ptsa_minutes_sept_2010

8/7/2019 PTSA_MINUTES_SEPT_2010

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Col. Zadok Magruder High School PTSA, Inc.5939 Muncaster Mill Road ● Rockville, Maryland 20855

mhs-ptsa.org

Magruder HS PTSA Minutes 9/21/10

I. Call to Order - Linda Kuserk, PTSA President, called the meeting toorder at 7:35pm.

She introduced Mr. Evans, Principal and Mr. Seested, Magruder's SecurityTeam Leader.

II. Approval of May Minutes - The minutes from the May 17, 2010 meetingwere approved as written.

III. Treasurer's Report - see attached reports from Russell Erb, Treasurer.- A motion was made to approve the 2010-2011 PTSA budget and

seconded. A discussion followed and the following amendments weremade to the budget.

1. Add AP workbook fundraiser to the budget. Estimated expenses are$800 and the

estimated income is $1,000.2. Increase staff appreciation budget to $1300.

The amended budget was passed by unanimous consent.

IV. President's Report

- the PTSA's newsletter, The Courier will be going to print this week andthen will also be available online.

- Pay For Schools Stuff Online - is a new partnership the PTSA has andwill allow parents to pay for PTSA items (membership, golf tournament, etc)online. In the future,

this site will be used more for fundraisers and direct donations.- PTSA Golf fundraiser is scheduled for this coming Friday, September

24th. If interested in participating, please see Martha Schaeer or

sign up online through P4SS online.- there was a great response from local businesses who advertised in the

Magruder directory. Please support these businesses throughout the schoolyear.

V. Principal's Report

- the school year started off relatively well for the first 3 weeks of schoolMr. Evans thanked the PTSA Executive Board for their support and assistancein organizing the Magruder cluster football game.

- Upcoming important dates -



- 9/22 - Family Life Meeting- 9/23 - Senior Information night- 10/1 - Early Release from school

- Current enrollment is as follows -

- total students - 1845- 9th grade - 507- 10th grade - 458- 11th grade - 478- 12th grade - 402

- Mr. Evans reminded parents to not drop students off in the front of theschool. Please

drop students off by the student parking lot near the football field.- new initiative for 9th grade students has begun this year emphasizing

organization and study skills. Grade reports will be sent home every week to9th grade parents. Right now, 15-20% of the freshman class is failing 1 or

more classes.- Interim reports will be sent out on the following dates -

- October 4- December 8- March 7- May 8

- Magruder's website has been revamped and updated. Please check it outsoon.

- new lunch schedule now has 3 lunch periods instead of 4 and the lunchesare not

grade specific. Restrictions that were imposed early in the school year

have since beeneased a little. Students are still not allowed to get up and walk around the

cafeteria - theycan go visit friends, but must be seated at a table at all times. The goal is

for there to beless theft in the cafeteria as well as fewer fights and altercations.- cafeteria crowding - the 3rd lunch period is the most crowded and during

the first week of school, there were not enough seats and not enough time to buylunch and then eat it.

The first week of school was definitely the busiest because students wereadding money to their cafeteria accounts and that was taking up a lot of time.

Since the second or third day of school, there have been plenty of seats in thecafeteria. The capacity of the cafeteria is 830.

- Mr. Seested shared the following information with the PTSA regardingthe number of students in each lunch period.

Date 1st lunch 2nd lunch 3rd lunch9/15 477 507 6049/16 452 438 5159/17 451 480 5759/20 454 479 545



9/21 452 483 518- Mr. Evans said that the lunches are running as smoothly as they ever

have in his 9 yearsat Magruder. They have not looked at the grade breakdown per lunch

period. Overall, ithas been a very positive change for the school and there have been many

benefits for the

overall climate at the school.- Mr. Seested said that Magruder now has 84 security cameras, up from 34

last year. There are also now cameras on the buses that will take pictures of cars that try to pass the

bus when it's lights are flashing. There are also cameras inside each bus.The lunches are less crowded now because of students who go to jobs,

internships or programs at other schools were counted in the numbers at thebeginning of school. The

cafeteria is now quiet enough to hold a conversation, there is no running or horse play, the tone is very different and there are plenty of seats. With themixed level lunches, the students aren't as silly and acting out. The cafeteria

is scheduled for renovations next year.- Homecoming Dates

- Monday 10/18 Battle of the classes- Friday 10/22 Football game- Saturday 10/23 Float competition- Saturday 10/23 Homecoming Dance

- Senior Dates- 4/14 - Senior Banquet- 4/15 - Senior Breakfast- 4/29 or 4/30 - Senior Prom

- any hazing during Homecoming week will be considered an assault and

recommendations will be made for suspensionand/or expulsion.

VI. Delegates Report

Ted Willard reminded everyone about the upcoming elections and whilehe can't

recommend who to vote for, he asks everyone to cast a vote on ElectionDay. With

the retirement of Superintendent Jerry Weast, the MCCPTA will befocusing on what

to look for in a new superintendent. Parent voices will be heard. The

budget for the nextschool year will be as tight if not even tighter than this year, so pay

attention to the issuesand express your priorities to the Board of Education and the County

Council.

VII. Committee Reports

Staff Appreciation - for October, the staff appreciation committee iscollecting bags



of Halloween candy. A basket of candy will be delivered to eachdepartment at the end

of October.Every 15 Minutes - Magnets with a picture of Magruder and contact

phone numbers arebeing sold for $1.00 each. 42 families have signed up for the Safe Home

Pledge - a

non-legal, non-binding proactive pledge where parents agree that anygatherings at their

home will be supervised. There is a link on the website if parents want tosign up now.

The first committee meeting will be held on 9/23 at 2:30pm. On ThursdayOctober 14, an informational meeting will be held at Magruder with medicaland legal guest speakers.

Membership - so far, 458 people have joined the PTSA. 103 Magruder staff members have joined the PTSA this year - many more than in previousyears.

Donations were also collected as follows - PTSA - $740, After Prom -

$370, Every15Minutes - $279.After Prom - an activity that follows the prom itself, held from 1am-5am

to give the seniors a safe venue to hang out after the prom. It is not a dance,there are many activities, food, etc. This is a parent planned event and allparents, not just senior parents

are encouraged to get involved. The first planning meeting is scheduledfor 10/13. The

tickets for the event cost $10 and seniors do not have to attend the promfirst to come to

After Prom.Magruder listserv - any announcements for the listserv should be emailed

to Tali [email protected]. Please give Tali at least 48 hours notice

to get the announcement posted.

VIII. New Business

Race to Nowhere - this is a documentary film about the stresses andpressures that parents have placed on their children. Groups around the countyare doing fundraising

screenings of the film followed by discussions about how we can help our kids deal with

increasing pressures. A discussion followed regarding the costs involved

and the potential benefits to Magruder's PTSA for showing the film. A trailer of thefilm was viewed.

There was a feeling among those who watched the trailer that it did notshow enough

about the overall message of the film; that the entire film would have to bewatched to

be able to make an educated decision of if it would be worth it financiallyand logistically

to sponsor a showing of the film.



Dr. Berman has offered to lead and mediate the discussion following thefilm.

A motion was made that as many as possible Magruder PTSA boardmembers will try

to screen the entire film and the board will make a final decision as towhether Magruder

will host a screening of the film. Other parents who go to see the entirefilm are also

welcome to provide feedback to the PTSA board members. The motionpassed.

Golf Tournament - the organizers are still looking for sponsors to helpfund the upcoming golf tournament.

IX. Adjournment - the meeting was adjourned at 9:20pm

Respectfully submitted,

Fidelia RomanowskiSecretary

ptsa_minutes_sept_2010

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