President's Message

I want to apologize to those of you who came to our general meeting last night specifically to hear Dr. Keenan speak.  He had a different date (today's) on his calendar and he felt terrible for inconveniencing us.  We will figure out which day will work best for him to come and he can answer the questions that we sent to him.

We have a lot going on over the next couple of weeks.  Hopefully, I will get to see some of you at Kalahari or at the Preschool and Activity Fair.  I encourage you to get involved by going on a field trip or trick or treating at Brighton Gardens- you have plenty of options.

Next month we have Ellen Spears and Tracy Biller coming to discuss "How to help your child make friends" at our general meeting. I hope to see you there.

I was excited to have the opportunity to meet some of our New Members at the Social last Thursday. For those of you who were unable to attend, we have an adult activity coming up on Thursday that should be a really good time (bunco at Gwen Sanchez' house).

Remember that Dr Keenan is coming to our October meeting and he is excited to answer your questions.  If there is anything specific that you would like him to discuss, please send your question to me and I would be happy to forward it to him. I look forward to seeing you at the general meeting.

 

It was very exciting to see many of you at our meeting last week.  One thing that we mentioned was that Dr Keenan (the Superintendent of Westlake City School District) will be coming to our October meeting to speak at 8pm.  I want to hear from you and find out what you need to know from him.  Please email me any specific questions that you have so he can have that information available for us. 

We have many activites coming up. For those of you who are new members, I hope to see you this Thursday at Houlihan's for our New Member Social which starts at 8pm.  Returning members are welcome as well and I know Sarah Camden has been working very hard to make this event a success. If you are unable to make the social, sign up for a field trip or two, there is something for your whole family to enjoy.  I look forward to getting to know you this year.

  

WECPTA General Meeting

Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Location: Westlake Porter Public Library

Delicia Ostrowski, President, opened the meeting at 7:04 PM. 

EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORTS:

PRESIDENT: 

·         Congratulations to Holly Taylor and Andrea Navratil, council delegates, who are this month’s stars!

·         Exchange of Ideas is on May 12, 2012…hosted by Fairview Park ECPTA.  We are able to pay for 5 members to attend.  Please let Delicia know if you are interested in attending.

·         Thanks to Tiffany Skowronski (53 Easter baskets for Laura’s Home) and Laurie Clovesko (made pillows for Easter baskets).

TREASURER: 

·         The budget was reviewed by Delicia.

1^st VICE PRESIDENT: 

·         Delicia shared that the May meeting is Vendor Night…let Lora know if you or anyone you know are interested in a table.

·         Slate for 2012-2013: Looking for a third Council Delegate and a co-chair for Community Service

·         Year end/installation banquet: date and location TBA

2^ND VICE PRESIDENTS: 

·         Kiddie Kloset is next Saturday, April 21….8-9 AM is early bird…please note parking lot and entrance changes

·         Seller’s packets were mailed on April 3.

SECRETARY: 

·         The minutes from the March meeting have been read and approved.

·         Barnes & Noble Storytime with Biscuit: 15 children total attended between the noon and 7 PM storytimes

·         Barnes & Noble Book fair total: $32.56

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

ADULT ACTIVITIES:  

·         Book Club: The Book Thief on April 30

AUDIT: 

·         The audit checked out for the month of March.

CHILDREN’S PARTIES: 

·         Spring Party will be held at Five Seasons: staff will do organized activities with the children

·         Kiddie rooms, tennis courts, manis/pedis for girls, tattoos for boys, food for kids, heavy apps for adults, etc.

·         Look for email with details…you will need to RSVP!

COMMUNITY SERVICE:  

·         Jared Boxes:  boxes filled with goodies for children who are hospitalized

·         Bring items to May meeting or drop off at Sarah Camden’s before the May meeting

·         Items must be new and no bigger than a shoe box!

FIELD TRIPS: 

·         Memphis Kiddie Park and Pony Rides in the works

·         Several field trips on Saturdays coming up!

HOSPITALITY: 

·         Congratulations to door prize winners Karen Krantz (gift card) and Jennifer Zimmer (pedicure kit).

NEWSLETTER EDITOR:

·         Deadline is Sunday, April 15 for the April newsletter.

SUNSHINE: 

·         Let Danielle Soltis know if you know of someone who has had a baby or needs some sunshine.

WEBSITE: 

·         Emily’s Rainbow Run, Sunday, April 29…register through Liz Pirnat by April 22.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

·         New board member appointed.

·         Board meetings are being held at the schools.

·         First day of school is August 16, 2012.  Must be 5 on or before August 1^st for kindergarten.

·         Westlake High School All Class Reunion on September 28 and 29.

·         Flower sale through PTA council.

·         Congratulations to Cathy Schulz and Kristi Potts, our Charles Scott/White House Black Market make-over winners!

MOTION TO ADJOURN

Meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM.

Read and Approved by:

1.                                                                                                                    

                                                                                    Date

2.                                                                                                                    

                                                                                    Date

3.                                                                                                                    

                                                                                    Date

On saturday, May 12th the Fairview Park Early Childhood PTA will be hosting the annual exchange of ideas for our PTA district.

What this is is an opportunity to get together with other early childhood units in our area and discuss ways to improve our PTA. Our budget allows us to pay for the registration of 4 members that would like to attend.

I would encourage people who have stepped up to take a board position next year or who are thinking of doing so the following year to go.

If you have questions, email me at delicia.ostrowski@yahoo.com

 

I attended the kindergarten registration meeting and I am interested in talking to those of you who also attended. I would like feedback from you on what you thought was helpful and what could be improved.  I have already spoken with Dr. Keenan about this but would like to hear your thoughts so please e-mail me at delicia.ostrowski@yahoo.com so that we can all work together to make these meetings more informative. Thank you.

WECPTA General Meeting

Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Location: Westlake Porter Public Library

 Delicia Ostrowski, President, opened the meeting at 7:07 PM. 

EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORTS:

PRESIDENT: 

·         Delicia shared that Nicole Rupe, current treasurer, is moving at the end of February.  Please see her if you are interested in filling her position.

·         Also, Haley Kraus is moving at the end of the week…looking for someone to fill the Children’s Craft position.

·         Stars of the Month: Missy and Sarah…awesome Santa breakfast and Santa letters, plus Thanksgiving adopt-a-family meal, just to name a few!

 TREASURER: 

·         A summary of the December budget was shared.

 1^st VICE PRESIDENT: 

·         Looking for people to step up to the plate to fill positions for next year!!

 2^ND VICE PRESIDENTS: 

·         Spring Kiddie Kloset information was shared.  Karen Krantz has information regarding the changes at the high school due to construction; more information will be in the January newsletter.

 SECRETARY: 

·         The December meeting minutes were read and approved.

 COUNCIL DELEGATES: 

·         Founder’s Day coming up on February 16.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

ADULT ACTIVITIES:  

·         Artist for a Day Diva Night, February 1…reserve through Nicole Sauer.

·         Book Club and Swap at Delicia’s on January 16.

AUDIT: 

·         Everything for December has checked out.

BABYSITTING CO-OP:

·         Next meeting on January 23 at 7 PM on Connie Shaver’s house

CHILDREN’S CRAFTS: 

·         Thank you Haley!!

CHILDREN’S PARTIES: 

·         February 3 ~ Valentine’s Day Party

·         DJ will be interacting with the kids.

·         See Kim Durbin if you are interested in volunteering.

FIELD TRIPS: 

·         Sign up!!

HEALTH & SAFETY: 

·         Looking into Identi-Kid and car seat stickers for child identification

HOSPITALITY: 

·         Raffle winners: Holly Taylor and Karen Krantz

MEMBERSHIP: 

·         New member/new year social…January 26…email Holly Taylor or register on the website if you are planning to attend.

NEWSLETTER EDITOR:

·         Articles for January newsletter are due on Sunday.

MILK GROUPS / PLAYGROUPS:

·         Organizing an outing Playground World in February

·         Information about kindergarten playgroups will be coming out shortly.

 SUNSHINE: 

·         If you know a member that has just had a baby or is going through a difficult time and could use some sunshine...please contact Danielle Soltis.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

·         Purchase a new bounce house for children’s parties ($500)

·         Megan Tomsik made a motion to spend $500 to purchase a new bounce house.  Carrie Rendziak seconded the motion.  Discussion.  The motion passed.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

·         Kindergarten Registration Information Session on January 19.

·         Be sure to check the school calendar for start and end dates for the 2012-2013 school year.

·         WECPTA meetings will be cancelled if Westlake Schools are cancelled, or check the web site.

·         Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) ~ see Liz Pirnat if you are interested in grass-feed meat program or CSA (veggies/fruits)

·         March 17 ~ Holly Lane Big Kid Resale

·         Nominating Committees are looking for incoming WECPTA moms to get involved at the elementary level.

MOTION TO ADJOURN

Meeting was adjourned at 7:43 PM.

I wanted to clarify some information that we discussed on tuesday at the meeting.  When Dr. Keenan spoke to WECPTA in September, he stated that it was his recommendation to the School Board that Full Day Kindergarten be the only option for incoming students without any Half-Day option at all.  However, the School Board opted to keep things as they are this year and have both Full (tuition-based) and Half-Day options available.  Their concern is that with budget reductions perhaps they would not be able to sustain the Full Day only option the following year.

Dr Keenan said that if anyone had any questions, he would be happy to answer them. 

I will be manning a WECPTA table at Kindergarten Registration Information night on Thursday, January 19th at 7pm.  If you need more information, feel free to contact me @ delicia.ostrowski@yahoo.com

The National PTA calls the Nominating Committee "The most important committee" because it sets the leadership and direction for each PTA unit.

An Ohio PTA representative will be conducting a nominating committee workshop on Tuesday, November 29th at 12:30pm and 7:30pm at the Board of Education building at the corner of Dover Center and Hilliard. It is expected to last 1 1/2 hours.  Members of the nominating committee are strongly encouraged to attend but this is open to any PTA member.

Please let know if you are interested in attending or if you have any questions.  delicia.ostrowski@yahoo.com or 216-577-5750