Getting to know this year's PTA leadership

Welcome back Buckman families and staff. We are looking forward to working with you this year and hope many of you will choose to become involved in the Buckman PTA. Here is a brief introduction to your officers and their responsibilities.

Co-Presidents: Wendy Marich and Sarah Suby
Responsible for providing leadership in our parent community; planning and facilitating community building events; supporting teachers and staff; helping to ensure that our students have what they need in order to be successful in school.

Wendy Marich is from Clearwater, Florida but has been living in Portland since 1997. She has two children attending Buckman this year: a daughter in 3rd grade and a son in 6th grade. Wendy loves the Buckman community and wants to continue building a strong, inclusive environment in which our children can thrive.

Sarah Suby has been an active volunteer at Buckman for many years. From classroom assistance to chairing the annual auction, she has taken on a variety of roles helping make Buckman the amazing school that it is. We are very excited to have her partnering with Wendy to lead the PTA this year.

Vice President: Margaret FiveCrows
Responsible for assisting our co-presidents as needed, participating in board meetings, providing input for decisions and being an ambassador for the PTA and school.

Margaret FiveCrows grew up in SLC, Utah but has been in Portland since 1997. Margaret has two children in Buckman this year: a son in kindergarten and a daughter in 2nd grade. She is happy to learn more about the PTA this year and get to know more of the incredible parents at Buckman.

Secretary: Margaret Speth
Reponsible for note taking and recording keeping throughout the year.

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Margaret Speth has also lived in Burlington, Vermont and San Francisco, CA. She has two children at Buckman this year: daughters in 5th and 1st grade. After volunteering in a number of school roles, she looks forward to supporting the school community with her new role in the PTA.

Treasurer: Hilary Woodard
Responsible for managing all financial activities and records for our PTA. The treasurer’s duties also include keeping records and preparing reports to comply with local, state and federal laws.

Hilary is a British citizen, raising her family in the United States. She is whip smart (a Ph.D. in Geophysics!) and very fun to work with. We are thrilled to have her in charge of PTA finances this year.

Volunteer Appreciation event: May 29 at 9 am

Have you gone on a field trip, helped in the classroom, worked on a Buckman community event, or behind the scenes? Any amount of volunteerism is appreciated and now is our time to celebrate YOU! Please join other volunteers and the PTA for some refreshments and a raffle Friday, May 29 at 9 am in the Cafeteria. Spread the word, the more the merrier!

Questions? Contactpta@buckmanelementary.org

2015-2016 PTA Leadership announced

A big thanks to Krista Hofmeister and her team who have done a fantastic job! New PTA Board Members have been elected for next year. Please meet:

• PTA Co-presidents: Sarah Suby, Wendy Marich 
• PTA Vice President: Margaret FiveCrows 
• PTA Treasurer: Hilary Woodard 
• PTA Secretary: Margaret Speth

PTA General Membership Meeting Minutes

Buckman Arts Focus Elementary School

PTA General Membership Meeting

6:30-8:00 P.M.

Buckman Library

04/28/2015

Meeting Called to Order at 6:35 PM by Krista Hofmeister, PTA President

We had a quorum (minimum of 7 PTA members).

1.     Welcome
Krista Hofmeister, PTA President

2.     Review & Approve 02/10/15 PTA Meeting Minutes
Deborah Lamberth, PTA Secretary

Deborah reviewed the meeting minutes from the 02/10/15 meeting and asked for any comments or

questions; there were none.  The minutes were signed and approved.

3.     Cyber-Safety Awareness Presentation
Sada Dewey, Buckman Couselor

o  Sada wanted to raise awareness about a Cyber-Safety Awareness presentation that will be given at Buckman on Monday, May 11^th @ 6:15

o  There will be free childcare available

o  This is the parent version of the presentation; there will be a 5^th grade version given to all 5^th graders before Summer

4.     Purchase of Animal Library Books
Caroline Peters, Buckman Librarian

o  Caroline asked for additional funds for purchase animal books for the library

o  The animal books are very popular; kids like to study the animals and do papers on them

o  Janet made a motion to spend $1000 from the Special Projects & Small Grants line items of the budget on the new library books

o  The motion was passed unanimously

5.     Foundation Update
Don McIntosh, Buckman Foundation Chair

o  The auction raised $55,000

o  Don will be stepping down as Foundation Chair after this year; we will need a new one next year

o  Don would ideally like to transition to a new Chair before the end of the school year

6.     Election of New PTA Board Members
Krista Hofmeister, PTA President

o  Nominations

-    PTA Co-Presidents:  Sarah Suby, Wendy Marich

-    PTA Vice President:  Margaret FiveCrows

-    PTA Treasurer:  Hilary Woodard

-    PTA Secretary:  Margaret Speth

o  All nominations were unanimously approved

7.     Review and Vote on PTA 2015-16 Operating Budget
Krista Hofmeister, PTA President

o  2014-2015 Budget Update

-    Overall budget was $40,400

-    So far we have spent a little less half our budget - ~$18,000

-    There are some expenses that typically come in toward the end of the year

-    We currently have a total of around $74,000 in all of our bank accounts

o  Reviewed the new 2015-16 budget and answered questions on the specific line items

o  Angela made a motion to adopt the proposed budget which was approved unanimously

8.     2015-16 Staffing Outlook and Lottery Numbers
Jack Ubik, Acting Buckman Principal

o  Jack thanked the vibrant Buckman community and great staff

o  Jack reviewed all the staffing numbers for this year and the plans for next year

o  Jack answered questions on the staffing plans

o  A new 4^th grade hire and the Media Center Specialist jobs have been posted

o  Ms. Robin’s Leave of Absence has been extended to the end of the school year

9.     PTA Technology Fund
Krista Hofmeister, Mr. Vestal

o  Google Apps for Education

o  All students in 1^st through 12^th automatically get an account

o  Students can’t lose papers or delete them

o  Teachers can see the revision history

o  We are lacking training

o  The Google chrome books will run the Smarter Balanced test

o  We have 30 chrome books (does not include Mr. Scott’s old chrome books)

o  Google Apps for Education (GAFE) plan

o  Google Summit in July, Tuition is $495

o  Angela made a motion to pay $1000 for the Google Summit.  Passed unanimously.

10.  Final Announcements

o  Field Day Coordinator – Cara will contact the 2 new volunteers and help them get this organized

o  End of the Year Picnic – We are looking for a few volunteers to coordinate the picnic

o  Year Books – Last call for photos, order forms will be coming out

o  Portland School Board – Paul Anthony attended our meeting and offered to answer any questions

Meeting Adjourned at 8:13 PM by Krista Hofmeister, PTA President

Next Meeting is April 28^th, 2015