Discovery Parent Teacher Organization

General Meeting, 1 November 5, 2008

6PM – 8:30PM

MINUTES





The meeting shortly after 6p.m., at NiFu NiFa restaurant. There were 10 parents and 2 teachers in attendance.


Discovery “Greening”

DPTO President Kris Angerthal welcomed parents and teachers, then turned the floor over to Cristina Hurley (Discovery science teacher), who talked about the efforts that are being made with students through her classes for greening the school. Both the 10th and 12th grades are involved in recycling, and the 12th graders are working to develop composting.

Plastics are being recycled through Ferreteria del Monte; aluminum with Metalex; and they are negotiating with a buyer for the recycling of white paper. The recyclers buy the materials, and the funds will first go to pay off the class debt to the school for initiating the project, and if there are further profits, the class will decide how to use them (perhaps to purchase a gift for the maintenance staff, who help with the project, or to develop recycling with the lower grades, etc.)

Cristina will be presenting a proposal to the board in December for the construction of a composting receptacle (will cost L.3,000 and 24 hours of labor to build).


Cristina felt that the ways that the DPTO could help are:

  1. by promoting recycling, particularly at special events where we are selling beverages in cans and plastic bottles;

  2. by purchasing or otherwise obtaining recycling bins, particularly for aluminum

  3. by helping to identify an expert on composting that could serve as a troubleshooter


Elizabeth Morrison (parent) thought she might know someone at the US Embassy, and will follow-up.


Further “greening” ideas tossed out at the meeting included:

  1. Developing a vegetable patch. Two maintenance staff currently tend a patch on the school grounds. This could be particularly appropriate for early elementary. Gigi Mejia (Kinder A teacher) was in attendance, and thought that pre-K and Kinder would enjoy this. Good soil would be needed, possibly from the composting.

  2. Establishing a “Green Task Force.” Parents and Cristina could meet first to set goals, and then work on engaging students and other staff. Amy Robertson (DPTO secretary) agreed to follow-up on this idea after Cristina has had the chance to meet with the board about composting, as their decision on the structure would naturally have an impact on the task force’s vision.


Other comments that were part of the conversation: How do we engage secondary students? Is there a way to capture the rainwater drain-off? What about an afterschool club that focuses on the environment, in conjunction with or lieu of the task force? Is there an opportunity to fundraise at the Science Museum (where the secondary students will exhibit their science projects, instead of at the Science Fair)?


Special Events

Kris, Amy and Jackie Greene (DPTO blog editor) relayed the discussion from the meeting of the fashion show committee. While there were many enthusiastic volunteers, there was not a person at that meeting who would be able to take on a leadership role for the event. There was concern that creating a major event would also be too much to ask of Debra Giles at this point in time, as an event as large as had been discussed (at a hotel, open to the public), would require the collaboration of the school’s administration.


It was agreed that Debra should be consulted before presuming that she would not have the time. It was also agreed that the fashion committee will meet once more to discuss the show’s feasibility and appeal (for example, if the show is scaled-down, does it still have appeal for secondary students? What about doing an international-style show with traditional clothing for elementary students, and fashion for secondary?) Pamela Willig has agreed to obtain financial estimates for the show, and the DPTO will put together a proposal for the event, that can then be passed to Debra. It may not be suitable for this year, but given the amount of interest in the event, perhaps it could be considered for the following school year.


Cafeteria Tables

A commitment has been made for the purchase of 10 cafeteria tables, but the check had not yet been cut. The check was scheduled to be cut on Friday, Nov. 7th, and Kris was going to double-check on a timeframe for completion of the tables.


Teacher Appreciation

There was a brief discussion about ideas for teacher appreciation week. Kim Bradley (a former teacher as well as a parent) has agreed to come up with ideas. Jackie brought two styles of mugs to give as possible teacher appreciation gifts-- classic, and a thermos-style, and the latter was resoundingly preferred.


Movie Night

There was also a brief but enthusiastic discussion of a movie night. One question to resolve would be how to appeal to both elementary and secondary students in the choice of film. (Have two different nights?) Gigi noted that some years ago there was a highly successful movie night, for which teachers “babysat”. This idea had appeal for many of the parents in attendance. Elizabeth also tossed out the idea of working with say 3 restaurants to have a special menu that night for Discovery parents, a portion of whose proceeds would go to the school.


Mario Pineda (DPTO Treasurer) also mentioned the possibility of a Movie Night benefit at a movie theater, where a portion of the proceeds goes to the school. He agreed to check out this possibility with a local theater. Elizabeth mentioned the possibility of borrowing a first-run film from the Marines.


Engaging Secondary Students

There was a brainstorming session on how to engage secondary students, as it is an ongoing concern for parents with older children.


Noche Beneficiosa

Noche Beneficiosa refers to the benefit nights sponsored at fast food restaurants, where a portion of the sales from a certain night is dedicated to a cause, in this case, to Discovery. This was an idea that first came up in a brainstorming session at the beginning of the school year, and was brought up again for its perceived ease of implementing. Amy agreed to investigate the possibility with local restaurants.


Art in the Park

Jackie talked about a possible event for both community-building and fundraising, called Art in the Park. Artists exhibit in a place like on the school grounds or at the Ambassador’s residence, visitors are charged admission, and a commission of some sort is also collected from the artists (could be a commission on sales, or the sale of exhibition space). This could also take place at a hotel. The public at large could be invited. There could be music, food for sale, etc. Artists could be found through the School of Fine Arts, or through Arte Accion (a youth art group), or elsewhere. (Note, if struggling artists are to have the chance to participate, it may be easier for them to give a commission on sales than to have to put money up front for the purchase of exhibition space.) Gigi noted that some artists will have to be invited months in advance, as their schedules book quickly. It was recommended to speak with Natasha Basley at the US Embassy about the idea. There was a lot of enthusiasm over the idea of this event. Elizabeth Morrison said that she would be willing to take a leadership role in the development of such an event. 


Finances

Mario presented a treasurer’s report (attached).


Miscellaneous

Kris was interested in developing a way to continue to engage other parents and get feedback. Jackie said that Debra had expressed an interest in a school survey at some point, and perhaps we could put in a couple of DPTO-related questions. Zoomerang is a free website where you can design your own surveys.


There was discussion of how to ensure that Hondurans are as engaged in DPTO as the international families. There was also a more general discussion of how to ensure that the DPTO is fully integrated within the school network. There was a feeling that if someone from the school were working more closely with us, we might be able to better integrate. Could a teacher perhaps be paid to work a few hours a week afterschool on DPTO activities to help the organization better integrate?

There was a conversation about proofing DPTO communications. Olena Czel offered her husband as a proofreader, and it was also wondered if Ingrid could be asked to serve as an extra set of eyes.


Is there a need or possibility for a school store, that would primarily have supplies, but also be able to sell DPTO products? Perhaps that would be something suited to STUCO (Student Council)?


How can DPTO best handle funding requests? It was agreed that a form should be developed. The DPTO could vote on requests at its regular meetings.


Can room parents help with staff appreciation? Kris will contact Cristiana Banegas to find out who they are.