JHS 194 PTA December General Meeting Minutes

December 11, 2019 at 8:30am

Attendees: PTA Executive Board Members, Mrs. Miller (Principal), Ann Lippert (Parent Coordinator)

Call to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
President’s Report
PC : Discussed getting fundraising ideas for Elementary schools, Please offer suggestions.
School store : Ivan is unable to continue running school store. PTA needs parents to help run school store.
Winter Wonderland Dance : Dec. 17th, also Pajama Day.
Pizza Party : Winning Classes for PTA membership drive : 6-2, 724, 821. Winners will be announced over
loudspeaker. Possible date is Dec. 18th for 821 & 602 and Dec. 17th for 724 ( due to 7th grade trip on Dec. 18th)
Winter Concert : Dec. 19th.
Ugly Sweater Day : Dec. 20th.
Holiday Break : Dec. 23rd – Jan 2nd.

Treasurer’s Report
PTA needs volunteers to work school store.
Re: picture re-takes – new pictures will be arriving after the holiday break.

Ann Lippert
Lunar New Year Celebration will take place either Jan 22 nd or Jan 28th.
Workshops on attendance with Faith Sanchez. Parents will receive invites as needed.
Bullying Workshop will take place during Respect for All week.
Vouchers for the Hall of Science are available, please contact Ann at x 5292.
There is a possible Saturday trip to the American Museum of Natural History with Ms. Lerner. There may be
another trip over the break.

Faith Sanchez
Faith works through a non-profit program : Prevention and Intervention
Please see attached for presentation details. Today’s lecture is on tips for managing stress during the
holidays.
Mrs. Miller
8th grade received an email through pupilpath, and Mrs. Miller is meeting with three 8th grade classes per day
in order to address behavior issues. Mrs. Miller is asking parents to speak with their children and discuss any
concerns or frustrations they may have. Students seem to be engaging in excessively emotional behavior.
Students are under a lot of pressure in middle school, and daily conversations help address concerns before
they lead to behavior issues.
Rachael’s Challenge : 6th grade will receive the same presentation as 7th grade, because they seem to be at the
level that is addressed by the 7th grade presentation. Ms. Mott-Schutt will have 2 days for Rachael’s Club
during the week, due to high demand following the Rachael’s Challenge presentation. 7 th grade was serious
and reflective during the presentation. 8th grade presentation will take place on Dec. 12th. An email will be
sent out informing parents. In future, school may hold Rachael’s Challenge presentations earlier in the school
year, to assist in helping students manage emotions that lead to behavioral issues later. Students need more
opportunity for social interaction, outside of social media.
Lunchtime games : the school could use more games for use during the lunch period. PTA can explore doing
borrow or buy games(cards) at school store. Parents can donate games to the school, for students to use
during these cold weather months when lunch period is mostly or entirely indoors.
1 Way street changes will most likely take place in July. Mrs. Miller will update parents.
A/C project : Mrs. Miller will request that the project start during the summer months so as not to lose
classroom space during the implementation.
Auditorium project : 18 month timeframe, and all aspects except lighting will be covered in this project.
Tommy Koe is working on a grant proposal to request funds to cover the lighting upgrade needs.
Security Cameras : DOE is expecting to have security cameras in schools by 2021 and 2022. JHS 194 is at a
lower rank of a priority list for this security upgrade.