Friends of Southwest Charter School (FOSWCS)
Summer Meeting
August 6th, 2013
Fulton Pub
In Attendance: Christina Cartwright, Liz Ward, Laura Bracke, Adrienne Smith, Elise Christman, Nicki Stewart, Juli Kirby (and Jack).
Multnomah Days
The Multnomah Days Parade & Street Fair is Saturday, August 17th. Parent Melissa Allen is coordinating the event. Christina will be there all day. Right now we only have one family signed up to march. It would be nice to have more. Anne will be there in the AM. We still need face painters. We should ask those who helped with face painting at field day, such as Karmel. We still need people to assist with tear down and returning things back to school.
To sign up to help with the booth, set up, take down, or march in the parade:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/5080E49A9AD29A46-multnomah/4548300
Curriculum Update
This fall, we’ll be moving to Singapore Math which is part of the Common Core Curriculum Standard. Singapore Math is focused on essential math skills and is more structured than Bridges Math. Teachers will receive training later this month.
This year grades 7/8 will now be mixed grade classes, but each child will have a homeroom. For core curriculum studies, students will be in a class with their own grade level.
Staff Update
Kristina Engstrom has been hired as the new 1st/2nd grade teacher to replace Monica. Marlene’s recent school newsletter provides some background on Kristina’s education and interests.
Mike will be moving to Monica’s old classroom. Kristina will take Mike’s room.
The school will be hiring a part-time PE teacher. We will not be using Outsource PE this year.
School will be hiring guest teachers prior to the birth of Sarah’s and Josh’s babies this fall and winter.
Equipment/Facility Updates
Security cameras have been installed. One is at the side door when you get buzzed in.
Karen donated a washer/dryer which has been installed in the basement.
A dishwasher and new cabinets/countertops have been installed in Griffin Den.
A kitchenette has been added to the office.
All the cob work is done and it looks great! Thanks to Stacey Goldstein and the many volunteers who helped finish up this project over the summer. There is still work to be done in the garden area as well as with the turf and sandbox areas.
The School Board is still looking for new members to replace those whose terms will be ending. Adrienne’s husband is interested.
Welcome Back Staff Plans
The school office re-opens Monday, Aug 19th. We will provide breakfast treats. Elise will bring a sweet baked good. Nicki will bring bagels. Juli will help make coffee and bring something to add to bagels to make sandwiches. Aim to have your food there by 10 am. Plan your treats for 15-20 people.
On Wednesday, August 28th, we’ll do a welcome back potluck providing breakfast and lunch for teachers and staff. Elise will create a Sign Up Genius post for this. Elise will also check to see that we have enough utensils and paper products in the Griffin Den.
Back to School Coffee
Our first Friends AM Coffee will be Wednesday, September 4th, the first day of school.
Juli will send Aileah an email about planning the back to school coffee and ice cream social.
In October, we’ll resume our AM Coffees on the 1st Thursday of each month.
Laura suggested that it would be nice to have a vinyl banner with grommets made to promote our AM coffees. This could be attached to the fence in front of school. The banner might help to remind people and draw them in. Christina will ask Anna about this.
We are out of donated coffee. Amie will see if Stumptown will do another big donation. In addition, we’ll try to procure treats from Grand Central again.
We’ll continue providing snacks for teacher and staff through the pink snack box located in the office. Liz will update the blog with this information. Friends will be responsible for refilling the snack box in September and then it will rotate to different classes.
Adrienne is willing to be a room parent/rep for either Susan’s or Paul’s class. Juli has volunteered to be Josh’s room parent and Jenna will likely volunteer for whichever 7th grade class her son is in.
Kindergarten Coffee
The AM Coffee for Kindergarten parents is scheduled for Monday, September 9th, the first day of school for kindergarteners.
Ice Cream Social
The ice cream social is currently scheduled for Thursday, September 5th. Unfortunately, this conflicts with Rosh Hashanah.
We discussed some alternative dates, but none seemed to work.
We need to check the availability of Willamette Park. Juli will call to reserve it.
Juli will also check with Ruby Jewel about providing ice cream as well as a gluten free option. Last year, Juli got cones at Cash n’ Carry.
Back to School Night Friday, September 13th
Back to School Night is scheduled for Friday, September 13th.
Fall Fundraising Coordinator
Hanne was last year’s fall fundraising coordinator. This job includes selling Valley Cinema matinee series tickets and the Chinook Book. We are looking for someone to take over this job.
From last year’s experience, Hanne suggests we schedule only one day to sell Valley Cinema tickets. This would greatly simplify things. Due to poor sales last year, we may consider discontinuing the Valley Cinema ticket sales altogether. For many families, the drive to Beaverton is too far. We will leave this decision to Hanne and the new fall fundraising coordinator.
We will also ask Karen in the office if she would be willing to sell the Chinook Books from her office. We would promote the Chinook Book sale to the school community. But to purchase one, buyers would go to Karen’s office to make their payment and pick up their book or mobile version. Christina will talk with Karen about this idea.
Nicki shared some numbers regarding 2012-2013’s fall fundraising. We made $720 on Chinook Books and only $17 on Valley Theater ticket sales.
Nicki suggested that we ask some of our families with retail businesses if they would be willing to sell Chinook Books at their shops on our behalf.
We also thought it would be helpful to have a school business directory. School families with businesses could chose to add their business information into the directory. This would be a great promotion for the families as well as a useful tool for auction procurement. Perhaps class parents/reps could assist in putting this together.
Harvest Dance
Amanda and Anne have set the date for the Harvest Dance for Friday, September 20th from 6-8 pm.
While we may have Lisa’s band perform, we’re still looking for someone to call the dances. Young Audiences might be able to connect us with a dance caller.
We would like to find 2 parents to coordinate this event. Having 2 coordinators makes people more at ease and not as overwhelmed.
Coordinating the event would entail planning décor and securing some food carts. Jen Litwin coordinated this event last year.
For food, Juli suggested we try Bellagios Pizza truck in addition to the BBQ cart we had used year. We could also ask Little Big Burger in the S. Waterfront to see if they have a mobile/cart service.
Decorations were things people brought from home, nothing fancy. We’d also need help with set up and take down. Some of these volunteers could be found through a Sign Up Genius post. Hanne will be back in town after Aug 10th and will be getting back into getting things organized and scheduled.
Adrienne will help, but doesn’t want to coordinate.
Other Stuff
If you know anyone who you think would be good for any of these coordinator positions (fall fundraising, harvest dance, and Run for the Arts), please encourage them. Sometimes this is all it takes to get someone to agree and run with an idea.
Since Krista will not be back this year, Stacey Goldstein wil help with grantwriting. Adrienne has also offered to help with grantwriting.
Run for the Arts is October 2nd. Adrienne Smith has volunteered to help coordinate this event! She will be talking with Laura to get all the details. We should also contact volunteers who helped in the past to see if they would be willing to help with Run for the Arts.
Next Meeting: Tuesday September 10th @ 7pm (6:30pm social time)
For a Google Docs version of the minutes click here.
Friends of Southwest Charter School 