Cunningham Park ES PTA Minutes

November 13, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 7:07pm by Tracy McCarty, President. 55 people were in attendance.

Tracy welcomed Jane Miscavage, Fairfax County PTA President, to the meeting.

Motion to approve the October 2018 Minutes by Lauren Kinnard and second by Lisa Lujan.

Tracy introduced Austin Almguer and Tom Biesiadny.

Austin Almaguer, pastor and co-chair on VOICE, explained his dual role to be here.  He is very proud of the work this room has done.  Tonight we will hear an update on the progress of the 2T bus project.  This room has made a difference to the school and the community.

Fairfax County Director of Transportation, Tom Biesiadny, gave a transportation update. The 2T route was canceled and the 462 route was modified to try to address some of the needs that were handled by the 2T.  We heard in February that the 462 route was not meeting the needs of the community.  From February – August, we heard from the community and prepared a new route, the 467.  We worked back and forth and came up with a proposal.  That proposal went out for public comment in September and we received 234 comments – which is a lot for a bus proposal!  It will operate during 9am-3:30pm and 8-11pm, which are times the 462 doesn’t operate since it is a peak service bus.  The 467 service will also operate on Saturdays from 9am-6:15pm.  The biggest challenge is the cost (estimated at $550K a year).  Mr. Biesiadny is working on finding the money from adjusting service in other parts of the county.  The other route changes are going out for public review.  February 5 is when the proposed route goes up for vote.  March 30 is when the weekend service will start and April 1 is when the weekend day service will start.  We still have a few hurdles to go over.  We hope the Springfield area will pass without major objections.  We need to work with the community to target ridership numbers.  It is important that the new route is used.  If people use it, then we can continue offering it.  Dina Aguilar asked a few clarifying questions.  The county will commit to a minimum of two years to meet ridership goals. 

Cardinal Campaign – We have exceeded our goal and have raised over $16,000 to date.  The fundraiser goes until Friday.  Currently, the following classrooms are leading the parent participation contest: Pereira (K) 67%, Orndorff (4^th) 52%, Helton (3^rd) 47%, Senour (K) 37%, and Markley (1^st) 37%.  Thank you to everyone for their contributions.

Audit Committee – Taylor Ritter spoke for the committee.  “I, and the other members of the audit committee, thoroughly reviewed the PTA books and followed the audit set form by VAPTA.  The committee agreed that the books were perfectly balanced and all transactions accounted for during the year.  If anyone would like to see the audit report or the books themselves, ask Jackie to review.”

Principal Comments - Katie Le – Thank you for coming out, fantastic to see you all.  I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Monica Marini for translating tonight.  We work hard to make sure everyone in our community understands the importance messages shared in the PTA meeting.  All are invited to our Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday.  We also want to make sure everyone knows where your hard earned money is going to with the Playground PBL.

Teacher Representative Comments - Kathy Coles thanked everyone for providing the opportunity for the students to work on the Playground PBL project.  Thank you for the food from Zoe’s Kitchen for the teacher/parent conferences.  Camp Hemlock field trip this past Friday was exceptional.  The field trip made us be friends.  They had to take risks together and built trust throughout many of the activities.  Thank you for supporting that field trip and many others.

Tracy introduced the multicultural panel.  Ann Ulmschneider spoke on the offerings of FCPS School and Family Partnerships Office.  Claudia Thomas spoke on her experience when she first moved to the US from Chile and how life here is dramatically different.  She encouraged the community to be patient with families embracing the bus route and to give them time to adjust.  Gigi Hammoud spoke on the challenges of moving to the US and how things are so different here.  Be accepting of differences and be patient.

Announcements – 

Burgers & Books – Tomorrow night! Go to McDonald’s at the Cedar Lane shopping center between 5:00 and 9:00pm to participate in Dining for Dollars.  Mrs. Brinkhuis will have a FREE goodie for everyone who comes to McDonald’s! Also, come to extended shopping hours at the Book Fair between 3:30pm and 7:00pm, where the PTA will have a FREE treat for everyone to use at McDonald’s!  Burger & Books & Free Stuff – can’t beat it!

Book Fair – The Book Fair is happening this week and we still need volunteers!  If you are available to work a shift, please go to www.cpes-pta.org/bookfair to sign-up.  Remember, extended hours tomorrow night until 7pm.

Hallowingo – A huge thank you to everyone who volunteered on the organizing committee, worked a shift, donated to the bake sale, or prizes.  It’s a huge team effort to make it happened and we worked together to make a Spooktacular event!

Child Care & Dinner - Thank you to Girl Scout Troop 2206 and Mrs. Markley for providing childcare and to First Baptist Church of Vienna for providing dinner to our children this evening.

New Website – If you have not had a chance to create your account on our website, please see a Board member to register.

Thank you – We had many families sign-up for the Harris Teeter “Together in Education” program.  Harris Teeter generously donated $100 to CPES PTA in recognition of our participation!  Thank you to those who signed up!

Upcoming Events –

• November 14^th, Burgers & Books, Dining for Dollars at McDonald’s and Book Fair extended hours
• November 15^th, PTA Parent Coffee on the playground after morning drop-off (starts at 8:30am)
• November 21^st-23^rd, No School. Thanksgiving holiday break.
• December 11^th, PTA Meeting, Students present Playground Enchancement PBL and Strategy Games Night (every family takes home a strategy game to play with their kids over winter break!)
• December 12^th – Salad bar starts in the cafeteria at CPES
• December 13^th – PTA Parent Coffee on the playground after morning drop-off (starts at 8:30am)

Check us out on: Website: http://cpes-pta.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cunningham-Park-Elementary-School-PTA Please contact Tracy (president@cpes-pta.org) if you are interested in volunteering for any positions.

Thank you to the panel and to all for coming out tonight. 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:17 pm.