PTA Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 22, 2022
Minutes
BMMS PTA Meeting
Monday, May 22, 2022
7:00 pm
Meeting Objective: Provide updates on PTA activities and plan future events.
Attendance: Sylvia Bank, Allen Cosentino (Principal), Tracy Lynge, Sylvia Bank, Chelsea
D’Agnese, Christine Fritz, Mindy Brenner, Lisa Jensen, Heather Weesner, Swapna Challa,
Cindy Sheng, Chandrani Raysarkar
Meeting Called to Order: 7:03 pm.
President’s Report – Sylvia Bank:
I have a slate of officers for the upcoming year and I am going to share the full list in the
chat. I do not have a firm commitment for the presidency, but I have reached out to JP Padilla
and he has expressed interest in the position. Vacancies – Community Action Council, Spec
ed CAC, GT advisory council, fundraising, HC DrugFree rep,
Christine Fritz made a motion to approve slate of officers and Mrs. Brenner seconded the
motion. All voted to approve, nobody opposed.
PTA donated shirts to Walk for Water 6 th grade serving learning project – we have photos.
Mrs. D’Agnese is going to share some photos.
End of year PTA dinner Thurs June 8, 7-9 pm at Savitha’s house. Thanks to those who have
RSVPd. Looking forward to it!
Principal’s Report – Allen Cosentino:
We appreciate everything Sylvia has done, had a very good working relationship this year. It
has been great working with you.
A lot going on around here! Thank you for recognizing staff during Teacher Appreciation
Week. They liked everything you did.
Recent highlight was the student serving learning project. Well organized, well executed.
Also, amazing music performances recently, as usual. Very moving experience with the
choral concert last week.
IEES survey – if parents have not completed that, please do so.
Traffic for next year. I met with grounds and construction to discuss better signage for our
crosswalks, and how we can better manage people coming in and going out next year. Our
plan is when people pull into school they stay in their lane. The right lane will go all the way
to the end and even around the corner, and we will make a walkway back to BMMS. Those
in the left lane will drop at crosswalk and walk across. We hope this will help alleviate the
traffic. We also discussed the idea of people coming into the bus area to wait. Asking for
people’s patience during this transition time. We do hold kids accountable for being on time.
We are going to work hard to get people in and out of the area efficiently. Kids can come
early and wait in the vestibule.
Thank you all for a great year!
Secretary’s Report – Tracy Lynge
Minutes – Sylvia sent out basic notes from April meeting as Tracy was unable to complete
the minutes in time. We will create something more formal and approve at a later date.
We need to approve our bylaws – will put the location of the bylaws in the chat; Kalpana
made a motion to approve, Swapna seconded the motion, and all voted to approve.
Treasurer’s Report – Kalpana Vijay:
Kalpana’s computer with all her files died last week—she will re-create everything if she
can’t recover the files.
We need an audit committee for this year’s financial review. Kalpana has asked Lorri Raney
and Prajakta David if they can do it.
Usually we vote to approve the money spent prior to the first PTA meeting on next year.
Spirit wear, Back to School Bash, etc. Doesn’t have to be exact, just an estimate—agreed on
$2,000 for all three. Kalpana made a motion to approve, Mrs. Brenner seconded, and all
voted to approve, none opposed.
Any reimbursements needs, especially from staff please give them to Kalpana before the last
day of school, and definitely by the last day of June so I can reconcile the books.
Executive Vice President, Membership – Swapna Challa:
No changes for next year, except we should put the QR code on all our correspondence and all
programs and at all events, during the summer throughout the year.
Kalpana requested that we start the membership drive only after July 1, to separate the books
from this year to next year.
Committee Reports
Staff Appreciation – Christine Fritz:
Teacher Appreciation Week was last week and I think it was very successful. Appreciated
everyone who donated desserts for the dessert bar. We had a very big spread. Membership
money is how we pay for these events, so thank you. Got a very nice thank you note from the
staff which was lovely.
Last event of the year is a teacher breakfast on Tuesday, June 13.
Fundraising – Anna Lee:
Taharka Bros. ice cream fundraiser raised $630 which is above our target goal. I think
everybody was very happy with their ice cream, got a lot of good feedback. Looking forward
to doing this again next year!
Yearbook – Lisa Jensen:
Will be distributing yearbooks on June 8-9 during lunch. Any extras we brought to the
classroom but we are going to try to minimize that this year.
This year there was an option where parents could donate additional funds besides buying the
yearbook and we raised $165 through that option.
Lisa has the contract with Lifetouch for next year, and will be getting that signed.
Who should receive the invoice for extra yearbooks? That will go to the school – Lisa
collected the funds and will bring the funds to Kalpana’s house. We have 15 extra yearbooks.
Lisa is sure she will get bombarded with requests. Sylvia will forward any emails about
yearbook to Lisa.
Drama Club – Sylvia Bank for Joy Fishman
May 25-26 they will have performances of Beauty & the Beast, Jr. Have been advertising it
so hopefully they will have a good turnout.
Cultural Arts – Sylvia Bank for Lorri Raney
Shakespeare residency took place, Romeo & Juliet performance soon; Lorri is applying for
that grant again in June.
Lorri and Sylvia were talking about a grant the PTA had applied for prior to the pandemic,
for a “poetry slam” in the 7 th grade English curriculum. We will work with the 7 th grade team
on bringing that back.
Spirit Wear – Sylvia Bank for Jessica Esposito
We helped make shirts for the Hershey Trip and music boosters said they would send in a
donation.
Staff Liaison – Mindy Brenner
Teachers loved the appreciation events all week. Teachers said all week how much they
appreciated everything.
PBIS – Chelsea D’Agnese
Thank you for donating the shirts for the Walk for Water! Involved English, geography, and
science curricula.
We were able to help a school in Uganda build a water collection system.
Kids have been really excited about this. We hope to continue this project next year, was
very impactful. Symbolism of unifying the kids with the shirts was helpful to get them
motivated.
8 th Grade Activities – Sylvia Bank:
Events are set and we are ready to celebrate.
Last shirt signing day is May 25; June 2 picnic at Centennial Park, June 8 ice cream social
and talent show, June 12 is Forest Hill swim party 1-3pm, June 13th farewell ceremony and 8 th grade
dance. Volunteer sign up going well – have about half what we need thus far
Next meeting will be end of year party at Savitha’s house. Motion to adjourn was made by Mrs.
Brenner and seconded by Christine Fritz. All voted to adjourn at 7:40pm.
Officers 2023:
President: JP Padilla
Executive Vice President: Tracy Lynge
Membership Vice President: Swapana Challa
Secretary: Heather Weesner
Treasurer: Kalpana Vijay
PTACHC Representative 1: Melanie Schlee
PTACHC Representative 2: Chandrani Raysarkar
CAC: Vacant
SECAC: Vacant
GT Advisory Council Rep: Vacant
8th Grade Activities: Kelly Ulloa, Erin Lanthier
Back to School Bash Committee: Jenny Park, Tammi Procher
Cultural Arts Chair: Lori Raney
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee: Tiffany Martin
Drama Club Liaison: Joy Fishman
Restaurant Fundraisers: Cindy Lin, Anna Lee
Spirit Wear: Lori Raney
Staff Appreciation: Christine Fritz
Staff Liaison: Chelsae D'Agnese
Student Trivia Night: Yan Zhang
Yearbook: Lisa Jensen
Fundraising/Direct Donation: Vacant
Reflections: Vacant
Webmaster: Amanda Reyes
HC Drug Free Rep: Vacant
Retail Programs: Megan Benedict
Monday, April 24, 2022
Minutes
BMMS PTA Meeting
Monday, April 24, 2022
7:00 pm
Meeting Objective: Provide updates on PTA activities and plan future events.
Attendance: Mr Cosentino, Ms Carmean, Ms Brenner, Tracy Lynge, Kalpana, Sylvia Bank
Lorri Raney, Anna Lee, Cindy Lin, Amanda Reyes, Heather Weesner, Lisa Jensen, Christine
Fritz, Megan Benedict, Jess Esposito, Ms D'Agnese.
Meeting Called to Order: 7:00 pm.
President’s Report – Sylvia Bank:
Nominating committee – Sylvia recently sent out notification about this in the Burleigh
Bulletin, PTA Update, and on social media. She contacted the feeder elementary schools as
well. We have had a few people interested so far. Plan to vote next year's officers in at next
PTA meeting.
Principal’s Report – Allen Cosentino:
May is right around the corner, and we are working through to the end of the year.
School buses next year – parents must complete a request form to qualify for a bus.
Discussion of traffic safety at BMMS, following incident where a student was hit by a car in
the parking lot.
Vice Principal’s Report – Tiffany Carmean:
We have only 9 students who still need to take ELA MCAP (down from 814). May 8-12 8th
graders are taking social studies MCAP through social studies classes. May 16-17 the whole
school will be doing Math MCAP, with testing groups a little different than for ELA.
Students are taking testing seriously and it is going very smoothly.
Treasurer’s Report – Kalpana Vijay:
Kalpana reported that everything is going well, we are doing fine. Kalpana used her credit
card to make the donation to the Lukemia and Lymphoma Society; Sylvia reminded her to
get reimbursed for that.
Howard County DrugFree contacted Sylvia to say we normally do a $100 donation to them
and we have not done it yet this year. We did budget for it. Kalpana said she would take care
of that.
Secretary’s Report –Tracy Lynge:
Need to approve March meeting minutes. Megan Benedict made a motion to approve
minutes, Mrs. Brenner seconded the motion, all voted to approve.
Room reservations – Tracy has the login info and is happy to make room reservations for
anyone, but please request as soon as you know your date(s) because it can take a while to
get confirmation.
Committee Reports
Staff Appreciation – Christine Fritz:
Teacher appreciation week starts Monday, May 8 and so far, that Wednesday, the SGA will
do a pizza lunch (Ms. Valance in charge). Friday the PTA will provide lunch. Ideas? Cinco
de Mayo, Panera, Jimmy John’s (they may do the sale without sales tax to save us a little
money). Grab and go event.
End of year event – we will be providing breakfast on Tuesday, June 13.
Spirit Wear – Jess Esposito:
We are donating Spirit Wear to the CLES Spring Fair silent auction. Donated one short-
sleeved shirt, one long-sleeved shirt, one Light the Night t-shirt.
Mme. Lanz asked us to make 10 It’s Academic shirts.
Music Dept asked us to make shirts for the Hersheypark trip, and they will make a donation
to the PTA. We will also make shirts for the chaperones if they would like to wear them.
Making a few more 8 th grade shirts to students who are new to the school, and Mr. Donoghue
asked if we would sell 8 th grade shirts to teachers if they want to buy them. He is going to
survey the teachers and come to Sylvia with a number of teachers would like a shirt.
Field Day shirts – still up in the air.
Cultural Arts – Lorri Raney
Shakespeare residency is May 8. I am planning to write a grant application for next year,
probably sometime in May.
Sylvia contacted by Ms. Peddicord about the payment for the program. The grant went to the
PTA and the school paid, so we need to reimburse the school. The program cost $4,200. We
will use the money from last year’s yearbook sales $1,907.26, and request a check for the
balance 2,292.74. They will let us know when they are ready to receive that check.
Fundraising – Anna Lee
Taharka Bros. ice cream – Monday, May 1 at 6 am you can go to the website to order up to 8
pints of ice cream. There are two options – fundraiser and home delivery. Fundraiser only if
you are going to be home during May 5 between 4-9pm. Otherwise choose home delivery.
Can we share this link to anyone? Yes as long as they use the fundraising code, we will get
the credit.
Can we have it delivered to the school if we don’t live in this area? You can choose home
delivery and they will come to your area – it just won’t be at that date/time. There are
different delivery options.
Yearbook – Lisa Jensen:
We are planning to do distribution at lunch like did last year. We did a great job in
communicating the deadline and 425 yearbooks were ordered, which far exceeded our
expectations.
I anticipate getting the yearbook payment in the fall – perhaps more than $2,000 we received
this year.
Staff Liaison – Mindy Brenner
Thank you in advance for teacher appreciation week. We all get so excited about that
We have filled over 8,000 bottles filled with our water fountain water bottle filler.
Sylvia mentioned we need a staff liaison for next year since Mrs. Brenner is retiring. Mrs.
Brenner said she is working on that.
Reflections
Ami Bard’s photography entry won 2 nd place in Howard County so we received a certificate
in the mail. Ami was absent from school but Mrs. Hopkins said she would get the certificate
to him. Sylvia contacted his mother to congratulate him and asked his mother if she would
consider managing Reflections next year.
The theme next year will be “I am Hopeful Because…”
Drama Club – Sylvia Bank on behalf of Joy Fishman:
Beauty & the Beast, Jr. Drama club has been very popular.
May 25-26 performance dates.
PBIS – Chelsea D’Agnese
I am here on behalf of 6 th grade, doing a student serving learning project. Doing a project on
water crisis. This week they are making flyers, going out in community and asking for
donations to a sister school in South Sudan. A Long Walk to Water – reading this book. Part
of the project is simulating what 1 billion people have to do to get water. Walk miles and
carry a lot of water. May 17 – Turkey trot race course. I would like to have t shirts for this
event. Ms. Chopyk and I can help, or we can do the shirts ourselves but I wanted to ask the
PTA first. We would need one for each 6 th grader – a little more than $1,000 depending on
what you would want (front or front/back).
Sylvia asked if anyone objects to the PTA funding this project—nobody objected. Sylvia
made a motion to take a vote for taking cultural arts funds and redirecting them to this
purpose. Megan Benedict seconded the motion. All voted to approve, nobody objected.
8 th Grade Activities – Sylvia Bank:
Shirt signing is May 25, volunteers bring Sharpies and they sign each other’s shirts.
Tues June 2, 9-1:45 picnic at Centennial Park
Thurs June 8 – ice cream social after lunch, then talent show 1-2:30pm in cafeteria. Due to
limited space only parents/guardians of talent show participants may attend.
June 13 – farewell ceremony at 6:30pm CHS auditorium, followed by 8 th grade dance 8-
9:30pm in the BMMS cafeteria
June 14 – farewell breakfast in cafeteria, 8:10-10 am
Cost is $16 per person, PTA donated the 8 th grade shirts
BMMS Parents are organizing an end of year pool party for the 8th graders on Monday, June
12th (RESCHEDULED DATE) from 1-3 pm at the Forest Hill Swim & Tennis Club. Shane
Kunkle and Jennifer Gundrum organizing.
Permission slips will go home in early May to 8 th grade parents.
Planning committee will meet Friday, May 5th from 12:30-1:30 at Mr Donoughe's
classroom. Please sign up here to attend.
Next meeting will be May 22, 7pm, BMMS media center. Hoping we will be able to vote on the
officers slate for next year. Motion to adjourn was made by Kalpana Vijay and second by Megan
Benedict. All voted to adjourn.
Monday, March 20, 2022
Minutes
BMMS PTA Meeting
Monday, March 20, 2022
7:00 pm
Meeting Objective: Provide updates on PTA activities and plan future events.
Attendance: Allen Cosentino (Principal), Tiffany Carmean (Assistant Principal) Tracy Lynge, Sylvia Bank, Kalpana Vijay, Chelsea D’Agnese, Christine Fritz, Mindy Brenner, Lisa Jensen, Cindy Lin, Heather Weesner, Swapna Challa
Meeting Called to Order: 7:02 pm.
President’s Report
Sylvia thanked everyone for their support while she was dealing with medical condition, and she is recovered now. She passed around thank you notes.
We got a lot of good feedback on the teacher appreciation event where we provided a coffee truck. Ms. Hammy-T tried chai tea and loved it.
We need to start thinking about nominating committee and Prajakta David is not able to fulfill this role right now. Roles we need to fill: President, 1st VP, 2nd PTACHC rep, fundraising chair, staff liaison, Reflections, Battle of the Books, 8th grade committee, 2nd DEI chair, 2nd yearbook chair. Sylvia will start putting it in the newsletter.
Savitha Enner has agreed to host the PTA end-of-year dinner again this year. Date TBD.
Principal’s Report – Allen Cosentino:
We had a student hit by a car on Friday. Student was in the crosswalk, in the two exit lanes leading out toward the light. Bus was in front of the crosswalk and student was coming across, car couldn’t see the student and the student couldn’t see the car. Car was going too fast, and hit him. Head hit but was ok otherwise. Very scary but he is ok. We really work hard to make sure our kids are safe and navigating our parking lot is a big concern. Only one permanent sign that says stop for pedestrians, so we are working on how to get more of those signs at every crosswalk, both signaling the crosswalk and signaling that people have to stop. Today there are mobile signs where the accident was. We need people to slow down and listen to staff members directing traffic. We also need parents to drop off kids as far down to the recycling bins as possible. If they drop off near the door, it holds traffic up. We had cones today creating a semicircle and didn’t let anyone stop at the crosswalk. Morning backups especially create delays on Centennial that prevent the buses from coming in. We’re thinking of having after-school activities pickup at the bus loop next year.
Parent question – can you delay the buses until after 8? Answer – no. Since the pandemic, buses have to drop kids and leave. They can’t wait to leave at same time.
BMMS got our Maryland education report card and we have 5 stars out of 5. Coming out of pandemic we had gaps to fill so maintaining is not an easy feat, but we will focus on areas of improvement – academic achievement, academic progress, school quality, student success, and English proficiency. Very happy with our results. Can find it at mdreportcard.com.
School start times next year are changing– our start time is 8:40 am. People often call me about decisions made by the school board, and I am happy to talk to them, but I have no control over this. We realize this will impact the staff and families. The main driver is that high school students need more sleep.
Vice Principal’s Report – Tiffany Carmean:
Last Friday we announced a new crossing guard at Old Annapolis and Whitworth Way. Several families reached out to ask if this was our neighborhood. HCPSS is still finalizing the non-transported zones for next year—should be finalized mid-April, then that information will be publicized. The walk range is 1 mile right now for elementary and middle, and 1.5 miles for high school. Next year, the walk range will be 1.5 miles elementary and middle schoools, and 2 miles for high school. They are also increasing the distance that students can walk to the bus stop. There are exceptions, such as non-pedestrian friendly areas, etc.
Question: Will the crossing guard hours will be adjusted for new start times? Answer: we assume so but will check on that this summer to ensure. The email sent today also says that parent must commit to transportation at some point soon after spring break—you must declare whether your child will be riding the school bus.
With these changes, we do expect more cars. Let’s encourage walking and biking.
Executive Vice President, Membership
No new members, no update.
1st VP Report – Tracy for Prajakta David:
Secretary Tracy Lynge will be making room reservation requests since Prajakta has gone missing from her 1st VP duties.
Treasurer’s Report – Kalpana Vijay:
Kalpana went over the budget status – we are doing okay all things considered.
Most spending has been on school support; made a lot of money on Trivia Night (almost $1,000).
We received about $2K for yearbook and I asked Ms. Peddicord to keep that but if she doesn’t use it, we will be able to use it for something else.
Ms. Peddicord asked for a list of donations we’ve made to the school—Sylvia and Kalpana will get together.
Secretary’s Report –Tracy Lynge:
Need to approve February meeting minutes. Motion to approve –Tiffany Carmean. Second – Mindy Brenner. All voted to approve, none opposed.
HC Drug Free email asking to connect – Sylvia will forward that to me.
Committee Reports
Staff Appreciation – Christine Fritz:
Teacher appreciation event coming up in May. Does SGA usually do a breakfast? We will coordinate around that.
Do we want to plan an end-of-year lunch? BMMS has a budget for that but PTA can do something as well. Last year we put out subs in the cafeteria. Ms. Carmean had an idea – doing something for teachers during one of the 4 early dismissal days at end of June. Anticipating half days on June 7, 8, 9, and 12, 13, 14 are early dismissal days. Group discussed and suggested a breakfast on Tuesday, June 13. Ms. Brenner will ask other teachers if they have a preference.
Restaurant Night – Cindy Lin
Yama Sushi gave us a $500 check for the last fundraiser.
If we can pick a day, we can find a place for May.
Fundraising
Poonam Kaur – has a few bags of sneakers and maybe we would make more if we put the shoes in the clothing donation bin.
DEI – Sylvia Bank for Andrea and Rubin:
Unfortunately we had to cancel the World Showcase due to lack of sign ups for performances and food. We had a zoom meeting to discuss and we were thinking about going forward with a smaller event, but we could not garner the volunteer support that we needed.
Bulletin board – this month is Women in History.
Yearbook – Lisa Jensen:
This is the last week of asking for photos and I will be at school to take grade specific photos at lunchtime. Thank you to everyone for giving us photos – we have 2,000 photos and we could use more.
We have sold 300 yearbooks and are trying to get everyone to buy them now. Our contract is for 400 yearbooks so we want to encourage.
Lisa has a 6th grader so she can do the yearbook for 2 more years, and she is looking for a new partner in crime as Rosalie Plastino is moving on.
Staff Liaison – Mindy Brenner
Not a lot of interest this year in the Burleigh Book Battle. We may take a break and try again next year.
PBIS – Chelsea D’Agnese
Thank you for February Fun Friday help. Kids seemed to have a lot of fun. Our 3rd quarter celebration – Mr. Donoghue and [another teacher?] are taking it on the half day before spring break. Then we will have a 4th quarter celebration put on by Ms. Valance and the SGA.
8th Grade Activities – Sylvia Bank:
Committee met 2 weeks ago and got a lot more 8th grade parents to attend. Talked to Ms. Peddicord about the budget and people seem excited. Six people came to the meeting and I am organizing them. We have a meeting May 5 in Mr. Donoghue’s classroom.
Next meeting will be April 24, 7pm, BMMS media center. Motion to adjourn was made by Tracy Lynge and second by Mindy Brenner. All voted to adjourn.
Monday February 13, 2023
Minutes
BMMS PTA Meeting
Monday, February 13, 2022
7:00 pm
Meeting Objective: Provide updates on PTA activities and plan future events.
Attendance: Allen Cosentino (Principal), Tiffany Carmean (Assistant Principal) Tracy Lynge, Lorri Raney, Sylvia Bank, Kalpana Vijay, Cindy Sheng, Anna Lee, Lisa, Jensen, Rubin Singh, Christine Fritz, Hellen, Heather
Meeting Called to Order: 7:03 pm.
Principal’s Report – Allen Cosentino:
Thank you for Lunar New Year luncheon - very much appreciated. I know the staff had plenty.
We have done town halls with 2 or 3 classes at a time, talking about what’s going well throughout the year and challenges to focus on. Main thing is, it’s a joy to be with them every day and be their principal. Appreciate them advocating for themselves. We do not have cell phone issues like other schools do. We do have progressive discipline but it’s not a huge issue for us. Purpose was to talk about making learning important and getting them ready for their next grade and ultimately high school. Reassure them – we know that nobody is finished as a student/person and we are on a journey, just because we have to correct you doesn’t mean you are a bad person. We care enough about you to say, you need to do something different. Make sure to be in class on time, don’t chew gum and watch your language. What would happen to me if I walked around using profanity? I would be fired. The list of things we need them to work on is pretty small. Interpersonal issues at beginning of year are largely gone. They have learned to work together and get along. Spending time this year on work completion, getting work done.
Common lit assessment results have shown a nice increase.
Saw an article in Washington Post about teen mental health. 1 in 3 girls have seriously considered suicide. Teachers do a good job here of knowing our kids and communicating with parents if something is off. But if parents need us to partner with you to get through difficult times, that is what we are here for. Challenges of social media have made middle school an interesting time. We don’t have a lot of harassment reports, lower than last year.
Vice Principal’s Report – Tiffany Carmean:
MAP testing – finishing up, kids are taking longer to complete it than they have in the past.
7th graders did a wellness survey (Howard Co) – all but 19 kids and they will be taking it. Looking forward to seeing the results of that.
8th graders will be taking science MISA test first, then the social studies MCAP through those classes. Then everyone will be taking the ELA MCAP and math MCAP – whole school at the same time, so they will miss some classes one day and other classes the other day. Two days for ELA and two days for math. Really exciting to know that our kids are making so much progress on MAP scores. Also MCAP results from last year will be available March 9.
Lunar New Year lunch was amazing.
President’s Report – Tracy Lynge for Sylvia Bank:
Lunar New Year - decorations went well SGA and student voices helped to put them up on 1/11 and take them down on 2/8. Lunar New Year Luncheon on 1/25; Staff seemed appreciated and had many families donate dishes
Fair Fun Fridays – we had several parent volunteers and donations of snacks. Also had monetary donations of approx. $300 and supplies.
Secretary’s Report –Tracy Lynge:
Need to approve January meeting minutes. Motion to approve – Lorri Raney. Second – Kalpana Vijay. All voted to approve, none opposed.
Treasurer’s Report – Kalpana Vijay:
During the last couple of months, my son said he found something in his water bottle. One time he found a pencil, another time a scrap of paper. Probably some kid playing pranks, but could cause someone to get sick. Could you make an announcement that that is not acceptable?
Lukemia & Lymphoma – I have no request for $72, but I do have a bunch of checks ready. Tracy, if we could connect, we can take care of these.
Executive Vice President, Membership – Tracy Lynge for Swapna Challa:
No new members, no update.
1st VP Report – Tracy for Prajakta David:
Secretary Tracy Lynge will be making room reservation requests since Prajakta has gone missing from her 1st VP duties.
Committee Reports
Staff Appreciation – Christine Fritz:
Music Parents plan to do a breakfast for the staff in March. May discuss having another event or wait until Teacher Appreciation on May 8-12th. Discuss.
Tom’s Traveling coffee – Christine idea. Same company as the Kona Ice. One day in March. We had talked about St Patrick’s Day. Employee appreciation week? Feb 27 – Mar 3.
Restaurant Night – Anna Lee:
Squisitos did not do as well last month only bringing in $30.
Will plan Yama Sushi on March 1st. We will earn 25% of revenue and this includes dine in, order out, order online, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Door Dash deliveries - mention BMMS at special remarks section when ordering online or at checkout for dine in or pick up. All day event hopefully the spring we will have more support. School and PTA have already sent out information.
Spirit Wear – Jessica Esposito:
Working with the music program for T-shirts for the spring Hershey trip. Plan on selling them at $8 a shirt.
Discussed donating the t-shirt press to the 6th grade science team at the end of this year - they seemed excited.
Drama Club – Sylvia Bank for Joy Fishman:
Newsies Jr. performances took place Jan. 26-27.
Spring Drama Club – Beauty and the Beast Jr to begin this week. Performances will take place on May 25-26.
DEI – Rubin Singh:
Decided to cancel February parent meeting and Open Mic Night due to lack of interest.
Sign up for the World Showcase has gone out. So far we have 3 performances, 8 donated dishes, and 1 learning display. Sylvia has been promoting the event in newsletters and on social media at CLES and BMMS. She also made a Bobcat News video. If we do not have 10 performances and 25 food donations, we will cancel the event.
Yearbook – Lisa Jensen:
It’s time to order yearbooks. People who ordered last year have gotten emails from Lifetouch requesting orders. The yearbook MUST be ordered by April 15th online. There will not be sales when the year book comes out in June.
Still looking for photographs for the yearbook. People can send them to bmmsyearbook22@yahoo.com
We had a yearbook cover contest and 8th grader Emily Hu won. The yearbook will have a page inside of all the cover entries.
Can we put the plug on Bobcat News? We’ve done everything we can with the flyers – will still get people saying they didn’t know the yearbook was on sale. We will probably have a stash on the side. Super easy Google drive link to upload photos—need photos from Fun Friday. We had fabulous submissions for cover content—all will be featured in the yearbook. Even Lifetouch was complimenting our artist on the winning design.
Kids Trivia Night: Sylvia Bank for Rosalie Plastino:
Was a huge success – raised approx. $1,000.
Thank you to the event coordinators Mme Lanz and Rosalie Plastino AND all of the teachers, staff, and parent volunteers for their contributions.
Fundraising – Sylvia Bank or Susan Ericke:
Raised $4.75 for Got Sneakers Recycling so far in 2023. I will get that check to the treasurer soon.
Reflections – Sylvia Bank for Trish Chang:
Ammi Bard from Burleigh Manor has been awarded 2nd place in the Photography category and will advance to county level.
8th Grade Activities – Sylvia Bank:
Committee met with 8th grade team leader Mr. Donoghue. Worked out some tentative plans. Will meet again this Friday to finalize plans.
Picnic to take place Friday June 2nd. Parents are organizing a non-PTA non-school pool party for 8th graders at Forest Hill Swim Club on Wednesday June 7th 1-3 pm. The dates of the ceremony, dance, and breakfast will be determined once the last day of school is announced.
Cultural Arts – Lorri Raney
We got our check for the Shakespeare workshop which will be in May, for $2,251. Lorri will give to Kalpana, who has to give it to the school, and the school has to write the check to Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater.
Next meeting will be Mar. 20, 7pm, BMMS media center. Motion to adjourn was made by Lorri Raney and seconded by Mr. Cosentino. All voted to adjourn.
Monday January 9, 2023
Minutes
BMMS PTA Meeting
Monday, January 9, 2022
7:00 pm
Meeting Objective: Provide updates on PTA activities and plan future events.
Attendance: Allen Cosentino (Principal), Chelsea D’Aganese, Mindy Brenner, Sylvia Bank,
Kalpana Vijay, Swapna Challa, Christine Fritz; (Virtual) Megan Benedict Anna Lee, Jessica
Esposito, Cindy Lin, Michelle Vanderhoff, Gary, Hellen S, Heather, Carena,
Meeting Called to Order: 7:00 pm.
President’s Report – Sylvia Bank:
Thank yous from teachers and staff: Emails from Ms. Covert and Ms. HT; card from Mme
Lanz; Mr. Wagner for the $425 collected from ~15 families to replace his classroom posters
and decorations. Kalpana mentioned she has some maps in storage – Principal Cosentino
suggested she email Mr. Wagner and ask about that.
Agenda Books – I have been working with Mrs HT to make agenda books for her. I have
been photocopying weekly agenda sheet and binding them together with plastic comb
bindings. So far have made 36 agenda books.
Lunar New Year 1/22/23 – Year of the Rabbit. A parent, Yan Zhang, interested in decorating
the school. Wants to decorate the school with the SGA. Make decorations 1/11/23, decorate
school 1/18/23, and take down decorations around 2/8/23. Hoping to use SGA funds for that.
Lunar New Year staff appreciation luncheon – Yan Zhang is surveying parents in the
community to see if they are interested. She said parents used to prepare and serve dumplings
in the school, but some may be hesitant to do that in COVID times. Tentative date: 1/25/23.
Cindy asked if there will be a signup? It’s still tentative but we will let you know.
Principal’s Report – Allen Cosentino:
Sprinkler pipe burst 12/23-12/24 – water on the floor in back hallways classrooms, about ¼
inch; Mr. Wagner’s room had significant water damage including personal items
Principal has been receiving many discretionary absence request forms. Only 3 discretionary
absence days per year are allowed. We understand that travel enriches students but the major
issue is making up work. Teachers may allow students to make up work but they do not have
to, or give full credit. If a student has 10 consecutive days absent, they will be withdrawn
from school. Parents may see Policy 9010 Howard County Public Schools. As the principal, I
don’t give “permission” to parents—I tell them what the policy is and it is up to them to
make decisions for their family based on the HCPSS policy.
Thank you to PTA for all the love shown to BMMS staff in December.
Vice Principal’s Report – Tiffany Carmean:
I will add that missing a lot of school is hardest on the kids. They come back and are trying
to catch up, and it puts them in a hard place.
Late Jan-Early Feb MAP testing for English and Math in class.
PTA president offered PTA help for Cultural Arts assemblies and field trips. Mr. Cosentino
and Ms. Carmean are interested in reestablishing field trips – at least 2 per grade ideally.
Secretary’s Report – Sylvia Bank for Tracy Lynge:
Sylvia asked for a motion to approve the November PTA meeting minutes. Mindy
Brenner made the motion, Kalpana Vijay seconded; all voted to approved, none opposed.
Treasurer’s Report – Kalpana Vijay:
Presented budget and numbers so far this year. Summary – we are in good financial shape.
We have around $28K in our bank account and are in the green so far this year.
Biggest fundraiser so far – direct donations. We have collected $3,000 of budgeted/estimated
$4,000. Spirit Wear has helped us. Happy to answer any questions.
Did we donate our $72 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society? Not yet. Will do so.
Executive Vice President – Membership – Swapna Challa:
1 new faculty member added; total 284 members, including 55 teachers/staff
Were going to put link to PTA membership in the holiday concert but the wrong link went in the
program, so anyone who tried did not get to the correct site to join. Can we include it in
upcoming programs like Open Mic Night or Trivia Night or the play?
1 st VP Report – Sylvia for Prajakta David:
Have not heard from my VP in several months. Email and texts and calls have gone
unanswered. Anyone willing to or know about the software to enter room requests? Mr.
Cosentino will help with this. We need to reserve the space for the spring drama show,
Beauty and the Beast. Thursday for practice and the May performance dates.
Committee Reports
PTACHC – Sylvia Bank for Melanie Schlee:
Melanie Schlee is not in attendance because PTACHC meeting is also tonight – she will
report at next PTA meeting.
Staff Appreciation – Christine Fritz:
Busy December! Holiday events went well – conference dinner, cookie boxes, two dates for
gift wrapping – 14 staff members took advantage.
The next thing I have scheduled is Teachers Appreciation Week May 8-12 and I think we
should schedule something before then.
Employee appreciation Feb 27-Mar 3; BMMS administration sponsors events this week.
Discussed having an event in March – administration is doing something March 10 so
perhaps PTA could do something later in the month. Megan Benedict suggested St.Patrick’s
Day—“We are so lucky to have such great teachers!”
Restaurant Night – Anna Lee:
Squisito Chatham – 1/12/23 12 noon - 9 pm.
May - Planning an ice cream Taharka Brothers fundraiser to be delivered to people’s homes.
Newsblast – Sylvia will send on Wednesday to remind people about Squisito.
Spirit Wear – Jessica Esposito:
We finished our sweatshirt sales. Sold 4 long sleeve shirts; 37 sweatshirts; 12 short sleeve
shirts in our pie sale to holiday concert window
Christine Fritz asked if we would make Spring Fair shirts for CLES for a profit – will discuss
with Jessica and/or Sylvia. The back of the shirt would be tough with all the sponsors, but we
can look into it. When we recruit volunteers we can request shirt size to have a good
estimate.
We made 25 shirts for Science Olympiad. Worked with parents on the design, and saw the
kids wearing it this week, which was exciting.
Will look to maybe make Music Hershey shirts OR field day shirts again this year.
Next year we will look for someone to take over for Spirit Wear. If we do not have someone
who wants to print shirts we will go back to a 3rd party vendor. Suggestions on what we
should do with the T-shirt press that the PTA purchased last year – possibly donate to
school/science teachers to make outdoor ed shirts.
Mindy Brenner asked about making shirts for Battle of the Books. Might turn a profit but
wouldn’t be very much.
Drama Club – Sylvia Bank for Joy Fishman:
Newsie’s Jr. – performances this Thursday January 26th 7 pm and Friday January 27th 7pm
at BMMS cafeteria – tickets for $8 sold online.
Will plan to have spring show Beauty and the Beast Jr. Will work on room reservations.
Large thespian interest here at BMMS.
DEI – Sylvia Bank for Andrea Stremmel and Rubin Singh:
Open Mic night this Thursday 1/12/23 at 7 pm at BMMS cafeteria. Ms. Kim has been
organizing the event. There were 10 students interested in performing. I am working with the
music department to set up equipment. Multiple microphones required for some group
performances.
Feb 15th had planned a DEI parent meeting – Sylvia will discuss with Rubin and Andrea.
Begin planning for World Showcase 3/16/23. Sylvia will attend CLES PTA meeting
tomorrow to ask if CLES wants to do a joint effort.
Yearbook – Sylvia Bank for Lisa Jensen and Rosalie Plastino:
Committee is Looking for photos - upload to webpage or send to
email bmmsyearbook22@yahoo.com.
Also having cover design contest – announcement has been airing on Bobcat News. Designs
due this Friday.
Mrs. Peddicord received an invoice from Lifetouch – Sylvia will be in touch with Lisa and
Rosalie about this.
Will begin preorder sales in the spring.
Kids Trivia Night: Sylvia Bank for Rosalie Plastino:
Friday Feb 3rd 6 pm – 8:15 pm. Mme. Lanz has organized this event as in past years. Cost $6
per participant. Registration is now open either online form or paper registration where kids
can form teams or come on their own and be put on a team.
Fundraising – Sylvia Bank or Susan Ericke:
Got Sneakers fundraiser first check – $27.25. A little less than expected but it’s still
something. Will continue to collect sneakers in bin by office.
Reflections – Sylvia Bank for Trish Chang:
Four BMMS students submitted items for Reflections. Sylvia will find out from Trish who
will advance to the county competition and put it in the BMMS PTA Updates.
8 th Grade Activities – Sylvia Bank:
Distribution of 8th grade shirts went well. Plan on having 1st shirt signing at Winter Fest.
The 8th grade committee will meet with the 8th grade team this month to begin planning end
of year activities. Committee will be Yan Zhang, Sri Paleti, and Kelly Ulloa.
Will also plan an end of year pool party at Forest Hill (outside of the PTA) after we know the
8 th grade graduation dates.
Staff Liaison – Chelsea D’Agnese:
Fall Fling huge success – snack donation and volunteers were great
2nd quarter celebration will be Friday Feb 3rd. Fun February Friday – Teachers pick an
activity to host in the afternoon – kids pick top 3 choices, and 20-30 kids are in each room.
Video game competitions, Disney trivia, ice cream making, no bake cooking activity, 3-D
printing (spool filament), etc. Teachers have until this Friday to sign up for an event. Event
will have a snack for each student. Ms D’Agnese will create a sign up sheet for food and
supply donations as well as direct donation. PTA volunteers needed and someone to take
photographs for yearbook. Sylvia asked if the students could have a day or two to coordinate
their activities with their friends before having to declare their top 3.
Next meeting will be Feb. 13, 7pm, BMMS media center. Motion to adjourn was made by Ms.
Carmean and seconded by Kalpana Vijay. All voted to adjourn, and meeting was adjourned at 7:48 pm
Monday, November 14, 2022
Minutes
BMMS PTA Meeting
Monday, November 14, 2022
7:00 pm
Meeting Objective: Provide updates on PTA activities and plan future events.
Attendance: Tracy Lynge, Swapna Challa, Megan Benedict, Jessica Esposito, Mindy Brenner, Sylvia Bank, Chelsea D’Agnese, Christine Fritz, Joey Miller, Anna Lee, Heather Weesener, Lorri Raney, Tiffany Carmean (Assistant Principal), Allen Cosentino (Principal) virtually: Melanie Schlee, Lisa Jensen
Meeting Called to Order: 7:05 pm.
President’s Report – Sylvia Bank:
We have two individuals requesting PTA funding. The school nurse is requesting $50 for mental health posters to put up in her office. Ms. Slopek is looking for $200 to build sets for theater production.
Mr. Cosentino stated that county resources may be available for the health posters, and said he would look into this and follow up with the school nurse.
Sylvia said we should vote on funding the theater sets. Ms. Carmean made a motion to vote, Megan Benedict seconded, and all voted to approve, none opposed.
QR code for PTA membership will be in the music programs for winter performances.
Principal’s Report – Allen Cosentino:
American Education Week – normally we require 24 hours’ notice to come to class, but this week you can just show up. Our teachers are looking forward to seeing you.
Hope everyone had opportunity to sign up for conferences—they are next week.
76% of students made one of the honor rolls—650 out of 808. Principal’s honor roll (all As) – 20% of all students.
88% of students have raised their GPAs 0.5 or more since last spring.
Executive Vice President – Membership – Swapna Challa:
We have seen an uptick in new members. 283 members - 55 of them are BMMS staff. Since the last meeting 13 new members - 2 of them BMMS staff members.
Treasurer’s Report – Sylvia Bank updating for Kalpana Vijay:
Sylvia mentioned Kalpana needs to report revenue to the school—she will follow up.
Secretary’s Report – Tracy Lynge:
Approval of October meeting minutes—Mindy Brenner made a motion to vote, Swapna Challa seconded, all voted to approve, none opposed.
Committee Reports
PTACHC – Melanie Schlee updating:
Nov 7 meeting:
First speaker was Ms. Langford Brown talking about asynchronous weather days. Staff training, and parent communication to make sure people are aware what the plan is. Secondary students have more independent responsibility for what they do on those days. Elem school – there will be packets coming from Central Office. Parents asked if all middle and high school teachers have to give assignments on those days and they said no, it will be up to the individual teacher. (Mr. Cosentino said all BMMS students will be assigned work.)
Policy 6910 – Board of Education will enact the superintendent’s plan with a minor modification to PVMS and TVMS – people in any new polygons added have to be given a chance to speak at a public hearing. Potential initiative – PTACHC motion for a polygon audit. Labeling polygons with no students to give the BoE an idea of neighborhoods that aren’t connected to residential areas. Discussed timeline changes.
Next speaker – Lisa Krause from PTA group that is organizing monthly workshops re: raising teens.
Board of Education – Dec 5, will vote on school start time changes. Given bus driver shortage there may be a discussion about whether these changes can even happen next year. Also discussed redistricting impact on busing and start times.
PTACHC legislative update: Howard County Council will be meeting with us at Dec. meeting so I will update you after that meeting.
DEI – Sylvia updating for Andrea Stremmel and Rubin Singh:
Nov. 2 DEI Community Voices Panel – very successful, about 21 people there. Circle discussion with parents, students, staff. Good discussion.
Next event is Open Mic Night Jan 12. 2023 7pm - 8:30 pm.
Spirit Wear – Jessica Esposito:
Sylvia watched some videos on how to make sweatshirts with our t-shirt press, so we are going to sell sweatshirts – black, gray, navy blue, with same transfers we already have. Going to sell at pie pickup, Light the Night, parent-teacher conferences on Monday, and music performances.
Science Olympiad has asked if we can print shirts for their team, so we’re working with Mr. Gallman and Doris Qano, the parent sponsor for that.
Staff Appreciation – Christine Fritz:
Entering busy seasons – conference dinner next week. Will serve at 3pm. Planning for 90 people and we are doing Trattoria Amore.
Holiday cookies coming up soon. And will promote staff wrapping with sign up for volunteers. Do we have wrapping paper? We have some paper, bows, and ribbons but not sure if we have enough.
Staff Liaison – Mindy Brenner:
Thank you for everything you do. Light the Night, etc. We feel your presence and it is much appreciated.
Reflections – Trish Chang:
Online submission this year – we will see how it goes. Due date is December 2.
Fundraising – Sylvia Bank for Susan Ericke:
We started the sneaker recycling drive – there are already a lot of sneakers in there. Can earn up to $7/pair, down to $0.25 if they are just recycling the sneakers. We are advertising that on Facebook. I’m advertising to the cross country team parents because they may have a lot of sneakers to get rid of!
We are no longer doing the Zumba fundraiser that we had discussed, but we may look at doing a fundraiser at Books-a-Million at the mall. I’ve contacted their store manager who hasn’t said no, but hasn’t said yes. Going to touch base after Christmas, second week of January. Maybe we could do a fundraiser with Chick Fil-A and Books-a-Million.
Sign-up Genius – Fall Fling this Friday. Can we supplement with popcorn making if we don’t have enough salty snacks? PTA will provide supplies. Mr. Cosentino said yes. - later updated that it was not possible and we would purchase popcorn for the event.
Restaurant Night – Sylvia Bank updating for Cindy Lin:
Trattoria – made $289 last week
Last year we did a Restaurant Night from White Oak with 8th grade graduation and they just sent us a ~$100 check.
After New Year we will look at planning something else.
8th Grade Activities – Sylvia Bank:
Met with several 8th graders last week to design 8th grade t-shirt, and we put together a Google form for the 8th graders to vote on their preferred design, in order of priority. The students were very into it and committed to spending their lunch with me, and I gave them cupcakes on their last day. 8th grade team will collect shirt sizes in 1st period.
Will start meeting with 8th grade team after the New Year. This year we are hoping to do a little bit more; last year our budget was very tight.
Yearbook – Lisa Jensen:
Going to put yearbook email address in meeting chat – bmmsyearbook22@yahoo.com
My mom took photos at the sock hop
If you have Google photos, please share with me and I will upload to the Lifetouch website
Rosalie and I are meeting tomorrow morning but we have learned a lot from last year
We should get flyers from the distributor that we will send out this year.
Yearbook covers – do we want to have a contest? Front and back. Sylvia asked Lisa to put something together and we’ll get it out to the kids to start thinking about.
Cultural Arts – Lorri Raney:
Got the Shakespeare grant – program will be the week of May 8
Need Sylvia’s signature tonight.
What is our budget for this year? Sylvia thinks it was around $2,000 for the assemblies. We will discuss dates and content for those soon.
Motion to adjourn was made by Christine Fritz and seconded by Mindy Brenner. All voted to adjourn, and meeting was adjourned at 7:42 pm.
Monday, October 17, 2022
Minutes
BMMS PTA Meeting
Monday, October 17, 2022
7:00 pm
Meeting Objective: Provide updates on PTA activities and plan future events.
Attendance: Kalpana Vijay, Savitha Enner, Mindy Brenner, Sylvia Bank, Chelsea D’Agnese, Christine Fritz, Tiffany Carmean (Assistant Principal), Healther Wrenn, Hellen Sedghi, Yanique Ngbichi Moore, Cindy Sheng, Swapna Challa, Jessica Esposito, Melanie Schlee, Tarsha Herelle
Meeting Called to Order: 7:10 pm (due to technical difficulties)
President’s Report – Kalpana Vijay for Sylvia Bank and Sylvia Bank
PTA activity emails will only be going out to those who sign up through MemberHub.
Mindy Brenner, Melanie not getting those emails
PTA has solicited for volunteers for health room – nurse appreciative of volunteers for flu clinic, and still looking for a few more volunteers
Beth Berkeley looking for snack donation for Alpha Achievers after-school meeting, will cost $5 per meeting, $135 for the year—any discussion about this, or concerns? None voiced. We donated our left over baked goods from the bake sale for their next meeting.
Ms. Berkeley also looking for carpools for the Alpha Achievers and Scholars—Sylvia will connect parents with parents. Ms. Carmean says Mr. Song is the contact for after-school activities and will be able to coordinate.
Next PTA meeting is Monday, November 14.
Assistant Principal’s Report – Tiffany Carmean:
Finishing up MAP fall testing, that is going well. Half of reading makeups are done, math makeups should be done soon. We’ve done some goal setting with kids. We put a benchmark on for this year and that was a trigger for kids – if they didn’t meet the benchmark, they were hard on themselves, even if they showed improvement.
Today we had a modified lockdown because CHS received a threat on social media. Staff and students did a phenomenal job today. People are often triggered by lockdown announcements so we have to be sensitive to that. As Dr. Martirano said, we address all threats as real, and that is hard on kids and hard on stuff, but we can’t become complacent.
Ms. Carmean described the various ways that the school system communicates the need for evacuation, modified lockdown, or lockdown. Modified lockdown allows for teaching to continue, but nobody can enter or exit the building, sometimes ask teachers to keep kids in classrooms while someone is taken out on a stretcher, etc. Lockdown is teaching ceases, blinds pulled down, doors blocked, because there is an active threat inside the building.
Executive Vice President – Sylvia Bank updating for Prajakta David:
Parking lot reserved for World Showcase? Prajakta is trying to contact the reservations people by phone, after emails have gone unanswered.
Executive Vice President – Membership – Swapna Challa:
Uptick in new members—277 members, including 54 faculty
Membership collection $2,768
Treasurer’s Report – Kalpana Vijay:
Have had technical issues setting up our books. I am honoring the reimbursement requests and checks are being written but I don’t have accurate records—hope to have it by the end of the month.
PTA Council dues check should go out in the mail tomorrow morning
Secretary’s Report – Tracy Lynge:
Approval of Minutes:
September 19 minutes approval – Mindy Brenner made a motion to approve, Tiffany Carmean seconded, all in favor, none opposed
May 23 minutes approval – Savitha Enner made a motion, Mindy Brenner seconded, all in favor, none opposed
HC Drug Free announcements – still looking for volunteers for sharps/drug collection on Oct. 29 – Sylvia is including the HC Drug Free announcements in the PTA newsletter.
Committee Reports
PTACHC - Melanie Schlee
September meeting –Dr. Martirano spoke about increasing teacher salaries to try to attract more teachers to Howard Co. Class sizes maintained even though enrollment was up. School meal program changed – no longer free except through FARM program. He talked about implementing behavioral interventions before problems get more serious. He wants to bring on more mental health staff. Talked about trailers – said 2-3 years ago, to replace all trailers would have cost $150M, and now it would be higher. When new schools are built we want to increase the footprint to head off the need for trailers in the future. Special education – unfilled positions, we need to incentivize applicants in that area. Hollofield Station PTA president suggested creating a lending library that we may use for school events, such as games or equipment. Dr. Liu from BOE gave an update focused on redistricting and capital budget, which has since passed. Also – learned that if a school holds an event with 250+ people, someone has to have crowd manager training, and the county offers it several times a year for free. Sylvia Bank went through the crowd manager training in October.
October meeting – Dr. Caroline Walker spoke about Title I, how in the past, Federal monies were allocated to our schools based on FARM rates, but HCPSS is revisiting that and considering allocating it based on community eligibility provision, which takes into account students’ eligibility for SNAP, Medicaid, etc. Some counties are undercounted because the students do get FARM but not SNAP/Medicaid because they don’t qualify. HCPSS feels the dollars do the most good at the elementary level, and it’s hard for them to run their programs at the middle/high school levels. COVID-related funding is going to be going away. Dr. Liu gave a school board update – CHS is now #6 on priority list for renovation. Elem school #43 in Turf Valley was not on the priority list at all but is now #5 based on advocacy. HCPSS community news page where PTAs can submit events at their schools – a moderator will approve that and post it. PTACHC YouTube channel has BOE candidate forums.
Homewood School – Christine Fritz had a question about whether PTAs divided up the responsibility for things like staff dinners, etc. because Homewood doesn’t have a PTA. Mindy Brenner will get her an answer by tomorrow.
DEI – Sylvia Bank updating for Rubin Singh:
DEI meeting took place Sept 21. Gave background on DEI committee and asked participants a question about time in their lives where they felt judged based on personal characteristics.
Community Voices panel will be Nov 2, 7pm in the cafeteria. So far we have two adult speakers. One is Sylvia and Abeer Shinnawi (excellent speaker). Contacted the GSA club at Burleigh. Third adult speaker from CHS possible. Need to get the word out as much as possible.
Spirit Wear – Jessica Esposito:
Wrapped up online sales. Sold two more shirts at the SGA Yard Sale.
We found a company where we can return shirts that we don’t use and get our money back.
Next we are going to make the Light the Night shirts – had some transfers left from last year. Nov 18 event. Last year we donated a portion of funds from the sales to the Lymphoma and Leukemia Foundation.
We’ll do sweatshirts again over the winter.
Next year I will not be able to do Spirit Wear, so we can either find someone to take over, or go back to using a third-party vendor, etc. We will still have the t-shirt press.
Staff Appreciation – Christine Fritz:
Diwali staff appreciation lunch is Tuesday, Oct 25, signups are slow but we always get enough volunteers. Sylvia will help Savitha set up.
Conference dinner – discussed 3pm as a start time so people can grab and go if they are going home. Monday is a half day for students, all conferences in person. Tuesday the conferences are virtual. We’re going to use our proceeds from Restaurant Night to buy from Trattoria Amore in Dorsey Village Center.
Staff Liaison – Mindy Brenner:
Thank you so much for the fall harvest, everyone enjoyed it not just that day but the leftovers the next day.
I am retiring at the end of the year but this has been a huge gift to be a part of this organization. Everyone thanked Mindy for her participation in the PTA and willingness to step up in so many capacities and noted her shoes will be very hard to fill.
Reflections- Sylvia Bank updating for Trish Chang:
Deadline is Dec. 2, may be extended to Dec 7.
Yearbook - Sylvia Bank updating for Lisa Jensen
We made money on this – the yearbook cost $17 but we charged $20, so we made $3/yearbook (appx $2000). They wrote the check to BMMS instead of the PTA so we discussed using that money for cultural arts.
Drama – Sylvia updating for Joy Fishman:
32 students attending and will put on Newsies, Jr. Great turnout.
Beauty and the Beast, Jr will be the spring play, already approved by Mr. Cosentino.
Fundraising – Sylvia Bank updating for Susan Bromberg and Poonam Kaur:
We are going to go ahead with the ice cream fundraiser. Super easy, online – Taharka Bros.
About to start an athletic sneaker recycling program for fundraising.
Hoping to do one other fundraiser – maybe book fair at Books-a-Million in the mall.
Question/discussion about posting to social media networks about the Clothing-to-Cash bins in our parking lot. Sylvia encouraged everyone to spread the word.
Restaurant Night – Sylvia updating for Cindy Lin:
Trattoria – 11 am to 10 pm on Nov 9, dine in or carry out only, no Door Dash, and there is a flier—you have to show the screenshot on your phone.
Other Business
Chelsea D’Agnese, 6th grade social studies teacher came to ask for snack and drink donations for the Fall Fling on Friday, Nov 18. Nobody had objections. Sylvia said either Ms. D’Agnese could make the sign up and Sylvia would publish it, or Sylvia could create the sign up.
Motion to adjourn was made by Savitha Enner and seconded by Chelsae D’Agnese. All voted to adjourn, and meeting was adjourned at 8:25pm.
Monday September 19, 2022
Minutes
BMMS PTA Meeting
Monday, September 19, 2022
7:00 pm
Meeting Objective: Provide updates on PTA activities and plan future events.
Attendance: Sylvia Bank, Swapna Challa, Christine Fritz, Lorri Raney, Cindy Lin, Tracy Lynge, Mindy Brenner, Jessica Esposito, Amanda Reyes, Kalpana Vijay, Andrea Stremmel, Rubin Singh, Anna Lee, Heather Weesner, Hellen S, Samuel Pearson-Moore, Susan You, Megan Benedict, Tiffany Carmean (Assistant Principal), Allen Cosentino (principal), Christina Delmont-Small (Board of Education member)
Meeting Called to Order: 7:00 pm.
President’s Report – Sylvia Bank:
Welcome everyone to a new school year - thank you for volunteering your time to the BMMS PTA this year. If you have not yet done so - please join the PTA.
Mail - Carried over from last year a thank you letter from Small Miracles for our $167.07 donation from the Penny Wars charity portion of our fundraiser
Mail - Received a notice that they plan on expanding the building structure of Pine Orchard Liquors
Redistricting update - Plans for the opening of the 13th high school in Howard County results in some redistricting that does not affect BMMS
Outdoor Experience Shirts Tie Dye date 9/27 - will be pressing white T-shirts with the 6th grade science team and will have an in school tie dye activity on 9/27/22 with parent donations and parent volunteers.
Volunteers for Health room vision and screening (10/12) and flu shot clinic (11/1) - Nurse is appreciative.
Principal’s Report – Allen Cosentino:
Happy to be back – great 1st 3 weeks of school. It’s a privilege to be your administrators.
Glad to be back to a more normal year.
We are at 88% completion of the Family File, but we need to get to 100%. That is the emergency contact information, so we need every single family to complete this.
We held a Town Hall to discuss some expectations for the year. The primary reason for us to be here is to learn, so our policy is that cell phones should be in the backpack from the start of school to the end. No earbuds either.
Ms. Carmean and I have our mottos. Mine is, work hard and be nice.
We are continuing to feel the impact of the pandemic on our students. Looking at the data – 20% of students got at least one final grade of a D or E. We are talking to students early in the year who are struggling, to try to get in front of that and address it.
Please monitor your child’s social media if they have accounts. Any conflict at middle school manifests on social media. What we tell the kids is, f you would not say it in front of your parents or principal, do not say it.
Assistant Principal’s Report – Tiffany Carmean:
Less tests this year than last year – yay!
MAP testing in English and Math classes coming up soon, then again in winter
Positive office referrals – 17 processed today, 11 I didn’t even get to, accentuating that kids are working hard and showing up and doing good things. A positive referral takes a lot of time but it’s good to do it. Nice to hear the smile in the parent’s voice when you recognize their kids.
My motto is “Everyone’s fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind, always.”
Executive Vice President – Sylvia Bank for Prajakta David:
Prajakta is in charge of room reservations; reminder that the person who reserves the room needs to be present at the event with a permit in hand
Permit references crowd management – need to have a certain number of crowd managers
Sylvia asked who is a crowd manager – Mr. Cosentino, Megan Benedict, Jess Esposito
If anyone else is interested, free course is Oct 12, 10a-12p, Fire Dept off of Frederick Rd near fairgrounds, webpage to sign up is https://www.howardcountymd.gov/fire-and-rescue-services/crowd-manager-safety-seminar
Class Schedule: 2022 dates: October 12, 2022: 10 AM - 12 PM and November 9, 2022: 10 AM - 12 PM
To sign up, please email FD3689@howardcountymd.gov
Location: Howard County Fire and Rescue Headquarters, 2201 Warwick Way, Marriottsville, MD 21104
Executive Vice President – Membership – Swapna Challa:
253 new members, 48 faculty, all uploaded to MemberHub
Membership drive ongoing; if on Executive Board, we expect you to be a member
Secretary’s Report – Tracy Lynge:
Approval of Minutes: We will approve the May 23 minutes at our next meeting.
Jeff Goldstein, former BMMS parent and current CHS parent, wants to offer us a fundraising opportunity. He wants to teach Zumba classes for free, and charge a very small fee to participate, with all proceeds going to BMMS PTA
Mindy Brenner offered to be the coordinator/liaison for this effort
Sylvia asked for a vote, and 17 voted yes, none opposed
Secretary is the HC DrugFree rep for our school, needle collection event at end of October.
Treasurer’s Report – Kalpana Vijay:
We spent $350 and made $750 at the Back to School Bash
Kalpana presented budget estimates, expenses and revenue both are $20,400.
Lorri Raney: we were awarded a $2251 grant for the Shakespeare program, not sure what residency will cost
Motion to vote on a budget – Sylvia. Second – Ms. Carmean
Voted to approve: 19. None opposed.
To get reimbursed, bring receipts to Kalpana, or scan/email them to burleighmanormspta@gmail.com.
Committee Reports
DEI – Rubin Singh:
First event this Wed. at 7pm – inviting all parents, in person and virtual, link is in the PTA Update emails; meeting will be announcements of planned events and getting to know each other; please come and invite others
Community Voices panel –November 2, 2022 7 pm BMMS Cafeteria. If you know of anyone who would like to speak about their lived experience from a DEI perspective, please let us know.
Open mic night – Jan 12
World Showcase – Mar 16
Spirit Wear – Jessica Esposito:
We are using a company that allows to return shirts that we don’t use
We’ve sold 6 online shirts so far, but we sold 121 at orientation, BTS bash, BTS night
We are making outdoor ed shirts as a donation, doing It’s Academic shirts, probably will do the Light the Night
Ms. Carmean offered to lend her press if we need an extra
Restaurant Night – Cindy Lin:
Trattoria Amore – contacted owner and he would prefer to do Tuesdays after Oct 20
Nov 1 – any conflict? They are getting their flu shots that day, so that could be good.
Suggestion made that we could ask Trattoria if they’d give a larger percentage back to us if we took it in the form of a gift card. That way we could use the proceeds for the staff appreciation conference dinner later in November.
Christine mentioned the CLES fundraiser at Yogi Castle – after music performances
CHS is doing Crazy Mason Milkshake – we will see how that goes
Ms. Carmean suggests Taharka Bros. – they deliver locally for free; it’s a black-owned small business in Baltimore
Did we make any money on the White Oak Tavern fundraiser? Need to ask Jen Kim.
Staff Appreciation – Christine Fritz:
Already had a Welcome Back breakfast, and have a Fall Harvest event coming up on October 7 – thinking of setting it up by 10 am, will just need one table
Conference dinner – Monday, Nov 21, in-person, start around 3:30pm
Teacher gift wrap – week of Dec. 19 (Mon/Tues); could start that Friday
Holiday cookie boxes – Monday, Dec. 12? Could we use the cafeteria to assemble that morning?
Teacher appreciation week – first week in May, then end of year event – both of those PTA will spend the money and we won’t ask for donations
Diwali luncheon – Oct 25, Savitha Enner organizing
Lunar New Year event being planned
Retail Programs – Megan Benedict:
Nothing to report.
Staff Liaison – Mindy Brenner:
Staff appreciates our efforts so much, especially the teacher appreciation events. It’s not just the food, it’s knowing you care.
They love the QR code because it makes it easy to join the PTA.
Cultural Arts – Lorri Raney:
We were awarded the grant from Howard County Arts Council for the Shakespeare program.
We had talked about doing some cultural arts assemblies this year, maybe have kids vote on what they want to do. We budgeted more money for that this year.
Drama – Sylvia updating for Joy Fishman:
Fall/winter class will be putting on Newsies Jr. Performance scheduled week of Jan 26.
Fundraising – Sylvia Bank:
We will be meeting soon to discuss fundraising ideas for the year. We will discuss Taharka Bros. and if anyone has any fundraising ideas, let Sylvia know.
Special Guest Presentation
Board of Ed member Christina Delmont-Small
CHS has been slated for renovation and expansion
Challenge is that it is slated for occupancy in 2033 – too far into the future. I am talking to all the feeders into CHS because now is the time to get involved and comment.
Public hearing this Thursday during our 7pm session.
I will forward all this information and links to Sylvia, to put it out to BMMS parents to encourage attendance. You can testify if you want.
We aren’t supposed to base decisions on the number of people advocating for it, but it does help if people participate
In order for us to get state money, the county has to provide a match, and it has to meet state guidelines. Many of our schools are aging at the same time and expenses coming up at the same time.
Motion to adjourn was made by Mindy Brenner and seconded by Jessica Esposito. All voted to adjourn, and meeting was adjourned at 7:56 pm.