PTC Committees

PTC Committee Chairpersons and Committee Descriptions

PTC REPRESENTATIVES

CHAIRPERSON: PTC President Donna Kenney Keith donnakenneykeith@gmail.com
DESCRIPTION: Serving as a PTC meeting rep is one of the best ways to stay informed with what’s happening in the district, and provides direct access to our superintendent and BOE members. Each school should have a minimum of two reps attend the monthly general meetings, one of whom is often a PTO VP. Their responsibilities include taking information back to their PTOs, participating in discussions and asking questions.

ALLERGY AWARENESS

CHAIRPERSON: Janine Flannery Janine.Flannery@gmail.com
DESCRIPTION: To create a safe and inclusive environment for all students in our District by encouraging an ongoing conversation amongst students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the Board of Education about what is working and what needs to be improved in order to best help our students living with food allergies. To develop and implement educational opportunities for students, parents, teachers and administrators about food allergies in an effort to increase awareness and empathy for those students living with food allergies and to help facilitate a safe learning environment for all.

BOARD OF EDUCATION CANDIDATES NIGHT

CHAIRPERSON: PTC Vice President Josephine Stack jferrigno228@gmail.com
DESCRIPTION: If there are more than three individuals running for BOE seats, this committee hosts a BOE candidate’s forum where the candidates may present their views by responding to questions gathered from the public and moderated by a member of the League of Women Voters. The event is usually taped and televised on Channel 36 and linked to the district website. Committee members assist the PTC VP with all preparation for and details of the event.

B.R.A.K.E.S. (Bikers, Runners and Kids are Entitled to Safety)

CHAIRPERSONS: Claudine Gimblette cloboken@gmail.com and Meredith Bridge meredith@mk-bridge.com
DESCRIPTION: This committee’s purpose is to create safety awareness and address pedestrian safety issues. In addition to meeting several times a year to discuss issues requiring town and/or school personnel attention, the committee hosts two annual events: the Walk to School Day in October and the Crossing Guard breakfast to thank and recognize all of our guards in the Spring.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI)

CHAIRPERSON: Amisha Mehta
DESCRIPTION: TO COME

DRUG / ALCOHOL AWARENESS - MUNICIPAL ALLIANCE

CHAIRPERSON: Amy Lewis, Westfield Municipal Alliance Coordinator westfieldalliance@gmail.com
DESCRIPTION: The Municipal Alliance works to educate students & families regarding drug & alcohol use, primarily by focusing on healthy alternative activities. They work with the WHS Dream Team to achieve their goals and run a Fall contest called the Palooza for student submissions of art, poetry & PSAs for their theme: A Day of Service Leads to a Life of Service.

FINE ARTS

CHAIRPERSON: PTC President Donna Kenney Keith donnakenneykeith@gmail.com
DESCRIPTION: This committee assists the Supervisor of Fine Arts with the March downtown Youth Art Month showing student art in storefront windows. Responsibilities include: gathering art from the art teacher at their school, taking it to the designated store downtown, setting it up and at the end of the month returning the artwork to the school. There is no chair of this committee—reps report directly to school administration to pick up art.

GIFTED EDUCATION

CHAIRPERSONS: Priti Dave, Medea Villere, Dore DuHaime gandtwestfield@gmail.com
DESCRIPTION: The mission of the Gifted Ed committee is to promote and support the intellectual curiosity of all students in the Westfield school district. The committee also provides support to the students and families that are admitted to and participate in Westfield’s Gifted Ed Program.

LEGISLATIVE

CHAIRPERSON: Liz Muholland liznjohnm@yahoo.com
DESCRIPTION: This committee pays attention to what is happening in Trenton & local politics which may affect education and our schools, particularly as laws relate to funding. Anyone interested in advocating for Westfield schools on a larger scale is welcome as the primary purpose is providing the community with awareness and education regarding upcoming legislation and policies.

SCHOLARSHIP

CHAIRPERSON: Carolyn Buoscio
DESCRIPTION: The PTC offers several annual scholarships to deserving Westfield High School seniors. This committee solicits donations from all Westfield families, alumni etc. via newsletter & media appeals, opening day packet flyers, Back to School night tables etc. They also assist with fundraising, publicity and collection of donor checks from their school. A sub-committee of five members, recruited from existing members, collects & reviews the scholarship applications to determine who will receive the scholarships. Scholarships are awarded at the May Senior Awards Night.

SNAC (School Nutritional Awareness Committee)

CHAIRPERSON: Beth Weiner snac@westfieldnjk12.org
DESCRIPTION: This committee was formed initially to promote healthy eating by providing materials to each school on nutritional education and coordinating parent volunteers to teach lessons in the elementary classrooms. The SNAC chair provides monthly nutritional tips to all the school newsletters and attempts to bring new ideas (ie: team-based pre-game food lectures at WHS) and concerns to the forefront. SNAC works closely with the district food service, Chartwells, to insure there are healthy lunch options for our children in the upper grades. Revised in 2015, SNAC coordinated Farm Fresh days at schools and used funds raised to provide free healthy snacks to the schools that participate. Going forward, SNAC will be coordinating a new nutritional awareness program with parent support at the elementary level.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

CHAIRPERSONS: Violetta Guberman Watson violetta.watson@gmail.com and Jennifer Liu jengmiami@yahoo.com
DESCRIPTION: Dedicated to bridging the gap between special and general education, this committee accomplishes its goals through raising awareness and promoting advocacy for children by providing parent education and support. Representatives act as liaisons between the PTC chairs and individual schools. The committee hosts evening events with guest speakers whose topics are often appropriate for general education parents as well. Finally, Special Ed hosts the annual Awareness Expo in March and offers the Cuthbertson and Brennan scholarships to graduating seniors.
westfieldspecialedparents@gmail.com

SpEd Committee Webpage
Facebook.com/WestfieldSpecialEdParents

VIRTUAL RECOGNITIONS AND CELEBRATIONS

CHAIRPERSON: PTC President Donna Kenney Keith donnakenneykeith@gmail.com
DESCRIPTION: Celebrate the students & their achievements by bringing some sense of normalcy to their hybrid/virtual experience. Objectives include: sharing ideas and brainstorm across schools: identify opportunities to be consistent across schools; ensure consistency across schools to follow district guidelines for how we are distributing items to students/staff.

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