators and community members to visit schools in
Divya Majji and Nausheen Mahmood announced the
school wide science fair. Students
submit proposals outlining their project in science or engineering. The topic is “Going Green.” The fair will be like an expo, scheduled for
mid April in the gym. Judges will score
the projects and award prizes in 2 categories (science and engineering), and 2
divisions (upper and lower grades).
First and second place prizes will be $200 each. The Student Academics Commission’s budget is
$500, and $1,200 more is needed.
Motion made to
allocate part of the needed funds to the Student Academic Commission with the
understanding that they will pursue their leads and report back at the January
meeting.
Contact studentacademics@gmail.com
for more info.
·
There
was a good turnout of parents at the workshop, “If I knew then what I know
now”. The next workshop will be offered
in the spring.
·
Grad
and David Greenstein will be helping with the bike commission.
·
CFCPTA
luncheon is December 11th at 11:30 at Quinlin.
·
The
6th District PTA luncheon on February 25th will be at the
Decathlon Club for the entire county.
·
The
Legislative Roundtable scheduled for November 17th is an opportunity
for parent leaders from all over the county to discuss budget, public
education, and other legislative issues affecting children with their
legislators. For more information, go to
capta6.org.
Taxes for fiscal year 7/1/07 through 6/30/08 sent. PSAT revenue deposited.The
benches came in from the David O’keefe Company.
Committee
Reports:
Suman reported that registration was from 11/1
to 11/22. A publicity booth to
distribute flyers was set up last Thursday on campus. Teresa is contacting corporations and
businesses from last year.
Vivi picked up the directories last
night. She would like volunteers to put
names on the directories and staple membership cards to the cover.
Bylaws – Need to be updated to feature meetings
timing requirement by state.
April thanked
Pam Siu and her husband for hosting the principal’s
coffee.
Next PTA
meeting: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at
7:00 p.m. in the library.
MEETING SUMMARY
(TUESDAY, October 28th, 7pm)
(Not to be mistaken for
minutes)
Guest Speakers:
Superintendent
Polly Bove, Associate Superintendent Glenn Evans, and
School Board Member Bill Wilson
Polly reiterated
that last June, a $198 million facilities bond was approved by voters. She introduced Glenn Evans and Bill Wilson
who provided the following program overview of the Measure B Bond Program.
Currently, master
planning for each school site has begun, and a formal proposal will be written
in late October. The goal is to have a
completed master plan by April.
Funds will be
used to:
·
Build
new classrooms and science labs to accommodate growing enrollment.
·
Create
a Technology Fund to upgrade, expand, and maintain classroom computers and
related technology.
·
Replace
original connections (gas, sewer, and water lines) to street main lines and
resurface roads and parking lots.
·
Repair
·
Replace
kitchen equipment.
· Add solar power by installing parking lot
shade structures. The California Solar Incentive will pay 24% of the target
cost which is close to $35 million.
·
Upgrade
and improve athletic track and fields by maximizing
artificial surfaces, with flexible designs, and lights where possible. A layout
of the MV track and field was shown.
Construction is estimated to begin late spring with completion of all 5
tracks and fields in 2 to 3 years.
All of the bond
money is projected to be spent in 6 years.
For more information, go to the district website and click on the large
“B”. Also, the Citizens’ Oversight
Committee acts as a communication channel.
Suman would like to introduce David
Greenstein, a
Membership
is down this year, and we need to have another membership drive.
Homecoming
awards were given out.
All grant requests
from the Teacher and Student Grant Proposal spreadsheet were discussed.
Voted
for outdoor seals for outstanding school amd blue
ribbon school, visible by the public from the outside.
Chinese New Year supplies, Kagan teach timer,
psychology reference books, dance lighting and 3 costumes, one display cabinet,
and money for marquee totaling $11,610.
Connie showed a
poster of the Homecoming floats that were contenders for the awards.
April stated
that there are 50-100 students without a class.
The library seats a maximum of 150 people. Teachers bring in their classes to use resources
in the library. It becomes difficult for
the Librarian, the Library Technician and the students to hear over 100
voices. There is less of an issue on
block days because students leave or come to school late. Currently, the library is open on block days
and lunch, but closed on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays to students with
unscheduled periods. The cafeteria is
open on these days with tables provided for student use. Tomorrow, the Library Media Teacher will meet
with various staff to brainstorm a compromise and other options. April will give an update when there’s a
solution.
Hung Wei
announced Scrip sales that are ongoing throughout the school year.
Next PTA
meeting: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at
7:00 p.m. in the library.
MEETING SUMMARY
(TUESDAY, September 23, 7 pm)
(Not to be mistaken for
minutes)
.Challenge Day Presentation
Mr. Prinz, student advocate, works with students’ social and
emotional issues. Challenge Day is a
preventative program to break down barriers that isolate students. It consists of activities that bring the kids
together, help them deal with bullying and teasing, emphasize they are not
alone, and teach students how to work through problems.
Challenge Days
are scheduled for October 30th and March 5th in the field
house. Parents are encouraged to attend
and parent volunteers are needed. Email
Mr. Prinz if you are interested. A 15-minute video presented the program
implemented at a
The district is
planning facilities renovation (funded by Measure B) at each school site. Monta Vista’s API
jumped 23 points. Kudos
to the staff, students, and the community. Monta Vista was one
of 55 schools in the nation to be recognized a Distinguished Blue Ribbon
School. April will go to
Denae organizes the student activities
program, teaches the ASB leadership class, manages the activities calendar,
oversees AP testing, the Every 15 Minutes program, the
Michael oversees students whose last names begin with O –
Sh. He also teaches the leadership
class, supervises the athletic program, manages emergency planning, campus
safety, and fire drills. Michael
oversees the Link Crew program that links new students to the campus. Seniors and juniors welcome freshmen and
teach them about MV. He’s looking for
ways to improve and expand the program to integrate throughout the campus. Another area of interest is the recycling
program to bring an educational component as to why we need to be responsible
now. The program on campus needs more
focus and to run more smoothly. If any
parents are interested in helping during lunchtime, email Michael. He would also like parents’ ideas.
Marianne
oversees the English Language Development (ELD) classes that are based on
students’ English skills. Currently,
there are 120 students in the ELD program.
She is organizing a bilingual parent group to reach out to parents of
ELD students who don’t have experience in American high schools. This group would provide information, address
concerns, and answer questions.
The English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) oversees
curriculum, instruction, communication, and connects to the district office to
report at the district level. The
committee consists of a small group of parents who may or may not have an ELD
student. Marianne is looking for 5-8
parents to join ELAC. There are 4
meetings per year, and the first meeting will be in October. If you are interested, email Marianne. Suman will post the
request for volunteers on the PTA the website and Yahoogroups.
Lockers ~ There are
1,640 lockers on campus. Every freshman,
sophomore, and junior who requested a locker, have received one. All 232 seniors on the waiting list (232)
have received lockers. There are 290
lockers that have been claimed (completed blue forms), but do not have locks on
them.
Benches ~ They have
been ordered and expected to be delivered in the next few weeks.
Landscaping ~ No purchases have been made, but receipts will be
paid when submitted.
Teacher Grants ~ Grant proposals will be presented to the PTA at
the October, January, and April meetings.
April will notify the teachers at the next staff meeting and collect the
grants before the next PTA meeting on October 28th.
Mandie
Law reported that session one is over, and the current PSAT session is at
capacity. Scheduling for January is in
the works. The Chemistry SAT2 prep
class is planned for February.
If participation
is light, Linda Toda will extend the deadline to October 17th. The theme is “Wow!”
February 2nd
is Job Shadow Day. Please let Teresa or Suman know if you’d like to help. The kick off meeting is tomorrow.
The FUHSD Board will discuss the Bond
Measure on November
25th. Plans for all 5 high
schools are drafted at the same time.
Two schools will be under construction at the same time over one year.
Next PTA
meeting: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at
7:00 p.m. in the library.
FIRST MEETING SUMMARY
(TUESDAY, AUGUST 26th, 7 pm)
(Not to be mistaken for
minutes)
STAR SPEAKERS
Pricipal’s Report: Principal
Ms.April Scott wished everyone a wonderful new year.
She described the first two days, mentioned how smoothly everything went, thanked volunteers for helping to make it happen. The
families and students make it an incredible place, and it is a pleasure to be
principal here, she said. She mentioned the ‘Every 15 Minutes’ program to be
held in April that will require lots of parent help. Back-to-School Night is on
September 9th.
Ms. Hew’s Report: AP Ms. Marianne Hew
described in detail the process of alloting classes
and building the master schedule, starting from February of the previous year –
course selection days
for students, nights for parents. Students are asked to choose
wisely because hiring and alloting of classes are
done after studying students’ requests. The process of alloting
the seventh period was also described. Put an elective as seventh choice,
because the first six periods are guaranteed. Seventh period classes are
determined according to class vacancies, top grades downwards (ie. 12th grade requests are considered first, because
this is their last year to take a class).
Parents’
questions were answered.
BUSINESS & PLANNING
FOR THE YEAR
PTA Business: Introductions were made all around. The PTA
programs for the year were discussed. Please encourage students to participate
in the PTA Reflections Arts Contest
(categories – visual arts, literature, photography, music composition, dance
choreography, film production). Please also encourage your child to participate
in, and help in the Job Shadow
Program, coming soon.
Pictures
of all officers and committee chairs will be placed in the website for people
to relate names to faces.
The budget for 2008-2009, and the year-end audit were adopted at
the meeting.
Hospitality: The Staff breakfast (Olympics theme) was very well
received. Thanks to all who contributed and worked. The remaining hospitality
activities for the year were discussed. Please join the team.
We want to encourage PTA membership
among the staff, and also highlight the part the PTA plays to support them.
Their membership is vital to us.
The ‘Parent Link’ will be of great help to new parents. For this
year, PTA presence in the gym,and
parents in the cafeteria to answer questions during ‘Freshmen parent
orientation’ will be a good start. In Spring, we can
have a bigger program, incorporating and tweaking the Parent Link program
training that was attended.
The website will be updated regularly. Please do check it
regularly. E-mails will also be sent to those signed up, to find out more about
school activities and concerns by Judy Wilson, our VP communications.