Date: Friday, Nov 8 th , 2013
Location: Grassy Area
Present: GPA: Erika Petras President, Michelle Mead Volunteer Coordinator, Taina Franke Communications/Secretary, Katinka Lucy
Room Parent Coordinator & Debbie Page Community Events Coordinator .
Gwenis Laura GICS(Goethe International Charter School) Executive Director, Betty Brown / IB Coordinator Katja Jahn / Parent
Representative Board Member,
If you have any questions or suggestions please contact me @ tainafranke2000@yahoo.com
.
The GPA can be reached at GPA@goethecharterschool.org.
GPA OFFICERS
Erika Petras/President –
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Lantern festival – is taking place tonight, the GPA will sell lights at cost
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No school on Monday, November 11 th (Veterans Day)
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JOGATHON – Now is the time to collect pledges from friends, family members and neighbors for your kid’s laps at this important event. You can check the helpful Q&A here or in our website calendar: http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/gpa_info_exchange/conversations/messages/5175 . Extra pledge forms can be obtained from the office. A few Jogathon Tshirts are still available, they will be given out on the day of the event. For further questions of if you’d like to help out email Eve ( evelyn.buchmann@gmail.com
)
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We made a whopping $4000 profit on the Autumn festival. $1800 going to Steve for PE. $1800 to Betty for IB &
$500 (including an extra $100 out of the GPA budget) to the Caring Schools program.
Gwenis Laura/Executive Director
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We have submitted our PROP 39 application. Under California law (i.e., Proposition 39) the Los Angeles Unified
School District must provide the Goethe International Charter School reasonably equivalent school facilities in which to operate the charter school.
Link for more information: http://www.goethecharterschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=85159&type=d&pREC_ID=203553
This application can only include our current school form = grade levels TK – 5.
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MATERIAL REVISION (= application for extension to a TK – 8 school) has been submitted and is still in the hands of the charter division. No feedback has yet been received. The process has a 60 day timeline unless it is extended. So far an extension has not been requested. We will hear back latest on Dec 3 rd (60 days from application date). We would then most likely be voted on the December or January LAUSD Board meeting. These meetings usually take place the second Tuesday of the month.
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The first SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL (formerly Advisory Council) will meet Nov 18 th for the first time. These are public meetings and open to anybody interested. Members will include Deike Peters, Kathrin Auger, Pam
Brissette, Andrea Martin, Liz Fuller. The School Site Council looks at the overall site improvement plan.
Betty Brown/IB Coordinator
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One of her priorities is to improve learning culture. Assemblies, which start with the GOETHE SCHOOL pledge now take place every second Tuesday. A new initiative is to have Student Leaders as well as the 4 different colored “House Groups” (lead by 5 th graders) which purpose is to mix students vertically not only horizontally.
Due to different lunch times they often don’t have a chance to interact.
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More colorful posters have gone up around campus explaining our IB principles. Check them out !
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Betty states she has noticed a big difference in students behavior.
Michelle Mead/Volunteer Coordinator –
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Please turn in your Volunteer hours log sheets (off campus volunteer hours that is) on a monthly basis. by emailing our Volunteer Coordinator Michelle Mead – michellemead@ca.rr.com or dropping off a copy in the

office. It is very vital that we track your volunteer hours. Volunteer hours are tallied and used to show the overall parent participation for the school. This information is assessed by the LAUSD and helps our charter amendment efforts and in granting additional money for our school. Link to the form: http://www.goethecharterschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=85161&type=d&pREC_ID=421280
A Plaque with “Volunteers of the year” along with GPA members will go into the office.
Katja Jahn / Board Member, Parent Representative
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The NEW BOARD MEMBER RECRUITMENT EVENT last Tuesday at the Turner Center was very successful. 4 panelists (among them our own Betty Brown) had a very interesting discussion surrounding the topic of Charter
Schools in our community. It was the first time we drummed up support openly in our community, many more events are to follow.
Taina Franke/ Communications/Secretary
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LOST AND FOUND – please check the bins for lost items, specifically jackets. It is mind boggling how many items have been piling up after the clean up for the Autumn Festival.
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If you would like to receive your items back make sure you label them ideally with name of the child and a phone number. MARK YOUR CHILDRENS’ ITEMS (clothing / lunch items ect). Company STUCK ON YOU will
 donate a fraction of each sale back to our school. The Iron in dots for clothing and the dishwasher proof pencil labels for everything else come highly recommended. Add your phone number to the label to increase the chances to have lost items returned to you. www.stuckonyou.biz/goethe
NEW FAMILIES – Everybody please help welcoming new families. As you know it can be a bit overwhelming joining our busy school and it is always appreciated to reach out in order to check in and help out. The office is doing their best in forwarding the information of new families my way, but it takes a village to form a strong community. Thank you 
Q&A:
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WINTER CAMPS – Gwenis will look into the possibility of having E3 offer a winter camp on campus for the first week off.
Upcoming Events:
Mo, Nov 11 th
Mo, Nov 18 th
Tue, Nov 19 th
Tue, Nov 19 th
Fri, Dec 6 th
Mo, Dec 9 th
Tue, Dec 10 th
NO SCHOOL – Veteran’s Day
Board Meeting
Jogathon
DINNER NIGHT OUT – Grey Block Pizza
GPA meeting after Goethe Café
Board Meeting
Winter Performance