Ridgewood Avenue Home and School Association

Unapproved September Meeting Minutes September 12, 2008

Officers Present: Tania Liddy, President; Tracey St Auburn, 1^st Vice President; Shari Dreier, 2^nd Vice President; Marge Kallies, Treasurer; Jennifer Schmitt, Secretary

Tania Liddy called the meeting to order at 8:45 AM.

Principals Report - Mr. Phillips reported on the following events:

- Back to School has gone smoothly for all.

- The Library held their Meet and Greet for volunteers recently to kick off the year.

- School Supplies Fundraiser also went very well. Thank you Karen McGinn

- The updated Social Studies curriculum is ready for use this year.

- They will be rewriting the Science curriculum during the current school year.

- NJ ASK test results were delayed for 5-8 grades due to the state changing the guidelines after the test was administered. They raised the standards (you must have at least 50% correct to be considered proficient). The test will be given in May 2009 and will result in the scores getting to the district in late Aug/early Sept again next year.

- Thank you to the RAHSA for the gift of the die-cut machine. The teachers have been enjoying it already!

Teachers Report - Ms Torella reported:

- The beginning of the school year has gone very well for all so far.

Board of Education – Betsy Ginsburg reported:

- Over the summer the BOE formulated its goals for the year including the areas of curriculum, facilities, and staff recruitment.

- The Summer BOE Retreat focused on demographic changes and class size issues.

- The BOE commissioned a demographic study to forecast the population growth over next 3-5 years.

- The Architect of Record is looking at space utilization within the district.

- The Superintendent Search is ongoing. They have approx. 35 resumes. They hired Leadership Advantage consultants to aid in the search, they hope to begin interviews by 10/01/08 and have a new Superintendent in place by 1/1/09. Ken Rota is the interim Superintendent.

- There will be a Focus Group regarding the Superintendent search on to the public on 9/17/08 at 7 PM at RAS.

- There is an open position on the BOE. The position will be filled by appointment. The position will be up for election in April. Any interested partied can send a resume and cover letter to Betsy Ginsburg by 9/15/08.

Treasurer’s Report- - Marge Kallies reported:

- New procedures need to be put in place due to the yearly audits the RAHSA. The appropriate committee chairperson must sign a check request form and have a receipt or invoice attached before it can be paid. All forms are available in the main office.

- Bank charges totaled $474, some of which was due to bounced checks. It was discussed and agreed that any one bouncing a check must pay any charges incurred by the RAHSA. A disclaimer will be added to any RAHSA flyers.

- School Supplies fundraiser profits were down from $1400 last year to $600 this year.

- The Holiday Store has started purchasing items and has spent $4857 so far.

- Ice Pop Fridays made $185 so far and Logo Magnets have made $200.

GRASE – Jill Simmons reported that:

- GRASE is an organization to support parents of children with disabilities and other issues.

- They sponsor teacher and parent workshops on a variety of topics that are open to all parents, as well as yearly scholarships to graduating seniors.

MAC – Kathy Wiesenberger reported on:

- MAC has a new website that will be up and running soon: GRMAC.org. where you will be able to see the schedule of events and register online.

SCRIP – Kathy Wiesenberger reported:

- She and Christine Bagin are now running SCRIP. They are looking for volunteers and ideas. They can use help in all areas from picking up gift cards to distributing them. Please contact her if you can help.

Book Fair – Kathy Wiesenberger reported:

- Barnes and Noble is able to have another RAHSA shopping day in December. The event last spring made $800. It was decided that this event would be held after the Forest and Linden Book Fairs are held.

President’s Report – Tania Liddy reported:

- She has been looking in to alternative fundraising ideas (grants, etc…) and is looking for ideas and help with possible grant writing, advice, etc…

- She mentioned selling RAHSA Logo wear through a website- CafePress.com. It is no cost to us and we can set our own profit margins. Tracey St Auburn will continue to work on this.

- Upcoming events include: Parent Social at Fitzgerald’s on 9/25/08. It will be a cash bar and have appetizer specials.

- The bulletin board in the front hall needs help! If you have any photos or information please pass on to Publicity (Meghan Guilianeli or Debbie Looney).

- Class parents have been chosen by Katy Marhan and Kathy Salvatelli. They also have a volunteer database if any Committee Chairs need them.

- Thanks you to Karen McGinn and all the volunteers that helped distribute the School Supplies.

- Thank you to the Ice Pop ladies for a successful first Ice Pop Friday.

- Shari Dreier made a motion to set aside $375 to pay for the yearly audit for RAHSA. Patty Topping seconded and all were in favor.

- Tracey ST Auburn made a motion to set aside $800 for Birthday Pizza lunches with Mr. Phillips. Jennifer Schmitt seconded and all were in favor.

Directory – Shari Dreier reported:

- W lost our printing company. If anyone has any ideas on low cost printing please contact her.