DECEMBER 12 MEETING
Attended by Peggy Daley, LaChon Richardson (and Shayla), Monique Perez-Jones, Channelle Wells, Cindy Philapil, Lisa Twaronite Sone and Tom Dooher
(1) TOM:
As of today, we have 30 applications for kindergarten in the office, and a new teacher took over for Mr. Donahoe three days a week, after he left because of a pretty serious heart problem. We also have an Americorp volunteer, Allen Wong, who is free – he’s going into the military at the end of the school year.
Peggy asks, what about the heat? My son got his desk moved closer to the heater and was so happy.
Tom: There was a problem with the timer on Monday and Antonio was out at an appointment but finally came back to relight the pilot light so it’s all fixed now. The heat goes on at 7:30 and off at 11:00.
LaChon asks, are kids allowed to wear jackets in class if they’re cold?
Tom: Yes, they are. But they shouldn’t be cold because our boiler is 46 years old, but is in great shape according to the last inspection.
Cindy asks, what’s the status of grants?
Tom: We applied for $705,000 for new windows, and it’s going to the full board in January, and they will send someone out to inspect the site. We got a lot of the money for new TVs and new DVRs, with disbursement expected in February. We applied to the Herbst Foundation for painting the outside, and to the Gellert Foundation for tuition. We got our share of Mission Alliance funds, about $33,000 from the Archdiocese, which it earns from income on some its properties and distributes to schools. Our portion went right into savings for pensions. All alliance schools got about the same amount, plus or minus a thousand dollars or so, except for Epiphany because it’s about twice the size of the others.
Tom continues, I met with Erin about the preschool and she’s finished her paperwork. And we’ve written two grants for furniture and improvements to the room, and a kindergarten parent brought over a contractor for an estimate on the toilet area upgrades.
(2) CENTERPLATE
Cindy says that due to cancellations, we lost out on second booth -- 23 confirmed, so they signed us up for 2 booths, but only 16 people showed up. Centerplate has earned $7,652 dollars so far, not counting the $300 charge for those families who didn’t participate.
Tom says, I’m going to pursue the $300 really hard and attach it to their tuition.
(3) FINANCES
Peggy distributes charts – charts cannot be easily reproduced on this Web site, as I’ve found out in the past. Anyone interested in seeing the figures can contact me, or Peggy herself.
(4) FUNDRAISERS
Crab feed in March, tuition raffle in the spring – other ideas?
Tom: another winetasting?
(5) TEACHERS' CHRISTMAS
Teachers to get bonuses (discussion of amount off-record, by request) and Christmas lunch.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
NOVEMBER 13 MEETING
Attended by Tom Dooher; board co-chairs Cindy Philapil and LaChon Richardson, Peggy Daley, Lisa Twaronite Sone, Channelle Wells, Roberto Carrasquilla and Rosie Perieff -- and room parents: Carmen Murphy Lopez, Monique (first grade) & Erin Lofthouse (6th grade)
(1) WINETASTING: Peggy says the parents club general account has not brought in much this month, but the Christmas Faire is ahead, and the winetasting was well-attended and successful. It made about $930, but glasses and linens were about $300, so perhaps the school spent too much renting the wine glasses and could cut the amount by one-half next time, to 10 linens and 300 glasses. But it brought in about 33% more than last year's winetasting, with 34 orders vs. 23. Monique Perez-Jones suggested that we sell SFB wine glasses at the next one.
Tom says everyone's wine orders are ready to be picked up in his office.
Several attendees suggested another winetasting in the spring, perhaps with with Roberto's wine connections? But some people expressed concerns that this might be too many. Conclusion: worth thinking about -- check calendar availability for possible date.
(2) SCRIP: Lynda not attending, but she sent an email update.
(3) ENROLLMENT: Tom says there are already 8 kindergarten tours and 27 applications for 2008-2009.
(4) PRESCHOOL: Tom says he will have a meeting with Erin, the preschool project coordinator, on Monday, and that she has finished her early childhood education coursework with the state, and is now getting estimates for converting the kindergarten space into a preschool space. This requires moving a non-load-bearing wall and upgrading the restrooms. Tom says he has found some preschool funding sources for infrastructure improvements and furnishings, and says, "We'll be working toward a specific opening date by the end of this school year."
(5) CENTERPLATE: Roberto has drafted a letter to those parents who haven't done their Centerplate duty yet.
Erin says many people still feel tied to doing their specific grade on its specific date, and don't realize they can do other dates. Cindy is frustrated that people still don't know they can do any date, after all she and LaChon have done to make this clear and get the word out. Roberto suggests getting volunteers to offer babysitting to parents who might need it to do Centerplate, but no one else is enthusiastic about this idea. Room parents need to remind the people in their grades to do Centerplate, talk to Tom about alternatives, or risk paying the $300 fine.
(6) FUNDRAISER FOR BREEANNA LINDNER
An initial meeting to discuss the idea of having a bowling fundraiser to support Breeanna and her family through her treatment will be held Thursday at 7:00 in the classroom of 8th grade teacher, Mr. DiNubila, who has offered to organize it. Tom says, "Keep me in the loop," and says all funds collected should go through the school rather than having people make checks out directly to the family.
(7) SHIRTS:
Monique wishes we had SFB T-shirts to wear around and spread the word locally that our school is here. Tom will get her the price list for polo shirts, because he just ordered some for the teachers.
(8) SPORTS: Rosie reports some conflicts with CYO, because their gym rentals have gone up $95/hour from $35 (Rec and Park charges $75). CYO charged SFB $725 in forfeit fees but waived some of it, and the rest of the charges will be passed on to the families whose children's absences caused the game forfeits.
(1) WINETASTING: Peggy says the parents club general account has not brought in much this month, but the Christmas Faire is ahead, and the winetasting was well-attended and successful. It made about $930, but glasses and linens were about $300, so perhaps the school spent too much renting the wine glasses and could cut the amount by one-half next time, to 10 linens and 300 glasses. But it brought in about 33% more than last year's winetasting, with 34 orders vs. 23. Monique Perez-Jones suggested that we sell SFB wine glasses at the next one.
Tom says everyone's wine orders are ready to be picked up in his office.
Several attendees suggested another winetasting in the spring, perhaps with with Roberto's wine connections? But some people expressed concerns that this might be too many. Conclusion: worth thinking about -- check calendar availability for possible date.
(2) SCRIP: Lynda not attending, but she sent an email update.
(3) ENROLLMENT: Tom says there are already 8 kindergarten tours and 27 applications for 2008-2009.
(4) PRESCHOOL: Tom says he will have a meeting with Erin, the preschool project coordinator, on Monday, and that she has finished her early childhood education coursework with the state, and is now getting estimates for converting the kindergarten space into a preschool space. This requires moving a non-load-bearing wall and upgrading the restrooms. Tom says he has found some preschool funding sources for infrastructure improvements and furnishings, and says, "We'll be working toward a specific opening date by the end of this school year."
(5) CENTERPLATE: Roberto has drafted a letter to those parents who haven't done their Centerplate duty yet.
Erin says many people still feel tied to doing their specific grade on its specific date, and don't realize they can do other dates. Cindy is frustrated that people still don't know they can do any date, after all she and LaChon have done to make this clear and get the word out. Roberto suggests getting volunteers to offer babysitting to parents who might need it to do Centerplate, but no one else is enthusiastic about this idea. Room parents need to remind the people in their grades to do Centerplate, talk to Tom about alternatives, or risk paying the $300 fine.
(6) FUNDRAISER FOR BREEANNA LINDNER
An initial meeting to discuss the idea of having a bowling fundraiser to support Breeanna and her family through her treatment will be held Thursday at 7:00 in the classroom of 8th grade teacher, Mr. DiNubila, who has offered to organize it. Tom says, "Keep me in the loop," and says all funds collected should go through the school rather than having people make checks out directly to the family.
(7) SHIRTS:
Monique wishes we had SFB T-shirts to wear around and spread the word locally that our school is here. Tom will get her the price list for polo shirts, because he just ordered some for the teachers.
(8) SPORTS: Rosie reports some conflicts with CYO, because their gym rentals have gone up $95/hour from $35 (Rec and Park charges $75). CYO charged SFB $725 in forfeit fees but waived some of it, and the rest of the charges will be passed on to the families whose children's absences caused the game forfeits.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
OCTOBER 10 MEETING
Attended by: Tom Dooher; board co-chairs Cindy Philapil and LaChon Richardson, Peggy Daley, Monique Perez-Jones, Lisa Twaronite Sone, Channelle Wells, Roberto Carrasquilla, Lynda Tashek and Rosie Perieff
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO --
Tom begins the meeting with a prayer, and then Roberto, who is attending his first board meeting, asks, what is the main purpose of the parent board?
(Cindy says, fundraising! )
Tom replies that the parents club was originally brought together to (1) pay for certain parts of the school (aides, yard duty, textbooks, etc.) not covered by operational funds, etc., and raise seed money for various events; and (2) gather the community together for unity, not just fundraising, by providing personnel to work festivals, collaborate between the parish and the school communities to make it one big community. More recently, with lower enrollment, funds go into operating budget. The "magic number" of students, after which tuition will cover operating expenses, is 225, with 207 enrolled now.
Roberto asks, can the school accountant attend some parent board meeting? Tom says, (in so many words), perhaps, and discusses the school's financial structure and the role of the accountant, Anita who is "pushing as hard as she can for transparency." Tom says the school is "just wrapping up Archdiocese audit and did okay." He notes that when he first came to the school, "there were something like eight bank accounts," and now there are just three: scrip, parents' club and the school checking account. The Archdiocese would prefer to get rid of the parents' club account and have all the checks come through the school; Archdiocese regulations say each account should be under $10,000, except for the school account, which can contain two months' operating budget. School and parish accounts and funds are completely separate. Funds made from Centerplate go directly to the school's account -- the board will be informed, in the future, exactly how much was made at each game.
Peggy hands out copies of the parents' club balance sheet -- (reproduced in its entirety below).
FUNDRAISERS
(1) Lachon says BBQ NIGHT was a success, and turned a profit of $700, when its goal was simply to break even because it was a social event, not a fundraising event per se. (Tom mentions that about 87% of school families were represented at Back to School Night.)
(2) Cindy says the room parents were given the responsibility of recruiting participants from each class for CENTERPLATE. The previous weekend, there were five last-minute no-shows out of 29 parents who had initially agreed to participate -- how to deal with this? Suggested: send the no-shows an those who didn't sign up the bill for the $300 fine/gift and ask for either payment or immediate rescheduling of another game.
Roberto says there should always be two team leaders per game: one who has done it before, and one who is being trained.
(3) WINETASTING: Friday, Nov. 2
Peggy says fliers are going out in family envelopes and Juliet will put it into church bulletin, and that room parents need to drum up attendees in their classes. Daycare will be offered in the kindergarten room; food, linens, etc. and entertainment are being arranged.
(4) PARISH FESTIVAL: upcoming weekend
(5) SCRIP:
Lynda says scrip has made about $4,000 so far this year. ESCRIP makes about $500/month. Now that Albertson's has been bought by Lucky's, their scrip system requires parents put down students' names to register for their club cards, and some parents might be reluctant to share this information. Suggestion: put scrip order form into the church bulletin, so parishoners can participate, too.
PRINCIPAL LETTER
Now available online, but perhaps it should be emailed so that people read it? Also, discussion of how best to put record of parent hours online, and how this could be recorded efficiently when students and parents have different last names.
STUDENT MAGAZINE:
Lisa explains the idea of reviving the school's student magazine in blog format, similar to the format used for the parents' board minutes.
SPORTS:
Rosie reports that the CYO secretary has just resigned, so scheduling is chaotic, and CYO wants prepayment ahead of sports seasons from now on -- payment in advance for gym time, etc. The parish now pays $12,000-$14,000 for gym time every year, which works out to $40 for each gym session St Emydius and $45 for other gyms. The payment plan is now being negotiated, and hopefully CYO won't lose any teams because of financial hardship for some schools.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Parents' Club BALANCE SHEET (cash basis) as of Oct. 9, 2007
ASSETS
Current Assets
Checking/Savings
Bank of America Checking------------------6,496.14
-------------
Total Checking/Savings----------------------6,496.14
-------------
Total Current Assets-------------------------6,496.14
-------------
TOTAL ASSETS-------------------------------6,496.14
-------------
-------------
LIABILITIES & EQUITY
Equity
Retained Earnings-------------------------8,999.95
Net income----------------------------- (-)2,503.81
-------------
Total Equity--------------------------------6,496.14
-------------
TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY-----------6,496.14
-------------
-------------
Parents' Club PROFIT & LOSS (cash basis) July 1 through Oct. 9, 2007
Ordinary Income/Expense
Income
Back to School BBQ Income---------------1,140.00
-------------
Total Income--------------------------------1,140.00
Expense
Back to School BBQ Expense----------------447.35
Christmas Faire Expense-------------------3,000.00
Event Refreshments---------------------------121.46
Gifts
Bereavement------------------------------------75.00
-----------------------
Total Gifts----------------------------------------75.00
Total Expense--------------------------------3,643.81
-------------
Net Ordinary Income---------------------(-)2,503.81
-------------
Net Income-------------------------------(-)2,503.81
-------------
-------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO --
Tom begins the meeting with a prayer, and then Roberto, who is attending his first board meeting, asks, what is the main purpose of the parent board?
(Cindy says, fundraising! )
Tom replies that the parents club was originally brought together to (1) pay for certain parts of the school (aides, yard duty, textbooks, etc.) not covered by operational funds, etc., and raise seed money for various events; and (2) gather the community together for unity, not just fundraising, by providing personnel to work festivals, collaborate between the parish and the school communities to make it one big community. More recently, with lower enrollment, funds go into operating budget. The "magic number" of students, after which tuition will cover operating expenses, is 225, with 207 enrolled now.
Roberto asks, can the school accountant attend some parent board meeting? Tom says, (in so many words), perhaps, and discusses the school's financial structure and the role of the accountant, Anita who is "pushing as hard as she can for transparency." Tom says the school is "just wrapping up Archdiocese audit and did okay." He notes that when he first came to the school, "there were something like eight bank accounts," and now there are just three: scrip, parents' club and the school checking account. The Archdiocese would prefer to get rid of the parents' club account and have all the checks come through the school; Archdiocese regulations say each account should be under $10,000, except for the school account, which can contain two months' operating budget. School and parish accounts and funds are completely separate. Funds made from Centerplate go directly to the school's account -- the board will be informed, in the future, exactly how much was made at each game.
Peggy hands out copies of the parents' club balance sheet -- (reproduced in its entirety below).
FUNDRAISERS
(1) Lachon says BBQ NIGHT was a success, and turned a profit of $700, when its goal was simply to break even because it was a social event, not a fundraising event per se. (Tom mentions that about 87% of school families were represented at Back to School Night.)
(2) Cindy says the room parents were given the responsibility of recruiting participants from each class for CENTERPLATE. The previous weekend, there were five last-minute no-shows out of 29 parents who had initially agreed to participate -- how to deal with this? Suggested: send the no-shows an those who didn't sign up the bill for the $300 fine/gift and ask for either payment or immediate rescheduling of another game.
Roberto says there should always be two team leaders per game: one who has done it before, and one who is being trained.
(3) WINETASTING: Friday, Nov. 2
Peggy says fliers are going out in family envelopes and Juliet will put it into church bulletin, and that room parents need to drum up attendees in their classes. Daycare will be offered in the kindergarten room; food, linens, etc. and entertainment are being arranged.
(4) PARISH FESTIVAL: upcoming weekend
(5) SCRIP:
Lynda says scrip has made about $4,000 so far this year. ESCRIP makes about $500/month. Now that Albertson's has been bought by Lucky's, their scrip system requires parents put down students' names to register for their club cards, and some parents might be reluctant to share this information. Suggestion: put scrip order form into the church bulletin, so parishoners can participate, too.
PRINCIPAL LETTER
Now available online, but perhaps it should be emailed so that people read it? Also, discussion of how best to put record of parent hours online, and how this could be recorded efficiently when students and parents have different last names.
STUDENT MAGAZINE:
Lisa explains the idea of reviving the school's student magazine in blog format, similar to the format used for the parents' board minutes.
SPORTS:
Rosie reports that the CYO secretary has just resigned, so scheduling is chaotic, and CYO wants prepayment ahead of sports seasons from now on -- payment in advance for gym time, etc. The parish now pays $12,000-$14,000 for gym time every year, which works out to $40 for each gym session St Emydius and $45 for other gyms. The payment plan is now being negotiated, and hopefully CYO won't lose any teams because of financial hardship for some schools.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Parents' Club BALANCE SHEET (cash basis) as of Oct. 9, 2007
ASSETS
Current Assets
Checking/Savings
Bank of America Checking------------------6,496.14
-------------
Total Checking/Savings----------------------6,496.14
-------------
Total Current Assets-------------------------6,496.14
-------------
TOTAL ASSETS-------------------------------6,496.14
-------------
-------------
LIABILITIES & EQUITY
Equity
Retained Earnings-------------------------8,999.95
Net income----------------------------- (-)2,503.81
-------------
Total Equity--------------------------------6,496.14
-------------
TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY-----------6,496.14
-------------
-------------
Parents' Club PROFIT & LOSS (cash basis) July 1 through Oct. 9, 2007
Ordinary Income/Expense
Income
Back to School BBQ Income---------------1,140.00
-------------
Total Income--------------------------------1,140.00
Expense
Back to School BBQ Expense----------------447.35
Christmas Faire Expense-------------------3,000.00
Event Refreshments---------------------------121.46
Gifts
Bereavement------------------------------------75.00
-----------------------
Total Gifts----------------------------------------75.00
Total Expense--------------------------------3,643.81
-------------
Net Ordinary Income---------------------(-)2,503.81
-------------
Net Income-------------------------------(-)2,503.81
-------------
-------------
Friday, August 10, 2007
AUGUST 8 MEETING
Attended by: Tom Dooher; board co-chairs Cindy Philapil and LaChon Richardson; Peggy Daley (finance), Charlie Castillo (enrollment); Monique Perez-Jones (auditor); Lisa Twaronite Sone (secretary); Channelle Wells (volunteers)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO -- Tom-led prayer; self-introductions (which included information that a grant for which Charlie applied will get the school $10,000 to install new flat screen TVs in classrooms)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCUSSION OF PRINCIPAL'S AGENDA
1) BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT -- SEPTEMBER 6th, 6:30 PM
A) Parents will be asked NOT to bring children this year, since in past years kids have been so disruptive that it's been difficult to hear in the hall.
B) Set-up tables for volunteer sign-up, just like last year -- this worked well.
C) Coffee and snacks? Yes.
D) Speakers -- keep it brief: Tom, Father Jose, introduce board members and new families, give stats about school, Center Plate, parent hours -- and then let parents go visit classrooms, since Back to School Night is primarily to meet the teachers.
(Side discussion about whether the fridge magnet with the fundraising events was a good idea or not -- conclusion: maybe -- worth thinking about.)
2) ROOM PARENT ROLES
A) Room parents should take some of the burden off the parent board by delegating jobs; setting up ad hoc committees to help with responsibilities; keep grade level informed of school events; mobilize parents when events need volunteers.
B) Room parents should remind parents of their 30-hour volunteer requirement. The school can't "charge" for hours, but parents can donate goods -- donations of $10,00 worth of products to a school event are equal to one hour of volunteer time, up to a total of ten hours toward the requirement.
C) Room parents responsible for their grade's Center Plate (which will hopefully raise $20,000-$22,000 for the school this year). Families should get three phone calls -- to sign them up, to remind them, and then to remind them again and ask if they need a ride. Parents who can't do it must find a substitute -- no family can be entirely excused from Center Plate requirement without going through Tom.
D) Some kind of information night for new families? Conclusion: good idea.
E) Room parents responsible for monthly class newsletter; Tom's weekly newsletter will likely be issued online this year, and not as a paper handout in the weekly envelope; room parents need to keep track of emails and contact info for all families.
F) At least one room parent from each grade required to attend monthly board meetings.
G) All fundraisers initiated by a particular class need to be approved by Tom.
H) New process for submitting parent hours --
Only event chairs submit hours, so parents no longer need to submit their own hours – they sign in at the events. Hours given for chaperoning field trips, hot lunch help, etc.
(Side discussion on whether/how many hours should be given for attendance of mandatory parent meetings? Conclusion: one hour at most. All expressed the need for a comprehensive list of what kind of participation can count toward the requirement and what can’t -- Tom says, "We want to encourage parents to be creative with filling their hours, but anything off the grid needs to go through me.")
3) FUNDRAISING ISSUES
A) Tom asks, can every family donate one ream of copy paper? It costs something like $3.99 and would really help keep down paper costs.
B) Stats -- 223 students registered, paid, and expected to show up on 8/22, and the school budget is based on only 210. Last year, Tom asked parent board to raise $50,000 and it raised $51,000: this year's goal is $60,000.
C) Dates for fundraising events -- list of preliminary dates passed out for discussion.
i) Mandatory all-parent meeting on 9/27 would be too close to Back to School Night, so next all-parent meeting tentatively set for 10/25; 9/27 tentatively set as informational night for new parents instead.
ii) Suggested attempt to reschedule wine-tasting event before Christmas (though not conflicting with Christmas Faire, which is the major seasonal fundraiser), so people can buy wine for holiday consumption/gifts; some October dates suggested, pending church hall availability.
iii) Parish festival – Tom would like each class to staff a booth, to increase school's presence at the event.
(Side discussion of suggestion for "Dunk-the-Principal" booth -- Tom said he did this for an hour at St. Dunstan's and it was "popular," but he does not seem eager to repeat this experience.)
D) Discussion on whether finances/cash generated by events should run through Peggy Daley only --- conclusion was to discuss further in smaller meeting later with people directly involved, to determine what would be most efficient.
E) Second draft of Fundraising Status Report passed out to board.
4) ENROLLMENT
A) Tom says he has enrollment committee lined up -- about a dozen people -- to get word out about SFB's presence, recruit middle school students, market ideas for school, etc. Each enrollment committee member would be responsible for pulling in at least two families for a tour. Erin Murphy, new preschool director, is also working on enrollment.
5) WASC
Tom says he will inform board of role and duties for WASC process
6) SCHOOL MASS -- SEPTEMBER 9, 10:00 am
Blessing of faculty, room parents and board members.
7) SMART TUITION LAUNCH
Tom said the company had some problems with a new system it installed, which causes some trouble for parents as well as the school, but said, "We should have all the bugs worked out by the end of the month."
8) SCRIP
Tom wonders, why isn’t scrip more profitable? Lynda Taschek unable to attend this meeting, but Peggy Daley, who was in charge of scrip for three years, says scrip numbers are roughly consistent with what they were in the past, even though escrip is taking higher fee off the top and some merchants have reduced percentages of what they give.
9) BOARD MEETINGS set for evening of second Tuesday each month.
10) FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL RECEPTION? Yes.
11) MEMORIAL CARD FOR MRS. OREILLY'S LATE FATHER? Yes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO -- Tom-led prayer; self-introductions (which included information that a grant for which Charlie applied will get the school $10,000 to install new flat screen TVs in classrooms)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCUSSION OF PRINCIPAL'S AGENDA
1) BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT -- SEPTEMBER 6th, 6:30 PM
A) Parents will be asked NOT to bring children this year, since in past years kids have been so disruptive that it's been difficult to hear in the hall.
B) Set-up tables for volunteer sign-up, just like last year -- this worked well.
C) Coffee and snacks? Yes.
D) Speakers -- keep it brief: Tom, Father Jose, introduce board members and new families, give stats about school, Center Plate, parent hours -- and then let parents go visit classrooms, since Back to School Night is primarily to meet the teachers.
(Side discussion about whether the fridge magnet with the fundraising events was a good idea or not -- conclusion: maybe -- worth thinking about.)
2) ROOM PARENT ROLES
A) Room parents should take some of the burden off the parent board by delegating jobs; setting up ad hoc committees to help with responsibilities; keep grade level informed of school events; mobilize parents when events need volunteers.
B) Room parents should remind parents of their 30-hour volunteer requirement. The school can't "charge" for hours, but parents can donate goods -- donations of $10,00 worth of products to a school event are equal to one hour of volunteer time, up to a total of ten hours toward the requirement.
C) Room parents responsible for their grade's Center Plate (which will hopefully raise $20,000-$22,000 for the school this year). Families should get three phone calls -- to sign them up, to remind them, and then to remind them again and ask if they need a ride. Parents who can't do it must find a substitute -- no family can be entirely excused from Center Plate requirement without going through Tom.
D) Some kind of information night for new families? Conclusion: good idea.
E) Room parents responsible for monthly class newsletter; Tom's weekly newsletter will likely be issued online this year, and not as a paper handout in the weekly envelope; room parents need to keep track of emails and contact info for all families.
F) At least one room parent from each grade required to attend monthly board meetings.
G) All fundraisers initiated by a particular class need to be approved by Tom.
H) New process for submitting parent hours --
Only event chairs submit hours, so parents no longer need to submit their own hours – they sign in at the events. Hours given for chaperoning field trips, hot lunch help, etc.
(Side discussion on whether/how many hours should be given for attendance of mandatory parent meetings? Conclusion: one hour at most. All expressed the need for a comprehensive list of what kind of participation can count toward the requirement and what can’t -- Tom says, "We want to encourage parents to be creative with filling their hours, but anything off the grid needs to go through me.")
3) FUNDRAISING ISSUES
A) Tom asks, can every family donate one ream of copy paper? It costs something like $3.99 and would really help keep down paper costs.
B) Stats -- 223 students registered, paid, and expected to show up on 8/22, and the school budget is based on only 210. Last year, Tom asked parent board to raise $50,000 and it raised $51,000: this year's goal is $60,000.
C) Dates for fundraising events -- list of preliminary dates passed out for discussion.
i) Mandatory all-parent meeting on 9/27 would be too close to Back to School Night, so next all-parent meeting tentatively set for 10/25; 9/27 tentatively set as informational night for new parents instead.
ii) Suggested attempt to reschedule wine-tasting event before Christmas (though not conflicting with Christmas Faire, which is the major seasonal fundraiser), so people can buy wine for holiday consumption/gifts; some October dates suggested, pending church hall availability.
iii) Parish festival – Tom would like each class to staff a booth, to increase school's presence at the event.
(Side discussion of suggestion for "Dunk-the-Principal" booth -- Tom said he did this for an hour at St. Dunstan's and it was "popular," but he does not seem eager to repeat this experience.)
D) Discussion on whether finances/cash generated by events should run through Peggy Daley only --- conclusion was to discuss further in smaller meeting later with people directly involved, to determine what would be most efficient.
E) Second draft of Fundraising Status Report passed out to board.
4) ENROLLMENT
A) Tom says he has enrollment committee lined up -- about a dozen people -- to get word out about SFB's presence, recruit middle school students, market ideas for school, etc. Each enrollment committee member would be responsible for pulling in at least two families for a tour. Erin Murphy, new preschool director, is also working on enrollment.
5) WASC
Tom says he will inform board of role and duties for WASC process
6) SCHOOL MASS -- SEPTEMBER 9, 10:00 am
Blessing of faculty, room parents and board members.
7) SMART TUITION LAUNCH
Tom said the company had some problems with a new system it installed, which causes some trouble for parents as well as the school, but said, "We should have all the bugs worked out by the end of the month."
8) SCRIP
Tom wonders, why isn’t scrip more profitable? Lynda Taschek unable to attend this meeting, but Peggy Daley, who was in charge of scrip for three years, says scrip numbers are roughly consistent with what they were in the past, even though escrip is taking higher fee off the top and some merchants have reduced percentages of what they give.
9) BOARD MEETINGS set for evening of second Tuesday each month.
10) FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL RECEPTION? Yes.
11) MEMORIAL CARD FOR MRS. OREILLY'S LATE FATHER? Yes.
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