October 2022 PTA Meeting Notes

10/12/2022 8:45 am

Here are the notes from our monthly PTA meeting from October 2022.

September 2022 PTA Meeting Notes

9/12/2022 11:32 am

Here are the news and notes from the joint PBES/TPES PTA meeting from September 2022.

June 2022 Meeting Notes

6/13/2022 9:28 pm

Read this link to see the June 2022 meeting notes and minutes and click earlier to see prior minutes --

https://tpespta.net/tpes-pta-meeting-minutes-june-2022/

May 2022 PTA Meeting Notes

11/10/2021 7:49 pm

Read this link to see the May meeting notes and minutes and click earlier to see prior minutes --

https://tpespta.net/tpes-pta-meeting-minutes-may-2022/

November 2021 PTA Meeting Notes

11/10/2021 7:49 pm

Read this link to see the November meeting notes and minutes, thanks to the Takoma Park ES PTA.

https://tpespta.net/tpes-pta-meeting-minutes-november-2021/

MCCPTA Delegates Assembly Notes

10/6/2021 8:01 pm

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KpwqJowId8Hm2j9HHNTixgaRi4TGqe4awN9rwJMlud0/edit

October 2021 PTA Meeting Notes

10/6/2021 7:49 pm

Takoma Park Elementary School(TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES)

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, October 5, 2021 from 7-8pm on Zoom

Please mark your calendar for our next PTA meeting on Tues, Nov 2 7-8pm when we’ll hear from Ms East and Ms Faulk, our TPES and PBES math specialists about our math curriculum and resources available to students and families

7:00 Welcome & Introduction of Interpreters

(Chris Campbell, TPES PTA VP Communications)

Upcoming Dates and Announcements from the MCPS Calendar

Emma Cheuse, PBES PTA VP Communications

-- PTA is looking for volunteers who speak Spanish or Amharic to assist with translating and and interpreting PTA notices and events. Please contact Shellyhill711@gmail.com

-- Starting in October, TPES and PBES are allowing volunteers in school. Please see Dr Gadsden and Ms Oberdorff’s notices re requirements for volunteers, which include COVID-19 vaccination documentation, a background check and completion of a 1-1.5 hour training around identifying child abuse and neglect. Forms can be found here: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/student-leadership/volunteer.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3LcxGTkVE_zgiTrKqzhuFJAXdDsKY5vLdIefhL7Mb5TaP6hnhP0Axjrmg (will include link in meeting chat)

Click Below for more in English, Spanish and Amharic.

Escuela Primaria Takoma Park (TPES)

Escuela Primaria Piney Branch (PBES)

Reunión de padres y maestros (PTA)

Martes, 5 de octubre de 2021 de 7 a 8 p. M. En Zoom

Marque su calendario para nuestra próxima reunión de la PTA el martes 2 de noviembre de 7 a 8 p. M. Cuando escucharemos a la Sra. East y la Sra. Faulk, nuestras especialistas en matemáticas de TPES y PBES, sobre nuestro plan de estudios de matemáticas y los recursos disponibles para estudiantes y familias.

7:00 Bienvenida e introducción de intérpretes

(Chris Campbell, Vicepresidente de Comunicaciones de TPES PTA)

Próximas fechas y anuncios del calendario de MCPS

Emma Cheuse, VP Comunicaciones de PBES PTA

- La PTA está buscando voluntarios que hablen español o amárico para ayudar a traducir e interpretar los avisos y eventos de la PTA. Póngase en contacto con Shellyhill711@gmail.com

- A partir de octubre, TPES y PBES permitirán voluntarios en la escuela. Consulte los avisos del Dr. Gadsden y la Sra. Oberdorff sobre los requisitos para los voluntarios, que incluyen la documentación de la vacuna COVID-19, una verificación de antecedentes y la finalización de una capacitación de 1-1.5 horas sobre la identificación de abuso y negligencia infantil. Los formularios se pueden encontrar aquí: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/student-leadership/volunteer.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3LcxGTkVE_zgiTrKqzhuFJAXdDsKY5vLdIefhL7Mb5TaP6hnmg reunión de chathP0

Haga clic a continuación para obtener más información en inglés, español y amárico.

የታኮማ ፓርክ አንደኛ ደረጃ ትምህርት ቤት (TPES)

የፒኒ ቅርንጫፍ አንደኛ ደረጃ ትምህርት ቤት (PBES)

የወላጅ እና የአስተማሪ ስብሰባ (PTA)

ማክሰኞ ፣ ጥቅምት 5 ቀን 2021 ከ7-8pm በ Zoom ላይ

ለሚቀጥለው የፒኤቲኤ ስብሰባዎ ማክሰኞ ፣ ኖቬምበር 2 ከ 7 እስከ 8 ከሰዓት ከኤምስት ኢስት እና ከወይዘሮ ፋልክ ፣ የእኛ TPES እና PBES የሂሳብ ስፔሻሊስቶች ስለ ሂሳብ ሥርዓተ ትምህርታችን እና ለተማሪዎች እና ቤተሰቦች ስለሚገኙ ሀብቶች ስንሰማ እባክዎን የቀን መቁጠሪያዎን ምልክት ያድርጉ።

7:00 እንኳን ደህና መጡ እና የተርጓሚዎች መግቢያ

(ክሪስ ካምቤል ፣ TPES PTA VP Communications)

ከ MCPS የቀን መቁጠሪያ መጪ ቀኖች እና ማስታወቂያዎች

ኤማ Cheuse ፣ PBES PTA VP ግንኙነቶች

- PTA የ PTA ማስታወቂያዎችን እና ዝግጅቶችን ለመተርጎም እና ለመተርጎም ለመርዳት ስፓኒሽ ወይም አማርኛ የሚናገሩ በጎ ፈቃደኞችን ይፈልጋል። እባክዎን Shellyhill711@gmail.com ን ያነጋግሩ

- ከጥቅምት ወር ጀምሮ ፣ TPES እና PBES በትምህርት ቤት ውስጥ በጎ ፈቃደኞችን ይፈቅዳሉ። የሕፃናትን በደል እና ቸልተኝነትን በመለየት ዙሪያ የ COVID-19 የክትባት ሰነድ ፣ የኋላ ምርመራ እና የ1-1.5 ሰዓት ሥልጠናን ያካተቱ ለበጎ ፈቃደኞች የሚያስፈልጉትን የዶ / ር ገድስደን እና የወ / ሮ ኦበርዶርፍ ማሳሰቢያዎችን ይመልከቱ። ቅጾች እዚህ ሊገኙ ይችላሉ- https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/student-leadership/volunteer.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3LcxGTkVE_zgiTrKqzhuFJAXdDsKY5vLdIefhL7Mb5TaP6hnhP0Axr

በእንግሊዝኛ ፣ በስፓኒሽ እና በአማርኛ ተጨማሪ ለማግኘት ከዚህ በታች ጠቅ ያድርጉ።

September 2021 Meeting Minutes

9/21/2021 8:11 pm

PBES PTA Meeting Minutes: September 2021

TPES/PBES PTA Meeting

Monday, September 13, 2021

Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FXidVvZc5VT2HMRwnpQY1-Tf8uo3gvEmnyUKZbQyDm8/edit#slide=id.g9bfb622949_0_0

– Chris Campbell welcomed everyone and shared instructions for Spanish room interpretation and reviewed agenda

– Welcome and Introductions by TPES and PBES PTA Presidents Margaret McDonnell and Jaslynn Laurence (5 minutes)

– Quick overview of PTA and how to “Build an Effective Family and School Partnership”- Jaslynn Laurence and Joyce McDonough (10 minutes)

– Presentation and Q&A with Dr Kawsar Talaat, a Takoma Park parent, PBES PTA Executive Committee member and Infectious Disease and International Health specialist about the latest science on COVID-19, the delta variant, and the approval process/timeline for vaccine approval for kids under 12 (20-25 minutes)

– Principals Dr Gadsden and Ms Oberdorf to share and answer questions re COVID-19 protocols and otherwise (20 minutes)

June 1, 2021 Meeting Notes

8/13/2021 6:22 pm

Tuesday, June 1, 2021 PTA Meeting Minutes

7:05 Upcoming Dates and Announcements from the MCPS Calendar

Wed, Jun 16: Last Day of School for students! Virtual half day.

Pick-up some new books for summer reading!

Our last book distribution of the school year will be Wednesday June 2nd, 11-3. We will be in front of Piney Branch Elementary and will have a mix of new and gently used books. Come grab a couple books for summer reading! If you have any last-minute donations of gently used recreational reading books for grades K-7, please drop them off at 841 Linden Circle in Takoma Park before 10am on Wednesday, June 2. There is also a collection box outside PBES near the entry doors, if it is easier to drop books at the school. Thank you!

Kindergarten registration may be completed here:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/enroll/kindergarten.aspx

Please join us for Sharing Our Stories, Monday, June 7 at 7:00pm on Zoom.

We invite all our elementary scholars to come with a poem, picture, book, or item around their house (such as a special holiday outfit or decoration, a family picture) to share with each other. Spanish interpretation is provided. Zoom details will be posted on the PTA listservs and in messages from the Principal. If you would like to be a guest storyteller or educator, please email Shana at sabbathshana@gmail.com.

7:15 TPES PTA Summer Budget

TPES PTA Treasurer, Kelley Skelton

Summer budget will provide for foodbank to continue it’s work for the summer. Budgeted 7,500/mo

Also classroom set up fees for the teachers

And paypal fees to cover donations

Budget approved.

7:25 Vote for 2021-2022 PTA Executive Committee slates

Lauren Greenberg, Chair, TPES PTA Nominating Committee

See slate below. Thanks to those who are termed out and thanks to those continuing on. One vote to approve the slate in its entirety.

Margaret McDonnell gave her greetings. She has a rising 5^th, 3^rd grader and entering Kindergartner.

Lia Salza, Chair, PBES PTA Nominating Committee

PBES slate – Lia introducing the slate. The slate passed; at least 7 board members present.

Jaslynn Laurence introduced herself. Son is rising 3^rd grader.

Takoma Park Elementary School PTA Executive Committee Slate

Positions	2021-2022
President	Margaret McDonnell
Executive Vice President	Joyce McDonough
Treasurer	Stephen Tippett
Executive Secretary	Dianne Kirsch
Membership Secretary	Yelena Breiding
Vice President Communications	Chris Campbell
Vice President Membership	Amanda Wagner
Vice President Fundraising	Kelly Young
Vice President Equity	Chai Shenoy
MCCPTA Delegate	Mercedes Castelo
NAACP Rep	Sharon Gaskins

Piney Branch Elementary School PTA Executive Committee Slate

Positions	2021-2022
President	Jaslynn Laurence
Executive Vice President
Treasurer	Kate Bauer
Secretary	Kawsar Talaat
Vice President Communications	Emma Cheuse
Vice President Membership	Kathryn Bacon Goldman
Vice President Fundraising	Jocelyne DeHaas
Vice President Equity	Michelle Hill
MCCPTA Delegate	Jaime Koppel
NAACP Rep

Thank you Meg and Sarah, you are AMAZING!!!!

PBES PTA Meeting Minutes - May 4, 2021

5/5/2021 9:52 am

Takoma Park Elementary School(TPES)

Piney Branch Elementary School (PBES)

Parent & Teacher Meeting (PTA)

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

7:00-8:00pm on Zoom

7:00 Welcome & Introduction of Interpreters and Speaker

7:05 Upcoming Dates and Announcements from the MCPS Calendar

Chris Campbell, TPES VP Communications

May 3 - 7: Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week

May 1 - 31: Virtual Takoma Park 5k Race

Thurs, May 13: Professional Day for Teachers & Staff (NO CLASS for students)

Thurs, May 27th: Town Hall Zoom with Principal Oberdorf @ 7 pm

Mon, May 31: Memorial Day (schools & offices CLOSED; NO CLASS for students)

Tue, June 1; June PTA Membership meeting & vote on 2021-2022 slate, 7 pm

Wed, Jun 16: Last Day of School for students

Piney Branch Elementary Updates

Mrs. Christine Oberdorf, Principal, Piney Branch Elementary

Thanks for all doing for staff appreciation week - it means a lot
2021 Summer School registration opened Monday and will continue to June 4. It will focus on reading, math and specials. Students will attend summer school at the school they will attend in the fall. Summer school will be in person, and there will also be a separate virtual school run by MCPS centrally.
5th-grade Promotion will be virtual
Articulation process for PBES students.
There will be a google and paper form coming in the next week’s message to get parent input for placement next year.

7:15 COVID Vaccine Updates & Education

Dr. Kawsar Talaat, Physician and Infectious Disease Expert & PBES PTA Secretary

Vaccines are designed to get your body to develop an immune response to a virus, develop memory for that response so it lasts for a long time and then to protect against disease when exposed to the virus
Herd immunity thresholds are different for different diseases. We think it’s 70-85% for COVID. It is higher for more contagious diseases.
Clinical trials for vaccines have very standard progression. Before any trials on humans, need to have animal data and other data and to apply to the FDA. Then there are Phases I through III before vaccine can be approved for general use. This often takes many years and trials can be very expensive.
In a pandemic, to save time, the phases overlap, and manufacturing begins even before there is approval for widespread use.
Pfizer is 2 doses given 3 weeks apart, stored at -70C. Vaccine was found to be 95% in preventing any symptoms from COVID 7 days after the second dose. Over 100 million doses given in U.S. to date.
In December, Pfizer was approved for use in those 16 and older in December, and is expected to be approved for those aged 12-15 early next week.
Moderna is 2 doses given 4 weeks apart, stable at -20C. It is 94% effective starting 2 weeks after the second dose. Approved for those 18 and older. Over 101 million doses administered in U.S. to date.
Side effects are normal after vaccination, especially after the second dose. Side effects are worse in younger people. Common side effects are soreness at the injection site, fatigue, muscle aches and fever.
CDC put out data recently for 4000 people who were vaccinated and tested weekly for COVID. Those with vaccines were 90% less likely to be infected, so much less likely to be able to transmit the virus to others.
Vaccines reduced the rate of hospitalizations from COVID in adults 65 and older by 94%.
Johnson & Johnson vaccine works a little differently than the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna). It is a single dose, stable at refrigerator temperatures. It was found to be 72% effective against moderate COVID, 85% effective against severe disease and 100% effective against hospitalization and death. J&J was briefly halted by CDC and FDA while rare blood clots were investigated (15 cases out of 8 million) but it was determined the vaccine was safe and benefits outweigh the risks.
People with previous COVID should still get the vaccine because it should last longer than natural immunity from getting COVID.
These are not live, replicating vaccines, so they are safe for those who are immunosuppressed. However those people may not get as much protection since they have decreased immune response.
Trials in children are ongoing.
V-SAFE is a new monitoring system to record adverse effects after vaccination. Also VAERS.
Allergic reactions happen 1 per 200,000 to 350,000, so there is observation for 15-30 minutes after vaccination.
If you have been vaccinated, you can gather indoors with other vaccinated people, don’t need to wear a mask outside and don’t need to get tested after traveling.
Vaccines won’t be available to children under 12 until at least the fall
We don’t know if booster shots will be needed. It is likely they will be needed for variants.

7:55 Nominating PTA Officers for the 2021-2022 School Year

Lia Salza & Lauren Greenberg, PBES & TPES PTA Nominating Committee Chairs

Proposed nomination slates for each school’s PTA officers for Fall 2021

Still looking for a President, Vice President and Treasurer for PBES. It’s great for someone with ideas for where to take the organization. Please do reach out if interested or want to nominate someone.
The President position has been a real collaboration between TPES and PBES, and there are a lot of resources to build off from prior years as well as prior Presidents who are around to help. Really encourage folks to think about positions with TPES PTA.

Sharing Our Stories

Please join us for Sharing Our Stories, Mondays at 7:00pm on Zoom. SOS with Deepa and her son reading "Ashok by Any Other Name", in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Mo was cancelled last night but will be rescheduled for later this month. Next Monday, May 10, Mona Sahaf will share stories of Ramadan. Spanish interpretation is provided. Zoom details will be posted on the PTA listservs and in messages from the Principal. If you would like to be a guest storyteller or educator, please email Shana at sabbathshana@gmail.com.

Soliciting Parent Input & Questions About Summer School, Fall Recovery, Etc.

Jaime Koppel, PBES Advocacy Representative (MCCPTA Delegate)

Starting to compile questions from parents about summer school, recovery of education in 2021-22 and the return to in-person learning next year. Excited that the school has welcome the PTA to partner with school staff in this conversation. We welcome your questions and ideas, and know others will benefit from hearing each other’s questions. Add questions here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LMuHbpK0vBY9_cjwrJW7FT3ZlwCtdlsAFFCyclCRSL0/edit

Virtual Takoma Park 5k Race

Sasha Johnson, PBES & TPES Race Coordinator and PBES PTA VP

Donate and participate in this year’s race, which will be virtual this year. Sign up here: VIRTUAL TKPK5K

Treasurer’s Reports

Kelley Skelton, TPES Treasurer & Erin Kelley, PBES Treasurer

TPES exceeded Readathon goal and has raised $27k so far, which is a great year. We have stayed close to or under budget, leaving assets for the new PTA to start off the year right.
Food bank has $100k in assets to continue its great work.
PBES also has a healthy treasury to start next year well. Thanks to all who have donated.

Become a PTA member:

Takoma Park Elementary https://www.tpespta.net
Piney Branch Elementary https://pineybranchpta.membershiptoolkit.com