Saturday, November 24, 2007

Draft Duveneck eNews! 11/25/2007, v9#14

The Duveneck PTA eNews is brought to you each week bythe Duveneck PTA.

Visit http://www.duveneck.pausd.org for current
announcements, classroom webpage links and PTA
information! For PAUSD-wide PTA news and online
versions of the PTAC Councilor Newsletter and the
Community Kiosk, visit http://www.paloaltopta.org

Detailed information on all items listed
under "Contents" is shown below.
**************************************************

DUVENECK NEWS CONTENTS:
-------------------------------------------

o Nov 19: Lunch Menu Changes
o Nov 19: Duveneck Group Logowear Order Deadline
o Nov 21-23: No School: Happy Thanksgiving!
o Thru Nov 23: Last Chance to Order from Sally Foster
o Nov 26-30: Duveneck Book Fair
o Nov 27-Dec 19: WOW Community Service Opportunities
o Dec 5: Duveneck Pajama Night at the Children's
Library, 6:30pm

o Stay Safe: Pedestrian/Bike Safety Message
o Directions for Submitting eNews items

[more content deleted...]

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Update with Duveneck eNews! 11/12/2007, v9#12

Updated yahoo calendar and Duveneck front page with contents of Duveneck eNews! 11/12/2007, v9#12 (via Melissa).

DUVENECK NEWS CONTENTS:
-------------------------------------------
o Nov 13 & 19: Lunch Menu Changes
o Nov 14: PiE Coffee with the Superintendent, 8:05am
o Nov 14: Duveneck SPIRIT Day
o Nov 14 & 16: Duveneck Ice Skating Party, 5:30pm
o Nov 15: Parent Ed: Middle School, 7:30pm
o Nov 16: School Picture Make-ups and Re-Takes
o Now Thru Nov 17: PiE Promotion
o Nov 26-30: Duveneck Book Fair
o Stay Safe: Pedestrian/Bike Safety Message
o Duveneck Logowear Ordering Information
o Directions for Submitting eNews items

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Duveneck Elementary School

PTA Meeting

October 8, 2007

Held at Duveneck Library

Present: Sheryl Klein, Marie Drez, Chitra Swaminathan, Kathryn Weller, Liz Darby, Kim Robins, Gretchen DeAndre, Julie Dyson, Linda van Gelder, Dianne Haydock, Kathleen Meagher, Melissa Fassler, Laura Wolfe, Isabelle Cole, Kristin Feitzinger, Jennifer Buenrostro, Catherine Crystal Foster, May Herr, Susie Hwang, Steve Turnbull, Frances Sterling, Sarah Sands

Absent PTA Executive Board Members: Sue Purdy Pelosi, Jennifer Seto

I. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 6:05 in the Duveneck Library.

II. Auction Report (May Herr and Susie Hwang). Auction was held on Saturday night. Pamela Wagner and Ann Ritchie spent the rest of the weekend closing the books. Preliminary revenue is approximately $62,000 ($22,000 for auction items; $40,000 for parties). Approximately 170 people attended the auction. People are still signing up for parties that are not full.

III. Approval of Minutes (Kristin Feitzinger). Minutes from 9/10/07 Meeting were approved. Minutes from 5/29/07 Meeting were also approved.

IV. Harvest Carnival Report (Steve Turnbull and Frances Sterling). Preparations are underway for the Harvest Carnival, which will be held at Duveneck on October 27, 2007. Chairpeople gave a detailed report of activities (attached).

V. PIE Report (Sarah Sands). Donations to date are approximately $550,000 district-wide. Duveneck’s participation rate is currently 9%. A second donation letter will be sent in the middle of October.

VI. President’s Report (Isabelle Cole)

A. Yahoo! Group. PTA does not sponsor and is not affiliated with the Yahoo! Group. The goal of the Duveneck Yahoo! group is to facilitate informal communication among the community.

B. After School Programs. Nora Broadsky has volunteered to take on after school programs. She hopes to set up a system to submit ideas for new programs (for next year since this year is full) and provide a mechanism for soliciting feedback.

Room Parents. Guidelines for room parent communication were discussed.

D. Playground Equipment. Request for money to fund 4 small soccer goals (@ approximately $40) and 12 soccer balls (@ approximately $6) was discussed. Motion to allocate up to $350 for this purpose was approved. Funds will be allocated from the “Supplies” budget line item.

VII. Treasurer’s Report (Chitra Swaminathan).

A. 2007-8 Budget. New budget reflecting the $300 allocation to the Reflections program was distributed after having been posted for the school community to review for the requisite 10 days (attached). Motion to adopt the new budget was approved.

B. Reserves. Discussion regarding plan for spending down approximately $65,000 in reserves ensued. People are currently gathering staff input and more detailed cost information on a number of projects (e.g., staff room improvements, MP room improvements, enhancements to play structures) and will present an update at the next PTA meeting.

VIII. Principal’s Report (Kathleen Meagher).

A. Enrollment. 11^th day enrollment was 477.

Kinder Play Structure. Originally was to be funded as part of the site block grant; however, now will be funded by the district. Plans for new structure are posted on the window of the principal’s office. Kinder teachers have reviewed the plans and are enthusiastic. New structure requires moving the planter boxes. They will be move to outside Room 1 (on Alester). As part of the “remodel,” part of the fence will be moved, expanding the kinder playyard and enabling students to play wall ball against Room 1. Site block money will be spent on moving planters and ensure proper irrigation. Principal Meagher will inform school neighbors on Alester of the planned changes to the landscape. Current plan is to begin moving planters soon and for the structure to go in over winter break.

C. Walk and Roll. Week was a success thanks to many parent volunteers.

D. Book Club. Theme this month is “cooperation.”

E. Bike Rodeo. Third grade bike rodeo is coming up on October 18.

F. Teacher Training. Many teachers have been out recently for district-wide training.

G. Kid-by-Kid. Three times a year (fall, winter, spring), teacher, principal and appropriate specialists meet to discuss each child in the school (e.g., strengths, needs, strategies). Winter kid-by-kid discussions include all teachers in a given grade level.

IX. New Business. None.

X. School Community (Jen Buenrostro).

A. International Potluck. It was a fabulous event, with a great turnout. We are hoping to repeat it next year.

B. Spuce Up Duveneck. They are still looking for a volunteer to head this effort. They are thinking of ways to make it a fun community event and are hoping to solicit ideas from the staff regarding projects.

XI. Parent Ed (Kim Robbins and Sheryl Klein).

A. Transition to Middle School. Panel event will be held on November 15^th in the Duveneck library.

B. Girl Friendships. They are hoping to have a psychologist speak toward the end of January on the topic of girls and friendships.

XII. Faculty Report (Melissa Fassler). Melissa discussed Math Network and other issues regarding math curriculum.

XIII. Social Report (Gretchen DeAndre and Julie Dyson). Ice skating parties are set for the evenings of Wednesday, November 14^th (3^rd-5^th grades) and Friday, November 16^th (K-2^nd grade).

XIV. Site Council (Linda van Gelder). Site council recently participated in an afternoon retreat. At its recent meeting, members reviewed and approved the site plan and discussed the site block grant. Funds had been set aside for the kinder structure, assemblies and staff consultants. One assembly has been held, but additional money remains. The consultant will be meeting with staff during Friday’s inservice day. Next meeting site council will: discuss playground update, begin work on survey, and review site plan.

XV. Ways and Means (Marie Drez). No report.

XVI. Other (Kathryn Weller). Sally Foster gift wrap sales begin on November 19^th. Kathryn stressed that sales will be Internet only. Anyone without Internet access should contact her for assistance ordering.

Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Kristin Feitzinger, Secretary

Next Meeting: November 6, 2007 at 7:00 pm in the Duveneck Library

Page 1 of 3

Duveneck Elementary School

PTA Meeting

September 10, 2007

Held at Duveneck Library

Present: Sheryl Klein, Marie Drez, Chitra Swaminathan, Sue Purdy Pelosi, Kathryn Weller, Liz Darby, Kim Robins, Kathy Jordan, Jennifer Seto, Gretchen DeAndre, Julie Dyson, Linda van Gelder, Dianne Haydock, Kathleen Meagher, Barbara Susco, Laura Wolfe, Isabelle Cole, Kristin Feitzinger

Absent PTA Executive Board Members: none

I. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 in the Duveneck Library.

II. Approval of Minutes. Minutes from 5/17/07 Meeting were approved. November PTA Board Meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 6^th.

III. Appoint Treasurer. Motion to appoint Chitra Swaminathan as Treasurer was approved.

V. Treasurer’s Report (Chitra Swaminathan)

A. Budget Review and Approval. Proposed budget, which had already been posted for the required 10 days for PTA membership review, was distributed. Motion to allocate $300 to fund expenses related to Reflections art program (e.g., posters, appreciation for judges) approved. Amended budget will be posted and voted on next meeting.

B. June –August Transactions Report. June-August transactions report was distributed and approved.

VI. Ways and Means Report (Marie Drez)

A. Majority of single check order forms have been collected and processed, though a few more are trickling in.

B. Of the 260 checks received, 85% of families participated in the PTA. The Board wants to encourage the entire community (parents, teachers, grandparents) to join. Last year, Duveneck received PTA recognition for its high participation rate.

Single check order forms will be distributed to teachers and staff, so that they can join PTA and order yearbooks, logo wear, etc.

VII. President’s Report (Isabelle Cole)

A. Welcome. Isabelle Cole welcomed Principal Kathleen Meagher to her first PTA Meeting.

B. Snack Sign Up. A snack sign-up sheet was passed around.

C. Organizational Charts. Board members were encouraged to look at their organizational charts and contact the people falling under their umbrella to ensure that those people understand their responsibilities and are still willing to perform them. The Duveneck website should have an updated list of volunteers. Isabelle Cole will send an email regarding major positions yet to be filled. Discussion regarding the nominating process and volunteer solicitation ensued. Ideas such as improved documentation and a “job faire” to better inform the community of available positions and requirements were discussed.

D. International Potluck. International Potluck will be held on Friday, September 14^th. Pearl Chow is organizing this new event.

E. Communication. Isabelle Cole discussed the purposes of ENews and the Duveneck Yahoo! group. ENews is for official school and PTA communication. It is a district-wide program. The Duveneck Yahoo! Group is to facilitate community via informal communication among parents. We are currently planning to keep both avenues of communication as they are intended to serve different purposes.

F. Lunch Fund Money. A motion to approve the allocation of $100 of Scholarship funds to pay for incidental lunch expenses was approved.

G. After School Programs. The PTA has not historically been directly involved in implementation of after school programs. The view is that these are outside vendors who serve the Duveneck community (their customers) and rent space from the school. If community members are not happy with a particular program, they are encouraged to raise any issues directly with the vendor. If enough parents are dissatisfied with a program, its subscription will suffer, and the program will not survive. Space for new programs is very limited. Principal Meagher is currently looking into two new Spanish programs that have been researched by parents, and will select one as soon as possible, space permitting.

VIII. Principal’s Report (Kathleen Meagher)

A. Thank You. Principal Meagher expressed appreciation to the Duveneck community for the warm welcome that she has received. She also mentioned this month’s book club book, tomorrow’s performance by the Ethiopian dance troop, and the International Potluck.

B. Play Structure. We will be receiving a replacement piece for the slide next week. All in all, the structure has been working well, despite initial concerns. Options for supplementing structure will be explored and discussed at future meetings.

C. Chalking Machine. Potential acquisition and use of a chalking machine to enhance field space was discussed. Issues with existing AYSO soccer field (fall) and Little League baseball (spring) lines were also discussed.

V. New Business

A. Coffee Cart. Potential coffee cart options were discussed, among other forms of teacher appreciation.

B. Special Projects. As discussed last spring, the PTA needs to spend down its reserves to the $50,000 guideline set by the Palo Alto PTA Council. This creates a one-time fund of approximate $65,000 for special projects. Those projects previously identified were: 1) kinder play structure enhancements, 2) staff room improvements, 3) MP room improvements. These will be discussed in more detail at a PTA meeting later this fall. Principal Meagher will check in with the staff again to get their current insight regarding priorities.

C. Sally Foster Gift Wrap. Kathryn Weller is organizing this year. Sales will be Internet-only, and distribution will be through the mail. While purchases benefiting Duveneck can be made year round, focused marketing will occur just after the auction, from 10/19/07 to 11/9/07.

D. Auction-Related Expenses. Motion to allocate up to $400 to auction-related expenses for materials to display information regarding auction items was approved. Materials will be kept at Duveneck and will be available for future auctions and other events.

VI. School Community Report (Sue Purdy Pelosi)

International Potluck. People should be encouraged to bring any dish they would like to share!

Volunteers. Need volunteers for teacher appreciation week and Spruce Up Duveneck.

Spruce Up Duveneck. Principal Meagher will check in with teachers to see if they have any ideas for Spruce Up Duveneck projects. In addition to identifying projects in advance, the idea of creating some fun community event (e.g., a pancake breakfast) around the Spruce Up Duveneck event in order to increase participation was discussed.

VII. Parent Education (Kim Robins)

Sep. 29^th. School board candidates’ forum will be held in the Duveneck library. All five candidates will be invited to attend. In addition to a brief introductory statement, candidates will answer questions from a moderator. The community will be solicited for input on questions.

Nov. 7^th or 8^th. Panel discussion to help answer questions regarding entering middle school will be held at Duveneck.

Social (Gretchen DeAndre and Julie Dyson)

Ice Skating. Wednesday is the sign-up for the ice skating parties. The social chairs will do their best to avoid scheduled school events and auction parties, but spaces are first come, first served.

Harvest Carnival. Promotion of the event is beginning on campus. Status report will be given at the next PTA meting.

IX. Site Council (Linda van Gelder)

Site plan. Site council held its meeting this afternoon and went over the site plan. They will continue their discussion next month.

Kinder play structure. Initial estimates for enhancing the kinder play structure exceed the amount that has been set aside for that project.

Auction. There will be scholarships available to anyone who wants to attend. The auction is meant to be a social, community-building event as well as a way to make needed money for the school.

Outreach training. Room parent training for outreach was discussed.

Open Site Council seat. There is currently an open site council seat. The position will be announced in the next two editions of Duveneck Dispatch, and new elections will be held as quickly as possible.

Audit Report (Jennifer Seto). Audit report was disseminated and approved.

Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM.