June 1, 2022
Meeting called to order at 5:04pm by Mr. Needleman
Translation available in Spanish and Korean
Meeting is being recorded
Introduction of Raj Raghavan, PTO President
Shoutouts to Mr. Needleman and Ms. Bertuccelli for making a challenging year awesome. Tonight we will be voting for new PTO directors.
List of positions are available on signup.com with descriptions.
We need parents to lead annual giving which is our biggest fundraiser of the year. Jenny Kellard is here to talk about what the position entails as well as give a reminder of how ongoing fundraising continues all year.
Jenny spoke to let people know how annual giving works and offered to support next year’s team as needed.
Ongoing fundraising is available all year through amazon smile and Ralphs. Next year’s big push is to get families to link their Ralphs card. Michelle Groman put links in chat with instructions to sign up.
Raj talked about the need for a new communications director on the executive board. Michelle Groman spoke on the moving parts of the job.
Also highlighted yearbook supervisor position. Yearbooks will be handed out next week with the help of yearbook mentors and we need a new mentor to help next year.
Meeting turned over to Mr. Needleman. First priority is to address school safety. The approach is to be proactive not reactive to recent events.
The school has drills almost monthly for lockdowns, earthquake and fire. Students do well with the drills.
Questions people have asked about:
If you come to the front door and ring the doorbell, we want you to understand that we look at who is there. We don’t allow people we don’t know into the school.
Why don’t you have a code on the gate for after school pickup? A code is a terrible idea because everyone who has the code has access or anyone who watches a parent punch the code has access. The inside gates of the parking lot are locked. We have asked the District about a camera for the teacher’s lot.
Mr. Needleman allowed parents to unmute and ask questions.
Things to work on for next year include getting students to stay in the area to which they’re assigned. We are encouraging families to keep elementary school kids off of tiktok.
Parent question: kids are playing online games instead of paying attention. What is being done? Devices are controlled by District and we’re being careful.
At the end of this year, every student who is staying at Melrose can keep their device over the summer. Anyone who is leaving at the end of the year must fill out a form on the last day.
5th grade families can purchase their laptop at the end of the year. It comes as is. Please refer to the email that went out today. If you are not purchasing, please return the device.
If you need a device, the District is giving out Chromebooks. Contact the District devices.lausd.net.
Covid safety updates
We have had a couple of outbreaks. Mask wearing works. We did not have any covid spread until masks were not mandatory. Indoor mask wearing is highly recommended for this last week and a half. The more kids are wearing it the better.
Parent questions: If we buy laptops when do we pay? Answer: by Weds of next week. The laptop is $300.
Reminder if you are leaving the school, on the last day you must fill out a form in the office so that the school can release the space to someone on the waitlist.
The state of the school:
Every morning that we open and teachers are there, it is a small miracle. We’ve had to shuffle around kids every day with teacher shortages. It is hard. Just being open is a good thing.
SBAC scores are coming. We expect them to be close to prior to pandemic level. We are doing pretty well in terms of academics. We have not forgotten our anti-racisim stance.
We need some work. Use of inappropriate language has gone up. Digital Citizenship needs work.
We’ve gone school-wide with writer’s workshop. We might be in a project next year to provide extra guidance for teachers.
News:
Star and YS are independent programs. They are free. They are not as good as paid options.
Summer camp: Starts the first Tues after school. There are about 60 spaces. You have to show up at Formosa gate in advance.
Summer school is an option for students who have 1’s and 2’s on report card. Sign up soon!
Nasim Kablan announces opportunity from Mid City West Council:
First time position open for a youth seat on the board for a child 14-17. There is a meeting on June 14 for anyone interested in this position at 6;30PM. Go to Midcity.org website for information.
LAUSD has online virtual enrichment classes. Enroll.lausd.net
Important dates:
June 10 last day 12:45 dismissal
August 15 first day of school
Will the District be weekly covid testing in the new school year? That’s the big question! Will likely pair back testing because of cost. Parents, you have a voice! Advocate if you want weekly testing.
We will have a back to school night in August or September. It will hopefully be in person.
Parent questions: Do you have to attend summer school every day? We don’t know.
Is there a yearbook? Yes! It’s coming next week.
When can I apply for YS? First day of school next year. Send the enrollment form with your child. District is putting pressure on school to limit students in YS.
Star Nova paid enrichment will be back in the fall.
Reminder to sign up for PTO positions.
Thank you for your patience this year. It was harder to figure things out than normal years. Have a good summer, wear a mask!
Meeting adjourned at 6:03pm
