yep, we (the PTA) try to make is as accomodating as possible for folks to come....I know it helped me when I was a single mom.
I went to our first general PTA meeting on Monday. There were TONs of kids there and parents. I was like, WOO HOO!...then I realized the first graders were performing a song and dance. After their performance, the crowd got MUCH thinner. :lol:
Oh, ok. I'm talking about board meetings. General meetings are different, all kinds of people running around! :mrgreen: That's what we're having tomorrow.
I'm slowly starting to read through this thread. So forgive me if things have been addressed. I wanted to say I'd love to support the PTA but years ago at Cooper, something happened to me there that I will not say on the board. It involved my son. Since that time, I have never joined a pta again & it left a rather"stale" taste in my mouth for how things go. NOT saying it happens here, just saying it makes it very difficult for me ever to want to get involved in that type of thing again. I've also seen much money wasted at other schools (say $800 on a bench that you could get at lowes for about $80) and that is hard to see. I do believe Westview PTA does indeed spend the money wisely. Playground equipment was needed. However, we seem to have computers in every classroom anyhow and a computer lab full. how many more computers are truely needed? Like I said, I don't participate in the meetings b/c of an incident years ago & you may say that is wrong people but I really don't care. I love to support the school b/c my children do attend. I send in boxtops, help when I can, etc. I want to do the picture thing but honestly wanted to know where the money went. Years past, school only seemed to get a small percentage. There are fundraisers that can be done (& NOT that cheap quality, yet expensive wrapping paper one) that can yield 50% or more return for the school. I think the PTA boards have an extremely thankless job. I really do. But I also think when I was growing up, it worked much, much differently than today. I still remember the events that went on in school growing up. It was more of a community type situation. There were meetings in the cafeteria and everyone voted, not just the board. Yes, I know we select the board but most of us parents don't really know who they are. I may try getting more involved this year & try it w/ a "fresh" outlook & try my best (very hard for me--LOL) to forget about what happened in another school. Hard b/c I associated PTA w/ a bad incident & I know it did not happen here. I also wish they'd have PTA meetings w/out "peformances" of the kids. You have way too many in the cafeteria trying to watch the kids when half the folks don't want to be there listening to the PTA spiel. Let the ones who want to be there, be there but don't let the kids be teh reason for coming. If you do that, no one is paying attention to wahat is being said & the ones who want to listen can't b/c of the overcrowded cafeteria. Hope I did not offend anyone. Truly not my intentions. Simply wanted to know what the money was going to & what percentage the school recieve. I know any amount is better than no amount. But I could spend much less on pictures somewhere else. But if I kow this will give a great deal to the school then maybe I'd be inclined to do it. Hence, my reason for the original question. Now, to go back & read the next 3 pages on this thread. To make it clear, I am NOT against the PTA as a whole. Just what happened to me. Yes, it takes me a long time to let go of a grudge--LOL. I'm working on it. I will try to be at the meeting tomorrow. stephanie--mom to 7
As far as computers being in the rooms... I think it was a goal of the principal's at WV to have 5 computers in each room. This would give a fair amount of time to every kid in the class. .......... at least this was his goal when I was involved a few years ago.
True, but we are unfortunately not able to leave them alone like most families can w/ kids that age. They are not their "chronological age" and we'll just leave it at that. When I go, I try to take my husband w/ me. trouble lately is he's been having to work a lot more hours & is getting home later & later. I also have one that tends to be very loud as he's deaf. Makes me feel horrible if he makes a strange sound or something while others are speaking. I don't want to interrupt. I'm going to try to go to open house. I usually go to those for sure. Love seeing what the kids have accomplished in school. Okay, keep the conversations going as I'm feeling more at ease w/ the whole PTA idea this year. May be a turning point & past schools are just that...past. Out w/ the old & in w/ the new. Hope to see many folks there. BTW, I think that a lot of volunteerism is done not just due to the economy but the whole flu issue. Just a thought. Stephanie--mom to 7
girl, you know I know your sitch. And I think you know me well enough to know I wasn't trying to be ugly to you. :mrgreen: I did not, of course, know your PTA history. I hate that happened. The PTA is ours to make good or bad, it helps if the school admins are backing us, which thankfully they are. I would say you should give it another shot....every year is profoundly different. And the beauty of it is if you don't like it, you never have to look back.
I know you are a-okay--LOL KellBell. Not a problem. It's not the PTA so much as it is what happened & I think I'm finally going to let bygones be bygones. Shoot, none of those people are here anyhow--LOL. Why not try something new? Thanks for the reassurance. And you're right...you don't like it, you don't have to keep doing it. That is by far the best part. I will say this, Westview's admin is better than any school we've been to so far. And we've hit a good chunck of JCPS--LOL. Been to Cooper, Riverwood, Riverdell, Polenta, Cleveland(thanks to L. Johnson to moving to Westview!), Westview, CMS, WJHS. Westview's admin has always been willing to work w/ parents & that I do like. We've had trouble yes, but we've always worked through it and I applaud the admin for being able to do that. Some of our cases in other schools have reached the DPI & other levels. So, being that Westview has a PTA AND Admin that wants to work together, says a lot. I do think another shot is in order. Thanks for all the responses, I do appreciate it and for not being mean on this thread. Sometimes you throw a question out & people go on the defensive. Nice to see grown ups on here. steph
Good for you, and all of us, for having an adult conversation. That may have been a first on here..... I have a ton of stuff for you too, by-the-way. :mrgreen:
Just wondering what other kids classes use the computers for--my kids say all they use them for in class is AR tests and I don't know why they would need five for that. Maybe other classes use the computers more.
can't speak for all schools, but my kids are allowed to use the computers if there is free time to research something for homework, play games (approved sites only of course), just surf around some, and get used to using a PC.
