A Message from National PTA President Charles J. "Chuck" Saylors:

Succeeding for All Kids Now and Into 2011

My friends, the work that we have accomplished this year in our schools, in our communities, on our military bases and on Capitol Hill; will position our Association to help every child, no matter who they are or where they live, for years to come.

We are working with families and community members in eight states to adopt Common Core standards that will improve student learning. Already, six of these states have adopted the new reading, math and science recommendations. PTA is also providing parents a guide so they can understand how common standards will help their kids in school.

Through our Military Alliance for Parents and Partners, we are working with the Department of Defense and organizations such as the Military Child Education Coalition to shelter the children of military families from traumatic transitions and keep them on the path to high school and college graduation.

We have built partnerships with caring institutions and adults to help our students stay healthy, avoid obesity and remain ready for successful futures. Our work also led to the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which will provide $4.5 billion in new funding for improving school nutrition for the next decade.

As we embark on a new year, and take on new challenges for all children, let's celebrate our successes and take steps towards becoming a stronger, more-powerful voice for all families. Your National PTA is already moving forward with the new Strategic Plan and building up new capacity in all operations.

Your State Presidents and Congresses are also working to overcome the challenges that our students will face in the coming year. In order for their work to be successful, they will need your help in reaching out to men, families in our urban communities, parents who have just arrived to our shores and new parents looking to be engaged in their school communities.

Your homework assignment in 2011 is simple, ask three of your relatives, friends and colleagues, especially men, to join PTA. Tell them that we find new resources for improving the lives of children when there were once none. Remind them that what they do today helps their sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, even grandchildren, become powerful, happy, successful men and women.

As our voice of millions enters its 115th year, let us never forget that important goal: brighter futures for every child. On behalf of Betsy, Teresa, Mishaela and our entire staff thank you for being part of our voice, and for everything you do on behalf of all students.

Charles J. "Chuck" Saylors
National PTA President

December PTA Meeting Minutes

PTA Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 @ 6:30 PM in Fisher Mitchell Library

Board Members in attendance: Geniene Marco, Claire Berkowitz, Kate Foye, Laurie Burhoe, & Lisha Wentworth

Other attendees: Perin, Anne, Nancy Rogers, Joan Newkirk, Candy Hernandez, Heidi Tucker, Barbara Reinersten, Terri Normand

Welcome: Geniene welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for coming.

Secretary’s Report
Claire posted November minutes on the PTA blog for review. There were no comments or changes. Candy made motion to accept November 14th meeting minute; Heidi 2nd. Passed with unanimous vote.

Treasurer’s Report
Lisha presented the December 14 Treasurer’s Report. Current balance of $8,068.31.

With the Book Fair, every child walked away with a free book. Connie at Bath Book Shop gave us 10% of sales, so we did really well in terms of cost/expense.

Innisbrook Fundraiser brought in $2,000-$3,000 less this year than last year.

5th grade did a penny war for field trips and raised $542.54, which we are holding for them.

Harvest Dance made about $600, expenses were @ $30. Very profitable.

For teacher financial requests, it will be based on a first come, first serve process. There was some discussion about getting teachers to come to a meeting to make formal request for $. No decision was made about that process.

Perin made a motion to accept Treasurer’s Report and Candy 2nd. Vote to accept passed unanimously.

Other Business
Charlotte’s Web

Joan Newkirk presented a project at FM called “Reading and Writing Together.” Bath Savings Bank is providing a copy of Charlotte’s Web for every child in FM.

Jan 25/Snow Date Jan. 26: Fisher Mitchell will host a “kick off evening” for families when the books and journals are to be distributed.

Feb. 8, 9, 10, Snow Date Feb. 11: Maine author Lynn Plourde will conduct workshops on writing, emphasizing character development. Spend 45 minutes in each classroom and a meeting with each grade level. Working on character writing.

Feb. 16/Snow Date Feb. 17: Students celebrate their accomplishments with families at an evening event at FM.

Stressing the process rather than the product.

We are tying this into Title I Program; Monica Blatt’s group will perform Reader’s Theater and then parents can look at child’s work.

Needs from PTA:

Snacks for kickoff event, February 16/17 event.

Helping to put together packets of journals, bookmarks, and kits for kickoff event on Jan. 25. Wednesday s might be best. Geniene, Laurie, Kate and Lisha will help with this.

SAG Committee will provide folks after school to read to the kids who don’t have that opportunity at home.

Claire will send out email to get snacks donated.

Heidi made motion to spend $100 to augment materials, snacks. 2nd by Candy, passed unanimously.

Movie night – could we get the Winter St. Church?

Biggest Job Workshop

Kate Foye updated the group regarding the plans to sponsor a parenting workshop provided through the Hyde School community.

Laura Gauld will do the workshop for no cost to the school department; they are giving back to the community. Settled on a date of Wednesday, March 16th. It will be from 6-7:30 PM, hopefully at BMS.

Open it up to all of RSU#1 schools and work in conjunction with other PTAs. Offer free childcare.
We will use PR materials from Hyde to publicize the workshop. K

Kate will try to meet with Mr. Shuttleworth to explain it to him, get his support, not permission.

New Business
Request for more dances: February 11 tentative date for Valentine’s Dance. Music on iPods, wouldn’t charge as much. Will have raffles.

Coin Drive-good way to raise money.

Spring Fling for 5th graders – get the kids together before leap to BMS. All 5th graders in RSU#1.

Any other ideas? Please email bathelementarypta@gmail.com with ideas.

Heidi Tucker updated us on the skateboard fundraiser. All money raised will go to the skateboard program. Money raised beyond the cost of the board will stay in a fund to support the skateboard program. Ideas to sell tickets at Shaw’s/Bracketts, area dances, etc. Sell them at parent conferences, other events. Raffle tickets are $5/piece, only selling 200 tickets with goal of making $1,000.

Summer camps – someone else has offered to step forward (Michelle Tibedault). Wait until after Christmas and have a meeting. Deadline for grants are March 4th for Davenport, Feb. 4th for Common Good. Leaning towards Davenport. The group will meet on Jan. 4th @ Genoese’s at 6:30 PM.

Principal’s Comment
No principals were in attendance.

Public Comment
None

Meeting adjourned at 7:40.

Next meeting on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 6:30 PM in Dike Newell’s Library.

Decmeber Meeting Agenda

Bath Elementary PTA Meeting Agenda
December 14, 2010

WELCOME

SECRETARY’S REPORT

TREASURER’S REPORT

OLD BUSINESS

• Holiday Fair
• Biggest Job Workshop

NEW BUSINESS

• Joan Newkirk – Charlotte’s Web
• New Fundraiser Ideas

PRINCIPALS’ COMMENT

PUBLIC COMMENT

Education For Innovation: A Digital Town Hall

On Tuesday, December 7, a live digital town hall discussion took place on how we can create the next generation of innovators. This event explored how we can cultivate tomorrow's thinkers and entrepreneurs to sustain economic and educational success. Below is a link to the webcast where you can see:

• An announcement from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Angel Gurría, Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), on the standing of U.S. students in reading, math and science literacy compared to other countries around the world;
• A two-way conversation with Secretary Duncan and students, teachers and administrators from Olin College of Engineering (Needham, Mass.) and the School of Science and Engineering Magnet (Dallas, TX);
• Robert D. Atkinson, President of The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation discuss the results from a new report on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education released that morning; and
• An interview with Thomas L. Friedman on U.S. competitiveness, innovation and economic growth.

The video is well worth the 2 plus hours of your time.

EDUCATION FOR INNOVATION: A DIGITAL TOWN HALL from Innovation Economy on Vimeo.

PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships

According to the National PTA, when families, schools and communities work together, student achievement improves; teacher morale rises; communication among parents, teachers, and administrators increases; and family, school, and community connections multiply.

Below are the National PTA's Standards for how families, schools and communities should work together to support student success. This framework is based in the value of mutual respect, trust, and courtesy.

Standard 1: Welcoming all families into the school community—
Families are active participants in the life of the school, and feel welcomed,
valued, and connected to each other, to school staff, and to what students are
learning and doing in class.

Standard 2: Communicating effectively—Families and school staff
engage in regular, two-way, meaningful communication about student learning.

Standard 3: Supporting student success—Families and school staff
continuously collaborate to support students’ learning and healthy development
both at home and at school, and have regular opportunities to strengthen their
knowledge and skills to do so effectively.

Standard 4: Speaking up for every child—Families are empowered to be
advocates for their own and other children, to ensure that students are treated
fairly and have access to learning opportunities that will support their success.

Standard 5: Sharing power—Families and school staff are equal partners
in decisions that affect children and families and together inform, influence,
and create policies, practices, and programs.

Standard 6: Collaborating with community—Families and school staff
collaborate with community members to connect students, families, and staff
to expanded learning opportunities, community services, and civic participation.

For more information about the work of the National PTA, visit http://www.pta.org/

December PTA Meeting

The next Bath Elementary PTA meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 14th @ 6:30 PM in the Fisher Mitchell Library. Free child care is available. Below are the meeting dates for the remainder of the year. If you can’t attend a meeting, but have ideas to share with the group, please email us at bathelementarypta@yahoo.com.

December 14 – FM
January 11 – DN
February 8 – FM
March 8 – DN
April 12 – FM
May 10 – DN
June 14 - FM

November PTA Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 @ 6:30 PM in Dike Newell Library

Board Members in attendance: Geniene Marco, Claire Berkowitz, Kate Foye, Laurie Burhoe & Lisha Wentworth

Other attendees: Heidi Tucker, Candy Hernandez, Jean Edmondson, Perin, Anne, & Michelle

Meeting began with a discussion of FM and DN book fair set up and schedule. Books will vary in price, from $6 and higher. All kids go home with a free book. PTA gets 10% of the sales, which doesn’t completely offset the cost of purchasing the books for students. Parent night 6-7:30 on November 18 at DN Library. Wendy Ulmer will read her new book “Zero, Zilch, Nada” at 6:45.

Secretary’s Report

Claire submitted copies of October minutes for review. Heidi made motion to accept report, Candy 2^nd. Passed with unanimous vote.

Treasurer’s Report

Lisha presented the November 8 Treasurer’s Report. Current balance of $13,217.59 as of 10/10/10.

Harvest Dance raised approximately $570 after expenses. Heidi Tucker made a motion to accept and Candy 2^nd. Vote to accept passed unanimously.

Other Business

Discussion took place about how to better communicate to parents and get more engagement from the school community. Some parents say they don’t know when meetings are happening. PTA minutes will go out via newsletter, posted on a website/blog, sent to the PTA membership email list.

Old Business

• Innisbrook Update – items are being packaged up and shipped. Unsure how much we will be profiting – $9,072 in sales…we will get about 45-50% of that back for PTA funds. While we didn’t raise as much money as last year, given the economy we see it as a success.

• Harvest Dance – great attendance. Some families weren’t able to attend because of the price. We talked that no family would be turned away. Somehow we need to balance the fundraising with the financial needs of the community.

New Business

• Skateboard Fundraiser – Kate got skateboard from Chris Martin, pro skater. It will be raffled off to raise money to help purchase skateboards for the FM PE class. Skatepark will donate a 3 month membership and 10 month punch card for the raffle. Jason Carter is looking to raise approximately $500. Tickets will be $5/chance. Sell 200 tickets, open to all RSU1. The board will be on display at the skatepark. Money beyond what Jason needs will go to PTA.

• Summer Camp Scholarships, 2011-Heidi talked about the program – how worthwhile it is and important, but it is too much work for her to do on top of her job . Between the 2 school guidance counselors, Gretchen and Suzanne, and Heidi, it has become too much to manage. There were 33 camp slots filled in summer 2009, 76 for summer 2010. Looks like more than 100 could be filled given the trend/success. One area that Heidi felt needed improvement was on family feedback, which was a requirement of the Davenport funding. Only 5/76 families responded to the feedback form. Lisha assured Heidi that was a good response rate, not to be discouraged but rather encouraged. We need someone who has a lot of time to come forward between the 2 schools to manage the process. It would be a great volunteer experience for someone looking to gain program management skills. We either find someone to replace Heidi, or it won’t happen. A discussion took place on how to simplify the process and make some family accountability be built into the process. One idea is to have the family pay a portion of the camp fees. A small amount, like $10, that is not refundable if they don’t follow through and attend the camp. Heidi called Common Good Center at Bowdoin today to see if a student would like to take this on as a project. Candy suggested all of us brainstorming some ideas on who might be a good candidate for this project. We will be thinking through this moving forward.

• Christmas Fair-Looking at the 13^th & 14^th of December. No place to store the items. Could it be held at another location? Hyde School might be a possibility…but probably on the 20^th and 21^st would be better because kids are gone. Kate will explore this option and report back asap.

• Kate updated us on the Biggest Job Workshop, a program that comes from the Hyde School . Laura Gauld do a free workshop in March for the entire RSU#1 community, preferably around the 15^th of the month. Need to work out details of where it should be held and at what time. 6:30-8 PM seemed like an ideal time, not too early for parents coming home from work, but not too late. We will offer childcare. Open up to all schools in the RSU#1…parents and teachers. Registration would be a good thing so we can get a sense of #s. BMS might be a good location. Kate will meet with William Shuttleworth to let him know of our plans. Bath Elementary PTA could reach out to the other school PTAs to make this a success.

Principal’s Comment

No principals were in attendance.

Public Comment

Heidi mentioned the medicine collection/prescription drug collection happening this Thursday night and Friday at Mid Coast Hospital and other area locations.

Meeting adjourned at 7:45.

Next meeting on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 6:30 PM in Fisher Mitchell Library.