02-02-2004
A ventura Charter Elementary School
School Advisory Board
February 2, 2004
7:00 P.M.
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Gary Pyott, Chairpel1lOn
Julie Greenherg Shapiro, Vice Chairpel1lOn
Luz Urbaez Weinberg, Recording Secretary
Stephanie Oshinsky
Valerie Lustgarten
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Dr. Katherine Bray Murphy
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Eric M. Soroka, lCMA-CM
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Charter Schools USA
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City of Aventura
Aventura Charter Elementary School
School Advisory Board
AGENDA
February 2, 2004 - 7:00 P.M.
Aventura Cluu1er Elementary School
3333 NE 188. Street
Aventura, Florida 33180
CALL TO ORDER\ROLL CALL
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: December 1, 2003 SAB Meeting
CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
UNIFORMS
CAFETERIA SERVICES
ELECTRONIC MASS MAILING UPDATE
ENROLLMENT UPDATE
PARENT VOLUNTEER TRACKING
10.
FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES
11.
OLD BUSINESS
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NEW BUSINESS
13.
ADJOURNMENT
This meeting is open to the public. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, all persnns whn are disabled and
whn need special accnmmodations to participate in this meeting because of tbat disability should contact the Office of tbe City Clerk,
305-466-890 I, not later tban two days prior to such proceeding. Agenda iterns may be viewed at the Office of the City Clerk, City of
Aventura Govemment Center, 19200 West Cnuntry Club Drive, Aventura, Florida, 33180. Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of any
agenda item should contact the City Clerk at 305-466-8901.
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MINUTES
AVENTURA CHARTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOl
SCHOOL ADVISORY BOARD MEETING
January 5, 2004 - 7:00 p.m.
Aventura Charter Elementary School
3333 NE 188. Street
A ventura, Ftorida 33180
1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL: The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by
Board Chairman, Gary Pyatt. Present were members Gary Pyott, Julie Greenberg
Shapiro, Valerie Lustgarten, Stephanie Oshinsky, Luz Urbáez Weinberg, City Manager
Eric M. Soroka, and Dr. Katherine Bray Murphy, Principal. As a quorum was
determined, the meeting commenced.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: December 1, 2003 SAB Meeting. The board reviewed the
minutes from last meeting. Julie Greenberg Shapiro moved to approve the minutes,
Valerie Lustgarten seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved.
3. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: Mr. Soroka reported that the drainage problem in the
back of the school was corrected over the winter break. Tether balls will be installed in
the playground within the next two weeks. Parent surveys will be going home soon.
After safety discussions with the Aventura Police Department and due to the identified
need for further instructional time with our K-1 children, dismissal time was changed to
3:00 p.m. for K-1, so effective 1/5/2004 all ACES students are dismissed at 3:00 p.m.
School sign is being researched, and Mr. Soroka should have further information
regarding pricing and other issues, such as placement of the signs by the next board
meeting.
4. PRINCIPAL'S REPORT: Dr. Murphy's report for this month included information on
the audition and selection of 21 ACES students that will make up the ACES Dance
Troupe. Progress reports went home 12/5/2003. School picture re-takes took place
12/10/2003. Multicultural week was held 12/15-19/2003 and it was very informative,
fun and colorful for our students. The 5th grade students' field trip to the Miami
Children's Museum was outstanding; FCAT Parent Night for the remaining grades will
be scheduled soon, FCA T practice tests have been administered to grades 3-5, and
the results will be discussed in the next Board meeting. An awards assembly will be
held 2/5/2004 with key note speaker Kristie Kruger of Channel 1 0 News for 5th graders
who participated in the 'DAR.E. To Say No To Drugs' program. The 2004-2005
school year application process began 1/5/2004 and over 130 applications have been
received. Re-commitment letters for attending students will be going home on Friday
1/9/2004 and parents must include volunteer hours completed to date in that letter.
5. UNIFORMS: Tom Geismar of Charter Schools U.SA informed the Board that
CSUSA has a proposal in place and is awaiting companies' responses to select a
uniform provider for the next school year. Fabric and style choices will be re-
evaluated.
6. CAFETERIA SERVICES: Mr. Geismar reported a contract has been secured with
The Asher Company and they are scheduled to begin servicing ACES cafeteria
commencing early February 2004. Starr caterers will be notified of termination this
month. New per lunch-meal fee is $2.55 with unlimited juice and water inside the
cafeteria.
7. ENROLLMENT UPDATE: Mr. Soroka reported on the current school enrollment
numbers of ACES, which was at 596 the month of December,
8. PARENT VOLUNTEER TRACKING: Parent Volunteer Coordinator Beverly Gittleman
reported on update of hours completed by ACES families to date. There are 486
ACES families, 359 families have one child attending ACES, which means their
required number of volunteer hours for each school year is 20. There are 127 families
with two or more students, and they are required to complete 30 volunteer hours per
school year. Only 19 families have completed 30 or more hours, and there is an
outstanding 167 families who have yet to serve any volunteer hours. Parents were
reminded, as noted in the previous Board meeting, that the deadline to complete the
required hours is 5/24/2004. Ms. Gittleman and Ms. Brown sent a letter home this
week reminding parents of their volunteer requirement. Since deadline for completion
of these hours was neglected from that letter, it will be included in the re-commitment
letters that will go home Friday 1/9/2004.
9. FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES: Beverly Gittleman updated the Board on current
fund raising activities. The Tree of Knowledge/Apple Tree pricing was estimated at
$4,000.00. At the Board meeting, a committee was established with three parents, Ms.
Gittleman and Board member Stephanie Oshinsky to workout the Tree of Knowledge
fundraising details. Through an art project in which all ACES families are encouraged
to participate, ACES will be raising money for a school in South Africa - a participant
of the worldwide Living Values program, That event is scheduled to begin mid
February. Children will create artwork that will be sent home to parents with a choice
to purchase cards and other items with their child's artwork imprinted on the items.
Pricing sheets will accompany the artwork, There will be a BBO for ACES, as a
fund raising activity, at Founders Park some time in March 2004. Volunteers are
needed, This will be an opportunity for those families needing to complete their
service hours to do so. Lastly, ACES will be offering a supply list package for parents
to purchase for the next school year, which will include a student agenda.
10. OLD BUSINESS: Board members discussed issues and concerns presented to the
Board by parents and by Board members. Mrs. Urbáez Weinberg reminded the Board
that during the November meeting, there had been a male parent who suggested the
implementation of an electronic mass mailing to keep parents informed of school
events through the Internet. Tom Geismar of Charter Schools U.SA stated that he
would look into the issue with CSUSA LT. (Information Technology) personnel, and
advise Dr. Murphy who will then advise the Board by the next meeting, Julie
Greenberg Shapiro brought up the issue of having a monthly school calendar, but after
much discussion it was decided that a monthly calendar is not in our best interests
because of potential changes in dates of events throughout the month and the ensuing
confusion that could be created if parents are not timely notified of changes.
11. NEW BUSINESS: There was no new business to be discussed. Items to be
discussed for next meeting include: Uniforms update, cafeteria services update,
electronic mass mailing information, school signs, and the FCAT practice test results.
-Mr. Chairman, Gary Pyott opened the floor for discussion and comments from the
parents in attendance at the meeting. Issues discussed with parents were: Uniforms;
Cafeteria services; Parent volunteer hours; Use of additional hour K-1 children remain in
school; School class photos scheduled for 2/6/2004; Accelerated reader program
materials have been ordered and should arrive soon; and the Sunshine Math program is
in progress.
The next meeting was scheduled for Monday, February 2, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
12. ADJOURMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board at this
time, after motion made by Luz Urbáez Weinberg, seconded by Julie Shapiro, and
unanimously passed, the meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Luz Urbáez Weinberg, Recording Secretary
Approved by the Board on