Meetings

• Welcome–Kate

• Announcement of languages available for interpretation (no interpreters)

• Principal's Update–Mr. Severns

  • Higher enrollment this year

  • New staff

  • Budget cuts

  • Drills starting 9/17 

  • Walking patrols training next week?

  • Advocacy to the district for full-time art and music

  • Parent liaison update

  • Ways and languages used to communicate

  • Sunny - 1.5 counselors, “Mr. Tyler”, anti-bullying, college, career, personal safety skills

    • Lori.Sundelius@spps.org

    • Tyler.Ulsby@spps.org (Thursdays and Fridays)

• Parent Liaison Update

  • Will be posting this position around November

• Treasurer Update–Matt

• School Year Planning

  • Davanni’s Restaurant Night–Matt - 9/17 

  • Fall Carnival–Tracey, HaiVy, Anne

    • Community building event

    • Pizza for sale

    • Lots of volunteers needed

    • 10/24 from 5:30p-7:30p

• Welcome–Kate

• Announcement of languages available for interpretation–Farhiya

• Principal's Update–Mr. Severns

  • APTT conferences - pilot with Ms. Cook, including families more in conferences

  • Completed 8 drills these past couple weeks

  • Built some new partnerships - America Reads, Hamline, St. Kates, Cretin-Derham Hall, lots of regular volunteers

  • Open family liaison position - 14 hours/week

• Treasurer Update–Matt

  • Registered for the spelling bee

  • Sent about 10 teacher reimbursement checks to teachers

• School Year Planning

  • Fall Carnival–Tracey, Anne

    • Thursday 10/24

    • Dance party room

    • Create space

    • Spin the wheel

    • Selling cookies

    • Flu shot clinic confirmed

    • Cash preferred

  • Davanni’s Restaurant Night recap–Matt

    • $286 raised

  • COMPAS Artist Residency / Give to the Max update–Kate

    • In discussions with COMPAS to get residency information to staff

    • Budget: $10,500 ($1500 per grade)

    • All grades can participate

    • Ren will take the lead on promoting GTTM this year

  • Staff Gear update–Kasey

    • 55 staff signed up for t-shirts!

  • Board updates and voting–Kate

    • Co-Vice President candidate: Ren Kuntz

    • Website Coordinator candidate: Suki Akers

    • VOTED YES!

  • Conference potluck–Anne

    • “Themed” this year

    • Looking for someone else to take over this as Anne V-T will be done after this year

    • If interested, reach out to PTA or Anne V-T

  • Girls on the Run–Tracey

• Questions

• Sendoff/shout outs

• Welcome–Ren

• Announcement of languages available for interpretation–Farhiya

• Principal's Update–Mr. Severns

  • Family liaison beginning next week - Greta!

  • School is bigger population, we were approved to hire another part time special education teacher

• Treasurer Update–Kasey

  • Budget amendment proposal and vote: We are looking to make a motion to amend our meeting expenses budget by an increase of $700 to cover the cost of interpreters for our meetings. Last year, the district paid for our interpreters, but they are not covering that cost this year. $700 will cover 2 interpreters for each meeting this year.

  • Who will make the motion to increase the budget by $700?

  • Who will second the motion?

  • All in favor; all against 

• School Year Planning

  • Fall Carnival Recap–Tracey or HaiVy

    • Money spent on the even was $1811.71

    • Money brought in by event was $2419.12

    • 515 attendees!!!

    • Disco was great!

    • Ran out of food - learning for next year

  • COMPAS Artist Residency / Give to the Max update–Ren

    • The teachers in pre-K through 5th grade have received the information to sign up for an artist residency this school year. They will select an artist and 4-day time frame for the students in their grade to work with an artist through COMPAS.

    • Give to the Max goal ($) to help pay for the artist residencies. Give to the Max is Nov. 21! We will communicate about our goal in these ways…

    • Ms. Cook said she 

  • Staff Gear update–Kasey

    • We collected sizes for all interested staff and placed the order for t-shirts. They were given out to staff last week!

    • We ordered 68 shirts (which includes some extra for new staff who join us later this year) for a total of $928 (out of the $1000 we budgeted).

  • Conference potluck recap–Farhiya or Kasey

  • Upcoming Restaurant Night: Dave’s Hot Chicken–Ren

    • Tuesday Dec 3rd (4-8pm; we usually have PTA reps there 5-7pm)

    • 1959 Ford Parkway, St. Paul, MN 55116

    • Fliers coming home week of 11/25 (Thanksgiving week)

    • Dave's Hit Chicken 2024 fundraiser-flyer.png

• Questions–Kasey

• Sendoff/shout outs

• Welcome–Kate

  • Welcome to our new Family Liaison, Greta!

• Announcement of languages available for interpretation–Farhiya

• Principal's Update–Mr. Severns

  • -35 wind chill or snow is too difficult to travel for a cancelation

  • 2 snow days and then we will have e-learning days

  • We will not cancel school early

  • 1st assembly of the year

• Treasurer Update–Matt

  • Fall carnival donations via QR code?

• NEW AGENDA ITEM: Mascot Proposal–Ms. Rao

  • $1500 to order from company, $1000 for former student made

  • Will add to January agenda to vote on it

  • Get sketch of student-made option

• NEW AGENDA ITEM: Superintendent search update–Farhiya

• School Year Planning

  • COMPAS Artist Residency / Give to the Max update–Kate and Ren

    • GTTM fundraiser raised just over $2,000!

    • Our COMPAS contact has changed; we are working with a temporary replacement and the executive director

    • So far, 2 grades are working to schedule their residencies (first and third)

    • A reminder email was sent to staff to encourage them to sign up for a residency soon

  • Restaurant Night Recap–Matt

    • Raised $229.08

    • February 18th - LeeAnn Chin

    • MyBurger - TBD

  • Read-a-Thon–Jen

    • Donations of gently used book for read-a-thon

    • Box in front office for drop-off

  • Website updates–Suki

    • List of board members and school reps is now on the home page

    • Volunteer form is now baked into the website

    • Need to update SPPS school site to include accurate PTA page

  • Gear sale–Kate

    • Online ordering and bulk order possible

    • Black hoodies in kids and adult sizes ($30 each)

    • Folks can ship to their own homes or pick up at school

    • When should we start the order? (in time for pick up at Community Night? Sooner?)

  • Community Night Planning–Kate and Farhiya

    • Volunteers needed for planning committee (first meeting Tuesday, Dec. 17 7pm on Zoom)

    • Performers needed (last year we had songs, dances, poetry)

    • Date (TBD; looking into a Friday in Jan/Feb)

    • Cater desserts or keep as a potluck?

    • Theme ideas (Last year: Stories, Music, and Games!)

• Questions

• Sendoff/shout outs 

• Welcome–Kate

• Announcement of languages available for interpretation–Farhiya

• Principal's Update–Mr. Severns

  • 22% on track for math in fall → 41% on track in winter

  • Decrease in reading, but outperforming district by 2%

  • 2/14: deadline for priority enrollment

  • Title I questions - we get social work support, TA’s, smaller class sizes, etc.

  • Custodian cuts - fewer resources across the district. Would be helpful for parents to go to board to advocate

• Family Liaison Update–Greta

  • NAAPID on 2/10 was a well attended event

• Treasurer Update–Matt

  • No update! 

• School Year Planning

  • Community Night–Kate and Farhiya

    • Friday, Feb. 21 5:30-7:30pm

    • Dinner, displays, and games 5:30-6:30 

    • Performances/demonstrations 6:30-7:15

    • Freewill donation accepted before or during the event

    • Potluck dessert

    • Volunteers needed! https://grow.withlome.com/a/5fbce188-4390-4c78-8ca8-92d0b8310f39 

  • Gear sale update–Ren

  • Read-a-Thon–Jen

  • Restaurant Night–Tracey

    • PTA representation from 5p-7p

    • Jamba Juice?

  • Openings on the PTA board for next year–Kate

• Questions

  • Girls on the Run coaches needed!!! 

  • Mondays/Wednesdays after school, 90 minutes

Sendoff/shout outs 

• Welcome–Kate

• Announcement of languages available for interpretation–Farhiya

• Principal's Update–Mr. Severns

  • Hired special education support

  • Field trip season

  • Ramadan began - work to support students

• Family Liaison Update–Greta

  • March conferences: 3/24, 3/27, 3/28, more communication to come next week

  • Spring break: 3/31-4/4

  • In the office on Tuesday/Thursdays

• Treasurer Update–Matt

  • Reimbursements, Community Night money spent

• School Year Planning

  • Book Fair–April and HaiVy

    • Teachers will bring class to book fair to look at the books (no money, no buying things, just a preview)

    • All book fair purchases made after school/during conferences with parent

  • Conferences Potluck–Anne

    • Potluck for Monday night - salad bar

    • Thursday - pizza (donations helpful)

  • Community Night Recap–Farhiya

    • Raised $600, offsets $2k cost of event

  • Read-a-Thon Recap–Ren and Beth

    • $9,900+ raised

    • Met minutes goal

    • Book giveaway on Thursday - need one more volunteer for this

  • Restaurant Nights Recap–Tracey

    • LeAnn Chin - $120 raised

    • MyBurget - TBD

  • Scottie Fun Run–Kate

    • Date and location TBD

    • We can’t use the high school track due to construction

    • Ideas for where to hold it this year?

      • Macalester?

      • SPA?

      • Local school with a big field

    • If you want to help, you can volunteer at the event! Sign up coming soon.

  • Openings on the PTA board for next year–Kate

    • Our current President, co-Vice President, and Treasurer are all aging out this year. We have candidates who have come forward to express interest in Treasurer and President. We are looking for a candidate or two for Vice President.

    • VP role includes…

      • Create agenda for and preside over monthly meetings in the event of the President’s absence

      • Monitor and communicate with event coordinators to ensure timely completion of tasks for events

      • Attend all monthly Board meetings and general meetings

      • Participate in and hold equal voting weight in all decisions voted on by the Board

      • Perform other duties as assigned

    • If interested, please let us know!

  • Kindergarten funding request–Kate

    • Kindergarten has not used their $400 for bus transport to a field trip. Instead, they are requesting…

    • Safari Bob https://sustainablesafari.net/wildlife-shows/ would do one show for all 3 classes and the cost is $415

    • Raptor Center  https://raptor.umn.edu/raptors-to-you would do 2 shows and the cost would be $540 (possibly cheaper if we are able to qualify for a grant)

• Questions

  • 6/5 - Raffle/picnic

Sendoff/shout outs 

• Welcome–Ren

• Announcement of languages available for interpretation–Farhiya

• Principal's Update–Mr. Severns

  • Staff Olympics - thanks, Mrs. Russell!

  • Completed drills for the year

  • MCA’s today for grades 3-5

  • School budget: deficit, projecting lower enrollment, losing a kindergarten class, losing ECFE

  • Parents can make opinions known to school board/elected officials!

    • Blurb for school board! Ideas include reasons to keep our 3 kindergarten sessions because… (Kasey, these are just suggested ideas, use what you think is best for the recap)

      • Our enrollment is going up and we want to continue to grow

      • Keeping 3 kindergarten classes allows us to attract new families

      • We do not want to turn incoming students and families away because our kindergarten classes have reached capacity

      • Our projected enrollment for kindergarten is greater than the cap on 2 classes only

    • Send emails to board members: sb.members@spps.org 

  • Yard signs

• Family Liaison Update–Kate

  • Greta has taken a new job and is no longer at HPE

  • We are thankful for her contributions this year and will miss her!

  • End of year raffle help needed

• Treasurer Update/ Presentation of proposed 2025-26 budget–Matt

  • STEM Night - more money coming in?

  • Fun run - think about increasing budget as location will now cost almost double

  • Box tops?

  • Having money in a higher yield savings?

• School Year Planning

  • Kindergarten funding request and vote–Heather Hansen

    • Vote approved to fun Raptor Center visit

  • Book Fair recap–HaiVy and April

    • $4000+ in sales, so 20% comes back as a voucher for the Red Balloon to use for PYP, library, etc.

  • Conferences Potluck recap–Anne

    • $236 in online donations

    • Ask teachers what they like?

  • Restaurant Nights recap–Tracey

    • Over $300 raised over 2 spring restaurant nights

  • Scottie Fun Run–Kate, Anne, Jarrell

    • Date/time: Saturday, May 10 from 3p-5p

    • Location: St. Paul Academy (NEW this year due to construction)

    • Event details:

      • Run/walk races by age/grade

      • Games (tug of war, soccer)

      • Activities (hair spray, temp tattoos)

      • Snacks and gifts for participants

      • Food trucks 

      • Asking all to wear HPE gear (can purchase at the event), but not necessary!

    • Ideas for activities other than the races?

    • Volunteers needed! Sign up link: https://signup.com/go/VxAOqrQ

  • NEW ITEM: End of Year Raffle–Paul

    • Thursday 6/5 - volunteers day of/day before 

    • Need help with communications - Kasey to do digital communications

    • Cold Front gift cards

    • Prize donations - can send out in PTA recap

  • Opportunities to be involved with the PTA next year–Kate

    • Join the board! (Vice President position open)

    • Be an interpreter for us as meetings! (Somali, Amharic, Oromo are our top 3 most-spoken languages)

    • Chair an event/fundraiser!

      • COMPAS artist residency contact person

      • Fall Carnival co-organizer

      • Community Night organizers

      • Fun Run organizers

    • Volunteer for an event/fundraiser!

• Questions

Sendoff/shout outs 

President - Kate Giambelluca 

Vice-President - Farhiya Ali, Ren Kuntz

Secretary - Kasey Heuschkel

Treasurer -  Matt Sherwood  (reimbursement form)

Website Coord. -  Suki Akers

PTA email - highlandparkel.pta@gmail.com 

PTA Website

Parent Liaison -

Principal - Matthew Severens matthew.severns@spps.org 

Teacher Rep -  Teresa Vogelgesang teresa.vogelgesang@spps.org

Agenda:

• Welcome–Ren

• Announcement of languages available for interpretation–Farhiya

• Principal's Update–Mr. Severns

  • Survey

  • Pre-K/K Open House, 5/20/25 from 530-730p

  • EDL ends 5/21

• Treasurer Update/ Voting on proposed 2025-26 budget–Matt

• School Year Planning

  • Scottie Fun Run Recap–Kate

    • New time and location (SPA track)

      • Well attended!

      • Frisbees were the registration gift this year

      • Scottie mascot was there

      • Ice cream food truck (also donated part of the proceeds)

      • Add back in the relays

      • Kizzy Thomas - help next year

    • We brought in more than we spent!

      • Sponsorships (Highland Bank, Target, Trader Joe’s, Saint City Dental)

      • Donations from families

    • Looking for some new faces to help plan the event next year

  • Teacher Appreciation:

    • Gift card raffle

    • Cocina de Ana

    • Self-care station

    • Coffee and croissants

    • Trail mix bar

    • Add A-Lia to Teacher Appreciation!

  • End of Year Picnic and Raffle–Kate / Paul’s update

    • 6/5, 5p-7p

    • Email communications? Tracey to do communications

    • Will need extra help due to Ms. Strecker being out - Anne and April can help during the week

  • Opportunities to be involved with the PTA next year–Kate

    • Board openings–President, Vice President, Treasurer

      • Presentation of candidates

      • Voting on candidates

        • YAY REN!

        • YAY BETH!

        • YAY HAI-VY AND TRACEY!

    • Event planning teams

      • COMPAS artist residencies organizer (1)

        • At-home/on the couch type role

        • Email/phone contact with COMPAS

        • Email contact with staff

        • Follow up via email throughout the year (1x per month)

      • Fall Carnival

      • Community Night planning committee (2-3)

        • Committee begins meeting 2 months prior to event

        • Meet 3 times before event

        • Organize for food, entertainment, games, displays, set up/clean up

        • Communicate with families and staff

        • Organize volunteers (via email mostly)

      • Fun Run (3-4)

        • Committee begins meeting 1-2 months prior to event

        • Meet 3 times before event

        • Organize for registration prize, snacks, sponsorships, games, set up/clean up

        • Communicate with families and staff

        • Organize volunteers (via email)

    • Event volunteers

    • Conference Potlucks

  • Yard signs

• Questions

  • Next meeting Tuesday 6/3

Sendoff/shout outs 

President - Kate Giambelluca 

Vice-President - Farhiya Ali, Ren Kuntz

Secretary - Kasey Heuschkel

Treasurer -  Matt Sherwood  (reimbursement form)

Website Coord. -  Suki Akers

PTA email - highlandparkel.pta@gmail.com 

PTA Website

Parent Liaison -

Principal - Matthew Severens matthew.severns@spps.org 

Teacher Rep -  Teresa Vogelgesang teresa.vogelgesang@spps.org

Agenda:

• Welcome–Kate

• Announcement of languages available for interpretation–Farhiya

• Principal's Update–Mr. Severns

  • New staff hired for next year, part time counselor, full time SpEd and part time SpEd. 

  • Posting a parent liaison position sometime this summer, anyone interested should contact Principal Severns. 

• Treasurer Update–HaiVy and Tracey

  • Fun Run brought in around $1600!

  • Ended the year positive for fundraising, almost at our budgeted amount for teacher reimbursements, ended the year a little above budget for operating expenses due to needing to purchase checks, financial software price increase.

• School Year Planning

  • End of Year Picnic and Raffle–Paul

    • Thursday, June 5 from 5-7pm on the playground at HPE

    • Bring a picnic dinner for your family

    • Raffle drawing (6:30ish)

    • Kids will have chances to buy tickets during school and at the picnic (5/$1)

      • 2 people selling tickets this year!

      • Kids can take home extra purchased tickets to fill out and bring back on Thursday.

  • Pre-K/Kindergarten summer playdates–Kate

    • Beth is hosting

    • Location: HPE playground

    • Dates/times will be sent out to incoming pre-K/K families this summer via email and text:

      • Wednesday, July 9 (3:00-5:00pm)

      • Wednesday, July 30 (8:00-10:00am)

      • Wednesday, August 20 (4:00-6:00pm)

    • This is a great chance for new families to meet each other!

      • Beth has an ideal list of times/dates that she will be emailing to Kate.

      • Beth will also host the first day coffee social for pre-K/kinder parents.

  • Opportunities to be involved with the PTA next year–Kate

    • Events, fundraising, occasional helping

    • Link: https://forms.gle/FRPBPscM2JnjohJf9

    • Link will be active all summer and next school year

  • Yard sign campaign–Kate

    • In 2020, we printed signs for $7 each

    • We do not think there are any extras at school

    • Is anyone interested in taking this on for next year? (marketing our school)

      • Kate will double check to see if we still have the template for yard signs. 

      • Beth has volunteered to organize

• Questions

  • Starting a buddy and me for students next year? Mr. Severns will reach out to Kizzy about it. 

  • Organizing a summer playdate for older kids?

  • Specialist plan will be the same next year, starting with Art and ending with Music.

  • Ms. Ku and Mrs. Hansen will be offering tutoring sessions over the summer, a flyer will be sent out–can we add this to our recap?

• Sendoff/shout outs