minutes


 * __OCTOBER 2009__

Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School 201 E. Salaignac St. Phila., PA 19128 Mrs. Anna Jenkins, Principal Minutes from Home and School Meeting October 14, 2009 submitted by Kathryn Faenza**

The first Home and School meeting of the 2009/2010 school year was called to order by president Cheryl Dore at 6:35 P.M. Cheryl started the meeting by introducing herself and the other H& S officers to the attendees. Angela Clark was introduced as vice- president, and Lisa Lobitz was introduced as treasurer.

Lisa started things off by going over last year's financials. She explained that due to Home and School Association regulations, we had to spend down the money in our account at the end of the prior school year so that no more than $800 was left in our account. That gave the H & S a perfect opportunity to provide our teachers with some much-needed supplies. This was done in the form of Staples gift cards that were distributed to every teacher. We were also able to provide a water cooler for the teachers and school staff in the main office. $500 was also earmarked for our new Art Club, which is being graciously led by parent Jessica Liddell (sign-ups for Art Club were held on Back to School night, the group is currently full!). We were also able to put another $400 into our sign fund. The H & S accounts have been switched from Citizens Bank to St. Edmonds. Lisa submitted September's financial report, it is available for viewing in the Home and School office.
 * //Financial Report://**

Angela announced that this year's membership drive was very successful. We already have over 85 memberships, compared to only 40 for most of last year! The H & S officers want to extend a big thank you to all the Cook families for making the drive such a success. We also had a lot of responses to the volunteer form that was sent out in September. Calls are being made to those who signed up. Cheryl next discussed October's activities. Sally Foster orders are due by October 21st! We have a new school picture company this year, chosen because of the availability of different backgrounds for only $2, and because of their different gift packages that are available. The gift package forms will be distributed with each child's pictures, and will be ready in time for Christmas gift giving. Please send in your child's picture form even if you are not ordering photos, because all children will be receiving a photo I.D., and they will all be in their class pictures. The fall bake sale will be on October 27, and the Halloween parade (grades K-4) will be held on October 30. Next, kindergarten teacher Barbara Trent talked about a new literacy program being implemented in grades K and 1. All Cook kindergarten and first grade teachers recently attended a 3-day seminar to learn about the Children's Literacy Initiative, which stresses using literature to teach all aspects of learning, such as science and social studies. Coaches will be coming in to observe, and to help set up the program. This exciting program is not district-wide, but has been approved for Cook- Wissahickon and was funded through a grant.
 * //New Business://**

Next, there was a vote approving the use of H & S funds to bring in the Tigerman anti- bullying assembly. This assembly is for pre-K through grade 4. Tigerman talks about bullying, stranger danger, self-confidence and even healthy eating habits! Parent Sicily Hill suggested following up later in the school year with a Diversity Day to celebrate the diversity of all our children, an idea that was very well received. The H & S recently sponsored a teachers’ lunch during one of their ½ day planning sessions. It was suggested that in the future the H & S could provide healthy snacks on occasion, without sponsoring additional luncheons – with the exception of the Teacher/Staff Appreciation Lunch scheduled for the Spring. There were no objections raised. As there had been no one elected to the post of Recording Secretary last spring, Cheryl asked if anyone would like to volunteer for the position. Although many clamored for the honor, parents Kathryn Faenza and Amy Keller were victorious and managed to hang onto the post for another year.
 * //Action Items://**

We will meet next month on __**Tuesday, Nov 10 at 6:30 p.m**__., as our regularly scheduled Wednesday meeting falls on Veterans Day and the school will be closed. Parent Jeanne Ortiz suggested that at the next meeting we discuss what Bell-to-Bell learning means for our children, and also school lockdown policies. If these topics are of interest to you, be sure to attend.
 * //Next meeting//**//://

Meeting was adjourned at 7:35.

MARCH 2009 MEETING__//
 * //__Last School Year

Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School 201 E. Salaignac St.**
 * Phila., PA 19128**
 * Mrs. Anna Jenkins, Principal**
 * Minutes from Home and School Meeting**
 * March 9th, 2009**

Summary of Home and School Association Meeting Held on Monday, March 9, 2009

Home and School President, Nancy Pohler called the meeting to order at 6:45pm. The first issue discussed was the upcoming election of new Home and School Association officers. The three current elected officials in the H & S will not be running for re-election. Diana Chity spoke on behalf of the Nominating Committee. Below is a summary of her report.

As per the current H & S by - laws, only H & S members will be eligible to vote or run for office in the current election. In an effort to increase voter turnout and H & S membership, the membership deadline for joining the H & S was extended to March 18, 2009. **Any individual wishing to vote or run in the upcoming election must join the H &8 on or before March 18th**. Any member of the school, however, can nominate someone for office. Nominations are open as of the March meeting and the deadline for nominations is Friday, April 3, 2009. Ifcandidates accept their nomination, they will be given the opportunity to speak to H & S members at the April meeting and also asked to submit a letter to the nominating committee briefly describing themselves to prospective voters. This statement will then be distributed to voters, along with ballots during the week of April 15'h. All ballots must be returned for counting by April 22 nd• The next issue discussed was the upcoming Scholastic Book Fair which will be held in the school library from Monday, March 23rd to Friday, March 2ih. Cheryl Dore is coordinating the H & S book fair. Cheryl is requesting parent volunteers to work shifts at the book fair, as well as to help with set-up and pack-up. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Cheryl or give the H & S a call. The book fair will operate daily from 9am to 4pm. It will be open during the parent teacher conferences. In addition to the new books for sale, there will also be a $1 used book section. Parents are asked to donate gently used books for sale in the $1 section. Please send the books into school with your child prior to the start of the book fair. There will also be an after school story hour on Wednesday, March 25th in the school library. Liz Gold and Phyllis will be coordinating the story hour. Light refreshments will be served to the children who attend.

After conclusion of the book fair report, the general issue of H & S communication was discussed by meeting attendees. H & S members would like to see H & S events as well as all school sponsored events appear on the monthly calendar sent home to students. Virginia Fetcher volunteered to take over the monthly calendar duties to help insure better communication of events. The idea of generating a monthly H & S newsletter was also discussed as well as other solutions to help keep our parents better informed of school activities. Other suggestions included utilization of the H & S website as well as coordinating volunteers to fill Wednesday folders with pertinent information.

Treasurer David Ortiz then summarized the monthl y Treasurer ' s report to the meeting attendees. Upcoming expenses include the Fun Fair, graduation related expenses as well as the ice cream party for children who sold ten or mor e items during the Cherr y dale Farms sale. The ice cream party will be held during school hours on Friday, April 3 , 2009.

The Green Committee represented by Lisa L. then summarized their upcoming events, which includes a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially unveil their $1.45 dollar (plus an additional $1.3 million for a green roof) master plan for improvement of the school grounds. The ceremony will take place during Earth Week, on April 22 nd , which is an early dismissal day. In addition, efforts are being made to organize an assembl y for the students during Earth week. Now that the Green Committee has their 1.45 million dollar master plan in place the y are devising ways to secure grants and funding for the project. Miss Pelcyger is coordinating a flower sale fundraiser and they are also in the process of receiving approval to conduct a " Green Fest" flea market to be held in the school yard on Saturday, May 30. All proceeds from the flea market will go directly to the Green Committee. The cost for participants will be $15 / table. More details will follow upon approval. Ja y Cohen then spoke on behalf of the School District Home and School Association and delivered " Family Net" flyers. He also distributed fl y ers with information about FREE computer classes for parents looking to learn basic computer skills and brochures for " Parent University " which describes classes the school district is offering to parents. All of these brochures and flyers are available to parents at any time on the communication table outside the main office of the school. Upon completion of scheduled topics, Ms. Pohler opened the meeting up to any general concerns or questions. Issues discussed included a complaint about the children not receiving outdoor play time during their lunch, the condition of the school playground apparatus which has been off limits to the children for most of the school y ear and also the formation of an arts program. Actions agreed upon to be taken included discussion with Mrs. Jenkins about the outdoor play time and the status of playground repairs, as well as a request for volunteers interested in helping out with an arts program.

Ms. Pohler adjourned the meeting at approximately 8pm. Thank you to all parents who attended. Please note the next Home and School meeting is scheduled for Monda y, April 13 Ih. Consider attending to hear the candidates for the upcoming election speak. Please also note that we are always looking for more help. Volunteers are needed to help out at man y of our upcoming events, including weekly pretzel sales on Tuesdays during lunch , the Scholastic Book fair and the Fun Fair. We appreciate any help you can give. Recorded by: Amy Keller