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SPAT PTA Meeting Minutes 02/15/2022

MINUTES

SPRINGMAN/ATTEA PTA COMMITTEE MEETING

Tuesday February 15th, 2022

Via Zoom

Attendees: Megan Russell, Mark Richter, Chelle Costianis, Robin Cohen, Leisl Jaberg, Rehana Haque, Ghizala Husain, Tara Call, Melissa Dahlquist, Brad Shaw, Margo Shaw, Kelly Ipjian, Audree Rowe, Alissa Luck and 3 others who did not have their names on their zoom login.

  1. Welcome 
  • Meeting called to order at 07:03 p.m.
  1. Treasurer update- Rehana Haque
  • Two grants were recently approved by the PTA:
    • $1,400 to Jason Kieronski, PE teacher at Springman, for new PE equipment/program
    • $350 to Kindness Club at Springman led by Springman staff member Abigail Allen 
  1. Approval of minutes from the November 17th, 2021 PTA meeting
  • Motion moved by Tara Call
  • Motion seconded by Chelle Costianis
  1. Principals’ Reports
    1. Mark Richter, Attea Middle School
  • Noted that there have been some mask protests from students. Staff is trying to support and accommodate them as best as they can.
  • Mark encouraged everyone to complete the 5 Essentials Parent survey if they haven’t yet done so. At least 20% of the families need to complete the survey before administrators can see results. Attea is currently at an 8-9% completion rate.
  • 8th grade graduation plans are underway. The ceremony will likely be at the GBS auditorium. They are unsure if there will be one big ceremony or two smaller ones. More info to follow soon.
  • Parent Teacher conferences will be March 4th. Mark gave a thank you in advance for the lunches for teachers the PTA will provide on that day. He also emphasized that at the middle school level with the availability of the status of the students’ homework, grades, attendance, etc. online that these conferences are optional for parents.
  • Extra curriculars are up and running. Currently these include learning labs, boys’ volleyball and the musical.
  • 5th grade transition is being planned. Mark is hopeful that some of these events including the parent info night as well as the 5th grade visit will be able to be held in person.
  1. Megan Russell, Principal, Springman Middle School
  • Megan said she echoed a lot of what Mr. Richter said and a lot of the same activities are taking place at Springman.
  • She also wanted to say a big thank you to the PTA and all those involved who helped put on the Share the Love event last week. She said the timing was perfect as there was a lot going on at the school. Mr. Richter echoed similar sentiments.
  • She mentioned the grant for the Kindness Club was much appreciated. They brought a cart around with treats for the staff and they were very touched.
  • Spirit Week is this week.
  • Springman is also at about an 8-9% completion rate for the 5 Essentials survey. They too need to get to 20% before results can be shared with the administration.
  1. Old business- Robin Cohen
  • A luncheon was provided for staff before the holidays. A big thank you to the parent volunteers who coordinated this.
  • A survey was sent to the teachers at both Springman and Attea to get feedback on how the PTA can better serve them. Chelle and Robin met with the teachers on January 5th for coffee and did a brief presentation about the PTA. Initial feedback from the survey indicated that teachers are interested in collaborating more with the PTA and would like more service project opportunities to be offered to the students. 
  • The Share the Love event last week went well and thank you to all the parent volunteers and families who donated treats.
  1. New business- Robin Cohen
  • Grants are being issued this year on a rolling basis due to the uncertainty with how much revenue the PTA would have this year. Next year the hope is that things will be more back to normal and there will be a grant due date and all grants will be reviewed at one time as was done in the past.
  • Teacher appreciation week planning will be getting started soon. Look for signups. This will be held May 2nd to May 6th.
  • 8th grade graduation committee has started meeting to talk about themes, etc. They are waiting for more guidance on what activities will be allowed this year.
  1. Other
  • Dining for Dollars- Portillo’s in Niles on March 10th 5-8 pm.

Meeting Adjourned: 7:17 p.m.

Next PTA Meeting:  Tuesday, April 19th at 9:15 a.m. via zoom. Springman to host. (No meeting in March).