CCS PARENT ASSOCIATION MEETING



CCS PARENT ASSOCIATION MEETING

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

MEETING NOTES

WELCOME

Harriett Kelley, President

Harriett kicked off the meeting at 8:45am with a review of past PA activities and previous wish list items purchased. This year the theme for the PA wish list is music and the arts. This year the PA will focus on three things: helping all three divisions (i.e. early childhood, lower school and middle school) feel connected to the PA, helping get more parents involved in the school, and continuing to improve upon PA events, programs and processes. Approximately 70 people attended this first meeting of the year.

ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES

Dr. Michael Roberts, Head of School

Dr. Roberts said that we have had a smooth start to school. CCS hired amazing new staff this summer and last spring, and we are growing in good ways. Dr. Roberts introduced Susan Smith, the new Director of Advancement, and Jennifer Naponelli, the new school nurse, whose office is on the concourse level between the two art rooms. Her new office will have anti-bacterial floor tile. She will work full time and keep teacher hours (8:30am-4:30pm). Dr. Roberts announced the new board members: Maryann Price, Chris Pratt, Mark Grishaber who is the assistant principal at Whitney Young. Dr. Roberts explained that the goal of the CCS board is to support the mission of school and the head of school, as well as to set the general nature and strategic plan of the school.

Dr. Roberts briefly discussed the Ethical Literacy initiative and the important part it plays in the overall learning at CCS. Students are constantly confronted with ethical dilemmas at school. Examples include loyalty vs. truth and the good of one vs. the good of many. These ethical dilemmas are important for adults and students to discuss in order to teach them how to make good and ethical decisions. Ethical Literacy is mostly a Middle School initiative.

Dr. Roberts discussed the new CCS allergy guidelines and the challenges and opportunities to learn that present themselves when focusing on this topic. Dr. Roberts mentioned the school’s ongoing commitment to keep everyone safe and to keep the sense of community intact and the allergy guidelines will help achieve this goal. Kerri Neis is chairing the CCS Allergy Committee. Contact her to become involved.

Jean Robbins, Early Childhood Head

Ms. Robbins is pleased with the smooth opening to the year. She feels the parents are embracing the mission of preparing kids’ habits of mind and body. She talked about how our Early Childhood program is not centered on academic skill building, but learning through play. She mentioned the new Everyday Math curriculum that is being introduced in JK this year and how it is developmentally appropriate for this age. Everyday Math allows students to grasp concepts and think in math terms about their environment. SK started with this program last year. This provides a coherent math program throughout the school. Last week the Preschool orientation was well attended and successful. Ms. Robbins viewed it as another good way to build community.

Dr. Pam Pifer, Lower School Head

Dr. Pifer told the group what her teachers did this summer, which included lots of development opportunities. Some staff attended the Responsive Classroom Institute where they focused on different approaches to build community and empower children. The teachers who attended came back very enthusiastic. Dr. Pifer discussed her new approach to support teachers through “reflective supervision.” She plans to be in the classrooms a lot more and to meet with teachers on a more regular basis to discuss with them several key questions like: What am I doing? How am I doing it? How do I know it works? Many teachers also attended the Everyday Math conference. Dr. Pifer mentioned the FOSS, Full Option Science System, science kits, which are new to the Lower School this year. There are two kits in each class. The teachers love using the kits. This curriculum is based on observation. Dr. Pifer commented on the role the parents play with the Everyday Math kits that were sent home with students. The kits are meant to reinforce the concepts that are being taught in the class and most importantly they are supposed to be fun for the kids, like a game at home. She said to ask the teachers how and when to start using the kits at home.

Cory Stutts, Middle School Head

This is Cory Stutts’ 2nd year at CCS. She told the group her son just got married in Paris last week and how this big event was cause for reflection on how you become a different parent at each stage of a child’s development. She said that we are developing as parents all the time. “You too will love your Middle School students when they get that age!” She felt it is fun to be with kids at that age. She said she loves the opportunity to learn alongside them and appreciates the challenges kids face in the middle school years. Ms. Stutts discussed the 5th grade transition year and how for those students the transition can feel like such a shock, so they are being transitioned into the new environment by staying mostly in the same classroom with a core group of teachers and getting lots of support from them. She said that Everyday Math is being incorporated all the way through 6th grade. 7th and 8th grades have two different math teachers and two different curriculums: an advancement of Everyday Math and an accelerated program for those who grasp the topic more quickly. There will be a continued effort to make changes and improvements to the program throughout the school year. Ms. Stutts said the goal of the 8th graders is for them to be ready for High School when they leave CCS. She said in Middle School there is a concentrated effort to continually develop the kids’ independence and teach them the importance of learning from consequences.

SPECIAL THANKS

Harriett Kelley

Harriett thanked the following volunteers for their generous commitment of time and energy:

• Lisa Wilkins and Jody Schumacher for their work on the Ambassador program.

• Mollie Rattner and Heather Geismann for their work on the Back to School Fiesta.

• Jami Merrick and Melissa Laurenson for their work on the Shop-to-Earn program.

• Jenni Pencyla Karolin Der Sahakian for her work on the Monthly Staff Appreciation Treats program.

• Bonnie Schulgasser for her role as the Room Parent Coordinator

• Jody Schumacher for bringing “allergy approved” cupcakes to the meeting.

ADMISSIONS

Jill Due, Director of Admissions

Jill said that the new parent tours started last week and are full. She mentioned the great staff of CCS parents giving the tours. She encouraged the PA to mention the tours to any friends who might be interested in applying to CCS and tell them to call the office and sign up as the tours are filling up quickly. The tours are every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday starting at 9:30am. She mentioned that sibling applications are due November 15th. Notification will go out at the same time as re-enrollment contracts. There will be an Admissions Open house on November 9th from 1-4pm. She is looking for parent volunteers to be stationed throughout the school to answer questions. Call or email Jill to volunteer. Financial assistance packets will go out November 1st. Contact Jill Due or Mark Droegemueller for more information. FACTS is a new company handling the Financial Assistance program. A question was asked of Jill to explain the decision making process for admission. She answered by saying the selection process is based on the parent interview, the teacher comments from prospective student play dates in the classrooms, as well as comments from CCS parents who know the prospective family. Ms. Due said there will be more opportunity for entry next year at the Preschool level since the transition program is gone this year.

ADVANCEMENT UPDATE

Susan Smith, Director of Advancement

Susan said she has been in development for over 20 years and that this is her third school. She said her role at CCS as the Director of Advancement is to help raise additional dollars for the school. John Garvey and Lisa Snow are chairing the Annual Fund committee. She mentioned the strong need for participation in the Annual Fund. $480,000 was raised last year by 80% of parent body. She would like to see 100% participation this year.

Kerri Neis & Linda Beck, Chair and Co-chair of Benefit

The Spring Benefit is Saturday, March 21st. The first planning meeting will be on October 6th. There will be two meetings that day; one after drop off in the morning and one in the evening at 5:45pm at the school. They have set up a special email account for the benefit ccsbenefit09@. Emails to this address are the best way to communicate with them.

ROOM PARENT UPDATE

Bonnie Schulgasser – Room Parent Coordinator

Room Parents have been notified already for the Early Childhood and Lower School Classes. One Room Parent needs to attend every meeting. Bonnie is the liaison between the PA Executive Committee and the Room Parents. She will handle any questions or concerns from parents. Bonnie asked the Room Parents to contact the parents in their class and plan the class potluck dinner. Expense Reimbursement forms cannot be used for the potluck dinners. Parents will need to pay for that. Expense/reimbursement forms need to be used for class parties, etc. Room Parents need to email Bonnie when the potluck is planned. Don’t forget to invite teachers, division heads, and Dr. Roberts! Bonnie also encouraged the Room Parents to welcome any new families in their class in an email. A question was asked regarding how much a potluck should cost if it is held at a restaurant vs. having it at someone’s home. The discussion led to a decision of $25-$30 per person plus the cost of drinks.

PARENT ASSOCIATION BUDGET 2008-2009

Courtney Cavatoni, Treasurer

Courtney explained the four main sources of income for the PA.

(1) A portion of tuition ($85 per family) goes to PA for events and support; (2) Innisbrook gift wrap sales – the PA gets 50% of revenue; (3) Shop to Earn – the PA gets anywhere from 3-7% of the revenues and (4) Spirit Gear Sales (does not include P.E. and/or sports’ team uniforms). This year the Shop-to-Earn cards can be purchased online through the school website or by submitting an order form. Since the school will not be sending home forms each time, an order form can be obtained on the PA website. Check the website for deadlines as they will only be available during high demand months this year. The program did away with having the Starbucks and Dominick’s cards “in stock” this year as they were not a huge money maker. When purchasing the cards, writing a check is better than using a credit card because the school has to charge a fee for credit card purchases. One parent added that it would be great for Room Parents to help promote the program. The PA will continue to evaluate this program throughout the year to determine whether or not it is a worthwhile fundraising opportunity. Any ideas are welcome on Spirit Gear, the dates for the upcoming sales were listed on the “PA Events 2008-2009” sheet that was passed around during the meeting. The dates will also be listed on the website. New spirit gear item this year - CCS water bottles!!

Courtney also cited PA expenses such as the Ambassador Program, Back to School Fiesta, Back to School coffees, Staff Appreciation treats, and classroom parties for Valentines Day and 100th Day of School, Halloween, etc. The intent of the various programs is to build community in our school.

Courtney explained the importance of filling out expense/ reimbursement forms when given a budget for a class party. This helps the PA Treasurer gauge where we are for next year’s planning purposes. Save receipts!!! Expense/reimbursement forms are available in the front office or on the PA website. The forms must be submitted within 30 days of the purchase, include the original sales receipt, and the Committee Chair or Room Parent has to sign it. Leave them at the front office in the PA Treasurer’s box. Turn around is fast! If you need a check cut in advance for a large expense (such as an event deposit), please request a contract or statement, fill out an expense form and turn it into the Treasurer in advance. Please make sure to note when the check is needed. Tax Exempt forms to be used when making purchases (except at Costco) can be picked up at the front office. (It is important to use these forms for potlucks if having them at a restaurant.) For personal expenses you can get a tax deduction. Susan Smith has the tax form in order to do that. Receipts must be given to Susan to get a tax deduction. If you give an item (such as something you already own that has no receipt), Susan will acknowledge the “gift” but cannot put a value on it. For each class party there will be a budget but if parents want to donate something the budget can be used for other things for the same event, not for other parties.

PARENT ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE CHAIRS

CCS School Bus – Howard Speizer and Linda Beck

Linda Beck explained that the CCS bus program is a parent co-op school bus program and the school is not involved in the program. She said the bus route and bus ridership has doubled since last year and the new route covers quite a bit of territory. Linda encouraged Room Parents to send program updates to new parents who might not know about the CCS bus program. There is info on the CCS website. Registration can take place at any time and the cost will be prorated. There is still time to join. Starting October 1st bus passes will be available for purchase for $10 each. Linda explained that riders who use bus passes must get on and off the bus at designated route stops. Bus passes must be purchased if a child is going home with someone who rides the bus.

Teacher Lunch Relief – Sara Slaughter

The sign up sheet for the Teacher Lunchroom Relief program was passed around. The program trial run is set for Sept. 30. Volunteers will be contacted to start on subsequent dates. Contact Sara Slaughter at sslaughter@ or Sarah King at sarah.king@ if you want to volunteer.

Staff Treats – Jenni Pencyla

Jenni passed around the sign up sheet for volunteers and all of the slots were taken.

Halloween – Pamela Swartchild and Amy Fowle

Pam Swartchild explained that this year’s Halloween celebration will follow the same pattern as last year. More information will be emailed to the room parents. The budget is $23 per class this year for parties. Pam went through the order of events starting with the school-wide parade the morning of. PM kids will not have a parade but will have games in the afternoon. Pam passed around the sign up sheet for decorating the school which will take place on Monday, October 27th. A separate sign up sheet for snacks was passed around. Pam said that some games that were created last year could be used again this year. Ask teachers about it.

Community Cares – Julie Stamato

Julie explained the mission of the Community Cares program which is to provide for families who are going through challenging times, i.e., death in family, illness, divorce. Ideas included coordinating carpools, play dates, meals, etc. The intent of the program is to be helpful but discreet. Those interested in volunteering can email Maryann Price at maryannbprice@ or sign up by completing the sign-up sheet that is being passed around. Julie said the budget is used for flowers and participation is primarily a donation of time. She passed around the sign up sheet. Contact Karen Jacobson or Maryann Price if you know a family in need.

Moms’ Club – Jodi Flohr and Pam Gordon

Jodi explained that the Mom’s Club started last year and is primarily a social avenue for the moms. It is not a fundraising program but all costs cover the events. There is usually one event per month. The first event is this Sunday, September 27th which is a cooking class with Liz Isaacs (CCS Mom) at Fox and Obel from 2-4pm. The deadline was yesterday but see Jodi if you are interested. Cost is $35. Sign up sheets for events will be in the Wednesday folder email. The October event is scheduled for October 23rd and is the Pilates for Pink class at 9am at Menomonee Club and requires a $15 donation to the Lynn Sage Cancer Center. The Mom’s Club will sponsor a coat drive in November. Jodi said that last year they collected 150 coats and donated them to the Cabrini Green Project.

Spirit Gear Sales – Robin Breslin and Vera Levens

Robin announced that the next Spirit Gear sale will be Thursday, October 2nd on the first floor during all drop-off and pick-up times. Spirit gear can also be ordered online.

The meeting ended at 10:00am.

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