April Meeting Minutes
A regular meeting of the EMS Parent Group was called to order by President Molly Brennan in the Office Conference room at 1:06 pm.
Attendees: Ken Sanders, Molly Brennan (President), Sharon Cressman, Cheryl Swaim, Melody Herr, Laura Hedgecock, Aniya Shah, Pam Shapiro, and Sue Coscarelly
Approval of minutes: The minutes from the March 2008 meeting were approved.
Introduction: Mr. David stopped in to introduce himself and verify his commitment to donate a portion of the proceeds of his book, From Glory Days, to the Parent Group.
Principal’s Report:
- Bot Battle was last week. East students took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place!.
- Beauty and the Beast opens this week. Shows are Thursday and Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. Any child dressed as a Disney character will get a free sucker.
- Track begins today. There is a meeting after school for any interested students. Track is for 6th - 8th graders; 7th and 8th graders must pay-to-play and have a physical.
- Parents interested in receiving information concerning the district math program CMP II should attend one of the following meetings: April 15 (1:30 p.m.) at Power, April 23 (7:00 p.m.) at East, April 30 (6:30 p.m.) at Dunckel, May 1 (6:30 p.m.) at Warner. The purpose of this informational meeting is to provide overview on the math program. There is concern that it is hard for the parents to follow the book and refer to the book when assisting children with homework. The intent of the program is to make all children successful in algebra.?li>
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Upcoming events:
April 15 Family Skate Party @ Bonaventure – 6:30-8:30 p.m.
April 17 – 19 Beauty and the Beast
April 22 Washington, DC parent meeting – interested 7th grade parents
April 23 District CMP II parent meeting at East
April 24 Spring dance
April 24 Festival of the Arts @ Costick Center – Jazz Band performs @ 11:00 a.m.
April 28 Magazine Sale BMX Show
April 30 5/6 Band/Orchestra Extravaganza
May 1 – 6 Theater Field Trip to New York - Adam DePollo was an entrant in the State Geography Bee held at WMU. He was one of the top 100 kids in the state to advance to the finals. Congratulations Adam!
- Battle of the Books - There was a small turnout but half of the groups made districts, to be held in May.
Active Committee Updates:
- There was a large volume of entries in the Creative Expressions program. Most entries were in the art category with a few others in the other categories such as photography and music. We would like to find a location to display the entries.
- Melody Herr - Parent forum on "Words that empower, Words that wound" to be held on Wednesday, April 16.… Due to the limited access to Channel 10 for many families, steps are being taken to make Channel 10 programming available on the web…. Possible topics for parent forums next year include Bullying, College prep, Student roundtable (student concerns), Internet/MySpace guide for parents, and Risky behavior (online gambling, drugs, etc.)…. Learning Configuration Studies are still taking place; see FPS website for updates…. All-day kindergarten passed in the Michigan House of Representatives.
Old Business:
Approval of the new Parent Group bylaws was delayed until next month’s meeting
New Business:
- A seventh-grade parent is still needed to shadow the 8th grade parent in anticipation of running the 8th grade Cedar Point trip next year.
- Thank you to Cheryl Swaim for presenting the Parent Group portion at 5th grade orientation.
- May Day will take place May 30th for the 8th grade students.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting of the EMS Parent Group will be on May 5th at 7 p.m. It will be proceeded by the Creative Expressions reception at 6 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by A. Sue Coscarelly