Hunters Woods PTA Minutes

Hunters Woods Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences

April 11, 2007

The regular meeting of the Hunters Woods PTA was held on April 11, 2007 at Hunters Woods Elementary School. PTA President Maureen Becker called the meeting to order at 7:55 pm.

Minutes from the March meeting were read and approved.

Correspondence :

The Art Teachers sent a thank-you note for all the PTA’s support of the Artist-in-Residence project.

President’s Report:

Maureen Becker mentioned the Artist-in-Residence Projected and stated that Mrs. Germaine spoke with Luck Stone about the supplies needed for the sculpture project. It is thought that the Project will be able to be completed within the specified budget. The Project will be run by Mark Pilato from May 1-May 4.

Maureen thanked Raba Letteri, Lisa Gordon and Tami Holsten for organizing the upcoming Office and Clinic Staff Appreciation Week (April 23-27) and the Teacher’s Appreciation Week (May 7-11).

The meeting was reminded that Ms. Clara Johnson is retiring on April 30th. The school will hold an assembly so the children can say goodbye. Also, on April 28th from 3-5pm, Ms. Johnson will be at the school to receive farewells from the community and the HWES’s families. A dinner will be held in her honor at well on April 27th.

New By-Laws were presented and will be voted upon at the next PTA meeting, May 2, 2007. Few changes were made but the Executive Committee was restructured to allow a system of succession that allows the current President to train and support the upcoming President Elect.

The Nominating Committee for the 2007-2008 PTA Board was introduced to the meeting and is comprised of the following members: Catherine Lindberg, Nancy Mamros and Pam Li. They will be presenting the following list for a PTA membership vote during June 2007:

PTA Slate of Officers

President – Maureen Becker

President Elect – Susan Sather

Vice President – Susan Brownsword

Treasurer – Deborah Lannen

Recording Secretary – Jennifer Arakelian

Corresponding Secretary – Marina Matthes

There was a general call for volunteers for the Snickerdoodle Literary Magazine. A more formal appeal will be forthcoming in the Tuesday folders with the committee broken into smaller, more manageable positions.

Volunteers are also being recruited for many smaller committee commitments such as the Directory, Hunters Horn, Membership/Calendar Sales, etc. See Maureen Becker if you are interested.

Treasure’s Report:

Deborah Lannen gave out copies of the current budget and reminded the meeting that the total’s did not reflect invoices for the Play Production and After School Activities.

Teacher’s Report:

Mr. Adams commented upon the improved format for the silent auction and stated that the smaller baskets were much more appealing to all who attended. He stated that the movie selection was great and seemed well received by the children. He also thought that the children were well engaged and under better control than previous years.

Mr. Adams was urged to share with his fellow teachers that the mini-grant fund is waiting for more applications and that if not used, the PTA will be lowering the amount in the fund next year.

Committees:

Outdoor Beautification:

The Annual Plant Sale was announced and will run from April 20-30th at Gaelic Gardens. All HWES families will receive 10% of their purchases when they bring in their flyer.

There will be a general Work Day on April 21st to prepare a site for the 6th grade sculpture and the 6th grade garden plot.

The After School Gardening class will officially be changed to a Roots and Shoots Club.

Cathy Germaine reported that the site for the 6th grade sculpture has been cleared and is safe to build upon.

Catherine Lindberg reported the stones needed for the state map of Virginia project may be donated by a local company and she will keep the group informed on the progress of this project.

Bingo:

The Spring Bingo night is tentatively scheduled for May 18th and a flyer will be forthcoming in the Tuesday folders. Volunteers are needed to make this night successful. See Kristin Grambrell if you are interested in volunteering.

Teacher’s Appreciation:

Raba Letteri reported that the Teacher’s will receive $10 gift cards for local area restaurants. A Day of Appreciation for all teachers on May 7th will provide food and requests for food donations will be forthcoming in the Tuesday. The upstairs teacher’s lounge may be redecorated and cleaned as a special surprise.

Staff Appreciation:

Raba Letteri reported that PTA volunteers will man the office will a special lunch is served to the staff on April 27th. Many small gifts and food items will be given to the staff throughout their Appreciation Week (April 23-27th.)

Silent Auction:

The Silent Auction was a big success and the PTA meeting thanked the many volunteers who contributed to make this event such a special night – especially the Silent Auction Coordinator - Susan Sather and the Master of Ceremonies - Marina Matthes. There were many suggestions on how to improve the night for next year including change of date to a Saturday with previewing for families during the day, shorter movies, looking into live entertainment for the children and sealing bids for the teacher’s experiences the week prior to the event. Other suggestions are welcomed and can be forwarded to the committee chair.

Book Fair:

The Book Fair will be running from April 16-20. Volunteers are need to have a successful outcome. Please contact the Book Fair committee if you can help.

Principal’s Report:

All the principals thought the Silent Auction was a wonderful success and wonderful experience for all who participated. The gym was a great venue and Susan Sather did a fantastic job!

April 12th, the FCPS Board will have a meeting and will officially rename the cafeteria after Ms. Johnson. The new name will be the Clara Johnson Café.

Mr. William Willey will be the new Building Supervisor.

The next PTA meeting will be held May 3, 2007 at 7:00 pm at the school library, after a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at 7:00 pm. See the agenda for other upcoming events and dates.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 pm.