GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
MAURICE HAWK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA
Thursday, January 11, 2018- 7:30pm
Call to Order: Sonia Gawas called the meeting to order at 7:40 pm
17 people in attendance.
Secretary’s Report: Minutes from October 2017 meeting were presented and approved.
Treasurer’s Report:
• 2017 Audit has been completed and submitted. Only finding was that our PTA needs two signatures on ALL checks regardless of dollar amount.
• Current financial report was made available for review. No questions were posed.
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Committee Reports:
• Garden committee – call to action. A new committee chair is needed as the current chair has moved out of state.
• Teacher appreciation breakfast – the event has been approved to move from a breakfast event to a hosted coffee. A call to action will go out shortly for food donations.
• Nominating committee – all four members were announced. Padma Katapalli, Minhwa Cho, Graelynn McKeown and Stephanie Thomas. Elections will be held at the May General PTA Meeting. Anyone interested in a Board position should contact a member of the nominating committee.
• Upcoming events: Candy Bar Bingo on January 26th. Science Fair, February 10th.
Main program: Assessments in K-3 presented by Principal Trish Buell and Dr. Erin Faulk.
• What they are: how we measure progress. What they are not: a standardized test.
• The goal of an assessment is to gather data about students and use it in the Responsive Teaching model. Responsive Teaching uses what is known to guide instruction. Responsive Teaching data inputs include:
o Assessments of learning styles and interests
o Daily conference notes
o Class work
o Observation
o Formative assessments
o Self-reflection
• Four type of assessment used at Maurice Hawk
o Fountas and Pinnell K-3. This is a reading assessment done at the beginning and end of year
o MAP. A measure of a student’s academic progress. It helps identify areas where support may be needed for each child and is done in the fall and spring.
o InView. This is a cognitive ability assessment done in 2nd and 5th grades in the first half of the year. It measures reasoning skills, both verbal and non-verbal.
o PARCC. A statewide assessment of a range of Common Core goals. It assesses literacy (reading and writing) as well as math.
This year the PARCC takes place April 16 – May 25.
PARCC is 3 units each of literacy and math and we typically schedule 1 unit per day. Each unit takes about 1-1/2 hours to complete.
Principal’s Report
• Ms. Buell recapped end of year and recent events including:
o 3rd Grade trip to the Philadelphia Art Museum with Mrs. Carr
o 1st trimester report cards
o Successful Barnes and Noble Book Fair organized by Mrs. Ferguson
• The school now has full-day security guard from 7 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Currently Hawk admin is part of a strategic planning initiative. A team has been appointed and the planning and goals are centered on the principles of Every Child, Global Child and Whole Child.
• Hawk is participating in a pilot dual-language immersion program to begin in the 2018/2019 year
o Program in K-5. Hawk is one of 2 schools in the program.
• Dr. Aderholt will be presenting to the school about the upcoming addition and renovation. The date is TBD.
• Hawk is part of a Sustainable NJ initiative
o 270 students joined the green team to help educate all students about green practices and come up with new ideas.
o Two programs to run are the recycling of dead magic markers (happening now) and a partner program with Trek to recycle plastic bags (launch TBA)
• Recently had a teacher leave the district – Stacy McGuirl (2nd grade) has relocated.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:58 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Melinda Van Dillen, Maurice Hawk Elementary PTA Secretary