PTSA Minutes -

September

Merrill Parents Group
Minutes
September 20, 2007

The meeting was called to order by interim President Lisa Williams.  First order of business was to elect the nominated Board members to post.  Lisa Williams was nominated and elected President, Melissa McGuire was nominated and elected Secretary.  Loalee Haynie was nominated and elected Treasurer. 

The Teacher Liaison post was decided to be two person job.  Vice President is still open; any suggestions for a nominee should be directed to Lisa Williams. 

From the Presidents Letter:

“We still have committees and other volunteer opportunities for parents to become involved in.  The Parent Group would really like to have the opportunity to meet as many parents as possible.  Studies have shown that when a parent is involved in their child's educational life, the child is more likely to succeed.  You will see events coming throughout the year, we hope you will take this opportunity to come and meet other parents and find out what resources are out there that might help your student.  Parent Involvement is a DPS goal, but is also a Merrill goal.  We hope to really build our community! “

We discussed a possible Social or Dinner to engage Merrill Parents (Guardians included!) The date was undecided. **The date for the event is Friday, November 2nd, from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm.  Still to be determined: will this be a Movie Night, Social or Dinner/Meet & Greet? 

We discussed the first fundraiser, the Craft and Book Sale.  Craft tables will be sold to crafters for $50 to 100 (exact fee undecided) or to Merrill Parents for a reduced fee.   Table sponsorships will be solicited by volunteers from the MPG.  The amount of the sponsorship will determine the “ad space” the sponsor will receive.  Book donations will be solicited via a send home notice with the students and will include a list of items needed for the day of the sale.  This includes but is not limited to: bookshelves, tables, table cloths, shopping bags and other relevant items for the show.  We will also try to solicit donations of coffee and other refreshments from local businesses in exchange for “ad space.”  ** The date of the show is Saturday, December 15th, from 10 am – 5 pm.  Set up to begin no later than 9 am and crafters should be packed up by 6 pm.  We will need volunteers to assist in setting up and tearing down the book sale!!**

The issue of what our focus will be and the level of autonomy we will have as a decision making entity.  Two major ideas emerged: first, we should be a first stop for parents to discuss or resolve minor issues or to seek direction when possible, and deferring major issues to the CSC.  Second, our decision making scope as a group should be autonomous with the exception that school usage and whole school events need to be planned in coordination with Stacy Miller to avoid conflicts in schedules.  No doubt this will be discussed further – any and all comments are welcome. 

The next meeting date was left undecided at the time of the end of our session.  ** Proposed meeting date: October 18th, 6:00 pm.  Please contact Lisa or Melissa with questions.