Tuesday, May 15th, 2007
PTA Meeting: May 8, 2007
Principal's Report
The Budget process is completed. Mr. Cadotte feels the budget turned out pretty well and a few more services will be available for students. However, there was an agreement with the district that Burroughs and the district each buy a portion of a teacher. The district's portion was smaller than anticipated, .2 of a teacher rather than .3. The school operating budget funded the remaining tenth, in the amount of $9000.
The end of Burroughs' planned growth was delayed one year. Mr. Cadotte anticipated adding a third and a fifth grade class next year, but the final fifth grade class will be added the following year instead. The District's Student Accounting department feels that Burroughs has large classrooms, and not enough students to warrant an additional fifth grade teacher. Mr. Cadotte does not agree. This may be revisited in the fall as Student Accounting is historically slow to move. Extra support has been added to the fifth grade teaching team in the form of additional math resources. Additional reading resources were already in place. The current anticipated size of the fifth grade will be a total of at least 97 students.
The new third grade classroom will be in rooms 357 and 358, which can be combined. The classroom will be the same size as the other third grade classrooms once the removable wall is gone. Burroughs was designed for four third grade classrooms, but at that time the class size in third grade was larger. Now that the classes are smaller, there will be five third grade classes. Additional space in the building just happened to be near the third grade.
According to school district lobbyist Jim Grathwol, the House approved a bill granting all day kindergarten for all by 2009. Watch the news for developments. Burroughs was built for five classes of all day kindergarten, so space is available.
This year's third grade camping trip was cancelled due to the unavailability of the accommodations. A letter sent to parents did not contain details of the cancellation. The cabins at the site are being remodeled. It was hoped that enough would be completed to allow classrooms to go individually, but that was not the case. Instead, the third grade will spend a day at the Water Park of America. Mr. Cadotte felt that the replacement should be enough fun to counter the disappointment of the cancelled overnight trip.
Monday is the Staff Appreciation Breakfast. Teachers appreciate that this occurs on a release day so they can enjoy breakfast without rushing to class. Event volunteers are a little more challenged since they are not able to send their children to school while they volunteer.
Tuesday afternoon is the Band and Orchestra Concert. Students will perform in school for the other students, and at night for parents. Band will perform at 6:00, and Orchestra at 7:00. A flyer will come home soon about next year's band and orchestra program. The parent meeting will be on May 22nd. The Mt. Olivet teachers will have a presentation for the third and fourth grades prior to that.
The School Patrol outing to the Park at the Mall of America is coming. Ms. Good accompanies the patrol. The outing is offered in partnership with the Minneapolis Police Department.
Track and Field Day is May 24, with the 25th as a rain date. The PTA provides funds for reserve Phy Ed teachers for the day. Volunteers are needed for the day to run smoothly. Parents are also encouraged to watch the activities. The Tug-of-War is a highlight of the day, with a particularly fierce first grade rivalry between Ms. Johnson and Ms. Lasser's classes.
The Fourth and Fifth grade choirs will perform on Tuesday, May 29. Finding a date before the end of the year when the auditorium was available was a challenge once it was decided that they would not perform at the PTA meeting.
The 5th Grade Promotion is approaching. June 11 is a ceremony, and June 12 is a picnic. The fifth grade is regarded within Burroughs as an extraordinary group of children. Parents are needed to lead next year's ceremony and picnic committees.
The Last Day of School is June 12.
Over the summer, the University Language Center will host camps at Burroughs.
In addition, Burroughs will host Summer School for children from Burroughs, Lake Harriet, and Barton. Summer school begins June 18. There is no summer school the entire week of July 4 since the holiday falls in the middle of the week.
The staff is working on next year's calendar.
5th Grade Picnic and Ceremony
JoAnn Newland spoke about the 5th grade picnic and ceremony. The ceremony requires funds for certificates, cake, and punch, among other things. The day-long picnic at Beard's Plaisance near Lake Harriet includes food, activities, t-shirts and entertainment. Students return to school about an hour before the end of the day.
The PTA has budgeted $350 for the two events. Last year's spending was $1165, with parents and donations providing the difference. A solicitation was sent to parents. Last year, there were 60 fifth grade students, plus 40 volunteers. This year, 81 students plus volunteers will receive lunch. In the future, some parts of the event, such as t-shirts, can be eliminated to reduce costs. For this year, a shortfall of $815 is estimated based on last year's spending. The committee requested any amount from the PTA, and the rest will again come from parents and individual donations.
At the meeting, the PTA had $1500 in discretionary funds. It was moved, seconded and approved with none opposed to provide $815 to the 5th grade celebration.
Any volunteer is welcome, not just those with children in fifth grade.
PTA Officer Election
Bridget McGinnis was nominated for PTA Vice President for 2007-2008, and President for 2008-2009. Bridget is the parent of Katie in Ms. Fee's afternoon kindergarten, and has a child at Mt. Olivet preschool who will be in Burroughs kindergarten in 2008. It was moved, seconded and approved with none opposed that Bridget be Vice President this coming school year and President the following.
Jen Song was nominated for PTA Secretary. This is a two year commitment. Jen is the parent of Lily in Ms. Fischer's afternoon kindergarten. She also has a preschool age child who will be in kindergarten at Burroughs in 2008. It was moved, seconded and approved with none opposed that Jen be Secretary for the next two school years.
PTA Budget
The PTA Budget was presented. Key changes to the budget over last year include providing an additional of $1000 in funding for the Read-a-Thon. The 4th grade social studies curriculum was eliminated as a line item because it is fully funded. All materials have been purchased. The 5th grade celebration budget was divided into separate funds for the Ceremony and the Picnic at $400 each, which does still not match what had been approved for the celebration earlier in the meeting.
In the Income Summary, it was noted that Read-A-Thon income to date is $81,768.24. The Read-A-Thon received more in pledges, but only realized income is reported in the income summary. Any corporate matches that are received by June 30 will be included in the PTA budget for 2007-2008, but any additional funds will be included as income in 2007-2008, and available for use the following year.
Another change from prior years is that a $7500 expense was recorded for Spirit Wear. However, the PTA does not really know how much the expense will be until the orders are collected in the fall. Therefore, income net expenses will be reported annually for Spirit Wear, eliminating the expense line item from next year's budget.
In General Funding, Destination Imagination and GEMS have funding of $500. Both are after-school activities proposed by parents, but no activity ensued. The amount is a placeholder so that funds are available if a parent leads one of these efforts.
Burroughs support for this year has already been approved in the amount of $41,110.
Each classroom teacher and specialist receives discretionary funds from the PTA equal to $450 per FTE. Specialists who have less than a FTE position at Burroughs receive a portion of discretionary funds proportional to their time at Burroughs and to their time in each position. For example, Mr. Hofmann's position will be .8 of a FTE next year, and he will receive $360 in discretionary funds. Other positions require more complex calculations that made the current secretary's eyes glaze over. Details are available from the treasurer. The total budget for Specialists next year is $14,615.
The total PTA budget is $92,760.
Discussion ensued. Mr. Hulsey proposed that since the discretionary funding provided by the PTA is already generous at $400, the extra $50 per teacher be donated to the school operating budget to replaced the $9000 used to purchase the extra tenth of a teacher. Mr. Cadotte added that the school traditionally gives each teacher $50 in discretionary funds, but was unable to do so this year, so the extra PTA funds replace this and result in no net gain for teachers. In addition, the amount returned to the operating budget would not be significant enough in his opinion to make it necessary to reduce the funds the PTA gives to teachers.
It was proposed that the fifth grade celebration receive even more funds: $1200 total. More of the funding would be allocated to the picnic than the ceremony. There will be more fifth graders next year: at least 97 as opposed to the current 81.
Discussion continued as to purchasing ribbons for Track and Field Day. $1100 was approved in the Spring Discretionary Funding to buy ribbons for this year. $1000 is included in the budget for next year to buy ribbons for next year's Track and Field Day. Parents feel this is a large expense and would like the Phy Ed teachers, perhaps with a committee of parents, to search for a more economical, and perhaps more creative, solution. Stickers were suggested, through a culture shift would be required. Current pricing is 23 cents per ribbon, and extra are ordered in case of ties. Parents agreed to leave the $1000 budgeted intact, but would like to investigate other options.
It was moved, seconded and approved with none opposed that the budget be accepted.
Art Adventure
Shari Lynne Engel is the current chair of the Art Adventure program. A new chair or co-chairs is needed for next year. Current Art Adventure volunteers have not expressed an interest in being chair.
The Art Adventure program is developed and supported by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Children tour the art institute to see the art presented in their class and reinforce the lessons taught by the volunteer picture persons. This year's theme is Artists' Inspirations. Next year's theme is American Art Sampler, and is the third installment of a three part lesson.
Sixteen volunteers are needed to present the art to 24 classes. The program reached all 660 children at Burroughs this year, expected to be 700 next year. The volunteers attend training at the Art Institute where docents present the pieces of art to be showed in classrooms. Each set of art includes four reproductions; each volunteer presents two sets of art. Each presentation lasts one hour.
There is a volunteer meeting in November or December where schedules for presentations are finalized with teachers.
The chair commitment begins in September with volunteer recruitment. The PTA participates in recruitment by sending home a volunteer sign up form and by staffing a volunteer sign up table in the beginning of the school year. The chair then gathers schedule information from teachers, and makes posters advertising the program. Newsletters are distributed to students after presentations so discussions of the art can continue at home. The chair attends training in October. Also in October, the chair sets up a volunteer meeting to discuss schedules. After finalizing the schedule, the chair picks materials up at the MIA and returns them after presentations are completed. The chair also coordinates the student museum tour, by requesting tour dates, and managing the number of classes and students who attend at once to minimize transportation costs.
Anyone interested in participating should contact Barbara Fipp. Shari Lynne is available to discuss the position with anyone interested.
Spring Discretionary Funding
There were six requests for discretionary funds in the Spring. More supporting detail accompanied each request than in the fall. An online survey was again used to determine how discretionary funds be allocated, allowing more PTA members to have input than attend meetings. As many were funded as could be before exceeding funds available. Meeting attendees felt the online process works well and allows members to take their time and read proposals carefully. There are currently approximately 65-80 registered PTA members. 50 participated in the fall funding survey, and 40 participated in the spring. There were more comments given during the fall survey process, perhaps because the survey was more difficult to use. Users enter their name when taking the survey so the PTA can determine who voted if necessary.
The following six proposals were granted funding:
- Ms. Hennen and Ms. Helgeson requested $245 for headphones for the computer lab.
- Ms. May requested $180 for books on tape for a listening center.
- The second grade team requested $516 for a watershed study to check the health of the creek with a naturalist. This project has been included in the PTA budget for next year as well.
- Mr. Hill and Mr. Peterson requested $1100 for Track and Field Day ribbons.
NEXT PTA MEETING: SEPTEMBER!
View April 30th Income Statement
Click here for a PDF version of the 2007 Income Statement, as of April 30th, 2007
Tuesday, May 1st, 2007
2007 Income Statement: April 30, 2007
View April 30th Income Statement
Click here for a PDF version of the 2007 Income Statement, as of April 30th, 2007
Monday, March 19th, 2007
2007 Income Statement: March 15, 2007
View Recent Income Statement
Click here for a PDF version of the 2007 Income Statement, as of March 15, 2007
All income earned in 2006-2007 is what we use for next year's budgeted expenses. The expenses shown for this school year are using the income generated in 2005-2006. The Read-A-Thon usually accounts for 85%+ of our income in any given year, so the income amount will change dramatically after Read-A-Thon income has been tallied (in April, 2007).
Monday, March 19th, 2007
PTA Meeting: March 13, 2007
Principal's Report
Mr. Cadotte thanked parents for attending the Senate Committee on Education meeting. He believes that the senators were open and receptive to our message.
Budgeting has begun. Classroom allocation, the number of classes per grade, was expected the week of March 12. Growth planned when the school was built continues. Next year there is expected one more class each in grades three and five. Rooms 357 and 358 are a dividable room, the same size as other classrooms when not divided. This room is near the third grade classrooms and will house the new third grade class. AOM reading teacher Ms. Straub now has a full size classroom which will be used for the new fifth grade class. Burroughs will reach planned capacity next year and growth will end at five classes in grades kindergarten through three and four classes in grades four and five. No loss of students is anticipated.
There are no discussions about changes to Burroughs' programming, either to a kindergarten through eighth grade school or to stop offering NLL classes so more neighborhood children can attend Burroughs. There were once discussions about ending NLL classes; Mr. Cadotte opposes this change. Lake Harriet no longer offers NLL classes; their principal feels the school was adversely affected by this change. Burroughs would lose a tremendous amount of funding if it lost NLL students. Compensatory Education dollars are allocated based on the number of free and reduced price lunches at a school; loss of NLL classes would reduce this number.
No discussion about raising class sizes is occurring. Superintendent Green is opposed to raising class sizes.
When discussing classroom space, a parent asked if Burroughs is mandated to offer ECFE classes. While this is not the case, most schools house a citywide program. However, if all day kindergarten were to be offered, ECFE would no longer be housed at Burroughs since the program currently uses two kindergarten classrooms. Because of the number of classes at Burroughs, all space is considered available.
The Site Council Budget Committee then will work on the specialist allocation. The formula used is .2 specialist for each classroom teacher. Following this formula strictly may not result in a balanced curriculum, where each child sees each specialist, so the budget committee may choose to buy more specialist time. It is very difficult to insure that all children see the same specialists for the same amount of time. Two years ago, one class was unable to see one specialist. Parents were vocally displeased with this outcome. Specialist allocation will be decided by March 20.
On April 10, the school will learn their allocation in dollars. Only five to eight percent of the allocation may be spent at the school's discretion. On April 19, the Budget Committee meets for a full day with a facilitator to determine how the discretionary dollars are spent. They review the decisions the next day. The following Monday, the budget is presented to the staff. Prior to this presentation, anyone whose position was impacted by the decisions meets privately with Mr. Cadotte. The full Site Council then votes on the budget. The vote has been unanimous the past few years. On April 26, the final budget is presented to parents.
A parent asked if North Side school closings would impact Burroughs. The number of students will probably not be impacted, but staff could be. Tenured teachers in closing schools could cause teachers in the district with less seniority to lose positions. Mr. Moyer, fifth grade teacher last school year, was affected in this way last year, but he was called back to work in October or November. Affected teachers may be those with less than nine or ten years in the district. One other impact could be that savings the district realizes in buildings and infrastructure may fund a reading specialist at each site. This would result in a gain of thirty to forty teaching positions, which could offset the loss of classroom positions and help prevent layoffs.
Mr. Cadotte was asked if he attends Area C meetings. He feels that principal attendance is not encouraged at these meetings. High school admissions changes were discussed at the last meeting, potentially assigning students to neighborhood schools. The Southwest Journal published “Minneapolis Elects to Stop Selecting Students” about this change. Continuing selective admissions to small learning communities risks federal grant money. To address concerns about how students will gain access to International Baccalaureate programs without applying, more such programs will be created to allow admission to more students. An additional IB program at Southwest and one at Washburn are being discussed so that IB programs would be available to all those interested, and selection would not be based on an application or lottery. This will be discussed at Anthony's PTA meeting on March 27 at 7:00 PM in their Media Center. Watch for details in the Burroughs Bulletin.
Watch the Bulletin for a story about Burroughs Spelling Bee champion Dean Anderson. He has won two at two additional levels of competition. He will next compete at the Minnesota History Center on March 20. The winner of that competition goes to the national competition in Washington, D.C.
Second grade has begun CALT testing: Computerized Achievement Level Testing. NLL testing will begin soon. MCA and other assessments will take place after Spring Break. Mr. Cadotte asks parents to be sure their children are well rested on test days.
The Burroughs Rope Power performance will be Monday, March 19 at 9:15 AM and 12:30 PM. The team will compete on March 20 at 6:30 PM at Washburn. Burroughs students traditionally excel in the Double Under event.
The Fifth Grade portrait will be taken soon. Fifth graders received information about this in their backpacks. Since the portrait hangs in Burroughs permanently, Mr. Cadotte asks parents to ensure their children are dressed appropriately.
School Spring Pictures have been scheduled. Spring Pictures traditionally raises three times the funds that Fall Portraits do. This could be partly because portrait packages were sent home with students, who might have distributed pictures before getting their parents' approval. The option had been to pay for portraits or return them. This year, a proof system will be used, and parents can then place orders.
The Read-A-Thon closing ceremony is March 23. All are invited. As of the PTA meeting it was not known at that time whether or not the goal was met.
On March 21, the Burroughs Fifth grade will walk to Anthony to see their play. (Mr. Cadotte will attend the play but not the walk.) Burroughs tries to have the fifth grade attend an event at Anthony each year. A former Burroughs parent made the play flyer, which was sent home in backpacks.
PTA Budget Preparation
The PTA traditionally contributes to the school budget. Last year's PTA contribution was used to fund the AOM teacher, which freed school budget dollars to be used for other expenses. Since the PTA will not meet again until after the budget is finalized, the amount to be contributed must be approved at the March meeting. In order to determine how much the PTA can contribute, officers and committee chairs met to determine approximately what the PTA budget will be for next year.
The PTA budget is higher this year than in the past, growing as enrollment grows. Some of the figures included in the ballpark PTA budget are that the fourth grade social studies curriculum is fully funded, so funds in last year's budget for that will not be needed again. $1000 was added for ribbons for Track and Field Day. Ribbons cost 23 cents each, and each Burroughs student except Kindergarten receives five ribbons. Second grade teachers annually request funds for a Watershed Study; this was added to next year's budget so they do not have to make this request every year. All of these line items can be discussed when the final budget is voted on in May.
The proposed contribution was Read-A-Thon proceeds less the ballpark PTA budget, which did not include income from sources such as the Book Fair, Spirit Wear, etc, totaling about $5000 last year. It was noted that at this point, Spirit Wear has a loss of $500, but sales increase with the scheduling of Spirit Week. The final number is not known until the end of the year. The Fall Book Fair raised $4000 this year.
A motion was made and seconded to accept this contribution equation, though even if the Read-A-Thon proceeds increases to $70,000, the PTA contribution to the school would decrease to $20,000 from $27,700 last year. Read-A-Thon revenues increase every year as the number of students increases, but the Read-A-Thon chair did not expect as much of a dollar increase as was seen last year.
A motion was then made to amend the contribution equation to include Book Fair revenues. Attendees felt that though the PTA can contribute funds to the school at any time, it is important to make the contribution in time for the funds to be included in the Site Council budget in order to have the greatest positive impact.
A parent asked if Site Council could ask for a specific dollar amount rather than the PTA determine what funds are excess. Unfortunately, Site Council receives budget information and must act so quickly there isn't time to ask for a specific dollar amount to fund a shortage. There are less available funds in Achieve!Minneapolis. Only $11,000 has been contributed so far this year, significantly less than last year. Site Council asked the PTA for $30,000 in order to make up the difference. Though the PTA can move to donate additional funds at the April 26 meeting, this funding would probably be used for school discretionary funding rather than to reduce class size by adding staff. Members asked if the opportunity exists to meet again when Site Council realizes what the actual shortfall is. This is possible, but a special meeting would have to be called because of the condensed time frame.
A counter motion was made to change the contribution equation to be Total Income less the School's Need is the PTA Budget, implying that the PTA would reduce enrichment funding if needed to give a greater amount to the school.
A final motion was made that the PTA give $30,000 to the school budget. If extra revenue is available based on Read-A-Thon revenue, more money could be donated at the April 26 budget presentation. This motion passed with one voter opposed. The PTA treasurer is asked to come to the April 26 meeting prepared to present next year's preliminary budget so donating extra can be voted on if extra exists.
PTA Bylaws
Amendments to the PTA Bylaws were proposed, mainly to keep the bylaws current with the way the PTA operates. A motion was made, seconded and passed to approve the first four amendments as written:
- PTA officers will be elected in May, not April
- The Executive Board, officers and committee chairs, will meet as needed
- The budget will be approved in May, not April
- A quorum was changed to 8 members instead of 15.
Discussion about the next two bylaw changes follows. Two officer signatures are required on all checks from PTA accounts; a former treasurer feels that this removes the impression of impropriety and leaves an audit trail. Since PTA officers are only able to authorize spending $150, and since all other expenditures are included in the budget or explicitly approved at meeting, it was determined that enough checks and balances exist to approve the change that checks only require one officer signature.
The bylaws stated that the Treasurer present the budget at every meeting. Though a former treasurer feels that information and transparence is good and shows respect for the donors, as long as the information is updated regularly and available for members to inspect, formal presentations are not necessary. A motion was made, seconded and approved, that these two changes also be made to the Bylaws.
Discretionary Funding for New Teachers
It was moved that the two new teachers who will replace Mrs. McGinnis and Mrs. Walvatne after the birth of their children and until the end of the year receive $200 in discretionary funding. Mrs. Walvatne had spent all of her $400 in discretionary funding; Mrs. McGinnis has spent about $150. Neither new teacher has expressed a request for funding, so members felt this addressed a situation that has not arisen. The motion was not approved, but the teachers will be informed of the decision so Mrs. McGinnis' replacement is aware that discretionary funds exist for her use. Mrs. Walvatne's replacement will be encouraged to seek PTA approval of funds if needs arises that she is not able to implement without additional funding.
Spring Discretionary Funds
$3500 remains in discretionary funds that were carried over from prior years PTA budgets. Six faculty members have requested funding for proposals. PTA members will receive the survey of how the money should be spent with descriptions of the requests. Survey respondents are asked to rank their responses. A parent asked if it is possible to vote that not all $3500 be awarded so that more can be given to the school. Barbara Fipp will be asked to explore adding this to the survey. PTA members who do not receive a survey via e-mail are asked to contact Barbara Fipp.
PTA Nominating Committee
A nominating committee of three is needed to solicit volunteers for next year's available officer positions: Secretary and Vice President. Each office is a two-year term. The Vice President spends one year in that office and then becomes President for the following year. The PTA President may not serve on this committee. Anyone interested in serving on this committee is asked to contact Kristin Brahmstedt.
Site Council Survey
The response rate was low at only 38% of the school. Spanish respondents increased to 27% of the NLL community. Several parents reported not receiving a survey. Mr. Cadotte stressed to staff the importance of distributing surveys, so he feels surveys may have been lost between school and home. Those interested in completing a survey can contact Kim Dickey. All surveys will be read. The findings will be summarized and available in the Bulletin or the website. Comments highlighted in the summary are those that were common and not individual responses.
Most comments about class size agreed that reducing class size is an appropriate way to spend discretionary funds, though some expressed displeasure that the focus in class size reduction is on fourth and fifth grades. However, Site Council feels that these respondents may not understand that the number of students per class traditionally increases in these years, as recommended by the district. Lake Harriet and Barton fourth and fifth grades were both over thirty students per class.
Most respondents agree with the addition of technology classes at the upper grades in exchange for reduction in media and art time. Fifth graders still have the opportunity to check out for books though they do not receive media curriculum. The Spanish speaking community strongly supported the addition of technology classes, as did families without access to a computer in their home.
Most respondents were ambivalent about the change of Band and Orchestra to an after school program at Mount Olivet.
Quarterly rotations of specialists have been discussed so parental feedback was sought. Not many respondents were neutral about this. This would eliminate the situation where a specialist seen on a day that is frequently a holiday is rarely seen. Another approach to this issue is to number the days one through five and have them rotate fully so each specialist is seen equally. However, this is difficult when not all specialists are at a school full time. For example, if one Monday is a day one, but the next day one is a Tuesday, it is difficult to ensure that all staff is available every day.
NEXT PTA MEETING: MAY 8, 6:30 PM.
Monday, March 19th, 2007
View Spring Funding Requests
Click here to view the Spring Funding Requests in pdf format.
These are the written documents further describing the Spring Funding Requests. They were discussed at the March PTA meeting and can be used in the Electronic Voting by the PTA Members.
Thursday, March 15th, 2007
PTA Profit and Loss vs. Budget: YTD Statement
Click here to download a pdf with the PTA Profit and Loss vs. Budget for 2006-2007 as of Feb. 13, 2007.
PTA Meeting: March 13, 2007
PTA Meeting: March 13, 2007
The next PTA meeting will be held Tuesday, March 13, 2007 in the Burroughs Auditorium from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. All are invited, and free childcare is provided.
The tentative agenda is as follows:
- Principal's Comments
- Spring Discretionary Funding Proposal Discussion
- Preliminary 2007/2008 PTA Budget Discussion to Determine PTA Contribution to the School Budget
- PTA Bylaws
- Nominating Committee for 2007/2008 Officers
Meeting minutes will be posted on this site shortly after the meeting.
Plan to attend!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
PTA Meeting Minutes - January 16, 2007
PTA President Kristin Brahmstedt was unable to attend. Vice President Barbara Fipp conducted the meeting. The PTA Bylaws discussion is postponed until the March meeting.
Principal's Report
Mr. Cadotte reports a smooth transition back to school after winter break, as both children and parents were ready for school to begin. Teachers who are parents reported mixed emotions.
Children are required to wear boots outside at recess. Mr. Catchings enforces the requirement. Burroughs attempts to furnish boots, mittens and hats so all children can play outside. However, the inventory of excess boots has been depleted, and only one small pair remains. New and gently used boots in sizes 1-7 are requested. Parents finding end-of-season sales on boots are asked to inform the office so staff can consider taking advantage of the sale. Cash donations are also welcome. Snowpants are also needed, but coats and hats are more plentiful, in part thanks to a donation of 100 hats earlier this school year. 200 mismatched mittens were also donated, and about 50 remain. Donations can be left in the main office or Ms. Alvarez's office with the donor's name so a receipt can be provided for tax purposes. These donations replace garments previously provided by the Community Action program Project Bundle Up, which ceased operation several years ago. Burroughs parents have filled the void since then.
Ms. Alvarez thanked those who participated in the Holiday Sharing campaign. 79 individuals received gifts. Watch the Burroughs Bulletin for a formal thank you and more details.
Kindergarten Information Night was a success. Mr. Cadotte expressed thanks to all parents who participated in preparing for and attending the reception.
Thursday, January 18, after school, the kindergarten teachers were invited to meet with Dr. Green, probably concerning class size. Class sizes for next school year are set at the end of February. Mr. Cadotte did not expect class sizes to change for next year, but has recently heard discussion about lower class sizes. It is believed that the kindergarten teachers' input will be sought concerning class sizes and that information will be carried to the new school board.
Both the Governor and the Legislature are in favor of providing full day kindergarten for all students. This is the first time both bodies are on the same side of the issue. Watch the news for developments before the legislative session ends in April.
District 63's newly elected state senator Don Larson will hold a Senate Committee on Education meeting at Burroughs on Wednesday, February 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. This meeting is open to Burroughs parents. Parents may be asked for suggestions and ideas concerning school funding, as well as good news about happenings in education. A Site Council representative may speak, as well as a kindergarten teacher concerning full day kindergarten. Mr. Cadotte was asked if other schools will host similar meetings. Though Mr. Cadotte thinks it is possible that meetings will be held at suburban or outstate schools, he has no confirmation.
Testing is going on now and next week for kindergarten and first grade. Retired teachers evaluate students at these grades individually. 4th graders will participate in a pilot of the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) test. This is a federal test for 4th and 8th grades. Anthony students also participate. It is the only federal yardstick by which states can be compared. State tests differ among states; the results cannot accurately be compared. The feeling is that if this test is mandated nationally, it will replace tests created by individual states.
The 4th and 5th grade ski trip was scheduled for January 19. With their parents' prior permission, some students stay beyond the school day and ski longer.
Sean McGinnis discussed changes to the Burroughs Website. When the site was developed, parents at individual schools were not permitted to build sites in conjunction with the District's site, so Burroughs built their own. Sean currently is part of the team that maintains the site. Parent groups can now create sites accessible through the parent site, the district site. Teachers will be able to use COSMOS, an easier software package associated with this site, to update web pages. Every other week, staff will meet in the computer lab with a district staff person who will assist staff in creating and maintaining sites. Burroughs will be using the new site this school year. For a transition period, the old site will link to the new site. The PTA will have a page on the new site and be able to access and update it.
Faculty Funding Requests
This fall, the PTA budget contained extra discretionary funds. The PTA allocated $10,000 to be distributed to the faculty, $6500 in the fall, and $3500 in the spring. Teachers were asked to provide requests for funding for equipment or projects. 20 requests were received, which was too many to be voted on within a meeting as has happened with past funding requests. The tool Survey Monkey was used to solicit input from registered PTA members, who have paid their annual PTA membership dues. Their choices were ranked according to the number of votes awarded for first place for each option, the number of votes awarded for second choice for each option, etc. The requests that were funded are as follows:
Principal's Report
Mr. Cadotte reports a smooth transition back to school after winter break, as both children and parents were ready for school to begin. Teachers who are parents reported mixed emotions.
Children are required to wear boots outside at recess. Mr. Catchings enforces the requirement. Burroughs attempts to furnish boots, mittens and hats so all children can play outside. However, the inventory of excess boots has been depleted, and only one small pair remains. New and gently used boots in sizes 1-7 are requested. Parents finding end-of-season sales on boots are asked to inform the office so staff can consider taking advantage of the sale. Cash donations are also welcome. Snowpants are also needed, but coats and hats are more plentiful, in part thanks to a donation of 100 hats earlier this school year. 200 mismatched mittens were also donated, and about 50 remain. Donations can be left in the main office or Ms. Alvarez's office with the donor's name so a receipt can be provided for tax purposes. These donations replace garments previously provided by the Community Action program Project Bundle Up, which ceased operation several years ago. Burroughs parents have filled the void since then.
Ms. Alvarez thanked those who participated in the Holiday Sharing campaign. 79 individuals received gifts. Watch the Burroughs Bulletin for a formal thank you and more details.
Kindergarten Information Night was a success. Mr. Cadotte expressed thanks to all parents who participated in preparing for and attending the reception.
Thursday, January 18, after school, the kindergarten teachers were invited to meet with Dr. Green, probably concerning class size. Class sizes for next school year are set at the end of February. Mr. Cadotte did not expect class sizes to change for next year, but has recently heard discussion about lower class sizes. It is believed that the kindergarten teachers' input will be sought concerning class sizes and that information will be carried to the new school board.
Both the Governor and the Legislature are in favor of providing full day kindergarten for all students. This is the first time both bodies are on the same side of the issue. Watch the news for developments before the legislative session ends in April.
District 63's newly elected state senator Don Larson will hold a Senate Committee on Education meeting at Burroughs on Wednesday, February 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. This meeting is open to Burroughs parents. Parents may be asked for suggestions and ideas concerning school funding, as well as good news about happenings in education. A Site Council representative may speak, as well as a kindergarten teacher concerning full day kindergarten. Mr. Cadotte was asked if other schools will host similar meetings. Though Mr. Cadotte thinks it is possible that meetings will be held at suburban or outstate schools, he has no confirmation.
Testing is going on now and next week for kindergarten and first grade. Retired teachers evaluate students at these grades individually. 4th graders will participate in a pilot of the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) test. This is a federal test for 4th and 8th grades. Anthony students also participate. It is the only federal yardstick by which states can be compared. State tests differ among states; the results cannot accurately be compared. The feeling is that if this test is mandated nationally, it will replace tests created by individual states.
The 4th and 5th grade ski trip was scheduled for January 19. With their parents' prior permission, some students stay beyond the school day and ski longer.
Sean McGinnis discussed changes to the Burroughs Website. When the site was developed, parents at individual schools were not permitted to build sites in conjunction with the District's site, so Burroughs built their own. Sean currently is part of the team that maintains the site. Parent groups can now create sites accessible through the parent site, the district site. Teachers will be able to use COSMOS, an easier software package associated with this site, to update web pages. Every other week, staff will meet in the computer lab with a district staff person who will assist staff in creating and maintaining sites. Burroughs will be using the new site this school year. For a transition period, the old site will link to the new site. The PTA will have a page on the new site and be able to access and update it.
Faculty Funding Requests
This fall, the PTA budget contained extra discretionary funds. The PTA allocated $10,000 to be distributed to the faculty, $6500 in the fall, and $3500 in the spring. Teachers were asked to provide requests for funding for equipment or projects. 20 requests were received, which was too many to be voted on within a meeting as has happened with past funding requests. The tool Survey Monkey was used to solicit input from registered PTA members, who have paid their annual PTA membership dues. Their choices were ranked according to the number of votes awarded for first place for each option, the number of votes awarded for second choice for each option, etc. The requests that were funded are as follows:
- Request by Mike Frober, books for Reading Workshops for grades 3/4 - $1500
- Request by 1st grade team, upper level readers for Houghton Mifflin reading series - $1300
- Requested by Jane Bechtel, dictionaries for grades 3/4/5 William and Mary Curriculum - $449.25
- Requested by Mr. Kilibarda and Mr. Janssen, class set of Architecto blocks and teacher's manual, used to teach spatial reasoning. $484.95
- Request by Mrs. McGreevy, one additional History Alive Kit plus Student Notebooks - $531
- Requested by Celeste Spooner - 50 additional 4th grade social studies textbooks + 1 additional set of maps + student notebooks - $2297.16
The total was $6562, exceeding the amount the PTA agreed to spend by $62. This amount is below that which the PTA president can approve without a vote by the PTA membership.
The Survey Monkey process was admittedly not perfect, and mathematicians and statisticians can argue the statistical validity of the results, but the PTA adopted the motto of "You get what you get and you don't make a fit" for this process. Additional feedback received included:
- More information is needed by the voters in order to make informed decisions. A one page crib sheet of background information is requested to accompany each request.
- In cases where teachers have multiple requests, the teachers should prioritize their own requests.
- Survey respondents would like the choices to self-eliminate as they are selected, so that when a respondent is choosing their 20th priority, only one choice is left.
- Parents would like teachers to share technology where possible to reduce multiple requests for the same piece of equipment. For example, voters could then approve the purchase of a camera, rather than the purchase of a camera for a specific staff member.
- Voters would like better guidelines governing the distribution of funds, rather than the general rule that funds should be for student "enrichment". A helpful piece of information would be the number of students who would benefit from each expenditure.
Barbara presented the the following suggestions for improvement:
- Teachers will be asked to submit requests earlier, allowing time for research and follow-up by PTA members. For example, opportunities for sharing technology and combining requests can be explored. Kristin will ask faculty for their requests at a staff meeting.
- Teachers will use a standard application form. This form will include information as to what the problem or teaching opportunity is that is being addressed; if the purchased equipment can be shared, which provides information on how many students will be impacted; whether the purchased equipment is durable or consumable, and if consumable, what the life-span of the equipment is; and if alternate funding has been explored, giving teachers a chance to provide information about taking advantage of matching funds. Barbara, with the volunteer assistance of parent Christian Thill, will revise the form.
- Barbara will summarize requests on cheat sheets to be used by members when voting.
- Before the next voting, Barbara will tweak the survey in Survey Monkey in order to make it more user friendly and eliminate an option after it has been chosen. Members can expect a better survey during the next voting or a sincere apology.
Two faculty members requested digital cameras in the fall funding requests, and many other faculty members have digital cameras on their wish lists on the Burroughs web site. It is not known if any of these wishes have been granted. Mr. Hulsey was in attendance and shared that he has not checked a digital camera out of the Media Center because of a 5th grade team member who has one and uses it to photograph 5th grade activities, and because of an unawareness of what equipment is available for check-out. He would like an inventory of equipment, including how old the equipment is, so he can determine if any of it would be of use. Mr. Cadotte will ask Ms. Hennen to provide an inventory.
Beyond the $3500 to be spent for faculty requests in the spring, the PTA has about $2000 in discretionary funds. A motion was made and seconded to give $500 to the Media Center to purchase two additional digital cameras which will be able to be checked out by faculty. The purchase would be made pending verification in the bylaws that a quorum was present at the meeting (Mr. Hulsey wrote his membership check as the discussion progressed in order to help reach this goal), and pending approval by Ms. Hennen. The cameras to be purchased must meet district recommendations, and minimum resolution requirements so that pictures taken can be used in the yearbook, believed to be 5 mega-pixels. Barbara knows of a kindergarten parent who works in photography who may be able to assist us in purchasing cameras at a discount.
It is believed that a camera meeting minimum requirements will cost about $300. Therefore, a counter motion was made that $600 be donated to the Media Center in order to ensure that two cameras can be purchased. The counter motion was seconded and approved with none opposed.
Discussion ensued concerning whether teachers have spent their funds provided by the PTA. Kristine Christensen plans to e-mail the teachers in February letting them know how much, if any, of their funding remains. This information can also be added to the Burroughs Web Site on the PTA page. Chrissie Bonnes will e-mail Kristine instructions on how to add information to the current web site. Instructions to add information to the new web site do not exist yet.
The PTA would like to thank Barbara for her hard work in equitably and easily distributing discretionary funds.
PTA Business
The PTA is in need of officers for the 2007-2008 academic year. A secretary is sought for a two year commitment, and a vice president is sought for the 2007-2008 year who then becomes president the following year. Anyone interested in fulfilling one of these offices can contact a present PTA officer for information.
Read-A-Thon
Read-A-Thon information packets will be sent home on January 23. Last year's Read-A-Thon raised $65,842, which is added to the PTA General Fund to fund enrichment activities such as Art Adventure, Bravo and Lego League, and to purchase equipment such as computers and digital cameras. Students can solicit pledges for minutes read during the month of February, or can accept donations of any amount. Recommendations of minutes read per day per grade, such as 10 to 20 minutes per day reading or being read to for kindergarten students, are included in the information packet. Every student, regardless of age or reading ability, can earn a prize based on minutes read or dollars raised.
The Read-A-Thon committee for this year is as follows:
- Cristy Blake: chair
- Faith McGown: co-chair and 2008 chair
- Amanda Abrams, Beth Forsline, Cynthia Slater: prizes. New donations from new sources have been secured. A new prize available this year is a Skateboard Package including membership, lessons and a helmet, for students who raise $500 or more. These students will also receive special recognition at the closing ceremony. All classrooms with 100% participation will win a pizza party. 84% of the school participated last year. Students participate by returning a tally form. The committee is willing to accept any piece of paper stating minutes read, even if only those read in the classroom are reported, as a tally form. In conjunction with the Read-A-Thon, Ms. Hennen is supporting a program to allow students to win prizes when checking out books during the month of February.
- Barbara Fipp: Communications. This committee needs additional volunteers. Ideas have been formulated; help is needed in implementation. Those interested can contact Cristy.
- Beth Sutherland: Opening and Closing Ceremonies, featuring Mr. Cadotte and Mr. Catchings
- Stephanie Hegland and Sarah LeDoux: Guest Readers. Guest Readers had previously been scheduled individually on a classroom by classroom basis, with the exception of community leaders who were scheduled by the Read-A-Thon committee. As a result, parent guest readers were sometimes bumped by visiting dignitaries, and teachers with less time available to devote to scheduling guest readers may have had less readers in their classes. Central guest reader scheduling hopes to address these situations.
- Susan Hopp and Karl Schweikart: Logo. Susan and Karl are the partners in a design firm, and parents of a 5th grader, so this is their last year helping with the logo.
- Cory Piper-Hauswirth: Tally. This committee works extremely hard to complete the tally before the closing ceremony. This is more difficult when forms are not returned on time.
- Scott Seiler: Corporate Matching. Corporate Matching is an employee benefit at some corporations whereby donations to non-profits are matched. The Burroughs Bulletin will list companies known to match donations; donors can call their HR departments and ask if their companies participate. Often there is a form available on a corporate website that employees can download and complete with minimal information. Forms can then be delivered to Burroughs; Scott will complete the non-profit section and return them to companies for payment. $1200 was raised last year through corporate matches.
The School Goal for this year is 1,000,000 minutes read. Last year's goal of 900,000 minutes read was exceeded.
Key Dates for the Read-A-Thon include the following:
- January 23: Student Packet goes home
- January 30, 9:15 AM: Opening Ceremony. The Opening Ceremony must be in the morning to accommodate PE classes. Afternoon kindergarten students may attend with their parents. The theme of this year's Read-A-Thon is Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Mr. Cadotte will portray Willie Wonka in the Opening Ceremony. Oompa Loompas will also be in the house, and 5th graders will play Golden Ticket winners
- February 1 - February 28: Students read and keep track of their minutes read
- March 1 - March 9: Tally forms and money is due. 180 forms and $10,000 was returned last year after the deadline. A volunteer committee tallies money and forms returned on time, but Cory tallies any forms received after that herself.
The next PTA meeting is Tuesday, March 13 at 6:30 in the Burroughs Auditorium. PTA Bylaws and spring faculty funding requests will be discussed. Plan to attend.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
PTA Meeting: January 16, 2007
The next PTA meeting will be held Tuesday, November 16, 2006 in the Burroughs Auditorium from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. All are invited, and free childcare is provided.
The tentative agenda is as follows:
6:30 Welcome: Kristin Brahmstedt
6:35 Principal's Report: Tim Cadotte
6:50 Faculty Funding Request Recap: Barbara Fipp
7:10 PTA Bylaws: Kristin Brahmstedt
7:20 Read-A-Thon: Cristy Blake.
Please note all times are tentative and subject to change. Meeting minutes will be posted on this site shortly after the meeting.
Plan to attend!
The tentative agenda is as follows:
6:30 Welcome: Kristin Brahmstedt
6:35 Principal's Report: Tim Cadotte
6:50 Faculty Funding Request Recap: Barbara Fipp
7:10 PTA Bylaws: Kristin Brahmstedt
7:20 Read-A-Thon: Cristy Blake.
Please note all times are tentative and subject to change. Meeting minutes will be posted on this site shortly after the meeting.
Plan to attend!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
PTA Meeting Minutes: November 14, 2006
Principal's Report
The School Information Fair will be Saturday, November 18 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the downtown Minneapolis Hyatt. Information for Anthony and other middle schools will be available. The room can be chaotic and full, but the event is fun. Parents can also tour schools, use the district web site, and call schools.
Mr. Catchings became a grandfather for the first time and took two weeks off from school to spend with his new grandchild. He will return on Monday, November 20.
The Family Fun Run is nearing. Parents can attend Phy Ed class with their child and jog with their child in the gym. Jump rope sales precede the event. Students will sell jump ropes in the atrium. Information will be sent home about the jump rope sales. The Phy Ed department receives a small portion of the cost of each jump rope.
A bond passed providing assessment technology to schools. Many required tests are taken on PCs, reducing computer lab class time. MCA assessments will soon be on PC too. Burroughs will be among the first schools in Phase I to get an assessment technology lab; Anthony already has its assessment lab. Room 318, previously used by band and strings, will be Burroughs' lab. Based on projected enrollment, Burroughs will be one room short next year. Planning is underway for this need.
LifeTouch provides photo IDs as a service in case a child is missing. The IDs are usually distributed at conferences rather than sent home with students. However, the IDs arrived after fall conferences, and the next conferences aren't until February. By show of hands, members voted to have children bring the IDs home.
Fall testing has ended.
Kindergarten tours start soon.
The Minnesota Sinfonia will perform at Burroughs in the near future. Mr. Catchings coordinates the event. Information will be sent home soon.
The school's Lock Down Drill went well. The building was secured within 6 minutes. Mr. Catchings, Mr. Cadotte, and Ms. Alvarez each patrolled a school floor and reported that all children were quiet and all doors were locked. Anthony also had a Lock Down Drill. The district mandates that each school hold five such drills per school year. Another will be held next week in the afternoon since afternoon kindergarten students did not participate in the previous drill held in the morning. The district also mandates five fire drills, a reduced number from previous years.
Anthony Middle School Question and Answer
Jackie Hanson, Anthony principal in her eighth year, and Anthony students and parents, were available for discussion. Mr. Cadotte began by relating his experience as an Anthony parent. He feels the curriculum is challenging, and his seventh graders like school. Mr. Cadotte feels that the teachers know their students well.
Anthony will hold its own Information Fair on November 30th, the week following Thanksgiving. There is a program planned for the evening to tell about the great activities at Anthony. Anthony prides itself on giving children leadership opportunities, since children are the leaders of tomorrow and need a chance to practice these skills. There are also many opportunities in the arts at Anthony.
Anthony teachers work in grade level teams; specialists work with multiple grades. When asked if 6th graders are separated from older students, Ms. Hanson said each grade primarily occupies, takes classes, and has their lockers on one floor of the school. 6th grade primarily uses the first floor, 7th the second, and 8th the third. Lunch periods are separated by grade.
Ms. Hanson feels Anthony continues the K-8 experience began at Burroughs. Anthony students are visible to Burroughs students. They read during the Burroughs Read-a-Thon, and Mr. Cadotte arranges for Burroughs students to visit Anthony.
Anthony's largest grade is currently 6th with 180 students. Students primarily attended the feeder schools, Burroughs, Kenny, Armatage, and Lyndale, but also arrive from Whittier, Lake Harriet, Field, Hale, Windom and Winona among others.
The district middle school guideline is 32 students to one teacher. Some classes now exceed this ratio due to increased enrollment. The largest class currently has 37 students. Anthony has three citywide Special Education programs, two of which are self-contained. Students in the Autism program take mainstream classes with an accompanying adult, adding an adult to the student to staff ratio. Also, 75-95 University of Minnesota and Hamline students per year are at Anthony to learn about teaching and education. The college students also help in classes.
Jenny LeDoux, an Anthony 8th grader, is pleased with the assistance her teachers provide with high school applications and essays. Her English and other teachers help students and provide checklists to guide students through the process. She feels the teachers are organized, friendly, and flexible, and not unnecessarily strict. She feels teachers are helpful, especially if students communicate as issues arise. Jenny was concerned about bullying when starting Anthony, but has found it is not an issue.
7th grader Jane Hanneman is happy with the electives available at her grade level. There are four core classes and two electives. She has chosen choir and Spanish. English classes are very interactive, offering a variety of activities including skits, in addition to reading books. The many sports offerings including volleyball, softball, football and basketball provide students with ways to be involved in their school.
6th grader Stephen Jacobs feels that teachers help students adapt to middle school including the challenges of changing classes and using lockers within the four minutes between classes. He finds this time to be sufficient, as do the other students. Stephen enjoys music classes that allow each student to sing or play an instrument.
When asked how Anthony is unique among middle schools, Ms. Hanson pointed out the Fine Arts offerings. All sixth graders take music or Band, as well as gym class every other day. Also, sixth graders take a rotation class that changes by quarter. Classes available in the rotation are art, media, decision-making, keyboarding (typing), and leadership. The leadership elective is taught by an outside agency and utilizes practice exercises and public speaking to help students gain self-esteem. Ms. Hanson feels these classes prepare children for success in middle and high school.
7th and 8th graders take a foreign language class every day. Lake Harriet offers the same. This is important for students hoping to attend Southwest's IB program, South's Liberal Arts program or other competitive high school options.
Anthony is in the process of becoming an American Studies magnet program through the Gilder Lehrman History Institute funded by a Minneapolis corporation. This program will be embedded and infused throughout every level Social Studies class. Washburn High School is also an American Studies magnet program.
Parents receive formal updates from teachers once during each quarter in addition to at quarter end. Grades are important at Anthony. Students are challenged and held accountable for their grades and their work and they respond appropriately.
Mornings begin with a ten minute "home base" or homeroom period, which students use to prepare for the day. 6th graders receive planners and are monitored in using them. 7th and 8th graders receive planners too but can choose not to use them.
When asked about providing individual attention to students when needed, Ms. Hanson spoke of weekly team meetings where teachers identify needs and brainstorm solutions. Parents are e-mailed as issues arise. Formal parent conferences occur in the fall and March, and are available upon parent request at other times. 6th grade teachers receive special instruction in handling 6th graders and meeting their needs.
Teacher turnover is minimal. When Anthony became a middle school, teachers chose to become middle school teachers and took courses in handling adolescents.
Spelling bees and geography bees challenge students. Before school begins, all sixth graders are tested for AP math. Some students attend High School math classes at Southwest before Anthony's school day begins and then are bussed to Anthony.
Anthony acts on bullying issues immediately. Students and parents are assembled to address issues. The staff remains vigilant where there has been an issue.
Anthony also uses a student-led mediation program to resolve issues.
A parent whose children have attended both a K-8 school and a middle school feels that neither program has an academic advantage. He feels that the main difference is the broader range of socialization options in a larger school. Southwest High School teacher Dick Schwartz said on the record that Anthony students are better prepared for the challenges of high school than students from K-8 schools.
Ms. Hanson feels the transition to middle school is easier on students than parents.
When asked about a website students and parents can access to gain information about assignments from teachers, Ms. Hanson said the district aims to have sites for middle and high schools in Fall 2007. Assignments are currently posted in classes.
Anthony will participate in the School Information Fair on Saturday, November 18.
PTA Bylaws
The PTA Bylaws must be updated. Anyone wishing to help should contact Kristin Brahmstedt. The goal is to have the bylaws drafted by the January PTA meeting.
Discretionary Funds
Current PTA Bylaws state that a limit up to which PTA officers may approve funding requests should have been determined at September's PTA meeting. This was not done, partly because of an insufficient number of registered PTA members to vote on such issues at that time. The amount officers could approve in the 2005-2006 school year was $150, up from $100 previously. It was moved, seconded and approved that the $150 limit remains in place this school year. This is enough to handle small requests without convening the PTA, but not enough for an officers' junket to Vegas.
Two requests over the limit were approved since the last PTA meeting, and while forgiveness and not permission was asked, this will not occur again.
Remaining discretionary funds for the year are about $9500. Kristin Brahmstedt asked the staff to submit detailed requests for funds desired over the amount allocated to each faculty member by the PTA. The original plan was to spend half of the discretionary funds now and half in the spring after staff submit additional requests. It was moved, seconded and almost unanimously approved to allocate $6500 now since the school year is almost over by the time the next round of requests will occur.
PTA members in attendance received a handout detailing the requests, and one was added to the list. The list is attached:
Some parents felt that some of the items on the list could be handled by groups of parents contributing to purchase a holiday gift for a staff member.
Registered PTA members will receive an e-mail asking them to rank the requests from 1-20 within one week through a tool called Survey Monkey. Results will be returned to Barbara Fipp. The results will be published in the Burroughs Bulletin.
Some explanatory details are available for some of the items on the list.
1. The William and Mary Curriculum has been mostly funded to date by a grant. However, 75 additional dictionaries are needed.
2, 3, 4, 5. These items were listed in the order of their priority by their requester, Jason Benjamin. The Media Center has available for checkout one digital camera, but it can be difficult to schedule time to use it.
6. Mr. Peterson and Mr. Hill will use their allocated PTA funds to buy a laptop that links to the camcorder if they receive these requested funds. Again, the Media Center has a camcorder available for checkout, but only one is available for all of the staff.
10. Ms. May requested a digital camera costing less than that requested by Mr. Benjamin. Parents would like Mr. Benjamin to consider a less expensive camera. Mr. Cadotte thinks Lila might be able to get a camera with the desired functionality for less than Mr. Benjamin's request.
14. These materials are also part of the William and Mary curriculum.
15. Teachers are encouraged to request scholarship funds like this directly from Mr. Cadotte. He will provide these funds from his budget, removing this from the list.
17. This amount will be similar to that for the books already approved by the PTA, about $1750, if published by the same publisher. This price included an MEA special of buy one get one free pricing and free shipping. Barbara Fipp will confirm the amount before sending the survey.
19. Since the only event for the Burroughs NLL community is Cinco de Mayo, which occurs near the end of the school year, Ms. May would like to provide an additional event for this community.
20. Mr. Fairbanks added a request for portable display walls to exhibit students' artwork. The requested amount is about $1800.
Upcoming PTA Events
Some dates in the meeting handout were incorrect. Correct dates are as follows:
Picture Retakes: November 21
No School November 22-24
Site Council: November 28
Jump Rope Sales Begin: December 4
Latino Family Night: December 5
Fun Run Week Begins: December 18
Winter Break: December 25 - January 5
School Resumes: January 8
Kindergarten Information Night: January 9 (Snack donations are sought for this, as are parents to answer prospective parent's questions. Details will be sent via e-mail).
No School (Martin Luther King Day): January 15
School Choice Request Cards Due: January 15
PTA Meeting: January 16.
Burroughs Fund
Kim Dickey spoke about the Burroughs Fund, a committee of the Site Council. The annual campaign launches next week with a mailing, intentionally being sent in November so gifts made before year-end will be tax deductible for 2006.
The Fund was founded in 2002 and has raised about $108,000 since its inception. Annually, the Fund raises between $26,000 and $28,000; this year's goal is $30,000.
Contributions are managed and held at Achieve!Minneapolis. About 70% of the amount raised per year is released to the Site Council and added to the school operating budget. Last year this amount was $17000, which was used along with the PTA contribution towards purchasing one Full Time Equivalent for fourth and fifth grades to lower class sizes since the parents' focus last year was on lowering class sizes. One FTE required $83000 in budget funds.
The remaining 30% raised by the Fund each year remains in an endowment fund, which will soon start to generate income.
An investment in the Fund is an investment in not just the education of current students, but in Burroughs as a part of the community.
Gifts of any amount are welcome. The Fund has received gifts ranging from four one dollar bills to $1000 and more. The amount to contribute is an individual decision.
Gifts to the fund are eligible for corporate matching. Achieve! Manages this aspect of the campaign, as well as providing tax forms. Donations can be made through the United Way by designating the Burroughs Fund at Achieve!Minneapolis. Gifts can be made online with a credit card, or checks can be mailed.
NEXT PTA MEETING: JANUARY 16, 6:30 PM.
The School Information Fair will be Saturday, November 18 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the downtown Minneapolis Hyatt. Information for Anthony and other middle schools will be available. The room can be chaotic and full, but the event is fun. Parents can also tour schools, use the district web site, and call schools.
Mr. Catchings became a grandfather for the first time and took two weeks off from school to spend with his new grandchild. He will return on Monday, November 20.
The Family Fun Run is nearing. Parents can attend Phy Ed class with their child and jog with their child in the gym. Jump rope sales precede the event. Students will sell jump ropes in the atrium. Information will be sent home about the jump rope sales. The Phy Ed department receives a small portion of the cost of each jump rope.
A bond passed providing assessment technology to schools. Many required tests are taken on PCs, reducing computer lab class time. MCA assessments will soon be on PC too. Burroughs will be among the first schools in Phase I to get an assessment technology lab; Anthony already has its assessment lab. Room 318, previously used by band and strings, will be Burroughs' lab. Based on projected enrollment, Burroughs will be one room short next year. Planning is underway for this need.
LifeTouch provides photo IDs as a service in case a child is missing. The IDs are usually distributed at conferences rather than sent home with students. However, the IDs arrived after fall conferences, and the next conferences aren't until February. By show of hands, members voted to have children bring the IDs home.
Fall testing has ended.
Kindergarten tours start soon.
The Minnesota Sinfonia will perform at Burroughs in the near future. Mr. Catchings coordinates the event. Information will be sent home soon.
The school's Lock Down Drill went well. The building was secured within 6 minutes. Mr. Catchings, Mr. Cadotte, and Ms. Alvarez each patrolled a school floor and reported that all children were quiet and all doors were locked. Anthony also had a Lock Down Drill. The district mandates that each school hold five such drills per school year. Another will be held next week in the afternoon since afternoon kindergarten students did not participate in the previous drill held in the morning. The district also mandates five fire drills, a reduced number from previous years.
Anthony Middle School Question and Answer
Jackie Hanson, Anthony principal in her eighth year, and Anthony students and parents, were available for discussion. Mr. Cadotte began by relating his experience as an Anthony parent. He feels the curriculum is challenging, and his seventh graders like school. Mr. Cadotte feels that the teachers know their students well.
Anthony will hold its own Information Fair on November 30th, the week following Thanksgiving. There is a program planned for the evening to tell about the great activities at Anthony. Anthony prides itself on giving children leadership opportunities, since children are the leaders of tomorrow and need a chance to practice these skills. There are also many opportunities in the arts at Anthony.
Anthony teachers work in grade level teams; specialists work with multiple grades. When asked if 6th graders are separated from older students, Ms. Hanson said each grade primarily occupies, takes classes, and has their lockers on one floor of the school. 6th grade primarily uses the first floor, 7th the second, and 8th the third. Lunch periods are separated by grade.
Ms. Hanson feels Anthony continues the K-8 experience began at Burroughs. Anthony students are visible to Burroughs students. They read during the Burroughs Read-a-Thon, and Mr. Cadotte arranges for Burroughs students to visit Anthony.
Anthony's largest grade is currently 6th with 180 students. Students primarily attended the feeder schools, Burroughs, Kenny, Armatage, and Lyndale, but also arrive from Whittier, Lake Harriet, Field, Hale, Windom and Winona among others.
The district middle school guideline is 32 students to one teacher. Some classes now exceed this ratio due to increased enrollment. The largest class currently has 37 students. Anthony has three citywide Special Education programs, two of which are self-contained. Students in the Autism program take mainstream classes with an accompanying adult, adding an adult to the student to staff ratio. Also, 75-95 University of Minnesota and Hamline students per year are at Anthony to learn about teaching and education. The college students also help in classes.
Jenny LeDoux, an Anthony 8th grader, is pleased with the assistance her teachers provide with high school applications and essays. Her English and other teachers help students and provide checklists to guide students through the process. She feels the teachers are organized, friendly, and flexible, and not unnecessarily strict. She feels teachers are helpful, especially if students communicate as issues arise. Jenny was concerned about bullying when starting Anthony, but has found it is not an issue.
7th grader Jane Hanneman is happy with the electives available at her grade level. There are four core classes and two electives. She has chosen choir and Spanish. English classes are very interactive, offering a variety of activities including skits, in addition to reading books. The many sports offerings including volleyball, softball, football and basketball provide students with ways to be involved in their school.
6th grader Stephen Jacobs feels that teachers help students adapt to middle school including the challenges of changing classes and using lockers within the four minutes between classes. He finds this time to be sufficient, as do the other students. Stephen enjoys music classes that allow each student to sing or play an instrument.
When asked how Anthony is unique among middle schools, Ms. Hanson pointed out the Fine Arts offerings. All sixth graders take music or Band, as well as gym class every other day. Also, sixth graders take a rotation class that changes by quarter. Classes available in the rotation are art, media, decision-making, keyboarding (typing), and leadership. The leadership elective is taught by an outside agency and utilizes practice exercises and public speaking to help students gain self-esteem. Ms. Hanson feels these classes prepare children for success in middle and high school.
7th and 8th graders take a foreign language class every day. Lake Harriet offers the same. This is important for students hoping to attend Southwest's IB program, South's Liberal Arts program or other competitive high school options.
Anthony is in the process of becoming an American Studies magnet program through the Gilder Lehrman History Institute funded by a Minneapolis corporation. This program will be embedded and infused throughout every level Social Studies class. Washburn High School is also an American Studies magnet program.
Parents receive formal updates from teachers once during each quarter in addition to at quarter end. Grades are important at Anthony. Students are challenged and held accountable for their grades and their work and they respond appropriately.
Mornings begin with a ten minute "home base" or homeroom period, which students use to prepare for the day. 6th graders receive planners and are monitored in using them. 7th and 8th graders receive planners too but can choose not to use them.
When asked about providing individual attention to students when needed, Ms. Hanson spoke of weekly team meetings where teachers identify needs and brainstorm solutions. Parents are e-mailed as issues arise. Formal parent conferences occur in the fall and March, and are available upon parent request at other times. 6th grade teachers receive special instruction in handling 6th graders and meeting their needs.
Teacher turnover is minimal. When Anthony became a middle school, teachers chose to become middle school teachers and took courses in handling adolescents.
Spelling bees and geography bees challenge students. Before school begins, all sixth graders are tested for AP math. Some students attend High School math classes at Southwest before Anthony's school day begins and then are bussed to Anthony.
Anthony acts on bullying issues immediately. Students and parents are assembled to address issues. The staff remains vigilant where there has been an issue.
Anthony also uses a student-led mediation program to resolve issues.
A parent whose children have attended both a K-8 school and a middle school feels that neither program has an academic advantage. He feels that the main difference is the broader range of socialization options in a larger school. Southwest High School teacher Dick Schwartz said on the record that Anthony students are better prepared for the challenges of high school than students from K-8 schools.
Ms. Hanson feels the transition to middle school is easier on students than parents.
When asked about a website students and parents can access to gain information about assignments from teachers, Ms. Hanson said the district aims to have sites for middle and high schools in Fall 2007. Assignments are currently posted in classes.
Anthony will participate in the School Information Fair on Saturday, November 18.
PTA Bylaws
The PTA Bylaws must be updated. Anyone wishing to help should contact Kristin Brahmstedt. The goal is to have the bylaws drafted by the January PTA meeting.
Discretionary Funds
Current PTA Bylaws state that a limit up to which PTA officers may approve funding requests should have been determined at September's PTA meeting. This was not done, partly because of an insufficient number of registered PTA members to vote on such issues at that time. The amount officers could approve in the 2005-2006 school year was $150, up from $100 previously. It was moved, seconded and approved that the $150 limit remains in place this school year. This is enough to handle small requests without convening the PTA, but not enough for an officers' junket to Vegas.
Two requests over the limit were approved since the last PTA meeting, and while forgiveness and not permission was asked, this will not occur again.
Remaining discretionary funds for the year are about $9500. Kristin Brahmstedt asked the staff to submit detailed requests for funds desired over the amount allocated to each faculty member by the PTA. The original plan was to spend half of the discretionary funds now and half in the spring after staff submit additional requests. It was moved, seconded and almost unanimously approved to allocate $6500 now since the school year is almost over by the time the next round of requests will occur.
PTA members in attendance received a handout detailing the requests, and one was added to the list. The list is attached:
Some parents felt that some of the items on the list could be handled by groups of parents contributing to purchase a holiday gift for a staff member.
Registered PTA members will receive an e-mail asking them to rank the requests from 1-20 within one week through a tool called Survey Monkey. Results will be returned to Barbara Fipp. The results will be published in the Burroughs Bulletin.
Some explanatory details are available for some of the items on the list.
1. The William and Mary Curriculum has been mostly funded to date by a grant. However, 75 additional dictionaries are needed.
2, 3, 4, 5. These items were listed in the order of their priority by their requester, Jason Benjamin. The Media Center has available for checkout one digital camera, but it can be difficult to schedule time to use it.
6. Mr. Peterson and Mr. Hill will use their allocated PTA funds to buy a laptop that links to the camcorder if they receive these requested funds. Again, the Media Center has a camcorder available for checkout, but only one is available for all of the staff.
10. Ms. May requested a digital camera costing less than that requested by Mr. Benjamin. Parents would like Mr. Benjamin to consider a less expensive camera. Mr. Cadotte thinks Lila might be able to get a camera with the desired functionality for less than Mr. Benjamin's request.
14. These materials are also part of the William and Mary curriculum.
15. Teachers are encouraged to request scholarship funds like this directly from Mr. Cadotte. He will provide these funds from his budget, removing this from the list.
17. This amount will be similar to that for the books already approved by the PTA, about $1750, if published by the same publisher. This price included an MEA special of buy one get one free pricing and free shipping. Barbara Fipp will confirm the amount before sending the survey.
19. Since the only event for the Burroughs NLL community is Cinco de Mayo, which occurs near the end of the school year, Ms. May would like to provide an additional event for this community.
20. Mr. Fairbanks added a request for portable display walls to exhibit students' artwork. The requested amount is about $1800.
Upcoming PTA Events
Some dates in the meeting handout were incorrect. Correct dates are as follows:
Picture Retakes: November 21
No School November 22-24
Site Council: November 28
Jump Rope Sales Begin: December 4
Latino Family Night: December 5
Fun Run Week Begins: December 18
Winter Break: December 25 - January 5
School Resumes: January 8
Kindergarten Information Night: January 9 (Snack donations are sought for this, as are parents to answer prospective parent's questions. Details will be sent via e-mail).
No School (Martin Luther King Day): January 15
School Choice Request Cards Due: January 15
PTA Meeting: January 16.
Burroughs Fund
Kim Dickey spoke about the Burroughs Fund, a committee of the Site Council. The annual campaign launches next week with a mailing, intentionally being sent in November so gifts made before year-end will be tax deductible for 2006.
The Fund was founded in 2002 and has raised about $108,000 since its inception. Annually, the Fund raises between $26,000 and $28,000; this year's goal is $30,000.
Contributions are managed and held at Achieve!Minneapolis. About 70% of the amount raised per year is released to the Site Council and added to the school operating budget. Last year this amount was $17000, which was used along with the PTA contribution towards purchasing one Full Time Equivalent for fourth and fifth grades to lower class sizes since the parents' focus last year was on lowering class sizes. One FTE required $83000 in budget funds.
The remaining 30% raised by the Fund each year remains in an endowment fund, which will soon start to generate income.
An investment in the Fund is an investment in not just the education of current students, but in Burroughs as a part of the community.
Gifts of any amount are welcome. The Fund has received gifts ranging from four one dollar bills to $1000 and more. The amount to contribute is an individual decision.
Gifts to the fund are eligible for corporate matching. Achieve! Manages this aspect of the campaign, as well as providing tax forms. Donations can be made through the United Way by designating the Burroughs Fund at Achieve!Minneapolis. Gifts can be made online with a credit card, or checks can be mailed.
NEXT PTA MEETING: JANUARY 16, 6:30 PM.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
PTA Meeting: November 14, 2006
The next PTA meeting will be held Tuesday, November 16, 2006 in the Burroughs Auditorium from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. All are invited, and free childcare is provided.
The tentative agenda is as follows:
6:30 Welcome: Kristin Brahmstedt
6:35 Principal's Report: Tim Cadotte
6:50 Presentation about Anthony Middle School: Anthony Principal Jackie Hanson and Anthony families
7:10 PTA Bylaws, Faculty Funding Requests, Upcoming PTA Events: Kristin Brahmstedt.
Please note all times are tentative and subject to change. Meeting minutes will be posted on this site shortly after the meeting.
Plan to attend!
The tentative agenda is as follows:
6:30 Welcome: Kristin Brahmstedt
6:35 Principal's Report: Tim Cadotte
6:50 Presentation about Anthony Middle School: Anthony Principal Jackie Hanson and Anthony families
7:10 PTA Bylaws, Faculty Funding Requests, Upcoming PTA Events: Kristin Brahmstedt.
Please note all times are tentative and subject to change. Meeting minutes will be posted on this site shortly after the meeting.
Plan to attend!
Sunday, September 17, 2006
PTA Meeting Minutes - September 14, 2006
Principal's Update
Mr. Cadotte recognized and thanked staff in attendance: Mr. Catchings, Ms. Alvarez, Ms. McGreevy, Ms. Rodriguez, Mr. Kilibarda, Ms. Fee, and Ms. Blossey.
Parents are reminded that the drop-off circle is not the place to comb students' hair or express all the love in the world. A suggestion is to say good-bye as the car is moving, and let students out of the car immediately after stopping to keep traffic moving.
The calendar and handbook has been sent home. Staff review the handbook's rules with classes, and ask parents to do so. The dress code is on page 34. Flip-flops are not allowed in school, resulting in fewer falls, and less tripping up and down stairs and with lunch boxes. Also, girls' shirt straps must be as wide as the length of their pinkie finger.
Class sizes this year are as follows:
K Full Day: 19
146 A: 26
146 P: 22
147 A: 27
147 P: 26
Total: 120 (the school is allocated for 130, 26 of whom are NLL students)
1 NLL: 16
235: 29
238: 27
240: 28
232: 28
Total: 128 (the school is allocated for 130, 26 of whom are NLL students. Therefore, non-NLL 1st grade classes have nine students above allocation)
2 206 (NLL): 21
205: 22
203: 25
231: 25
233: 24
Total: 117 (the school is allocated for 130, 26 of whom are NLL students)
3 351: 29
353: 28
346: 27
348: 27
Total: 111 (the school is allocated for 104)
4 301: 26
302: 23
312: 25
315: 24
Total: 109 (the school is allocated for 112)
5 322: 26
329: 28
330: 25
Total: 79 (the school is allocated for 96)
School total: 653 (the school is allocated for 686)
Target class size is 26 in grades K-3, and 32 in grades 4 and 5. Burroughs bought a half teacher for fourth and fifth grades keep classes small. The district does not include NLL classes in their staffing calculations, though the numbers above include NLL students.
Mr. Cadotte has heard concern about large first grade classes. It was known last year that this would occur. Since Burroughs has 33 too few students for its staff allocation, which translates into one staff person too many, it is not in Burroughs' interest to be too vocal about first grade class sizes. Southwest Minneapolis schools all have smaller classes thiis year than last while classes are large in the Northeast.
Mr. Cadotte recognized and thanked staff in attendance: Mr. Catchings, Ms. Alvarez, Ms. McGreevy, Ms. Rodriguez, Mr. Kilibarda, Ms. Fee, and Ms. Blossey.
Parents are reminded that the drop-off circle is not the place to comb students' hair or express all the love in the world. A suggestion is to say good-bye as the car is moving, and let students out of the car immediately after stopping to keep traffic moving.
The calendar and handbook has been sent home. Staff review the handbook's rules with classes, and ask parents to do so. The dress code is on page 34. Flip-flops are not allowed in school, resulting in fewer falls, and less tripping up and down stairs and with lunch boxes. Also, girls' shirt straps must be as wide as the length of their pinkie finger.
Class sizes this year are as follows:
K Full Day: 19
146 A: 26
146 P: 22
147 A: 27
147 P: 26
Total: 120 (the school is allocated for 130, 26 of whom are NLL students)
1 NLL: 16
235: 29
238: 27
240: 28
232: 28
Total: 128 (the school is allocated for 130, 26 of whom are NLL students. Therefore, non-NLL 1st grade classes have nine students above allocation)
2 206 (NLL): 21
205: 22
203: 25
231: 25
233: 24
Total: 117 (the school is allocated for 130, 26 of whom are NLL students)
3 351: 29
353: 28
346: 27
348: 27
Total: 111 (the school is allocated for 104)
4 301: 26
302: 23
312: 25
315: 24
Total: 109 (the school is allocated for 112)
5 322: 26
329: 28
330: 25
Total: 79 (the school is allocated for 96)
School total: 653 (the school is allocated for 686)
Target class size is 26 in grades K-3, and 32 in grades 4 and 5. Burroughs bought a half teacher for fourth and fifth grades keep classes small. The district does not include NLL classes in their staffing calculations, though the numbers above include NLL students.
Mr. Cadotte has heard concern about large first grade classes. It was known last year that this would occur. Since Burroughs has 33 too few students for its staff allocation, which translates into one staff person too many, it is not in Burroughs' interest to be too vocal about first grade class sizes. Southwest Minneapolis schools all have smaller classes thiis year than last while classes are large in the Northeast.
Spirit Wear is a PTA fundraiser. Sales occur before and after school on Fridays. Items can also be ordered and delivered to student's classrooms. New styles are available.
The Twin Cities Marathon Fun Run is on September 30, 2006. Last year over 100 Burroughs students ran, organized by Dan Carlsen. The school with the most runners as a percentage of enrollment receives gym equipment. Hale usually wins the award, with Burroughs not even close behind. Mr. Cadotte would like support in beating Hale once.
The Book Fair is the same day. Families can have lunch at Burroughs after the run and enjoy one day with the school community rather than spend two weekends at school events.
Submissions for the Burroughs Bulletin are due each Wednesday by 3:00 PM for inclusion the following Monday. Details on how to submit articles are in the Bulletin and online. Mr. Cadotte acknowledged the nice work done by Bulletin volunteers.
Several after-school programs are available this year.
- The Spanish classes begin in two weeks, using 13 classrooms in the school.
- Band and Orchestra (previously Strings) moved to Mt. Olivet and are tuition based. Many students have joined. Mt. Olivet staff inspected Burroughs' instruments and had 40 repaired. Burroughs staff likes this Band and Orchestra program because it minimizes students leaving classrooms during the day. Fourth and fifth graders, and third graders with experience in an instrument may join.
- Lego League, led by Elise Schadauer, is also available to fourth and fifth grades. Burroughs now fields 6 teams, up from two initially. Lego League meets after school either from 3 to 4:30 PM or from 4:30 to 6 PM.
- After school classes for those needing extra academic support, known as ALC, will meet Tuesdays through Thursdays from 3 to 4:30. This program has not existed since the new building opened. Students qualifying for the program will receive letters. There is no cost to attend, and transportation is provided. It is run on the model of summer school. It is not yet known who will staff the program.
An Activity Bus is being discussed. This would not be available to those in the walk zone, but it may be available for others who participate in after-school activities and indicated on enrollment forms that transportation was needed.
Mr. Catchings and a test team coordinate mandated tests. The school budget had included a test coordinator, which was eliminated due to budget constraints until Mr. Catchings arrived.
- Kindergarten has one on one oral assessments at the beginning, middle and end of the school year. The district mandates this.
- First grade also has one on one fall, winter, and spring oral reading assessments.
- Second grade takes computerized CALT tests in the spring.
- Third, fourth and fifth grades takes CALT tests, beginning Monday, September 26, and MCA state tests.
- Fifth grade also takes a science test.
- Fourth grade will take an extra state test in January. Burroughs was selected at random to participate in a field test for this testing.
- NLL students in grades 3, 4, and 5 also take mandated tests.
New programs are being implemented for Advanced Placement instruction.
- The College Board, whose mission is to prepare high school students for college, is working with Burroughs. Burroughs is the first elementary school in the country to formally work with the College Board. Staff was trained in August. The Southwest Journal will run a story about this program in their next issue.
- Burroughs is also implementing an advanced placement curriculum from the Center for Gifted Education at William and Mary College. The center director trained Burroughs staff and Anthony 6th grade teachers for one day each in math and literacy. On October 9, Dr. Elissa Brown from William and Mary will conduct a Parent Meeting about the program. Details will be in the Burroughs Bulletin.
Screening for the Gifted and Talented program will be done against a long list of criteria, which varies by grade, is largely data driven and includes MCA and CALT test scores. Grade level teachers will discuss the criteria at Curriculum Night and Conferences.
Mr. Cadotte recognized six volunteers, led by Christian Thill and a borrowed Bobcat, who mulched, watered, and weeded the school property. The Minneapolis School District builds and landscapes property well, but does not maintain as well. Neighbors complain when school grounds are not maintained well; volunteers are appreciated.
Committee Updates
Sign-up sheets were available at the meeting, and a form was sent home to allow volunteers to join committees. The handout's top sheet should be returned; parents can keep the committee descriptions and contact chairs if they desire.
- Some committees need chairs: Destination ImagiNation, 5th Grade Celebration, and the Lynnhurst Silent Auction (which raised about $8000 for the Burroughs Fund last year and therefore will be conducted again) all need chairs. Contact Barbara Fipp at bafipp2@mmm.com to chair a committee.
- Ms. Bechtel needs a bilingual volunteer for an NLL student book group. Training will be provided. Contact Ms. Bechtel at jbechtel@mpls.k12.mn.us if interested.
- The Lunch Room and Playground need volunteers. There are enough volunteers to have one per day on either the lunchroom or playground. Ideally, there is one volunteer per day on the lunchroom AND playground. Contact Jennifer Norris at 728-9135 if interested. Any availability is welcome: once per week, once per month, twice per month. Scheduling is flexible.
- BRAVO, the classical music appreciation program, needs volunteers to bring classical music and stories about composers and songs to students. Topics included are Brass, Rhythm, Anthems, Voice, and Orchestra. This program originated at the Edina Community Center. It exists at schools throughout the metro area, but Burroughs is the only school is the Minneapolis School District to implement it. This year's curriculum is Voices for Instruments, dealing with instrument families of the orchestra, such as string, brass, and keyboard.
Each class ideally has two volunteers. Six parents volunteered so far. More volunteers means less work for all. Parents may tag-team and teach half of the sessions if there are two volunteers per class. Teachers remain in the class during sessions to translate and handle discipline if necessary. Some teachers expand on BRAVO lessons outside of the presentations. Co-chairs Karen Reisch and Cathy McCarron will assist with preparation, if necessary. Karen will coordinate volunteers and fill in if enough volunteers are not available as she is able.
There are six thirty-minute lessons, each containing a piece of music and requiring 1 to 3 preparation hours. Volunteers get books of presentation materials. Videos and visual aides are available. Two hour training sessions occur in fall and winter.
Detailed information about BRAVO will be sent home. - Sarah LeDoux will chair the Book Fair for the last time. Anyone interested in chairing this committee next year can contact Sarah at sledoux@mn.rr.com, and potentially shadow her to learn what chairing requires. Scholastic provides a list of nine volunteer positions and their responsibilities; Sarah currently performs four of these jobs. By delegating more responsibility, the chair's duties could be reduced. Alternately, two or three co-chairs could split responsibilities.
Last year, Burroughs achieved over $18000 in book sales; Sarah's goal for this year is $20000.
A flyer for the Book Fair was sent home. It occurs September 30 from 11 AM to 2 PM. The Book Fair Cafe is open from 11:30 to 1:30. Pizza, hot dogs, cookies, chips, yogurt and fruit will be sold at reasonable prices. Cakes and pies did not sell well last year and will not be offered again. The Cafe raised about $900 last year. Pizza and hot dogs sold out last year so more will be ordered this year. The Book Fair Cafe needs volunteers for half hour shifts. Those interested can contact Lisa Broek at broek@macalester.edu.
The Book Fair itself needs cashiers. Contact Leslie Maynard at lfmaynard@hotmail.com to sign up for a half hour shift between 11 and 2:30. Volunteers can work more than one shift if desired.
Students see a video highlighting some books and authors during Media class and browse the books and prepare wish lists for 20 minutes in the days prior to the Fair. These activities increase the number of books Scholastic awards to Burroughs. During the previews, free books are given away in random drawings.
Customers may shop during school Friday if they are unable to attend the day of the event. However, since community building is a goal of the Book Fair, those who can attend Saturday are asked not to shop early.
During the Book Fair, there will again be a Reading Corner. Teachers volunteer to read to children. The schedule of teachers will be published in the Burroughs Bulletin before the event. The Reading Corner will be in the gym so children can listen to stories as their parents shop or wait in line without being unattended.
Teacher Wish Lists, a way to donate to classrooms, will be available. There will be a sign for the Wish List area, and a volunteer to explain how to buy books and how they are delivered to teachers. In response to concerns that the gym was too hectic last year to allow for browsing for teachers' books, Sarah will be available Friday for those wishing to buy books for teachers early. Books teachers request (or a book a child wants) may run out, but it is possible to order a book, pay for it at the Fair, and it will be delivered to a child's classroom the next week.
Armfuls of Books, which allows parents to buy books for Burroughs children who cannot purchase books for themselves, has been streamlined. Last year, $400 worth of books was donated, which Ms. Alvarez distributed privately. This year, rather than purchasing books, certificates will be sold in amounts from $2 to $5. Cashiers will add these amounts to a customer's total. Money collected will be used to buy books selected by Ms. Alvarez. Also, Scholastic will contribute one book for each dollar donated to a children's charity, including Toys for Tots. Therefore, donating $4 to Armfuls of Books buys five books for children in need.
The Media Center received $2500 worth of books and money for books last year, in addition to the $3300 cash raised by the Book Fair. - Amy Melcher is the Junior Achievement site coordinator. One volunteer is needed per class. Twenty-four more volunteers are required. Presenting Junior Achievement lessons requires one hour per week for five weeks, usually in the spring. Teachers and individual volunteers schedule lessons to best meet their needs. All materials and training are provided free of charge to volunteers.
Junior Achievement lessons are interactive and age-appropriate. Themes include Our Family for Grade 1, Our Community for Grade 2, and either Our Nation or Exchange City, a one-day business model, for Grade 5. Teachers can translate in NLL classes. Amy has details on each grade's curriculum. To volunteer or learn more about the curriculum, contact Amy at 920-8384 or melkan@futurestat.com. - Leslie Maynard spoke about Teacher Wish Lists. These are available on the website, and contain items ranging from small to big, or items that would be useful in classrooms. Anyone wishing to donate is asked to view the Wish Lists.
- There is a need for tutors. Parents can tutor children in any class and any grade, not just their children's classes. Teachers provide required materials and training. Interested volunteers can contact Leslie Maynard at lfmaynard@hotmail.com.
PTA Budget
The PTA Budget is available on this site. Sources of income and expenditures for enrichment and general school funding are itemized. About $13000 in discretionary funds is available. Teachers who need additional enrichment funds are asked to submit funding requests by October 20 for funds to be awarded at the November 14, 2006 PTA meeting. Funds will be awarded again at the March 13, 2007 PTA meeting, with a deadline of February 16 for teachers to request additional funding. These deadlines were put in place to assist the PTA in prioritizing funding requests, rather than awarding discretionary funds on a first-come first-served basis as in the past. Teachers received a letter describing this process. Requests submitted after these dates will also be considered if an opportunity presents itself outside of these constraints. However, teachers are asked to work within the guidelines as much as possible to ensure fairness.
Site Council
Kim Dickey, co-chair of this year's Site Council, gave an overview of the Council. The Site Council is made up of 6 parents, 6 staff members, and two community representatives. The community representatives are John and Gillian Schoonover. Her co-chair this year is Joe Janssen. Other parent members are Lois Beckmen, Becky Wright, Libby Weil, Betsy Witzig-Wyvell, Kristin Brahmstedt as the PTA representative, and Mr. Cadotte. Georgeanne Croft and Penny Cierzan are alternates.
The Site Council represents the entire student body on issues relevant to the entire school such as curriculum, budget, and school policies. Classroom issues should be discussed with individual teachers, and elevated to Mr. Catchings and Mr. Cadotte if necessary.
The Site Council feels the NLL community is currently under-represented and hopes that will change.
The Site Council meets the last Tuesday of each month. Their first meeting this year is September 26. Meetings are open to all members of the Burroughs Community. There will be no meeting on October 31, Halloween.
Fundraiser Summary
A brief description of Burroughs' Fundraisers was provided.
- Burroughs' main fundraiser is the Read-A-Thon. This has occurred for over 15 years. It takes place in February; planning begins in November. Children get monetary pledges for minutes read in February. Prizes are awarded for money raised, and for individual and classroom minutes read. The Prize Subcommittee still needs a chair. Heidi Clemence, last year's prize subcommittee chair, will transfer knowledge to a new chair. This committee can be chaired by one or more volunteers. Anyone interested can contact Cristy Blake, this year's Read-A-Thon chair, at crjblake@msn.com. All other subcommittee chairs have been filled.
- The Yearbook was listed as a fundraiser in meeting materials, but it actually spends the funds it collects on production of the yearbook.
- Leslie Maynard had chaired the Corporate Programs committee; a new chair is sought. The General Mills Box Tops for Education program has raised over $10,000, $1000 to $1000 per year, since its inception. The Kemp's Nickels for Schools program raised $300 last year, totaling about $1000 since its inception the year Burroughs occupied the Brookside building. Kowalski's receipts raised about $480 last year, contributed to the school budget rather than the PTA budget. Target Take Charge of Education also donates directly to the school and has raised $14000 in the 7 or 8 years in which Burroughs has participated. Target sends checks to Burroughs twice per year. In order for Burroughs to receive donations, Target Card holders must designate Burroughs as their beneficiary.
General Updates
In the interest of time, some issues at PTA meetings may be tabled for future direction, or answers to questions will be communicated directly to interested parties at a later date.
Parents are encouraged to join the PTA. Memberships are $4.75 per year. Burroughs must attain a certain membership level to remain an active PTA chapter. Only PTA members should vote on issues such as discretionary monies at PTA meetings.
Curriculum nights will be held September 18, 19 and 20. Childcare is NOT provided on these nights, and parents are expected NOT to bring their children.
Next meeting: Tuesday, November 14, 2006.
PLEASE NOTE: There will be no PTA meeting in October.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
First PTA Meeting! Thursday, September 14, 2006 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM
The first PTA meeting of the 2006-2007 School Year will be held Thursday, September 14, 2006 in the Burroughs Auditorium from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Please note the change from the usual day!
All are invited, and free childcare is provided.This month's tentative agenda is as follows:
6:30 Welcome: Kristin Brahmstedt
6:35 Principal's Report: Tim Cadotte
6:50 PTA Budget Overview: Kristin Brahmstedt
7:00 Site Council Overview: Kim Dickey
7:15 Fundraiser Summary: Kristin Brahmstedt and Committee Chairs
7:35 Committee Updates: Sarah LeDoux, Lisa Broek, Committee Chairs.
Please note all times are tentative and subject to change. Meeting minutes will be posted on this site shortly after the meeting. Plan to attend!
All are invited, and free childcare is provided.This month's tentative agenda is as follows:
6:30 Welcome: Kristin Brahmstedt
6:35 Principal's Report: Tim Cadotte
6:50 PTA Budget Overview: Kristin Brahmstedt
7:00 Site Council Overview: Kim Dickey
7:15 Fundraiser Summary: Kristin Brahmstedt and Committee Chairs
7:35 Committee Updates: Sarah LeDoux, Lisa Broek, Committee Chairs.
Please note all times are tentative and subject to change. Meeting minutes will be posted on this site shortly after the meeting. Plan to attend!
Saturday, May 13, 2006
PTA Meeting Minutes - May 9, 2006
PTA Business
Last fall, the PTA voted not to have LifeTouch Spring Pictures. The PTA has since learned that Spring Pictures raise approximately $1000, more than what fall pictures earns. As a result, Tristen Lindemann and LifeTouch will re-evaluate spring pictures next year. An option exists to send home a sample picture and have parents order a package rather than sending home a package and have parents pay for what they keep. A concern is that teachers feel that class time is at a premium in the spring. A request was made to photograph sibling combinations. In order to accommodate siblings, and teachers' concerns over class time, it was suggested that pictures be taken on a weekend for those who wish to bring their children to school.
Regardless of the decision, parents wish to be informed in the fall whether or not pictures will be taken in the spring. This year, some parents did not order fall pictures in anticipation of purchasing spring pictures, and were left with no pictures.
A Lake Harriet parent shared a fundraising possibility. An organization called Strataverve administers taste tests. Volunteers receive e-mails about upcoming taste tests. After an initial screening, volunteers attend taste tests. Volunteers receive $30 - $50 for their time; the referring PTA receives $2 - $3. Volunteers can be encouraged to donate their payment as well.
An objection noted was that in the past, Burroughs requested funds only once per year, at the Read-A-Thon, rather than multiple times during the year. Both spring pictures and taste tests are examples of multiple times per year families are asked to contribute, in addition to the Read-A-Thon, and the Burroughs Fund appeal. A response was that taste test e-mails are only sent to those who request them, after an initial appeal for volunteers.
PTA Vice President Election
Barbara Fipp stepped forward for the position of PTA Vice President for the 2006-07 school year, and, therefore, PTA president for the 2007-08 school year. Ms. Fipp has two children at Burroughs, Hannah in 4th grade, and Jace, in first grade. Ms. Fipp has been involved in the Read-A-Thon for several years, and is employed at 3M. It was moved to elect Ms. Fipp, the motion was seconded, and carried with none opposed.
2006-07 PTA Budget
Kristin Brahmstedt presented the PTA 2006-2007 budget. Committee chairs provided input to the budget based on actual spending. Some of the budget's expenses are income producing advances, such as funds allocated to the Read-A-Thon and Spirit Wear.
The PTA also funds enrichment activities. Lego League receives $1000 for two or three teams of about ten children each, as far as attendees remember. Teams include both boys and girls, making Lego League a good way to promote math and science interest in girls. Lego League competitions continue into middle and high school. It costs approximately $200 to enter competition, and supplies are needed. New robots are being introduced this summer. This activity is relatively expensive and serves a small number of students in upper grades. Therefore, although the $1000 budgeted for next year will remain, a limit will be placed on each team's spending, and participants' parents may be asked for additional funds. The limit will be decided later with input from Lego League coaches. If not as many students participate, the entire budget will not be spent on less students.
Administrative funding includes childcare for PTA meetings and Latino family nights. This funding remains in next year's budget. Discretionary funds are included in this category as well. The amount of discretionary funds is larger in next year's budget than in past years.
Media funding was increased to add a computer. Speech and Language funding was also increased.
The PTA received $1050 from Box Tops for Education too late to be included in the budget presented. Funds from Box Tops and Kemp's go to the PTA. Funds from Target Visa go directly to the school. An attendee requested that funds from Box Tops and Kemp's be listed separately in the future so parents see the results of their collecting.
It was moved, seconded and passed with none opposed that the budget be approved.
Second Grade Environmental Study
In conjunction with a science unit on insects, Jason Benjamin requested funding to study Minnehaha Creek. The topics of pollution and community service can be included.
The study was done on a smaller scale last year. Mr. Benjamin attended a workshop on the topic last year and applied for a grant to fund it then.
The project is in partnership with Woodcrest Nature Center in St. Louis Park and the Minneapolis Park Board. Thirty classroom minutes would be spent identifying and studying aquatic insects and their habitats, food chains, and eco-systems. The children would then spend forty minutes in the creek looking for, catching, and identifying aquatic insects, followed by fifty more classroom minutes observing the insects. This is to take place Friday, May 26, and Tuesday, May 30 through Thursday, June 1.
At a cost per student of $4.10 to $4.50 with 114 students in second grade, the total cost is $467 to $513. There are some funds available from the second grade enrichment pool and from individual teachers' enrichment funds. The PTA also budgeted but didn't spend $500 for Rope Power since the school covered Rope Power's expenses.
The second grade trip to the Lowry Nature Center did not occur this year.
It was mentioned that the PE teachers would like to have students canoe in the creek. It does not seem possible to combine this with the creek study.
It was moved, seconded and passed with none opposed that the Rope Power $500 be used to fund the second grade creek study.
Books for India
Kim Dickey spoke on behalf of her daughter Clare, a former Burroughs student and current Junior IB student at Southwest High School. As her service project, Clare is working with four elementary schools in Southern India in areas affected by the tsunami to establish reading rooms where children would be able to read for pleasure.
To fund these reading rooms, Clare proposed conducting a Used Book Sale. There will be a box in the atrium all next week to collect used books. Children's books are requested, as well as pre-school books, but not adult books.
These books will be sold on May 23, and possibly the night before after the band concert. Teachers will bring their classes to the book sale. Parents will be able to purchase books after school as well. Books will be priced at around 25 to 50 cents each.
Some books will be donated to Sabathani and to the Burroughs Media Center.
Anyone interested in helping sell the books can contact Kim.
Destination ImagiNation
Michael Wilson, parent of a Burroughs fourth grader, introduced the after-school enrichment program Destination ImagiNation. Schools in Hopkins and other western suburbs are involved in this program. Teams of 5-7 students develop answers to four or five challenges about topics as diverse as flight, investigation, courage and heroes, traditions, and cardiology. Students compete in tournaments against their peers.
Costs are about $100 for a team to enter a tournament, but $200 for up to five teams. There may be additional costs which may be paid by team members, with scholarships available. $500 has been included in the PTA budget for 2006-2007 to fund the program.
The time commitment is about one to two hours about once per week. Mr. Wilson initially approached Mr. Cadotte for permission to use the Burroughs facility to conduct meetings. Space may be an issue in the after-school hours due to teachers working in their classrooms or the University Language classes. However, since the teams are small, working at Lynnhurst Park or at private homes may be options.
Parents are needed to work with teams. A committee could be formed with Mr. Wilson as chair. In order to begin this fall, parent interest must be gauged now. Mr. Wilson will prepare information for the Burroughs Bulletin and a flyer to go home in backpacks. Chrissie Bonnes will help with distribution and copying. Parents will be asked to indicate their willingness to help on the form. It was requested that the information sent home include details about the amount of time parents must commit and which grades will be involved. Though Destination ImagiNation is available to all elementary grades, Mr. Wilson would like to work with upper grades initially so as to include his child. It was suggested that Mr. Wilson speak with Jim Jacobs, Lego League coordinator, about contacting parents and organizing an after-school enrichment activity. Also, there enrollment must be limited to as many children as parent volunteers can support.
ELL Program Funding Request
Daniel Kilibarda spoke on behalf of Luda Anastazievsky to request funding for software similar to Accelerated Math or Reading to build the vocabulary of ELL students. This software would be used in the classroom, particularly for students in upper grades who no longer receive instruction in English outside their classroom.
The software costs $2673.45 for a site license, to be loaded on all Burroughs computers, as opposed to Accelerated Math, which is only on computers used by grades 3 through 5.
Funding was requested as soon as possible. Due to an existing relationship with Renaissance Learning, the software can be installed and ready for use during the current school year. However, its use would be at the discretion of the classroom teachers.
Concerning upgrades or future costs of the software, Mr. Kilibarda did not think the school server would be upgraded and require a newer version of the software in the near future. However, Renaissance has provided free upgrades in the past. Therefore, it is not required that ongoing funding be provided at this time.
Ms. Anastazievsky has not spent $579 of her enrichment funds to date. There was also $500 budgeted for a Chess Club that was not spent this school year. It was moved, seconded and passed with none opposed that funding be provided when it is determined what remains of this year's budget, after all teachers and committees have sought expense reimbursement. Additional funds for the software can be allocated in the fall.
It was proposed that a committee be formed to handle funding requests from teachers rather than the current first come - first served method. This committee would impose deadlines on requests so that all teachers have fair access to discretionary PTA funds.
School Budget
Dean LeDoux was available for questions about the school budget. Budget details are available at the Burroughs web site. The Site Council has not received much feedback on the budget so far, perhaps because the budget so transparently meets the priorities heard from the parents and teacher surveys. Burroughs funds from the district were not cut for the coming year, but the increase in funding was offset by the increased number of students and by inflation.
Thank You
On behalf of the PTA, Kristin Brahmstedt presented Tristen Lindemann and Betsy Witzig-Wyvell with small spa gift certificates to thank them for their two years of service. The value of their service is often underestimated. Tristen in turn thanked PTA members who take ownership for tasks.
Thank you to all in attendance.
Next meeting: September, 2006
