THOMPSON PFA MINUTES

November 17, 2008

The meeting of the Thompson PFA was called to order at 9:25 a.m.  Christy Weil, co-president welcomed all.  The minutes from the October 27, 2008 meeting were approved.  Granny’s Attic is this coming Saturday.

 Treasurer:  Sue Candio – We have approximately $39,400 in our account, $26,250 of which is from granny’s attic table deposits which cannot be spent until after the event.

Corresponding Secretary:  Eileen Mariniello – A thank you was received from the Himmelberg family for a donation that was made to the education fund.   

 Principal:  Mr. Houston – The PFA Gazette is available online.  Hard copies are also available.  The Gazette comes out 4 or 5 times a year.  Last Thursday was national mix it up day.  The students were encouraged to engage someone different in a lunchtime conversation.  They were seated according to birthdays and participated in an activity where they had to talk about their name.  We are in the midst of the Thanksgiving food drive.  The food is donated to Middletown Helps Its Own where food baskets are made for local families.  The food will be picked up on Friday.  There is early dismissal the day before Thanksgiving.  There is an inclement weather policy in the district.  A decision is made by 5:30 a.m.  Information is posted on the district website as well as Fox news.  In the event of early dismissal all students are able to make a phone call if necessary.  For delayed openings, school is delayed 90 minutes.  The Middletown police discussed the dangers of the internet with the 6^th graders.  The 8^th graders participated in small session discussions on alcohol abuse and poisoning.  Granny’s Attic is a tradition and all should attend.  The cross country team had 2 head coaches and 2 assistant coaches.  Winter sports will begin soon.  The soccer field is on the agenda of the facilities committee.

Assistant Principal:  Mr. Baglivio.  There will be a Veteran’s Day activity for the 6^th and 7^th grades.  The 8^th grade will have diversity day.

Vice President:  Denise Caminiti – We received $17,000 in teacher requests and just under $10,000 was approved with the help of Mr. Gentry.

President:  Dana Johnson.  We will be doing the taping for Granny’s on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.  All baked goods should be dropped off in the main office on Friday.  For next year we still need sub-committee chairs for parking.  The safe homes book went out last week.  There was a lower turnout than last year.  We need a chairperson for this committee for next year.

Board of Ed:  Dawn Diorio.   There were three public workshops last week on the preschool expansion program which is state mandated for economically disadvantaged children ages 3 & 4.  We are leasing space in Hazlet in cooperation with the YMCA.  There will be 9 preschool classrooms.  Registration will begin in January.  There will be 15 students per class.  There will not be busing for tuition based students.  We will hopefully have full day kindergarten by September 2010.  The state will not fund full day K.  We are looking into computer labs and multi-age rooms for space.  The Leads model is available on the website.  The regular board meeting was moved to Monday, November 24 at 7:30, High School North.

PIC – Stephanie Cartier – There was no meeting this month.  There is a Voices meeting tonight at 6:00 at King of Kings Church.  The speaker will discuss advanced advocacy strategies.      

The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 a.m.  There is no meeting in December.