PTA meeting January 21, 2010

Our latest PTA meeting was held Thursday evening January 21 at 6:30p.    After a welcome from our co-presidents Mary McLaughlin and Mimi Laver, we became students for a little while as our guest speaker got started.  Our headliner this month was Mr. Duff and he gave an interesting math presentation on partial sums addition, partial differences subtraction, partial product multiplication and partial quotients division.    It’s nice to know the methods our kids are learning and we can help them better knowing how they are supposed to be thinking of each problem.  Many thanks to Mr Duff for his time and the handouts he prepared for everyone who attended!

Dr. Cuthbert spoke briefly about how the teacher evaluations are going, the LSRT budget meeting (we are budgeted for 297 students next year) and the evacuation drill they will be practicing tuesday.  The new building is still on schedule for summer completion, and due to lots of interest in our school, she will be available on thursday mornings at 9:30a.m. to prospective parents with questions about Stoddert.

Ms. Gross brought news of 2 new student teachers this semester at Stoddert.  Since the New Year, new projects have begun in each class. 

Ms. Guaraldo shared the student council update: raising money for Haiti this month and Pennies for Patients will be coming in February.

Erik Warga handed out 2 pages of PTA  budget information and anyone who would like a copy is welcome to request one.  We have money on hand but will continue fundraising due to the expected (and unexpected) costs to be incurred with the new building.

Kevin Youel Page represented the LSRT and reminded everyone who is interested that they are welcome to attend LSRT meetings as an observer.  If you are unable to attend but wish to make your thoughts for the direction Stoddert is headed heard, contact any member before the next LSRT meeting on February 1 at 5:30p in the Stoddert school.

Shari Gilbert provided some yummy samples of David’s cookies for those in attendance.  Students will be selling them soon to raise money, helping to offset the cost of Stoddert’s  traditional 5th grade trip to Echo Hill.   Please help support our 5th graders on this fun (and of course educational) get away that they’ve been looking forward to for years!

Mike Gardner brought a sample brick, diagrams  and lots of details for our “Building Our Community Brick By Brick” campaign that will kick off February 1.  Our goal is to sell 1000 bricks by May 1 and order forms will be sent home in backpacks soon.  We will also be reaching out to the larger Glover Park community, Stoddert alumni, businesses, and the international community via local embassies.  Everyone is to be included in “Building our Community Brick by Brick”.   Help is always welcome so please lend a hand with the project if you can.  When you buy a brick, your order forms may be returned to the PTA box in the alcove outside the business office.        

Mimi Laver talked about the “Little Chili” replacing the “Big Chili” this year.  It will be a fun event for all of the Stoddert families.   There is no definite date or location yet but plans are in the works.  If anyone is interested in working on this next family event, please contact one of the co-presidents!    In an effort to increase readership of the Chalkboard and/or website, Mimi also asked if anyone had any comments or requests for the website.   Some ideas from parents were  to see more information from teachers online.  Perhaps teachers can post assignments or updates about what’s going on in their classrooms.  Another idea was adding links to more DCPS sites like the lunch menu.

Julie Schneider spoke about the new playground and curriculum garden that are still in the planning stages.  There are many details to work out and for everyone interested in participating in this effort there will be a design meeting coming up -probably on a weekend afternoon in February.  Stay tuned to the website for the scheduled day and time.

Lori Milstein is in the process of arranging a “Politics and Prose” fundraiser for the spring.  Details will be announced in plenty of time for everyone to participate! 

The next PTA executive board meeting is February 18 and the next general PTA meeting is March 18, 2010