PTA Monthly Meeting
10/17/13 7:00 pm Meeting Notes
Minutes are now distributed online via PS 185 PTA Facebook group or via PS 185 PTA website
(http://ps185.com).
Attendees: See sign in sheets
Grants from Councilman Gentile

Jen introduces/welcomes Councilman Gentile. Councilman Gentile has been a long-standing
friend and supporter of our school.

Councilman Vincent Gentile has secured a $50,000 grant for the renovation of the PS 185
auditorium. The funds will be used to replace every chair from row 6 on in the auditorium.
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Mr. Llinas explains that the chairs are 97 years old. Repairs have been made, but they
need to be replaced.

Mr. Llinas speaks about how Councilman Gentile secured a million dollars in funding for the
rooftop garden on the 3rd floor a couple years ago. Children can use that garden again once the
construction is over.

Mr. Llinas also thanks Councilman Gentile for securing funds the U.S.S. Intrepid after-school
program, which is open to 4th graders. [JBR Note: Unclear if program is open to all or select 4th
graders.] Councilman Gentile’s office has funded this program for several years.

Councilman Gentile says that if he is reelected in November, he will be the most senior member
of the council and he hopes to allocate capital money to schools and parks.
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Councilman Gentile describes a new parks project in Bay Ridge: the new EcoDock at the
69th St. Pier. This EcoDock is the first in the city. Historic ships and sailboats can dock at
69th St. Pier and the community can board the ships. Some high school students recently
took a trip on a schooner because of the 69th St. EcoDock. You can go kayaking from this
pier too. (The waters are rough so you need to know what you are doing in terms of
kayaking.) The EcoDock will be open until Thanksgiving and then will reopen in May.
The Metro Waterfront Alliance is running the EcoDock.
Budget Report (Jen Kruger)

This report is basically the bank statement.

September opening balance was $41,815. Closing balance was approximately $39,000.
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Credits: $88 from the Amazon rewards program.

Shop at this Amazon link to automatically donate funds to the school:
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
http://www.amazon.com/?ie=UTF8&ref_=gno_logo&_encoding=UTF8&tag=p1p
03-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957
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Debits: $2035 for planners and approximately $200 for supplies.
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Upcoming Credits are expected as a result of the beginning-of-the-year envelope
solicitation.
Principal’s Report (Mr. Llinas)

4th grade field trips were cancelled due to poor behavior (not able to stand in line etc.) but the
trips will be rescheduled.

Chess program is thrilled with students’ good behavior and focus at this school.

The Ballroom Dancing instructor also remarks on good behavior at PS 185.

Candy sale fundraiser was originally scheduled to end on Oct. 18. Funds from this fundraiser go
to the Principal’s Discretionary fund. If you want to donate but not participate in the candy
sale, you can send in a check made out to PS 185 Principal’s Discretionary Fund.

Today was the first SLT meeting. There are new members. It was a very productive, positiveminded group. Homework, math program, reading program were discussed today. If you have
instructional concerns like these, you can discuss with the parent members of the SLT. (Keep
reading these notes for more on SLT from Jen.)

11 staff members were recently trained and certified on using the Automatic Defibrillator. There
are two defibrillators, each on the 1st and 4th floors. Epi pen training is coming for 6 staff
members.

Report cards will be distributed Nov. 8.

Parent teacher conferences will be on Nov. 14.

DOE has asked Mr. Llinas to complete extra paperwork which he has just finished up so you will
see him around the hallways and schoolyard more now.

Parent Workshops on testing will be this November or early December.

Construction firm needs 3 more weeks to finish the pinning/washing/finishing parapets phase.
This needs to be done before window installation. Windows are manufactured and in the
warehouse. Classes will be displaced during window installation. (See September PTA Meeting
Notes for detailed plans.)

Regarding movie watching in class: if the videos aren’t educational, please bring specific
instances of move watching to Mr. Llinas’s attention. The policy is movies should be used
sparingly.

Concerns about Office Staff
o
PS 185 has no receptionist but has 2 secretaries.
o
Secretaries are excellent, but are pulled in so many directions (forgotten sneakers,
forgotten permission slips, unexpected need to acquire change clothes, etc.).
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
o
Parents often show up at 2 trying to get their student to be dismissed early.
Often it is unexpected with no note in the morning. This becomes a problem
when many families do it. Please don’t do it unless you have an appointment
and then send a letter in with your child in the morning.
Mr. Llinas is working on a letter that will describe the protocols for what parents can
expect of secretaries.

7:20 am breakfast program is a breakfast program with food provided by school. You can’t send
your child in with breakfast. Child can’t enter school eating or drinking either—it is against the
rules. Please don’t send your child to the breakfast program unless h/she is there to eat
breakfast.

Behavior in the schoolyard after school
o
It is a public space after school dismissal.
o
If your child plays in the schoolyard after school, you must watch your child. Sometimes
unsupervised children are there because their parents allow them to walk home alone.
o
If you are experiencing problems, you can ask Mr. Llinas and he’ll contact the parents of
the unsupervised child who is playing too rough.
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Climbing on the fence is not allowed. It is dangerous. Please tell your children. Trying to
put mesh on the fence to limit climbing.
PTA General Report (Jen Kruger)
Welcome

Thank you for coming. We are grateful to all parents for being active participants in the PTA at
all levels – making contributions, volunteering for events, attending PTA meetings, voting and
being informed members of the PTA.

We have PTA meetings every month, on Thursdays at 7pm with the exception of special events.

Curriculum meeting week of September 23; 5th grade had a special middle school information
session following their meeting. We received good parent feedback following the meeting.

We held our first Movie Night on October 4; we showed Super Buddies to a full house.

We also just completed Picture Day October 9. If your child was sick or if you are unhappy with
their picture there will be a retake day on December 4.
Enrichment Update
New After-School Programming
 Drama Club is part of a new enrichment initiative jointly launched by the PTA and the school.
We contribute equally to a pooled fund to pay teachers to provide leadership and supervision of
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parent-run after-school enrichments on Thursdays and Fridays. Curriculum is determined jointly
by the PTA and the school, and managed closely by both parties.
 The drama enrichment begins Oct. 18. 20 students were selected from a pool of submitted
essays. There were far more essays than spots. If your child didn’t get in this time, they will get
in for the January session.
o Parents leading this program are Katie Taber and Barbara Cassidy

PTA is looking for two parent volunteers to lead an additional class in the January semester on
either Thursdays of Fridays for 90 minutes once a week for 8 weeks. Our specific request is for
Lego Building, Board Games or Yoga, but we are open to ideas. If you are the parent leader, your
child is guaranteed a spot.
Chess
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Instructional in-school chess started on Oct. 7.
o
Children get it every other week. It happens on alternating Mondays.
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Chess for kindergarteners begins in January.
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After school chess has begun. Registration for the next session will begin in January.
Assemblies
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LASER Show will be on October 25. This is hybrid science/entertainment assembly offered to all
grades. It explains how LASERS work, examines their uses in society, and culminates in an
exciting demonstration laser show set to pop music that the children look forward to every year.
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At night there are 2 Halloween-themed laser shows. Tickets are $5 each. This is a
fundraiser. The evening fundraiser pays for the daytime assembly. The evening shows
are entertainment (not education).
o
Storytime assembly will be on Nov. 22nd for all grades. This is an old-school performance
featuring nothing more than a lone storyteller using just his voice and his guitar telling folk
stories and tall tales. This is a beautiful language arts assembly, and again, the children
absolutely love it.
o
Innervation Dance will perform in January. This is a Chicago dance company that does ballet and
modern dance performances of Greek Myths using dance and pop music.
o
Potential PTA expenditure is for large hard cover books of the Greek myths—one for
each classroom. Teachers could review the myths specific to the upcoming
dances/myths.
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Gala update

2014 Mardi Gras Gala scheduled for Friday, March 21 @ 7pm at the Dyker Beach Golf Course.
There will be dinner, music, and prizes.

A letter will be going home week of 10/21 to each student requesting $10 contribution for raffle
baskets. We are trying to collect this money early so we can take advantage of the Black Friday
and after-Thanksgiving Sales!

Kick Off meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 10/22 @ 9 am in the cafeteria. We will be signing up
volunteers for sub-committees. All are welcome! Many volunteers are needed. If you missed
the meeting and can volunteer, please contact Helen or Kat at 185fundraiser@gmail.com.
Candy Sale Fundraiser

Extended to Friday the 25th – please get your orders in!

This is a school fundraiser, not a PTA fundraiser. The school can only do one fundraiser per
school year so this is it. This funds the principal’s discretionary fund, and covers basic and
necessary school expenses. Budgets are so tight, these funds are very much in need.

If you want to donate but not participate in the candy sale, you can send in a check made out
to PS 185 Principal’s Discretionary Fund.
State Tests

ELA April 1-3

Math April 30, May 1-2

Mr. Llinas will lead grade-specific workshops about the tests in November.
SLT Update

SLT meets every month on the same day as our PTA meetings in the school library at 2:30 pm.
All parents can attend. Parents not on SLT can only speak if they first submit a written request to
Ms. Paul.

Purpose of the SLT is to discuss the school’s education plan and make sure it gets implemented.

Parent members include:
o Maria Scodaras
o Elisa Casidy
o Jackie Tepedino
o David Forsyth
o Adele Doyle
o Jen Kruger
o Stefania Vasquenz
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
Administration members include:
o Mr. Llinas
o Miss Peggy
o Mrs. Savattieri
o Mrs. Mousis
o Mrs. Marte
o Ms. Paul
o Ms. Wrigley

At the recent SLT meeting, homework was discussed. When helping your children with their
homework, the school is encouraging a more laid-back approach. Let your children make
mistakes, and allow them to bring their errors in to school or areas reflecting confusion back to
their teachers.
o Homework should not be busywork
o There is more benefit to teachers seeing students’ incorrect answers than parents’
correct ones
o You can write a note to the teacher to direct teacher’s attention to where your child is
struggling.
Spending Vote

Proposal is to spend $1000 to train new Learning Leaders.

Learning Leaders are trained primarily to help tutor students who need help one-on-one.

Learning Leaders, Inc. is also a nonprofit organization that works closely with the public
schools to screen and train parents who want to help work with children in public schools.

Learning Leaders, Inc. offers a level of confidence that the parents working in your child’s
classroom have been vetted and trained before being “set loose” to work with your kids!
Learning Leaders, Inc.:
o
provides training
o
conducts background checks on volunteers
o
provides volunteer badges
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offers back-up support, in person and web-based

Learning Leaders, Inc. used to donate their services but now they charge to $1000 to cover their
costs. PTA tried to negotiate a lower fee, but it is $1000 and that is because we agreed to do offsite training.

VOTE: Majority voted in favor of spending these funds. 0 opposed, 0 abstentions.
Walk-a-thon (Allison)

PTA purchased pumpkins for each classroom. Each class will decorate the pumpkin based on the
literary character/author. Pumpkins will be displayed during the walk-a-thon.
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
There will be a DJ.

Grades 3-5 will walk around the block. K-2 will walk around the schoolyard.

Everyone should have received the permission slip. Parents must sign this for children to
participate.

Walk-a-thon committee will create a cute decoration under the scaffolding to make it fun—
spiders etc. (It will not be too scary.)

Please fill out your sponsor sheets and send them in with the donations on Oct. 31st.

Funds will be used to underwrite the PS 185 assemblies and enrichment generally.
Go Green (Danielle Bullock)

3rd graders have submitted their applications (essays) to be members of Go Green.

Last year’s Go Green students will continue with the program.

Nov. 14 is the first meeting.

Go Green is applying for a grant to acquire grow lights to do a seedling project to grow veggies
and then transplant them outside.

Go Green is leading PS 185’s participation in the city-wide Apple Crunch. At 1:15 everyone eats
an apple. All apple cores will be collected by Go Green and used to create compost.

Go Green is focused on the school’s sustainability program including the recycling program (i.e.
trying to have recycling placed curbside on the right day of the week).

Go Green is looking for more volunteers.

Go Green is hoping to do art projects toward the end of the year.
Learning Leaders (Danielle Bullock)
o
If you are interested in becoming a Learning Leader, please contact Danielle Bullock. She is on
Facebook and around in the schoolyard. Learning Leaders can work one on one, in groups, start
a book club, etc. There are lots of opportunities to help. Only a 2 hour per week commitment is
required.
Looking Ahead (Jen Kruger)

We are trying to organize a meeting for 4th and 5th grade parents with Paul Helfman, DOE
Director of Middle School Enrollment, either at our next PTA meeting or on another November
date. Last year his presentation was excellent and his coverage of the appeals process helped
some families. Details to come.

Upcoming dates:
Friday, October 25
Thursday, October 31
Monday, November 4
Halloween LASER Show @ 6:00 pm
Walk-a-Thon
Student Council Elections (Grades 3-5)
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Friday, November 8
Thursday, November 14
Thursday, November 14
Wednesday, November 20
Thursday, November 21
Thursday, November 21
Thursday, November 21
Game Night
Parent-Teacher Conferences
School Store opens
Book Fair Fundraiser (Day 1)
Book Fair Fundraiser (Day 2)
PTA Meeting
SLT Meeting
Open Forum
o
Question: What will be sold at the UNICEF fundraiser? It is not a food sale. There will be
homemade cupcakes. Novelty items will be sold. It is organized by some teachers to teach giving
back etc.
o
Question: Can 5th Grade Graduation Fundraiser not sell candy? Conversation was tabled to
approach 5th Grade Committee with this question.
Notes prepared by Jessica Bodie Richards (jessbodie@gmail.com) on October 24, 2013
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