Hey all. I do a PA meeting recap for my class. If any of you would like to use it please feel free. It will need to be modified for your particular grade/class so make sure to read and edit before you send. It also includes my take on the new bylaw provision and you may not share my opinion so feel free to edit that out. I will be sending my feedback on that issue to the Presidents as well.
As an initial note the Board tabled the vote on an amendment to the bylaws that would allow the budget committee to approve changes to the budget of up to $10,000, the the Presidents to approve changes up to $2,500, without a full PA vote to next meeting. I am against this provision.
We have an active PA that meets every month and there is no reason a change to the budget cannot wait for 30 days to the next PA meeting to get a full PA vote. As a class parent I ask for a lot of money (and donate a lot myself) and only feel comfortable about this because we have a say in how our money is used. Unlike some other schools our PA budget is very transparent and I do not agree with allocating my vote to a select committee. If you have questions I am happy to discuss and the presidents would love to hear your feedback on this proposed bylaw at presidents@ps9parents.org. But in the end I plan to vote against this provision.
The new presidents (Amie, Tara and Jen) introduced themselves. They have already been hard at work on behalf of our community and are a wonderful addition to the PS9 community!
Principal Stephanie assured us that the Chancellor's resignation which I am sure most have heard about in the news will not impact the quality of education our kiddos are getting a PS9. She emphasized that the Chancellor position is often a revolving door and we still have our D3 superintendent who is great and committed to keeping our schools moving forward. While new Chancellors sometimes mean new curriculums she does not think there will be any changes in the near future.
Stephanie also recounted that she and Joanna had a social outing with our former Principal Kate who many of you know and the principal who preceded Kate, Diana. These women all said the one thing that has remained a constant at PS9 is the partnership between the parents and staff and that leads to a wonderful community.
Stephanie was pleased with how smoothly the meet the teacher event ran and loved that all families were welcomed into the school.
She is grateful for our financial support and reported all the assistant teachers are on board and Julie, our new science teacher, is so excited about her new role. More supplies for the science lab are on their way.
The Boiler project is ongoing and the reason for the construction area in the front of the school and in the yard. They are making progress so hopefully it will be completed this year.
With PA funding the school has acquired new musical instruments, science lab materials and books and other curriculum support materials. The classes all have new promethean boards and our auditorium has new sound equipment and chairs due to a grant. If anyone has any expertise in auditorium design or sound engineering PS9 would love your help in finalizing the auditorium overall. A grant will also be paying to have the K yard rematted and we are hopeful the bathroom renovation will happen as well.
The Presidents then took over to discuss two changes they were requesting to be made to the PA budget. The instrumental music program and chess programs were under budgeted and each needed about $3,000 more to be fully funded. The measure passed without opposition (again showing that our informed PA is happy to approve changes).
The budget committee issue I discussed above will be discussed and voted on at the next meeting.
The treasurers spoke about our budget. We exceeded our revenue goal by about $45,000 last year and lowered our expenses by about $26,000 so that puts us in a wonderful position this year. We sent about $500,000 to the DoE this year to fund our assistant teacher (the PA funds these teachers but they are hired by the school and are DoE employees - they do not work for us). We also spent about $100,000 on capital expenditures (such as purchasing musical instruments and a science lab) - these expenditures were approved last year. If you would like to see a copy of the budget please email treasurers@ps9parents.org and they will give it to you. I review it very carefully and will always inform you about changes that I notice in an effort to keep you fully informed.
Hannah Sarah talked to us about all the ways we receive communications from PS9 (the blast, text messages, social media, emails...) and she also explained that the WhatsApp groups are ours and not managed by the school or the PA. If you are not getting all the communications you think you should be getting please reach out to Hannah Sarah at communications@ps9parents.org. Hannah Sarah is great at keeping us informed so make sure to fully read her blasts on every other Sunday and look for hidden easter eggs for a chance to win PS9 swag while also learning about important PS9 events.
Greg Van Horn (half of the Greg squared family giving team) spoke about family giving month which will happen in November and into early December to capture Giving Tuesday. He reminded us we can use give lively, send checks or donate stock. This year there will no longer be a venmo option but it will be replaced by Zelle which is equally easy to use! Make sure to ask at work about corporate matching and if your business does any double or triple matching for Giving Tuesday which is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving - December 2. The ask is $2500 per student but of course give less or more based on your own personal financial situation.
The Halloween Hop is coming up soon and it seems we have found a way to bring back inflatables so that is great news for the kiddos (like mine) who love to bounce. Get your costumes ready. The Hop is on October 26. Bracelet sales go live today (
https://ps9-pa.membershiptoolkit.com/store/12347) and they need lots of volunteers (
https://ps9-pa.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/117858) so please see how you can help. Wristbands provide all access to the inflatables, games and fun for your kiddos. Adults do not need wristbands. You can also email halloweenhop@ps9parents.org if there is a way you think you can help that is not on the volunteer page. And as always if this event is not in your budget please reach out to lauren@ps9.org who makes sure everyone can attend regardless of income.
The Auction team reminded us that the Auction is on March 22. They will be having a volunteer drive at Prohibition on October 17 from 6:30-8:30 and will also be voting on the Auction Theme. If you have questions, reach out to auction
@ps9parens.org.
The Small Fundraiser team has a lot of fun in store. The first small fundraiser is the Monster Truck event this weekend which has already sold 71 tickets (
https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/PS9HOTWHEELS). They are planning a number of other events such as: NY Jets, the Rockettes, Knicks, Liberty, Yankees, Columbia Girls Basketball and other exciting outings. If you have ideas for fundraisers they would love your feedback.
The Join Us team reported that the parents night out events have been a success and there are still a number of them in October including the 3rd grade night out on October 15. Make sure to
sign up for childcare provided for free from arts & athletics with pizza dinner. We also have more scheduled playdates at River Run. The 3rd grade playdate is on November 2.
The Parent Leader team spoke and is so excited about the number of parents who have come out to be trained as parent leaders. Parent Leaders work in our library and in our art and music classes. If you want to work in the classrooms you need to be certified as a parent leader (you do not need to be a parent leader to volunteer for any of our PA events). The next teacher training is on a very important date, November 13 (aka my birthday).
Teacher appreciation is of course expressed year round but we provide our support with a special breakfast (scheduled for December 19) and with staff gifts (of cash) at the end of the calendar and school years. Also, part of our capital expenditure was to refresh the teacher lounge which is much appreciated.
Picture Day is on October 16 and there will be a make up day in June. The photos are full body. So make sure to show your style from head to toe. There will be instructions on how to buy photos after picture day - it is a fundraiser for the school. This company no longer gives a free class photo. Last year we all pitched in a dollar or two and I purchased the digital image of the class photo and shared it with the class. I will plan to do that for 3-208 again this year.
Elections are now open. We are looking for an EDI representative, a VP of fundraising and KAL representatives for all the kindergarten classes. If you want to run please email your brief bio to elections@ps9parents.org and the elections will be held in October.
The SLT (school leadership team) will hold its first meeting on Monday. I am a member of the SLT and will provide a report of any important happenings at our meeting next week.
OK, that was a long one! Hope you got through the whole email :) Have a wonderful weekend!
Jennifer
Jennifer Poons, 9/27/2024 11:34 am
Hannah Sarah Dini, 3/24/2025 10:33 pm
