Charles E Teach Booster Board meeting

December 6, 2013

Charles E Teach Elementary School – Room 27

 Board Members

Randi Barros –Co- Vice President

Dan Block – Principal/Teach School Rep
Mignon Jones – Treasurer
Vanessa Rizzo – Board member at large/4^th Grade rep
Morgan Robertson – Board member at large/6^th Grade rep
Lori Shields – Secretary
Helen Sipsas – President
Kimberly Wormley – Co-Vice President

Other Guests In Attendance

Idonna Cabrinha
Taffy Gonzalez
Brian Olson
Kurt Rightmyer
CeRae Speidel

Call to Order - 8:40 am

        I.          Welcome & Introductions

      II.          Review & Approval of Minutes – Minutes from the 11/8/13 meeting was reviewed.  Helen clarified that the Math progression for students will consist of one of two 7th grade math classes – a regular, or an accelerated one.  Algebra will start no sooner than 8th grade.  A motion to approve the minutes reviewed was made, seconded and carried.

    III.          Finance Update – Mignon informed the group that she spoke to the bookkeeper too late, so there was not a report available for the most recent month ending.  She did note that the boosters recently paid some large invoices, so those numbers will be in the next report and give a more accurate description of where we are at.

Helen noted that pledges have been reviewed.  4th & 5th grade families have been fairly good with following through with their pledges, but reminders will be going out shortly for those that have not followed through yet.  Charge card capability will be in effect soon.  Helen's goal is to review missing pledges this month and reach out to people to that have not paid yet.  Ms. Bailey has asked for the Boosters to reinstate funding for the Hearst Castle 6th grade trip.  Since we don't have a current financial statement, Helen would like to wait to decide on support of the Hearst Castle trip.

    IV.          Battle of the Books (BB) - Kimberly Charles has been working on accumulating a new set of books for the classroom.  The budget was approved for $500 of new books.  Mr. Block approved use of some school funds to help purchase additional copies.

Taffy recommended Anika Clements as a reference for labeling and protecting the books that we eventually get.  Packing tape was used previously to cover books, and labels were placed on the books to make sure people knew they were supposed to be property of the Boosters.  Brian Olson noted that he purchased a full set of books during the summer, and will connect with Kimberly to see if there is a cheaper option for purchasing.

      V.          Principal's Report – Dan Block reports that the Big Brothers Big Sisters event is tomorrow, and some plans are being revised due to impending rain.  He also discussed the move of Teach to the former Pacheco campus.  A lot of effort is being put into planning for the move.  He will be going to the site soon to determine the primary needs for the campus to get it ready.  He hopes to have something to show at the next Booster meeting to talk about needs, and solicit ideas for what we can do with the space to maximize uses.  The MPR will be a bargaining chip to trade for space needs with the SLO Classical Academy.  At the same board mtg that Teach was approved for moving to the former Pacheco campus, Wi-Fi was also approved for all SLO Coastal elementary schools.  We don't have a computer lab, but will have computers on carts? Staffing is fairly stable, and there is no expectation for new needs for next year. Extended staff - PE, Music, etc, will need to be figured out. There will be open enrollment for 5th & 6th graders, as well as for 4^th grade.  Mr. Block is looking forward to planning the "classroom of the future" of sorts for the new Teach campus.  He will be visiting LOMS to see what they did and learn from that to plan for next year.  Morgan suggested a 6th grade project be a mural or something similar that they can leave for their fellow schoolmates at the new school.

    VI.         Teach Directory – Kimberly says that the most current version of the directory is complete, and has been given to Janet Crabb for proofreading.

  VII.         Grade Rep Updates – Helen reminded everyone that we still need to schedule the Genevieve fundraiser prizes - ice cream social, pizza party & Top 4 winner lunch.  Hopefully in January these things can be arranged.  Helen asked Mr. Block to find a date for lunch.

4^th grade - Vanessa commented that she has had to do very little so far, and is hoping to arrange another picnic/gathering in the next couple of months.

5^th grade - Kurt informed the group that Ms. Robson is missing a whole set of BB books.  He also said that their Innovation Exploration Initiative (IEI) project is a surfboard, and she will be submitting expenses for it shortly. It appears that some parents have been cancelling out on activity sign-ups, and she could use help following up with support.

6^th grade - Morgan commented that it was good that we were talking about scheduling the class parties, as there was concern that they weren’t going to happen.  As a side note to the Hearst castle discussion, she said that she and her husband know people in the State Parks system, and they may be able to get a discount for the school if the trip is approved. She noted that the kids are having fun with their IEI project, as well as the Geography Bee.  The school-wide Bee is scheduled for Jan 10^th.

VIII.          Events -
Electives - Idonna informed the group that she was helping out with getting the electives in place, as well as assisting with International Day.  She stated that help with those events is needed and would be appreciated.  There were a fair amount of names from people interested in teaching electives in winter, but she recommends lining up volunteers before the break, so teachers have time to get out classes to the students and plan for needs.  Eleven spaces are available for classes, and there are five commitments already for classes.  There is a need for someone on Jan 16^th, the first day of Electives, to volunteer to float between classes and get students to the right place, help with supplies, etc. This would be from approximately 12:45 - 1:15 pm.

6th Grade play - Dondi could not attend, but the plans for the play are moving forward.

Craft Fair – Randi announced that today is the 1^st Annual Craft Fair, and it is from 2:30 - 5:00 pm.  20 tables of crafts and baked goods will be filled.  The event was posted in the Tribune three times, and she is hoping for a good turnout.  Kimberly recommended we try to get sandwich boards for future events for advertising.  Randi could also use extra help this afternoon.

Dinner Auction – Taffy reminded everyone that the event will be on April 12^th at Cafe Roma.  The logistics are organized, and now we need donations.  Please talk to Taffy if you are willing to reach out to organizations for donations. There is a plan to make the classrooms decorate the horses for the Derby auction.

    IX.         Open Forum – Next meeting is on January 10^th.

      X.         Adjournment – 9:50 am

Teach has a new home

At last Tuesday's School Board meeting, the decision to move Teach to the Grand Avenue campus (known as Old Pacheco) was approved.  The move will be coordinated throughout the rest of this year and over the summer, so that Teach can be at that location for the 2014-15 school year.  Teach will be sharing the campus with SLO Classical Acadamy.

Important School Board Meeting Nov 19

Next Tuesday November 19th is the DECISION MEETING on Teach School. WE NEED EVERYONE at the School Board Meeting!

Dr. Prater will make recommendations that the board will vote on Nov 19th. Unfortunately we will not see his recommendations until sometime on Friday. It is likely that Teach will move but the big questions that need to be answered are:

1. Will the campus move to a location where it can thrive, such as the Accelerated Learning Committee's suggestions #1 Old Pacheco or #2 Lizzie campus; or will it move to the Coast where its future is uncertain due to demographics and LOMS starting middle school in grade 6?

2. Will we regain the classroom that we lost last year due to overcrowding? will grades 4-6 remain?

3. Will the board spend the resources needed to move Teach in light of budget constraints?

4. What will this move look like and will the arrangements be acceptable? i.e. will we keep our digilab, library books etc. Remember Teach has not overgrown its space or reached its capacity but Bishops Peak has ballooned both through natural growth as well as open enrollment where 20% of current students are from outside the neighborhood. WE DID NOT CREATE THIS PROBLEM!  We are willing to relocate to secure Teach's future but not at the expense of our children.

It is important to remember that the school board making the decisions on the 19th is composed of the same board members who with few exceptions were against Teach. If the Teach community had not come out in full force last year we currently would be in the middle of a phase out and not looking at the real possibility of having our own campus. We have come a long way, let's finish this - not only for the benefit of our own children but for our community!

Please join us on the 19th and bring along family members and friends who support Teach and/or accelerated learning. The meeting will start at 6:00 and will be held on the Coast most likely at Del Mar Elementary or Los Osos Middle School. I will send out a follow up email once we have confirmation. In addition I will post Dr. Prater's recommendations as soon as they become available on the Save Teach School Facebook page and will also send out an email blast.

Here are actions you can take before the 19th:

Write a letter of support to the school board - here is a link to their email addresses, consider writing a letter to the Tribune and other media outlets, contact your friends and encourage them to come to the meeting and set up childcare and carpools.

Thank you for your support,

Helen Sipsas
Teach Boosters President

Charles E Teach Booster Board meeting

November 8, 2013

Charles E Teach Elementary School – Room 27

Board Members

Randi Barros –Co- Vice President
Dan Block – Principal/Teach School Rep
Mignon Jones – Treasurer
Vanessa Rizzo – Board member at large/4^th Grade rep
Morgan Robertson – Board member at large/6^th Grade rep - absent
Lori Shields – Secretary
Helen Sipsas – President
Kimberly Wormley – Co-Vice President

Other Guests In Attendance

Jessica Carlberg
Kimberly Charles
Sunshine Cowgill
Alex Dekhtyar
Taffy Gonzalez
Denise Jenkins
Doris Kim
Janine Marion
Nicole Nicholson
Robyn O’Leary
Brian Olson
Alias Piette
Kurt Rightmyer
Joyce Romero
Carrie Stanton
Wendy Sue Sylvester
Altee Vigil

Call to Order - 8:35 am

        I.          Welcome & Introductions

      II.          Review & Approval of Minutes – Minutes from 9/5/13, 9/6/13 and 10/4/13 were reviewed.  A motion to approve all of the minutes reviewed was made, seconded and carried

    III.          Finance Update - Mignon informed the group that we are continuing to receive checks, and Class reps are following up with parents that need to continue with their pledges.

Helen reviewed the proposed budget for FY14 - The original “Proposed” budget was not accurate due to various reasons, but now that we are further into the year and have a better sense of the activities and needs for the year, it was appropriate to review and amend as necessary.  Helen, Kimberly and Lori met to review the numbers, and come up with a new proposed budget. Taffy noted that the CCG income line item needs to be removed from the proposed budget.  We no longer have a connection to the donor that allowed us to receive the income previously.  A motion to approve the budget for FY14 was made, seconded and carried.

    IV.          Battle of the Books - Kimberly Charles has been in contact with all of the teachers to find out what books they still need to add to their supply.  Jessica was not aware that in previous years we only purchased off of the short list.  She will need to take another look at the list to see how much the books needed from the short list will cost.  Parents could be asked to donate books, purchasing from used book stores, amazon, etc.

      V.        Principal's Report –  Mr Block discussed the Language Arts progression being an easy adaptation to the Common Core curriculum.  Writing is harder to put grades to.  The focus needs to be less about a graded assignment, and more about kids progressing from where they are at.  Report cards in the current format are 23 yrs old, and they need updating; there is a committee working on it.  Teachers are struggling to make old ways fit to the new way of teaching, including accurately reporting results.  He has been working on Parent Teacher conferences as well - Lucia Mar conferences are 1 mo before grades come out.  The parent conversations currently are more about grades, instead of an evolution of growth.  The goal is to have parents walk away feeling like they know where there kids are "going" in the school year with their learning.

    VI.        Grade Rep Updates -4th grade – Vanessa was not available, but members in the group reported there was a 4th grade social that was well attended.   5th grade - Kurt R had no report. 6th grade  - Morgan was not available

  VII.         Events -
Teacher Work day - BP approached Helen regarding providing lunch for the teachers for the work day on the 15th of this month.  Helen asked for help with bringing food.  Several people offered to assist.  A list was passed around.

Craft Fair – Randi announced the event is happening on Dec 6th - 2:30 pm - 5 pm.  This is a Kids' fair, in which the kids make crafts/foods and sell them for a 50% split fundraiser between the Teach Boosters and the individual.  The fair occurs in the MPR.  Randi is trying to partner with Bishop's Peak, and would like to advertise to the public.  It is recommended that a parent be at the table with the kids.

Dinner Auction – Taffy announced the date will be April 12th for Derby Days at Cafe Roma.  Taffy asked for help with putting on the event and obtaining auction items.  Discussion was held regarding whether or not we want to put the Tax ID letter on the website, so parents have easy access to give letters to people that they solicit donations from.

VIII.          Other items:
Task Force Recommendations - Helen discussed the recommendations that were presented at the School Board meeting.   The recommendation by the Task Force was made that Teach be moved, and several options for locations were presented.  Mr. Block said that he was in a meeting yesterday that talked about assessing the costs of a move - one time and recurring, janitors, white boards, etc.  Discussion was held among the group re: the benefits of various locations, how to get letters out for people to use in support of the recommendation, how to let people know about meeting, etc.  Redistricting has not been discussed.  May be a need for a new school site in the next 5 - 10 yrs due to new housing developments in process and proposed. Recommendation was made to have another meeting, to work on a formal letter on behalf of the Boosters/School to submit to the School Board.

Secondary Math Acceleration – Helen discussed the School Board’s plans for math progression going forward for all students.  A recommendation has been made to discontinue offering 7^th grade math in 6^th grade, and test incoming 7^th graders for placement in one of two Algebra classes, in order to accommodate further “in depth” learning in Algebra.  If approved, this plan will be implemented with next year’s 7^th graders. Algebra I will become a 9^th grade standard, instead of being available in 7^th or 8^th grade.  Testing will determine placement in one of the two tracks of math learning.  There is concern that due to a lack of implementation of several elements of the Math Common Core at other schools across the state, that our students here won’t be able to compete when they are trying to get accepted at colleges.   There is also concern that parents will have few options to contest the decision if they believe their child should be placed on the accelerated track for math instruction.

Open Forum – discussion was held re: possible library needs for next year if Teach is moved to its own campus.  Robyn suggested talking to Mrs. Beaton re: IMC books that may be available.

    IX.          Adjournment – 10:15am

Chili Cook-off Winners - 2013

Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 Teach Chili Cook-off!!

Best Vegetarian: Jacque Evers with "Cook's Vegetarian Chili"

Best Meat Chili: Mark Neville with "Chuck wagon Chili"

Smokin' Hot & Best Overall: Zack Williams with "Sweet Heat"

People's Choice: Don Ramirez with "Turbo Fire Turkey"

 

 

October 4, 2013 minutes

Charles E Teach Booster Board meeting

October 4, 2013

Charles E Teach Elementary School – Room 27

 Board Members

Randi Barros –Co- Vice President
Dan Block – Principal/Teach School Rep - absent
Mignon Jones – Treasurer
Vanessa Rizzo – Board member at large/4^th Grade rep
Morgan Robertson – Board member at large/6^th Grade rep - absent
Lori Shields – Secretary
Helen Sipsas – President
Kimberly Wormley – Co-Vice President

 Other Guests In Attendance

Taffy Gonzalez

Doris Kim

Kurt Rightmeyer

Altee Vigil

        I.            Call to Order - 8:35 am

     II.            Welcome & Introductions

    III.            Finance Update - Helen thanked Mignon for all of her work over the last few months with everything she has done to get the finances in order.  Helen discussed collections of pledges this year, and informed the group that much effort was put into getting 6th grade pledges collected before the trip to Catalina.  Efforts were rewarded with 90% of 6th grade families having given some kind of payment, many in full, for their pledges. In truth, total expenses for the year generally exceed the amount that we ask for in pledges from the families.  There are hidden costs that are easily forgotten, including substitute teachers for combo classes, AR testing, etc.

It is very important to get a handle on the total costs, so we know how much we need to raise every year.  Helen and Mignon presented a proposed budget for this FY, which had been generated toward the end of the last school year.  There have already been some "pickups" due to a closer look at the budget figures, but Helen believes the budget can be refined more.  Helen asked if people could get together to review the proposed budget and work out any questionable numbers, and come up with a solid budget to propose for the current year.  A date of Wednesday, Oct 9th, 6 pm, was agreed to.

In light of the effort expended thus far, Helen proposed to expand the current bookkeeping services.  She highlighted the effort that goes into maintaining the accounts, tracking payments, and generating financial statements.  The proposal is to pay an additional $50/mo for Kristin Paladin, our current bookkeeper, to take on all of the data entry for the record keeping within Quickbooks.  It was recommended that we should confirm how long of a commitment Kristin expects if we enlist her additional services.

Doris K recommended that the Chair persons of individual events bring complete, organized, tallied, packages of monies after the event to be presented to the Treasurer in order to make things easier on the Treasurer.  A motion was made to approve the expansion of the bookkeepers duties, at the additional expense per month.  MSC.  One opposed.

Scrip - Lori asked everyone to consider participating in Scrip, to increase donations to the Boosters.  She also discussed the possibility of tying more of the Scrip earnings to individual family pledges. Helen is against the idea because she feels the need is for more families to be participating in this as a straight donation, and she is concerned about adding any more record keeping to the already overloaded duties of the treasurer and bookkeeper.

    IV.            Principal's Report - There was no report due to the unavailability of the Principal.

      V.            Grade Rep Updates - 4th grade - Vanessa reported that there is a Cuesta park gathering for 4th grade families to meet and get to know each other on Sunday from 1- 2 pm.  Vanessa will promote the Boosters for parents to try to get them involved in events and activities.

5th grade - Kurt R had no report.

6th Grade - Vanessa reported for Morgan R – From the teachers - The sixth grade went on their study trip to Catalina Island Marine Institute this month. The kids had a fantastic time learning about marine ecology while snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, and studying in marine laboratories.

6^th Grade Rep activities this month –

a.    Wrote a letter to the sixth grade parents introducing myself as grade rep and inviting them to participate at upcoming Booster events & meetings. Also attached a copy of the Booster 2013/14 calendar of events, so parents had a reference for all key dates this year. The sixth grade teachers distributed it as a take-home handout. Morgan would be happy to share with other grade reps.

b.    Learned about Target Field Trip grants which can provide up to $700 for class field trips. So I contacted the teachers and offered to help them apply, since a grant would offset the cost of field trips. Applications were due October 1.  Mr. Crabb requested the application information so he could apply.  Mr. Crabb got a Target grant in 2011, but it was not on this radar this year.  Let's wish him luck!

    VI.          Genevieve/Mrs Fields - Helen reported that we had sales totaling $13,365.  This is $2k more over last year with 20% fewer students. The Rizzo family generously donated the 1st place prize of lunch at Cafe Roma with the Principal for the top winners from each grade.  Helen asked if the Rizzo's would be willing to add one more student to the lunch, as there was a very close tie for 3rd place.  1st place goes to Hannah Naccasha, 2nd place to Grace Nickerson and 3^rd place to Nina Rightmeyer and Mackenzie Fry.

  VII.          Pancake Breakfast – No update given due to time constraints.

VIII.          Chili Cook-off – Lori asked for help with set-up and clean-up, and asked everyone to attend.  Flyers will be given to teachers after the Booster meeting to be handed out to the kids before the weekend.

    IX.         Dinner Auction Committee - Taffy announced that she is very close to confirming a date for the auction; May 10^th is the tentative date.  It will be at Cafe Roma, and the Rizzo's agreed to stay with same budget costs from the event 2 years ago. Taffy intends to post a Google doc showing past donations for people to see in the hopes that others will find and seek out donations to help with the event.

      X.         Task Force Update – Helen informed the group that the Task Force has concluded their meetings. The group came up with recommendations that will now go to Dr. Prater. The recommendation is to support Teach now and into the future, and move it permanently, with the top recommendation being to move it to the Old Pacheco site on Grand Avenue. This is the favored location because of its proximity, and connections, to Cal Poly. Unfortunately, in early Spring, the District signed a 5 yr lease with the SLO Classical Academy for a large part of the space on this campus, so it would be an expensive option to buy out the lease.  It is possible that in the interim, the space could be shared with SLOCA, if the other tenants can be moved out. Recently an article in the Tribune reported that there were talks of selling the property to Cal Poly so that it could be converted to student housing.  The Lizzie campus is the second choice for Teach to move to, due to the facilities available on site.  Further recommendations of where the district offices could move to were made, and other choices for a Teach campus include Sunnyside, Morro Elementary, and the Pacific Beach Continuation school site.

    XI.          Open Forum – Discussion was held regarding how we can get more people to attend the Booster meetings.  Suggestions include “Robo calls” from school through School Messenger program, have signs posted at the school, send out reminders through eBlasts.

Discussion was held regarding making sure that the Boosters work hard to get Chairs of events to post their “best practice” notes and comments after events.  This helps incoming parents in future years once former parents move on out of Teach.  There used to be a binder that would get passed from Chairs/Board members to future Chairs/members, but the binders seem to have lost effectiveness.

Discussion was held on whether or not it would help to promote events as fundraiser for "xyz" activity, instead of just saying that our events are fundraisers to help pay for all enrichment activities.

  XII.            Adjournment – 10:00am

Charles E Teach Booster Board meeting

September 6, 2013

Charles E Teach Elementary School – Room 27

 

 Board Members

Randi Barros –Co- Vice President

Dan Block – Principal/Teach School Rep

Mignon Jones – Treasurer

Vanessa Rizzo – Board member at large/4^th Grade rep

Morgan Robertson – Board member at large/6^th Grade rep

Lori Shields – Secretary

Helen Sipsas – President

Kimberly Wormley – Co-Vice President

 Other Guests In Attendance

Kimberly Charles

Erin Clausen

Taffy Gonzalez

Doris Kim

Grace Kim

Nicole Nicholson

Brian Olson

Kurt Rightmyer

Joyce Romero

Jim Shemmer

Cinde Spense

Wendy Sylvester

 

        I.            Call to Order - 8:40 am

 
      II.            Welcome & Introductions

        III.       Finance Update - Mignon reviewed the FY 13 P & L.  Helen highlighted some of the major issues from last year including the uncertainty due to the School Board decision, there had been some cancellations of activities and trips, but she also noted that the Boosters still managed to end the year with a small profit.

 

        IV.     Open 5th Grade Booster Rep position - Helen announced that the position for 5th grade rep is still open.  That position will help with field trips, notifications, communications between the grade and the Boosters, etc.  Kurt Rightmeyer volunteered to be the 5th Grade rep.

      V.       Scrip – Lori reviewed the Scrip program.  She tried to explain on the value of the program, and gave an example of how the Boosters can earn money when people use Scrip, including being able to order ScripNow! through their accounts from their phone.  A new element this year is the ability of participants to recognize the rebates that the school earns off of their purchases as a tax deductible donation.

    VI.            Booster T-shirts - Helen presented the flyer for t-shirts and asked everyone to please turn in their orders soon to be sure to have shirts in time for the first Spirit Day of the school year.

  VII.            Jr Science Cafe - Morgan described a new program organized by Mavis Wong. These are going to be monthly lunchtime sessions to introduce various science fields - physics, biology, astronomy, etc. to the students. Cal Poly professionals & other professionals from the area will be making the presentations.  The Café may start as early as this month.  Mavis is asking for the Boosters to buy lunch for the presenters, through a $30 gift card to Subway.  A request to the Bishop's Peak PTA will also be made for an equivalent donation.  Days for presentations have not been set, but may be on Thursdays.  Lori S offered to purchase the gift card on behalf of the Boosters.

 

        VIII.   Principal's report – Principal Block welcomed everyone, new and returning families. He feels that we are off to a good start, and we already had 6th grade parents gather to prepare for the 6th grade trip to Catalina. He noted that there are concerns from neighbors on Highland already due to parents parking in the “No stop zone” on other side of street from the school, and parking patrols will be out giving tickets to those parked there when they are picking up their kids. He also discussed the District Task Force, and commented that they have spent a lot of time on defining what is accelerated learning.  They hope to be moving on to capacity issues soon, because that is important too.  Principal Block announced that Dondi Hubley has offered to direct the 6th grade play this year, which will be at a cost savings to the Boosters. It was announced that Kate Poeschle has also volunteered to help with that activity.

  

    IX.            Genevieve/Mrs. Fields fundraiser – Helen informed the group that Pia Laurie is the coordinator for this.  Pia needs 4 people on 9/16 to count money from all of the orders.  Profits raised by individual families can be tracked, and families can deduct those totals from their pledges if they would like to

      X.            Pancake Breakfast - Erin discussed the pancake breakfast which is being held on Sept 14th.  This has been moved to the Elks, from Applebees. The Elks' lodge has generously offered to waive their facilities fee, and they are also donating many of the food products.  Final ticket price is $5.  Vanessa and Erin will be going to the Elks to try to sell tickets the night before the breakfast, and the Elks' offered to do a 50/50 raffle and give the Boosters the profit.  We need to sell tickets, and need help at the event.  Erin asked someone with access to the Booster website to add a link to the sign-up sheet on the Booster website.  To-go boxes will also be offered to any in attendance. The Wormley family has offered to purchase all paper products for the event to help with the to-go option.  Grace Kim mentioned that the National Honor Society at HS may be able to help with needs for physical bodies to help put on the breakfast, since they have needs to meet community service requirements.

    XI.            Chili Cook-off - Lori briefly promoted the Chili Cookoff.  We are still not sure of the date yet, but it will either be October 4^th, or October 11^th.

  XII.            Dinner/Auction committee - Randi discussed the future event. It may be at Cafe Roma, but a date has not been set yet.  It will probably be  some time in Spring. Taffy G is working with Randi and they are coming up with ideas for a theme/activity.  Can always use help for getting donations, set-up, etc.

XIII.            Open forum - Cindy Spense, Our Sustainability Coordinator was introduced. She is working on getting the Green Team going again.  Green apple Day of Service.  The objective is to create healthier school environments, non-toxic water, cost savings, etc. Green week is Sept 23rd - 27th.  Each day has a different theme - walk/bike to school, zero waste, garden day, alternative energy day – will include the Build SMART trailer as an exhibit on campus. A $500 check from USGBC for all efforts in going green will be received on Friday. There is a sign-up sheet available for volunteering at events throughout the week.  Through efforts last year, were able to reduce trash by 25%, which eliminated one day of required trash service. Also was able to increase recycling by 200% by getting bigger recycle bins.

Wendy S – discussed the possibility of a Mixed bag/tote bag fundraiser – She informed the group that $3000 was earned last year at Bishop's Peak for this fundraiser, and it was well received.  There was not a strong push or hard sell needed to earn that much, and she is willing to help organize if it was decided to do it at Teach.  Taffy G recommended doing it during the Book Fair.

Helen noted we still need a chair for the Scholastic Book fair this Spring.  Mr. Block asked that we limit the trinkets on sale at the Book Fair. Nicole Nicholson volunteered to Chair the Battle of the Books.

XIV     Adjourn - 9:40 am

Teach Booster Board Minutes - September 5, 2013

Charles E Teach Booster Board meeting

September 5, 2013

Via Conference call

Board Members

Randi Barros –Co- Vice President
Dan Block – Principal/Teach School Rep (Absent)
Mignon Jones – Treasurer
Vanessa Rizzo – Board member at large/4th Grade rep
Morgan Robertson – Board member at large/6th Grade rep
Lori Shields – Secretary
 Helen Sipsas – President 

Other Guests In Attendance:
Kimberly Wormley

        I.      Call to order: 8:02 pm

      II.      The Board reviewed the minutes of the 5-2-13, 5-31-13 and 8-14-13 Booster Board meetings.  A motion to approve the minutes as presented was made, seconded and carried.

    III.      The Board reviewed the minutes of the 6-26-13 Booster Board-elect meeting.  A motion to accept the minutes as presented was made, seconded and carried.

    IV.     Board Member nominations – A nomination to elect Kimberly Wormley as a Co-VP with Randi Barros was made by Helen Sipsas.  A motion to approve the nomination was made, seconded, and carried.

Adjourned: 8:12 pm