ST. THERESA SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION

Meeting Minutes – January 18, 2005

Attendance -- Dan Brown Dan Bates Judy Casey

Faith Curran Livvy King Barb Wise

Gina McNally Kathy Grogan Bill Hunter

Bill Rudolph Sharon Thomas Joanna Borza

Penny Larkin Christine Reilly Principal Margaret Barrett

Msgr. Richardson Fr. Weiss Asst. Principal Eileen McMullin

Excused Absence -- Brigid Alford, Livvy King and Pam Barbush

I. OPENING PRAYER

Dan Brown called the meeting to order and the Board Members’ Prayer was recited by all.

II. CHAIRPERSON’S REMARKS

Dan Brown generally remarked about the importance of keeping an open mind at meetings and to freely express opinions. He is considering meeting more frequently given the many issues and lack of time in meeting every 6 weeks.

Dan Brown reported that the Ad Hoc committee on parish finances (which Dan is a member of) had nothing new to report.

Catholic Schools Week will run from January 30^th through February 6^th. Some highlights include: Brigid Alford is coordinating the January 30^th “kick off” mass; Information Night for potential new families is set for January 31^st; closing liturgy with Bishop Rhoads will take place on February 4^th.

Due to personal reasons, Anne Gilbertson resigned as a Board member.

III. PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Mrs. Barrett’s report is attached.

IV. FINANCE REPORT

Bill Hunter’s report is attached.

V. FACULTY LIAISON REPORT

Rhonda Houseman’s report is attached.

VI. COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. DEVELOPMENT

- Barb Wise and Pam Barbush’s report is attached.

- The Board reached consensus that the Race for Education will take place this year.

- A master list of all school, development committee and Home School Association activities will be gathered and reviewed.

B. MARKETING

Dan Brown’s report is attached.

C. DAY CARE

With Anne Gilbertson’s resignation, we will need to fill this committee chair position.

D. TECHNOLOGY

- We are still looking for a chair for this committee. It is imperative that we fill this position given the important role technology plays in coordination efforts for fundraising, curriculum and general information. Dan recognized Rachel Emerick for her continuing hard work in dealing with the day-to-day technology needs of the school.

E. POLICY AND PROCEDURE

- Faith Curran reported that the committee is in the process of gathering all policies and procedures of the school board and school administration so that Mrs. Barrett can maintain these at central location.

VII. HOME SCHOOL ASSOCIATION REPORT

Judy Casey announced the February 6^th Family Movie Day at West Shore Theater. More information will be going home with students. She also noted the March 5^th Craft Fair date. Judy also agreed for HSA to pay for the cookies and punch to be provided for Bishop Rhoades’ visit on February 4^th.

The remaining meetings for HSA were agreed to be changed by members. The new dates are: February 16^th, March 9^th, April 14^th and May 11^th. The meetings start at 6:30 in the Art Room at the school.

VIII. OLD BUSINESS

- Smart Tuition- the administration is preparing to implement this program in the upcoming school year. Information will be sent home shortly to parents/guardians. For more information, please refer to the November 16, 2004 School Board minutes.

- Volunteer Forms- if anyone still needs a copy, please check with the school office or Rectory.

- Safety Committee- Bill Rudolph was present and indicated he is obtaining estimates to deal with various safety issues, including replacing some of the standard glass on doors within the school, lock issues, etc.

IX. NEW BUSINESS

- Full-Day Kindergarten- a discussion took place regarding the establishment of a full-day kindergarten in addition to part-day kindergarten being offered for the upcoming school year. Pros and cons were presented from the administration standpoint along with parent input. No decision was made at the meeting. The administration will continue to look at the issues.

X. CLOSING PRAYER

Dan Brown offered the Closing Prayer and the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 pm.

Principal’s Report

School Board Meeting

January 18, 2005

Happy New Year!

December and January have been busy months!

We had many holiday collections and the response to these collections was outstanding. Our Four Diamonds Collection raised over $2,000 this year. St. Theresa School has raised over $11,000 since we have started this collection.

In December we held our Middle School Science Fair. Caroline Ruminski and Tyler Foote were the Grand Champions for 7^th and 8^th grade. We had our Christmas Concert at Trinity High School. I had many phone calls and e-mails congratulating Mrs. Meagher on a job well done.

This month Philip Lamancuso won our Geography Bee and Audrey Hepp won the Spelling Bee.

Last week we had two special guests in our school. Sister Sue Ann Steves, the superintendent of Catholic elementary schools and Livia Reilly the assistant superintendent came for two days. They spent their time here talking to both the teachers and the students. They met with Mrs. McMullin, Monsignor and I. During their meeting with me they stated that they were very impressed with the teachers and students of STS. They said the school was very welcoming and warm. The students were kind, polite and best of all spiritual. They were happy to see that everything I have been bragging about to them was true!

The big event in January is Catholic Schools Week. We have many activities planned for the students and parents. Information will be sent home soon. We have been very busy working on ways to promote our school. Information Night is on January 31^st 6:30. We are hoping for another big turn out this year. The most exciting event of CSW will take place on Friday. Bishop Rhoades will be celebrating our mass on February 4^th. We are very lucky to have him during this busy time. I have been in contact with the Catholic Witness and they knew about this well in advance. They said we should be on the cover of the CSW. This mass is not a public mass and we will not advertise in the bulletin the fact that it is the Bishop celebrating the mass. After the mass we will be having a small reception for the Bishop, our sacramental classes, and our altar servers. I am hoping that the School Board can form a committee to organize the reception.

Last week I was able to hire a school nurse. Her name is Abigail Miller and she is an LPN. She will be starting this week or next. She is to a kind and compassionate person and should be a great asset to our staff.

Our current enrollment is 511 students. Our phone has been ringing off the hook with questions about registration for next year.

School Board Report- January 2005

Rhonda Houseman

Teacher Liaison

Mrs. Carr’s Kindergarten class is learning about the ocean. The room has been turned into an under water adventure.

Mrs. Foote’s class is participating in an online activity through www.technospuds.com that will explore and celebrate the 200^th anniversary of Lewis and Clark and their Expedition. The class will host Shoeless and Bark, special animals that will come in a box sent to them. They will be receiving activities, pictures, special coins, and a surprise from the school that had the box before them in Texas. They will in turn send the box on to a school in Louisiana. Their special surprise for that school will be Hershey chocolate bars that will be wrapped in pictures of important facts about Pennsylvania.

4A also won the award for collecting the most box tops.

Student Council held a Christmas Bulletin Board Contest. Mrs. Houseman’s 5A class won for the best overall bulletin board (wall) with their cozy fireplace, Christmas tree, Rudolph peaking through the window and numerous other attractions. Mrs. Foote’s 4A won for the most creative Christmas display, their Nativity scene, and Miss Roger’s class won for their Nativity scene called Familiar Faces Inn New Places. The class drew the Nativity characters and attached their pictures to each one.

Mrs. McCarthy’s religion classes did a project for National Vocation Awareness Wee,. For the second year in a row, a member of the Serra Club came in to take pictures of her bulletin board for inclusion in their newsletter. The Serra Club is a Catholic organization devoted to promoting vocations, among other things.

The first grade students are collecting used eyeglasses from January 31 until February 25. This community service project helps needy people around the world by improving their lives with better vision.

Miss Coogan, our 3B teacher spearheaded the annual Four Diamonds Fund drive. Each year for the weeks before Christmas, the classes collect money to be donated to the Four Diamonds Fund. This year the student body presented a check to Mrs. Linda Barry, Asst. Coordinator, for $2,036.00.

Mrs. Houseman’s 5A class is working on a newscast about events leading up to the Americans declaring war on the British. The topics include the Sons of Liberty, the First Continental Congress, The Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere’s Ride, and the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The newscast will be video taped for future viewing.

Just a note, the Christmas Eve Liturgy was beautiful our 5^th graders under Mrs. Houseman and Mrs. DeBastiani did a wonderful job. Our classes also did the school Christmas Liturgy on January 7. The Christmas story was presented in the gym.

Catholic Schools’ Week activities are being planned. The opening liturgy will be on Sunday, January 30, at 10:30. Information Night will be on Monday, January 31. Open House will take place on Tuesday, February 1. Thursday will be an activity time for the various grade levels. 5^th through 8^th grade will be having a Career Fair. We have 25 participants from 25 different professions. 3^rd and 4^th are having a Biography Day, 1^st and 2^nd are having a variety of activities from making an angel craft to making Valentines for a nursing home. Kindergarten will be having their Transportation Day.

On Friday we will end our week with Liturgy at 8:45. We are happy to announce, (and I’m nervous) that Bishop Rhoades will be concelebrating the Mass with us. Mrs. Houseman prepared the liturgy. Kelly Leese will do the introduction as president of Student Council. Sam Lund will be doing the First Reading, and Matt Grogan will be reading the Intercessions. Offertory will be taken down by Monica Hunter and Tori Shillingsford. The altar servers will be Frank Kostyal, Sarah Kostyal, Chris Bennett, Garrett McNally, and Cara Uhrich. There will be a reception for the 2^nd graders, 8^th graders, and participants in the liturgy immediately after. In the afternoon will be our annual Volleyball Game along with other activities.

Mrs. Carr is the chair of the Catholic Schools Week Activities. Mrs. Houseman is in charge of the Mass and Career Day. Mrs. Shaner is coordinating the 3^rd and 4^th grade activities, and Miss Carr is coordinating the 1^st and 2^nd grade activities. Miss Patton is taking care of the volleyball game, the Family Game Nights, and the Speed Stacking contests. Mrs. Barrett and Mrs. McMullin round out the committee.

Marketing Committee Report

January 18, 2005

1. Information Night - The Annual “New Families Information Night” will be held on Monday, January 31^st. A letter will be sent out this week to parents of children in the parish. The letter will invite them to learn more about what STS has to offer and to visit the classrooms. Any board members available to help please let me know. We will try to have a variety of grade level parents available for questions before and during the classroom visits. It is a nice comfort level for prospective families to ask questions of their peers already enrolled at STS.

The agenda will be similar to previous years with comments from Mrs. Barrett, Dan Brown, HSA, Smart Money and a presentation by Mrs. Emerick. We will then have the families go back to the classrooms to visit with a teacher from each grade to answer questions.

2. Information Folders – We have new information folders ordered and will be available for Information night. Gina has done a great job of assembling a wide variety of information that is pertinent to questions that all families seem to ask. The folders will be available to any families visiting that night and to those that seem to have a sincere interest in our school.

3. Water Bottles – We will have a custom water bottle available for the last month of the basketball season that will be sold during all home games in our gym. This will give us some extra exposure to many families from other parishes/schools that might be looking for other options. A copy of the label will be passed around.

4. Billboards – Our annual billboard blitz is under way. We will have two billboards up this week. One is close to Karns Grocery in New Cumberland and the other will be along Hummel Ave. in Lemoyne. A copy of those billboards is also being passes around.

5. Catholic Schools Week Mass – Brigid is once again working with Mrs. Barrett on highlighting the beginning of Catholic Schools Week during the Sunday Mass.

Development Planning

Discussions about long term planning and budgeting for development have taken place over the last several months. To move development forward beyond fundraising, we are considering the option to split the current Development Committee into two working groups:

1. One group would concentrate short term development projects and functions (smart money, Gala/Simple Grand Event, etc.). This group would also link closely with HSA, particularly as it relates to fundraising activities.

2. The second group would focus on long term endowments/funding that would help to fund the school over the long haul.

It has been discussed regularly that we are soliciting the parents of our students to often. For us to keep the current level of funding and move into long term funding solutions, we need to carefully review this ongoing concern. It is clear that a lot of groundwork needs to be done that will keep clear goals and objectives for all of the groups (Short term, long term and HSA). Primary areas of focus would be to:

1. Develop clear missions and focus for each group

2. Identify the key markets that each group will work with to meet their goals and to prevent over solicitation

3. Work with the Parish to finalize the policy on solicitation of the entire parish

As it relates to fundraising, we will also need to work with Mrs. Barrett to identify all of the student/teacher fundraisers and how they will mesh in with Development fundraising activities. Priorities and timelines will need to be reviewed regularly to be sure we do not overwhelm the parents.

2004-2005 Development Budget Status

The 2005-2006 budget and our projections at this juncture are shown below.

	2004-2005 Budget (Nets)	Actual YTD	Budget to YTD Variance	January Projections (Revised)
Golf Tournament	$7,000.00	$3,500.00	-$3,500.00	$3,500.00
Smart Money	$30,000.00	$6,689.00	-$23,311.00	$25,000.00
Annual Appeal	$14,500.00		-$14,500.00	$12,500.00
Simply Grand Event	$0.00		$0.00	$25,000
Race for Education	$5,000.00		-$5,000.00	$20,000
Tuition Raffle	$12,000.00		-$12,000.00	$0
Lottery Calendar	$5,672.00		-$5,672.00	$0
Total	$74,172.00	$10,189.00	-$63,983.00	$87,000.00

Simply Grand Event

¬ The date is finalized for April 23, 2005. Please mark your calendar!

¬ The event will again take place at the Trinity High School Cafeteria

¬ We would like to sell out the event at 250 attendees (total registrants and sponsors)

¬ The price remains the same as last year - $50 per person

¬ The net goal is $25,000. This net will offset the revenue not realized by the tuition raffle and calendar lottery.

¬ Targeted contacts for sponsorships are under way. The committee is looking to earn the sponsorship money through larger sponsorships. The one-to-one communication on this will be done throughout the remainder of this month.

$2500 Event Sponsor,
$1000 Table Sponsor,
$500 General Sponsor

¬ The event “program” for the SGE will include the rules for the evening/event. It will also include advertising for the sponsorship packages. If we meet our financial goals with the larger sponsorship packages, we will not solicit for further ads for the program. If, however, we do not generate enough revenue from the larger sponsorships, we will then go after ads.

Annual Appeal

¬ Budget Goal: $14,500

¬ Mailing to all parish, school families and alumni planned for the week of January 24th

¬ Recently ran into concerns from the Parish about mailing the annual appeal solicitation to general parishioners.

¬ We will need to discuss this with the Parish as it relates to planning for development next school year.

Race for Education

We are requesting consensus from the board regarding conduct of the Race for Education as an annual event. We are budgeted to earn $5,000 for this event this year. This funding is needed to meet the Development revenue goals for this school year (See January Projections on previous page)

In planning for RFE mailings, a worksheet would be distributed home to each student. This sheet would list the contacts they had provided us last year. We will do the following:

1. Send the families a schedule of when the solicitation will go out and what we will be using the funds for.

2. Ask each family to update the list they provided to us last year and add/remove any names that they would not like to be solicited

3. Inform each family that they are not obligated to add their name to the list. We will only solicit names provided. Encourage families to add doctors, dentists, pediatricians, etc to the list.

Money Tree Programs

¬ The Scrip and Smart Money programs had record participation during the second quarter of this fiscal year (September – December).

¬ Estimates for revenue to the school are between $7,500 and $8,000.

¬ 41 new families participated.

¬ Focus for the second half of the year will be to increase the base of the families utilizing the programs (currently 87 families regularly use the program).

¬ Therese and Faith are trying to obtain a table at the Information night on January 31, 2005 to show potential parents how tuition can be reduced utilizing the Money Tree programs.

Grants

6 grants are under way:

1. Lead America

2. DEP (Science grant - $2.5k)

3. Intel (School of Distinction -$10K)

4. General Mills (Health & Fitness)

5. HighMark (Health & Fitness)

6. Whittaker Center (math)

Home & School Association

Report to be provided by Judy Casey

Tuition Raffle & Lottery Calendar

These items were incorporated in the 2004-2005 budgets; however nothing has been done relative to these programs. In reviewing the January projections, we do not need to do anything with these in the coming year. We can discuss them when planning for 2005-2005.

2005-2006 Budget

Development will begin the budgeted process for 2005-2006 in the coming weeks. New spreadsheets have been developed and all committee chairs will be asked to participate in the budget process.