Henry C. Hall Middle School PTA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Meeting of Tuesday, January 20, 2004
1:15pm • Hall Middle School
Board members present: Barbara Solomon, Kathie Cummins,
Susan Wirta, Jeannie Perry, Rebecca Sarokin, Claudia Gropper, Diana Putterman,
Ann Morrison, Ann Arabian, Cynthia Peterson, Scottie Spurzem, Daniel Norbutas
& Trish Mihalek.
Board members absent: Liz Krakow, Susy Vrouvas &
Anna Gravley.
Guests: Lori Lerner, Marianne Rafter & Karen Berg.
WELCOME:
Meeting was called to order at 1:19pm by President Barbara Solomon.
MINUTES:
A motion was made by Susan Wirta to approve the minutes from
the last Executive Board Meeting on November 18, 2003. Kathie Cummins
seconded the motion. The minutes were approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
See attached report from Treasurer, Kathie Cummins.
8th GRADE GRADUATION:
Co-chair, Lori Lerner, held a graduation committee meeting before the
holiday break. It was unanimously decided to hold the graduation dance
aboard a Blue & Gold ferryboat. After further thought & discussion,
Mr. Norbutas made a final decision to hold the dance in Hall’s gym.
A 100% safe setting needs to be provided for the students & it was
felt that the best option would be the gym. Lori explained that it would
be helpful to hold the dance the day after the graduation ceremony, since
it takes a considerable amount of time to decorate the gym for the dance.
Scottie Spurzem made a motion to hold the 8th grade graduation ceremony
on Wednesday June 9th and the dance on Thursday June 10th. Ann Arabian
seconded the motion. The motion was approved.
CAREER DAY:
Co-chair, Karen Berg, reported that all the speakers are lined up for
Career Day. Anne Doyle is working on the student brochure and logo design.
Help is needed next Tuesday & Wednesday at 10am to input student data/speaker
choices. Extra help will not be needed on Career Day, Friday February
13.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT:
Membership: The membership drive has been completed. There was
61% participation, compared to 75% participation last year.
Musical Theater: A net income of $3,000 was made from
Hall’s fall musical Bye-Bye Birdie. West Side Story will be directed
by Becky Reed in the fall of 2004. A Director is needed for the Hall Talent
Show this spring.
Beautification: Maija Norstad, Beautification Chair,
is doing a tremendous job of sprucing up Hall. She has held several work
parties. Short term plan includes irrigation & seeding. Long term
planning will coincide with the town of Larkspur’s plans for the
Niven Property, located across the street from Hall.
Signboard: Golden Gate Sign Company will install a double
sided, 5 row sign at Hall’s entrance, perpendicular to Doherty Drive,
(near the school front office). PTA budgeted $8,000 for the signboard,
but the estimate came in at $9,500. Barbara was able to negotiate the
price down to $8,750 because we are a public school. Scottie Spurzem made
a motion for PTA to contribute the additional $750, out of the funds available
in the “To Be Determined” column. Rebecca Sarokin seconded
the motion. The motion was approved. Rebecca Sarokin & Ann Arabian
volunteered to change the sign lettering, as needed.
VP REPORTS:
Diana Putterman & Scottie Spurzem will help clean up the Lost &
Found pile on a regular basis. Susan Mitchell, Ritter House Director &
a Hall parent, will take left over Lost & Found items to San Rafael’s
Ritter Center.
Rebecca Sarokin & Claudia Gropper have placed an announcement in
Hall’s Bulletin seeking chaperones for the 7th/8th grade dance to
be held on February 6th, 2004.
TEACHER REPRESENTATIVE REPORT:
Trish Mihalek reported that the 6th grade has planned a January 30th field
trip to the Exploratorium. Sixth grade homeroom teachers will co-ordinate
drivers. They are hoping that parents will contribute the Exploratorium
admission fee and the bridge toll. The 6th grade is also planning a field
trip to the Audubon Society in Tiburon. Trish said, “The 6th grade
team is very grateful. Thank you, PTA, for covering the cost of this field
trip”. Trish also thanked PTA for the outrageously delicious holiday
cookie platters, as well as for the informal “Happy New Year brunch”.
GENERAL BUSINESS:
Redwood High School will be presenting an information night for 8th grade
parents, February 4th at 6:30pm in the Hall Library. The presentation
will feature Redwood Principal Nancy Neu.
Very few RHS shadowing days remain, so if Hall students haven’t
signed up yet, they can attend one of the four remaining scheduled parent
tours.
“Parent University” will be held on Saturday January 31st,
from 8:30am to 1:00pm, at San Rafael High School. This is an informative
parenting workshop, sponsored by Healthy Teens Marin.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:
Mr. Norbutas reported that all yearbook group photos will be
taken on February 6th. The student council election week is in full swing
and running smoothly. Twenty-four students are running for office.
At a recent staff meeting, it was noted that Hall Middle School does
not have a policy on “academic honesty”. There have been a
couple of incidents this year. A Student Council Site Rep made it very
clear to the staff & Site Council that there is an epidemic of homework
copying. A draft of Hall’s new “Academic Honesty Policy”
was handed out for the PTA Board’s review. This policy would go
home separately to student’s homes where parents/students would
both read & sign it. It would also be a part of the Binder Reminder.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT:
Mr. Cone & Michael Futterman, (Board of Trustees member),
met with Basic Aid Districts in Sacramento.
Mr. Cone reported that the Governor has put Proposition 57 on the March
2nd ballot. If it passes, schools should be okay financially. If it is
defeated, it is unclear where the schools will be. As of the present,
our school district is in better financial shape than 95% of schools.
Some of the district’s cuts may be reinstated. They would include:
Neil Cummins science teacher & motor skills teacher, a half-time District
Office clerk, a tech coordinator and money to purchase library books.
A Parcel Tax will be discussed at tomorrow night’s School Board
mtg. Lots of decisions need to be made.
Meeting was adjourned at 2:52PM.
Submitted by Ann Arabian, Secretary
[minutes approved at Executive Board meeting of February 24, 2004]
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