Meeting was called to order at 7:15pm. 8 were in attendence.
The following PTA Board was in attendance:
Peggy Farrington, President
Debbie Martin, VP of Committees
ABSENT Traci Scarduzio, VP of Membership
Jeanette Krauss, Treasurer
Lisa Ruvo, Corresponding Secretary
Shelly Black, Recording
Secretary
ABSENT: Dorothy Purtill, PTA Council
rep.
Principal's Report: Mrs. Epstein was absent
Teacher Liaison: Mrs. Plambeck was absent.
Treasurer's Report: Bank account balance is $18,766.
PTA membership: Please sign up and support our PTA! There is a membership form available on the website at: http://www.wappingersschools.org/Plains/PTA/membershipForm.html. Winter membership drive... Sherri will run a cup of coffee/membership drive at the Holiday Shop. You get a discount at Liberty Mutual for PTA members and some stores in Hopewell will give a 10% discount for showing a PTA membership card. Peggy will have to get a list together of participating stores.
Beacon Lights Fundraiser: Handmade Candles by Beacon Lights, which is a local company (Many fragrances available. Makes a great holiday gift!) We are DONE taking orders; we will sell some votives and 8 oz candles at the Holiday Shop. We have $300-$400 profit from this so far.
School Spirit Wear: Some examples are hanging in the hall across from the APR door. Please send in the form with your order form and payment in an envelope marked SPIRTWEAR.
January Newsletter will be sent shortly by Denise Ragonessi. Please send her any ideas for including to FPPTA@optonline.net .
School store: Debbie Martin will hold School store in January (date TBD) during lunch periods. Erasers, pencils, folders, ... and various school supplies will be available for the kids to buy. Send $3 or $4 to buy a couple of things; most expensive item is $2.75.
Holiday Shop: In the event of school closing or after school activities being cancelled on Thursday Dec 13th, Holiday Shop will be delayed til Friday, Dec 14th 7pm-9pm. Santa has previous engagements, so unfortunately, he will not be able to make it on Friday.
Several students in the school have lice. There is a preventative treatment called Fairy Tale containing Rosemary available at the Supply shop next door to Carvel in Hopewell. Jackets should NOT be thrown in a pile and should NOT be being put jackets next to each other. There are giant handled zip lock bags that parents could buy to be used to keep jackets separated. Mrs. Flaherty wrote a note for parent information on lice and preventative measures that parents can take to avoid the spread of the infestation. Shelly will get a hold of it and type it up to be sent home via e-mail (paper for those 340 families that need it).
PTA items are currently scattered around in different closets and offices. Peggy's goal is to get boxes and organize and label the items so they can be used instead of lost in the back of a closet.
Butterfly guy will come and do a program at the school and will do a night time program for free. He is not that expensive since the district uses him a lot. Butterflies are part of the 3rd grade curriculum. Date to be determined.
Science and Magic Program will be held in school Dec 20th.
Sharing Tree - we have 5 families' wishes to fulfill. The school nurse, social worker and teachers get together and ask families that they know have a need if they would like to be part of the Sharing Tree and then recommend them for the Sharing Tree. Pok Children's Home and Toys for Tots items will be given any items that are not appropriate for the Sharing Tree. There will be a collection box near the Holiday Shop registers and we will move the Sharing Tree out to the middle of the lobby to publicized on that night.
Monday was a BOE meeting; master plan was discussed. They need to move NOW. But the land that was up for approval got turned down. Not sure of next direction.
Campbells labels - we have a lot of labels but we need a code to redeem them. Karen Feldweg is pursuing this. Goldfish, Capri Sun, Splash juice lids are some of the items we are trying to save. A complete list is available on the Campbell's site http://www.labelsforeducation.com/ . Might be a good Girl Scout project to make holders to put up inside a cabinet at each home... Troop 456 will consider this service project.
The Future PTA Parent information center will be a bulletin board near the Enrichment room right in the lobby, with slots for memos underneath. Arrows to the bulletin board currently in the APR will be posted to draw attention to it in the corner near the garbage cans, mops and brooms in the APR.
Cafeteria walls - Peggy prepared drawings and Bill had the lifts lined up for the painting to begin last Spring break. Then it was squashed at the last minute since Mrs. O'Shea changed the plan to trying to get John Jay students to be involved, which is a nice idea, but it put the brakes on the project.
School Maintenance
--Curtains are falling down in the APR-- we really need
to have this fixed! The beauracracy is ridiculous on how long it
takes to get a work order approved for something so minor.
--Also the smell of this school is not good. The
APR "zamboni" has an odor; perhaps the filters could be changed if there
are any. Also, if bleach is not being used any more, what type of
cleaner is being used? Is it environmentally friendly?
--Parking lot is often flooded; can this be fixed somehow
or put on the budget as a line item?
--We need to get Michelle Moroney (facilities) to come
out and review our situation; perhaps some of the items can be covered
by petty cash.
--After the Holiday break, Dianne Aquilino, Dana D'Amico
and Lisa Ruvo will make a list of items that need fixing and will present
it to Michelle Moroney.
Water - Why are there no water coolers in Fishkill Plains? Also the water fountains should be shut OFF! It was stated that the water is 'technically' ok to drink, but it is brown much of the time. You can send in water bottles and leave them with Mrs. Flaherty in case your child forgets his water bottle. Also water is available for sale in the cafeteria at lunch time.
Money raised for the Track is waiting for approvals; the district has control of the money now. EPA has approved the track/soccer field plan.
Scrip Fund Raiser - we would sell gift cards for stores that parents in your school would use regularly (JCPenney, A&P, Dick's, Stop & Shop, Hannaford... and many many more), and the school keeps a percentage of each card sold. This could be an ongoing Fund Raiser or done for just a month or so. If there are any volunteers who would like to help run this program for Fishkill Plains Elem., please contact the PTA: FPPTA@optonline.net .
School Bank is run by Kim Busche. Mondays are banking days.
After School Clubs will be held in February. If
you or anyone you know would like to teach a club, please let Peggy know.
You will get paid thru BOCES. : FPPTA@optonline.net
is the e-mail.
**LAST
YEAR's** club listings are available for you to view on the google
group so you have an idea of what was taught.
Go GREEN now !! Paper memo are is now limited to those 340 families(as opposed to 630 memos = one for each child) who are not on the e-mail distribution list. You should only be getting ONE paper per family, if you are on the paper memos list. Let Peggy know if this is not the case ...: FPPTA@optonline.net.
e-mail Distribution: Please sign up for the e-mail distribution list at http://groups.google.com/group/FishkillPlains. Anyone can check the google group site for past memos. Send Shelly SDBLACK@US.IBM.COM all approved memos so they can be posted to all users on the e-mail distribution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please encourage neighbors/friends/other parents to come to the meetings.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:40pm.
Correction: the recipe for the molasses cookies was NOT on the the molasses bottle. Here is the recipe :-)
Molasses Sugar Cookies
3/4 c. shortening, margarine or butter
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg2 c. flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tso nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp saltMelt shortening. Add sugar, molasses, egg and beat well
Sift flour, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon and add to shortening mixture. Mix well.
Chill and form 1" balls. Roll in sugar.
Bake on greased cookie sheet or parchment paper at 325 for 9 minutes.
Makes 3 dozen.
Next meet: will be a date TBD in Jan