SP-AT PTA Meeting Minutes – 11/17/21

MINUTES

SPRINGMAN/ATTEA PTA COMMITTEE MEETING

Wednesday November 17^th, 2021

Via Zoom

Attendees: Megan Russell, Mark Richter, Chelle Costianis, Robin Cohen, Leisl Jaberg, Rehana Haque, Ghizala Husain, Tara Call, Melissa Dahlquist, Jeanine Maurice, and Taylor.

1. Welcome 

• Meeting called to order at 07:03 p.m.

2. 2021-2022 Board Vacancies were highlighted and anyone interested encouraged to please reach out

• Vice President (Springman) 
• Vice President (Attea) 
• Dining for Dollars
• Student Needs Liaison (Attea)

3. Approval of minutes from the October 19^th, 2021 PTA meeting

• Motion moved by Tara Call
• Motion seconded by Chelle Costianis

4. Treasurer update

• Rehana gave a brief overview of current financial position and October revenues and expenses. Current cash balance is $49,665. “Fundtober” fundraiser netted $9,812 and Culver’s Dining for Dollars event raised $400. Largest expense in October was $2,160 for fall conference luncheons for staff. Currently the PTA has 350 members.

5. Presidents update

• Chelle gave an update on recent grant request from Raquel Kim (D34 staff member who oversees the bilingual program at Springman and Attea) for approximately $1,500 for spirit wear for middle school students at both schools. 

6. Principals’ Reports

1. Megan Russell, Principal, Springman Middle School

• Noted that the second trimester is underway as of this past Monday. First trimester grades to be posted tomorrow, Thursday November 18^th.
• Teachers have been working with students to identify both academic and SEL related goals. 
• November’s theme is gratitude. Daily announcements include a gratitude challenge and SEL classes had a door decorating activity using this theme. 
• The paw program has received more focus this past month. Each week certain positive behaviors are highlighted and paw tickets are given out when students demonstrate these behaviors. The school store/cart has also reopened which gives students the chance to redeem paw tickets. 
• Basketball and yearbook club are both off to a good start.
• SHIELD testing going well. Despite only testing those students who have opted in and are not yet fully vaccinated, 244 students are currently participating.
• Reminders: no school this coming Wednesday November 24^th for Thanksgiving break, look for details about band and orchestra performances in December and the next Springman principal chat will be via zoom on December 7^th at 1:30 p.m.

2. Mark Richter, Principal, Attea Middle School

• Character Counts food drive wrapped up and was very successful. There was a competition between the various grade level teams and it was a tight race until the last day when the 8^th grade team Jigsaw pulled ahead and won. They get the traveling trophy- a stuffed Attea mascot.
• Band and orchestra performances took place and went well. Choir performance will be in December.
• Attea students also focused on goal setting. SEL teachers met individually with students to help them work on their goals and students also had a door decorating project in SEL.
• Author visit was last Monday and went well. Due to technology difficulties, this was only viewable to 8^th graders versus the whole school but it worked out well as 8^th graders had all read the book the author was discussing.
• The Guitars for Vets fundraiser was a success and raised $600. In addition to raising money for the purchase of guitars for veterans, Attea will also receive two guitars for use by the music department. 
• High Flyer program is continuing with a focus on recognizing a larger number of students. Each month they are focusing on a different “pillar” from the Character Counts pillars. October’s focus was on trustworthiness
• Basketball and spirit squad are both underway and going well.
• Attea’s talent show is tomorrow night (Thursday the 18^th).
• Reminder that this year if students would like yearbooks, they will have to buy them separately. In prior years these were built in to school registration fees, but this is no longer the case. Look for information on this in upcoming communications.
• Attea hired Nate Carter as a long-term sub for MSS coordinator who will be out on maternity leave.
• Spirit days next week: Monday- 70’s theme, Tuesday- 80’s/90’s theme

7. Committee Reports

1. Spirit Wear- Chelle
   • Website up and running. Look for it in upcoming e-blasts.

2. Dining for Dollars- Robin

• The next event will be at Currito over multiple days in late Nov/early Dec. PTA will get 20% of sales. 

3. A to Z Directory- Chelle

• App is up and running but is under a different name- “Membership Tool Kit.” New PTA members can still get access once they join.

4. 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. Signup genius went out last week and we had a good response. Still need more help so look for signup in e-blast next week as well. Gift cards due December 3^rd.

5. Winter Luncheon- Chelle
   • Committee for this is on track to put on a great luncheon for staff on December 16th.

6. Fundraising- Robin
   • Minted.com- if you purchase from here and use our coupon code, you get 20% off and PTA gets 15% of sales. 
   • Online gift card store- can buy gift cards to over 300 different stores and PTA gets a percentage of gift card sales. See e-blasts and website for further details on both of these fundraisers.

VII. Old Business

• PTA hopes to put on a follow up coffee with Youth Services at their facility in the new year. 

VIII. New Business

• PTA has been looking into a motivational speaker for students at both schools, but per district guidelines/COVID safety, this has to be deferred. PTA to reconsider in the spring if guidelines allow.
• Hand written thank you notes for staff members from parents are being handed out this week.

Meeting Adjourned: 7:43 p.m.

• Motion moved by Chelle Costianis.
• Seconded by Tara Call.

Next PTA Meeting:  Tuesday January 18^th, 2021 at 9:15 a.m. via zoom (No meeting in December).