Hello LFCSA PTA members,
Thank you all for joining this thing called the PTA. This is our second year with a PTA at our school.    The PTA has such a rich history of fairness and rules that they follow and have done so for over 100 years.  We have held two associations meetings so far this year and each one was very productive and went very well.  We are learning how to use Roberts Rules of Order, and follow our By-Laws that are available for any of you to read, we must always ask the question does this benefit our children?
For a brief recap of the goals we set forth this year and to keep everyone in the loop.

LOS FELIZ CHARTER SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS PTA GOALS for 2008-2009
To reflect the State Mission goal:
Positively impacting the lives of all children and families by representing our members and empowering and supporting them with skills in advocacy, leadership and communications.
1: Stand with the Teachers to promote Life Learners and Readers.
Hold a contest for the children that runs all year.  It will consist of reading advocacy. The end of each month each student that reads 100 pages per month will receive tickets to place in the drawing for new bicycles. The PTA will give away a Boys and Girls bike to the randomly drawn winner at the year-end Picnic that is present.  (We are looking to have our room parents help set this up soon…we already have prizes set aside for this.)
2:Teacher Appreciation Week
Hold an entire week where the Teachers are applauded. (This still needs a committee)
3: Year End PTA Picnic
Applaud the Students, Parents and Staff with a day of awards BBQ and rejoicing in the close of another great year.  Invite the new kindergarten families to join in. Book the Crystal Springs area early and get donations for the party from local vendors. (This has been booked and reserved!  Save the date Sunday June 14th)
4:  100 % Enrollment Options for Parents
Hold a Pizza Party for the first class that turns in 100% enrollment forms; Even if the parents are not interested in joining in the PTA they return the form with a “ No Thanks”.  Joining the PTA is $20.00 per Family. (The most enrollment in our history! So far we have had two parties and will be holding more before thanksgiving break!)
We have passed a field trip committee, voted in Reflections program that all children are encourage to participate in.  You can go to the State website www.capta.org it is full of wonderful information in many areas and can answer tons of questions.  Since we have a large body of parents that joined the PTA and we just had elections and want to keep all of us updated on what happens…the past meeting minutes are attached for your records.  We pass these out at the meetings, but will try to cut down on paper by emailing them out for approval before the association meetings. We will send out the notes from the meeting on Nov. 12th once they are available, we have attached the agenda for that night.

Our next meeting of all members will be held Wednesday January 14th, 6:30pm on Selma campus.

The Executive Board meeting will take place on Wednesday January 7th.

If there is something that you would like to put on the agenda for the 14th meeting please email one of the officers and we will place it on the agenda.  Here are a list of your new officers that just were voted in on November 12th.  Elections will take place again in March for the 2009-2010 year.  Get involved and help choose which direction our school takes.  Our children are worth it.  Our school is worth it.

President:  Amy Mayne Robinson
1st VP: Adam Kopald
Secretary: Sallie Higgins
Historian: LaToya Boston
Treasurer: Nicole Shandrew
Auditor: Rob Knaack
Membership: Soo Choi
Ways and Means: Gabrielle Samuels
Ways and Means: Nicole Whitaker
Board Principal:  Karin Newlin
Teacher Rep: Audrey Fann
Communication Chair: Kaumudi Marathe

by Reg Jones

LFCSA is starting a PTA (Parent Teacher Association) and you are invited to join! As you’ll learn from the overview below, there are many benefits of having a school PTA and getting involved. The first meeting is tonight, which will be filled with great information and the candidates for officer positions will be presented.

What is the function of the PTA? The PTA functions as an entity to, first and foremost, bring our community together in an organized fashion to further the progress of the school. We really want to encourage all of our families to join and participate. We have an amazing school, but we are in our infancy, and our growth and success depends on our community. There are other benefits of joining the PTA, such as terrific insurance, as well as health and dental care for those in need. The list goes on.

Why has LFCSA chosen to start a PTA and how will it help the school? Last year, there were presentations by PTA, PTO (Parent Teacher Organization), and a “Friends of LFCSA” option was also considered. Our community listened to the presentations and opted for a PTA. The great benefit of a PTA for our school, instead of the other above-mentioned organizations, is that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. With so many needs in our first couple of years as a school, the blueprint offered by the PTA organization is a welcome relief. It is much like a franchise. Our PTA program offers us a map by which we can find so many elements that will benefit the growth and organization of our school community.

What benefits does membership offer? There are so many values to PTA membership, but the biggest value is the opportunity to participate in making our school community tremendously successful. Our commitment to our school and PTA is directly tied to the long term success of our children.

How much does it cost to join and what does the money pay for? Membership to PTA is $20 per year for an individual, or $30 per family. Part of the dues go to our membership district, state, and national PTA. The balance of the dues will be used to fund our officers’ attendance at PTA seminars and conventions, and most importantly to fund membership for those in our community who would not otherwise be able to join.

When will meetings be? Our first meeting is tonight, November 1st at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium. At this meeting we will have an overview of PTA and give the officer nominees an opportunity to introduce themselves. Once officers are elected, the frequency of meetings will be determined. Elections will be held November 8th. Ballots will be sent home in the Thursday packet.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting, and are pleased to be providing yet another way for parents to get involved in the school community.

Hello LFCSA Parents,
Below are the people nominated for PTA office who have
expressed a willingness and a desire to fill the
positions. As we are a new organization, nominees were
few and interested parties fewer, and these people are
running unopposed. However, the folks below are all
fantastic, committed LFCSA parents and I think they will
do a great job of getting our PTA off the ground. They
have each provided a short paragraph explaining their
fitness and their qualification for the job.

Many thanks to those of you who have become members of
the lfcsPTA. We hope that all parents and staff will
eventually become members and we will be calling our
first general meeting soon, in the upcoming weeks.
Sincerely,
Adam Kopald
Acting PTA V.P.

President: Ryan Bell
From Ryan Bell:
If elected I would be happy and honored to serve as
the President of our new PTA. My wife, Elysabeth Bell,
and I have two daughters – Zoe (7, 2nd grade) and Sophie
(4). Zoe started as a 1st grader last year at LFCSA and
we’ve both been very active in the school from the
beginning. Last year I served on the Site Council. My
term on the Site Council was up just last month and so I
would like to shift my focus to PTA. I have over 13 years
of experience managing non-profit organizations. I am
well acquainted with how non-profit boards operate and I
think my experience in leading groups of people to form a
vision and pursue it together would serve the PTA as we
launch this new endeavor.

Exec VP: Amy Mayne
From Amy Mayne:
I love this school and the fact we have the
opportunity to work with the teachers, the children
and our community we are building with each family at
Los Feliz! I see the work that the entire “Team” has
to put in to make this possible. Bringing the P.T.A to
our school will be another “Tool” that will help us
fulfill the hands on approach to our children’s
education! I am all for that! I know it makes a
difference that our children see us, “grown-ups” get
so involved with their school. Thanks for the
consideration of your vote…..
Amy is Miranda’s Mom in 1st grade.

Ways and Means (fundraising) Co-Chairs: Nicole Whittaker
and Gabrielle Samuels
Gabrielle is this year’s Grassroots Fundraising Chair and
Nicole and Gabrielle both helped to produce the very
successful Harvest Arts and Crafts Fair. Nicole has been
very active in LFCSA fundraising since before the school
opened.

Treasurer: Soo Kim Choi
Soo Kim has many years experience in commercial
banking and will bring her money management expertise
to the PTA.

Membership Chair: Elysabeth Bell
From Elysabeth Bell:
Both my husband and I are committed to the success of
LFCSA. Our daughter Zoe, now in second grade, is doing
great. We look forward to
next year when our daughter Sophie will start
Kindergarten. I think the PTA is a great way for families
to support our school and as
Membership Chair it would be my job to get all the
families enrolled. Because I ran the after school program
last year I know a large
portion of you already, and I am excited to get to
know the families I didn’t get the chance to work with.

Auditor: Rob Knaack
From Rob Knaack:
My son Dexter is in Kindergarten in Ms. Miller’s
class. I’m a founding parent who is delighted with
the progress the school has made so far and very
impressed with the teachers and staff. I would like
to continue to play an active role in making Los Feliz
Charter the best school it can be. In my non-Los
Feliz Arts life, I work in the animation industry as a
CTO who also writes math-laden computer programs. I
like working with numbers, and my wife thinks I’m
already too fond of spreadsheets, so she suspects I’m
perfect for this gig. An attentive auditor will be
especially key in the years ahead as we build finances
for our new location and continue to grow in size and
scope. My son Dexter says, “Please vote for my Dad, Rob
Knaack. He’s good with computers and at fixing
things. And he’s fun.”

Secretary: Sallie Higgins
From Sallie Higgins:
Sallie Higgins for Secretary/Historian: The main
reason I can do this job exceptionally well is because
I take detailed notes in every meeting I attend and
have a good track record for attending meetings.
Already a parent elected adviser, my term on the Site
Council is from Sept. 2006 until June of 2008. I am
also a State licensed Early Education Director, have a
BA in Fine Art, and have been studying, teaching, and
advocating Constructivisim even before LFCSA was
conceived. That’s why I am so excited about our
school!! In addition I have a handle on how to keep
our goals on course with my hands-on experience
working last year in both after school programs. This
experience has given me a good understanding of how
improvement needs to take shape from this point
forward using our talented, creative, and caring
parent body to reach those goals. Our school needs to
incorporate our parents back into our curriculum and
philosophy! By attending Site Council meetings, PTA
meetings, and also Board meetings too, I want to keep
current on all aspects of what is going on in the
school and rest assure, as I do, I will write down
what I hear and and share information for the
betterment of our parent-initiated, incredibly
wonderful center of learning. The PTA is going to
make a difference!