Our PTA

Our Parent Teacher Association (PTA) continues to meet monthly in order to further strengthen the bond between parents and the school for the benefit of our students. We encourage all parents to join these meetings and to be actively involved.

Recently, the PTA sponsored a Winter Afternoon to Remember, as well as a Parent Coffee that included our Falcon Store.

The next PTA meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 3 at 9:00 am.

The following are the minutes from the December PTA meeting.

PTA Meeting Minutes

Dec 7th, 2021 09:00-10:30

Zoom Conference Call

Attendees: Andrea Bickel (President/ Booster Club), Matt Thomas (Treasurer), Susan Mitsui (Falcon Store), Amanda Higgins (VP/ Parent Partner Coordinator), Viviana Di Blasi (IFFF), 

Charissa Kane (Halloween/ Secretary), Renuka Sawhney (Communications), Rob Smailes (CA Rep), CA Parents (x6)

1) Andrea - PTA President 

- Welcome to the meeting. Opening remarks.

2) Rob - CA Rep.

Update from CA Administration  

-Before Omicron announced, cases in Japan were dropping, so parental presence on campus is increasing. (Brainstorm HS Play w/ audience. Soccer and Basketball tournaments with spectators. Thank you to Booster club.)

- Teams did well at tournaments. A-Team won. All players and coaches took Antigen tests the day before. CA has the ability to do that for school events without cost to families. That may change, but they have enough tests for now.

-MYP Art exhibition is in the Atrium currently.

-Choir and Orchestra concert tonight (Dec 7th). Band Concert on Thursday (Dec 9th).

-PTA coffee and Service club fundraising event Thursday (Dec 9th).

-APAC is back (dance, choir, music) including workshops and collaboration. 

-Dec 14th is Parent Zoom - overview of Japanese Universities.

-Dec 17th is Last day before Winter Break. Early dismissal is at 1130am.

Release of the 2020/2021 Annual Report soon. A PDF will be sent out

-Jan 10th Teacher work day. January 11th First Day back after the break.

-Jan 14th/15th Basketball tournament

-Jan 20th Coffee w/former CA teacher and author   Learning difference workshop. Informative for all parents. 

-Jan 28th ES (3rd-5th) Concert and Art Show

-Feb 3rd Next PTA meeting. No meeting in January due to the break.

*Schoology reminder for parents - accessible from the CA website Parent Portal. Resource section overview and Parent Portal overview. 

Q- How quickly does Schoology update?

A- Should be immediate (may be some exceptions ie. postponements). Can check and report back. 

Q- MAP testing results; where are they?

A - Powerschool. Quick Powerschool overview. 

3) Amanda - PTA VP / Parent Partner Coordinator

Booster Club report 

- Well received, good sales. Will take time to get things back to where they were, but a good start. 

-Andrea - Thank you for Booster Club help

PP report 

-Welcomed a few new students. Some ES grades are organizing holiday parties. Some SS grades are having parties during Extended Advisory time or ELO.

Q- Should we be sharing knowledge about holiday parties in ES?

A- There’s no one way to do it, so it’s up to the class to decide. Example: Gifts for teachers or support teachers can be given during holidays or at the end of the year.

Keep in mind, PTA gives gifts at the end of the year so it’s up to PP/class to give holiday gifts if they want.

-Reminder to send store bought/pre-packaged food only. 

Rob - Pre-K and K are having parties with store bought items.Some parents were able to come for support. If parties are inside, fewer parents are allowed. If parties are outside or in a larger area (like BBT or Multipurpose room) more parents can help.

4) Matt - Treasurer

-Falcon Store has good financial news. 

-Nov info is coming in. Working with Momo in Accounting for spreadsheet updates. Updates happen a week before the PTA meeting, so be sure to reach out if you have anything you need to report.

-Booster Club has money for supplies, but is making money at events. It’s not a big money maker, but a great experience and good memories.

Q-Can financial reports go to Google Drive? It would be helpful for the next person who needs them.

A-Yes.

Q- No privacy concerns?

A- No. It can be set up for board members only.

(Matt and Rob to set up a meeting before the PTA meeting. Possibly Feb 3rd to discuss further.)

5) Susan - Falcon Store

-New items arriving this week. Mugs tomorrow, hoodies later in the week.

-Researching costs on tumblers, water bottles, notebooks, notepads. Printing costs are high but will narrow in on a company & get art approved from school. Request for Kanji logo.

-Online store still working well with classroom delivery.

-Shopify has a “subscribe” section to get updates. Can also use newsletter to get updates out to the community. 

-P.E. uniform discussion continues 

Q: Can we have a meeting with Sim? Details to work out are uniform storage, etc…

A: Rob says Yes.  Time TBD.

Q: Andrea - From a parent perspective, one stop shop is easy. 

A: Rob - Possible new student start up packet. 

Q: Will Pop-up store have any sale items?

A: It’s possible. We would have to change items on the website. Low stock items can be on sale. Will work with Rob about how to do that.

Q: Can the mulled wine at the PTA afternoon be in CA mugs?

A: YES

-T-shirt design contest. Sending ideas to Rob for approval from school. Judges could be CA counselors. It’s a way to get support from the counselor staff and get input about how the students are feeling. 

-Rob - Request to keep the art simple for better transfer. 

Q: Where can they drop off submissions?

A: Working that out with the school. 

Q: Can we have a PTA mailbox outside? Perhaps by bike parking?

A: Probably. Can talk about where and what kind of box.

6) Vivianna - International Food and Fun Fair

-Variant is a concern, but things were opening up before that. 

Q: Any thoughts?

A: (Rob) Wait and see. Planning for flexibility is still best. Perhaps an outside event.

A: (Vivianna) Uber style is still an idea.

Q: There is a Kansai community group that does local eco/food work. Can we reach out to them?

A: (Rob) Sounds good.

Q: Can we share that we are moving forward with parents?

A: (Rob) Yes.

Q: No one has reached out to volunteer.

A: (Amanda) We will probably need to reach out directly to individuals that we think could help.

Q: When is the best timing for that?

A: (Amanda) Before the break to start. We can contact those that volunteered in past years and go from there.

Q: Are we still looking at April 16th?

A: (Rob) Yes.

Q: Can we still have a raffle ticket purchase?

A: (Rob) Yes. We can still have a silent auction in some form. Raffle tickets can be used in some way. If donations are requested from parents, that’s ok. Any companies should be approached by the school, not parents. The school asks for donations for the IFFF and the Gala.

Q: Will we have a Gala / (or Graduation events)?

A: (Rob) Perhaps. The school has been able to purchase antigen tests for sporting events/orchestra, etc. That’s how they have been able to continue with those events. We don’t know how long that will last. So we are moving forward, but remaining flexible.

Q: Can we adjust the IFFF name to add “Sustainability”? In a logo?

A: (Renuka) Yes.

Q: Is that too much text and too long?

A: We can brainstorm how to incorporate it. Maybe it’s just a theme for the year? It could be “Local” or “Sustainable” 

Q : (Susan to Rob) Can we decorate the Falcon store with festive decor? Or put up advertising posters in the windows?

A: (Rob) There’s not a lot of traffic in that area. Decor is ok. Holiday decor should be festive, but not Christmas specific.

(Susan/Renuka) They can work on a poster that has the QR code on it and a banner. The banner could be used in another area like the pop-up stores.

7) Andrea - Winter Events

 - Thursday (Dec 9th) is PTA Coffee Afternoon before the concert.

Q: Are clubs participating?

A: Yes. ARK is selling calendars and Thai Kids is selling hot chocolate.

A: (Rob) We have supported Ronald McDonald house in the past. This year they have decided to support a similar local charity “Chemo House”. They are asking for donations. There’s a clothing drive. Need for adult winter coats and clothing. A poster is being shared online.

Rob re:event set up. Electricity and 9 tables are coming at 2:30p. Hard out at 5:30p (or earlier) so they can set up for the school concert).

Q: Can we set up and decorate at 2:30p?

A: (Rob) Yes.

8) Andrea/Rob - Approval of November meeting minutes

- Rob screenshare of minutes with a reminder that minutes are available on the website. 

- Motion to approve minutes. Minutes approved. 

9) Open to Questions from Parents

- No Parent Questions.

Q: (Renuka to Rob) Can you share new art as soon as it is available so the posters are up to date?

A: Rob will share art files so the art and colors are correct.

Q: (Amanda to Renuka) Can posters be shared directly? It’s easier to share with Parent Partners that way?

A: Yes

10) Andrea - Closing remarks