PTA General MeetingJanuary 15th, 2014

9:30am - UPDATED

Financial Reportas of January 1st

O Beginning Balance:O $46,577.17

O Total Income:O $42.00

O Total Expenses:O ($4729.80)

O Ending Balance:O $41,889.37

Art FundingO -yarn (weaving projects)O -colored permanent markers (tin art projects)O sticky foam tabs and rolls, tape (to adhere art work

display for the art show) O colored paper (various projects) O various paints (various projects) O twine (mix-media projects) O specialty glues (various projects) O specialty beads (usually to embellish yarn weavings

and mask projects) O canvases (acrylic painting projects) O large quantity of elastic for each child in the entire

3rd grade (for paper mache masks)O Total amount requested: $750.00 - APPROVED

Technology Deployment

TechnologyO Approved: $11,354.30 for 30

Chrome Books and a Chrome book cart

SRE Outdoor Classroom

BackgroundO 38% of children (3rd-12th grade) in

Austin are overweight or obese1

O 60% of children (1-18 y) do not meet fruit intake guidelines2

O 93% do no meet vegetable intake guidelines2

O 1 Tx Dept of State Health Services; 2National Cancer Institute. Usual dietary intakes: food intakes, US population, 2007–10.

Health Benefits of School Gardening Programs

O Increases a child’s willingness to taste vegetables1

O Increases preferences2

O Dietary knowledge3

O Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables4, 5

O Decrease obesity rates and blood pressure5

O Promotes activityO 1 Morris California Agriculture 2001; 2 Morris and Zidenberg-Cherr JADA 2002; 3

McAleese JADA 2007;O 4 Parmer et al J Nutr Edu Beh 2009; 5 Davis et al JADA 2012

Academic Benefits of School Gardens

O Promotes “Hand’s On” experiential learningO Gardening programs linked to improved

science achievement scores1

O Much of elementary curriculum can be taught in the garden:O life cycle, ecosystem, scientific

investigation, environmental safetyO Many garden based curriculums are

currently mapped on TEKS standardsO LA Sprouts and Junior Master Gardeners

O 1 Klemmmer HorTech 2005

Other Benefits of School Gardens

O Anesthetic improvements to campusO Provides a community space for

activities/eventsO Increased family

participation/involvementO Community outreach opportunities –

Master Gardeners across Austin, UT Austin students

O Big push from LISD – pioneer school

Desired Features of Outdoor Classroom

O Walking trail from sidewalkO Native beds forming a barrier

between parking lot and rest of garden

O 6 teaching garden beds – 1 per grade level

O Butterfly garden – for younger grade levels

O Teaching area with seating and tables

O Storage unit for suppliesO Reading benches

Costs:O Design Costs - $650 for Bonnie Martin to

design gardenO SRE Outdoor Classroom Committee,

Susan Fambrough, and interested teachers will give input

O Plumbing Costs –$2,500 to get potable water lines to vegetable beds

O Garden Supplies - $1,000 for building supplies (will try to get some donations)

O Total requested = $4,150 - APPROVED

TIMELINEO Fall 2014:

O Applied for FIR – pendingO Applied for Whole Kids FoundationO Formed SRE Outdoor Classroom Committee – NEED

more participationO Spring 2015:

O Jan – vote on PTA spendingO March – Parent build days O March/April – Kick off event

O Summer – let vegetables go dormantO Summer – teacher training to use curriculumO School year 15/16:

O Plant DayO Teachers use garden to teach in

Sustainability PlanO Provide curriculum and training for

teachers to teach in outdoor classroom

O Apply for other grant funding (Whole Kids Foundation, Home Depot, Hill Country Education)

O Adopt a Family PlanO SRE Outdoor Committee Participation

Future Spending IdeasO Bucket of balls, jump ropes for each

classO Leader in Me summer trainingO Math support O TechnologyO Technology Training – programming;

bring in an outside vendor O Tether BallO Funnel Ball or Triple Shot Hoop

Pay it ForwardO Top Charities are:

O Simply SafetyO Leukemia and Lymphoma SocietyO Water is LifeO Feeding America

O February 18th: PIF Ballots go home in Wednesday folders – all ballots due January 9th

O February 26th – March 7th: Pay it Forward School Wide Campaign (winning charity video will be played in classrooms)

New spirit wearO T-shirt design contestO All submissions due by February 5th O Voting on February 13th at school –

location TBDO Please help students make clear designsO Place your name and grade on the backO All designs must include:

O Picture of a Stallion O SRE or Steiner Ranch Elementary

FundRunO Fundrun started yesterdayO Pledges will be taken throughO Actual run is on Friday, January 23rd

O All fundraising dollars will be collected over next 2weeks

O THIS FUNDRAISER REPLACES THE SOIREE!!! We will not be doing another fundraiser this spring other than Book Fair.

Crayola Color CycleO Collect all markersO Bins located in front officeO Teaching kids to recycle

VolunteersO Looking for 3 people to be on the

Nominating CommitteeO Looking for 2 people to be on the

Budget CommitteeO Contact Contessa Weinheimer if you

would like to be on either committee.

Meeting AdjournedThank you for coming this morning!