Wednesday, February 16, 2011

A National Parenting Workshop

It is not preachy or we have all the answers.”-Parent
Solid material and suggestions” -Parent
"A down to earth, honest approach to raising a family." -Educator
"The BIGGEST JOB was an excellent program." -Parent


Monday March 14th 6:00pm to 7:30pm

Bath Middle School Cafeteria

Workshop and Light Refreshments are
FREE to RSU1 Parents and Educators

QUESTIONS?
Please e-mail bathelementaryPTA@yahoo.com

Free Childcare will be available
Helping families, educators and communities raise children to fulfill their highest potential

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

PTA Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 @ 6:30 PM in Dike Newell Library


Board Members in attendance: Geniene Marco, Kate Foye, Laurie Burhoe
Other attendees: Candy Hernandez, Jean Edmondson, Leslie Trundy, Joanna Van Orden, Angie Boisvert, Mary McCauley, Terry Normand, Barbara Reinertsen, Wendy Jung, Betsy Harrington.

Secretary’s Report
Claire was not in attendance due to illness.

Treasurer’s Report
Lisha was not present and Geniene presented the Treasurers report for January that Lisha provided. Current balance of $6,722.07 as of 2/6/11 ($600 of which belongs to the 5th grade).
Income was a new membership @ $5.00 and Christmas fair @ $20.00. Expenses were listed as: Officer Salty $100.00, Theaterworks $688.50, Bus Service $20.00, Green house Club $60.00, and Chewonki $150.00, totaling $1018.50. Candy Hernandez made a motion to accept and Barbara 2nd. Vote to accept passed unanimously.

Other Business
The question about weather we would show the Charlottes Web movie on Wed., Feb 16 was posed. Extra volunteers were sought and none found.

Old Business
• Biggest Job Workshop Update – Kate has started promotion in the form of brochures and registration forms. A date change to Monday, 14th was discussed to accommodate the facilitator at Hyde. Kate said that childcare and snacks would be provided during the workshop.

• Feb 11th dance –Food donations are needed. Candy offered to add to the sparkling water for the punch. It was decided to use one of the Bracketts gift cards for juice, seltzer and popcorn. Raffle baskets were displayed and organized. Anita Derr, Joan, Candy, Melanie and Ross have agreed to chaperone. There will be a drop off list for children attending with out an adult. A disco ball has been donated and music set up was discussed. Candy suggested a simple rules poster set up at the admissions table.

• Summer Scholarship Fund- Work on the fund is progressing. Michelle has successfully taken over Heidi’s role as facilitator. They have decided to have a registration night and debate was heard on what the registration fee should be. Candy suggested that $20 was too high. $10 was suggested as more appropriate, as well as one fee per family.

New Business
• Wellness/Literacy Night at D/N – Mary McCauley spoke about an evening at D/N from 6-7:00 on March 2nd. There will be a Dr. Seuss theme because it is Dr. Seuss Day. They expect 50-200 attendees. There will be a scavenger hunt, a free RIF book, a craft area, 5210 bookmarks and a healthy snack area. She asked if the PTA could help fund the snacks and use the popcorn machine. Candy suggested Marla Davis @ 5210 for a grant to purchase food. PTA offers to provide fruit, carrot sticks and dip as well as a water cooler. Wendy Jung suggested that kids might make their own snacks. A PTA budget of $150.00 was suggested. Angie motioned and Candy 2nd.

• Spring Chocolate sale - Approved by William Shuttleworth. Order forms are being made by Bath Sweetshop for an early April fundraiser.

• HELP_A_KID- Leslie Trundy gave an overview of the Help-A-Kid program. She also let us know that she is selling the Sunrise Guide this year and that all $20 of the cost goes to Help-A-Kid. The YMCA, Art Van and Bath Natural Market will also be selling the guide. Leslie also gave an overview of an Aspiration Building program designed to foster college awareness in young kids. She would like help in promoting the Future of Maine Scholarship and asked for suggestions about how she could reach a larger audience to receive her information. Candy suggested having information available at parent conferences in April. It was suggested that perhaps the PTA could sponsor a $100 scholarship.

• Community survey- The survey was discussed and it was agreed that it was a confusing survey and not well received. Leslie suggested it was meant to stimulate discussion.

• USM Water Festival- a group at F/M was selected to attend this event. PTA volunteering to provide bussing support if needed.

Principal’s Comment
No principals were in attendance.

Public Comment
Joanna Van Orden thanked the PTA for the Owl presentation and said it was well received. Barbara posed the question of whether the PTA should be a presence at the budget meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 7:45.

Next meeting on Tuesday, MARCH 8th, at 6:30 PM in Dike-Newell Library.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

A Terrible Divide

Here's a great op-ed about the cutting of public service dollars, including education, at a time when we should be investing in our children's future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/opinion/08herbert.html?_r=1&hp

Monday, February 7, 2011

Bath Elementary PTA Dance

Dance the night away in the Fisher Mitchell Gymnasium with the Bath Elementary School community!

All Dike Newell & Fisher Mitchell students & their families, teachers, and staff are invited to attend.

Friday, Feb. 11th

6:30-8 PM

Admission $2 per person; families of 4 or more pay only $8.

Gift Basket Raffle

25 cents/ticket or five for $1

Baskets include Maine Maritime Museum items, Valentine’s Day goodies, Craft supplies, books, and a Papa Geppetto’s floor puzzle

Snacks only a quarter