The Michael J. Petrides (MJP) School 715 OCEAN TERRACE

The Michael J. Petrides (MJP) School
715 OCEAN TERRACE, STATEN ISLAND, NY 10301
Petrides PTA General Meeting Minutes
May 21, 2014, 7 PM
28 Parents and 3 school staff were in attendance
1. The following handouts were distributed:
A. Agenda
B. Monthly Treasurer’s Report and draft 2014-2015 budget
C. April 23, 2014 General PTA Meeting minutes
2. Lori Fiorito led the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. All in attendance were welcomed and thanked for attending.
4. PTA Board elections were held. It was explained that the required positions necessary to have a PTA are
President, Recording Secretary and Treasurer; otherwise there cannot be a PTA. The following Executive Board
positions were filled:
President/Co-President - Lisa Bennedetto / Toni Molloy
Executive VP - Mary Sue Gallo
HS VP - Lori Fiorito
Middle School VP - Francesco Colavito
Elementary School VP - Jill Avaltroni
Recording Secretary - Maryanne DiScalo
Corresponding Secretary - Sanije Nesimi
Treasurer - Jim Mann
5. Jim Mann the current Recording Secretary confirmed the results of the election.
6. It was also recommended to change the bylaws for next year so that you could have Co-Corresponding
Secretaries and Co-Recording Secretaries.
7. Discussion was held on the School Leadership Team (SLT) and elections were also held for these roles. The SLT
is composed of students, parents and staff. The group meets monthly and is responsible for creating a
comprehensive education plan and goals for the school. Decisions are made and issues are identified. It meets
for 2 hours once a month and the meetings have usually been held from 3:30 to 5:30 on Tuesdays. The roles
are held for one year and there are two representatives from each component (elementary, middle school and
high school) The SLT elections were held and the following positions were filled:
Lower Component
Maryanne DiScalo
Loria Trapp
Alt - Willie Maye
Middle Component
Claudia Loverdi
Ed Foreman
Alt - Kara Buzga
Upper Component
Donna Zulch
Lori Fiorito
Alt - Tonia Marino
8. The April 23, 2014 General PTA meeting minutes were distributed by Jim Mann the PTA Recording Secretary
for review. A correction to item 8B was made to add that a $50,000 grant was also expected from the Boro
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President for a total of $90,000. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Marie Sue Gallo and was
seconded by Jill Avaltroni. The motion was passed with no objections being raised.
9. PTA Presidents’ Report was given by Lori Fiorito, PTA Co-President, indicating the following:
A. The “Thank Heaven for Little Girls Dance” will be held Saturday, June 14th, the Saturday before
Father’s Day. There will be a DJ, and food.
10. This lead into the PTA Treasurer’s Report lead by Toni Molloy and the following items were discussed:
A. There is presently about a $30,000 balance.
B. The proposed 2014/2015 budget was reviewed.
C. The book fair does not look like it brought in a lot of money, but the school got about $4,000 in
scholastic dollars which were used to purchase book shelves.
D. A question was raised about whether a Holiday fair was going to be held again next year, because last
year’s event was not well attended. It was noted that the Holiday fair would just not be on a weekend,
but would be held during the school day, because this ends up being much more profitable.
E. Discussed Halloween Bash proposal to spend $100 towards the Dance Club performing a dance during
the Halloween Bash and spending $250 on the Thespian Society performing. A motion to approve the
spending of $350 in total for supplies for the Thespian Society and Dance Club to participate in the
Halloween Bash was made by Willie Maye and was seconded by Francesco Colavito. The motion was
passed with no objections being raised.
F. Discussed Marshmallow Challenge proposal, which would consist of teams of 4 students competing in
creating a structure with given materials and whichever team gets the marshmallow the highest in 18
minutes wins. A motion to approve the spending of $400 on supplies for the Marshmallow Challenge
was made by Lori Fiorito and was seconded by Tonia Marino. The motion was passed with no
objections being raised.
G. Discussed funding a community garden expense. A motion to approve the spending of $500 on the
Community Garden was made by Kara Buzga and was seconded by Jim Mann. The motion was passed
with no objections being raised.
H. Discussed increasing funding of Jazz Night. A motion to approve the spending of $600 for Jazz Night
for next year was made by Kara Buzga and was seconded by Terri Lombardi. The motion was passed
with no objections being raised.
I. A motion for the spending of $2,000 for the school website Petridesschool.com was made by Lori
Fiorito and was seconded by Jim Mann. The motion was passed with no objections being raised.
J. A motion for the spending of $2,000 for the J-STOR research software was made by Lori Fiorito and
was seconded by Mary Sue Gallo. The motion was passed with no objections being raised.
K. A motion for the spending of $1,000 for school graduation gifts was made by Lori Fiorito and was
seconded by Lori Baslin. The motion was passed with no objections being raised.
L. It was noted that the school nurse made a request for an ice machine, but the school may be receiving
a donation of a commercial ice machine.
M. A motion for increasing the Sunshine fund by $250 to $750 was made by Kara Buzga and was
seconded by Lori Fiorito. The motion was passed with no objections being raised. It was also noted
that the Sunshine Fund and Staff Retirements line items should be combined into a single line item for
$1,000 in total.
N. A motion for paying for lunch, rather than breakfast for teacher appreciation day was made by Lori
Fiorito and was seconded by Mary Sue Gallo. The motion was passed with no objections being raised.
11. Joanne Buckheit, the MJP Principal gave the Principal’s Report noting the following:
A. A field day was held today which some of the students helped to organize.
B. The 4th graders are finishing up their Ballroom dancing training that was paid for by the PTA. May 30 th
will be the Ballroom Dancing finally show.
C. The 5th graders band performed for the first time on the stage.
D. Thursday, May 22 at 8:15AM is the next Sip and Share at the school and the school’s fine art
department will be discussed.
E. There will be a Parents as Partners meeting next week.
F. Next Wednesday, May 28th will be a Test Anxiety meeting for parents lead by the schools counseling
department, along with a student Yoga class taught by two elementary school teachers at the same
time.
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G. Work has begun on the Quad construction as evidenced by the jack-hammering that can be heard.
12. QUESTION – More information was requested about the student wrestler who’s name and picture were the
front page of the Staten Island Advance for being arrested for carrying a knife and possessing marijuana at
school. People also wanted to know if security procedures were going to be changed. It was also noted that
the student was teaching Graphics Arts to a parent’s 5th grader. ANSWER – Safety is already a priority at the
school and the student was caught based upon present school rules. Can’t discuss any child’s particular
information with others. This lead to the following general discussion points:
A. What proposals would the school community propose?
B. Buddy system for going through the halls is already in place.
C. Issues are dealt with on a daily basis.
D. Procedures already exist and various scenarios are looked at regularly. Safety of kids is paramount.
E. Someone noted that their elementary school child had gone to the bathroom themselves and ended
up walking through the halls because the bathroom was closed and he couldn’t find another one and
ended up going back to his classroom.
F. It was noted that since the student is a minor, his name and picture should not have been a headline
in the paper, because of privacy concerns.
G. We need to make sure that there is a balanced perspective associated with the issue and that the
temptation for ‘knee jerk reactions’ are not taken. The student may have simply made some mistakes.
H. There are various programs in place to address different types of issues like this for the student body
in general, like Illuminart.
I. Ongoing discussions need to occur at the SLT on school safety in general. SLT and school safety should
also be an ongoing item at the PTA meetings.
J. It was thought that students should have a forum where they can bring forward their issues. It was
noted that a school planning meeting was already held to discuss having a session on empathy. A new
guidance counselor has been involved. Also looking for students to have a forum to address their
concerns. There have been additional classroom discussions to get the message across to students
that they do have someone that they can turn to if they want. A drop in grief group for students is also
being considered to support students who have experienced a death in the family. Other topics are
also being considered.
13. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Lori Fiorito and was seconded by Toni Molloy. The motion was
passed with no objections being raised.
Minutes were taken by Jim Mann, the PTA Recording Secretary 5/21/14.
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