SAC Board Meeting / CSPN Board Meeting July 30, 2005
[Campus School Parent Network]

In Attendance:
Melissa Pearce, Susan Copeland, Amy Mulroy, Rebecca Scott, Lee Meyers, and Mary O’Kelly.

Mission Statement/Bylaws
Amy Mulroy prepared a draft of a proposed mission statement and bylaws for the organization, and the group spent some time discussing its merits. It was agreed that Rebecca and Melissa would forward mission statements and bylaws for other similar organizations for review before we proceed to finalizing this document.

Board Membership
There was some discussion about whether we should have a student and a teacher representative on this board. The group agreed that students could attend board meetings on an as-needed basis only. If a student has an issue that they feel the board should consider, the issue should be raised with their teacher before being brought to the board. It was also agreed that teacher’s are welcome to attend the board meetings when they have an issue to present to or discuss with the board. There are currently other avenues available for fostering parent/teacher communication. Susan reported that Faculty Leadership Teams are being formed, in part for the purpose of identifying and communicating teacher needs.

Calendar
There was much discussion about the calendar for the 2005-06 school year. Melissa and Lee will work off-line to put together the calendar. A description of each event will be included.

Teacher Welcome Back Breakfast
The first event of the 2005-06 calendar is the welcome breakfast for the teachers. Melissa, Amy, Lee and Mary divided up tasks for pulling the breakfast together, and some additional parents will be asked to help with food preparation. The breakfast will be held on Monday, August 8 at 8:00 a.m.

Volunteer Chair List
Some chairman positions are still open. Several candidates were discussed for various positions and each board member agreed to check with possible chairs to see if they are willing. A current chair list is attached.

Financials/Fundraising Goals
Rather than raising funds to purchase a single big-ticket item, the board agreed to develop an Educational Growth Plan that includes technology replacement, educational materials and items to create a quality environment. Every effort will be made to ensure that purchases are equitably distributed. Susan and Rebecca will survey the teachers to identify needs, and they will provide the results of the survey to the board by August 23. The ongoing copier expense will be part of the budget. Costs are expected to be $400 per month. Melissa and Susan will request a report from Kim on current SAC balances. Going forward, Mary O’Kelly will handle account reconciliation and Kim Johnson will take care of deposits. Melissa will meet separately with Mary and Kim to discuss financials, and she will develop a form that all board members and event chairs should use for reimbursements. The board agreed to go ahead and purchase art tables and musical instruments as requested by Ms. Larrick and Ms. Van Dyck.

Communication
Several steps for improving communication were discussed:
• Melissa will work on assembling a master email list, sorted by teacher and grade. She will talk to Milton Craft about putting together a list serve on the U of M server.
• The panel on the right side of the two-panel bulletin board by the office will be reserved for SAC news.
• A monthly newsletter will be produced and distributed to parents. Susan will check on the possibility of securing a journalism intern to help with the newsletter.
• To ensure two-way communication, a parent survey will be conducted on an annual basis, beginning in the middle of the upcoming academic year. That will allow the board to assess parent opinion on topics such as PTA, spending priorities and communications.
• Enhance the Campus School website. Susan has been working with Milton Craft to improve our current site. Melissa suggested that we add links for ongoing fundraisers such as Box Tops for Education, Target, etc.
• A get-acquainted social time will be planned for Friday, August 12 during and just after the Open House time. Light refreshments will be provided and board members will be available to answer parent questions.

Name
The group agreed that SAC (Student Activities Council) is not the best name for our organization. It is not very descriptive of what we do, people often forget what the letters stand for, and there are several other organizations with the same acronym. A number of alternatives were discussed, and the group agreed to consider the options and make a decision as to which name we’ll use in the future. [Note: since this meeting occurred, the board agreed to change the name to Campus School Parent Network, CSPN (pronounced C-SPAN)].

Next Meeting
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m. Board meetings will typically be held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. The next meeting will be on September 14.

CSPN Volunteer Form for 2005-2006

Please consider volunteering for one of the vacant Co-Chair positions or as a committee member. It's a great way to get involved at Campus School. We need the help of all parents to make these events happen. Just fill out this form, fill in the blanks where you would like to volunteer, and return it to your child's teacher by Sept. 1st. A brief description of each committee is attached.

Click here for the Volunteer form  [ print and fill out]

or

Click here for a PDF version [ fill in online and print out ]