Taylor Elementary School's Parent Teacher Association     |     home

Previous Months' Minutes

(from most current month back)

For February 2001

Presidents' Report
The meeting was called to order by Pam McClellan and Peggy Hinkle (PTA-Co-Presidents). The January meeting minutes were approved.

Treasurer's Report
Mary Bevis, PTA Treasurer, reviewed the budget and reported that the check for school photos, in the amount of $3,058, was collected from Helena Peterson.

Principal's Report
Carol Perry (5th grade) teacher will give the teacher¹s report tonight. Ina Bentley is the ITC rep for Taylor school. The Montessori program which is currently located at Key School will be located at Taylor in the Fall of 2001. The program will be for 4 & 5 year olds. Taylor will also be the site for Summer Laureate, Global Village and the Voyager programs which will be held between July 23 and August 9. A grant writing committee has been formed and is looking into a palm pilot program grant as well as looking for additional funds. Mrs. Jackie Hennenberg will be replacing Alicia Matthews in the 4th grade. The SOL test dates have been changed and will now be held May 21-June 5, 2001. The fifth grade will take the SOLs on March 5-7. A flyer about enrichment programs is being handed out this week.

Teacher's Report
Carol Perry (5th grade) - the primary grade teachers thanked the PTA for everything they've done this year; the upper grades are very appreciative of all the help they¹ve received from parent volunteers in the science classes; discretionary funds are being distributed as necessary; the Junior Journal will be published in the very near future. Special thanks to Kay Pommerening, Nancy Greene and Stephanie Sampson for all the help they've given to the science classes.

Presentation
Francisca Jorgensen presented the 4 Winds NBC Weather Grant. This grant will give the school a weather cam, a rooftop device and software. The total cost for the device is $4,000 - the PTA would fund $2,000 and the grant would fund $2,000. This program will give alot of support to the teachers. As of this writing the grant has been accepted by NBC.

Guest Speaker
Dr. Robert Smith, Arlington County Superintendant of Schools came to the school for a question and answer session with the PTA. He distributed the 2000-2001 anual priorities. For a copy please contact Dr. Smith¹s office.

Committee Wrap-up
Thank yous went to the enrichment program coordinators
Ice Cream Social will be held on Feb. 23
Spring No Frills Fundraiser - chaired by Heather Wicke-Hurley ???
Community Service - March 10 stream clean-up
Parent-Teacher Survey - results will be shared at the March PTA meeting
School Spirit - Kathy Hager

New PTA officers - committee needs to be formed

The meeting adjourned at 9:15pm.

For January 2001

Presidents' Report
The meeting was called to order by Pam McClellan and Peggy Hinkle (PTA-Co-Presidents). The December meeting minutes were approved.

Treasurer's Report
Mary Bevis, PTA Treasurer, reviewed the budget and reported that the directory has been paid for.

Principal's Report
Mr. Hindman welcomed Julie Campbell to the Taylor School staff as the new third grade teacher who has replaced Mrs. Harmony. Mrs. Campbell has just completed a program of study at Marymount University in the field of professional development and participated in the partnership program which Marymount has developed with the Arlington Public Schools. He also announced that Vicki Fagliarone would be the teacher rep. for tonight¹s meeting.

The SOL testing dates have been changed and will take place later in the spring.

This summer Taylor will be an enrichment site for programs such as Global Village and Summer Laureate. Jamestown Elementary School will be the team summer school site.

The traffic patterns are improving around the school. A brochure which Mr. Hindman is working on will be sent home soon as well as another letter to be published in the Tattler.

Teachers' Report
Ms. Vicki Fagliarone (1st/2nd grade) - introduced herself not only as a grade 1 and 2 teacher but also as the math curriculum contact for the school.

Family Math Night will be held again this year on January 18 from 6:30-7:30 pm.

The third grade team thanked the PTA for the donation made to Dogwood Elementary School (this is the school in Fairfax that had extensive fire damage in December). The second grade had a great turnout for secret santas. The first grade received a cash donation for Christmas items. The fifth grade team is working on a grant with Channel 4 news to get a weather station which would be located on the roof of the school.

Hyperstudio and Printshop computer software has been added to each teacher¹s computer.

Presentation
Jill Barker talked about how Martin Luther King Day would be celebrated at the school. Once again, "acts of kindness and justice" will be recorded by students on paper leaves and the leaves will be placed throughout the school to create a theme of "Leaves and Vines".

Committee Wrap-up
Book Fair chair, Betsy Stark reported that the book fair ran quite smoothly this year. The Scholastic supplier worked well as did the use of credit cards. In fact, more books were sold because credit cards were accepted. The storyteller and volunteers were great although it was very time consuming to recruit enough volunteers. $105 credit was given as a daily drawing for the teachers. Changes that could be made: don¹t schedule it around Halloween, family night should be earlier in the week, the fair does not have to run for 5 days-could be 4, the last night could be scheduled for later in the evening, sales of book socks should be coordinated with the school store. Betsy announced that she would chair this event again next year.

Ice Cream Social co-chairs, Mona Stefan and Whitney Houston gave an update on the event, that it would be held on Feb. 23, time to be determined by the length of the 5th grade dance celebration which should last approximately 45 minutes.

Spring No Frills Fundraiser - needs chairs and at least 15-16 volunteers. Goals for the fundraiser as suggested by the PTA executive committee are: a schoolyard garden - $5,000; Channel 4 Weather Station Grant - $2,000; Replaceement of comuters for 1st and 2nd grades - cost to be determined; Projection system for other computer lab - $3,000

Community Service chair, Maron Klymkowsky - $465.00 was donated in December to 4 Taylor families; thank you to the 4th grade for participating in the December holiday project; the following activities are being planned:
Jan. - mystery bags
Feb. - Pennies for Patients - to benefit the Leukemia Sociaty
March - Stream clean-up

A group email is being sent out by Ann Beckman, PTA Corresponding Secretary - if you would like to be on the group email list please send your email address to: beckmans5@erols.com.

The meeting adjourned at 9:15pm.

For December 5, 2000

Presidents' Report
The meeting was called to order by Pam McClellan (PTA-Co-President). The November meeting minutes were approved.

Treasurer's Report
Mary Bevis, PTA Treasurer, reviewed the budget and reported that all dues have been paid, there is $26,000 in the PTA bank account and the bake sale made more than what was expected.

Principal's Report
There is a new vocal music teacher, Randy Glassner. The replacement for Mrs. Harmony will be Mrs. Julie Campbell (has a 1st grader and a 4th grader at Taylor). Adult mentors are needed for tutorial support, contact Mr. Hindman. The traffic problem at the school has become so serious that the police department has been called in to assess how to improve the situation. A letter is going out in the next issue of the Taylor Tattler. The website provider - Tripod - has been looked into and is considered a reputable provider.

Teacher's Report
Mrs. Nancy Murphy (5th grade) announced that Mrs. Corwin is looking for 6 volunteers who will be paid $10.73 per hour to help with a reading skills program. Volunteers are needed from 9-9:30am two times per week to work with a group of 28 kindergarden and first graders. Computer software training will be held. Volunteers will work with small groups or 1 on 1. This is to start in January. Please contact Mrs. Corwin.

Do we want to have a Dr. Seuss day? Should it be held on his birthday or in early February?

The 4th grade is helping to collect school supplies to be given to needy children. A school bus will be decorated and the supplies will be placed in the bus and taken to the children.

A 3rd grade teacher has asked if a donation can be made to the Fairfax County school that burned down recently (Dogwood Elementary Schhol) - as of this writing $100 gift certificate from the teacher's store in Vienna was mailed to Dogwood Elementary School - the donation was from Taylor Elementary School, Arlington, VA.

The 2nd grade teachers would like to thank all the volunteers.

The 5th grade has a permanent sub - Mary Marconi. They have just finished a chemistry unit.

The faculty is having a holiday tea as well as a formal dinner-dance. The 3rd grade is honoring Mrs. Harmony prior to her departure.

Pam McClellan told Mrs. Murphy to make sure the staff know how much we all appreciate everything they do.

Presentation
Beth Reese - coordinator of the Discovery Schoolyard at Tuckahoe Elementary School made a presentation to the PTA to explain what Tuckahoe has done to improve the surroundings of the school. The PTA would like to consider a similar project at Taylor. Ann Beckman has offered to take the lead in forming a group to look into this idea, contact her if you¹re interested in participating in this group.

Announcements
As of this writing the School Board approved the change in school start times for the Fall 2001 school year. The new start time for Taylor Elementary will be 9:00 am and the dismissal time will be 3:35 pm.

The school directory will need a new graphics designer as well as someone to handle the database entry. Discussion about the directory took place at the PTA meeting and a new team will need to be formed to get the directory published for next year. The hope of the PTA is to get the directory distributed earlier - suggestions were made at the PTA meeting.

Teak benches have been ordered to be placed in the lobby of the school in order to continue improvements the PTA is making for the school.

4 Winds Network Program sponsored by NBC - NBC offers a grant to schools to install a weather station at the school. The program allows schools with these weather stations to access the weather and NBC announces the weather at various schools around the Washington metropolitan area. Arlington Science Focus has one as do several other schools in Arlington. The PTA is looking into the possibility of applying for this grant.

Martin Luther King Day will be celebrated once again with the ³acts of kindness² program.

A canned goods drive will be held in December.

A giving tree will be set up in the lobby of the school. $100 gift certificates will be given to 4 Taylor families in need of clothes, food, etc.

After-school activities under consideration are: a computer club offering keyboarding and website design; drama club.

The SCA will be running the school store as of January. The money will be given to the PTA and a small amount will be given to the SCA at the end of the school year. Dr. Grinder and Mrs. DiTranni will take the lead in keeping the store organized.

Thank Yous
Thank yous were made to:
Deborah Todd & Betsy Stillman - Election Day bake sale
Pam Taylor - SCA Elections
Kendra Burlingame - Reflections
Mona Stefan - Directory
Mie Eng - Directory Graphics Design
Stephanie Sampson - Website coordinator
Sydney Brandt - Tattler

The meeting adjourned at 9:15pm.


For November 7, 2000
Presidents' Report
The meeting was called to order by Pam McClellan (PTA-Co-President). The October meeting minutes were approved.

Announcements
The meeting minutes are now available on the school website.

Treasurer' Report
Mary Bevis, PTA Treasurer, reviewed the budget and highlighted the following items:
Report on the Bake Sale will be made at next month¹s meeting.
The Book Fair took in $400 more than the budgeted amount.
The Fall Fundraiser - report to be made by Pam Gavin.

Teacher's Report
Mrs. Jorgensen (5th Grade teacher) made a presentation about her Fulbright Scholarship trip to Japan.

Announcements
Adam Kernan-Schloss, Taylor school county council rep reported the following:
There will be a school board meeting on November 7. The county council will hold a meeting on November 20 at 7:30pm at Tuckahoe Elementary School on the topic of traffic safety. At 7pm a preview of the budget will be given. A survey of the budget is available and Taylor school families should give their input by the next PTA meeting as decisions about the budget will be made before Feb. 1. There will be a budget meeting on January 22. The vote on changing high school start times has been put off until December 7. Input is encouraged from parents about the admissions policy for Drew Model School, Arlington Traditional School and the HB Woodlawn Program - a meeting will be held on December 21.

Thank Yous
Thank yous were made to:
Pam Gavin - Fall Fundraiser (gift wrap)
Deborah Todd & Betsy Stillman - Election Day bake sale
Linda Kole - Room Parents Lists
Betsy Stark - Book Fair
Helena Peterson - School Photos
Pam Taylor - SCA Election
Genie Applegate - School Store

Principal's Report
Mr. Hindman announced the newly elected SCA officers -

Stephanie Lynn Pinch - President
Meghan Reed - Vice President
Maddy Farber - Treasurer
Kelsey McDonald - Secretary

All the candidates and their campaign managers did a wonderful job during the two weeks of campaigning.

High School start times still being discussed. A two-tiered start time is preferred by the principals. The School Board will make their decision on December 7.

Nov. 8 is the end of the reporting period for grades 1-5. Report cards will go out on November 28.

Sally Keyes, former 2nd grade Taylor teacher is heading up a committee on report cards.

A letter is going out tomorrow to all kindergarten families with the news of a fourth kindergarten class. Danielle Anktel, currently a student teacher at Taylor will be the new kindergarten teacher and will team teach with Rod Baer. The class will be ready to start after the Thanksgiving break.

Rod Baer is the Virginia Region IV Teacher of the Year, Arlington County Teacher of the Year and Taylor Teacher of the Year, he was not elected as the State Teacher of the Year. Helen Malone was nominated as the Region IV Gifted Teacher of the Year.

Mr. Hindman will make a presentation at the Dec. 7 School Board meeting on the Lead Teacher Initiative which Taylor School is a model for.

Committee Chair Reports
Pam Gavin - Fall Fundraiser/Gift Wrap - $20,820 gross; $10,478 net
Marian Klymkowsky - Community Service - 210 signatures were collected for the handgun control petition; 11 Taylor children and adults participated in the mini help-the-homeless walk; an exchange of winter clothes will be made to Key School students; school supplies will be donated to needy children, bring supplies in on the last early release Wed. before winter break
Reflections - Over 70 entries, celebration night is on November 30.
Cressida McKean - ESOL/HILT - discussed the idea of a homework club
School Store - the school store is looking for a new chair; the store will be open on a limited basis
Hilary Phillips - Junior Great Books-4 people participated in the leader training program which was held on Nov. 3 & 4, 3 of whom will participate in the program during the Winter/Spring sessions
School Directory - the directory went to the printer on Nov. 7
School Website - should be accessible without any problems

Committee Wrapups:
Membership - 240 families participated, although families can contribute above the required individual/family membership amount, the PTA cannot create special categories of memberships (e.g. gold, silver, etc.). The VA PTA handbook emphasizes the role of the memberships as increasing participation in the PTA, not advocating it as a fundraising activity.

The meeting adjourned at 9:15pm.

For October 3, 2000
Presidents' Report
The meeting was called to order by Pam McClellan (PTA-Co-President). The September meeting minutes were approved.

Announcements
The meeting minutes are now available on the school website. One parent announced that she, as well as another parent, could not access the school website from her office. Mr. Hindman said he would look into this situation.

Treasurer's Report
Mary Bevis, PTA Treasurer, reviewed the budget and highlighted the following items:

--$2400 has been deposited from PTA membership dues. One parent asked if there were more than 2 levels of donations available.

On Oct. 5 the school board will hold a meeting in response to the issue of homework which was discussed at a meeting at Taylor last year.

Mrs. Jorgensen (5th Grade teacher) has left for Japan and will return in November. Mrs. Jorgensen will talk to the PTA later in the year about her experience as a Fulbright Scholar in Japan.

Beth Reese, from Tuckahoe Elementary School, will come to a PTA meeting (date to be determined) to discuss the Discovery Garden program at that school. Ms. Reese has been invited to talk to our PTA about themed gardens as a possible science after-school program. Families are encouraged to go to Tuckahoe to see the rewards of this project.

Frank Wilson, School Board member, has been invited to the February PTA meeting.

Dr. Smith, Arlington Public School Superintendent, has been invited to a PTA meeting (date to be determined).

Thank yous were made to: Pam Gavin for gift wrap sales; Kathy Kiernan & Heather Wicke-Hurley for the teacher appreciation luncheon; Kendra Burlingame for organizing the reflections program and the volunteer forms; Laura Smith for PTA membership; Hilary Phillips for getting the PTA meeting sign made; Linda Kole for room parent coordination; Marianne Smith for
selling book sox every morning for the first month of school; Pam Gavin, Pam McClellan, Dena Patel, Tracy Biggs and Deborah Todd for dressing up like Vanna White to help with gift wrap sales; Clay Poole and Linda Aders for providing the plants for the school lobby.

Legislative Report
The following items were voted on and approved by the voting members of the
PTA -

--LAI #1 - The VA PTA/PTSA supports legislation requiring appropriate state funding to extend the school year beyond 180 days.

--LAI #2 - The VA PTA/PTSA supports legislation and/or regulations to require public notice and hearings before adoption of new or revised department of education provided teacher resource materials related to SOL assessments.

--LAI #3 - The VA PTA/PTSA supports legislation to require that the Commonwealth (State) Board of Education be an elected body, 1 member per 8 superintendent¹s regions and 1 member at-large.

--Juvenile Protection #6 - The VA PTA/PTSA supports the discretion and authority of local school boards to discipline students in violation of their Code of Student Conduct regarding the possession of prescription or non-prescription drugs on school property.

--Education #6 - The Virginia PTA supports testing programs that provide diagnostic as well as assessment data. Test scores provide information in determining achievement levels, but should not be the only, or primary, factor determining course placement, promotion, retention, graduation, or school accreditation.

For an explanation of the above items please contact Myra Probasco.

Committee Chair Reports
Pam Gavin - Gift Wrap Update - $4,400 of wrapping paper has been ordered, the school will get $2,200

Marian Klymkowsky - Community Service - asking students to take a pledge against hand-gun violence; school supplies to be donated; homeless walk with the other schools in our team (Jamestown, Key & Science Focus) on Nov. 4, winter clothes will be collected and given to S. Arlington schools OR given to Key School to show support of one of the team schools

Laura Anastos - Foreign Language - the program has low numbers but it will continue

Helena Peterson - Picture Day is Oct. 24th, volunteers are needed

School Store - Genie Applegate - doing well, adult volunteers needed from 8:30-8:50am

Junior Great Books - Hilary Phillips - only 3 new people have volunteered to participate in the training program this year

Teachers' Report
Karen Mahalik thanked everyone for providing lunch for the teachers and for the additional computers. Kindergarten just finished a unit on the Olympics; 1st grade has 105 students - please remember the Thanksgiving Feast on Nov. 20; 2nd grade is studying science, civics and voting and will also participate in the Thanksgiving Feast on Nov. 20; 3rd grade has a new mobile for their dance team; 4th grade has just completed SOL & DRP testing; 5th grade is participating in a conflict resolution/peer mediation program.

Principal's Report
The fourth grade completed SOL & DRP testing. Dr. Grinder & Mrs. DiTrani are the testing coordinators. The 5th grade take the SOL writing assessment test this winter. In May the 4th & 5th grade will take the social studies SOLs.

Due to the increase in kindergarten enrollment the school been able to hire another kindergarten teacher for a fourth kindergarten class. Mr. Hindman will meet with the staff on Oct. 4 about this development

An announcement was made in Richmond that Rod Baer is the Area 4 Teacher of the Year. An announcement will be made soon about who is to be the State Teacher of the Year.

The issue of playground access has been brought to Mr. Hindman's attention. As a result, improved access is being made to create a ramp and pad for wheelchair access to the kindergarten and 4th/5th grade playgrounds as well as the creation of a new path, ramp and pad for the big playground.

The Donaldson Run Civic Association has made a request to the county and the Ed Center to build a tot lot on the school grounds in the vicinity of the soccer and baseball fields.

A video was shown to inform the group about the high school start time issue. (Some discussion took place following the video presentation) Should there be a response from Taylor?

The meeting adjourned at 9:00pm.

For September 7, 2000

Presidents' Report
The meeting was called to order by Pam McClellan (PTA-Co-President).  Officers were introduced.   Ann Beckman, Corresponding Secretary, and Rob Hindman were attending the reception in honor of Rod Baer, Arlington Teacher of the Year.  Those present at the meeting introduced themselves.  Approximately 58 people attended the meeting.

June 2000 minutes approved.

Treasurer's Report
Mary Bevis, PTA Treasurer, reviewed the budget and highlighted the following items:

•

spring no-frills fundraiser will take the place of the silent auction;

•

building & grounds improvements to be made;

•

contingency fund to be used to purchase laptop computer for webmaster (Francisca Jorgensen), as well as other technology needs to complete the goals set by Mr. Hindman;

•

increase in teacher's discretionary fund;

• after-school enrichment program changes;

•

ice cream social to replace sock hop

Questions from the floor included: additional increase should be made for contingency in the event the teachers/school encounter a funding problem, change wording of contingency fund; new library books needed; should improvements be made to the 1st/2nd grade playground?

Motion raised to keep the primary contingency fund of $8,000 and to add a second contingency fund with $3,000 budgeted.  A vote was taken and the motion was denied.

Announcements

•

The school board liaison for Taylor school is Frank Wilson.

•

Francisca Jorgensen will be on leave for 3 weeks to participate as a Fulbright Scholar in Japan.

•

The County Council of PTAs will hold a meeting on minority achievement on October 16 at 7:30 pm, location to be Thomas Jefferson Middle School OR Washington-Lee High School.

•

A follow-up forum on risky adolescent behavior will be held on November 20 at 7:30 pm, location to be determined.

•

A community forum will take place in March on "structuring equality/tracking"

•

High school start times up for debate - forums taking place on September 23 & 27.  Should Taylor school present an opinion?

Thank yous made to:
Heather Wicke-Hurley (back to school breakfast), Carol Arnold (Kennedy Center coordinator), Linda Kole (calendar), Frances Kalkstein, Marylynn Haase & Helena Patterson (back to school packets), Nora Phillips (SOL banner), Laura Anastos & Genie Applegate (school supplies), Ruth Sandoval (Spanish translation), Frances Kalkstein & Jody Katz (back to school night), Mona Steffen (directory)

Taylor school website - http://www.members.tripod.com/taylorschool/taylorpta

The following PTA chairs are open:
Student elections - needs co-chair
Reflections - needs co-chair
Spring Fair - needs co-chair
No Frills Fundraiser - needs chair
After school enrichment - needs chair
Community Service - needs co-chair
Junior Great Books - needs co-chair

Taylor Tattler deadline is always due the day after the PTA meetings

Principal's Report
Mr. Hindman announced not only was Mr. Baer recognized as Arlington Teacher of the Year AND Region 4 Teacher of the Year his application will now go to the state level.  Mr. Hindman was very glad to see so many people in attendance at the meeting and encouraged everyone to participate in school activities.

Enrollment is at 538 students; 552 are on the rolls.

Stanford 9 and DRP testing for 4th grade will take place this year.

Taylor passed the SOLs and is now a fully accredited school.  Taylor is 58th out of 1,100 schools in Virginia.


The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:45 p.m.