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June 3, 2008

Irvington PTA

June 3, 20086:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Location: Irvington School Library

 

1. Last meeting of the year and so there are many written committee reports and other notices.

 

2. May meeting minutes were approved.

 

3. Library Committee Update-

·        Rachel Carlson is the chairperson for the committee. She would love it if someone would like to co-chair with her. The committee includes parents, teachers, writing specialists, and librarians.

·        Information is being gathered to best determine the needs to improve the library. 

·        Book lists are being assembled with input from teachers, PPS librarians, youth librarian from Multnomah County and district content area specialists.  PPS district library office strongly recommends that next year’s library/media center staff be involved in choosing materials. 

·        The committee has learned that we can not electronically catalogue the library books until there is a permanent district library staff person in place. The district is stressing the importance of media specialists, so hopefully there will be money for the position.

·         Jill Grenda and Rachel C. are working on a plan to be implemented in phases to best utilize the physical space of the library. The goal is to accommodate mixed ages, technology and multiple groups’ concurrent use.

 

4. The yearbook was an auction project this year. The parent who has been involved this year suggests that it might work better to be a school project or club.

 

5. There is a list of openings for committee chairs and other projects.  Two that would be great to fill before September are the Extracurricular Activities Coordinator and the Auction Committee Chair (co-chairs).

 

6. PTA survey results distributed.  105 responses were collected from staff and parents. There were interesting comments and suggestions. Good feedback about this year. Information from the survey is archived at the Google group. JOIN THE GOOGLE GROUP.

 

7. Crystal Ball Hollin was elected to be the new PTA Secretary.

 

8. Constance Plager and Lisa Pearlstein have been elected to be parent representatives on the Site Council.

 

9. Budget Report

The budget was distributed. Some notable budget items include:

  • SMART is a reading support program in our school that is run by a community agency. Starting in the fall the coordinator position will no longer be a paid position and will be a volunteer position. In order to maintain consistency and work through the transition the PTA will provide a stipend to Donna Hughey so that she can continue.  SMART will provide all other aspects of the program including insurance, training and books.
  • The lizard project will need more money. $1,000 is now in the budget.
  • A grant writer may be needed to tap into available grants. There will be a strong focus on library and technology.
  • Technology funds of $15,000 are available. Specific purchases will need to be approved.
  • $1,500 for the Spaghetti Dinner will be added into the budget.

The budget was approved.

 

10. Information from Principal MacLeod:

  • 5th, 6th, and 7th graders received elective sheets to fill out. The 7th graders will not have as many options as the 6th and 8th grade classes due to scheduling constraints.
  • All 6th graders will have a study skills class the first semester.  Students who still need to improve their skills will continue and others can choose SBS.
  • Algebra and Spanish will be taught. 6th graders will not have Spanish next year.
  • SBS will continue in order to allow students to be active, contributing participants in the school community. An added benefit was that SBS allowed testing to not interfere with academic class time. It will be coordinated by the counselor. There will be smaller groups next year.
  • The TAG coordinator details are not worked out yet, but there will be one.
  • No news for kindergarten.
  • There was a discussion about the blended classrooms for next year. Teachers and parents had positive feedback about the blends.
  • Parents can share information about how their child learns best on the form asking if students are returning next year.
 

11.  Picnic in the Park at school this summer on Wednesday nights at 6 p.m.

 

12. A heartfelt thank you to all the people who worked so hard to make Irvington School wonderful! THANK YOU and have a nice summer.

PTA Committee Reports

  North North Grounds/Lizard Bench
We are moving along very nicely on the tiling.  The tiling system we have working out over the past few months of tile design seems to working quite well.  It looks like we are about 1/3 of the way through.  Someday someone can volunteer to calculate the number of tiles we will have to put on.
 
This week I will be out there:  Tues (6/3) -  starting around 11:00;  Wed. (6/4) - starting around 10:00; and Sat. (6/7) - Starting around 10:00.  If people want to go out other times that could be arranged.  Feel free to bring others along as at this point the name of the game is volume (along with quality). 
The informal goal is to get the whole thing done by the end of the month.  There will be an article in the Oregonian this Thursday (6/5) in the “In Portland” section.    Questions?  John Olmsted, 503 282 4753 The North Grounds Committee/Lizard Bench is doing their best to raise the money they need this summer (from the community + dog owners) and will possibly come back to the PTA in the fall for additional landscaping funds if they cannot raise enough money to complete the tiling + landscaping.    

Grounds Committee

Bike rack arrived; installation on going. 

Library Committee

-VIA Computer System: After MUCH discussion, begging and pleading, we CANNOT start the process of automating the library's collection to the district's VIA computer system until we get a new Media Specialist in place. So our thought of trying to make a dent in it over the summer won't be happening. We will continue to pursue this however, and as soon as we do get a Media Specialist in place, we will discuss getting the district to assist us in converting the card catalog system to VIA. We will more than likely need lots of volunteers as well, but we will first ask the district for help before we tap our volunteers.  -More clarification of the purpose of the Library special appeal 2006 from Cynthia: It was DEFINITELY geared towards making the library "middle school" ready. That helps us in our mission of prioritizing book buying/space planning. -Book Buying: Lisa Meilinger has started looking at lists for 6-8th graders. She is compiling books to be included in our collection, but has also come to the conclusion that we should hold off on any massive purchases until we have a Media Specialist to consult with on this in the fall.  -Physical Space: Jill Grenda (Irv. Parent, Art’s co-chair & Professional Space Planner/Interior Designer!) has agreed to help do a layout of the possible new configuration of the library. I'm working with her in getting all of the specs (i.e. measuring all of the current bookcases) and she will then work on a few possibilities for the library. I've spoken with Morreen about the space, as well as Cynthia (what works, what doesn't, what they would like to see). I've also sent out a survey to teachers about the library. IF you have any more thoughts/ideas about the physical space, please let me know! Over the summer, we will be fine-tuning ideas to present in the fall. My thoughts right now are to present a "quick & dirty" remodel (rearranging bookshelves, new paint, carpet) and then maybe 2 bigger plans (opening up to SMART room/computer lab) and costs for all. Then we can get feedback to see which direction the majority of folks want to go in.  Also, I think we may need or want to start a "Library Volunteer" program on an on-going basis. If we get a Media Specialist, I think it will only be half time. From what we have gathered in researching other libraries, just re-shelving books, tracking inventory and other library housekeeping chores are very time consuming. It would be nice to have volunteer support in these duties so that the Media Specialist could do her/his job  - like helping the teachers and students.  Also, it would be really nice to have the library open before/after school and during lunch period, especially for the older kids. We might need to talk about how parents can fill the gap to make that happen. If you have any thoughts/ideas on this, please let me know. Grant Writing - Going to work on this over the summer. Irma is doing the initial legwork and then we will target some specific grants when our mission is more defined.  Lastly, Lisa has stepped down as co-Chair. She has too much on her plate right now- even though she is still actively helping! As this project grows next year, as it should, I will need more help. If you know someone who might be willing to co-Chair, let me know. Rachel Carlson, Library Chairperson, 503-281-5861 Site Council:  2 Parent Representatives Needed – May Minutes attachedIn 1991, the State Legislature created the “21st Century Schools Council” (also known as Site Councils) to ensure that various stakeholders were all involved in decisions relating to their school’s continuous improvement efforts. The Site Council is comprised of the principal, three teachers, three parents, one staff member and a community representative.  Site Council focuses on issues relating to the School Improvement Plan - essentially all factors affecting achievement (including school culture, the transition to K-8, resources and tools etc.) Site Council meetings are usually held on the 3rd Mon. of the month, from 4-6pm. Two of the Parent Rep. terms are ending in June. Elections for the new terms (Sept. 2008 - June 2010) will be held at the PTA meeting on June 3rd.  You do not need to be a PTA member to run for Site Council, or to vote for a Site Council Rep.  

Tech Committee

This year’s PTA auction raised $25,000 for technology improvement for our school.  The PTA technology committee just placed an order for 9 multi media carts, 2 data projectors (In-Focus machines), 2 document cameras (Elmo cameras), 9 laptops, + other misc technology components (speakers, software, etc).  This completes Arnerich-Massena’s (Irvington’s business partner) gift of 7 data projectors + 2 document cameras.  When our kids return to school in the fall, each + every Irvington grade group (K-8) will have a multimedia cart equipped with a laptop, data projector, document camera.  Principal Macleod has budgeted to upgrade our current computer lab by replacing 18 antiquated computers.    Mobile computer lab purchase is currently on hold.  Per PPS, Sup Smith is mandating that every K-8 have TWO computer labs.  District will therefore provide the 2nd lab.  BUT they currently don’t have the funds + are looking for them.  Our PPS tech contact suggests that we not yet move on that purchase b/c the district may provide. 

  

Last updated by lmeilinger on Oct 24, 2008 at 01:36 PM

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