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Thanks to everyone who made the PTA Meeting a learning experience for us all. The minutes will be posted soon but I wanted to give a quick summation for those who couldn't make it.

I opened the meeting with a welcome, thanks to last year's PTA Board, and a mention that we plan to have 4 General PTA Meetings this year (1st-Aug, Budget Review-Jan, Elections-April, Year Review/Installation-May).

Board was introduced and 3 Goals for 2009-10 were shared. They are:

• SIMPLIFY & CLARIFY fundraising & activities (new calendar & website details help)
• INVOLVE more parents in school & PTA (give Activity Chairs responsible for many events)
• BUILD a stronger school by working with the Foundation

Membership goal of 440 will be targeted by end of this fall. Right now we have about 280 members.

Foundation President Cherie King outlined their plans for the year.

VP/Fundraising Kelly Crutcher told of Calendar Sales, Directory Ads, and the exciting Halloween Carnival. Also, there are still some OPEN Activity Chair positions (posted on the website) that we'd love to have help with.

Budget was discussed and questions answered. The budget passed on a voice vote.

Questions/issues that came up in discussion were:

• Date/time of PTA meeting (6:30p) conflicted with Grady High's PTA meeting (6p). I apologized and promised we will do our best to find out Inman & Grady PTA meetings for the rest of the year.
• "Green" PTA website confused some when there is a "Red" APS Mary Lin website. Clarified things by saying the green site allows PTA to have a shop and introduce parents to PTA activities, while the red site allows the school to maintain the yearly calendar, host Dr. Mitchell's blog, and give parents classroom and education specifics. The two sites do point to each other.
• Parent said they would have appreciated a "New Parent Orientation", map, or tour of the school at/before Open House so that they would know where everything is. After-Care in cafeteria and Coffee & Kleenex in Hall House do no good if you don't know where those places are. We'll look into creating a map of the school for next year and possibly posting it online.
• Questions arose about the time (5:30-7p) of the upcoming Back-to-School/Curriculum Night. Dr. Mitchell explained that without the PTA meeting being scheduled prior, it allowed them to try and simplify dinnertime for kids by allowing families to come BEFORE having dinner. The parents he discussed it with said they welcomed the earlier time. Some parents felt this made it harder to pick up their children or schedule child care. Dr. Mitchell agreed to ask the school's aftercare to consider extending their services that night beyond the usual 6:30 to 7p so that parents can meet with teachers without children under foot. It was suggested parents ask other care providers for a similar option.
• When told that there were no plans for childcare to be provided for future PTA meetings, some felt it would be a welcome service. I said the Board would look into options and possibly create a meeting care space and team.

Overall, it was a great start to the new year and we were done within 45 minutes. Thanks again and don't hesitate to holler if I can help. boyd (president@marylinelementary.com) 

Click here to see the August 2009 Minutes.