Duveneck Website Blog

Agenda April 2009

2009-06-13T10:22:00.001-07:00

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Duveneck Site Council

Date: April 6, 2009

Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Library, Duveneck Elementary School

Agenda

4:00 Call to order

4:05 Review Agenda; approve minutes for March 2, 2009

4:10 Correspondence/Open Forum

4:15 SPSA- Review Special Education & Under Achieving Students

4:35 Update: Election of 09-10 SSC Members

4:45 Homework Policy Committee Updates & Discussion

5:15 Math Adoption Update

5:25 Discussion about School Culture

5:45 PTA Report

5:50 Principal’s Report

6:00 Adjourn

DuveneckSiteCouncil02_02_09

2009-03-14T17:52:00.001-07:00

Duveneck
School Site Council

Meeting
Minutes

February
2^nd, 2009

Members
in Attendance

Kathleen
Meagher, Mark Robins, Jaynie Schemel, Kathy Thibault, Ching-wen Miron
(absent), Sarah Sands (absent), Esther Yoon, Maya Misner , Soma
Mitra, Susie Hwang, Jodi Winchester and Al Yuen. Other Guests-
Barbara Lancon, Danae Gray

Approval
of Minutes

January
12^th,2009 minutes were approved unanimously.

Correspondence/Open
Forum

None

Discussion
& SPSA – Review GATE and High Achieving student –
Barbara Lancon (from PAUSD)

Each
district submits a plan for 2-3 or 5 year approval. PAUSD has 3 year
approval starting 2008
GATE
plan on website – 2 page summary handout given.
1. Identify
  students starting at entry into 4^th grade – each
  school goes through the identification process including Duveneck –
  no “pull out” in PAUSD – students’ needs
  are met in the classroom.
No
target % or number of students for GATE.
GATE
program dollars (About $90K and shrinking) for PAUSD is spread from
K-12. Middle school has GATE coordinators to help teachers do
differentiation in the classroom.
GATE
focuses on academics and the arts - Currently about 1000 kids out of
11,352 in GATE.
It
was suggested that Kathleen talk about GATE at Duveneck at the
4^th/5^th grade Coffee with the Principal.
Differentiation/GATE
at Duveneck - the focus is more in depth rather than breadth. Delve
deeper into a subject.
Focus
on providing differentiation material and related technologies.
Kid
by Kid in progress– teachers /principal talk about the range
of learners and how does the curriculum meets their needs
How
are our high-achieving students doing? We’re seeing that they
are really thriving with the activities that are being given to them
to challenge them.
Math
adoption – in comparing the programs the teachers are
evaluating if they provide enrichment programs or material. There is
some material and worksheets but most teachers here may choose to
supplement with additional material.
Suggestion
was made by Mark to have a plan at our school to create a shared
resource of the supplemental material – perhaps online.

Discussion
and SPSA – English Language Learner – Danae Gray (from
PAUSD)

CELDT
happens before Oct 30^th of each year – based on
reading, writing, listening and speaking – in 5 levels –1
to 5.
Parents
are notified if their children are evaluated as ELL by early Nov and
the recommendation – parent can opt out of the special
services but not out of testing.
Child
is reassessed each year
Re-classification
can happen at any year along the way – typically takes 5-7
years for a student to become fluent
1. Once
  reclassified, the child cannot be classified as ELL again but
  school can provide services to help the child if they are
  struggling
2
support resources for the children– EL Development teacher
(here on site) and the class teacher – each of whom has to
have a special certification through the state
1. Our
  ELD teacher has been out and we have a substitute starting shortly
2. ELL
  children have to take STAR tests
Most
ELL kids go to JLS for middle school – course content well
tailored for opportunities to speak/read and use the language
1. Typically
  about 20 kids per grade per school in ELL program (JLS, GUNN)
2. ELL
  about 10% of district population; 20% reclassified and 14% get IFAP
  (initially fluent)
English
Language Learner Advisory Committee (ELLAC) – reports to
school board
1. Opportunity
  for parents to participate

PTA
Report

None

Principal’s
Report

Spectra
Art – Why was art not being sent home over the course of the
year but at the end altogether?
1. Teacher
  keeps the art work till the year end for the art show and also to
  send home the entire portfolio in one piece
2. Options
  being considered about how and when to send home artwork. A final
  decision is still being worked out.
Teachers
are doing DRA assessments now
Parent
conferences soon coming up.

Meeting
was adjourned.

Duveneck PTA Executive Board - Slate for 2009_2010_rev2

2009-02-20T13:47:00.001-08:00

Duveneck
PTA Executive Board

Slate
for 2009-2010 School Year

Co-Presidents - Lauren
Barley and Gordon Craig

Treasurer - Pam Wagner

Secretary - Kristen
Andersen

School Community -
Rebecca Robinson

Parent Education -
Megan Myers & Becca King

Social - Jeanne
Marzano & Christine Meyer

Ways and Means - Abbie
Knopper

Auditor - Elena
Winefeld

Historian- Richard
Clark

Parliamentarian -
appointed by President

Site Council Liaison
-Susie Hwang

Co-Presidents elect,
Kim Robins and Jennifer Seto

This slate will be
voted on at the Science Fair Evening on March 18th in the MP Room.
Please come and cast your vote!

Agenda Feb 2009

2009-02-20T13:46:00.001-08:00

PALO
ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Duveneck
Site Council

Date: February 2, 2009

Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Library, Duveneck Elementary School

Agenda

4:00 Call
to order

4:05 Review
Agenda; approve minutes for November 3

4:10
Correspondence/Open Forum

4:15 Barbara
Lancon, Coordinator for GATE for the Distict

4:45
SPSA- Review Gate High Achievers and ELL

5:15 Danae
Gray, Coordinator for ELL for the District

5:45 PTA
Report

5:50 Principal’s
Report

6:00
Adjourn

DuveneckSiteCouncil012_01_08

2009-01-13T15:25:00.001-08:00

Duveneck
School Site Council

Meeting
Minutes

December
1^st, 2008

Members
in Attendance

Kathleen
Meagher, Mark Robins, Jaynie Schemel, Kathy Thibault, Ching-wen
Miron, Sarah Sands, Esther Yoon, Maya Misner (absent), Soma Mitra,
Susie Hwang, Jodi Winchester and Al Yuen. Other Guests-

Approval
of Minutes

Novermber
3rd minutes were approved unanimously.

Correspondence/Open
Forum

None

Discussion:
How to build a healthy school culture

Kathleen
passed around a Mercury News article entitled “Kids’
happiness overrated; let’s try to make them good.”
Discussing how our society is focused on a child’s happiness
vs. nurturing them to be good, compassionate, with high values…
We
talked about how all kids getting trophies for any participation of
any event. Grade inflation in schools also may be an issue, when
finally a child is confronted for the first time with high
expectations and gets his/her first poor grade.
We
discussed how this influences what parents expect from teachers and
whether there is any unreasonable requests made of teachers.
The
topic of immediate gratification also came up, which is prevalent
among advertisers and society as a whole. The concept of waiting
for your turn, and allow others or the teacher to finish up the
thought is important.
It
was suggested that we have some more parent education nights
regarding learning behaviors of each child and how children learn
and progress.
Two
suggested readings for further study: “The Price of Privilege”
and “Too Much of a Good Thing.”

Discussion:
Leftover Block Money, idea generation

Teachers
have been spending their budgets as part of the original allowance by
grade-level. There is a substantial amount left over, which the Site
Council said we should wait for the next PTA meeting has taken place
to discuss further.

SPSA
– Review Language Arts

We
went over the Language Arts portion of the Single Plan for Student
Achievement.
There
was an October 10^th workshop for teachers around the
district regarding the language arts.
Kathleen’s
staff meetings also have addressed the differences in learning style
for individual students.
There
was a comment that the last parent survey indicated that parents did
not understand how “writing” is taught in elementary
school. The teachers mentioned that they do not necessarily send as
much writing home, so that they can better assess the child’s
progress.
It
was suggested that Kathleen could write an article regarding the
“writing” topic to better inform parents.

PTA
Report

Talked
about how well the Harvest Carnival went and the number of volunteers
that do so much in preparation for the event. The bulk of the
meeting was discussing how to use the additional $40k+ funds. The
full list of ideas was presented and the teachers and staff were
given an opportunity to review. There will be an additional upcoming
PTA meeting on Monday, December 8^th, to discuss the
allocation of funds further.

Principal’s
Report

The
book fair went well this year. There was good participation by
families during the family night. This month was spend on teacher’s
conferencing, which all went well. There seems to be an outbreak of
head lice, which Duveneck is continuing to manage.

New
Business

Susie
had a question regarding enrichment teachers (i.e. PE or Art),
specifically how to contact them regarding any concerns and
evaluation of the teachers (email addresses are available on the
PAUSD site, and for the SpectraArt a box is available in the office
for correspondence. What is the reason for SpectraArt to wait until
the end of the year before going home to parents? The main reason is
to provide the teacher an opportunity to assess the progress over the
year and to provide an opportunity to select for the year-end art
show. Kathleen will discuss this at her staff meeting with the
teachers to get feedback from the teacher. It was thought that
parents are missing an opportunity to discuss a creative development
with their child as the project is fresh in their minds.

Meeting
was adjourned.

agenda jan 12 2009[1]

2009-01-09T12:12:00.001-08:00

PALO
ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Duveneck
Site Council

Date: January 12, 2009

Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Library, Duveneck Elementary School

Agenda

4:00 Call
to order

4:05 Review
Agenda; approve minutes for December 1

4:10
Correspondence/Open Forum

4:15
Guest Speaker: Math TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment)

5:00 SPSA-
Review Math

5:40 Grant
Money Discussion

5:50 PTA
Report

5:55 Principal’s
Report

6:00
Adjourn

2008-10-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

PALO
ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Duveneck
Site Council

Date: Monday, October 6, 2008

Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Library, Duveneck Elementary School

Agenda

4:00 Call
to order; Review Agenda

4:05 Review
minutes; approve minutes for Sept. 8

4:10
Review Correspondence

4:15 Open
Forum

4:20 Site
Council Retreat: Review agenda

4:25 Single
Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) for 2008-2009:

Questions
and/or discussion
Plan
for review

4:35 Review
Duveneck Final Report for 2007-2008 school year

4:50 PTA Report

4:55 Principal’s Report

5:00 Guest
Speaker: Bill Garrison, Assessment Director, to review data
reflecting progress and areas of growth for Duveneck

6:00 Adjourn

2008-09-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

Duveneck School Site Council

Meeting Minutes

June 2, 2008

Members in Attendance

Heidi Mickelson, Kathleen Meagher, Diane Gosney, Linda van Gelder, Mark Robbins, Jaynie Schemel, Kathy Thibault, Ching-wen Miron, Sarah Sands, Esther Yoon, Maya Misner, Soma Mitra, Jon Foster and Al Yuen. Other Guests-

Approval of Minutes:

May 5th minutes were approved unanimously. Minor changes were suggested before public viewing.

Correspondence/Open Forum:

None

School Safety Plan for 2008-2009

Playground conflict reduction and tools such as “talk it out” were presented. Earthquake disaster preparation is also covered from emergency supplies to practice drills. Each quarter a report will be provided to see how we are doing. Annually there will be a summary review as well.

Binder Content for Next Year’s Members

What is valuable in the binders? This year’s surveys, previous minutes and site plan should be included.

Discussion of allocation of remaining Site Block grant

Money allocated from last year’s school site council. We have spent a total of $17,231 on various projects (kindergarten fence, assembly speaker, security gate, staff development…).
There is $10,917 left for 2008-2009 school year. Kathleen suggested some ideas including: Staff development, assembly speakers, release time for teachers (time for teachers to observe each other and learn best practices), and laptops for teachers. PTA reserves have paid for the bulk of laptops. $3789 is left from the PTA laptop purchase that has yet to be absorbed.
A discussion occurred on what else we could do with the remaining funds. Kathy made a motion to approve Kathleen’s suggested budget for the remaining $10,917. It was approved unanimously.

PTA Report

Linda noted that we have a proposed PTA budget including the following: PTA will spend $17,000 on laptops for the teachers, $2K for a new smartboard, $3K for three LCD projectors, $500 for a new MP Room screen, and $10K will be contributed to next year’s operating budget. There will be $2500 left for either ceiling fans or curtains for the MP room. Honorary service awards ceremony this week. The County Fair event went well thanks to everyone who served at the event. Heidi asked for clarification regarding the DirectAsk program. A letter explaining the DirectAsk program will be going home with the report card to all parents.

Principal’s Report

School will end at the same time for all grade levels on Wednesdays next year to simplify the pickup schedule for parents and caregivers.

Review the 2007/2008 school year: Accomplishments, Challenges, Priorities for 2008-2009

Communication with the parent community improved. Suggestions to use enews, website, Dispatch etc to continue improved communication with parents. Completed the Kindergarten playstructure, security gate, Kindergarten garden area, the survey (parent, teacher, and student) was a success to access what parents are thinking.

Site Council Evaluation: Successes, suggestions for next year

More efficient way of getting through the Site Plan. Suggestion was to have Kathleen continue to add her notes of explanation and suggestion on the Site Plan – that was found to be very helpful.
Need to improve the communication and implementation of the Duveneck Partnership. A marketing campaign was suggested.
Improved orientation of NEW Site Council members, so that everyone can hit the ground running when school begins.
Make sure we prioritize the action plan from the survey next year.
A suggestion was given of potentially doing the survey every 3 years vs. the current 2 years. This would leave more time by the Site Council to do other school related projects. The survey took a lot of time and effort by the site council.

Meeting was adjourned.

New Dispatch, Room Parent Info, Site Council Agenda

2008-09-05T12:34:00.001-07:00

Sept 5 Dispatch available at Home->Dispatch->Sept 5
Site Council Agenda for Sept 8 available below or at Home->Site Council->Site Council Meetings
Room Parent overview updated. Read before back-to-school-night at Home->PTA->Room Parents

2008-09-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Duveneck Site Council

Date: Monday, September 8, 2008

Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Library, Duveneck Elementary School

Agenda

4:00 Call to order—welcome all new members

4:05 Review Agenda; approve minutes from June 2, 2008 meeting

4:10 Review Correspondence

4:15 Open Forum

4:20 Announce School Site Council District Training dates; sign up those interested in attending

4:25 Review the PAUSD Strategic Plan

4:55 Review SSC Reflections from 2007-2008 & SSC Evaluation for 2007- 2008; Discussion of how these thoughts and the goals of the Strategic Plan might frame the work of SSC this year

5:20 Review DRAFT Single Plan for Student Achievement

5:45 Principal’s Report

5:50 PTA Report

5:55 Set date/time/place for retreat; Determine “homework” to be completed before the retreat (read Roles & Responsibilites of the SSC, the Duveneck Elementary School SSC Bylaws, and 07-08 survey results)

6:00 Adjourn

Back-to-school Updates

2008-08-23T09:48:00.001-07:00

Back to school is the most busy time for the website.

Here's a list of some of the changes to get ready for school.

Content on main page re-organized for hopefully easier reading.The categories, which are in more or less priority order in general, are:

-------- School Announcements

-------- Calendar

-------- PTA announcements

-------- Community Announcements

Calendar created and updated with PTA, Site Council, and Holidays
Duveneck 0809 handbook posted. This has tons of information that generates other content on the web, such as who has what position.
Bell schedule (which is different this year) updated
PTA Exec Board, Meeting Schedule, Budget, Volunteer list
2008-09 Book Club List
Updated the every popular "Contact Us" to point to key directory pages on the site

Service Issue Resolved

2008-08-19T14:55:00.001-07:00

As of Aug 21, I'm able to make changes to the website. I'll be doing so over the weekend.

2008-08-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

DUVENECK

STUDENT SUPPLY LIST

for

2008-2009

The following are supplies that your student(s) will need for their own personal use in the classroom this year.

There is no need to purchase the requested items new; if your student already has these items, please feel free to have them use them again next year.

If you are unable to purchase these supplies for your child, we will provide the materials they need. Additional classroom supplies will be funded with the support of the Duveneck PTA’s Direct Ask.

Entering Kindergarten:

A full-sized backpack*
A lunch box or bag*

Entering Grade 1:

A pencil box (8” x 5 ½ “ is ideal)
1 pocket folder (your child can pick any design)

Entering Grade 2:

No supplies are needed

Entering Grade 3:

Pencil box
1 box of 8 thin markers
1 box of crayons

Entering Grade 4:

One 10-15 pocket plastic expandable file with tabs
Pencil box
One 2-pocket folder (heavy duty/durable – your child can pick any design)
1 hand-held pencil sharpener (with container to hold shavings)

Entering Grade 5:

One 3-ring binder (1½“ width)
1 pencil pouch (for binder)
5“ x 8“ plastic storage container with flip top lid (example: “Spacemaker”)
1 box of thin-line colored markers

*The items marked with an asterisk are items that will be needed by all students each year at Duveneck.

Summer Updates

2008-07-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

Added in

back-to-school pamphlet
5th grade summer camp

2008-05-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Duveneck Site Council

Date: June 2, 2008

Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Library, Duveneck Elementary School

Agenda

4:00 Call to order

4:05 Review Agenda; approve minutes for May 5

4:10 Correspondence/Open Forum

4:20 School Safety Plan for 2008-09

4:25 Binder Contents – what is needed for next year’s members

4:35 Discussion of allocation of remaining Site Block grant

4:50 PTA Report

5:00 Principal’s Report

5:10 Review the 2007-08 school year: Accomplishments, Challenges;

Priorities for 2008-09

5:30 Site Council Evaluation: Successes, suggestions for next year

6:00 Adjourn

2008-05-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

Duveneck Elementary School

PTA Meeting

April 14, 2008

Held at Duveneck Library

Present: Melissa Fassler, Pearl Chow, Dianne Haydock, Marie Drez, Kim Robins, Julie Dyson, Kathryn Weller, Isabelle Cole, Kathleen Meagher, Pamela Wagner, Elizabeth Darby, Kristin Feitzinger, Gretchen De Andre, Ginny Hull, Jennifer Seto, Linda Van Gelder, Sheryl Klein, Jennifer Buenrostro

Absent PTA Executive Board Members: Laura Wolfe, Sue Pelosi

I. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 7:08 in the Duveneck Library.

II. Approval of Minutes. Minutes from the 3/10/08 Board meeting and the 3/19/08 General meeting were distributed. Motion to approve the 3/19/08 minutes by Marie Drez was seconded by Dianne Haydock. Motion was unanimously approved. Motion to approve the 3/10/08 minutes by Marie Drez was seconded by Dianne Haydock. Motion was unanimously approved.

Treasurer Report (Pamela Wagner)

A. March Check Report was distributed. Check request and deposit information was also circulated. Motion to approve March check report by Linda Van Gelder was seconded by Melissa Fassler. Motion was unanimously approved.

B. 2007-2008 Budget v. Actual Worksheet was distributed. Supplies check for $33,000 will show up in April. Remaining supplies budget and $10,000 in “Just Buy It” funds need to be spent. The idea of soliciting “Just Buy It” needs from teachers was discussed.

Parent Ed may go a bit (about $50) over budget. If necessary, we can likely find the necessary funds elsewhere in the budget.

Spruce Up Duveneck. Discussion regarding who is responsible for care of the garden outside of the principal’s office was discussed. The district was informed of needs, has formulated a plan and will take care of the garden going forward.

Proposed budget for next year was distributed. It will ultimately be approved by next year’s board.

Sources of funds (e.g., carry-over, reserves, direct ask, auction) have not been cemented at this point. PTA needs approximately $120,000 to fund supplies and proposed programs. A number of funding options were discussed. We are looking at ways to fundraise without tapping out volunteer pool. Ideas discussed included eliminating gift wrap, doing a direct appeal, taking a break from the auction, doing a scaled down version of Just Parties focusing on the biggest money makers (no one has yet volunteered to spearhead Just Parties but the nominating committee is meeting on Wednesday night).

Reserves schedule (including a list of proposed projects) was also distributed. Discussion regarding reserves and proposed projects ensued.

Technology budget was discussed. Kathleen sat down with a district specialist and two staff members to discuss priorities. Biggest teacher challenge is lack of laptops. Laptops are approximately $2,000 each. $25,000 in current budget would cover approximately one half of teachers this year.

Goal of this meeting’s budget discussion is to stimulate thinking. Additional discussion will take place at subsequent meetings.

President’s Report (Isabelle Cole). Topics were covered during Treasurer’s Report.

V. Parliamentarian Report (Kathryn Weller)

Bylaws. Have been completed and sent off. We are waiting to hear back from the district.

Honorary Service Award. Committee has been formed and includes Kathryn Weller, Linda van Gelder, Rebecca Robinson, and Kathy Merkle-Raymond. Sheryl Klein has agreed to host the event at her home on June 4^th at 7:30 PM. Forms are available to nominate outgoing parents (i.e., parents whose last child is leaving Duveneck this year).

VI. Principal’s Report (Kathleen Meagher)

Spruce up Duveneck. Thank you to the 20+ people who participated.

STAR testing. 2^nd-5^th grade teachers are in the process of preparing students for STAR testing. Parents are encouraged to support children by enabling them to get plenty of sleep and alleviating stress when possible.

Parent survey. We had a great response rate, over 50% in each grade level. Kathleen and the Site Council are beginning to analyze the data.

Strategic plan. Community members have been asked to participate in surveys. The data will be disaggregated to enable us to study Duveneck-only responses.

VII. Faculty Report (Melissa Fassler)

A. Math curriculum night will be held on Wed. 4/16 at 6:30 in the MP room.

B. Parent surveys. Teachers are encouraged by preliminary feedback from Parent Survey, which seems to indicate that parents are positive about changes to address feedback provided in prior surveys.

C. Staff room improvements. Thanks for the couch. Staff is very appreciative of all the staff room improvements.

VIII. School Community (Jen Buenrostro). Another thank you to those who participated in Spruce Up Duveneck. The families accomplished a lot while participating in a great community building event.

IX. Social (Gretchen DeAndre and Julie Dyson). Spring social will be held on Fri. 5/30. Theme is Country Fair. Proposed activities include BBQ, ice cream cart, pie bake off, face painting, games and square dance caller. A poster or door decorating contest was discussed as was the idea of inviting families of incoming kinders. It was ultimately decided that other planned events for incoming kinders would provide better opportunities for welcoming families.

Parent Ed (Kim Robins and Sheryl Klein)

A. “Mothers of Boys: Helpful Hints on Raising Them” will be held in the MP room on 4/29 after drop off. Karen Friedland Brown of the Parents’ Place will be speaking. Refreshments will be served.

B. Madeline Levine. Eight to ten parents gathered at Starbucks after the recent event at Gunn. Over 1000 people attended the event which was taped. Information regarding how to view the session will be circulated to the community. Duveneck contributed $50 toward the event.

XI. Site Council (Linda van Gelder).

A. Parent Survey. Council is busy going through results. They will communicate them to the community.

B. Student Survey. A survey of 3^rd-5^th graders is complete. Questions complement the Parent Survey. Responses are being analyzed.

C. New members. Site council needs two new people for two-year terms.

XII. New Business

A. Measure A event. Melissa Caswell has asked the PTA to co-sponsor a Measure A informational event for the Duveneck-St. Francis Neighborhood Association in the MP room on 5/6. Motion to co-sponsor the event by Sheryl Klein was seconded by Isabelle Cole. Motion was unanimously approved. Idea of reaching out to other neighborhood associations (e.g., Crescent Park) was also discussed.

B. Measure A phone banks. Will be held on 4/23, 5/6 and 5/13.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm.

Next meeting is scheduled for Mon., May 12, 2008 in the Duveneck Library

Respectfully submitted,

Kristin Feitzinger, Secretary

Page 1

2008-05-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Duveneck Elementary School

PTA Meeting

March 10, 2008

Held at Duveneck Library

Present: Isabelle Cole, Kathryn Weller, Pamela Wagner, Angela Mogielski-Cassini, Marie Drez, Gretchen DeAndre, Julie Dyson, Kim Robins, Linda van Gelder, Pearl Chow, Kathleen Meagher, Kristin Feitzinger, Liz Darby, Jen Buenrostro, Sheryl Klein

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

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

II. Approval of Minutes. Minutes from the 2/11/08 meeting were distributed. Motion to approve minutes by Kathryn Weller was seconded by Marie Drez. Motion was unanimously approved.

Treasurer Report (Pamela Wagner)

A. February Check Report was distributed. Motion to approve by Kristin Feitzinger was seconded by Kathryn Weller. Motion was unanimously approved.

B. 2007-2008 Budget v. Actual Worksheet was distributed. Notable variances (e.g., the decision to eliminate Just Buy it Revenue this year due to the auction’s fundraising success) were discussed. Year to date we are underspent in many categories, most notably school supplies and technology, though some may be due to timing of invoices. The worksheet is an important tool for the budget committee, which is meeting next week to begin planning for next year’s budget. The PTA currently has $100K in a CD which does not expire until September. If need be, the money can be pulled out early with a small penalty.

C. Transition. The process of transitioning the treasurer role to Pamela Wagner is largely complete. Xenia Hammer has contributed quite a bit of time to the process. The Board plans to thank Xenia.

Parlimentarian Report (Kathryn Weller) Kathryn distributed proposed bylaws changes (attached). Motion to approve the proposed changes by Sheryl Klein was seconded by Gretchen De Andre. Motion was unanimously approved.

V. President’s Report (Isabelle Cole)

Constant Contact. Duveneck is required to get off the district server and so must find a new means for distributing eNews. Motion to approve up to $30 per month to transition eNews to Constant Contact by Kristin Feitzinger was seconded by Sheryl Klein. Motion was unanimously approved.

Online Directory. Bjorn Liencres discussed the possibility of an online directory with the Walter Hayes parent that developed theirs. Major operational challenges (e.g., approximately 300 man-hours to start up) will prohibit implementing an online directory at Duveneck. We will work to get the paper directory out earlier next year, perhaps by adding additional volunteer resources.

Fundraising. Information gathering efforts are underway. We will have a more complete discussion of future fundraising efforts at a future PTA meeting.

VI. Principal’s Report (Kathleen Meagher)

Faculty illness. Many faculty members (including both PTA teacher reps) have been out with the flu.

Parent Survey. Deadline has been extended to Wed. 3/12. Overall response rate is approximately 75%, but goal of at least 50% participation for each grade level has not yet been met.

Parent Teacher Conferences. Spring conferences (which are optional) are underway. Report cards will be distributed no later than the day before spring break.

Mural. Kathleen is meeting with Jennifer Simoni regarding the proposed mural.

“Coffee” with the Principal. Will be held Wed. 3/12 at 5:15 pm. The later time may be more appealing to working parents.

Strategic planning. Principal Meagher is the elementary principal representative to a district strategic planning task force being lead by McKinsey & Co. Parents will have an opportunity to participate via focus groups and surveys.

Kinder play yard. Construction is ongoing.

Math Curriculum Parent Ed Event. On April 16^th, from 6:30 to 7:30, the school will be hosting an event to educate parents regarding the math curriculum.

VII. School Community (Jen Buenrostro). Spruce up Duveneck is planned for April 12^th. The primary project will be building a cart to carry the May Fete float. Other projects are spreading mulch and cleaning picnic tables. Refreshments will be served. Questions regarding where to house the cart on a permanent basis still need to be resolved. Once the float cart is built, Abby Knopper and team will begin building this year’s float. Gretchen DeAndre and Julie Dyson will check in with Abby regarding organizing float construction and other May Fete festivities.

VIII. Social (Gretchen DeAndre and Julie Dyson). Planning is underway for the spring social event. The theme is County Fair. Food will be BBQ. Proposed activities include square dancing, games, and a bake off. Tentative date is May 9. Alternative dates and other ways of easing potential conflicts with other events are being explored.

IX. Parent Ed (Kim Robins and Sheryl Klein). Planning is underway for a parenting boys event to be held on a morning in April.

Site Council (Linda van Gelder). Site council worked on student (grades 3-5) and teacher surveys. These results will be tallied by hand and discussed at the next meeting along with the results of the current parent survey. Work also continues on the site plan. They are also getting prepared for next year. Site council needs two new people for two-year terms. Interested people should attend the 4/7 Site Council meeting. Information regarding the positions will be disseminated in the Dispatch and eNews.

New Business

A. Teacher appreciation (Sheryl Klein). The list of proposed activities was distributed. Motion to approve a $400 increase of the teacher appreciation budget, bringing it to $1000, to accommodate the purchase of $10 in Fandango movie bucks for each teacher/aide/staff member by Liz Darby was seconded by Gretchen DeAndre. Motion was unanimously approved.

B. Charity Book Sale. Sale will occur on Fri. 4/18. Donations will be accepted from 4/14 to 4/17. People interested in helping should contact Liz Darby or Susie Hwang. Proceeds will go to one of three charities, each of which promote literacy. Unpurchased books will be donated to Costano School in E. Palo Alto, which is starting a new library. This is also one of the three candidates to receive sale proceeds. Duveneck student council will make posters to promote the event and help with elections to select the charity to receive the sale proceeds.

Guest Speaker (Melissa Caswell, School Board Member)

A. School Bond Measure. $378 million bond measure will be on the June ballot. Fact sheet was distributed. Melissa answered questions. Motion for the Duveneck PTA to endorse the bond measure by Sheryl Klein was seconded by Linda van Gelder. Motion was unanimously approved. Melissa also sought personal endorsements. Melissa and Soma Mitra will be leading Duveneck’s efforts to promote the bond measure and will be seeking approximately 30 volunteers to help (e.g., man phone banks, walk precincts, assemble lawn signs).

B. Strategic plan. Melissa talked more about the strategic planning effort that is currently taking place with the pro bono assistance of McKinsey & Co.

C. Hot lunch. The hot lunch program lost $600K last year and will lose approximately $500K this year despite the change in vendors. On average, only 13% of students (including those on reduced/free lunch programs) purchase hot lunch. Given education spending cuts, Palo Alto cannot afford to have such a costly program. In order to provide lunches to students in need, but not lose so much money, it is likely the School Board will vote to move to a “grab and go” program (e.g., a sandwich and fruit, with no warm food and limited selections).

Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm.

Next meeting is scheduled for Mon., April 14, 2008 in the Duveneck Library

Respectfully submitted,

Kristin Feitzinger, Secretary

Page 1

2008-05-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

Duveneck Elementary School

PTA Meeting

February 11, 2008

Held at Duveneck Library

Present: Kristin Feitzinger, Xenia Hammer, Marie Drez, Isabelle Cole, Kathryn Weller, Sheryl Klein, Catherine Crystal Foster, Jennifer Seto, Laura Wolfe, Kathleen Meagher, Pearl Chow, Angela Mogielski-Cassini, Sue Purdy Pelosi, Melissa Fassler, Susie Hwang, Liz Darby, Linda van Gelder, Kim Robins

Absent PTA Executive Board Members: Gretchen DeAndre, Julie Dyson, Jennifer Buenrostro

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

II. New Treasurer. The current treasurer, Chitra Swaminathan, is stepping down for personal reasons. Pamela Wagner has agreed to take over—finishing out the current year and being posted on the slate for next year. Pamela has met with Chitra. Xenia Hammer (former treasurer) is also helping with the transition. Motion to approve Pamela Wagner as treasurer was approved by the Board.

Audit Report (Jennifer Seto). The signed audit report was distributed. For next year, it was suggested that standardized sheets for deposits and expenses would be helpful. These could be accessible from the Duveneck website. The motion to accept the audit was approved by the Board.

Approval of Minutes. The 1/14/08 minutes were reviewed and approved by the Board.

Treasurer’s Report. Check reports for November and December (approved at the previous meeting) were distributed along with the January check report. Motion to approve the January check report was approved by the Board.

VI. President’s Report (Isabelle Cole)

Constant Contact. The idea of changing eNews distribution from the district server to an outside vendor (Constant Contact) was discussed. Melissa Baten Caswell discussed the product and answered questions. Comparative benefits include: improved reliability, greater ease of use, enhanced formatting options, and the ability to share political comment (e.g., information re bond measures). Switching costs are minimal. Subscription cost is $30 per month for the current number of eNews subscribers, with available prepayment discounts. The Board decided to engage in a one month free trial for Board members to evaluate benefits. It will discuss the proposal again at the next meeting, when the budget picture will also be clearer.

Remaining reserves. While the exact figure is not yet known, the PTA will likely have about $30,000 remaining reserves to spend if it wants to get to the $50,000 reserve level recommended by the PTA Council. Ideas include MP room improvements (curtains for stage, fans, banners, chairs) because it is likely that MP improvements will not be part of the capital improvements funded by the June bond measure. Xenia Hammer clarified that the PTA Board may choose to spend these funds this year or in a future year. Upcoming state budget cuts and their potential effect on Duveneck were also discussed.

Mural. Current Duveneck parent (Jennifer Simoni) has proposed to paint a mural for the school. There will be a meeting with teachers to discuss. They are brainstorming ways to involve the children in an organized fashion and may also solicit input from the community re content.

Staff room furniture. Much of the new staff room furniture has arrived and has been well received. Isabelle distributed thank you notes signed by all the teachers and aides.

VII. Report on June school bond measure (Catherine Crystal Foster). The community will be asked to vote on a $378 million school bond measure, primarily for capital improvements, this June. The school community will be asked to assist in many ways. In particular, if anyone is interested in being one of the school coordinators for Duveneck, he or she should contact Catherine or Jon Foster.

VIII. Principal’s Report (Kathleen Meagher)

Queen Bees. Kathleen thanked the parent ed reps for a great event. In particular, the chance for parents to share experiences was great.

Incoming Kinder Visits. 40 parents visited Duveneck on 1/31. The event went well. Those who were unable to attend will have another opportunity in April,

Kid-by-Kid. The school completed its most recent kid-by-kid meetings last week. There were great conversations, particularly around reading.

Asia Fantasia. The entire school had the opportunity to attend a fabulous storytelling presentation last week. Content was great and the story teller was incredibly engaging. Kids at all levels loved it.

Book Club. This month’s book club presentation, held last week, was put on by the student leadership team. The theme was cooperation, and the students put on a skit regarding the new recycling program. That program is being implemented for grades 3-5 and includes composing. Once the older students get hang of the program, it will be rolled out to the younger grades.

Math Curriculum Parent Ed Event. On April 16^th, from 6:30 to 7:30, the school will be hosting an event to educate parents regarding the math curriculum.

IX. Parent Ed (Kim Robins and Sheryl Klein).

A. Queen Bees. The presentation was well received. About 50 people attended. They are thinking about ways to expand the pool of people attending parent ed events.

B. Madeline Levine (author of the Price of Privilege). Madeline Levine is speaking at Gunn in April. Duveneck is an event co-sponsor. Admission is free, but interested parents are encouraged to get there early as it will likely be standing room only. The idea of having a post-event discussion group at the Starbucks near Gunn was discussed.

C. Future events. Kim and Sheryl are looking into future events, in particular a presentation by the Parent’s Place regarding raising boys to complement the recent Queen Bees discussion regarding girls.

X. New Business. None.

XI. School Community (Sue Purdy Pelosi). The previously proposed idea of building sandboxes is not feasible because they require cement forms. An alternative idea of building the May Fete Parade float cart was discussed, along with other projects like cleaning tables and spreading mulch. The idea of soliciting participation from fathers in particular was discussed, along with ideas to make the event fun (e.g., coffee, bagels, basketball). The proposed date is currently April 12^th.

XII. Parliamentarian Report (Kathryn Weller).

A. Thank yous. Kathryn and Isabelle thanked the nominating committee for its hard work.

B. Proposed changes to structure. The nominating committee has proposed changing the structure of the current PTA President position. The Presidency would be shared between a President and an Executive Vice President. A new position, President Elect(s), would also be created. The President Elect(s) would not have formal PTA responsibilities other than learning the role of President. Former PTA Executive Board members would not be required to serve as a President Elect prior to serving as President or Executive Vice President. The number of VP positions would be increased from the current four to five under the new proposal. The new VP position (Chairman of Leadership) would be created for the President Elect. The Board discussed the proposed changes. Proposed changes will be posted and communicated to the greater school community. Any member of the community can express interest in any of the Executive Board positions and can be placed on the ballot for the vote on 3/19/08.

B. Proposed slate. The proposed PTA slate was read. It will be posted for the community on 2/14, enabling the community to view it for 30 days prior to voting on it at the Science Fair on 3/19.

C. Proposed changes to bylaws. Kathryn distributed proposed changes to the bylaws (attached), most of which pertain to the proposed change in the structure of the current PTA President position. Proposed bylaw changes will be voted on at the next PTA meeting.

XIII. Faculty Report (Melissa Fassler).

A. Asia Fantasia. Melissa echoed Kathleen’s comments regarding the great assembly and shared a thank you note from her class.

B. Carol Dweck (author of Mindset). Over half of the Duveneck teachers attended the recent discussion.

C. Staff Development Day. The subject for the 2/19 development day will be math and will be led by Duveneck’s district math network participants.

XIII. Site Council Report (Linda van Gelder). Survey questions have been finalized. A flyer will be distributed on 2/22 regarding how to access the survey. It will be primarily online, but hard copies will be available to those who need them.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:25 pm.

Next meeting is scheduled for Mon., March 10, 2008 in the Duveneck Library

Respectfully submitted,

Kristin Feitzinger, Secretary

Page 1

2008-05-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

A FREE PTA COUNCIL PARENT EDUCATION EVENT FOR EVERYONE!

Save the Date: Thurs. May 22, 2008

“First to Worst: Revisited”

A Community Screening of the Acclaimed PBS documentary on the state of the California School System, followed by a live discussion with some of our nation’s leading experts on education

5/22/08 7 p.m. - 8:45pm

Spangenberg Theatre, Gunn High School

780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto

6:30-7pm, Pre Event Community Reception, Open to Everyone

Thurs., May 22, do not miss this comprehensive look at California school systems by John Merrow, education correspondent for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. Did you know California school systems are educating 1 out of 7 future workers in United States? With so much on the line, how is the California public school system now doing in producing the next generation of workers? This compelling documentary explains the collapse of the California education system--from being one of the best school systems in the country back in the 50’s and 60’s to one of the worst now, as compared to other states across the country. Find out how this decline happened over the last 40 years and what we can—and must—do now to improve our schools. Following the screening, you are invited to stay for an important question and answer session with some of our nation’s leading authorities on educational issues. Special guests scheduled to participate include Dr. Deborah Stipek, Dean of Education at Stanford University, Marshall “Mike” Smith, Program Director for the Education Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and public television’s leading educational journalist, John Merrow. Here’s your chance to get the “big picture,” and get truly informed, before casting your vote on the upcoming school bond measure on June 3^rd.

This free event is proudly sponsored by Palo Alto PTA Council, Palo Alto PTAs, Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Council, and Partners In Education (PIE).

Jordan Middle School and Kepler’s Book Store Teamed Up for Summer Reading Fair

2008-05-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

WHO’S INVITED:
Parents and students in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades

WHEN:
ANY time during the following days and times:
Tuesday, May 20 12:00 noon - 4 p.m.
Wednesday, May 21 7:45 a.m. - 4:00 …AND… 6 - 8:30p.m. during Jordan’s Open House
Thursday, May 22 7:45 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Jordan Middle School Library
750 North California Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94303

REMEMBER:
Parents are welcome ANYTIME during the hours of operation.
Bring your 5th grader over ANY day after school to shop …especially Wednesday after school, or that evening.
Bring your parents, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles …...

Checks, credit cards and cash are accepted.
Questions? Contact Yvonne dennis (ycdennis@hotmail.com) or Barbara Clark (jbgch@pacbell.net)

FY 07-08 PTA Budget & 2009 PAUSD Calendar linked to website

2008-04-27T10:58:00.001-07:00

In case you are planning your late summer and fall, see the 2008-2009 calendar

Curious about PTA spending? See the budget.

Also, I noted the May 1 balloting deadline for site council.

April 12th Duveneck Dispatch

2008-04-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

You probably didn't know this or think of this, but the Duveneck Dispatch has different versions for web and print.

A big advantage of the print edition is that the limited distribution means that we have less security worries.

For the web, however, we have to remove photos and names/addresses. Often, we don't get the time to do so. So, we'll post the April 12th version, if/when we find the time to do so. For now, check your child's backpack or that big pile of papers next to your kitchen table.

Thanks for your interest and patience.

2008-04-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Duveneck Site Council

Date: Monday, April 7, 2008

Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Library, Duveneck Elementary School

Agenda

4:00 Call to order

4:05 Review Agenda; approve minutes for Mar. 3

4:10 Correspondence/Open Forum

4:20 Site Council Election Update

4:30 School Site Plan Discussion: Meeting the Needs of All Students

4:40 Principal’s Report

4:50 PTA Report

5:00 Discussion of Site Council Survey s: Student, Teacher, and Parent

6:00 Adjourn

Next Meeting: May 5, 2008 (Kathleen on snacks)

2008 - 2009 Duveneck PTA Executive Board Slate

2008-04-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

On March 19, the general membership of the Duveneck PTA voted to approve the following slate for the 2008-09 Executive Board:

President – Isabelle Cole
Executive Vice President – Pearl Chow
President Elects – Lauren Barley and Gordon Craig
Treasurer – Pamela Wagner
Secretary – Kristin Feitzinger
Auditor – Jeanne Marzano
Historian – Richard Clark
Site Council Liaison – Susie Hwang
Parliamentarian – Sheryl Klein
Vice President, Ways and Means (Fundraising) – Ginny Hull
Vice President, Parent Education – Kim Robins and Gretchen Darby
Vice President, Social Events – Julie Dyson and Liz Darby
Vice President, School Community – Sue Pelosi and Jennifer Buenrostro

2008-04-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

.Duveneck School Site Council

Meeting Minutes

March 3,2008

Members in Attendance

Jon Foster, Heidi Mickelson, Kathleen Meagher, Diane Gosney, Linda van Gelder, Mark Robbins, Jaynie Schemel, Kathy Thibault and Ching-wen Miron

Guest- Mary Vincent

Approval of Minutes:

Feb 5^th minutes approved. February 11^th minutes approved as amended. Jaynie will send out revised minutes to all members and have them posted on the bulletin board and website.

Election Sub- Committee

Sarah Sands will continue in this role. She will determine timeline and will make all postings as required. Mark is happy to serve another year however it was noted that he was elected for one year only. The SSC discussed that having him leave caused too many open positions (3 elected and 1 PTA appointed member) which would be disruptive to the work of the group. It was decided that SSC would let the community know that it has extended Mark’s one year position to two years. (The Bylaws state that all positions will be two years.) Parents leaving include Heidi Mickelson and Jon Foster, both of whom were elected. Linda van Gelder will also be leaving and will be replaced with another appointed PTA representative. Staff members whose terms are ending are Diane Gosney and Jaynie Schemel. Jaynie has agreed to serve another term.

Sarah will establish the necessary timeline to finish by May 15. Linda will put a notice in the next Dispatch so that we can begin to find interested parents.

Correspondence/Open Forum:

None

Student and Teacher Surveys-

The SSC reviewed the proposed survey questions for student and teacher surveys. Suggestions were made and each survey was completed. Heidi volunteered to type up the student survey and Ching-wen volunteered to put the teacher survey on line.

The group discussed which grade levels of students we should survey – most specifically whether we should include second graders. The decision was made to survey grades 3-5. Ching-wen agreed to have her second grade class to see what would happen so that we will have a better idea in the future if that grade level would be surveyed.

It is our hope that the surveys can be completed by Spring Break. Several SSC members volunteered to tally the student survey results on March 31 at 4:00 in the library. It is the intention of the group that we will be able to review the data from all 3 surveys at our April SSC meeting.

It was discussed that relatively few families have responded to the parent survey to date. Mark will send a reminder to parents via the online yahoo group. Kathleen will use the Connect Ed system to make a phone call will to all families to remind them to complete the survey by Friday.

We discussed ways to encourage parent participation in the survey including making computers in the library available and signs posted to remind parents. Linda is going to help create a sign to place in the front of the school to encourage participation.

Review of Single Plan for Student Achievement

Kathleen passed out a revised hand out of the Single Plan for Student Achievement Monitoring. We reviewed the progress we have made in the Closing the Achievement portion of the plan. Kathleen answered questions clarifying SDAIE and SIOP training and strategies. Kathleen shared that there will be changes in the VTP bus schedules next year that will adjust the after school schedule/support for VTP students.

Principal’s Report

Teachers are in the midst of parent conferences. The new playground equipment is in but we are still waiting on wood chips for kinder. The new gate is now in and is locked during the school day. The garden project is continuing. We have an eagle scout doing a project to build storage for the new garden area. He will also organize the shed where playground equipment is stored. Kathleen asked the District to plant trees around the 2 upper grade structures.

PTA Report

A new leadership structure was created in order to provide alignment with the other schools’ PTA’s. Math Curriculum Night is April 16. Spruce up Duveneck is April 12 when a cart will be built to hold the float for the parade. E-News has changed its format because they would not be able to continue using the district Server.

Meeting was adjourned.

Duveneck Honorary Service Awards

2008-04-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

Duveneck Honorary service Awards Committee is looking for your input

Do you know a fifth grade parent who has made an outstanding contribution to Duveneck, and whose last Duveneck student is graduating?Each year, the Duveneck PTA recognizes outgoing 5th grade parents who have dedicated their time, talents and energies toward the enrichment ofour school and the benefit of our children. These people have made significant contributions over their many years at Duveneck. The PTA is proud of this tradition and invites the entire community to be involved in the nominating process.Please send your nominations by Tuesday, May 6 to the Duveneck HonoraryService Award Committee by submitting them to the box in the Duveneck office. Your nominations should include the nominee's name, years at Duveneck, volunteer positions, and the reasons you believe they should be recognized. You can pick up nomination forms from the office.

Duveneck Service Award Nominations are due Tuesday, May 6. We will present the awards at an end of year reception.

STAR Testing Apr 28th-May 2nd and May 5th-May 9th

2008-04-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Students in grades 2 through 5 will participate in the mandated statewide assessment program, generally known as STAR testing, during the weeks of April 28th- May 2nd and May 5th - May 9th. The STAR testing includes the California Standards Tests (CST) and the California Achievement Tests (CAT/6). Students in grades 2-5 participate in the CST. The CAT-6 is administered in grade 3 only. Both tests are a multiple-choice format in which students are asked to select the correct answer from four or five possible answers. Students will be answering questions in the areas of reading, language arts, mathematics, and spelling; in addition, fifth graders will take a test in science. In an effort to provide students with the best possible testing conditions, teachers will be administering a few subtests each morning of the testing period rather than have students sit through long periods of testing at one time.

Our goal is to help students approach the STAR testing with seriousness and confidence. Since our students will be taking standardized tests throughout their school careers, we feel that one of our responsibilities is to help students become familiar with the multiple-choice format and to begin to teach them strategies for taking these kinds of tests. We help them learn how to fill in the bubbles properly and how to think through the tricky distracters common in multiple-choice questions and answers.

Parents can help their children be successful during these tests by making sure:

Your child gets plenty of sleep each night.

Your child eats regular, healthy meals - especially breakfast.

Your child arrives at school on time each day.

You schedule any necessary appointments after the school day during these two weeks.
.

In addition to these four critically important elements, we also know you will support your child psychologically. Maintaining a positive attitude and reducing stress at home will further enable your child to concentrate on the testing and to put forth his/her best effort. We encourage you to join us in assuring your child that s/he is well prepared and in dispelling any small anxieties s/he may have. Standardized tests, like the CAT-6, are normed on a bell curve which requires that items children are not expected to know are included - otherwise, there would be no "bell curve." All the more reason to be reassuring with our children.

March 22 Saturday Morning Updates

2008-03-22T12:39:00.001-07:00

Summary of this morning's flurry of updates (done at the frequently noted expense of playing bball or football with the 2nd grader "K.")

Substantial changes to the calendar on the front page based on enews and duveneck alias content
Changes to the staff list
Posted SSC minutes (see the posts below)
Posted the Duveneck Dispatches and put link on the front page for the latest one

2008-03-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

Minutes for the February 5th, 2008 Duveneck Site Council Meeting

Members in attendance: Ching-wen Miron, Kathy Thibault, Kathleen Meagher, Diane Gosney, Linda van Gelder, Heidi Mickelsen, Jon Foster, Mark Robbins, Esther Yoon, Jaynie Schemel

Guest in attendance: Susan Mittmann

Review Agenda; Approved minutes from January

Open Forum: Susan Mittmann shared some concerns brought up by some parents at previous coffees with the principal regarding after school programs. She expressed that some people would like to know the following and requested that the site council consider asking such questions on the school wide survey:

1- how many families are seeking supplemental academic instruction (eg. math, science, writing, foreign language) outside the classroom.

2- why (eg. enrichment, remediation, different teaching style, different content).

The SSC received correspondence from Giselle Galper and Soma Mitra requesting that the group discuss concerns they have regarding mathematics. It was agreed that this topic would be placed on a future agenda.

School Site Plan:

The SSC continued to monitor the 2007-08 School Site Plan (aka Single Plan for Student Achievement). The group discussed progress in the areas of School Climate.

Discussion of 2008 Survey:

The group continued a discussion of the parent survey in terms of questions to include and appropriate phrasing to ensure that we will get the information we are seeking. We did not complete this task and agreed to reconvene on Monday, February 11th.

Scheduled an additional meeting for Monday, February 11th

Issues to be discussed include:

Which questions need to be answered if families have more than one child?
Do we want to include questions as requested by Susan Mittmann;
Clarify the question we want to ask about PiE;
How to phrase the question about the Duveneck Partnership;
Questions for the teacher and student survey.

Meeting was adjourned.

2008-03-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

Minutes for the February 11^th, 2007 Duveneck Site Council Meeting – This is a continuation of the February 5^th meeting, due to unfinished survey discussion

Members in attendance: Ching-wen Miron, Sarah Sands, Kathy Thibault, Kathleen Meagher, Diane Gosney, Linda van Gelder, Heidi Mickelsen, Al Yuen, Jon Foster, Mark Robbins, Esther Yoon.

Guest in attendance: Doug Burress

Agenda Items:

Diane Gosney noted that the Asia Fantasia event feedback from one class was very favorable and she showed a thank you card from the class.

Discussion of 2008 Survey: Continued clarification of Duveneck survey.

PIE question – It was suggested that we put a “please comment” section on this survey to determine why people do NOT participate. In addition we will put several choices for reason why families did not participate.
Duveneck partnership question – put a sentence in front to explain what it is and ask whether parents have experienced the Duveneck partnership. Change “do you believe” to “do you find.”
Add one last comment box – “Do you have any additional comments about your family’s experience at Duveneck?”
Changed the last question to “would you be willing to be contacted.”
There was a long discussion around whether we should include a question regarding after-school programs. A concern was expressed that if we put in such a question, there would be an expectation that Duveneck would act on any deficiencies. As a result the site council decided not to put in a question about after-school programs. There was also concern expressed that including such a question may send a message to parents that they should send their children to after school programs. The SSC does not want to create stress or misconception in the community by posing that kind of question.

ACTION ITEMS: Diane and Heidi will contact the parents that requested this question to be added and give them our feedback and conclusion. They will also let Soma Mitra and Giselle Galper know that their concerns will be addressed at a future SSC meeting that will occur after the Math Curriculum Night.

Targeting March 7^th as the deadline for the surveys to be completed (flyer will go out this Friday, 2/22/08).

Agenda Suggestions for Next Meeting

Kathleen passed out suggested survey questions for teachers and one for students for all to review for the next meeting.

Meeting was adjourned.

2008-02-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Duveneck Site Council

Date: Monday, Mar. 3, 2008

Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Library, Duveneck Elementary School

Agenda

4:00 Call to order

4:05 Review Agenda; approve minutes for Feb. 5

4:10 Correspondence/Open Forum

4:20 Formation of Site Council Election Sub-Committee

4:30 Student and Teacher Survey Discussion

5:05 School Site Plan Discussion: Closing the Achievement Gap

5:40 Principal’s Report

5:50 PTA Report

6:00 Adjourn

Next Meeting: April 7, 2008 (Diane on snacks)

Duveneck Survey, PTA meeting notes

2008-02-23T15:15:00.001-08:00

Added

Duveneck School Survey
PTA meeting notes

2008-02-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

Duveneck Elementary School

PTA Meeting

January 14, 2008

Held at Duveneck Library

Present: Kristin Feitzinger, Isabelle Cole, Kathryn Weller, Pamela Wagner, Dianne Haydock, Julie Dyson, Gretchen DeAndre, Sue Pelosi, Jennifer Seto, Laura Wolfe, Kim Robins, Catherine Crystal Foster, Kathleen Meagher, Liz Darby, Lena Grodin, Jennifer Buenrostro, Linda van Gelder, Chitra Swaminathan, Sarah Sands

Absent PTA Executive Board Members: Sheryl Klein, Marie Drez

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

II. Approval of Minutes. Minutes from 12/10/07 Meeting were approved.

PiE update (Sarah Sands). There are four weeks left in this year’s campaign, which ends on 2/14/08. So far, the district has raised $1.6 million of its $2.0 million goal. 40% of Duveneck families have donated to date. Last year 50% donated by campaign end. For this year, district-wide participation is about 42%. There will be lots of communication regarding PiE in the coming weeks, including especially the fact that classroom aides are paid for with PiE dollars. There will be PiE volunteers at tables during drop off on three mornings next week. Other ideas for increasing participation were discussed, including the idea of posting the names of donors.

Treasurer’s Report. Motion to approve November checks totaling $5,490.15 was approved by the Board. Motion to approve December checks totaling $1,974.52 was approved by the Board. Approval is subject to receiving hard copy back up at the next Executive Board meeting in February.

V. President’s Report (Isabelle Cole)

Nominating committee. Isabelle has compiled a committee of five parents; all grade levels (K-5) are represented. Committee is comprised of: Jeanne Marzano, Soma Mitra, Lauren Barley, Pearl Chow, and Angela Cassini. Motion to approve proposed nominating committee was approved by the Board.

Room parent meeting. Room parents met on January 9^th to discuss the problem of soliciting volunteers for the many positions that need to be filled. A number of ideas were discussed, including:

Provide room parents a class list prior to back-to-school night to enable them to look up the majority of classroom emails and send some communication (e.g., information regarding jobs that need to be filled) before the job openings are circulated on clipboards during classroom presentations.
Make sure that people (especially parents of kinders) fill out the contact information sheets at back-to-school night since this will serve as the only contact information until directories are available.
Have the teacher send out a flyer on the Friday before back-to-school night, listing jobs and explaining that both classroom and PTA positions need to be filled.
Coach room parents on their back-to-school night presentation. Coordinate the circulation of classroom and PTA clipboards, explaining the need for both.
Change harvest carnival to spring to spread volunteer requirement more evenly throughout the school year.
Create a room parent Yahoo! group (already done).
Explain at the Welcome New Families Night that volunteerism is an integral part of Duveneck culture and is expected.
Take teacher treats off the classroom sheets circulated at back-to-school night. Instead solicit help closer to the designated date(s).

Teacher treats. The issue of difficulty soliciting volunteers to fill all of the necessary teacher/aide treats slots was discussed again. A new format where each classroom is responsible for one treat day honoring both the teacher and classroom aide was discussed. The PTA Executive Board would then take responsibility for two additional days honoring resource staff, potentially getting a coffee cart to cover one or both of those days. In all, the new format would result in teacher treats on 26 days during the school year. The motion to approve the new format was approved by the Board. The new format can be reviewed and revisited next year.

VI. Principal’s Report (Kathleen Meagher)

Play structures. The new play structures are not yet in. The cement has been poured, but the rain has slowed their installation.

Incoming kinder Visits. January 31^st is a district-wide kinder visitation day. Families of new kinders will be touring Duveneck. The event is mainly targeted at families trying to decide among different kindergarten options (e.g., Spanish immersion, Hoover, Ohlone). Principal Meagher feels that she currently has sufficient people to serve as tour guides.

VII. School Community (Jen Buenrostro and Sue Pelosi). Jen and Sue are still planning to head a Spruce Up Duveneck day this spring. Proposed projects include: 1) building and filling kinder and primary sandboxes; 2) acquiring and spreading new mulch; 3) cleaning up the area outside the Principal’s office; 4) deep cleaning picnic tables. The idea of combining the work day with some sort of food (e.g., bagels or pancakes) to increase participation was discussed. Potential assistance from Scout troops was also discussed, as was engaging the student leadership (5^th graders) to help with promotion. Date is not set, but April 12^th was tentatively discussed.

VIII. New Business. Kim Robins noted that Abbie Knopper, who is currently in charge of the May Fete Parade, has expressed concern that the cart used as the base of the float in recent years is broken and no longer functional. While Abby is still happy to oversee the parade preparations, she cannot build a new cart. Possibilities include an alternative parade format (e.g., no float but balloons), or enlisting the help of others to replace and house the float cart. Isabelle will put a call out in the Dispatch and on the Yahoo! group for parents who might be willing to help in this endeavor or would otherwise be willing to serve on the May Fete committee.

IX. Parliamentarian Report (Kathryn Weller).

A. Nominating Committee. Isabelle and Kathryn will meet with the newly-approved nominating committee for the first time on Thursday, January 17^th. Kathryn distributed a list of next year’s PTA jobs to be filled by the nominating committee. The Board discussed high priority positions. Many key positions still need to be filled. People should talk with Isabelle, Kathryn, or a nominating committee member if they know of interested people. The Executive Board will be voted on at the Science Fair, and thus needs to be completed and posted to the school community 30 days prior to that event.

B. On-line student directory. The idea of an online directory was also discussed to make the directory available earlier in the school year and to enable people to update their own entries. Walter Hays has an online directory. Paper copies of the directory would be available to people without computers or who otherwise desire a paper copy.

X. Faculty Report (Lena Grodin).

A. Computers. New computers are currently being installed. Classrooms are very excited and thank the PTA and especially the technology committee.

B. Staff treats. The staff expressed appreciation for recent treats.

C. Damage/loitering. There have recently been some problems with older kids hanging around the school after hours. A classroom window was broken; there has been some graffiti; and there have been reports of kids on the roof. The police have been called several times. People noticing unusual activity are encouraged to call the police.

XI. Parent Education (Kim Robins).

A. Queen Bees. A presentation on girls and their relationships with peers will be held on January 31 at 7:00 in the Duveneck MP room.

B. Madeline Levine (author of the Price of Privilege). Will be speaking in April at Gunn. Duveneck is contributing $50 toward the event, which will be promoted as the date nears.

C. Carol Dweck (author of Mindset). Will be speaking regarding different intelligences and how they are developed on February 4^th at 7pm at 25 Churchill.

XII. Social Report (Gretchen DeAndre and Julie Dyson). Planning is beginning for the spring social event, to be held in May or June when the weather is warmer. Alternatives to the Fiesta theme (which has been used in the last couple of years) were discussed, including a square dance or an ice cream social.

XIII. Site Council Report (Linda van Gelder)

A. Gate. Site council is purchasing a new gate to block driveway access to the rear of the school during school hours using the remaining site block money (previously allocated to a new kinder play structure, which was ultimately purchased by the district instead). The goal of the gate is to further control access and thus increase school security.

B. Survey. Cite council is currently drafting a parent survey. The survey will address many subjects including communication and volunteering. Site council is targeting February/March for the survey. It will be primarily on-line, but paper copies will be made available. The survey will be translated into Spanish. Classroom teachers are being consulted to determine what other language assistance might be needed.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.

Next meeting is scheduled for Mon., February 11, 2008 in the Duveneck Library

Respectfully submitted,

Kristin Feitzinger, Secretary

Page 1

2008-02-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

Duveneck Elementary School

PTA Meeting

December 10, 2007

Held at Duveneck Library

Present: Kristin Feitzinger, Kathleen Meagher, Melissa Fassler, Anne Ritchie, Linda van Gelder, Sue Purdy Pelosi, Susie Hwang, Dianne Haydock, Xenia Hammer, Julie Dyson, Kim Robins, Marie Drez, Jeanne Marzano, Ginny Hull, May Herr, Isabelle Cole, Jennifer Buenrostro, Sheryl Klein

Absent PTA Executive Board Members: Liz Darby, Gretchen DeAndre, Kathryn Weller, Chitra Swaminathan, Jennifer Seto, Laura Wolfe

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

II. Approval of Minutes. Minutes from 11/6/07 Meeting were approved with changes. Procedure of recruiting nominating committee members was discussed. The Board also discussed posting PTA minutes in the display case outside the office and making the location of the minutes on the Duveneck website more obvious.

III. November Checks. November check report was distributed. Board decided to wait until next meeting when Treasurer (Chitra Swaminathan) is present to approve the report.

IV. President’s Report (Isabelle Cole)

Thank You Notes. Isabelle shared thank you notes from teachers regarding the Book Fair and Friday teacher treats.

Reserves Spending. $38,000 of reserves is committed for the new play structure ($32,000) and staff lounge improvements ($6,000). The Board will discuss the remaining reserves after the first of the year. Reserves do not need to be used exclusively for capital items. However, while using reserves to fund ongoing operating expenses is an option, it is not recommended by the PTA Council. In general, the current PTA Board makes decisions regarding the current PTA budget. It cannot be restricted by decisions of prior PTA Boards, nor can it place restrictions upon future PTA Boards.

Yearbook. There is a plan in place for expanding the pool of volunteers to participate in this endeavor. Potential additions to the yearbook (e.g., 5^th grader memories and a cover art contest) were also discussed. Historian placed a call for parent photo contributions in the recent Dispatch. Xenia Hammer (past Treasurer) mentioned that she had developed a formula to aid in deciding how many yearbooks to order, to help avoid prior years’ over/under ordering.

Book Fair/Adopt-A-Book. Combined contributions of book fair and adopt-a-book stand at $7,058, slightly ahead of the budgeted $6,000. There was some concern regarding this year’s selection of books. The idea of an alternative source (e.g., Kepler’s) was discussed.

Sally Foster. Contributions to date are $2,300, short of the $4,000 budgeted. Though the major marketing push is passed, it is a year-long event and could potentially bring in more money later in the year. Isabelle will put a reminder in the Dispatch. The question of whether the Internet-only format lowered sales was discussed, as was the idea that the less labor-intensive format may result in a better ratio of money to required volunteer hours than the format used in previous years.

Auction. Susie Hwang and May Herr (auction co-chairs) discussed the auction. It brought in approximately $73,500 (net of expenses) v. a budgeted $55,000. May and Susie, who are not planning on chairing next year’s auction if one is held, discussed some of their take-aways:

1) Duveneck needs to decide as a community what it wants its big fundraising event to be.

2) The auction requires a huge number of volunteer hours to raise money. If using the same format next year, the nominating committee should target four co-chairs.

3) There is a large divergence of opinion among community members regarding the optimal type of event (e.g., pure fundraising v. community building).

The Board also discussed the possibility of using one big PTA ask in lieu of other fundraising events. It was noted that eliminating “Just Parties” would also eliminate some important community building. It was also noted that some fundraisers, in particular the book fair, are important cultural events for Duveneck.

Volunteer Jobs. A group of parents and Board members recently held a meeting to talk about difficulties soliciting volunteers. Room parents are having problems getting parent volunteers for classroom jobs and are planning to hold a meeting. The Board discussed having room parents meet with teachers to make sure that all jobs are still necessary and not just carry-overs from prior years. Ginny Hull (schoolwide volunteer coordinator) also expressed a decrease in schoolwide volunteering. Ideas for increasing volunteerism were discussed, including holding a volunteer fair. In the course of the discussion, it was raised that Duveneck is the only school without a special ed rep, and Isabelle is soliciting volunteers for that position in the Dispatch. The district has reinstituted the GATE program in the upper grades, and Duveneck does have a GATE rep.

New Fundraising Idea. Katherine Gordon came in to discuss the idea of making the bundle of monthly Book Club books available to parents at the beginning of the year, potentially on the single check order form. If the books are sold at retail price, Duveneck can make money on any discounts that it receives. Details regarding precisely how to implement will be determined later.

Just Buy It. The motion to eliminate the Just Buy It fundraiser for this year only, given the nearly $18,000 auction surplus, was approved. The related motion was passed to amend the budget as follows : 1. Change the Just Buy It line items to $0 and 2) increase “School Supplies, Instr. Mat.” by $10,000 was also approved.

V. Parent Education (Kim Robins). Duveneck event at the Children’s Library last week was a huge success. A Parent Ed event regarding bullying will take place on January 31^st and is being promoted.

VI. Faculty Report (Melissa Fassler). Melissa briefly discussed the recent district PVC day, new leveled reading supplies, and the new district-wide DRA reading assessment. She also expressed teacher appreciation for Friday treats and the book fair.

School Community (Jen Buenrostro and Sue Pelosi)

A number of WOW events are occurring within the next couple of weeks, headed by Kathy Merkle-Raymond.

Dragon Cares is headed by Kelly Look and Kelly Cook, who have about 40 volunteers ready to respond to community member needs.

Carrie Jeffries is heading noon art, which has occurred once monthly since the beginning of the school year and has had as many as 150 participants. She is using things from the closet and doesn’t currently need supplies, but additional volunteers would be helpful.

Noon gardening with Pearl Chow is also going well.

Ideas for Spruce Up Duveneck were discussed, as was the potential for skipping this year due to lack of volunteers. Sue Pelosi and Jen Buenrostro have temporarily agreed to add this to their list of responsibilities. Current ideas for projects include building and filling the kinder sand boxes.

VIII. Principal’s Report (Kathleen Meagher)

Recent Events. First spirit day (pajama day) was a success. Superintendent Skilling spoke on campus. Ice skating was again a successful event. Panel for parents of students entering middle school was great and helped ease some parent anxieties. Board members suggested making this an annual event.

Facilities Bond Measure. Site Council recently met regarding the upcoming bond measure. There was agreement regarding the need to enlarge the library. The relative merits of redoing the MP room v. converting portables to permanent classrooms were more controversial. There were compelling arguments for both projects. Kathleen is sending the district information regarding the need for all of these projects.

Projects. The new play structure and furniture have been ordered. Concrete on the structure is to be poured over Winter Break, with construction of the structure to (hopefully) follow shortly thereafter.

Upcoming District Parent Ed Night. At 7pm on February 4^th, Carol Dweck (author of the book Mindset) will be speaking regarding intelligences and the importance of praise at the district offices. All parents are encouraged to attend.

IX. Social (Julie Dyson). The recent ice skating party was a success. About 140 skaters participated, which is similar to previous years.

X. Site Council (Linda van Gelder). In addition to the upcoming bond measure, site council discussed its upcoming parent survey. In January, they will be meeting to discuss topics. Mechanism for getting PTA input to site council was discussed.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm.

Next meeting is scheduled for Mon., January 14, 2008 in the Duveneck Library

Respectfully submitted,

Kristin Feitzinger, Secretary

2008-02-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Duveneck Site Council

Date: Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008

Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Library, Duveneck Elementary School

Agenda

4:00 Call to order

4:05 Review Agenda; approve minutes for Jan. 7

4:10 Open Forum

4:20 School Site Plan Discussion: School Climate and Closing Achieve. Gap

4:45 School Survey

5:40 Principal’s Report

5:50 PTA Report

6:00 Adjourn

Next Meeting: Mar. 3, 2008 (Kathy on treats)

Jan 21 Enews and Sitecouncil changes

2008-01-23T22:26:00.000-08:00

Duveneck eNews! 1/21/2008, v9#20 put on front page calendar
Site council agendas and notes posted to get caught up
Coffee with principal added to the calendar thru end of the year.

Jan 6 Update

2008-01-06T22:22:00.000-08:00

Revised Duveneck eNews! 1/6/2008, v9#18
Science Fair page

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!DUVENECK NEWS CONTENTS:-------------------------------------------o Jan 4: Kindergarten 2008-2009 Registration Beginso Jan 7: Vacation Ends, School Beginso Jan 7: Site Council Meeting, 4PMo Jan 11: School-wide Lice Checko Jan 14: PTA Meeting, 7PMo Jan 16: Coffee with the Principal,8:05AMo Volunteer Needed to Represent Duveneck Special Edo Directions for Submitting eNews items

Draft Duveneck eNews! 12/16/2007, v9#17

2007-12-16T21:33:00.000-08:00

Website updated with content from the draft eNews

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

2007-11-24T22:03:00.000-08:00

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...]

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

2007-11-13T07:14:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-04T11:44:00.000-08:00

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.

Respectfully submitted,

Kristin Feitzinger, Secretary

Next Meeting: October 8, 2007 at 7:00 pm in the Duveneck Library

Kathleen's Comments on Site Council Page

2007-10-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

Kathleen found a number of issues with the site council page (now fixed)

fixed titles of final report and school single improvement plan
added Mark Robins to site council membership

Jaynie pointed out the lunch info was wrong (so fixed).

Book Club and Catalog

2007-10-23T08:26:00.001-07:00

Added book club list (use the quick link at the bottom of the page) per Gosney/Cole
Fixed location of play (MP Room, not Children's Theater) per Y. Dennis
Added updated auction catalog per S. Hwang
(Deleted old events--which I always do anyways)

Dispatch, and routine maintenance

2007-10-18T21:05:00.001-07:00

Added links to oza and chiang websites on teacher pages
charlie and chocolate factory dates on website
links to food people for harvest carnival
dispatch update
councilor link http://paloaltopta.org/council/councilor_latest.pdf

Posted Duveneck eNews! 10/14/2007, v9#8

2007-10-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

10/15, tmisner, Fixed issues with the link content to yahoo calendar
10/14, tmisner, Update with content from Duveneck eNews! 10/14/2007, v9#8

2007-09-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

(tmisner)

Posted changes for Draft Duveneck eNews! 9/23/2007, v9#5
Fixed PTA page issues found by Isabelle
Brought the handbook mostly up-to-date (by linking to google docs)
Made fixes to the Yahoo calendar.

The main purpose of this blog is to record changes made to the Duveneck website. This allows people to find the more recent content faster and allows the various webmaster to know what's changed.