Montgomery Blair High School PTSA

Minutes of PTSA Meeting --- October 17, 2006

Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

September 19, 2006
PTSA Meeting

Present: Debra Reed-Gillette, Carol Smalls, Deborah Stoll, Dave Ottalini, Sam Stokes, Beth Martin, Gloria Ralph, Elissa Lichtenstein, Ramah Murahidavan, Ivania S. Hernandez, Annie Rohlin, Jennifer Fasheun, Peggy Ottalini, Karen Powers, Stephanie Zoz, Ed Zoz, Rosanne Hurwitz, Drew Wynn, Herenia Lopez, Anne Metcalf, Lora Albanese, Rory Saunders, Victoria Barthelmes, Karen Orloff, Dorothy Lee, Patsy Hedrick, Russ Greenberg, Sally Taber, Anne Kaiser, Rosemary Hodges, Betsy Scroggs, Diana Vidutis, Karl Berlein, Chris Simpson, Eva Sullivan Conlon, Dmitri Gaston, Robert Smalls Amy Wasserstrom, Andrew Partan, Katya Partan, Nina Corin, Gail Peck, Bonnie Malkin

Facilitator: Deborah Stoll
Time Keeper: Dave Ottalini
Recorder: Debra Reed-Gillette

Deborah called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. Adjustments to the printed agenda were announced. All present were reminded to sign in on the sign in sheets.

The June PTSA meeting minutes, and the July and August Executive Board minutes were approved as corrected. The June minutes have already been posted to the Listserve. The Exec Board minutes will be posted. It was requested that when minutes are posted to either list, both the attachment and the text be posted so that those with the Digested list can read the minutes without having to go through Yahoo Groups.

Budget The 2006-2007 PTSA budget was presented by Sonni Mallinoff in Nancy Newton’s absence. A recommendation came from the floor to separate that actual dues paid from the donations to better line up the expenditures to MCCPTA, Cluster, and State & National dues. The recommended amendment was defeated.

It was noted from the floor that MCCPTA and State & National dues had been raised. As Sonni did not have that documentation, the budget was not amended with the new dues amounts. It is noted in the minutes that Nancy or Sonni will research the correct dues amounts for those organizations and a request to amend the budget will be forthcoming. All were reminded that the budget is a living document, and it can be amended as needed throughout the year. The budget was approved by the membership.

Principal’s Report by Mr. Gainous Mr. Gainous encouraged all present to join the PTSA and to volunteer with the PTSA when requests went out for assistance. Mr. Gainous announced that total enrollment was currently 2959. Several Math and Social Studies courses had very large class sizes. The faculty and administration are attempting to balance the Algebra I and NSL classes as those classes align with the HSA testing. Other classes will not be balanced at this time.

The Vault Linda Rogner and Lyn Talen presented information on the student run branch of the Credit Union at Blair: The Vault. 9 schools in Montgomery County have student run branches of the credit union. The objective is to train and provide hands-on opportunities to students. The teller skills that they learn are directly transferable to a resume. Blair has the #1 student run credit union – it is the busiest. In addition to training the students who run The Vault, the other goal of The Vault is to provide education to students for handling money, checking accounts, credit cards, etc.

Although Blair has the busiest branch, the branch with the largest deposits is one of the elementary schools. The Vault hours are 11-12:15 Tuesday and Wednesday beginning October 3. October 3 will be the grand re-opening of The Vault for the school year. 9 th graders are eligible to open a checking and savings account. A student cannot withdraw more than $20 from the school branch in one day. There is no minimum withdrawal or deposit. After having deposits/accounts in The Vault for one year, a student is eligible for a fee free credit card. These credit cards are fee free until the age of 23. Credit unions also offer the best interest rates for loans. The Vault provides 5 scholarships to seniors.

You can visit www.MCTFCU.org for branch locations and hours. A Kensington branch has opened, and a branch at Cherry Hill Rd and Route 29 will open in November.

Ms Linda Wanner was introduced as the PTSA liaison.

New Student IDs Mr. Gainous announced that there were several problems with the new IDs. A new company was selected which had start up and equipment issues and the Media Center Bar Codes were changed. This rendered those IDs that were issued invalid in the Media Center. New IDs will be issued to all students with new barcodes and safety designation locations this Thursday (September 21).

The afternoon staffing of the Media Center until 4pm will be revisited.

BTS Night/Membership There were not enough forms at BTSN. A checklist has been created so that BTSN is a bit more organized and has improved communication. 300 members joined the PTSA at BTSN bringing in $10,000 in memberships and donations. Many parents come directly to BTSN from work and did not receive the schedule form from their children. Some brought their child’s schedule but as BTSN was not in period order but in odd/even order, it was difficult to regroup after the initial error was made. The announcements were not always heard in the classrooms. Having multiple PTSA tables was a very good idea.

Parent Visitation Day is Monday October 9. Volunteers are needed to staff welcome tables with forms, handbooks, and a welcoming presence.

Graduation Venue MCPS rejected our request for Jericho City of Praise. A letter was sent to the BOE by the PTSA requesting reconsideration. A letter from Haughey stated that the BOE/MCPS was not allowing the use/switch to Jericho due to issues with possible disruptions if a lawsuit ensued. We have obtained a probono attorney. A legal memorandum is to be presented to the BOE and MCPS. Nancy Navarro and Valerie Ervin have agreed to meet with us. It will be a request for a declaratory judgment and seek the courts decision in advance of a lawsuit, and then if the courts approve, move to Jericho. A recap of the history of Blair’s use of Jericho as a graduation venue was also presented.

Counseling Advisory There will be a 12 th grade parent meeting on September 28 at 7:00 pm in the SAC to present the college application process. A 9 th grade parent meeting will be held on October 5 at 7:00 pm in the SAC.

Steve Rosenthal is willing to help initiate College Tracks, which is a program, which focuses on helping students without support get into college.

Volunteers Beth Martin is always able to round up a wonderful cadre of volunteers.

El Golfo Night 25% of the proceeds go to the Blair PTSA – October 11

PTSA Web Page now has on-line payment options for donations, joining the PTSA, and the Citrus Sale.

Citrus Sale The Citrus Sale is one of the largest fundraisers for the year. Fresh oranges and grapefruits are delivered in December. You can also order fruit for donation to the homeless.

PTSA Mini-Grants These grants support staff and student groups to help with academic and other needs in the school. Application deadline is October 25.

After Prom is in need of a 3 rd co-chair

Latino Outreach/ESOL parent coordinator Hernia Lopez reminded all to attend meetings and that translation equipment is available for the meetings.

Mentoring for at risk students A grant has been written for at risk students. It would be a cooperative effort between the PTSA/Blair/YMCA. Supplies, funds, and mentors are needed.

Special needs Sonni Mallinoff met with Lisa Davidson. Computers for note taking, “Alpha Smarts” are needed. Grants/proposals for obtaining them are needed. A possible proposal requesting funding from the PTSA may be written. Dave Ottalini pointed out that the alumni are looking for projects to fund and this project can be recommended to the Alumni Association

SGA Molly Martinez from the SGA presented the homecoming theme for this year: Board games. Freshman have “Clue”, Sophomores have “Life”, Juniors have “Candy Land”, and the Seniors have “Monopoly”. Help is needed by parents for decorating and chaperoning the dance (8-11 on October 14). Please contact Molly at terribledriverwoman@yahoo.com or Beth Martin in order to volunteer. The SGA is also beginning a student run academic support program with start-up money provided by the PTSA.

BBOPS support the Blair Concert Band, Marching Band, Orchestra, and the new drill team. Please come and support the music program.

Student Directories will be available some time after November when the data is available from MCPS

Participate in painless fund raising: Giant/Safeway/Snider’s

A presentation on smaller learning communities at Blair was presented by Jennifer Kempf and Cindy Villavicencio-Novinsky. Blair has 9 learning communities: CAP, Magnet, 9 th grade academy, ESOL 1 & 2, and 5 Career Academies for Sophomores-Seniors (Science/Math/Technology, International Studies, Entrepreneurship, Media Literacy, and Human Services).

Dates to remember:

9/21 CAP Parent Meeting

9/28 12 th Grade Parent Meeting 7:00 SAC

10/5 9 th Grade Parent Meeting 7:00 SAC

10/9 Parent Visitation Day

10/9 PTSA Exec Board Meeting 7:30 Staff Dining Room

10/14 Homecoming 8-11

10/17 PTSA Meeting 7:30 pm Media Center