Call to Order #
The virtual meeting was called to order at 7:02 PM. 22 participants were present. Executive Committee members in attendance:
- Sharon Burd, President
- Ken Venable, VP for Educational Programs
- Clare Rosenberger, VP for Fundraising
- Meredith Greene, VP for Events
- Megan Miller, VP for Community Relations
- Ashley Farrugia, VP for Staff Appreciation
- Dan Burd, Secretary
Approval of Meeting Minutes #
Membership voted to approve the February 21, 2023 meeting minutes.
PTA Updates #
Treasurer’s Report #
Dan Burd in place of Christian Lindstrom, Treasurer
Dan provided the Treasurer’s report. The financial statements are here and here.
Events #
Meredith Greene, VP for Events
- International Night will be on April 28, 2023, from 5:30 to 7:30.
- We’re trying to have a good RSVP list this year for people bringing food so that we can be prepared.
- We’ve done outreach with Wakefield High School for performances.
- If you’d like to reach out to Meredith, please do so at [email protected].
Staff Appreciation #
Ashley Farrugia, VP for Staff Appreciation
- For the recent parent-teacher conference day, we partnered with Two Board Teachers to assemble charcuterie setup for the staff, which the staff enjoyed. There were mocktails as well.
- The next big event is Teacher Appreciation Week. We are looking into some non-food services, including a relaxation spa or express manicure.
- We will be looking for volunteers to help set up and clean up.
- We will also try to provide some shirts to teachers as part of our Spirit Wear campaign.
- We have had three Girls on the Run practices so far. There are six coaches, and two are Abingdon teachers (Mr. Spadaro and Ms. Carranza). Erin Mahaffey is our head coach. McKenna Barlow and Brooke Cissel and Ashley Farrugia are also coaches.
- We currently have 21 girls and in the past day or two, two more students have asked to join. We are able to accommodate more students.
Educational Programs #
Ken Venable, VP for Educational Programs
- We have 12 enrichment classes for the spring session ansd six have already had the minimum number of students to begin.
- Unfortunately, the flyers didn’t get in the Tuesday folders last week.
- We continue to have the same three scholarships per class.
Fundraising #
Clare Rosenberger, VP for Fundraising
- The Read-a-thon is our biggest fundraiser of the year.
- We’ve raised almost $8,700 already for the Read-a-thon, and we’re already at 29,000 minutes.
- Having someone read to a student counts, and having the student read to someone else (stuffed animal, dog) also counts.
- It’s not too late to enter now.
- Thank you to Ashley and Meredith for helping with the bulletin board. There is a map showing how reading is an adventure.
- There will be a winning class per grade this year.
- Mr. Micael volunteered to be hit with water balloons if the school reached its reading goal.
- Friday is “Read the Day Away” in which teachers set aside extra time for reading.
Community Relations #
Megan Miller, VP for Community Relations
- Thank you for everyone who continues to volunteer at the snack pantry.
- If you’d like to sign up for future dates, please do so at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c4aacab2aaaff2-abingdon1
Book Fair #
Maureen McCormick Harlow, Book Fair Lead
- Thank you to everyone who donated, including the PTA, to help all students walk away from the Book Fair with a book. About 160 students benefitted from vouchers.
- The donations also ensured that more money went back to Abingdon’s library.
President’s Report #
Sharon Burd, President
- Cardinal Coding Club is going to start up again soon.
- We are working with our grade level leads to help offset that the costs of field trips that weren’t able to be met by Abingdon families.
- Save the date for Sunday, April 23, from 9 to 11 Am for a school garden shed unveiling. We’re going to have ribbon and scissors and unveil the shed to our community with Boy Scout Thomas Totten, who had generously built it over the course of a long weekend last month.
PTA Business #
Nominating Committee #
Dan Burd
The General Membership held a voice vote to approve Lauren Shaub, Maureen Harlow and James Harlow to serve as this year’s Nominating Committee.
Book Fair Budget Amendment #
Dan Burd
This was no longer necessary due to community donations.
Staff Appreciation Budget Amendment #
Dan Burd
The General Membership held a voice vote to approve reallocating the entirety of the following budget line items ($2,000) and place in the Staff Appreciation Week line item: Instructional Assistant Appreciation ($1,000), Thanksgiving Appreciation ($250), Holiday Appreciation ($500), February 8th Teacher Work Day ($250).
Responsive Classroom Presentation #
Kate McGinn, Behavior Specialist
Ms. McGinn gave a presentation on Responsive Classroom at Abingdon. Her presentation slides are available here.
Questions and Answers #
Q: What is Morning Meeting like?
A: We look each other in the eye, greet each other, and say “Good morning.” We might talk about what we’re looking forward to doing during the week to come. We might talk about something fun like our favorite insects.
Principal’s Report #
David Horak, Prinicpal
- If you have a fifth grader, ensure that you submit your residency documents: https://www.apsva.us/registering-your-child/hacp/
- Kindergarten and Pre-k registration is currently open.
- This week we are doing recognition ceremonies for students and this week we have recognized students who have been helpful. This is new this year, recognizing students for representing each of the components of the school pledge. (Safe, helpful, responsible, assertive, and kind.)
- Third grade swimming is coming up the week before Spring Break and the week after Spring Break.
- Fifth graders will stay overnight at the Outdoor Lab on the first week of May.
- For standardized testing: third graders take math and reading, fourth graders take math, reading, and Virginia Studies, and fifth graders take reading and science.
- Students are very excited for Read-a-thon.
- Safety and security continue to be a priority. APS was communicative on the recent lockdown at Gunston which was very helpful.
- We had a Tornado drill today. We also have frequent fire drills.
- The trainer for Fundations, our phonics program, said that we were “killing it.”
Questions and Answers #
Q: Wakefield PTA President Judith Davis asked in February if she could come and do a quick DEIA presentation, but I think our speakers are full for March and April.
A: Yes, we have a speaker for April and May will be our election meeting.
Q: Responsive classroom and social-emotional learning are very important.
Q: Car drop off is getting wild, though I have no solutions. Cars are cutting in front of each other and going through the handicapped spots. Perhaps a pointed email would help. Mr. Micael is doing a great job.
A: It’s an awkward parking lot. And we have 750 kids who need to enter the building in 20 minutes, and we’ve got to work together to do that.
Adjournment #
- The meeting was adjourned at 8:19 PM.
- The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 11 at 7 PM.
/s/ Dan Burd, Secretary