St. Valentine PTG Meeting

March 19, 2009

School Library

 

 

Meeting called to order by President Patrick Connell.

 

Prayer led by Pat Connell.

 

Treasurer’s Report

·         Bill Hirsh prepared February’s report.  Six expenses were paid and budget appears to be on target for the year. 

·         Pat reminded everyone to turn in expenses in a timely manner.

 

Principal’s Comments

 

·         Mrs. Watt was not able to attend but sent a message to convey that she is available to talk to any parent who is struggling emotionally or spiritually over the school closure. Having just gone through this last year, both as a parent and principal, she's aware of the range of emotions that we are dealing with--anger, betrayal, guilt, denial. etc, and that sometimes talking to someone helps.

 

 

Old Business

 

·         Jamie Minick reported that 40 yearbooks have been ordered thus far.  The delivery date is scheduled for mid May. 

·         There was a vote and approval to increase the budget for Olympic Day to $400 so that we can provide hot dogs and hamburgers for a picnic lunch. The date is May 5th.  Thanks to Carol Erzen for coordinating.

·         Date for 8th grade graduation party is still being confirmed due to a conflict with Mr. Leo’s schedule. 

·         A field trip to Beechwood Farms is scheduled for April 28th.  Brian Muller will contact parents if chaperones are needed.

 

New Business

 

A brief update on the latest developments with the closing was discussed so that everyone is on the same page. 

·         There has not been official announcement by the Diocese yet, not sure when this could happen, could be any day.

·         The article in the PG seemed to sum up the situation very well and the parents who were interviewed did a good job representing our views.

·         Jay Murray pointed out a letter to editor in the same section of the paper, written by Margaret Sigg's brother Jim Myron, suggesting another way to fund Catholic schools.

·         There will be a meeting on April 2 at 7 pm with other catholic schools in Frawley Hall. All are urged to attend. This information came home in the brown envelope

·         There is an opportunity to visit St Joan on March 24. A similar day is being set up with SKD.

 

 

The future of the PTG in regards to the closing:

·         An amendment to the bylaws was proposed that cancels the elections, eliminates the $3k carry over to next year, and dissolves the organization on July 31. This will be voted on next meeting. 

·         PTG will attempt to spend every last penny in our account. The priorities will be:
--things the current students need this school year
--a celebration (see below) at the end of the year
--gifts for the teachers. We will explore our options for potentially offering our traditional retirement gifts to those teachers who have been here the longest and then look for something nice for our other excellent faculty and staff.

·         PTG will attempt to use any remaining funds, as well as proceeds from the ongoing school fundraisers (Pure Life, Campbells' labels, Giant Eagle, etc.) that we cannot use for our students will be forwarded to the preschool, the youth group and the CCD program. Claire Hulefeld will to talk to Judy Mills to see if they want to continue these programs.

·         Bill Hirsh will come up with an estimate at the next PTG meeting of how much we may have to spend (right now it looks like it will be somewhere in the area of $3-$4k).

·         Brian and Yvette Muller are heading up a committee to hold a school wide "farewell" picnic. Tentative date is May 30th, and we are looking to have it at South Park or a nice picnic area. PTG will supply hamburgers and hot dogs at the minimum, with families asked to contribute other dishes. More details to follow. It is hoped that all teachers, students and staff can attend. If you would like to help organize this, please contact Brian and Yvette. We would like to distribute the teacher's gifts at the picnic. One idea that was discussed was having everyone in the school pose for a group picture.

·         We will discuss in future meetings how to distribute, eliminate, auction off, the contents of the PTG closets, etc.

·         At Colleen Murray's suggestion, thoughts were shared on the other schools. We are blessed to have a lot of good choices, yet none of them measure up to our St Val’s. It is still very difficult for us to deal with the fact that our school is closing and that our "family" is being split up. Some of the concerns mentioned were: STM has waiting lists and potentially outgrowing their building; St Joan is not in Bethel; the viability of SKD; and the sheer size and the lack of daily religious teaching and experience at the public schools. A suggestion was made to try to visit the other schools in groups (Lisa Ennis is willing to coordinate if families want to go together next Tuesday). We will have another discussion at next month's PTG meeting to see where everyone is on choosing schools. The websites for all of these schools are available on the St. Val’s school website.

 

SVS student of the month award

 

Thanks to all parents and students for their nominations.  Four students were recognized.  Nominees were Becky Mack, Christina Didiano and the entire 7th grade class.   Jessica Muller was awarded the So Very Special award for the month of February for her dedication to the Student Council, involvement in parish activities, and commitment to helping younger students. She will be recognized in front of the whole school and her name will appear on the new plaque.  All are encouraged to nominate So Very Special students for next month!

 

Meeting Adjourned.

 

 

 

 

Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 8 at 7 pm.

 

 

 

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