High Tech Middle Parent Association Meeting Minutes: February 13, 2008

The meeting was called to order by President Eve Sepulveda at 9:05 am.

Catwalk Cabaret (Eve Sepulveda)

1.     The next meeting is tomorrow, 2/14 at 8:45 at HTHI.  We need volunteers! Check the posting on the bulletin board for information or go to the Catwalk link on the PA website if you can't make the meetings.

2.     We need a basket coordinator for HTM to collect the baskets and get them to Jackie.  This year, we will be having team baskets, and not advisory baskets.  The money will be going to the IT budget for the whole village.  The team parents will decide the theme and submit to Jackie for approval.

Other Announcements (Eve Sepulveda)

1.     We are getting a grant from the Starbuck's by Henry's of about $1000.  They asked if we could help them out by buying bags of coffee beans this week (they are having an intra-Starbucks competition).  Even if you don't buy coffee beans, please say a thank you from the HTV.

2.     Volunteer mixers: to get to know new faces.  We need to show new volunteers our list of specific volunteer opportunities. Maybe an evening the first week of September?  Ideas discussed:  having an evening at somebody's home; setting up tents outside the school as an information booth and refreshments. We all agreed to definitely tap the new parents who attend the May orientation.  Maybe we could wear matching t-shirts in a bright color that identifies us as PA volunteers, so people can know who to go to, and know that they know somebody who volunteers.  The idea of hanging FAQ posters on the walls was also discussed.

3.     Padres Concessions: booth volunteers are needed!  This is a great opportunity for us to make a ton of money; we get 10% of total sales from the concessions booth.  In order to volunteer, you will need to attend a 4 hour Food Handler's Workshop and commit to a 2 game minimum (we are signed up for 10 games).  Parent room reps will forward this information on to parents to try to get more involvement.

4.     Liberty Station for Education day is March 5^th; please get out and see what special things are going on in Liberty Station that will benefit all the schools in Liberty Station.



Approval of Minutes (Carrie Flowers)

The minutes from January 8 meeting were approved as read.

Upcoming Elections (Maria Shepherd)

As parliamentarian, Maria needs five active board members to volunteer to serve on the nominating committee.  An email will go out soliciting people to nominate themselves or others for board and/or committee positions.  Online elections were discussed; possibly June can create a ballot for us.  Please start thinking about positions and people to fill them.

Communications (Nancy Allen)

Just a reminder to send emails through Nancy and Eve, not Lisa Ruiz for PA information.

Gifts and Grants (Eve Sepulveda)

• $400 for books was approved for Ms. Abassi's class.


• Ms. Barrett asked for $350 for a Spanish architecture/culture mural painting in the drama hallway. The PA was in favor of this, but would like some more information; Eve will ask Ms. Barrett.

School Support (Eve Sepulveda)

1.     After hearing how well some snack sales have done and how inefficient others have been, Maria and Darcy have been tasked with creating a "Snack Sale How To" guide to help with such things as:

• Where to buy the pizzas


• How much to order


• How much to charge


• What other items are big sellers

2.     8^th Grade Graduation (Nadi Ovanessoff & Marion Brooks):  They have raised over $1600 so far; their goal is to have everything about graduation already paid for so parents don't pay for anything.  It has been decided to have an All-Family Reception after the graduation (Maria is waiting for approval to use the South Promenade grassy area).  The committee is working on creating a class t-shirt and a class photo for each student.  The Liberty Station tenants would like to have a reminder go out to parents to make reservations for lunch ahead of time; this will everyone involved be ready.  The next meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 19^th.

Fundraising (Eve Sepulveda)

1.     Escrip:  Linda Kurtz is working on creating a new flyer for escrip.  She asked to have an email go out showing all the participating vendors who are offering Valentine's deals.

2.     Family Restaurant Night:  Jack in the Box is no longer doing group fundraisers.  Annette Larson has schedule five Islands Restaurant nights, where 20% goes to all the PAs.  You will need a flyer, but they are not restricting us from handing out flyers in front of the restaurant.  The first event is March 10, from 5-8 pm at Islands on Balboa Ave.

Hospitality (Maria Shepherd)

Upcoming hospitality needs:  Testing in April and the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon on May.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 am.

Respectfully submitted,

Carrie Flowers,

Secretary

High Tech Middle Parent Association Meeting Minutes: April 2, 2009

In attendance:  Lise Bernard, Marion Brooks, Patti Bruffey, Michelle Dutra, Carrie Flowers, Janie Griswold, Susie Kime, Andrea Partida.

The meeting was called to order by President Lise Bernard at 8:40 am.

Approval of Minutes (Carrie Flowers)

The minutes from the February 5, February 12, and March 5 meetings were read. Each set of minutes was approved as read.



Director's Report (Janie Griswold)

Ø     Exhibition Night is tonight. Most kids are finished with work, which will allow them to rotate through the classrooms to see other projects.

Ø     After Spring break, STAR testing will begin, followed by 8^th grade retreat, 6^th grade camp, a few more weeks of instruction, and then students will gear up for POLs!

Ø     Fund Run:  teachers were very supportive and spirited for the day.  They were also extremely surprised at the amount of money it brought it (over $16,000)!  Both 6^th grade teams won pizza parties because they were the top earners (over $3000 each team), but the other grades did great, too (over $2000 each team).  For next year, we hope to plan the Fund Run on the Friday after first semester POLs.

Ø     Hiring for next year is underway.  Mr. Gallagher and Ms. Komatsubara are both going to the North County campus to help open those middle schools; Mr. Thoene and Mr. Harms will be our 8^th grade math teachers.

Ø     Money received from the Parent Association will be used to purchase much needed supplies such as water quality kits, video cameras, and art supplies.  Also looking forward to purchasing Foss science kits (all inclusive lab kits) and literature circle books.

President's Report (Lise Bernard)

Thank you to:

Karen Gruenberg, again, for a tremendous job on the Fund Run.

The iPod donators:  the Bruffey Family, the Karin Family, and the Gruenberg Family.

Patti Bruffey for coordinating the Phone-a-thon.  We don't know how much it brought in yet, but we definitely have checks coming in. Better timing for next year might be in October.  Also, we may need to have a Phone-a-thon chair.

Fund Run Money: Fund Run brought in over $16,000.  After some discussion as to whether to give all the funds to Janie now or to give her some now, and some after Catwalk money has been given out, Susie made the motion to give $7500 unrestricted funds now, and then an additional $4500 after Catwalk money has been distributed, for use for the teachers in the 2009-2010 school year.  Andrea seconded the motion. A vote was taken; 5 for, 1 against, and 1 abstention.  The motion passed.

Treasurer's Report (Marion Brooks)

Still have money coming in and going out from Fund Run. The 8^th grade promotion fund has $1236 so far.  Patti reported that fundraising is going well for that.

Nominating (Susie Kime)

An email will go out announcing position descriptions.  The goal is to make the letter less formal than in previous years.  It will go out soon after Spring Break, around April 20.  We are looking to pull in more 6^th grade parents than we have in the past.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 am.

Respectfully submitted,

Carrie Flowers,

Secretary

High Tech Middle Parent Association Emergency Funding Meeting Minutes: February 12, 2009

In attendance:  Marion Brooks, Carrie Flowers, Janie Griswold, Linda Karin, Susie Kime, Andrea Partida, Christine Rhoads.



Director's Report (Janie Griswold)

Although the state budget has not been finalized yet, we are anticipating a sizable cut in the budget.  Our operating budget comes, in part, directly from the state because we are a state charter.  Never before in history have they done a mid year cut; a 3-4% cut is expected.  The Annual Appeal did less than ½ of what it brought in last year.  The goal for Annual Appeal is $250/family, but we are not close to seeing that goal.  We are looking at a $50-60,000 shortfall for HTM for the rest of the school year (that is the 3-4% cut and the Annual Appeal shortage combined).  We could pull from the HTM reserve (emergency fund), but looking forward, things will be worse:  next year, we face an additional 3-4% cut.

Suggestions:  We could have a mandatory Town Hall Meeting, telling the parents of this crisis.  We agreed that most parents really have no idea of the problem. At the meeting, we can push the Annual Appeal and the Fund Run.  If we increase the number of participating families in the Annual Appeal, and log our volunteer hours, we will be more eligible for grant money. This meeting should take place before the Fund Run, and we can send an email through News You Can Use, through the room parents, and also from Janie.

Treasurer's Overview (Marion Brooks)

After attending the staff meeting on Tuesday, February 10, Marion was able to get four grant requests from teachers, totaling roughly $1550.  We have $8200 in available funds.  If we give $5000 to Janie (in addition to the Director's money of $10,000), $1550 in grants, we would still have $1600 left, plus $5000 in reserve.  Plus, we anticipate some income from the Fund Run in March.

Carrie moved to release the $10,000, and give an additional $5000 to Janie.  Christine seconded the motion, and the motion was passed unanimously.

Linda moved to fund the four grants from the teachers, totaling $1550.  Susie seconded the motion, and the motion was passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Carrie Flowers,

Secretary

How to Nominate

How to Nominate:

• Nominations must be submitted in writing (paper or email) to the Nominating Committee Chair, Susie Kime at mtec5@earthlink.net or 858-576-1587;


• Nominees themselves must state in writing that he or she will serve if elected;


• Nominations must be submitted within the designated Open Nomination Period beginning April 21 ending May 15, 2009.

Anyone interested in filling one of the five leadership positions: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian; needs to contact this year's Nominating Committee Chairperson, Susie Kime, as stated above. More information is posted at http://parentpage.org/sandiego/?p=1905

All valid nominations will be carefully considered by the Nominating Committee. A recommended slate of officers will be presented by the Nominating Committee at the last general PA meeting of the school year in June (date TBD), when the elective vote will take place.

If you are not able to fill any of these five leadership positions, there are plenty of opportunities to fill other chair positions. Click here http://parentpage.org/sandiego/?p=1916 for further information on all other Parent Association board positions.

For more detailed information on these five leadership positions or the nomination process, please refer to our By-Laws at: http://parentpage.org/sandiego/?p=1923 or check out all HTM Parent Association information at: http://parentpage.org/sandiego/?p=386