November 2 nd, 2010

ECFE North PAC

November 2^nd, 2010

4:30-5:30PM

Attendees: Annette, Valerie, Celine, Amanda, Billi, Sharon, Aqueelah

Introductions

Treasurer’s Report

*same as last month with addition of one cookbook sale - $8.00

LAC Report

*goals for the 2010-2011 year were discussed, including: how to coordinate all PACs together, focusing on marketing and outreach

*Billi suggested the idea of a newsletter to consolidate events and increase awareness and interest in PAC news and events

Barnes and Noble Book Fair - November 20^th 10am-4pm at Calhoun Village B&N

*volunteer sign-ups have been placed on parent tables for 2 hour increment time slots for activity/snack table and gift wrapping table

*fliers are also available on parent tables with info also regarding online purchasing

*a suggestion was made that we publish in Northside and Camden News, also the high 5s and 3school

*Amanda also has the goal of visiting some of the other Mpls ECFE sites to inform parents of the Book Fair

Lending Libraries

*a volunteer sign up is available for Hall and Mona Moede sites for parents to get together in groups to go through libraries and catalog books

*once info is gathered and a wish list made, we can decide to allocate funds to purchase more up-to-date books

Events to Plan

*Disco Ball - Saturday, Feb. 5^th 4-6pm Manu is early in planning stages of this event

*Momcation - Celine is coordinator

*Book Swap discussion will be tabled until next meeting

*Dad’s day and Wellness day are ideas we have raised for taking place in the spring. All agree that details and follow-up can be done as time goes on.

*An idea was raised for “couple’s night out” for parents. Billi volunteered to call Elsie’s to start fact-finding for details. Bowling and dinner were ideas to consider

PAC Communication

*Celine volunteered to try using PAC minutes to publish a newsletter that would be available on parent tables. She also felt we could do a better job advertising to encourage interest.

*the idea of yard signs was discussed. Sharon will check on pricing estimate for yard signs.

PAC Organization

Celine will review South PAC bylaws and consolidate our PACs position responsibilites and get them in written form to have for future.

Next meeting will be December 7^th 4:30-5:30pm

October 5th 2010 PAC Meeting minutes

ECFE North PAC meeting minutes

Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Attendees

Laura O., Manu E., Aqueelah W., Sharon B., Billi White., Kelly Browne

1. Introductions of members present

2. Announcements

Teacher Valerie Matthews stopped in to greet us, and explain the use of the Mona Moede

building which is limited to early childhood education. She told us Annette had set

October 26th as the date for sign-up sheets for volunteers for the Barnes and Noble Book

Fair.

3. Treasurer’s report (Aqueelah)

Balance: $1,838.65

Budgeted items:

Disco Ball (break even—no budgeted expense anticipated)

Momcation: $500

Healthy Family Yoga: $150

Family educators*: $200

Child educators*: $400

Scholastic books for classrooms: $150

Reserve: $300

Petty cash (cards/postage for thank you notes, etc): $25

Laura will contact teachers to see if they want funds per

teacher or per classroom.

•

Balance less budgeted items: $1838.65 - $1,725 = $113.65

4.

LAC (Leadership Advisory Council) ( Billie)

Children’s Museum: discussion on how that went.

Discussion re: seeking funds for vehicle rental for families that can’t get to events.

Discussion re: on-line payment for ECFE classes. Apparently this is being held

up by the school district, and discussion related to whether parents should

start making calls to get it going.

Started to discuss priorities but will continue next time.

Talked about using code for DONORS CHOOSE, which is an on-line opportunity

that would give ECFE $15 per person who logs in and votes via a

code This is apparently connected to the Waiting for Superman

movie about education issues in Minnesota. Ariah Fine is

collecting codes until such time as ECFE is added to the

promotion, which is funded by a private donor.

5. Lending library (Laura)

People seem not to know that there is a lending library for books and toys. Laura will ask

teachers to tell parents about it.

The materials may be outdated, and since they are not catalogued, Laura thought we

could get volunteers to go through the books and weed out/make a list, and get funding to

add new titles. We would need to get a sign-up sheet to parents and a list of times when

classes are not in session where the books are located. Laura will type up the sign-up

sheet for Hall and Mona Moede. It was recommended that volunteers make notations

of author, title, year published, and book location (Hall or Mona Moede), so a database

printout can be available.

Also, we discussed the idea of a book swap and or purchase of books. Could

parents get a tax charitable donation receipt if they gave books to the program?

6. Event planning

1. Disco Ball: Manu agreed to coordinate this event, with Kelly Brown assisting. Manu

has contact names for the DJ and lights people. Manu will contact Valerie to find out

if the space at Mona Moede is available for February 5—the first Saturday in February,

from 4 to 6 p.m.

2. Momcation: Aqueelah will coordinate this event, and will see if Sheri can contact

the “anonymous donor” who contributed to the event last year. We increased the amount

in the budget in case the donor does not come forward again.

We tabled discussion of other events for a future meeting.

7. PAC organization

Topic was tabled until next meeting for Celine’s report. However, Aqueelah has some

information about the by-laws which she will forward to Laura and Laura will forward to

Celine.

8. Other

1. A suggestion was made to look into possible outreach services that moms/children can

do such as apple picking for the food shelters.

2. Information on past or currtent PAC meetings and events happening at ECFE, log into our web site. www.http://mplsecfenorthpac.blogspot.com or you can find us on Face book. ECFE North Pac.

3. Many more parents sign up for the PAC meetings than actually show up. Laura will

try to get lists of email addresses for those who sign up, and send a reminder the evening

before the meeting to see if that helps increase attendance.

4. Annette sent in two titles of Scholastic books for classes. Laura will check with her

to see if one of the titles was ordered last trimester (Dinosaur Roar). The other title is

Winken, Blinken and Nod.

Next PAC meeting will be on November 2ND 2010 from 4:30 -5:30 PM at Mona Moede.

Minutes taken by Sharon B.

September 21, 2010 minutes

ECFE North PAC

Introductions and sign in

Attendees: Amanda, Aqueelah, Celine, Annette, Manu, Laura, Billi, Fred, Kelly

Purpose of PAC explained

To help support ECFE classes and teachers. This includes fundraising, communicating with parent educators, and planning events such as the Book Fair, Disco Ball, and Momcation to help build bonds among ECFE parents and children.

Introduction and Election of 2010-2011 Officers

Liaison: Annette

Co-Chairs: Laura and Celine
Treasurer: Aqueelah
Secretary: Amanda

Class Representatives: All of us
LAC Representative: Billi
Volunteer Coordinator: Fred
Web Master: Manu

*Anyone can attend LAC meetings. They are held at Wilder Elementary School (34th and Chicago Ave S). Dinner is provided from 5:15-5:45, and the meeting is 5:45-6:45.
Childcare is provided. Call Rita @ 668-2127 to RSVP.

Treasurer's Report
Approximately $1800 total
Details will be discussed at next meeting after review of May meeting's minutes.

New Business

• Vote to decide night/time for PAC meetings : Monthly meetings will now be the 1st Tuesday of each month 4:30-5:30pm @ Mona Moede.
  
• Barnes and Noble Book Fair fundraiser will be Saturday, November 20TH, 2010 from 10:00am-4:00pm at Calhoun Village Barnes and Noble. Proceeds will be: 10% for sales between $1-$2000, 15% if over $2000. Annette will design flyers and vouchers to be submitted to B & N by October 1st, 2010. Amanda volunteered to help plan/run the Book Fair.

Next Meeting October 5th, 2010 4:30 - 5:30 PM we will discuss the lending library, as well as planning topics for upcoming meetings.

News from Kids Cook Classroom

Kids Cook Classroom and Loring Schoolyard Garden  Neighborhood Chickens visit our garden each week. Garden Days with our neighborhood chickens        June 14th, 21st and 28th. July 12th, 19th and 26th. August 2nd, 9th and 16th.               Mondays between 10:00 and 3:00 Each week 6 volunteers will be in the garden to teach and encourage children to observe, listen, and play.  We all learn as we plant, watch fruits and vegetables grow and harvest the ripe produce from Loring Schoolyard Garden.  Our days begin with Garden Yoga and a short Garden story. The days are filled with reading, writing, art, fishing and fun! Of course as we garden, we harvest and cook breakfast and lunch.  Our breakfast includes an egg, and lunch is made from the bounty of the garden, orchard and local farmer's markets. A handful of berries or cherries is a favorite snack. Summertime in the Garden Greetings! It's summertime and Kids Cook Classroom Garden Days have begun!  Some seeds and plants sowed by all of the classrooms at Loring during the school year have already flowered and been made into our lunch.  Varieties of lettuce, radish, beets and peas from Loring Schoolyard Garden have been picked, tossed and sampled at classroom lunches, a field trip and now at our first Garden Day! Each Monday Kids Cook Classroom invites children from the school, playground and neighborhood to come into the garden for a day  outside in the sunshine.  Our garden days are filled with gardening, harvesting, cooking, learning, observation and playing. This Monday, the first day of summer, we will harvest Bok choy and salad greens, raspberries from the bramble canes, and pick cherries from the trees.  Children will  pull the roots of beets and pick more peas from the vine. Monday night we will gather at the garden for a Solstice picnic.   This year our picnics are the  third Monday of each month at 6:00.  Bring a picnic blanket, and a healthy dish to share.  We'll provide the table setting, a harvest sampler prepared by the children.  Bring a donation, and pick seasonal produce from the schoolyard garden. Happy Sunshine, Robin Pot Luck Picnics            and Schoolyard Market    June 21st    July 19th  August 16th  6:00 to 8:00

Summer Art Programs at MCAD

There are some great MCAD kids art programs this summer. Here is the information below.

Dear Parents and Students,

Minneapolis College of Art and Design <http://www.mcad.edu/showPage.php?pageID=1143> has a very special scholarship opportunity to share with you this summer.

If your child or teen participates in the free or reduced-cost lunch program at your school, they immediately qualify for a full tuition scholarship to an art class this summer!

We have received a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board that allows us to provide these scholarships for our Summer Youth classes in art and design here at the College.

These art and design classes are for students ages 5-18. The scholarships cover full tuition and art supplies for selected courses. No previous art experience is required.

Registration is easy. Just follow these steps:

- Review the brochure <http://learn.mcad.edu/cs/MSAB-Brochure.pdf>

- Pick a course from those offered

- Print off and complete the registration form <http://learn.mcad.edu/cs/MSAB-RegistrationForm.pdf>

- Mail your completed registration form along with a copy of the letter from your school stating that your child participates in the free or reduced-cost lunch program

Students will be placed in their 1st choice unless the course is full.

Please postal mail these items to:

       MCAD
       Continuing Studies
       2501 Stevens Ave
       Minneapolis, MN 55404

If you have any questions, please send an email to continuing_studies@mcad.edu or call 612/605-6674.

We welcome you to MCAD!

End of School Year Celebration Parent Pot Luck

Monday, June 14^th  -  at 6 pm.

   

Join us for an end of the year gathering.

Bring a dish to share.

Adults only, please.

At the home of Annette Gagliardi

4643 Pillsbury Ave. So,

Mpls. MN. 55419 

Phone:  612. 825.6743
 

Directions: Travel south on Lyndale Ave. to 46^th Street. Turn left (going East) onto 46^th street. Travel five blocks to Pillsbury. Turn right (going South) and park toward the end of the block. My house is on the East side of the street, second house from 47^th street.
More Directions: If you take the freeway, travel South on I94 through the Lowry Tunnel to 35W (going South). Take the 46^th street exit. Turn left (going West) onto 46^th street. Cross Nicollet Avenue and continue on 46^th Street for  3 more blocks to Pillsbury Ave. Turn left (going South) onto Pillsbury. Again, my house is second from LAST house on the block.

April 13Th PAC Minutes

North Minneapolis PAC minutes April 13th

Attendees: Therese, Audrey, Aqueelah, Celine, Manu, Lanise, Laura, Sherri, Valerie, Amanda

Open position

• There is an immediate opening for Secretary for the remainder of the year. Amanda volunteered for the position.

LAC update:

• South PAC will celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Wilder May 5th and Vehicle Day in early June at Sabathani
  
• Rebecca is our District Community Liason (we are Area A, Zone 1) She may be a guest at a PAC meeting next year
• East PAC had $500 profit with their pajama party

• Discussion is in the works for a possible partnership between Mpls ECFE and MN Children's Museum to potentially allow Mpls ECFE to have the museum to ourself on a Thursday. Details forthcoming. Permission was given for them to link from our blog.

Treasurer's Report

• $1552 in account, approx. $300 of which is not allocated
• Parent Ed has allocated money that hasn't been spent yet
• For Momcation-$300 anonymous donation and $350 allocated from our budget

Momcation

• 19 participants are registered and registration is closed.
• Aqueelah volunteered to act as Event Coordinator, whose responsibilities include: managing agenda, handling any unforeseen issues, facilitating conversation during bonding exercises, keeping in touch with yoga and reflexology volunteers
• Therese will prepare registration form for participants which will be used to get contact data and preferences such as roommate, transportation, movie choice and agenda
• Dinner will be provided (pizza and soft drinks)
• Breakfast is not, but there are refrigerators and microwaves in each room, as well as the option to purchase hotel buffet

Plant Sale

• Orders and $$ are due Friday, April 16th. So far, profit is over $450.
• There will be 2 cross-checks of money and orders to ensure accuracy.

Book Fair

• There is an opportunity for us to do the Book Fair with Barnes and Noble again next year. It would be handled exclusively by North PAC if we were to do it.
• Tabled until September.

May Agenda

• Next year's budget
• Recruit officer volunteers including chair, secretary, treasurer, volunteer coordinator, web maven, disco ball coordinator, momcation coordinator, plant sale coordinator. If anyone wishes to volunteer themselves for any of these positions, they should contact Therese.
• Plan June PAC meeting, possibly at a PAC member's house
  

My Garden Fundraiser is here!

ECFE North Side

Parent Advisory Council’s

Annual Fundraiser!

Each plant kit is $20.  Each kit includes 7 beautiful

pots ready to plant. There are 11 designs to choose from.

Checks should be made out to Northside  ECFE  PAC.

***All orders need to be turned in with the money by April 16.

Pick up will be at Hall School in the North parking lot on May 6 from between 3:30 and 6:30.

If you cannot pick up your plants at that time, please make sure you have made other arrangements before that date.

Questions?  Contact ECFE at 612-668-2671

Download the Fundraising Forms (PDF Files):

• My Garden 2010 Catalog
• Select Order Form
• Combo Order Form