John W. Bonner Elementary

Bonner PTA General Meeting

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012   6:30pm

Location: Bonner Elementary School Library

I.      Call to Order at 2:26pm; Opening and Welcome to all at the general meeting by Angela Dimalanta.

II.    Introductions/Roll Call        

III.  Motion to approve the Minutes from Board Meeting of 9-18-2012 by voting members of the Board. Motion carried. Minutes approved.

IV.   Introduction/Officer’s Reports

a.      President’s Report – Angela Dimalanta

• Angela thanked everyone for their involvement during this busy beginning of the year at Bonner.
• During this first general meeting of the year, Angela asked that speaking be limited to approximately 2 minutes per person/topic so we can finish in a timely manner.
• The general meeting is about getting the basic information about what is happening at the school and in the PTA.

b.     Treasurer’s Report – Judy Wax

• Judy stated that the current bank account balance is $15,439.81 as of the reconciliation date of 9-27-2012.
• Copies of the current budget were handed out to all in attendance.
• There is a hand written addition to the budget for the Chess Club in the amount of $600.00 in/$600.00 out.  The amount is equivalent to the $20 recommended donation for each child enrolling in Chess Club.
• Four (4) checks have been written:

1.     Check # 2013 - Sonja Sisco/Open House -  $140.32

2.      Check # 2014 – Ena Friley/Student Birthdays - $14.90

3.     Check # 2015 – Angela Dimalanta/Read-A-Thon - $265.15

4.     Check #2016 – Kari Dolembo/Picnic - $19.98

c.      Vice President(s)’ Reports

• Ways & Means – Latoya Smith

1.     Latoya is currently working on dates for sponsorships and donations for Bonner. The outlook for businesses is approximately 45 days for availability of donations prior to any event.

2.     Discussion occurred about what companies have donated already, and what businesses have been contacted already.

a.      Businesses who have been contacted include: Target, Wal-Mart, Mimi’s Café, Costco, Sam’s Club, Coca-Cola, and

 7UP.

3.     Discussion about getting grants for the school from large companies.

4.     Latoya is also keeping track of all in kind donations in order to keep track of how much is really needed in order to run the PTA.

• Programs – Libby Camisso

1.     Encouraged the people at the general meeting to volunteer, and to tell friends about the great volunteering opportunities.
2.     Libby let people know that there are still open positions to chair/co-chair for committee positions.
3.     We are still in search of a guest speaker for the General Meeting on Oct. 9^th (6:30pm). We want to promote Halloween safety and stranger danger.
4.     Heads up for future evening meeting, Fitness Theme

• Membership – Sonja Sisco

1.     The current Bonner PTA membership count is 487 members.

2.     Membership dues to the National PTA will be sent at the end of October 2012.

3.     Lanyards are given only to Persons who have signed up and paid for their PTA membership.

4.     Teachers will be updated if there are any changes to PTA membership for their classroom totals.

5.     To increase PTA memberships, a PTA bulletin board will be created showing classroom totals and percentages.

6.     Classroom incentives are up for discussion. For example, 50% membership = Otter Pops for the classroom, 75% membership = Extra Recess and storybook visit by a Jedi; 100% membership = Pizza party.

• Secretary – Ena Friley

1.     Ena handed out flyers and explained PZQ2, Pay as you Go; a ballot question put out by CCSD up for vote at the November 2012 Election.

• Principal and Administration – Paul Catania                 

1.     Thanks to everyone’s support of the Bonner PTA

• Teacher Representatives – Jennifer Wright & Vickie Vesp

1.     Student Council is collecting Fresh and Easy receipts totaling $20 or higher. 

V.     Unfinished Business

a.      The Bylaws, which are the rules by which we govern our PTA, need to be reviewed and approved by the General Membership.

                                               i.     Voting and adoption of the Bylaws will occur on November 15, 2012 at the General Membership meeting at 2:20pm.

b.     The 2012 Budget has been presented. Paul Catania motioned to have the Budget approved, Pam Truncale seconded. All in favor.  The motion carried.

c.      Watch DOGS and Drop Off Zone – Pam Truncale

• There is a volunteer dad who has offered to work the Drop off Zone Monday – Thursday.  However a second, alternate volunteer is still needed, especially for Friday’s.
• The first of two Watch DOGS kick-offs occurred and 80 dates have been filled by fathers/father figures.  A total of 120 people attended the kick-off.
• The second kick-off will be on Thursday, October 4^th from 6pm – 7:30pm in the MPR. Volunteers are needed for this event.
• Discussion about Watch DOGS and having a male presence at schools. 

1.     Fathers/Father figures do not need to attend the kick off in order to be a Watch DOG.  The calendar will be available in the lobby.

d.     Trunk-or-Treat – Patti Giron, Chair (absent)

• Angela shared that decorating of the MRP will occur this Saturday, September 29^th at 10 am. All helping hands are welcome to come.
• Trunk-or-Treat will be held on October 19, 2012

VI.   New Business

a.      Read-A-Thon Fundraiser: It is a 14 day reading program to get kids reading first of all, and it gives kids a chance to do a bit of fundraising at the same time.

• The last day is October 4^th.
• The last day to turn in reading logs and pledges is October 9^th
• October 11^th is “Cream the Principal” for students who have turned in $50 or more in pledges.

b.     Chess Club - Steve Cochran

• Chess club will be offered to 5^th grade students at Bonner from 2:15pm – 3:30pm on Tuesdays. The cost is a $20.00 donation from each student.
• The maximum number of students accepted into the chess Program will be 30 students.  A waiting list will be available.

c.      Donuts for Dads – Thursday, November 8^th.

• Chair/co-chair, Judy Wax and Melissa Despy are seeking donations and discounts from various donut shops and grocery stores.

d.     Volunteer Spot – Laura Armstrong

• Volunteer Spot is up and running. If there is anyone who has not received a Volunteer Spot e-mail and would like to volunteer, please contact Laura at bonnerpta@yahoo.com

e.      Pay As You Go/ PZQ2 discussed above under the Secretary’s Report.

f.       Committee Sign-Ups discussed above, under Vice President/Programs report.

g.      Child ID Program – Two volunteers are needed for Wednesday, October 3^rd beginning at 9:15am. The volunteers will be responsible for taking children out of classrooms who are participating.

• Lori Alexander and Jamie Alston volunteered to assist as classroom runners.

h.     Cross Walk Danger Campaign will begin next week.  This campaign is sponsored by channel 13. Pledge forms will be given to Bonner families in the upcoming weeks.

• Discussion about the dangers our children are facing crossing the street at the crosswalks in front of the school occurred.

• Discussion about adding an additional crosswalk on Oxford Cross adjacent to the neighborhood entrance and the Bus Drop off zone occurred.
• Metro will be asked to conduct a traffic study of our school.
•  Discussion about starting a parent volunteer crosswalk program was discussed.

VII. Announcements

a.      The next General Membership meeting is on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 6:30pm.

b.     Important Upcoming dates:

• Wednesday, October 3^rd – Child ID Program & family Night at Gordon Biersch from 11am – 11pm
• Thursday, October 4^th - Watch DOGS Kick Off #2
• Wednesday, October 10^th – Rocco’s Pizza Family Night
• Thursday, October 11^th – Cream the Principal

c.      Pick up a calendar or sign up to have one e-mailed to you.

VIII.        Adjournment at 3:32pm

General meetings take place in The Multipurpose Room.  Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to attend our General Meetings.

General Meetings will be announced prior to the meeting.  Times will rotate between afterschool meetings and evening meetings to make them more accessible to all.

Treasurer's Report to come!