PARMENTER TIMES

PARENT COMMUNICATION COUNCIL MEETING

Thursday, October 14, 2010, 7PM

The PCC Meeting was called to order by Co-Chair Sue Pauplis at 7:05PM in the Parmenter library with 14 people in attendance.

Principal's Report –  Wachusett street construction will be directly in front of the school during late October and November.  They plan to work on PPD days & Veteran's Day – weather permitting; Thanks to Tracey Trombert for organizing our annual "Gently Used Book Drive".  Wednesday, October 20^th will be shopping day for the teachers so that they can build their classroom libraries; Thanks, also, to the Fall Social committee for having a successful Hoedown; Bonus Lunches are back!  Mr. Morris has begun to have lunch with children who have earned a "bonus" for demonstrating the school's core beliefs (ex.: kindness to others, polite and respectful behavior, being a good friend, putting forth outstanding effort, etc.).  A bonus can be issued by any adult in the building.  He will be holding lunch in the conference room each Friday for various grade levels;  Please look for the Parmenter Weekly Update in your email. This update will help keep you informed on Parmenter events and activities; Liz Philips did 2 training sessions for kindergarten parent volunteers; On November 3^rd, we will be having an assembly titled "Power of One", which is on educating students on bullying and how to be an ally if they see it happening; The 3^rd Graders are planning their field trip to Plymouth Plantation; The reduced class sizes of the 3^rd & 5^th grade are going well; Each teacher will be given a common planning time, which will be 1 hour per week, to come together and look at student needs of their particular grade; In September an MCAS Data Analysis took place, which looked at math results and a plan was formulated to deal with student issues in math. English will also be reviewed to see what went well and to target areas of concern.

Treasurer's Report – Mandy Cost reported that our current bank balance is $28,688; We have received $340 in donations. We have earned $13 in interest. The Fall Social had a net gain of $660.93.

General Business:

Newcomer's Tea –  The PCC would like to thank Fran Saunders and her committee for putting this together.

Fall Social – The PCC would also like to thank Sue Moll, Donna McKay, Jane Leo, Kerri Jerrier and all the committee members and volunteers who made this such a successful event and especially for dealing with all the rescheduling issues due to rain!

BJ'S –  Forms went home. They are due back on October 18^th.

Target Rewards -  If you sign up for their new card, you will get 5% off all future purchases, as well as 1% going back to the school you designate.

Destination Imagination –  We presently have 20 children signed up for this. Every child in the school is eligible for this program. Sue Pauplis explained that all children would participate in the competition that is held on March 19^th. However only the 3^rd through high school levels would be scored. They are looking for some more parent coaches.

Stop & Shop –  This started on October 8^th. Please remember that you need to renew your card every year for participation. Also look for extra credit items in the store, which will be labeled with an A+.

Talent Show –  Date has been set for March 25^th, with March 23^rd for rehearsal.

Pumpkin Stroll –  Scheduled for October 28^th from 6:30PM – 8PM, Mary Jo Peterson said there are 66 pumpkins and 166 people signed up so far, with 5 staff pumpkins. Music will be strategically placed throughout the school. Miss Belisle will be doing the readings. Cut off date for registration is Friday, October 22^nd.

Campbell Soup Labels –  Campbell's Flyers went home last Friday. Michelle Foley mailed submission of 3714 labels to qualify for Fall Bonus. She said that if she does a write up about what our school bought last year and send it in to them, they will give us a couple hundred labels. Please keep sending them into school on sheets, in bags or envelopes.

5^th Grade Celebration -  The 3 committee chairs are meeting the week of October 17th. They will have their first committee meeting in November (date/time TBA) to start planning.

Yearbook –  Mary Jo Peterson said that they had their first meeting. It was decided that they would keep the same prices as last year. They currently have 4 open pages. They have also instituted a plan where teachers will have to proof their class pictures, as well as the collage page, so that no student will be left out.

Square 1 Art -  Order forms will be sent home around October 21st.  All orders must be submitted and returned by October 29th.

Cultural Committee –  "The Power of One" – an Anti-bullying assembly, will be performing for grades K-5 on November 3rd. The New England Percussion Ensemble will be performing for grades K-5 on November 29th.

Box Tops -  Keep up the great work submitting box tops. In September we collected $315 worth of tops. We have already collected another $100 in November. We also submitted $755 in Box Tops from the last several months of last school year. So we expect a check in December for approximately $1,165. The committee decided to calculate the winner of the year end pizza party by figuring out the average number of Box Tops per student submitted for the year. The class with the highest average will receive a pizza party. The September raffle winners of a $5 Target gift card were Luke Towle (K), Emily Tattrie (2) and Tessa Cacioppo. The top 3 classes to submit so far are Mrs. Myers (2), Mrs. Sabanosh (1) and Mrs. Sandford (3). Please keep them coming and be sure to sign up your email at www.boxtops4education.com to get reminders about the Bonus Box Top Offers each month.

Bottle/Can Drive –  Drive is set for Saturday 11/6/10 from 9 - 1 pm.  Rebecca will have the supply drop off at 8:00 am.  She will send out a notice the week of 10/25 and then a reminder the week of the drive. Anyone wishing to volunteer, please see her.

NEW BUSINESS:

School Committee –  Bill Glynn & Sue Rohrbach, PCC liaison, came to the meeting to introduce themselves.

Academic Support Club –  Head teacher, Tricia Capaldi, informed parents that in order to meet the needs of students that are struggling, there will be 3 sessions approximately 8 weeks long. The district has approved and set aside money for certified teachers to teach these programs before and after school. However, they are in need of support materials to make this a success. The materials for the 1^st session are $375. She would like to pilot these materials in the first session to see how it goes. If it's successful, there will be a need for more materials/money. The first session will be geared toward 4^th and 5^th graders, but after the hope is that it will include the 2^nd & 3^rd graders. The clubs will focus on two subject areas: Reading & Math. Reading will be from 7:45AM – 8:15AM and Math from 2:40PM – 3:10PM and they will both be held 3 days a week. Eligibility for the academic support clubs are based on district-wide assessments, MCAS data and teacher input. Content taught is based on the individual students' needs. The students with the most need would attend the 1^st session. By vote, there was unanimous approval to allot $499 for this program. The Homework Club on the budget changed its name to Academic Support Club.

Choral Risers –  The music teachers have brought to the PCC's attention the need for new choral risers. Mandy Costa spoke about how our current risers have no railings, are difficult to set up and take down, and that there are some major safety concerns with the ones we have – a student fell off of them last year. She has 2 proposals: Five 6 foot risers with side and back rails $6700; Could start with three 6 foot risers with side and back rails $4032 and add more in future years. This will be put to a vote at the next meeting.

Casino Night –  Will be held on Friday, November 19, 2010, 7PM-11PM at Franklin Elks. Presented by the Franklin Education Foundation. All proceeds benefit Franklin Public Schools in the form of special Project grants.

Fall Book Sale –  sponsored by the friends of the Franklin Library. Saturday, October 16^th 9AM – 4PM. Members Only Preview: Friday, October 15^th 4PM – 8PM. At the Franklin DPW Garage, Off Hayward Street.

Adjournment –  Sue Pauplis adjourned the meeting at 8:15PM.

Next PCC Meeting:  Our next PCC Meeting is scheduled for Friday, November 19 @ 9:30AM***

*** PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE***

 

Minutes Submitted By

Sharon Miller, Secretary