BHS PTSO Meeting Minutes

BHS PTSO Minutes

Meeting Date: January 21, 2020

In Attendance: Kathy Carnevale, Tracey Armstrong, Barbara Fecteau, Paula Colahan, Rae Abell, Amy Norton, Kayla Johnston, Catherine Barrett, Alex Martell, Olivia Arenburg.

Minutes: Minutes from November 19, 2019 were presented. Alex Martell made a motion to approve the minutes; Paula Colahan seconded the motion. Voted 10-0 and approved unanimously.

Principal’s Report: Midterm exams are next week. The schedule has been posted in the Daily Bulletin. Grades close for 2nd quarter on January 31st. Report cards will be issued on Feb. 7th. Parent/Teacher conference night will be held on February 13 from 6-8 pm in the BHS Field House.

President’s Report: BHS Career Day is approaching on Friday, Feb. 14. Two sponsors have been secured for the event: Endicott Collge ($750) and Beverly Crossing ($750). Catherine has prepared the documentation to apply to the Whole Foods Foundation for support for an event, program or item later in the school year or for next Fall. The BHS PTSO Spirit of Volunteerism Scholarships will be offered to four graduating seniors who are attending college. The amount is $250/scholarship and they will be presented at the BHS Scholarship Night on June 3, 2020 at BHS. The three fundraisers in the Fall (lawn signs, Direct Donation Drive and Panther Pride Community Social) raised a significant amount of revenue. The PTSO will carry over a minimum of $10,000 and will discuss how to allocate these funds to support BHS students.

Vice-President Report: We had a successful Panther Pride Community Social event at the Cabot Theatre in November 2019. There was a band, comedian, BHS Jazz Band, food and a silent auction. Tickets generated a decent amount of revenue; over 125 tickets were sold. Communications via Connect Ed messaging and the BHS Daily Bulletin need improvement to aid in increasing attendance at the event and securing donations for next Fall. The Direct Donation Drive was organized using both PayPal and Go Fund Me. We should consider using Venmo or Dip Jar as payment options as well. Tracey will book the Cabot Theatre for mid November 2020 for the event; Catherine will schedule the planning meeting for June 2020 to get an advanced start on preparing.

Treasurer’s Report: $33,420 is checkbook balance. We have $5,600 to spend in Targeted Funds. $7,600 remains to spend on Wish List requests that have been approved. We have additional funds to spend due to the success of the Fall fundraisers. Tracey mentioned the BHS Band needs instruments replaced that are quite costly. She made a motion that we use $5,000 to support the purchase of new instruments for the BHS Band. This funding is to be spent during this school year. Adam Costa will be notified and communications will be sent to BMPAA parents and supporters. Paula pointed out there are six music groups at BHS, so funding would support a large number of students. Paula Colahan seconded the motion. Passes 10-0. A New England Biolabs check was received $1,497; Kathy has deposited. A form needs to be completed and returned to NE Biolabs; Catherine will drop off to Ann.

Wish List Requests Update: Two revised requests were received and approved. Ben Goodhue has located a free vaping curriculum in place of the one that we had awarded him the money to purchase and he would like to purchase a different curriculum with the funds. Lisa Wolf had been awarded $400 to purchase a ballistic cart and then she located a simpler but equally instructive ballistic carts for $65 each, so she ordered 6- a classroom set for a total of $390 plus shipping. Both altered requests approved 10-0. Barb will remind faculty & staff to spend and request their funds in a timely fashion.

Hospitality: No events since the last meeting. We spent more than the budget. The BPS Food Services Program is charging more this year. We will look at less expensive options. 8th grade curriculum night is coming up in February as well as a few other events later in the Spring.

Stop & Shop A+ Rewards Program: 222 people registered at beginning of the school year; 233 people at this point; $849 dollars raised to date! Amy anticipates exceeding the $1,200. Check will be cut in June 2020. This program was promoted via Daily Bulletin & BHS PTSO Facebook in September to have people register their cards and support BHS.

Textile Recycle Bins: $1,000 raised to date. Catherine will send out a reminder in Jan., March & June to encourage BHS families to donate their textiles to the textile recycling bins. Funds are generated monthly.

City-Wide PTO: Anna Green from the Beverly Education Foundation (BEF) was the featured speaker at this months meeting. The Annual Beverly Education Foundation Honor A Teacher program donations can be given for individual faculty & staff members as well as teams. Todd Rotondo, Citywide President, shared the Ayers school volunteer handbook with the group.

School Committee Report: New School Committee term has begin with two new members Kim Coehlo and Kaarin Robinson, both parents of Beverly Public Schools students. Rae Abell is the new President, John Mullady is the Vice President, Kelly Ferretti is the Secretary. Lorinda Visnick is Chairperson of the Finance and Facilities Committee. Rae Abell is the Chairperson of Negotiations. First meeting was Jan. 15, 2020. The new school calendar for 2020-2021 is available on the district web site. Chapter 70 funding was increased this year by $320,000; this supplemental funding will for a new high school outreach counselor at BHS, vaping detectors, larger class sizes, and other items. Principals have asked for additional building budget funding for the elementary schools due to the loss of 5th graders and reduced budgets. There is a high number of special education, ELL and free/reduced lunch students. The next school committee meeting will discuss the fee reduction for the full day kindergarten program which currently costs $2,100. Bryant Ayles, City CFO, will provide the School Committee with a report about the city finances, major projects, bond rating, etc. A few more School Committee policy changes were made last year and a significant revision was conducted as well. Several sample policies will be revisited. The budget cycle goes from November-May to assemble the schools budget and approve it. Facilities and Finance (FAF) will sort through the financials and discuss. Tracey mentioned it would be enormous to eliminate the kindergarten fee as it is a barrier to participation. Fees for transportation, music, athletics, etc. will be reviewed as well. The fee for parking at BHS was eliminated this year.

Thank you’s: The PTSO received thank you’s from the Model UN and the Accomplish Program.

Beverly Education Foundation: Teacher Parent grants cycle opened on January 1, 2020 and closes on March 13 @ 5 pm. Faculty and staff are encouraged to apply for funding for a program or initiative. The Honor a Teacher Program will launch the Monday after April school vacation and go through early June. Honor a Teacher fliers will be included in the BHS Senior packets that go home with all seniors in early April. The hope is students will Honor a Teacher who has made a difference in their academic career at BHS.

Other Business: None.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm. Next PTSO meeting will be March 17, 2020 at 7 pm in the library.

Submitted by Catherine Barrett

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BHS PTSO Minutes Meeting Date: October 15, 2019

In Attendance: Catherine Barrett, Kathy Carnevale, Amy Broadbent, Andie Arenburg, Viana Kotchian, Olivia Arenburg, Sally Hunter, Marie Mallott, Cathy Hall, Alex Martella, Amy Norton, Kayla Johnston, Paula Colahan and Reya Alkhalili.

Minutes: Minutes from the September 17, 2019 meeting were presented and approved.

President’s Report: Catherine Barrett opened the meeting at 7:05pm by introducing our new student representatives in attendance. She spoke about the Panther Pride Community Social and that we are still looking for donations. Principal Taylor is still looking for one more parent to be a BHS Council representative.

Principal’s Report: Principal Taylor (not in attendance)

Vice-President Report: Tracey Armstrong (not in attendance)

Treasurer’s Report: Kathy Carnevale reported that financials are still looking good. $11,590 collected from the Direct Donation Drive. There are no teacher wish list requests yet, but they are expected soon

Amy Norton: Amy spoke about the Stop and Shop A+ program and how easy it was to sign up, will be put in announcements to remind parents. She spoke about the decline in the senior event ‘Up All Night’ attendance, and it was decided to cancel for this year.

City-Wide PTO: Sally Huner and Paula Colahan reported that they were obtaining a 501c3 for fundraising. Catherine Barret was their special guest at their meeting to speak on grant writing. Election day food drive request to benefit bootstraps.

Beverly Education Foundation: Catherine Barrett reported that there is an annual appeal next month.

School Committee Update: No attendee

Other Business:

Meeting adjourned at 8:07pm.

Next PTSO meeting will be November 19th at 7 pm in the library.

Submitted by : Amy Broadbent