Parents as Partners, April 9, 2009
Attendance:Gail O'Connell, Laurie Singer, Kelley Charland, Sharon Sturm, Laura Cunningham Firkey, Amy Golodetz, Nancy Bissonnette, Woody Martel , Beth Glaspie, Barbara Bloom, Conny Thoma, Nicole Williams.
6th grade - nothing to report.
7th grade - Medieval night coming up, Montreal trip June 2.
8th grade - take a Montreal trip 5/26 if they have been in French for all three years - immersion tour. Spanish students have an immersion day at the rec. center. Tomorrow is the 8th grade poetry jam at 2pm with parental judges. Spaghetti dinner Tuesday, May 19 from 5-6:30. Career fair April 17 for 8th graders during UA/PE times, comprising two themes - what real jobs are out there that are good jobs; what jobs are out there to save the planet? Jobs related to health, haz-mat, community service, urban forestry, etc. Career highlights, salary range, how the fair presenters got into the field.
May 22 Memorial Day assembly with BBQ afterward. June 1 is parent night for incoming 6th graders. 8th grade sleepover happens June 5. 5th graders will visit 5/28 at the end of the day, then 6th grade ambassadors go to Fleming the next morning.
Teacher appreciation week happens on the first week in May. Three out of five days are covered right now.
Financial report - we got a check from Hannaford for $638. Bottom line, we have a balance of $1866.77. The book sale was a little down from last year. The sale during the Parent-Teacher conferences didn't go very well.
Empty bowl dinner raised about $1700 for Heavenly Pantry, Spectrum, and a regional food shelf.
Friday, May 15 is the last dance for this year. Laurie Lavallee and Buddy will cover the snack table.
Promotion night and dance is June 10. They will do the cruise that afternoon after the awards assembly and promotion practice.
5/7 will be the last PAP meeting for this year.
4/30 is the first talent show 6:30-8:30, with auditions on 4/16.
Bye Bye, Birdie runs next week Thursday through Saturday. Senior citizens will come to the dress rehearsal on the 16th. 6pm all three days with a Saturday matinee. $5 for adults, $3 for students. Some 8th grade participants will leave for Washington, DC immediately after the play.
Laurie brought a design for a school store on wheels that would be run by Nicole Williams and the Adventures in Learning kids. The store would include magnetic things for lockers, mirrors, pencils, sharpeners, squish balls. Items were the result of a school-wide survey. The store would be open during lunch, possibly during evening events. Proceeds go to the Adventures program, with a possibility of using some funds for community projects or school improvement. Total cost is $565, and Laurie asks if PAP would be willing to split the cost with a contribution of $282.50. PAP agrees to do that.
The meeting transitioned at 6:55 pm to a presentation by Barbara Bloom and Nicole Williams on the topics of depression, cutting, anxiety, and eating disorders. Because that's a lot to cover in an hour, Barbara distributed KWL sheets, a tool our teachers use to figure out what most needs discussion. Attendees wrote down what they know and what they want to know more about, and the sheet can be used as a post-assessment if the students add information about what they learned at the end of the session. Handouts were distributed: a booklet related to suicide prevention from Students First, a grant-supported program of the Howard Center to get information into schools; a pamphlet about children and mental health with warning signs and resources; a page with web sites related to eating disorders; and some one-page fact sheets about eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and warning signs for suicide.