Algonkian PTA Minutes

Algonkian Elementary, Potomac Falls, VA 20165

March 12, 2019

Call to Order:

The PTA meeting was called to order at 7:02pm by Christi Tavano.

Approval of Minutes:

A motion was made to approve minutes from the last meeting dated January 10, 2019 by Christi Tavano and all were in agreement.

Attendees:

Mr. Brian Blubaugh, Ms. Karen Shields, Nancy Jones, Andrew Crossett, Christi Tavano, Mariam Hutchinson, Amanda Zides,  Kerri Duffy, Lacy Hurst, Chuck Charpentier, Tracy Turi, Anne Morgan, Adriana Andrade-Salgado, Amy Utterback, Bruce Berry, Mary Charlish, Michelle Carter, Theresa Ryan, Sudi,  Maureen Franklin, Carrie Bauer

Reports and Updates

Treasurer Report: Nancy Jones

Nancy went over February 11, 2019 treasurer report.  Report is posted on PTBoard.

• There is a surplus of funds $15-20K and we are asking what we would all like to do with that money.?  We broke up into small groups to discuss ideas and some ideas were:

  • Personalized learning items

  • Professional Development for staff

  • Flexible seating

  • Sensory Boxes for each classroom

  • Bring in Professional Development Speaker into school

  • More art supplies

  • Poster maker

  • Stress balls for school

PTA President Report:  Christi Tavano

• In the next month we have Muffins with Ma’ams, International Night and Bingo coming up.

• The Nominating Committee will also be set in place as it needs to be 2 months prior to Officers being voted in on.

• Nominating Committee:  Tracy Turi, Julie Kane and Kamber Petty have volunteered to be on the Nominating Committee.

• Chuck Charpentier made a motion to nominate them and it was seconded by Amy Utterback.

Vice President Report:  Andrew Crossett

• Muffins with Ma’ams is coming up on Tuesday 3/19/19, 7-7:30am

Principal Report:  Mr. Brian Blubaugh

• Mr. Blubaugh thanked all who came out to participate and/or support the Invention Expo.

• Opening up the Bus lane loop during morning drop off is working.  It has helped the flow of traffic.

• We are possibly up, in July, for a construction project to redo Main entrance and office.

• MAP Assessments are coming up within next 2 weeks for grade levels.

Assistant Principal Report:  Karen Shields

• May 7,  SOL testing begins through end of May.

• A score of 375-399 falls within the Retake range and if a student falls within that range Ms. Shields will reach out to the parent(s) to discuss retaking SOL.

• SOL Testing:  3rd Grade: Math and Reading

4th Grade:  Math, VA Studies and Reading

5th Grade:  Math, Reading and Science

• Algonkian’s 3rd Annual Rough and Tumble will be on April 27.  All proceeds go directly to our Autism Program. We are still in need of sponsors and volunteers.

• Cost is $10 per participant.

Teacher Representative:  Ms. Theresa Ryan

• 3rd, 4th and 5th Grade created Vision Boards to represent their goals, dreams, etc for their future and could include anything that makes them smile, things that may stress them,  happy memories, etc. All was done on their devices to incorporate technology and can be shown on the morning announcements.

Committee Updates

Spirit Night: Mary Charlish

• March 29th Spirit Day for Algonkian at the Ashburn Ice House for Open Skate (11-1pm)

• Jersey Mike’s also on March 29th 11-9pm

Grocery Program:  Mariam Hutchinson

• Harris Teeter brought in $165.989

• Amazon Smile brought in $93.56

• Shutterfly/Tiny Prints only 8% now

Care and Share Committee: Amy Utterback

Staff Appreciation Week:

• Room parents will be in contact with classes to pass any information needed for the week

• Flowers will be available on the first day for those students who forgot

• Grade appropriate templates for Thank you notes will be available.

• We have asked for the Staff Wishlists located in the PTA tab on the ALgonkian homepage to be updates by staff.

New Business:  No new business

Next meeting:  April 10, 2019 @ 7pm:  Board Nominees with be presented and Mr. Shaffer, Principal of River Bend Middle School will be here.

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned by Christi Tavano at 8:16pm.

Respectfully submitted this day March 19, 2019

Rachel Karnes

Algonkian Elementary PTA Secretary

Algonkian PTA Minutes

Algonkian Elementary, Potomac Falls, VA 20165

April 10, 2019

Call to Order:

The PTA meeting was called to order at 7:04 pm by Christi Tavano.

Approval of Minutes:

A motion was made to approve minutes from the last meeting dated March 12, 2019 by Christi Tavano and all were in agreement.

Attendees:

Mr. Brian Blubaugh, Ms. Karen Shields, Nancy Jones, Andrew Crossett, Christi Tavano, Rachel Karnes, Stephanie Linton, Jenna Charpentier, Kerry Duffy, Amy Utterback, Rachael Moore, Jennette Elmi, Megan Davidson, Julie Kane, Tracey Turi, Wendy Hopkins,  Lisa Joyner, Becky Sowers, Sibel Ozkan, Emre Ozkan, Andrea Crossette, Corrine Mills

Mr. Dave Shaffer, Principal River Bend Middle School - Guest Speaker

Mr. Shaffer is the Principal at River Bend Middle School and he came to the meeting to discuss what parents are to expect from Middle School.  Any questions please contact him at

David.shaffer@lcps.org

Few key points:

• All incoming 6th graders need to have their Tdap vaccine before the first day of school

• River Bend 101 is  3 day crash course for incoming 6th graders in August.  Please register online or come to the school and register your student.  Cost is $75

Reports and Updates

Treasurer Report: Nancy Jones

Nancy went over treasurer report.  Report is posted on PTBoard.

Principal Report:  Mr. Brian Blubaugh

• Thank you to Jenna Charpentier and everyone for putting on a phenomenal International Night.  It was a great success

• Our Spring Break is coming up and SOL testing will start in early May

• D.A.R.E graduation for 5th grade is tomorrow (4/11) at 9am

Assistant Principal Report:  Karen Shields

• SOL testing schedule for grades 3 - 5 will be coming out shortly.

• Algonkian’s 3rd Rough and Tumble is coming up on 4/27 @10 am.  Please sign up! The cost is $10 per participant.

Teacher Representative:  Ms. Carinne Mills, 5th Grade

• 5th Grade, last month had 2 Google hangouts.  One was on Ocean Pollutants and the other with an author who illustrates plants in India

• 5th Grade has one more Google Hangout with Dr. Kasaki from NOA (National Oceanic Association) from Hawaii.  He will focus on ocean clean up and the effects of that on the world.

• 5th Grade is working on finishing up their Writing Performance Assessment, where students needed to pick a topic/debatable issue and write a persuasive argument.  They had to write a thesis statement, counter-argument and rebuttal.

PTA President Report:  Christi Tavano

• Thank you to Jenna Charpentier for another phenomenal International Night!  

• Andrew Crossett, thank you for another great Muffins with Mama’s

• Lacy Hurst and Amy Utterback - Thank you for an amazing SAW week so far.  It has been such a wonderful week for the staff.

• Algonkian Talent show is coming up on May 3rd

• We have one more PTA meeting on 5/9

Board Nominating Committee:  Julie Kane, Traci Turi and Kamber Petty

Nominees for upcoming 2019-2020:

    President:  Maureen McLoughlin Franklin

    Vice President:  Andrew Crossett

    Secretary:  Amy Utterback

    Treasurer: Nancy Jones

Vice President Report:  Andrew Crossett

Spirit Days are coming up:  

Trampoline - 4/15

Jersey Mikes - 4/21

Committee Updates

Spirit Wear:  Becky Sowers and Lisa Joyner

• We have t-shirts still and will put them up for a flash sale for $5

• Next year is Algonkian’s 30th Anniversary so hoping to come up with a design to reflect that.

Spending Vote:  Christi Tavano

• Handed out during the meeting was a proposal put to a vote by those in attendance to see how members wanted to spend the money we have.

• Each proposal involved money going directly back to the school/students and staff with a $20,000 budget.

• There were 3 proposals to be voted upon.

• Proposal 1 had majority vote, with the addition of Walkie Talkies added to that.

• A sunshade was in the proposal and that will be pursued by Mr. Blubaugh through LCPS and we will work collectively to see if we can make that happen.

New Business:  No new business

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned by Christi Tavano at 8:15pm.

Respectfully submitted this day April 26,, 2019

Rachel Karnes

Algonkian Elementary PTA Secretary

Algonkian PTA Minutes

Algonkian Elementary, Potomac Falls, VA 20165

January 10, 2019

Call to Order:

The PTA meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by Christi Tavano.

Approval of Minutes:

A motion was made to approve minutes from the last meeting dated December 10, 2019 by Christi Tavano and all were in agreement.

Attendees:

Mr. Brian Blubaugh, Ms. Karen Shields, Nancy Jones, Andrew Crossett, Christi Tavano, Emily Gregory, Crystal Wallen, Lacy Hurst, Chaundra Hubbert, Haley Elliott, Jennifer Lear, Kinsey Fore, Kate Nesbitt, Carrie Bauer, Amanda Zides, Michelle Carter, Maggie Swank, Dee Frank, AmyLynn Keiling, Deanna Monroe

Reports and Updates

Treasurer Report: Nancy Jones

Nancy went over December 10 treasurer report.  Report is posted on PTBoard.

PTA President Report:  Christi Tavano

In looking ahead to the 2019-2020 school year we are starting to look for volunteers to become involved in the PTA and fill a few positions that will be opening up so please be on the lookout for fliers.  

• Movie Night, Bingo, Muffins with Moms and SAW are coming up.

Vice President Report:  Andrew Crossett

• Andrew reported that our last Spirit Day at Chuck E Cheese earned us $833.00.

• Our next Spirit Day will be at Atomic Trampoline on 1/21/19.

Principal Report:  Mr. Brian Blubaugh

• Mr. Blubaugh reported on the report of a man on the sledding hill next to Algonkian allegedly taking pictures.  From reports, it is believed he was a man possibly checking on the bird sanctuary and was not on Algonkian property.  Mr. Blubaugh will be sending out a Connect Ed message to address the concerns.

• 2nd Quarter ends Thursday 1/17/19

• Report Cards will be on ParentVue on 1/23/19.

• Morning Drop off:  The Bus lane will now be opened in the mornings as a second lane for drop off when there is a traffic back up to help the flow.

• 5th Grade Parent Course Selection for music and math is coming up soon for RBMS (Middle School).

• River Bend Middle School  Principal: Mr. Schaffer will be here in April for our PTA Meeting.  

• Invention Expo:  2/28/19 - We are encouraging all kids to participate and our goal is to get 100 students involved.  The invention does not have to be a “new” invention.

Assistant Principal Report:  Karen Shields

• 5th Grade Spelling Bee will be held on 1/17/19 and we will have 10 finalists.

• 2nd Grade COGAT will be coming up 2nd/3rd week in February for 2-3 consecutive days.

• 5th Grade IEP meetings are coming up to help with transition to Middle school.

Teacher Representative:  Ms. Emilie Gregory

Nothing to report at this time.

Committee Updates

Prismatic Book Club:  Jennifer Lear and Jasmine Tyler

A Prismatic Book Club is going to begin on 2/12/19, 3/26 and 5/7 for reading books on Diversity and inclusion.

ASAP (After School Program):  Maggie Swank

ASAP begins 1/22/19 and if students are registered please remind them that they will be staying that day for ASAP.

Black History Month(February):  Chaundra Hubbert

February is Black History Month and Teachers will be doing Read-alouds and teaching about famous African Americans daily.  Each morning there will be a special discussion on our morning program, WALG. Part of the SOL’s is learning about African American history and this month is a wonderful time to focus on that part of the curriculum.

Assemblies and Events:  Michelle Carter

Mad Science Assembly is coming up on 1/14/19.

** Question was asked by Amanda Zides regarding when parents and students find out about Futura.  This information will be coming out in a Newsletter from Mr. Blubaugh.

ALG Reading Presentation:  AmyLynn Keiling (KG Teacher) and Deanna Monroe (3rd Teacher)

Ms. Keiling and Ms. Monroe were asked to present some reading strategies used within the grade levels since they write the reading program for their grade levels.  This is a great way for all to see how Algonkian teaches reading.

Ms. Keiling (KG):  Readers Workshop

• The 4 Powers:  Partner Power, Pointing Power, Reread Power, Picture Power, are all ways that are used to help our Kindergartners read.  

• 7 :  KG students were present to show how these 4 Powers are used.

Ms. Monroe (3rd Grade):  Readers Workshop/Research

Students in 3rd grade learn research skills and to do research these steps are taken:

1. Put books in order easy to hard.

• Read easy books first as an overview

• Search for subtopics

    2. Study a topic

7 : 3rd Graders were present to show how they synthesize.

New Business:  No new business

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned by Christi Tavano at 7:56pm.

Respectfully submitted this day January 14, 2019

Rachel Karnes

Algonkian Elementary PTA Secretary

Algonkian PTA Minutes

Algonkian Elementary, Potomac Falls, VA 20165

December 10, 2018

Call to order:

The PTA meeting was called to order by Christi Tavano at 7:06pm.

Approval of Minutes:

A motion was made to approve minutes from the last meeting dated October 10, 2018 by Christi Tavano and all were in agreement.

Attendees:

Mr. Brian Blubaugh, Ms. Karen Shields, Christi Tavano, Nancy Jones, Andrew Crossett Rachel Karnes, Carinne Mills, Kristen Mason, Pauline Burkette, Amy Utterback, Mariam Hutchinsoon, Wendy Hopkins, Michelle Ward, Julie Kane, Becky Sowers, Lisa Joyner, Tracy Turi, Carrie Bauer, Jenna Charpentier, Jasmine Tyler, Adriana Salgado, Maggie Swank, Michelle Carter, Kerri Duffy, Megan Davidson, Emile Gregory

Reports and Updates

Treasurer Report: Nancy Jones

Nancy went over reports from November 7 and December 10, 2018. Both are posted on PTBoard.

PTA President Report: Christi Tavano

Christi thanked everyone for helping especially, at the beginning of the year when so much is happening within the PTA and within the school. She is so thankful for those who have lent their time and support.

Vice President: Andrew Crossett

• Chuck E Cheese night is Friday 12/15/18

• Bobcats in Motion Race is Saturday 12/16/18 at 9am at One Loudoun.

Principal Report: Mr. Brian Blubaugh

• December 18, 2018 Reading Under the Stars at Algonkian. This is a fun evening event 6:30-8pm where Algonkian Staff reads their favorite books.

• Our morning drop offs have become increasingly busier as the weather has gotten colder. Please be aware that there may be a “test” day coming up in January to try and move the drop off line up to allow for more students to be dropped off at one time. With this test it is hopeful it will make the drop off line move quicker.

• MAP Test: A growth assessment for grades 1-5 was taken

- Any questions on MAP scores, which are posted in Phoenix please contact your student's teacher.

-This assessment helps generate reports to level students to show academic strengths and weaknesses.

Assistant Principal Report: Karen Shields

• The GOB (National Geography Bee) will be held for 4th and 5th grade tomorrow (12/11/18) in the cafeteria.

• The final winner will have to take an online test with Ms. Shields to see if he/she will move on to the National competition.

Teacher Representative: Mrs. Carinne Mills

• All grade levels have been given the “What Bugs You” packet as a kick off to the Invention Expo. We are looking for at least 50 student participants to come and show off their creative inventions.

Committee Updates

ASAP: Maggie Swank

• ASAP Early Registration will open up tomorrow morning (12/11/18) at 6am

• Early registration is $75 until 12/14/18, then price will increase.

• ASAP will run for 8 weeks: 1/22/19-3/15/19

• All supply fees will be paid upfront with the registration fee

• A new ASAP coordinator is needed so if anyone is interested please contact Maggie Swank or Christi Hendershot

Assemblies and Events:  Michelle Carter

• Our last assembly was a great one with Brian ,a children’s author who talked with Grades 2-5 and showed some neat features with his book Sarah Spinner.

• January 14 - Mad Science Assembly: Spin, Pop, Boom

• February:  Cartoonist - Draw your Destiny - Based on motivation and anti-bullying

• March:  Corey the Dribbler - a Motivator

• April/May: Mobil Dairy Farm

Algonkian Reading Specialist Presentation:  Kristen Mason and Julie Saracino

Kristen and Julie presented on how writing and the importance of writing can impact a child's reading.  They have been working with various teachers and their classes to help with handwriting and strategies/techniques to help with reading and retention.  Some key points:

• Handwriting talks to your brain and helps with retention

• Research has shown that better practice with handwriting helps with processing.

• Writing comes from upper trunk of body which helps with strength.

• Decrease in writing skills can create a lack of communication.

• Audio books are also a great tool to help with attention and comprehension esp for those who are auditory learners.

Handouts were given and strategies for handwriting were shown to help with letter writing, size, look, fine motor, sensory, manipulatives, etc to help students with handwriting.

Any questions please contact Kristen Mason or Julie Saracino.

• Mr. Blubaugh mentioned a lot of our staff has been trained in a program called “OG”. Orton Gillingham which is a instructional program to help those students who have difficulty with reading, spellings and writing.  We have seen tremendous growth in students who are receiving this instruction.

Makerspace Activity: Pauline Burkette and Mr. Blubaugh

Mr. Blubaugh and Ms. Burkette created various Maker Space, hands on activities for those in attendance to show us first hand what our students are doing in the Makerspace.  A robotics and coding activity was done, magnatiles, circuits, etc.

• There will be a STEM day in the 3rd and 4th quarter for all grade levels or possibly a whole week of STEM.  That is being discussed and will be planned.

New Business: No new business.

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned by Christi Tavano at 8:10pm.

Respectfully submitted this day January 4, 2019

Rachel Karnes

Algonkian Elementary PTA Secretary