SPRingman-Attea PTA with new Springman and Attea logos.
Facebook Instagram

SP-AT PTA Meeting Minutes – 10/19/2021

Springman Wildcats Logo and Attea Flyers logo

MINUTES

SPRINGMAN/ATTEA PTA COMMITTEE MEETING

Tuesday October 19, 2021

Via Zoom

Attendees: Megan Russell, Mark Richter, Chelle Costianis, Robin Cohen, Leisl Jaberg, Rehana Haque, Ghizala Husain, Tara Call, Alisa Cios, Melissa Dahlquist, Jeanine Maurice, Brian Pollina, Danielle Scharf, Raquel Torres, Cori Mohr, Lynette Pollock, Crosbie Lind, and Amy O’Leary and Lisa Hanneman from Youth Services. 

  1. Welcome 
  • Meeting called to order at 09:18 a.m.
  1. 2021-2022 Board Vacancies were highlighted and Robin encouraged anyone interested to please reach out
  • Vice President (Springman) 
  • Vice President (Attea) 
  • Grants 
  • Winter Luncheon (Springman)
  • Winter Luncheon (Attea)
  • Student Needs Liaison (Attea)
  1. Approval of minutes from the September 14th, 2021 PTA meeting
  • Motion moved by Robin Cohen
  • Motion seconded by Chelle Costianis
  1. Treasurer update
  • Rehana gave a brief overview and said that we need membership numbers to pick up as we still only have a small percentage of families who have joined the PTA. 
  • The No Stress Fundraiser is going well but is still well under fundraising goal.
  1. Principals’ Reports
  1. Mark Richter, Principal, Attea Middle School
  • Thank you to the PTA for the lunches that were provided to staff on conference day last week. He said they were well received and appreciated.
  • Kids seem to be settling in well and getting into their routines after some of the disruptions attributed to recent TikTok trends, etc. have stopped.
  • 603 students are participating in the SHIELD testing program and it is going well. Students identified as close contacts can now test to stay using the BinaxNow, which is a rapid test using a nasal swab. Test to stay students are tested every other day.
  • Fall sports seasons went well and are wrapping up. Tryouts for some of the winter sports being offered such as basketball and spirit squad are being held soon. Reminder that all students wanting to try out for a sport need a recent physical on file. Waiting to hear where winter intramural games will be played due to Covid limitations.
  • Clubs are in full swing.
  • A new goal-setting strategy is being used with the students and focuses on more than just academics.
  • Band concerts have been given clearance to be held in person this fall/winter. All safety rules with regards to Covid protocols as set forth by ISBE will be followed.
  • Every Friday is spirit day where students are encouraged to wear their Attea colors. There will be other themes sprinkled in such as wear your Bears or Packers gear, etc.
  • Attea was selected by the Department of Education to participate in a national assessment in the subject area of social studies. Mark indicated that Attea would send select 8th grade students to this assessment in early March. Megan confirmed that Springman was also selected to participate.
  1. Megan Russell, Principal, Springman Middle School
  • Thank you also from staff for the conference lunches.
  • Student Council is up and running with about 25 students who meet weekly. They are currently working on promoting the food drive.
  • Indicated that the students at Springman also seem to be hitting a groove and the environment at school feels more positive and more focused on academics.
  • Staff will be working with students starting next week to do similar goal-setting that is taking place at Attea.
  • 578 students are participating in SHIELD testing every Wednesday and commended the PE teachers for doing such a great job overseeing this.
  • The 7th and 8th grade girls’ volleyball teams are both going into conference championship tournaments this week in first place. 
  • Thanked Attea for letting Springman soccer team use their fields as a home field while Springman’s facilities are under construction.
  • Virtual club fair held last week and new clubs are starting up each week.
  • Spirit week is next week with a different theme each day. Next Friday October 29th is costume day as Halloween falls on the weekend.
  • The first principal’s chat last week went well. The next one will be December 7th.
  • In reply to a question about whether the bathrooms are open at the schools, Megan and Mark said they are but some of them are not yet fully repaired from some of the earlier vandalism.
  • In response to a question about how much the total cost to fix the vandalism that has taken place at the two schools this year and would it be communicated to the students/parents, both principals said they had not yet seen a cost estimate for repairs. Megan indicated that the district is looking into ways to mitigate some of this behavior in the future.
  • A parent asked whether kids who have mild symptoms of illness but are awaiting Covid test results so cannot be in school would be able to zoom in to classes. Both principals said this is not currently allowed as it is something that has to be arranged between the district and put into the teachers’ contracts, but said they would communicate the request to the district.
  1. Committee Reports
  2. Character Counts- Alisa Cios
  • Food drive is currently going on with collection bins at each school. 
  • Reminded people that they can send in money as well and $1 is the equivalent of 5 cans.
  • PTA to continue to advertise this.
  1. No Stress Fundraiser- Melissa Dahlquist
  • Thank you to those helping out with this effort. 
  • So far, $9,000 has been raised. Goal is $15,000 with about 2 weeks to go.
  • Reminder that even if the student/family is not contributing financially, all are encouraged to return their orange envelope to be included in the weekly raffles.
  1. Book Fair- Chelle gave update on behalf of book chairs
  • Book sales did well at both schools. They appreciated being able to do in person book fairs for the kids.
  • November 15th– Virtual author visit at Springman with Sharon Draper, author of Out of My Mind and her new book, Out of My Heart. Deadline to order signed copy of the book, Out of My Heart, is October 27th. Deadline for a regular copy of book is November 22nd.
  1. Spirit Wear- Danielle Scharf
    • Website will be up and running soon.
  1. Dining for Dollars- Danielle Scharf
  • The next event will be at Blended on October 26th and October 27th. Should we do a raffle for SPAT students on site?
  • November event will likely be with a new restaurant in Glenview, Currito. Further details to follow.
  1. A to Z Directory- Lynnette Pollock
  • Email went out yesterday to parents to look over their contact information and make any edits if need be. This will be open for 2 weeks.
  • Only PTA members get access to the directory so an option to join the PTA was sent with communications.
  • Staff directory will be included as well.
  1. Holiday Helper- Tara Call
    • Families are supported via gift cards at the middle schools. The goal is to give each family $100 in gift cards, ideally with $50 to a grocery store and $50 to Target or Kohls. 
    • A signup genius for this will be sent out in early November. Gift cards will be due back in early December. Gift cards will be asked for in $25 increments. Further details to follow.

VII. Old Business- Technology

  • Chelle made the suggestion based on parent’s comments from prior meeting that the schools offer another technology night to parents to help them understand how to navigate all of the different applications used by the students/teachers.
  • Mark replied that the last time a technology night was offered, it was very poorly attended so staff created a “Parent Tech Hub” on district website as a resource for all things tech for parents. He showed this to the group by sharing his screen. Both Mark and Chelle agreed that they would try to give more attention to this resource in future communications to make sure parents aware of it.

VIII. Presentation by Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook

  • Amy O’Leary, Executive Director of Youth Services, gave an overview of what mental health services are offered by Youth Services and how they partner with the district.
  • There will be a follow up Q&A on site at Youth Services to help families better understand what amazing resources are available to our youth right here in Glenview. Further details to follow.

Meeting Adjourned: 10:43 a.m.

  • Motion moved by Tara Call.
  • Seconded by Rehana Haque.

Next PTA Meeting:  Wednesday November 17th, 2021 at 7 pm via zoom.