Parents Association Meeting Minutes

January 10, 2008

Cathy Fox called the meeting to order at 8:30am and wished everyone a Happy New Year. Vice-President, Stacey Wilson reported she continues to send out e-mails to all who want to know when the meetings are.

Meeting minutes from November were approved and treasurer handed out her report.
Dr. Tull spoke about the upcoming Professional Day, and although the students have the day off our teachers will be working with an educational consultant, Michelle Gaul, who has worked with teachers in independent schools throughout the country.

Dr. Tull also spoke about the upcoming exams for the high school. The school is working on trying to change the exam week schedule next year for middle school students, who have exams and yet have the afternoons off also. The School is trying to design an exam day schedule that will best serve the interests of the students.

Mr. O’Hare congratulated all the parent volunteers who have worked the concession stand during basketball games. Everyone loves it!

Dr. Spurlock spoke of the Middle School Art Show to be held this Friday as well as providing an invitation to all parents of students in grades 4-12 to attend a presentation by:
Dr. Peter Zerhusen
“Enjoying Your Adolescent: How To Let Go of Your 10-18 year olds”.
Monday, February 11, 2008 Time: 1:30pm Place: Library Lecture Room

Cathy Fox asked all of the current committee chairs who do not plan to serve next year to start finding someone to “shadow” them for a replacement for next year. We will need to have all new chairs in place by the May meeting.
Cathy also reported there are still several parents who continue to be late with lunch orders and money. This is quite a big job to do, and having it done in a timely manner is of extreme importance. A discussion was followed about this and a $25 late fee will be implemented for next year. Also, a $25 fee will be billed for any returned checks.
Cathy also reported that an error was discovered (after the fact) on the first semester lunch schedule. On Dec. 18th the Parents Association mistakenly did not charge those students who had Em-mings for lunch. Therefore, the PA paid for this lunch day, but a note has been placed in the Friday mail urging parents to pay for this meal.

Cultural Committee: Mary Ellen Rosenblit reported the excitement is mounting for the upcoming musical production donated by parent Harold Schmidt! Save January 18th and 19th for this wonderful event! Mary Ellen reported she still needs volunteers to sell tickets, t-shirts, etc…. Please call her if you can help with one night or both.

Upper School will be attending their field trip to “My Fair Lady” at the Kennedy Center next week, January 16th and Lower and Middle Schools will be provided their special cultural events at the school on Feb. 7th and March 3rd.

Fundraising: Kathy Marshall reported several ideas are being worked on and implemented. We will be having a dinner at The Georgia House Buffet Restaurant in Millsboro, Delaware. Date will be forthcoming.

A discussion followed on school “stickers” and magnets, and Kathy will be following up on this. This also led to the subject of school spirit and how the PA can continue to improve on it and encourage the Lower School students to become more involved in attending sporting events, etc.

Kudos to our cheerleaders who are having a clinic Saturday to teach lower school girls how to cheer at the games!

Finally, some parents who attended were surprised to learn of all the PA does. The idea for a list of what PA donates and gets done was suggested and will be done upon the completion of the fiscal budget.

Cathy thanked all those for coming and participating and reminded everyone to check the school calendar web site as there are many events going on from now until the end of the school year.
Meeting adjourned 9:30 am
Next Parents Association meeting is February 14th at 8:30am in the Library Lecture Room on the second floor. Everyone is welcome!

November 8, 2007

Cathy Fox called the meeting to order at 8:30 am, secretary’s minutes from last meeting were accepted. Treasurer’s report was given and handed out. Jamie Albright thanked the Parents' Association and all the WPS teachers and families for their kind support and generosity towards hers and Rina Thaler's recent auto accident.

Cathy Fox, once again reminded everyone if they would like to be on the agenda for the monthly meeting, Cathy needs to be advised at least one day in advance.

Dr. Tull gave an update on the new classroom addition. Basically, the addition is complete and up and working and a dedication will be planned in the future. Dr. Tull also informed us of the recent illness of Jan Calloway’s husband and how Jan will be on leave for a while. Our thoughts and prayers all go out to Jan and her husband.

Matt O’Hare announced the basketball season has begun. And we have cheerleaders and dancers all participating. The recent sports award assembly went smoothly and was a very emotional evening.

Cathy Fox spoke of the lunch program and reported her committee made a decision that will increase the cost of Em-mings lunch next semester by 15 cents. The students want more mac and cheese and in order to do that, we will need to order an extra tray. Hence the increase. Storage for lunch supplies will be provided by a new cabinet in the store room, which will serve the purpose at this time. The outdoor sign is reported to be “running out of letters” and the company no longer makes replacements. We have enough to get through the year, but Brit Fox is looking into a new sign board and/or letters for future use.

Tom Bissele spoke of a White House Ornament Fundraiser for the PA to have. Discussion followed and the main concern is we wouldn’t be able to sell this until after the Christmas Bazaar. This is a great item and would make a great fundraiser, more info and planning needs to be done.
Other fundraising ideas discussed were a “Family Bull Roast” in the spring and a dinner fundraiser at the Georgia House in Millsboro. Info has been given to Kathy Marshall to follow up immediately with, as dates are becoming limited.

Lastly, WPS parent writer and actor Harold Schmidt spoke about his upcoming musical. He is donating proceeds to WPS. The musical is scheduled for Jan. 18th and 19th. MaryEllen Rosenblit will work with Kathy Marshall and any other WPS parent who would like to help on coordinating ticket sales, publicity, and intermission snacks. Anyone interested in helping with this event should contact Kathy Marshall or MaryEllen Rosenblit.

In closing, Dr. Tull spoke of some vandalism that took place at the school last week, and in case your children have heard anything, it has been taken care of and arrests have been made.
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.

The meeting adjourned at 9:20am
Next Parents Meeting is January 10, 2008

OCTOBER 11, 2007

Cathy Fox welcomed everyone and began by announcing the Parents Association Steering Committee would like to create a budget, something they never had. She also would like the treasurer's report to be in a new format that shows what each committee chair has spent and made and had donated for their events.

Cathy also stated that she would like to keep the regular meetings moving and if a chairperson of a committee would like to speak in regards to their committee, they should call Cathy and let her know so she can put it on the monthly agenda.

Vice President Stacey Wilson requested anyone who is not on the school e-mail should give her their email addresses. It was agreed everyone loves receiving Friday Email.

Secretary, Jamie Albright reported minutes from these meetings will now be posted on the school website and will no longer be passed out at the meetings.

Treasurer Marty Hall handed out the treasurer's report and mentioned most of the money in the account will be used to pay for school lunches.

Dr. Tull thanked all the parent volunteers for making a smooth start to the school year. He also reported he is disappointed on the return percentage of the “Safe Home Pledge” for all middle and upper school parents. This pledge will be on the Friday email for parents who haven’t turned it in.

Mrs. Decker reported permission slips for the upper school field trip in January have gone out and a response is needed asap. Permission slips are on the web site also. There was discussion about the cost of the buses, and Cathy Fox reported she would like that figure once again for the new budget.

Mr. O’Hare spoke about the WPS web site and the calendar. He asked every parent to use it and if you see any discrepancies, please let him know. The calendar contains all important happenings at school.

Cathy thanked Chris Butler for the great job on the directory. Chris asked if anyone saw any errors in the directory to contact her with the correct changes and she will send it out through email.

Fundraising: Kathy Marshall reported she is looking for new ideas and the magazine sales will be dropped this year. Some new ideas, a restaurant card, Bingo and a dinner party at a restaurant.
Cultural Events: Maryellen Rosenblit reported the upper school will be going to the Kennedy Center on Jan. 16th to see My Fair Lady and the middle school plans are still being finalized.

Maryellen also reported a WPS parent will be bringing a professional cast of actors/actresses to put on a play. All proceeds will be donated to the Parents’ Association. Our only responsibility will be selling tickets and promoting it. (This is very exciting)

Field Day Committee: Michelle Fager reported the expenses for last year's event were approximately $1200. PA gave them $800 and $400 was donated. Cathy Fox reported she would like every committee chair to fill out a form claiming their expenses, donations, etc. She also suggested the PA fund this event completely for the lower school as they fund the after-prom party. Cathy suggested we budget $2000 for Field Day and reimburse $400 to those who donated last year. A motion to that effect was seconded and passed.

Lunches: Lunch program is going well. Storage of supplies continues to be a problem. Kathy Marshall and Mimi Langeler will look into costs and options for storage. Also it was asked if some of the volunteers each lunch day, could be at school by 10:30 am to re-stock the cabinets and set-up for the first lunch.

Cathy Fox thanked everyone for coming and meeting was adjourned at 9:15 am. The next Parents Association meeting will be Thursday, November 8th at 8:30 am in the Lecture Room of the Guerrieri Library. All are welcome to attend.

Minutes Sept. 13, 2007

Meeting was called to order at 8:30am by Parents Assoc. President, Cathy Fox.
Dr. Tull welcomed everyone and thanked everyone who helps make our kid’s education a better experience.

Mrs. Bunting also welcomed everyone and thanked all the homeroom parents who coordinate class events throughout the year. Dr. Spurlock welcomed middle school parents and invited them to the middle school tea on October 16th. Mrs. Decker greeted everyone and encouraged high school parents to approach her with any concerns they may have. Mr. O’Hare looks forward to a great school year.

Dawne Pappas gave a brief overview for all homeroom parents and class coordinators.
She encouraged all class representatives to welcome all new families to WPS and encourage all parents to get involved. Most important advice: to have fun and get to know the other parents!
E-mail Communications: anyone who wants to be added to the parents association e-mail list should email Stacey Wilson at wilsonsta@comcast.net

New Fundraisers are being planned, details will be announced soon. We will not be doing the week-long magazine sale this year. However, renewals will be available throughout the year. Look for the link on the schools website. If anyone has a suggestion for new ideas please contact any of the parent’s assoc. executive board members.

Lunch Days: All our lunch chairs reported all is well. If you have a problem please call the individual lunch chairs (listed in the directory) or Cathy Fox. Most problems can e remedied.
Sunshine Committee: Michelle Fager will be sending cards on behalf of the Parents Association. Please e-mail her if you hear about a birth in a family, a surgery, an award, etc.. angelvisions4@aol.com
Uniforms: Please contact Debbie Dyer or Marie Kramer if you have any issues with our uniforms.
Cultural Events: Lower and Middle school plans are just about complete. Look for event dates on the school calendar website. Upper school event is being planned for January 18, 2008. The trip is being planned to see My Fair Lady at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
School Directory: Should be sent home around September 21st. Any problems, please call Chris Butler.
Special Thanks: To Maria Brittingham and Gretchen Richardson for hosting the New Parents Coffee and to Tammy Cebula and Kari Berger who volunteered to chair our teacher and staff luncheon.
We will try to provide information more info about fundraisers and committees, etc. to new parents on a timely basis.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:30am. The next meeting will be on Thursday, October 11th
At 8:30 am in the Library upstairs. We welcome everyone.

MEETING SCHEDULE

The Parents’ Association meets the 2nd Thursday of every month (except for December) at 8:30 a.m. in the Lecture Room of the library. Our meetings are open to ALL and we welcome your participation, ideas and energy! Please join us!!