Archive for December 2014

Attached and excerpted below are the minutes for the PTA meeting held on December 9th at 8 p.m.  Also attached is a presentation on the IPAD pilot.  Apologies for spacing and formatting errors in the minutes below (this happens when copying over from a Word document into google).  We are still looking for individuals to help translate PTA minutes and other PTA documents into Spanish. If you are interested, please contact Amy Yenyo at secretary@campbellschool.org.     

PTA Meeting

December 9, 2014

8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Number of Attendees:  Approximately 20

I.   President’s Report – Beth Cavey

• New Raffle Incentive:  Each
  individual will get a free ticket for attending restaurant nights and PTA
  meetings.  The raffle winner will get
  an extra recess for their child and his/her entire class.  The winner will be drawn at a future
  Community Meeting.    




• Event Updates: 






• The School Picnic was a
  huge success.  Thanks to Moley
  Evans, Rachel Schroeder, and the school custodians for all of their hard
  work.




• Girls on the Run had
  their first race.  Congratulations
  to all the runners and organizers.




• The School Dance was
  great.  Big thanks to Patty Healy
  for putting it together.  Patty
  also announced that we collected 49 pounds of food that was donated to
  AFAC.




• Fall Project Discovery went
  off very well.  Thanks to Jennifer
  Lis and Ellen Bayer for organizing this. 
  They will be looking for replacements, so if anyone is interested
  in taking this over, let Beth Cavey know.




• Odessey of the Mind:  Campbell will have two groups competing
  in March. 




• Outdoor Classroom:  Our Garden Docent, Christy P., has been
  leading weekly lessons. 




• Farm to Table Week Soup
  Tasting:  Virginia’s Own Farm gave
  a presentation and the kids got to taste butternut squash soup made by
  Christy P.  A recipe was sent home with
  the kids.  Thanks to Christy and
  Jessica Haney for organizing this event. 
  




• A big thanks to Jen
  Robertson for organizing our first Teacher Appreciation Day.   The snacks were very much appreciated.
    







• Campbell Directory Update: 
  The directory is almost done. 
  We hope to have it out in early January.  Thanks to Jackie Ventura and Maureen
  Nesselrode for getting all of the information together.  A template for putting the directory together
  was developed, so this should make it easier to get the directory
  completed earlier for the next school year. 




• Fundraising Update: 






• Fall Pledge Drive:  We have
  exceeded our budget goal (close to $3,650).  Thanks to Rachael Schroeder and Chandi
  Krohl for leading this effort.




• Restaurant Nights:  We’ve
  had two very successful restaurant nights.  Both nights had about 20-30 families participate.  Nathan Zee has done an amazing job
  organizing these events.  Four
  Courts brought in $350.  A huge
  thanks to Dave Cahill for his support. 
  We had another successful night at Silver Diner.  We will likely bring in about $300 for that
  night. 




• Black Friday Wrapping Day: 
  Brought in about $90. 
  Thanks to Chandi Krohl, Erin Link, Jennifer Lis, and the Robertson
  family for helping out.




• Zumba:  Zumba classes
  on Saturdays has brought in $608.




• Everwonder Conference Day Camps: Brought in $308.  Thanks to Moley Evans for her
  support. 




• School Pictures:  Will
  be bringing in money.  Thanks to
  all the volunteers who helped out on picture day. 







• Budget:  Budget is on
  track.  There are no major changes
  to report.




• Upcoming Events: 






• Yearbook Orders are due
  in January to get the reduced price. Mr. Roberts is our Yearbook Team
  Leader.  Ms. Gebhardt is helping
  with money collection and logistics.




• Reading Challenge is in
  February.  This will be coordinated
  with the Reading Team.




• Planning for the Wetlands
  Festival is starting.  The Festival
  will be on May 2^nd.  Contact
  Rachael Schroeder and Chandi Krohl to help out.

II.    Principal’s
Update – Maureen Nesselrode

• Plumbing Situation:  A letter
  was sent out regarding the plumbing investigation.  The problem is with the building
  additions where pipes make sharp turns. 
  The lower toilets reduce water use with each flush contributing to
  clogging.  A significant amount of
  work will need to be done to fix this. This most likely will occur next
  summer.  In the meantime, the school
  is doing some interventions to the keep the plumbing working. 




• County Budget Process: The Arlington County budget process is
  beginning for next year.  There will
  be a significant increase in number of students.  Arlington County’s website discusses this
  process and possible cuts.  There is
  an opportunity for the public to comment. 
  It is unclear at this point whether potential budget cuts will
  impact staffing.  An update will be
  given in the spring on the status of staffing for next year. 

 III.   IPAD
Pilot Update – Intro by Maureen Nesselrode; Presentation by Liz Sites (K/1
Teacher) and Cathy Gust

• Liz Sites (K/1 teacher) is
  coordinating the IPAD pilot in 3 classrooms (a 1^st, 2^nd,
  and 3^rd grade class).   




• The School Board plan for
  the elementary level (at this point) is to have IPADS in 2^nd
  through 5^th grade classrooms. 
  

• Liz discussed why
  technology is important and how it can be beneficial if used properly.  She highlighted several applications (“apps”)
  being used




• See the attached presentation
  for more information.  A list of
  useful applications is listed in the presentation.  




• Questions were raised
  regarding the amount of screen time happening in the classrooms.  In pre-K/K, the maximum amount of screen
  time spent is approximately 20 minutes. 
  Same for 1^st grade unless it is an IPAD pilot
  class.  Currently, the IPADs are
  being used in the language arts block to help moderate the amount of IPAD
  use time.  It is being used for a
  portion of reading.  IPADs have also
  been used as a part of field work. 
  Ms. Nesselrode discussed the importance of balancing screen time
  with learning in other ways and assured parents that the use of IPADs in
  the classroom was not replacing traditional learning practices.




• IPADs won’t go with the students
  to 6^th grade, the IPADs will cycle back down to 2^nd
  grade.  When at full implementation,
  the IPAD will be issued to the student in 2^nd grade and go with
  the student through 5^th grade. 
  The plan for now is that the IPADs don’t go home with the kids – the
  IPADs stay at the school.  Too many
  logistical issues at this point to work through before sending them home
  with kids.

IV.    Budget Report and Funding Requests –
Beth Cavey

• Budget:  Minor
  adjustment made to budget entries (lines 76-81 were added); however, it
  does not affect this fiscal year, so no voting is needed.  To see the Budget or the most recent
  Treasurer’s Report, go to:  https://campbellschool.org/httpcampbellschool-orgp413/.




• Current Fundraising:  In
  general, we are on target/slightly above.






• Met the goal of $3,000
  for the Pledge Drive, but we are still accepting donations.




• Don’t forget to do store
  links and bring in boxtops.  For
  more information, go to:  https://campbellschool.org/support-campbell/
   




• Spirit wear is on target







• Funding Requests:   The following funding requests were
  approved by the PTA.






• Mrs. Brewer:  $99 for supplies for classroom library
  space




• Ms. Delong: $150 for supplies
  for classroom library space




• Ms. Fleming:  $150 for supplies for classroom library
  space




• Ms. Berg: $140 for
  supplies for classroom library space




• Ms. McAleer: $150 for
  supplies for classroom library space




• Ms. Montminy: $164 for
  supplies for classroom library space




• Ms. Decker: $500 for
  author visit




• Ms. Sites: $100 for
  ITunes gift card for Word Wizard App




• Ms. Ammons: $200 for
  training for art journaling for Wetlands lessons




• Ms. Boni: $200 for
  multicultural musician visit




• Ms. Brown: $600 for
  band/chorus/orchestra polo shirts (split with Campbell School budget)

  Meeting adjourned at
approximately 10:00 p.m.