PSA GENERAL MEETING
January 20, 2005
- Pat welcomed everyone attending and passed out a sign-up sheet for PSA board positions for next year. We had an excellent turnout for today’s meeting.
- Pat introduced Becky Singhal as our new newsletter editor.
- General meeting format can be adjusted to allow for greater parent attendance and participation at the general meetings. One suggestion is to have the business meetings first and not begin the program and guest speaker until after 9am.
- The February general meeting will be February 17 at 8:30 in the board room and the speaker will be Dr. Dekleva on the topic of “Passport to Paradise: Raising Children Overseas”.
The March meeting will feature Dr. Hetzel on the topic of differential learning “Is My Child Challenged?”. Dr. Hetzel will also present the results of the AES parent satisfaction survey.
General meeting format can be adjusted to allow for greater parent attendance and participation at the general meetings. One suggestion is to have the business meetings first and not begin the program and guest speaker until after 9am.
- Treasurer’s report:
- The proceeds from the Night Under the Stars raffle will be given to Reach Out in the amount of Rs. 33,000.
- PSA is going to purchase a large coffee-maker/urn for use during meetings to have “real” coffee and a file cabinet for the office.
- The high school has requested funds to help defray the cost of a Valentine’s dinner/dance. PSA fundraising proceeds must be allocated to each school or for a specific school-wide project. These budget issues will be discussed in detail at a later date.Pat introduced Becky Singhal as our new newsletter editor.
- High School report:
- A Valentine’s Day dinner dance will be held at ACSA on February 12 at 8p.m. PSA has been asked to help fund the event which will be free to the high school students.
- Middle School report:
- Next middle school coffee will be held on January 25th at Drama Den at 9a.m.
- Elementary School report:
- The Elementary School library has new operating hours! The library will be open Mon-Fri until 5p.m. and on Saturday mornings.
- The bullying issue is being addressed.
- A forum is desired to discuss school growth and the formation of a gifted/talented program.
- The elementary school reps will work with room parents on grade level coffees.
- School board rep report:
- The accreditation report will be available next month and the results will be reported at the February meeting. The Board retreat will be Saturday January 22. The board’s major topics of discussion are the budget and next year’s calendar.
- Korean Liaison:
- AES has announced Heisook Forbes will be the Korean Liaison. She will help provide communication and guidance between AES and our many Korean parents. Heisook is invited to attend all PSA Executive Board meetings.
- Events Coordinator report:
- International Food Fair, SAISA Hospitality room, Flea Market, and Teacher Appreciation Luncheon are all coming up and Maitreyi needs volunteers to head up the committees and much volunteer support. Please contact Maitreyi and let her know how you can help.
- Welcome Committee:
- A coffee is held every Wednesday morning before the Thursday general meetings for information sharing.
- Newsletter report:
- Please have all articles in by the 27th of each month.
- Webmaster report:
- We now have an official link to Korean Newsletter that is translated to Korean.
- Angela announced that she is leaving in May so now is a good time for someone to step up to get trained for next year.
- Angela Covington is the Chairperson for the Board Nominating Committee. If you would like to run for a Board position or know of someone who you would like to nominate, please contact Angela.
- A discussion was held about having one parent rep per school attend the school board meetings instead of only one parent rep for the whole school. This issue will be discussed later.
According to Board policy, all members of the AES community are welcome to attend meetings of the Board of Governors. If a member of the AES community wishes to address a Board or Committee meeting, they must notify the Board President through the Director’s secretary at least 48 hours before the meeting and the President will try to accommodate the request if time permits.
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Today’s guest speakers are: Dr. Hetzel, Mr. Foxhall, Mr. Bagnato, and Dr. Sirotin to discuss bullying and harassment in school. Melinda Lincoln, noted author of conflict resolution mediation is schools, is an invited guest.
Dr. Hetzel opened by asking the question “Does AES have a problem with aggressive behavior?” He answers yes, if even one child has a problem, then AES has a problem.
Dr. Foxhall explained what happens when there is an incidence of aggressive behavior in the Elementary School. He says that there are no bad kids, but sometimes kids make mistakes. The core values of AES are constantly reinforced by teachers, staff and students. The elementary school has a flexible approach to dealing with transgressions. Dr. Foxhall agrees that all teachers, parents and students need to be provided with clear guidelines about values and behavior. There are plans to hold meetings and workshops at the elementary level to improve the bullying policy.
Dr. Serotin presented a very clear and thorough picture of the middle school policy on bullying and harassment. The middle school teachers meet with students regularly and talk about concerns. The student’s concerns are discussed weekly among the teachers. Group bullying has been an occasional problem over the past few years and the middle school handles these instances in many different ways.
Mr. Bagnato gave the High School bullying report and basically says that the high school has almost no problems. The kids know the rules and have the desire to work things out among themselves.
Melinda Lincoln ended the presentation by addressing the group and saying “Well done!”
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