THE EWING MUSIC PARENTS ORGANIZATION
GENERAL MEETING MINUTES - October 10, 2018
Meeting called to order: Dan Ashton called the meeting to order @ 7:05 pm
01 Meeting dates (posted on https://sites.google.com/view/ewing-tempo/home) - all meetings
begin at 7:00 pm.
Upcoming TEMPO General Meetings:
*Wednesday,November 14,2018 *Wednesday, December 12, 2018
*Wednesday, January 9, 2019 *Wednesday, February 13,2019
( Conflict w/ BTS Night)
*Wednesday March 13, 2019 *Wednesday April 10, 2019
*Wednesday May 8, 2019 *Wednesday June 12, 2019
President Vellenga welcomed everyone and reintroduced the officers to all in attendance. A survey was taken by hand to see orchestra, chorus, and band families.
02 TEMPO Articles of Incorporation / By-laws available to read on website, as
shown below:
TEMPO email: ewingtempo@gmail.com
TEMPO website: https://sites.google.com/view/ewing-tempo/home
EHS Website :PARENT Groups/ TEMPO
Mr Olson, Mr Ashton, Mrs Bassett, and Mrs Ashton read the TEMPO By Laws/Articles of Incorporation for the general membership of Tempo.
03 Mr. Olson’s Report - Band / Orchestra / Jazz Band
Friday Football Game vs Pennsauken report time is 4:45. As a result of the Philly Pops Brass visiting Ewing High for a demonstration, Andrew Ashton was given the opportunity to conduct a song with the Philly Pops at The Trenton War Memorial as a part of the St Lawrence Rehabilitation Fundraiser. Several EHS students were also given tickets to attend the performance which included a variety of Elton John music.
Orchestra is going well. Some new harder music has been introduced.
Jazz band under the direction of Mr Kaplan will be starting soon!
04 Mr. Minter’s Report - Choir / Mastersingers / Handbell
Mastersingers and handbells have started their rehearsals. Thomas Juno, a friend of Mr minters has composed a piece for EHS to premier @ Rutgers in the Spring 2019. Mr Minter also reported that he is getting used to staying at EHS all day long and the opportunities that it will provide.
05 Secretary’s Report
Minutes from the September TEMPO meeting were distributed and reviewed.
06 Treasurer’s Report
Mrs Bassett explained the Treasurer’s Report and explained that the General Fund has $2583.00. A discussion will be held as to how to make the report less confusion to the general population.
07 Fundraising:
*Pies (A&M Farm Market): order forms will be handed out at October meeting
Pie Order forms were distributed and Pie Sale explained by Mrs Ashton. Wednesday, November 7, 2018 is the LAST day to turn in pie orders. About ⅓ of the pie cost is what the student gets credit.
*Others to be discussed
Mixed Bag Fundraiser is not going to fit in before the holidays. Perhaps we could start it in December with a Valentine’s Day delivery.
*Spaghetti Dinner: Tentative January 26, 2019 @ West Trenton
Presbyterian Church (same place as last year) Students get full ticket cost towards trip!
08 2019 Annual Spring Music Trip - Williamsburg, Va April, 2019
Student Funds for the Spring trip are always posted in the IMR by ID Number, not names. A $200.00 Non-refundable deposit is required. Dates will be April 25th through 28th which could be a conflict with EHS/Katzenbach Robotics. Unfortunately, with testing and late Spring Break there were not many available choices.
09 Chaperones/ Snack Donations Chaperones and Snacks are still needed for band. Still looking for a Website Person
Meeting adjourned at 7:54 pm
TEMPO General Meeting Minutes
5/9/18
Meeting was called to order in cafeteria by Sergeant-at-Arms Loren Ciccone.
President Tina Capodici started off the meeting by asking for nominations from the group for TEMPO board officers: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary/Webmaster, and Sergeant-at-Arms. Tina and Secretary Pam Marsola stressed that we will be passing along detailed descriptions of our respective positions to the “new guard” so they will feel comfortable. Also, we will be available to answer any questions -- we aren’t far away!
Even though tonight’s meeting was very poorly attended, with only a few parents besides the officers, some brave people volunteered to fill a few of the positions, as follows:
President:
Vice President: Chuck Vellenga
Treasurer: Maria Bassett
Secretary/Webmaster: Linda Ashton
Sergeant-at-Arms: Dan Ashton
We will be having one more meeting on Wednesday, June 13 at 7 pm in the IMR. Please come out and support your children in the band, orchestra, choir, and color guard! We will finalize all nominations at that meeting and vote too.
Tina encouraged everyone to think about getting their child’s marching band uniform dry-cleaned and returned to Mr. Olson soon.
Speaking of uniforms, Tina reminded the group of the idea of having the old band uniforms made into bags and backpacks with the Ewing colors and “E” prominently displayed. She brought a few samples to a past meeting, and they were well-received. Now that the board of education approved this endeavor, and has agreed to having all proceeds from the sale of these bags to be solely for the benefit of the TEMPO general fund, we are going to go ahead with this fundraiser very soon. We will have pictures and an order form on the TEMPO website shortly.
There was quite a bit of discussion about fundraising and how to replenish the general fund, which has taken a hit due to an unforeseen bus charge of $800 from the Disney trip. We are hoping to recoup lost funds with the above old uniform fundraiser.
We ended the meeting with a viewing of the EHS Winds and Strings Disney video. We heard our own band and orchestra members playing a song from the Tangled soundtrack while a scene from that movie played. They sounded great! Next came a montage of photos of the EHS musicians. Unfortunately, there was a technical difficulty with the Choir video so hopefully we can see that one at the final meeting in June.
Our EHS musicians are scheduled to play on Monday, May 21st at the board of education meeting. A few of us encouraged Mr. Olson to play these two videos for the board members so they can hear what a phenomenal group they are, and what an awesome, educational experience they had at the workshop.
Meeting was adjourned by Tina Capodici.
TEMPO General Meeting Minutes
3/14/18
Meeting was called to order in cafeteria by Sergeant-at-Arms Loren Ciccone.
President Tina Capodici instructed students and parents to check tables for papers with room assignments. Students had to find their names and be seated with roommates. Students were then asked to elect a “room captain” and write that person’s name at top of sheet. Room Captain will be responsible for the room key, and will deliver the room key to chaperones each day to ensure all students remain in the park.
Next to each student’s name, they wrote their own cell numbers. Mrs. Cap and other chaperones will take pictures of park passes (sadly, they didn’t arrive in time for tonight’s meeting) and text each student picture of his/her pass ASAP. Students are to get with their friends and decide which rides in which parks (consult itinerary for parks/dates) they want to try to get Fast Passes for. They need their barcode from their Park Pass in order to go on to the Disney app (My Disney Experience) and sign up for them. They may still not get all the rides they want because people can sign up up to 90 days prior to travel.
Tina asked that students not complain/ask for a seat change on plane. Boarding passes are being printed by travel agent and we don’t know if they will assign seats by room or not. Students will sit where they are assigned!
Examples of luggage were shown. Try to use a carry-on sized suitcase and avoid checking bags. HOWEVER, if you use a carry-on keep in mind that all toiletries must be in 3oz clear containers and in ziploc bags. If they aren’t, they risk getting thrown away by airport employees. Checked bags don’t have these restrictions. But, checking bags is time consuming and we’d like to avoid waiting around for bags if possible. A parent mentioned that you can buy the ziploc bags with containers at the dollar store! Also recommended: a cheap disposable rain poncho -- just a few bucks from Target or Walmart. If student must check a bag, be aware of weight limit (50 pounds) -- we will try to have a scale at bag drop-off Wednesday night (4/11). Bag drop-off on Wednesday is from 5-7 pm -- come at any time between those hours. Refer to TSA checklist link on small handout given at tonight’s meeting for more information. Also refer to Itinerary given at the meeting. Both docs can be found on TEMPO website! NOTE: If student’s bag is over the weight limit at the airport, student personally will pay the fine of about $60 right then. No exceptions!
Tina encouraged students to pack LIGHT. Slip-ons/sneakers, and flip flops are enough. NO hard-to-remove shoes for ease at airport. T-shirts, shorts (cargos with secure pockets good -- slippery basketball shorts bad), 1 pair of pants, 1 hoodie, pjs, bathing suit, etc. Kids will get a TEMPO t-shirt at EHS Wednesday at bag drop-off. It is to be worn on the first day in Florida, not on the plane!! Kids double-checked their t-shirt size at the meeting. Bring lots of sunscreen! Temps should be around 80 degrees each day. We will swim in the pool at resort.
ALL medications, money, ID and other important items should be with student in backpack/purse at all times. Do not check them! Students will be responsible for their own medications while on the trip.
MONEY: You should not send your kids with cash only. We recommend the refillable Visa gift card -- can be refilled online. Other options are DIsney gift cards, debit cards, etc. You can also get AAA gift cards.
FOOD ON THE TRIP: Although the food coupon break down is $5 for breakfast and $10 each for lunch and dinner, it will not be enough! As an example, a normal breakfast runs closer to $10 or $12. Parents: you know your kids and how they eat, so please plan accordingly. To see the menus, please make sure to check out the dining link on the small paper handout
Students will NOT be going home after school on Thursday the 12th! Our bus will depart for Newark Airport PROMPTLY AT 3:30. Bus will be loaded and students on the bus at that time. They need to make arrangements for someone to pick up their backpacks with their school materials so they won’t be dragging it all to Disney (OR they can leave materials in their lockers if they know the combination ha ha!).
Students are also urged to speak to teachers WELL IN ADVANCE and get all assignments/make photocopies of pages from textbooks if they must bring work on the trip. Note that there will be very little time on trip for studying. TRY to get work done BEFORE the trip if at all possible -- or make sure teachers will give you 2 days’ time to make it up!
Also note that we will be getting back home VERY LATE on Monday night -- probably 1:30 am! Tuesday will be rough! :)
Mr. Olson read Code of Conduct for the trip.
Tina said nominations for TEMPO officers for next year will happen at the next meeting. She reminded everyone that 3 of the 4 officers are parents of seniors and will be gone next year. She also encouraged someone to step up to be in charge of the Spaghetti Dinner. She offered her help.
Meeting was adjourned by Tina Capodici.