B-CC PTSA COMMITTEE REPORTS: October 18, 2005
You can find the list of committees, chairs and contact info in the directory or on the website.
MCCPTA:
Program for next Delegate Assembly is "Bullying and Gang Prevention". The assembly begins at 7:30 pm on October 25th and is held at the Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Dr. in Rockville.
Voting at the Assembly will be on the following issues:
1. Six Representatives will participate in a work group with MCPS Div. of Long Range Planning to develop long-range educational facilities planning regulations.
2. The MCCPTA Executive Board recognizes that PTA's student directories exist exclusively for the purpose of communication within their schools. The board requests that Citizens for Responsible Curriculum cease using information and return to affected PTSs all copies now in their possession.
3. A motion to add a May Delegate Assembly meeting.
A discussion will also be held to solicit the effectiveness of the 4 e-mail list-serves; one for the Executive Board, one PTA Presidents, the Bulletin for announcements, and the Delegates for discussion.
Cluster:
October 27: Cluster Summit at WMS, w/
principals, PTA presidents, and cluster reps, where Stacy Lillis, Staff
Development Teacher at BE, will do a presentation on the Summer Scholars
program.
From Frank Stetson: Have been discussing with principals the goal of 80% of
students completing Algebra I by 8th grade; hoping to achieve goal within a
year or 2, and to accomplish such are discussing ideas of extended time and
year-round school. The goal is in response to the changing requirements
for graduation, the HSA finally meaning something, and SAT requirements.
Opportunity is available for schools to apply for $10K intervention grants; Denise Greene of NCC is inquiring if these grants, which are targeted for Title I Schools, can be applied to target populations of students in non-Title I schools.
Linkages to Learning Coat Drive: This year the idea is to connect school-to-school directly (due to storage problems at L-to-L office); each school will get a matched list of what is needed at a particular school, and will deliver coats directly to the school. We need a parent to coordinate the drive for B-CC. The drive will run from Halloween to Thanksgiving.
NAACP: We will take B-CC students to a local college for a visit and tour. The purposes are to gain a sense of the type of college students may want to attend, learn how to prepare for a college visit, discuss what types of questions to ask while on campus, and know what to do and who to see while on campus.
Book Sale -
Art Boosters B-CC parents donated app. $300 toward the purchase of ceramics wheels. Added to PTSA contribution of $500, the first of the two needed will be purchased soon. B-CC parents have also donated 8 cameras and several lenses, including some fantastic long ones, so the photography program will now have a much larger supply of cameras to loan out.
New
art programs include: a weekly drawing from life session, lunchtime on
Thursdays. We've had 8 - 11 students coming and the sessions have been a great
success. In November, Deborah Sotzsky, manager of the Wentworth Gallery at
White Flint Mall, comes to talk to the Arts Honor Society about how
galleries and museums work. She may return later in the year to talk about
matting and framing. In December or January, Elizabeth Krist, B-CC parent and
photo editor at National Geographic, will speak to photography students.
Drama Boosters: This year the Theater Arts Program started off with a
successful fundraiser: the second annual Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. More
than 150 members of the B-CC community enjoyed an evening of fine dining at Ristorante
Tragara and a performance of Agatha Christie's one-act play "The
Patient" on September 18. Rehearsals are underway for "Urinetown:
The Musical," to be performed in the auditorium on December 2, 3, 9, and
10. This much-anticipated fall musical combines the talents of B-CC's many
actors, dancers, singers, and musicians, and is already attracting the
attention of the local theater community.
Calendar – Update calendar listings from emails to net. Committee chairs should email shapirocelia@yahoo.com when dates are set or changed so the calendar remains up-to-date.
Gardening:
13 parents have volunteered to
help with B-CC grounds issues. We are working on:
a memorial tree planting -- a bloodgood maple -- to replace an ailing sweetbay
magnolia;
cleanup of the patio space at the SW corner of the building, with a volunteer
day planned for 10/23 or 10/29;
getting an arborist's assessment of care and maintenance needs for the trees on
the front lawn; also, getting recommendations for replacement; possible
evergreen plantings at the blue entrance doors on EW hwy and around the marquee
sign. Alice Burr has taken over the pots in front of the school doors and has
put in beautiful evergreens and pansies; we are still trying to find ways to
get help from BUP, the Bethesda Garden Club and American Plant Food (any
thoughts/contacts appreciated!)
Grocery Programs: 338 families signed up for Safeway and 248 signed up for Giant to date. 78 families bought Giant Gift Cards in September 05.
Guidance Advisory Committee: Postcards about the Financial Aid Series have been mailed to all B-CC families. The “Financial Aid Overview” is scheduled for Oct. 27th. On Nov 16th, the topic is “Maryland Financial Aid Night” and Dec 14th is “FAFSA Night.” GAC, along with the 11th grade parent peers, is also planning the “Prep for the Test Night” on Nov 30th.
International Connections: This new Committee distributed a flyer at Back-to-School Night announcing our mission and inviting parents to join. Meetings so far – with Katherine Wilkens Van Hollen of the World Affairs Council to seek her help on recruiting speakers for events; with Mary Austin and International Club teachers to discuss teacher and student involvement. October 27th breakfast for parents of international students, 7:30-9 am in B-CC cafeteria. Co-Chairs – Rosabel Goodman-Everard (Caiti, 11th grade) and Leah Barrett (Jackson, 10th grade).
Membership: 400 parents have joined B-CC's PTSA. We are over halfway to our goal of $30,000 raised from dues and contributions. We will continue to recruit members at PTSA meetings, through reminders on the net, and through a letter to families who haven't yet joined or contributed.
New Families – About 20 parents attended the reception prior to the PTSA meeting. They enjoyed the light buffet (thanks to all who contributed) and the opportunity to talk with administrators and other key school people. The biggest concerns mentioned were the need for some kind of interface/peer matching for new students to ease their transition to B-CC, and the need for help understanding the Montgomery County graduation requirements.
Online Store – progressing
Parent Peers –
9th grade: First meeting will be held October 24—Freshman Parent Survival Guide to the Early Years at B-CC. The panel discussion—in Q&A format—will include Angela Kessler, 9th grade administrator, Rina Palchick, guidance counselor, and three ‘seasoned’ parents. We’ll be handing out a list of all the parent peer meetings and their topics to encourage attendance not only at our 9th grade functions, but also, as appropriate, other grade functions. We have advertised this October 24 event in the Banter, on the B-CC website, on the B-CC Net, on the Westland Net and the feeder elementary school Nets.
10th grade parent peers are working on the December 5th panel presentation: Risky Business-Substance/Alcohol Use Among Teens.
The 11th Grade Parents Peers and PTSA’s Guidance Advisory Committee have two great programs planned for November. On Tuesday, November 15th, 7:30 pm, as part of the PTSA meeting, is a special program called “The College Process – Getting Started.” Then on Wednesday November 30th at 7:00 pm is “Prep For the Test — SAT and ACT Tests.”
12th grade: Graduation at DAR-Constitution Hall will be May 31, 2006, 7 pm. First info meeting was Sept. 28th. Notes from the meeting are on the B-CC website.
Science
Fair: Students have been selecting
project topics and mentors this fall. Parent
involvement and the bulk of the work on the Science Fair for parent volunteers
will gear up after the winter holiday and culminate in March.
Special Needs: We will develop a short survey for parents with special needs at B-CC. This will focus on concerns and successes of the current program, as well as potential support programs for the students. In addition, at the Feb 6th meeting, we will discuss special education and how parents can better navigate the system.
Staff Appreciation provided a substantial lunch for a teachers’ meeting in September and breakfast snacks for department meetings in October. The committee is planning monthly treats for staff and teachers.
Volunteer coordinators: Add your name to the list for ongoing, one-time or occasional projects.
Website Support: Reid Detchon updates athletic pages. Celia Shapiro keeps the on-line calendar current. Sam Hoxie updates PTSA & theater arts pages; Sing-huen Morgan (paid position, but not paid nearly enough for the time that she puts in!) coordinates school updates with resource teachers for academic, club, and other administrative pages. Main page newsbox is handled by Melissa Roller, special announcements are generally handled by Sing-Huen – unless it is an emergency and then it is whoever can update it the fastest (myself, Sing-Huen or Mike McGarry).
Still need parents to help facilitate the updates (i.e. be a liaison for a particular department and coordinate getting updates to Sing-Huen). Primary concern at the moment is counseling as we have lost our primary counseling page updater – Sing-Huen and I are handling at the present and we hope to meet with Chris Foland and others from GAC (perhaps) to identify needs. —Sam Hoxie
BCC NET: The PTSA leadership discussed BCCnet at its board meeting tonight.
If you need to have something posted on the feeder school listservs, email the information to Charlotte Fremaux, cmfremaux@aol.com, who will post it to the cluster listserv