SCHS PTSO Meeting Type of Meeting: General Membership Meeting Date of Meeting: February 10, 2020 @ 7pm Meeting Location: SCHS Library Call to Order.
The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm. A quorum was present.
Review/approval of minutes from 9/9/19 meeting: Minutes were approved as written. Officers’ Reports President’s Report (Nannette Henderson)
Student Directory: There was a brief discussion regarding the student directory via AtoZConnect, assuring members no email addresses were given out without permission. The only people who can see the directory are PTSO members.
Nominating Committee: The PTSO will be forming the Committee in March. If anyone is interested in serving on the Committee, please contact Nannette. Elections will be held May 14, 2020. Vaping presentation: The vaping meeting held at SCHS in December was highly praised, although attendance was very low. Inova is giving a presentation on vaping for parents at Inova Fairfax on February 18 that will be live streamed. Those unable to attend the December meeting should take advantage of this opportunity (registration link has been sent to parents).
Treasurer’s Report (Julie Hopkins) Julie Hopkins provided the financial report as of 1/31/20. She pointed out that the 2019 SCHS Craft Fair was very successful. Nannette described a couple of potential mid-year amendments to the current budget. 1) Silent Auction. In previous years, the Athletic Boosters held a silent auction in conjunction with the annual golf tournament, the proceeds of which are split between Athletic Boosters and the PTSO. The auction has not been a good fit for the golf tournament. Therefore, there have been discussions with the PTSO and the Athletic Boosters to change the arrangement so that the PTSO would run the Silent Auction as a stand alone fundraiser, and in turn the PTSO’s share of golf tournament proceeds would decrease substantially (probably to 10%, down from 40%). It is estimated that the PTSO could bring in approximately $5k with a silent auction, and it would be held in May. 2)
Water bottle refill stations. She also reviewed a plan to add several water bottle refill stations. Interior units will replace existing water fountains, and one new outdoor water bottle refill station would be installed near the football concession stand. They are approximately $3-4k each. The SCHS building engineer is excited about this project, and did a lot of work to pull the proposal together. It is estimated that $14k would be enough to put in 4-5 units.
Mr. Morris proposed adding a program for incoming Freshman, called Jump Start, so that the first time in the building is not overwhelming. They would meet the administration, get their lockers, learn the building, learn important study skills. This will be a one week event (with transportation provided) including food, a t-shirt, a project, modeled after Madison high school’s initiative. Mr. Morris feels this will help the new students ready to begin SCHS In the Fall and feel connected to the school. Mr. Morris is asking for $2.5k from the SCHS PTSO, and is hoping that 150 students will attend this summer. The estimated timeframe 5.5 hours each day beginning 2 weeks before school starts.
Barbara Cammarata made a motion to amend the budget to include the following three items: • $5,000 for silent auction income • $14,000 for water bottle refill station expense • $2,500 for adding Jump Start program expenses Karin Gregg seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the amendments were unanimously approved.
Principal’s Report (Gary Morris) Mr. Morris strongly encouraged parents and guardians to get involved in learning more about vaping. He hopes parents will bring their friends to future presentations and will ask questions. There is a new initiative for students to disclose vaping issues anonymously, on the SCHS website, under Safety and Security. Fairfax County is starting to crack down on the illegal sale of vaping products to children under the age of 18. A single vaping cartridge is the equivalent of 15 packs of cigarettes a day. Vaping causes irreparable damages to lungs. Freakanomics on Vaping was suggested as material to watch with your child.
Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 7:48pm After the meeting was adjourned, Karen Corbett-Sanders from the FCPS School Board spoke about what’s going on in Fairfax County School System and took questions from those present
