Oak Room 8:00 a.m.
Attending: Bonnie Hirschfeld, Susan Doelp, Kim Rummelsburg, Karen Mascarenhas, Mary Jo Romano, Mary Eckert, Nancy Saipe, Mary Vickery, Kara Bohnsack, Catherine Graham Kohler, Minoo Saghri, Judy Fisher, Alison Lew, Wendy Nixon, Brooke McIlvaine, Liz Moley, Sherron Velez, Molly McGrath, Anita Mattoo, Lynne McAlevey.
Molly McGrath welcomed all attending. She mentioned that this is the last PA meeting of the year, as the December PA meeting has been cancelled. The next order of business was approval of October minutes.
Next on the agenda was a report from Alison Lew (Treasurer). She reported about the Homecoming event. The committee had a budget of $ 1,500 . So far (all revenues and expenses aren’t in yet) they spent $2,000. If we include an estimate for the revenue from the t- shirts, the net looks like it will be an expense of $1,000. Alison also reported that the Family BBQ had a budget of $1,500 and they spent $1,900. She also requested that any outstanding payments should be forwarded to her with an attached cover page with the reimbursement form.
Molly McGrath said that they are trying to keep the meeting on time and stay on the agenda. She requested to hold any comments or questions until after 9:00am. If anyone wants to be on the agenda, please e-mail a week before the meeting. Molly thanked the Homecoming committee for doing an incredible job. She thanked the committee members: Lisa Lawrence, Ann Ross, Shawn Swett, Rose Wolfe, Nan Soule, Suzanne Turner, Susan Doelp. She also thanked the BBQ committee: Lorraine Garland, Patty Lewis and Janet Sherin. Next on the agenda was the Westport Country Playhouse fundraiser. The committee will have their first meeting after Thanksgiving break. This event will happen in Spring and no dates have been formalized yet, as the Playhouse hasn’t yet announced their spring schedule. The previous volunteer sign-up sheets for the playhouse have been misplaced and Molly requested parents to sign up again for this event. She thanked everyone who helped with the Heritage dinner and also thanked the Diversity committee.
Next on the agenda was Marcie Lapido on the upcoming Book Fair. It runs at Barnes & Noble/Westport on Friday, December, 4 from 8:00am-6:00pm and Saturday, December, 5 from 9:00am-6:00pm. Marcie said that all items in the store are eligible for credit to the Book Fair except magazines, gift cards and the B&N Nook. Food/drinks are also included. She said to mention GFA at the checkout counter in order for
GFA to get credit. Vouchers will be sent out via e-mail and you can also download the voucher from the GFA website. They are also making a press release in the local paper for community participation. Book Fair credit is not eligible for online sales. There will be performance from Middle School Choir-3:00pm on Friday, The Sound Waves (jazz ensemble)-6:30pm. On Saturday there will be a demonstration/book signing of the Barcelona cookbook at 2:00pm. Harbor Blues and Beachside Express will perform at 4:30pm. There will be purchase wish list items for the staff members and Horizons program.
Molly announced that a brand new program is being offered in the Upper School. Susan Cugliari presented the class rings which will be offered to Juniors and Seniors. Rings will be offered in stainless steel, silver, 5k, 10k and 14k gold and the prices range from $239.95-$529.95. They come both in Ladies and Men’s sizes. Charm bracelets are also available in 10k-14k gold and are approximately in $325-$525 price range. Engraving of name, date and initials inside the band are included in the price. It takes roughly 8 weeks from receipt of order and will be available to Seniors by the end of 2009-10 school year and Juniors will get it in the fall of 2010-11(their Senior year). Molly mentioned that it is not a fundraiser, just something the GFA community will enjoy.
Next, Molly mentioned that Dr. Doug Lyons- Executive Director of CAIS (Connecticut Association of Independent School) will talk at GFA on Wednesday January 20th (snow date Jan 25th) at 7:00pm and he will talk about the value of independent school education.
Next on the agenda was Stephanie Whitney, Assistant Head for External Affairs, Director of Admissions and Diversity committee co-chair. Stephanie thanked all the parents for their participation and engagement in school affairs. She said that school will not be same without parent’s involvement. She was PA president in her child’s school and also volunteered for the admission office. Diversity committee consists of kids, parents, and faculty and is also open to the rest of the community. GFA’S Advance plan 2008 was to increase the Diversity of the school community by formalizing a greater support for and sensitivity to the needs of all students from diverse background and demonstrate commitment in the adult community of the school as well. She said that the big eight social identifiers were: race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, age, gender, sexual orientation and ability. Everybody brings things in different ways and no one is perfect.
Under Geographic Diversity Westport, Fairfield and Southport are the towns with the highest GFA student population. She mentioned that Darien, Weston and Wilton population is growing because of the train. Other parts of the neighboring towns are growing as well and she said if you build the right school, the right students will come. Under Socio-economic Diversity, Stephanie mentioned that for the year 2009-2010, 93 students received aid.
Under Racial Diversity, she said that the school has made huge progress since the initiative and continues to move forward. Stephanie reminded everyone that all the information about Diversity is available on the GFA website. They also have a brochure with the mission statement and the meeting dates.
Things of importance are as follows:
Student Learning, Voice & Leadership: Peace teams, SOUL, LEAD, QUEST, poCC, SDLC, Chinese New Year, Visiting Writers and Study Abroad- Students study abroad for 2 weeks and stay with host families. Under Outreach, they have community service, REACH prep, Horizons at GFA, ASSIT. Stephanie mentioned that last year they had an Exchange student from China but this year they were not able to bring anyone. The School is looking for hosting families either for half a year or full year. Anyone interested should contact Janet Hartwell. Under Diversity Forum, they have Heritage dinner, Parent/Faculty potluck. The forum is open to adults and all the meeting dates are posted on the school website. They also e-mail a week before the meeting. Stephanie encouraged parents to get involved and mentioned that it is a great place to get together. Under Special Diversity Initiatives: they had World Religious Symposium last year in the school, which was a huge success. They also have student diversity leadership conference; where kids are being trained to run the program. Stephanie summarized that when the Diversity plan was put into action, they heard from Faculty, Students and Parents for a diverse GFA student body and Faculty. She said that it has evolved over time and they are expanding it further. They are looking for a good mix of students with a broad range of backgrounds. Susan Doelp asked about how they raise funds for Diversity. Stephanie said that some of the funds come from a variety of programs ranging from Spring into Spring Race, angel donors, charitable gifts and Horizon Fund, to name a few.
Lastly Molly McGrath thanked Stephanie and all the parents for attending. The meeting concluded at 9:15am.
Respectfully Submitted,
Anita Mattoo