THOMPSON PFA MINUTES
September 15, 2008
The meeting of the Thompson PFA was called to order at 9:30 a.m. Christy Weil, co-president welcomed all. The minutes from the May 19, 2008 meeting were approved.
Principal: Mr. Houston welcomed all. The 6th grade social was on Friday. Back to School night is on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The children will be writing out schedules for the parents to follow tomorrow in an extended homeroom. The welcome back dance is on Friday. Eleven new teachers were hired over the summer and a new Math teacher was just hired. The cafeteria was recently painted and the gym floor redone. The macadam in back by the basketball courts was extended. The NJ Ask test scores are being mailed with a letter explaining how the state revised the norms by which the 6th and 7th grade tests are scored. Mrs. Nagy is the new counselor for the 7th grade. She replaced Mrs. Mason who retired. Mrs. Nagy started as a teacher at Thompson and then was a counselor at High School South.
Assistant Principal: Mr. Baglivio welcomed all. He is responsible for scheduling, including the A/B scheduling. This was a contract year and it was painless. There is another coach for cross country and peer mediation.
President: Christy Weil - A list of all PFA meetings was in the packet that was mailed over the summer. Everyone should please send in their membership envelopes. We only have one fundraiser a year- Granny’s Attic on November 22. Please fill in and return volunteer forms. Many volunteers are needed. The board members were introduced.
Treasurer: Sue Candio – The budget for the year was reviewed. Teacher grants are going out earlier this year because we have money in the bank. A question arose as to whether we have money set aside for the fields, but since many organizations use our facilities this is a district issue and should be brought to the attention of the Board of Ed. Following a discussion on various line items, the budget was approved.
Corresponding Secretary: Eileen Mariniello was introduced as the new corresponding secretary. Anyone who wishes to be on the PFA mailing list should send an email to thompsonpfa@yahoo.com with their child’s name and grade. Thank you notes were received from retiring teachers and from a HS North student who received a scholarship from the PFA.
Vice President: Denise Caminiti – Letters are going out today to teachers with requests for grant items needed. A committee will meet in late October to review and approve the grant requests.
New Business - Christy Weil stated that there are several chair positions available: Great race, PFA Gazette newsletter, Granny’s attic and 2 subcommittees – publicity and computers. Anyone interested should come forward.
Board of Education: Laura Agin - The fields are on a schedule to be refurbished every 5 years. The Board works with Parks & Rec. Regarding the test scores, Laura encouraged everyone to read the letter carefully. It was a new test last year and it is very difficult to compare results to the previous year, especially since the bar was raised on the scores.
PIC – Stephanie Cartier – There is a new agreement with law enforcement where they can come in and interrogate a student without a parent present. This is not true if they are the target of the interrogation.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:53 a.m. The next meeting will be October 27 at 9:15 a.m.