Campbell PTA Minutes – October 8, 2013

Campbell
PTA Minutes                                                October
8, 2013

 

I.                 
USDA-Funded
Study @ Campbell on Eating Vegetables and Legumes

(Note:
Please do not share the details of this study with students, as it would bias
the sample.)
 

·       Under the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act,
there’s a requirement to increase the quantity of legumes and vegetables served
in school lunches.

 

·       Dr. Stacey Snelling—lead investigator
for the USDA-funded study being conducted by American University researchers—described

the project.  Campbell is one of four Arlington
Elementary schools participating (along with four in DC).

 

·       Purpose is to test the effect of student
choice (exercised through taste tests and student voting) on consumption of
vegetables and legumes in school lunches. 

 

·       Currently, when broccoli is offered as a
choice in the school lunch line, just 8 percent of all APS students chose
it.  Goal is to increase the choose rate
to 20 percent and have it consumed.  When
the study was implemented in D.C., the quantity of veggies consumed increased
almost three-fold.

 

·       Students throw out a high percentage of
veggies from their lunches.  As part of
the study, researchers stand at the trash can to count how often the tested
foods are thrown out.

 

·       Study involves taste tests on different
preparations of broccoli (in Fall 2013), black beans (also this Fall), and
spinach (in Spring 2014).

 

·       The research team is visiting Campbell
several times during the school year. The study of each food takes four
weeks.  After each taste test, there will
be two follow-up visits, to test consumption of the recipe that “won.”

 

·       Last week, they conducted the first part
of the study.  Students did a taste test
on three different preparations of broccoli: (1) plain, steamed; (2) with a
healthy dip; and (3) as part of a coleslaw made with Greek yogurt.

 

·       Students tasted each option and voted
for the one they liked best.  The recipe
that won will be served two more times as part of school lunches.  The research team will test whether students
ate more of the featured food when the version voted most popular was served.

 

II.              
Presentation
on Special Ed Activities

·       Karen Sosnoski and Jennifer Sheridan are
Campbell’s liaisons to the APS Special Education PTA (SEPTA).  They will attend SEPTA meetings with reps
from other schools to learn what’s going on in special ed throughout APS and
share ideas.

 

·       There is now a Campbell Special Ed
listserv.  If you’d like to be on it,
please e-mail Reidy Brown, at
reidybrown@gmail.com.  There will also be a Campbell Special Ed Web
site that you’ll be able to link to from Campbell’s main Web site.

 

·       Through the special ed listserv, you can
receive updates on events related to children with special needs.

 

·        If you have any issues or concerns you’d
like to have considered by SEPTA, please contact Karen (
krsosnoski@gmail.com)
or Jen (
jensheridan10@hotmail.com).

 

·        FYI Dana Rodriguez is the Special Ed
Secretary for Campbell.  Suhani Vakil is
the APS Special Ed Coordinator, and Ginny Montminy is Campbell’s Special Ed
Lead Teacher.

 

·       All Campbell classroom assistants will
be undergoing 30 hours of training about autism this year.  The first session will be October 14.

 

III.          
PTA
Funding and Budget Update

·       PTA VP Beth Cavey talked about why and
how we raise money and how to request proposals for funding.

 

·       The PTA raises money for:

Ø  Special
events

Ø  Enrichment
programs

Ø  Parent,
teacher, and curriculum development

Ø  The
school yard

 


                         ·   The
PTA is having three major fundraisers this year:

Ø  Campbell
spirit-wear (shirts, pants, sweatshirts with Campbell logo)

Ø  A
scholastic “bee” (like the spelling and math bees we’ve had as fundraisers in
the past)

Ø  The
Wetlands Festival (scheduled for the first weekend in May)

 

·    The
PTA receives a portion of funds raised through:

Ø  Picture
Day

Ø  Zumba
classes

Ø  Conference
Day camps that will be held @ Campbell

 

·    The
major categories of the PTA 2013-2014 budget are as follows:

 

 Special
Events –
$8,235. 
This includes:

 

Ø  School
pictures

Ø  School
dance

Ø  Movie
night

Ø  Fifth
grade graduation

Ø  EL
field work

Ø  The
library fund

Ø  Teacher
Appreciation

Ø  Student
recognition

Ø  Guest
speakers.  For example, the PTA is
funding a speaker from Potomac Overlook who will do a presentation on animals
to support the second grade Expedition. 

         Enrichment Projects
– $15,950.  This includes:

Ø  Project
Discovery

Ø  Girls
on the Run/ Boys on the Move

Ø  PESA
and Participa

Ø  Support
for reading goals

Ø  Odyssey
of the Mind registration materials/competition entrance fees

       Teacher Curriculum
Development
– $12,400.  This includes:

Ø  Classroom
resources

Ø  Parent/staff
proposals to support innovative classroom activities (e.g., related to EL or
other school and PTA priorities). *We are looking for your ideas.  Please send proposals to Beth Cavey at
Elizabeth.cavey@verizon.net.

Ø  Conference
registration/travel

Ø  Summer
school scholarships

      School Yard
– $8,000. This includes:

        Ø    Capital Improvement Fund (for longer-term, expensive projects)

       Ø     Seasonal
maintenance of the gardens

      Ø Pizza
for Garden Work Days

     PTA and PTA Meetings
– $4,990.  This includes:

     Ø Food,
babysitting, and translation, to enable people to attend meetings

      Ø     PTA
Web site

     Ø Printing
of the student directory

     Ø PTA
supplies and insurance

            How
To Request Funds from the PTA

·        
Download the funding request form (at
the “Useful Info” tab) from
www.campbellschool.org.

 

·       Note that the PTA has set aside funds in
the following categories to pay for projects approved by the PTA Executive
Board and PTA membership:

 

Ø  EL
Field Work (We expect that proposals will mainly be from teachers.)

Ø  Classroom
resources

Ø  Parent/staff
proposals to support Campbell

 

·        Funding can be for short- or long-term
projects.

 

·       The PTA Executive Board will review all
funding requests, and we will bring    requests to a vote at a subsequent PTA
meeting.
 

IV.          
Treasurer’s
Report

Treasurer
Eva Clark presented the following budget information:

 

·        
As of 7/1/13, the PTA had $32,000, and
as of 9/30/13, we had $30,000.

 

·        To date, the PTA has received $407 in
PTA membership dues and $120 in donations. 
A portion of our PTA dues has to be paid to county, state, and national
PTAs.

 

·       The PTA will be setting up a central,
locked drop box for all $ going from families to the PTA (e.g., checks for
Project Discovery registration), perhaps right near the front entrance near the
bulletin board or inside the office. 
Stay tuned for a final decision on location.

 

V.              
Miscellaneous
Announcements

 

·       Campbell Sprit Wear:
Additional Campbell clothing items (Polo shirts, T-shirts, and more) will be
available by mid- to late October. 
Orders will be delivered by Thanksgiving break.

 

·       Gardens:
If you are interested in planting and helping out with the gardens and/or if
you have ideas about how to incorporate the garden into class activities,
please contact Campbell parent Christy Przystawik (coachchristymarie@gmail.com).

 

·       Project Discovery:
Registration deadline for Project Discovery is Wednesday, October 16, and classes
begin Wednesday, October 30.

 

Next
PTA meeting
:  Tuesday, November 12 — Kate Colburn, Director
of Assessment from APS, will talk about Campbell’s designation as a focus
school.

Next
Principal Chat
: Thursday, October 17 – The topic will
be the new portfolios and student-led conferences for Pre-K, K, and 1 (to be
held in March and June 2014).