Year in Review from PTA President Hatch
Greetings to Beagles of every age at Rockwell. My second and final term as President is nearing its end and I thought I'd reflect on accomplishments from 2017-2018.
Increased PTA Membership enrollment: Our current membership enrollment is 447! WOW!
When my family started at Rockwell in 2013, there were 393 members. In 2014 380; 2015 376; my first term as President in 2016 we jumped up to 434.
I contribute the increase to two things- 1. Better communication to parents/staff on the benefits/values of being a PTA member and 2. Parents like you who accept the responsibility to be present for and with your kids, as well as understand advocating for your kids and being part of a greater voice. Way to go!!
Increased PTA Donations: We overcame a shortfall of Pass the Hat and Corporate Matching donations in the beginning of the year to having a slight increase over the original projections. How did this happen? Parents attended the January General Membership Meeting to give input and vote on the Board's revised budgets - reducing committee spending not related in any way to grade level curriculum grants, PTA stepped up fundraising efforts by increasing the number of Dine Outs per year, engaging the Read A Thon to ensure profitability, adding Corporate Sponsorships and most importantly, explaining that classroom enrichment is paid for by parent donations, not LWSD. Whether you are a PTA member or not, whether you already donated or not, your child received $111 in additional curriculum enrichment from PTA!
Increased Focus on Health and Safety: This year we added new programs which focus on health and safety. Paw Patrol was added in December. Parents patrol the building, monitor students and look for any potential risk (animals or people). The other program we established is a scholarship fund for families in need of vision/hearing/health assistance. The name of the fund will be determined by the 5th grade team, as they won the honor and privilege during the Read A Thon contest. Attend the 4/26 meeting to find out.
Provided parent education at General Membership meetings: PTA hosted three meetings this year, (the third is scheduled for April 26th). During the previous two meetings in October and January, we included parent education topics of Emergency Preparedness by local resident Andrew Koeppen and PTA Volunteer Stephanie Wagner, Math and Writing strategies were presented by PTA Teacher Reps Ms. Conklin, Ms. Thome & Ms. Weinmeister. YouCubed.com was a popular math website amongst the students - I encourage to check it out! PTA also invited our counselor, Ms. Bauer to speak at the January meeting on the topic of 'Emotional Management' where parents were taught the Four Steps to Calm Down "Stop, Name your Emotion, use a calm-down strategy and positive self-talk." I know I've used these a time or two since.
Increased communication: This year we included parents in the process of determining areas of improvement, rate events and strategize which events/programs to offer for next year via several surveys. We formed a Teacher/PTA committee to discuss how PTA can better assist teachers and work together to meet building goals. I meet monthly with Mr. Clark to discuss district objectives, PTA programs and bettering the Rockwell community. And lastly, PTA partnered with our Principal, Mr. Clark to offer monthly Coffee conversations. Not only do these open the doors to interaction, they facilitate parent-school relationships as our kids transition to the next grade level, maneuver their way through the education process and they reiterate the importance between parents and the school. PTA also created FACE (Family and Community Engagement) which is meant to welcome new families to Rockwell and maintain an inclusive community by providing access to translators in French, Spanish and Portuguese, Hindi and Russian.
This list is long and yet as I write, I can think of many other accomplishments still to be mentioned! However, in an effort to keep this at a reasonable length, let me say this - the commonality throughout each project, each success, each new thing, is you. You put forth the resources of time, energy and finances to ride this overwhelmingly, fulfilling ride with me. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve you and your families for the past two years and I look forward to finishing the year right beside you. Until then, let's keep doing what we do best - grow, learn and communicate!
Yea Beagles!
Norman Rockwell PTA President
