BAS PTA General Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, March 8, 2023, 7PM

Welcome, Pledge of Allegiance

Principal Report (Ms. D’Anna)

• Big thank you to the PTA for all of the school events: 

  • Winter Wonderland was amazing, students had so much fun and are still wearing their hats 

  • Book Fair was fantastic along with spirit week for Read Across America and Laura Sassi visiting to be a guest reader 

  • The children really enjoyed the Star Lab 

President Report (Benee Meade)

• Chair Acknowledgements and Thank Yous:

  • Meredith Goldblatt for the January and February Pretzel Sales. Next sale is March 17th

  • Courtney Byrne and the many parents who gave their time and donations to the Winter Wonderland Social. The turnout was incredible!

  • BAS Community for showing up BIG with the Snow hat order

    • 98 hats sold

    • over $400 dollars was made to support the school

  • Megan Scanielo for an awesome Skate Night 

  • Claire Cooper and Kate Ryan for the Book Fair

    • The kids had an amazing time

    • Almost $7,000 worth of books were sold

  • Courtney Byrne for coordinating the Laura Sassi Assembly. The kids were so engaged. 

    • We are working towards bringing in more authors since the kids were so receptive

  • Erin Egan for the PJ/Book Drive to benefit CASA

• Upcoming Events

  • Art Night (April), Field Day (May) and Backyard Bash (June)

    • Stay tuned for MANY volunteer opportunities

• Your PTA Dollars at work/Upcoming Initiatives

  • Library Refresh

    • PTA fulfilled up to $50 per class based off of Amazon Wishlists 

    • 71 new books will be given out to the classes by Friday

  • Field Trip support 

    • PTA will fund the buses for a trip to Turtle Back Zoo for 1st grade and NJPAC for 2nd grade 

  • Cranford pennants and pins will be provided by PTA for kindergarten students as well as new 1st or 2nd grade students

• 2023-24 Board

  • Vacant spots will be available and we will discuss them at the next meeting

  • Vote for new board members happens at the end of the year

• AmazonSmile raised $105 before the program was discontinued 

• Stay Connected

  • How to stay up to date?  Website (www.bas.com), Monthly email blasts, Facebook, Instagram, and Remind

    • send text to @basptak, @baspta1st, or @baspta2nd to 81010)

Class Parent Liaison Report (Kate Ryan)

• Class parents are doing a great job. For the rest of the year they are preparing for:

  • St. Patrick’s Day parties

  • Teacher Appreciation Week 

  • Mother’s Day and Father’s Day crafts

  • End of Year parties for kindergarten and 2nd grade are run by separate committees

Treasurer Report (Darshna Kuray)

• Bank Balance as of 2/28/23 is $25,650.91 less $6,308.87 for OAS 5K 50%.  

50/50 Raffle Update- coordinating with the township clerk for all approvals. Goal is to send home the raffle booklets at the end of March/beginning of April and hold the raffle after Spring Break.  Details will be sent via email.

VP Report (Nikki Savino Mulcahy)

• Variety Show- March 29th- looking forward to an amazing show. Thank you again to our hard working class parents for organizing and running the rehearsals as well as our Variety Show chairs Susan Burke and Catherine Venditti for all your hard work.

• April events (waiting on confirmation of dates)

  • Art night 

  • Arbor Day festivities

May Events

• Teacher Appreciation week is being chaired by Amanda Padilla-Byrnes & Darshna Kuray 

• Field Day chaired by Tina Bondar, Natalie Aurigema, Stephanie Concannon 

• Relay for Life activities- Andrea Westervelt will be chairing.

June Events

• Kindergarten End of the Year celebration will be chaired by Tara McGrath.  

• 2nd Grade Moving Up Ceremony will be co-chaired by Megan Scanielo and Allyson Konzelman.  

• 2nd Grade Walk-up will be co-chaired by myself and Tonia O’Connor, the Backyard Bash will help us kick off summer and that will be co-chaired by Natalie Aurigema, Candra Morris.

A spreadsheet will be filled out at the end of events and passed onto new chairs for the following year

Corresponding Secretary Report (Jennifer Jurkowich)

• Planning another assembly- probably a game show assembly with curriculum and pop culture questions

Recording Secretary Report (Catherine Venditti)

• Variety Show Update

  • BAS community supported this fundraiser in a big way by surpassing the number of parent ads from last year. Business ads were also strong this year

  • We’re looking forward to a wonderful dress rehearsal on Tuesday March 28th and show night on Wednesday March 29th

Public comments and questions

Adjourn

Attendance:

Benee Meade

Kate Ryan

Catherine Venditti

Chris DelRe

Kristen D’Anna

Dana Cascone

Darshna Kuray

Lauren King

Manoly Reynolds

Samantha Wilks

Stephanie Concannon

Lisa Bracigliano

Kemba Latchman

Michelle Goworek

BAS PTA General Meeting Agenda

Wednesday, January 11, 2022, 7PM

Google Meet Link

Welcome, Pledge of Allegiance

Principal Report (Ms. D’Anna)

• Thanked PTA for all that they did for the staff and school and the school as a whole for being so involved
• Variety show is off to a great start, kids are doing well. Everyone is enjoying seeing the kids in the morning

President Report (Benee Meade)

• Chair Acknowledgements and Thank Yous
  • Stephanie Concannon for a successful Spiritwear Sale
    • profit of $192.00
  • Darshna Kuray and her OAS Counterparts for Trunk or Treat
  • Allyson Konzelman for collecting Candy for the Troops 
  • Mary Novik, Jennifer Arianas for arranging our Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive for Cranford Family Care
  • Jen Jurkowich, Stephanie Kanaval, Tara McGrath, Tonia O’Connor, Lindsay Montana, and Merin Rose for Chairing and supporting this year’s STEAM Night
  • Mona Patterson for the Holiday Boutique
  • Meredith Goldblatt for the November and December Pretzel Sales
  • Chris DelRe for organizing our Annual Toy Drive to support the Lafayette School in Newark
  • Jen Jurkowich for arranging a winter staff appreciation 
  • Shout out/Thank you to all of the Kindergarten classes and class parents for the Coin war
    • raised $679.75 for Cranford Family Care 
    • Ms. Arana’s class won!

• Your PTA Dollars at work/Upcoming Initiatives
  • Staff T-shirt refresh, Thank you Chris DelRe
  • Mini Grant fulfillment 
    • Science and Math for 2nd grade spearheaded by Mrs. Oricchio
    • enrichment for full day kindergarten by Mrs. Ruskowzki
  • Souperhero Stroll 
    • weekend of 1/14 and 1/15 
    • BAS has sponsored the Wasp balloon outside of Breadsmith this year
  • Library refresh for all of the classrooms
    • We will be updating some of the class libraries/books that come home with the kids
    • book presentation during Dr Seuss Week
  • Assemblies through the rest of the year
    • goal is one new assembly a month
    •  Jen Jurkowich will be coordinating assemblies for the school
    • Looking for local authors to come in and read for an assembly
      • Bridget Young?

• Parent Academy- Please take note of these frequently occurring events, funded by the PTA
  • information on dates will always be posted in the PTA blast and Principal’s blast
• 100th Day of School (2/13)
• Winter Wonderland Social and Fundraiser on February 10 (snow date February 15)
  • Hot cocoa bar
  • Selfie station
  • Winter hats that say BAS will be available for pre-purchase ($12)
  • Sign up genius will be going out. Lots of parent volunteers will be needed for this event!
• AmazonSmile update
  • .5% of sales will go to BAS
• Stay Connected
  • How to stay up to date?  Website (www.bas.com), Monthly email blasts, Facebook, Instagram, and Remind
    • send text to @basptak, @baspta1st, or @baspta2nd to 81010)

Class Parent Liaison Report (Kate Ryan)

• Fall parties and Thanksgiving service projects successful
  • Food has been allowed back for school parties
• Class parents contributed funds for support staff holiday gifts
  • $980 total
• Looking forward to Valentines and St. Patrick’s Day parties
• Class parents will receive PTA funds for Mothers Day and Fathers Day crafts, will take on the planning for their own class

Treasurer Report (Darshna Kuray)

• 12/31 Ending Balance is $27,132.18

• We came up a little short with what was anticipated to be made from the 5k, hoping to make it up with the variety show later this year
• There are lots of upcoming expenses during the second half of the year, hoping to offset these with some upcoming fundraisers

VP Report (Nikki Savino Mulcahy)

• Variety Show- Our Variety Show practices started this week and we are excited for a wONEderful show from all of our students. We are so grateful for such dedicated Chairs- Susan and Catherine as well as all of the Class Directors who are making this show happen.
• Megan Scanielo is in the process of planning a BAS Skate night. Once we have a date and more information we will be sharing that out to everyone.
• Art Night will be a little later this year (likely April)  We are collaborating with Mrs. Paone to make the experience fantastic for the children. We are still looking for 2 chairs for Art Night. If you are interested please reach out to me.
• Erin Egan will be chairing the PJ & Books collection to coincide with this year’s Dr. Suess Day festivities and the Book Fair. We will be sharing out information on this which will be taking place at the end of February.
• Kate Ryan and Claire Cooper are heading up the Book Fair for us once again.  We know how much children love book shopping! This will be a great event to kick off March.
• Amanda Padilla-Byrnes and Darshna Kuray will be charing our Teacher Appreciation week this year.  
• Chairs Needed
  • We still need 2 Art Night Chairs
  • 1 Additional Chair for Field Day

Corresponding Secretary Report (Jennifer Jurkowich)

• Bought support staff Downtown Cranford gift cards for the holidays
• Set up a hot chocolate bar for the staff
• Gave a couple baby and engagement presents

Recording Secretary Report (Catherine Venditti)

• Variety show rehearsals began this week, they are off to a great start
• Work at the high school auditorium is complete, show will be at the high school this year!
• With the show at the high school, we are able to offer more tickets per family
• Another way to support the show is by putting in a program ad – more info to come closer to March

Public comments and questions

• Question about the roles that event chairs take on. Each event requires a different level of involvement. PTA is always available to provide further information on each event
• If someone has an Amazon smile account  that they have been using for years, will they need to relink it in order for BAS to be collecting the money? Benee to look into whether or not we have outstanding funds from previous years

Adjourn 

Attendance

Benee Meade

Nikki Mulcahy

Kate Ryan

Darshna Kuray

Catherine Venditti

Kaetlin Morgan

Lisa Bracigliano

Tess Giardini

Jen Jurkowich

Samantha Wilks

Erin Mannix

Kristin D’Anna

Manoly Reynolds

Mary Novik

Stephanie Menashe

Jen Arianas

Merin Rose

Vanessa Pirillo

BAS PTA General Meeting 

Tuesday, October 18, 2022, 7PM

Welcome, Pledge of Allegiance, New Board Introductions 

Benee Meade, President 

Nikki Savino Mulcahy, Vice President

Darshna Kuray, Treasurer

Catherine Venditti, Recording Secretary

Jennifer Jurkowich, Corresponding Secretary

Kate Ryan, Class Parent Liaison

Christine DelRe, Email Blast Coordinator

Courtney Byrne, Member-at-Large

Principal Report (Ms. D’Anna)

• Thanks the PTA for kicking off the new school year on a great note

• 5K was successful and kids are still talking about how fun the race was 

• The school is looking forward to the upcoming events. Everyone is happy to have these events/trips/assemblies in place for the kids this year

• Information will be forthcoming about Halloween parade

• Cranford Fire Department made a successful visit 

President Report (Benee Meade)

• Standing Rules Vote 

• Join the PTA

  • We are hoping for 100% participation this year. If you’re a class parent or volunteer for any events you must be a PTA member

• Volunteer Database

  • This is an ongoing list of parents who are available to be a backup volunteer for different events. No one is locked into anything. It’s a great way to get involved for first time volunteers

• Chair Acknowledgements and Thank Yous

  •  School Supply Kits- Meredith Goldblatt and many volunteers who helped assemble the kits prior to the first day of school

  • First Day of School Outside Décor- Courtney Byrne

  • Mr. Mark Retirement Clap Out- Front Office Staff, Teachers and Jen Jurkowich for coordinating a gift from the families as a send off

  • Staff Welcome Back- Jen Jurkowich for setting up a first day back coffee bar for the staff along with organizing small teacher gifts to help kick off the year

  •  Staff Appreciation/Gifting- Jen again for sending flowers for Ms. Morreale’s engagement and treating our custodians to coffee for custodian appreciation day

  • Picture day- Allyson Konzelman and her team of volunteers 

  • Walk and Roll to School Day- Nikki Savino Mulcahy

  • Outdoor Beautification- Kate Ryan who planted fall flowers around the building      

  • Chris DelRe for designing, coordinating and distributing new BAS Shirts for our incoming kindergarteners, and new students and staff

  • Pretzel Day Sale- Meredith Goldblatt 

    • If anyone is interested in being the AM Kindergarten chair, please reach out to the PTA

  • 5K- Meaghan Bottino and Brian Hart for all they have done to organize the race thus far.  Meagan Cuthbertson for being our sponsorship guru and securing so many wonderful local businesses to participate this year. Our OAS counterparts for a wonderful partnership, and the countless volunteers who gave their time to help ensure the event was successful

  • Stephanie Concannon for running our BAS Spiritwear Sale

  • This Friday is the BAS Pumpkin Patch 

    • Chairs are Courtney Byrne, Stephanie Concannon, Allyson Konzelman, and Madhavi Takionka

• Your PTA Dollars at work/Upcoming Initiatives

  • Indoor Recess Kit Refresh

    • These are used on days with inclement weather and when the temperature dips below 32 degrees. These bins provide the kids with many options for fun activities

  • Clubs (Art, Environmental, + Coding for our 2nd graders, and Coding for our 1st graders)

  • Classroom Library Refresh

    • We are working on acquiring new books and replacing books that are old and worn out

  • Field Trips- PTA Helps funds these educational experiences for each grade 

  • Additional fundraisers/Assemblies

    • If anyone has any ideas we would love to hear them. BAS is a community and we want everyone to feel involved

• Stay Connected

  • We are live on Instagram!

  • How to stay up to date?  Website (www.bas.com), Monthly email blasts, Facebook, Instagram, and Remind

    • send text to @basptak, @baspta1st, or @baspta2nd to 81010)

• Parent Academy- Please take note of these frequently occurring events, funded by the PTA. The first event of the year was last week, but stay up to date on future events by checking out our blasts, BAS weekly blasts, and on our website

• Pomptonian Lunch updates

  • Pizzeria pizza is back

  • New warmers are coming to help keep hot food hot

  • Better cooling systems for transporting food are in progress

Treasurer Report (Darshna Kuray)

• Opening balance for 22-23 school year is $13,806.31

• Proposed 2022-23 budget is projected to have surplus income of approx $5.5K by end of year.

• We have paid our dues to National and renewed our AIM Insurance this month.

• As of today, we have taken in $1,600 in membership dues and $2,225 in donations. This equates to 160 memberships.

• We are anticipating raising $43,800 in change for overall fundraising this year

• If we stick to our budget this year we expect to have a surplus of $5,365 at the end of the year

• Budget has passed for the 2022-2023 school year

Class Parent Liaison Report (Kate Ryan)

• All class parent spots have been filled.  24 volunteers were chosen from a hat this year to maintain fairness

• Next year we would like to put the class parent form in a separate email in the hopes that we get even more volunteers

• 6 parties this year (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Holiday, Valentines, St. Patrick’s Day, End of Year) 

• No food for Halloween or Thanksgiving parties

• Thanksgiving event is a service project 

• Ms. D’Anna confirms 2 additional parent volunteers ok for each party and she would like to keep it fair over the course of the year so that everyone gets a chance to come in and volunteer

  • Kate will pass this information along ASAP so class parents can source volunteers for the upcoming parties

  • This year Mrs. Orrichio’s class parents have sent an email asking for parents who are interested in volunteering for parties and they will pick from a hat during the year instead of relying on the first come/first serve sign up genius. This gives anyone who wants to volunteer a chance to do so

VP Report (Nikki Savino Mulcahy)

• We are looking forward to a great and festive October with the BAS/OAS Trunk or Treat thanks to the collaborative efforts of Darshna Kuray and her OAS counterpart- Ginny Colarusso. We have bins in BAS for candy collection this week, we would love to have as many donations as possible. 

  • Students are available to help replenish candy for all of the trunks so that the parents can stay at their station for the duration of the event

  • We are in need of so much more candy this year. Please donate if you can!

• Stephanie Concannon launched BAS apparel sale last week.  There are a great variety of items and options for families to show their BAS pride!

• Allison Konzelman will be chairing the post-Halloween Candy Drive for the Troops! There will be bins in BAS for the week following Halloween to collect any candy donations.

• Still to come is the BAS Pumpkin Patch which will be taking place this Friday.

• We will be having a collection in early November for Cranford Family Cares Collection so please look for more details coming your way 

  • Jen Arianas and Mary Novick are chairing this event 

• Save the date for STEAM Night on November 17th, Jen Jurkowich has some truly spectacular activities in store!

  • Assembly for the first half of the night and a project for the second half of the night

  • Theme for the evening is Pirates

• Thank you to Meghan Bottino and Brian Hart who were the BAS Chair for the 5K and worked with an outstanding Committee for a fantastic event this past weekend.  

 Corresponding Secretary Report (Jennifer Jurkowich)

• Celebrate and thank staff throughout the year. (Weddings, babies, retirements, as well as special days throughout the year)

• Helped kick off the school year by bringing in coffee to “fuel” the first day

• Teachers received Amazon gift cards, pens, and notepads 

• Office staff received flowers

• Custodians received coffee and pastries for Custodian Day.

Recording Secretary Report (Catherine Venditti)

• BAS PTA website event calendar is updated through January

• Meeting minutes will be posted to the feed on main page after meeting adjourns for any parent to access

• Variety Show update: 

  • Co-chairs Catherine Venditti and Susan Burke had a productive meeting with Ms. D’Anna bringing her up to speed on what the variety show entails

  • Darshna has confirmed PTA assistance of $75 dollars per class to help with costume/prop costs

  • Director volunteer form will go out at the end of October/beginning of November. We hope to finalize all parent volunteers by the end of November

  • Student participation form will go out at the end of November/beginning of December. We are hoping for close to 100% participation this year!

  • Rehearsals are slated to begin the week of January 9th

  • Dress rehearsal will take place on Tuesday, March 28th and the show will take place on Wednesday, March 29th at CHS.

 Email Blast Coordinator Report (Chris DelRe)

• Working on archiving the newsletters after they are sent out so they are in one central place on the website to make looking up information easier. Stay tuned!

• Check in different folders of your email for the newsletters if you’re not getting the newsletters in your primary inbox

• Chris is working on getting all staff a new BAS shirt for the year

Adjourn 

Attendance:

Kristen D’Anna

Benee Meade

Catherine Venditti

Kate Ryan

Darshna Kuray

Jen Jurkowich

Chris DelRe

Courtney Byrne

Dana Cascone

Vanessa Azevedo

Lauren King

Manoly Reynolds

Tara McGrath

Katelin Morgan

Allyson Konzelman

Lisa Bracigliano

Merin Rose

Samantha Wilks

Stephanie Concannon

Jessica Satterlee

Nicole McDermott

Laura LeFave

Bloomingdale Avenue School PTA Membership 2022-2023 

Please join the PTA today and submit all dues and donations online through the Member Hub website.  100% of donations above the $10 Individual Membership fee goes directly to Bloomingdale Avenue School. 

Joining the PTA has never been easier! 

– Visit https://bloomingdale.new.memberhub.store/store

– Click on membership choice and/or donation type 

– View cart 

– Submit contact and payment information and you’re all set! 

Any questions please reach out to Darshna Kuray directly at Darshna.kuray@gmail.com. We  truly appreciate your support and generosity, we couldn’t accomplish all we do without you! 

The BAS PTA Board 

__________________________________________________________________________ 

Why join the PTA? To support our children, teachers, and staff and enhance the classroom experience at Bloomingdale Avenue School! 

Here are just a few examples of your PTA dollars at work: 

• Assemblies 
• After School Clubs 
• Class Celebrations (including Mother’s + Father’s Day gifts and end of year/moving up) ● Book Fair 
• Art Night 
• STEAM Night 
• Field Day 
• Backyard Bash 
• Yearbooks and OAS Spiritwear – 2nd grade 
• BAS Spiritwear for all Kindergartners, new students, and new faculty 
• Teacher Mini Grants (additional supplies, technology memberships, etc) 
• Teacher/Staff Appreciation and Celebrations 

Beautification of Bloomingdale Avenue School, both inside and out: 

• Flowers and plants around school property (Annually)
• Library Update/Refurbishment (2021)
• New Playground Border and Mulch (2019)
• Reading Garden (2018)
• New Bike Rack (2018)
• New School Sign (2017) 

There are many opportunities to volunteer and get involved throughout the year, but the #1 thing you can do to support our students and our school is to join the PTA!!

General PTA Meeting Minutes 1/12/21, 7pm

Nicole

Welcome, Pledge

Mrs. Murphy Updates:

Updates to in person events/class parents/guest readers/other visitors at least in short term

aligning w updated District Policy.

• Taking a pause for the next few weeks allowing visitors into the school and will re-evaluate
• We will be notified by the superintendent if and when there is a change.

Lunch/Recess

• Revolving lunch schedule includes 3 days/week in the classroom and 2 days in the cafeteria
• Extra time to eat in the cafeteria
• On classroom days, if students don’t have enough time to finish before the next group eats, students are encouraged to ask lunch aides to move their seat to a spot where they can finish while still socially distanced
• Intention is to still go outside for recess as much as possible through the winter months

Variety Show

• Pause to the Variety Show (rescheduled for May 25) because it increased the number of outside people in the school
• Rehearsals will begin at the end of March
• Class directors to update their classes accordingly

Nicole:

Thank you’s: Benee – Hot Chocolate Bar and Support Staff Gifts

Thank you to all our teachers for their work transitioning quickly to virtual

Provided in door recess kits for every class, additional items will be purchased

Sponsoring balloon again for Souper Hero Stroll – taking place Jan 22 & Jan 23 location TBC

Mrs. Murphy will follow up with all teachers regarding the Teacher Mini Grant Requests (mini grants allow teachers to request smaller items for use in the classroom.  Items are fulfilled by the PTA

Nikki:

Upcoming Events

• Jan Pretzel Sales- cancelled due to current restrictions
• Feb Events
  • Pretzel sales: TBD
  • Skate Night: Canceled, no opportunity to postpone as ice skating rinks close early March for the season
  • discuss potentially adding in Ice Cream Social once weather is warmer and hopefully restrictions loosen.
  • Art Night – follow up next week with Heather Rosen (Art Night chair) as to when she would be ready to go. Do we want to do “At Home” kits end of Feb/Early March or do we want to postpone to later spring (and hope we can once again do in person?) Will need additional volunteers once we have plan; Gallery walk (coordinated by/with Mrs. Paone will be postponed to March or later)
• March Events
  • CASA PJ & Book Collection: Will proceed as planned week of March 1^st
  • Book Fair: Touchbase w Claire & Kate (co-chairs); Hoping to be in person, might have to move to the gym

Claire:

• Budget: $13,276.32 in the account.  Final numbers for BAS for 5K were $8,579.47 (Same amount for OAS).
• We made $1,634.47 on holiday boutique
• 50/50 Raffle Update: All tickets distributed.  Extending return date to 1/19 for payment and ticket stubs.
  • Return payment and stubs to school or drop in bin at Claire’s home
  • Winners will be announced live on the BAS PTA Facebook page at 9am on 1/21

Courtney:

• Thank you for school nurse (lunch or gift card for lunch)
• Lunch gift cards were gifted to everyone who helped with the 5K

Julie:

• Grade Parents
  • Seeking at least one volunteer per grade
  • Need volunteers set by end of January
  • Grade volunteers to begin brainstorming for Mothers Day & Fathers Day crafts (come up with ideas to send to Mrs. Murphy/teachers for feedback by end of Feb/early March, have time to order supplies and deliver to school by mid April).
  • Confirmed grade volunteer for Kindergarten (Courtney Byrne) and First Grade (Benee Meade) during the meeting

Benee:

• Website will be updated asap with dates of new activities, postponed and cancelled events reflected

On Friday, October 29 from 6-8pm

Bloomingdale Avenue School and Orange Avenue Elementary School will celebrate our

FIRST EVER JOINT TRUNK OR TREAT!!

in the parking lot at Orange Avenue School

BAS parents: please sign up to take part in this ‘spooktacular’ evening by volunteering to decorate a trunk, or just by lending a hand. Let’s make this Halloween celebration a ‘howling’ success for our kids!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C4FABAA2AA0F58-basoas

Each school will have 20 parking spots available for decorative trunks. The spots are first come first serve and will fill up quickly-so sign up today!

Please note: In an effort to minimize large crowds, BAS students will “trick or treat” from 6-7pm and OAS Elementary students will have the 7-8pm time slot. Cars with decorated trunks will be expected to stay for the duration of the event- both time slots.  If you have students at both schools, we ask that you kindly choose a trick or treat window.

**We are kindly asking for a LARGE amount of candy donations this year from our BAS families!!  Please send in bags of candy with students starting Wednesday, October 20th.  This will ensure we have enough candy and trinkets to hand out to all participating students during the event.

**Additionally, We are asking for volunteers to help provide non-candy options for our students with allergies (Halloween inspired “trinkets” such as; pencils, erasers, fidgets, etc.)  Items can be dropped in the bin at your school prior to the event.  We appreciate as much as you are able to contribute!

*Please note this event is for elementary students and their families only.

Follow up emails will be sent to volunteers closer to the event with specific spot numbers, timing, and details.  Questions?  Please contact Benee Meade at beneemeade@gmail.com

General PTA Meeting Minutes 10/13/21, 7pm

Nicole

Welcome, Pledge, Board Introductions

Mrs. Murphy Updates:

Introduction of Mrs. Cascone, Speech Teacher and Miss Bagniewski as Teacher representatives for the PTA this school year.

COVID Update/clarification

• Per Superintendent email; If your child is sick/has a positive test, they must quarantine (siblings as well) for 14 days. This is dependent on the level of the region, if levels go down- this changes weekly- quarantine time goes down.

• Please communicate all illness with Mrs. Laxo

• It is not mandatory to quarantine after travel, but it is recommended. There will be no home instruction for voluntary quarantine, only for those students who test positive or are in close contact

Communication/Interaction

• PTA meetings, in person events are KEY to a tight-knit BAS Community

• Please reach out with any questions, get familiar with all teachers, specials teachers and who to direct specific questions to. Phone/in person correspondence is better for larger issues, email works is good for quick notes to the teachers

• School and PTA are streamlining communication this year via email blasts (less frequent with more information) and the BASPTA website

School goal of Whole Child Development

• This year school is seeing more issues with the independence of the students.

• Parents are encouraged to guide children to advocate for themselves while at school (ie. Speak up when they have to use the bathroom, pack own backpacks and snacks, etc.)

• This year with full day school is a first for ALL BAS students and with this comes new experiences

President Updates:

Special Recognitions/Thank you’s:

School Supply Kits – co chairs Meredith Goldblatt & Claire Henderson

Spirit Wear Sale – Christine DelRe

Walk/Bike to School Day – Nikki Savino Mulcahy

5K – Chair Laura DiChiara and her team Meghan Cuthbertson (sponsorships), Laura Holcomb (ad marketing), Catherine Venditti (print marketing), Nikki Savio Mulchay (social media), Sanjeevanee Vidwans (t-shirts)

Member at Large position – Jen Jurkowich

Where PTA $ have gone so far this year:

• Refurbishment of the library (special thank you to Mr. Nick for painting)

• Small Welcome Back $10 Amazon gift card for our Teachers

• Mums for the exterior of the school

• Lunch for our custodians for Custodian Appreciation Day

• Outdoor recess kits (4 kits total, mesh bags filled with outdoor activities) that will be delivered to the school within the next 2 wks.

Why join the PTA? To fund all the experiences that enhance our children’s classroom experience! As well as Teacher/Staff Appreciation & beautification both inside & out. Just a reminder to be a class parent or other volunteer as a chair, must be a PTA member. Link is on our website as well in our communication emails.

Gratitude for Teachers & Staff – major focus of our PTA $’s last year, will continue to plan small gestures throughout the year (in addition to Teacher Appreciation week in May). Courtney Byrne will give more details as to what’s planned for immediate and in the upcoming 1-2 months.

Adding in Fall Spirit Week – week of 11/15 (leading up to Spirit Day on 11/19 – which is also the holiday boutique). More details to come!

Lawn Signs – “Thankful for our Teachers & Staff”; look out for ordering information coming soon; will be put up the week of Thanksgiving

How to stay up to date? Website (www.bas.com), Monthly Email Blasts, Remind – Thanks to all that have signed up – can still sign up (send text to @basptak, @baspta1st, or @baspta2nd to 81010)

In need of Lunch Aides throughout the district- 2 hours per day; $25 per hour. Will help facilitate a smoother experience for lunch & recess for our kids; Please click here to see the flyer and volunteer – Preview attachment Lunchroom Assistant Flyer.pdfLunchroom Assistant Flyer.pdf162 KB  90% of BAS Lunch Aides have returned but other schools in the district are still in need.

Standing Rules – Taking place of By-laws (which are now standard across all NJ PTA’s); Rules passed unanimously at 10/13 meeting

Here’s the link to view: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aUYG-ukWq3x_cfe6Y22asHy-Px7iVRX0/edit

Claire, Treasurer Update:

Membership information, budget must be approved every year at the first PTA meeting

– Budget for 2021-2022 was reviewed and approved unanimously at 10/13 meeting

– Current: 156 members $1,560 – $624 = $948

– Donations as of 10/13 $3,434 (13 $100 donors, 2 $75 donors, 14 $50 donors)

– 2021-22 Estimate:  Revenue $28,460 – Expenses $27,440 = Net $1020

Nikki, VP Update:

Upcoming Events, Thank you to all volunteers this year!

• Informal ‘Playground Playdate’ 10/15, stay and play if your around and bring $ in case the ice cream truck stops by (approximately 3pm)

• 5K Update (Laura)

  • Record high sponsorship in only 1 month including 3 Elite sponsors and 1 Super Elite sponsor

  • 314 runners signed up as of 10/13

  • Advance registration is now closed, but sign up day-of is an option

  • More volunteers along the parade route are welcome, still in need of a photographer

  • Thank you to the team of volunteers

• Pretzel Sale

• Pumpkin Picking/Decorating- more information closer to the date

• Trick or Trunk (Benee)

  • Still in need of trunks and volunteers

  • BAS time slot to trick or treat is 6-7pm

  • No bathrooms/water distribution this year

  • DJ Confirmed

  • 10/20 bins will be available outside the office for candy collection- in need of a LOT of candy this year from both schools

  • Thank you to the team of volunteers

• BAS Halloween Parade- confirmed for 2:15. Students may not wear their costumes to school in the morning, they can either go home for lunch and change or change at the school (going home is recommended)

• Holiday Boutique (Claire Henderson)

• Kindness Day & Cranford Family Cares Collection- further information closer to the date

• STEAM Night- further information closer to the date

Update on Class/School Directory- must opt in-to the directory via google form

Benee, Recording Secretary Update:

Website is updated on a regular basis and includes all information, flyers, links related to BAS happenings. PTA meeting minutes will be added to the website this year

Courtney, Corresponding Secretary Update:

• Teacher & Staff recognition will continue throughout the year

• Week of 10/4 Halloween candy was dropped off for the teachers’ lounge and coffee for the front office staff

• Push this year to acknowledge the Specials Teachers since they often bounce around the different schools; specific gifts/notes are being planned targeted towards what they teach

• Thank you lawn signs will be back closer to Thanksgiving

Julie, Class Parent Update:

Class parents joined a call the week of 10/13 to discuss the school year

Christine, Monthly Email Blast Coordinator Update:

Spirit Wear sale not only has BAS merchandise but Cranford blankets as well

Using S’more this year to enhance and streamline information to the parents

Member Questions:

• For families new to Cranford, is there a way to explain more about the goings-on at the school so they have a better understanding of our events, etc. How can we help them be better informed about things they may not know about?

  • Document with blurbs about each event is being generated to help inform all families

• Request for the teacher Wish Lists to be sent again this year

  • PTA will request

BAS Parents…

The PTA are currently compiling information for the 2021-22 Class Directory.  Please fill out the form below to be included!

www.tinyurl.com/BASPTADirectory

Interested in volunteering to be a class parent this school year?  Interested in signing up for text reminders for school activities and events?  Click the link for all the information you need to opt in!

Deadline for inclusion in all of the above is September 24th.  Thank you for your continued support!

This Month at BAS

September 2021

Welcome to BAS and welcome back to all of our returning families! We are so happy to be back in school and we can’t wait to make many memories together this year at BAS. We are here to help make this a wonderful year and we look forward to your partnership to make that happen. Please reach out with questions, concerns, or suggestions. We can be reached at PTA_BAS@cranfordschools.org. Together we will make this another year of learning and growing together at BAS!

Meet the PTA Board

Have you joined the PTA yet?  Its just a click away!

https://bloomingdale.memberhub.com/store

Joining the PTA is one of the first and most important ways to get involved with and contribute to our children, teachers, staff, and enhance the classroom experience at Bloomingdale Avenue School!

With your membership dues, the PTA funds everything from assemblies, class celebrations, student enrichment events, teacher mini-grants, and indoor/outdoor beautification of the school and MUCH MUCH more!

We truly appreciate your continued support and generosity!

A few examples of where your PTA dollars go:

• Assemblies
• Class Celebrations (including end of year/moving up)
• Book Fair
• Art Night
• STEAM Night
• Field Day
• After School Clubs
• Arbor Day Celebration
• Yearbooks and OAS spiritwear – 2nd grade
• BAS Spiritwear – K, new students, and new teachers
• Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day Celebrations
• Teacher Mini Grants (additional supplies, technology memberships, etc)
• Teacher/Staff Appreciation and Celebrations
• Beautification of the School both inside and out:
• Flowers and plants around school property (Annually)
• New Playground Border and Mulch (2019)
• Reading Garden (2018)
• New Bike Rack (2018)
• New School Sign (2017)

This Month At BAS – May 2021

Teacher Appreciation Week – Week of 5/3 – 5/7

On behalf of the PTA, Courtney Byrne & Benee Meade planned an incredible full week of special treats, activities, & gifts for our teachers and staff with the overarching theme of “Thank You For Helping Us Grow”. There will be something each day of the week, including a breakfast, a grab & go lunch, cookies from Cake Artist, a copy of “I Am Peace, A Book of Mindfulness” for each teacher, personalized mason jar planters, and a staff yoga class. Please also be on the lookout for additional information from your specific class parents!

Plant Sale Pick Up – Friday 5/7 

Pick-up will be on Friday May 7th in the BAS Parking Lot between 3-5pm!

Thank you to all who supported the PTA during our Spring Plant-a-Palooza sale.

General PTA Meeting – Wednesday 5/12 7:00 PM

Last general PTA Meeting of the year – Wed 5/12 @ 7pm; Google Meet Link to follow.

Relay For Life

Bags for decoration (and donation if you choose) will be coming home Tuesday 5/18 and due to return back to school Thursday 5/20. All the bags will be displayed outside at BAS for the children to look at on Friday 5/21 and then also at Cranford High School on Saturday 5/22.

Spirit Day – Friday 5/21

Show your school spirit by wearing your BAS or Cranford gear! Remember to snap those pictures for our yearbook.

Field Day – Wednesday 5/27 & 5/28

Information forthcoming.

Additional BAS Reminders

Yearbook Purchase

Last day to purchase a yearbook is Sunday, May 9th. See attached flyer to purchase your yearbook.

https://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=1014769111342711

Reminder 2nd grade students will receive their yearbook as a gift from the PTA (includes 2 customizable pages, any additional customized pages will be an additional charge).

Box Top Collection

Parents simply download the Box Tops app and select our school by zip code. Then snap a picture of your grocery receipts and the fundraiser money loads right into our school’s account.

Additional Community Reminders

BEACH TOWEL SALE

Beach Towel Sale: Support GS Troop 40035 by purchasing a personalized Cranford Beach Towel. These would make a great birthday, graduation or end of year gift! 100% of the proceeds will go to Turning Point Community Services, which provides emergency shelter and support services for homeless women and children in NJ.

https://forms.gle/aEg67nxn2LE6s2ht7

Graduation Lawn Sign Fundraiser

Celebrate your Kindergarten or 2nd Grade Graduate! Orders due June 1st (see attachment)

A Special Thank You to…..

-Courtney Baginski – Yearbook Chair

-Jennifer Glackin, Nikki Savino Mulcahy, & Laura DiChiara – BAS/OAS Drive In Movie Night

-Courtney Byrne & Benee Meade – Teacher Appreciation Week

-Jen Rodriguez, Nikki Savino Mulcahy, Jennifer Glackin, and Allyson Konzelman – Plant-A-Palooza Flower Sale

A Look Ahead – June Save the Dates

6/11 – Spirit Day

6/4, Rain Date 6/7 – (More details to come!)2nd Grade Moving Up & OAS Walk Over

6/10 – Kindergarten Graduation Celebration

6/17 – Last Day of School

Good news!

There is still time to purchase a yearbook. Deadline has been extended to Sunday May 9. Remember to also customize your 2 Free pages.

Don’t miss out on this wonderful keepsake!

ttps://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=1014769111342711

The BAS & OAS PTA want to hear you SING at the Drive-in!

Join us for a night of music and laughter as we premiere 

the Sing on the Orange Avenue Pool big screen!

UPDATE: Spots are currently full, however there is a wait list.  

Please remember to make payment for your spot within 24 hours of your sign up to finalize your registration.

We will also be taking up a collection of goods for Cranford Family Care.  You will be able to drop off your donation upon entry to the theater.  

Your donation will enter you into a raffle drawing and a winner will be announced that evening via email!

This Month At BAS – April 2021

Spirit Day – Friday 4/16 🥨

Show your school spirit by wearing your BAS or Cranford gear!

Arbor Day – Thursday 4/30

More details to come.

Additional BAS Reminders

YEARBOOKS

See attached flyer to purchase your yearbook. Reminder 2nd grade students will receive their yearbook as a gift from the PTA (includes 2 customizable pages, any additional customized pages will be an additional charge). Last day to purchase a yearbook is April 30.

Yearbook Pictures

Keep those yearbook pictures coming! Please send high-resolution photos (select actual size if you are sending from your phone) to basyearbook2021@gmail.com. Include the event/activity, student names, and class/teacher of the students pictured.  Any community events, sports, playdates, etc. including current BAS students whether at school or not will most likely be helpful. PHOTO SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY APRIL 16.

Amazon Smile

If you use Amazon Smile (http://smile.amazon.com) for your Amazon purchases and select 146714 Bloomingdale Avenue Sch PTA, .5% of the purchase price on eligible products goes directly to the school! Perfect way to support BAS doing the shopping you’re already doing!

Box Top Collection

Parents simply download the Box Tops app and select our school by zip code. Then snap a picture of your grocery receipts and the fundraiser money loads right into our school’s account.

ART NIGHT RAFFLE WINNERS 

Thank you families for making art night a success! As promised, here are the winners for this year’s art night raffle. Each will receive a $15 Vanilla Bean gift card next week when they are back in session. Thank you to all who submitted photos for this entry.

Kindergarten

1. Emily Turon

2. Liam Jurkowich

3. McKenna Oldfield

First grade

1. Josephine Lionetti

2. Samantha Daly

3. Amelia Reily

Second Grade

1. Sergio de Jesus

2. Cecilia Konzelman

3. Cole Bernier

A Special Thank You to…..

Heather Rosen – Art Night

Claire Cooper & Kate Ryan – Virtual Scholastic Book Fair

Nicole Mulcahy (March Staff Appreciation)

Last but not least, THANK YOU to ALL who donated to our pajamas & book drive. Please see the attached thank you note from CASA of Union County.

A Look Ahead – May Save the Dates

5/3 – Teacher Appreciation Week

5/6 – Spring Movie Drive-In

5/7 – Plant Sale

5/12 – General PTA Meeting 7:00 PM

5/21 – Spirit Day & Pretzel Sale

5/28 – Field Day

March PTA Meeting Minutes – 3/10/21

Nicole (President): Welcome, Pledge

• Special Thanks:

  • Claire Cooper & Kate Ryan – Virtual book fair

  • Xiomara De Jesus – coordinating PJ & Book Drive benefiting CASA of Union County

  • Benee Meade – coordinating the partnership with 4th grade OAS to also collect books (and bookmarks) to benefit our book Drive (100 books & bookmarks collected/donated)

  • Staff Appreciation: Xiomara De Jesus – Jan (to go snack bags); Courtney Byrne – Feb (heart shaped cookies from Cake Artist)

  • Heather Rosen – Virtual Art Night Chair

  • Selene Carey – By-Law Renewal

• Upcoming Staff Appreciation: March – Nikki Mulchay

• Will be sponsoring additional assemblies (TBD, Mrs. Murphy coordinating, still have $900 reserved in the budget to fund)

• Murphy & teachers are working on additional mini grant requests for us to be able to fund; 1 request is to purchase paint for library (request from LY)

• Brainstorming additional ideas for virtual family activities

• Supported the highschool Junior class fundraiser “You’ve Been Shamrocked” – be on the lookout March 16th

• Yearbook Needs – keep sending in pics; look for email w specific needs; April 30th order deadline

• PTA By-Law Renewal: Review proposed changes (Selene Carey) and vote

  • By-Laws were unanimously approved by the board and all attendees

Nikki (Vice President): Current and Up-Coming Events

• Book Fair – Final Week, ends Friday March 14th, 25% of proceeds go back to school

• Virtual Art Night – Give details (Kits will be send home 3/15, will have a week to do and have a chance to win a Vanilla Bean gift card; will also be able to send back into school for it to be displayed)

• Plant Sale – Partner w Dreyers; Need at least 1 to 2 volunteers to chair.

  • Will take place close to Mother’s Day. Possibility of deliveries directly to homes

• Plan Spring 1 mile walk/run challenge in lieu of 5K this year

  • Family Challenge

  • Raffle entry with photo submissions

  • Spring Drive In Movie Night – OAS on board to co-host again, need to pick date and movie

    • UPDATE: Sing confirmed for Thursday, May 6 at 8pm- BAS sold out!

Claire (Treasurer): Balance of $8,618.32 in the bank account.  Started the year at $8,997.16, so pretty much flat so far this year.

• We have paid our dues to national and paid taxes for the year this month.

• End of year parties etc are usually about $800-1000 and Mothers’ Day/Fathers’ Day is usually around $600-$700 (might have to offset the low class budgets)

• If we can figure out some fundraisers to offset those expenses that would help us with the bank balance

  • Variety Show- still pending, we need that money (approx. 2k at stake)

    • Brainstorm ways to make that money up

  • Spiritwear Sale and Plant Sale are on the budget as past income makers of $600

    • Spiritwear might be pushed to a fall sale

Benee (Recording Secretary):

• Website up to Date

• Any additional information parents would like to see on the website?

• Chairs can be requested via BAS PTA Website

Courtney (Corresponding Secretary):

• Janitor thank yous

• Teacher appreciation week chairs

  • We need to recruit. Class parents?

  • Budget?

Xiomara (Monthly Email Blast Coordinator):

CASA of Union County collection stats

• Organization stores items and the children shop for them

Thank you to everyone who donated Books & Pajamas for our CASA collection. Between OAS and BAS, we collected around 151 books and 51 Pajamas!

• Make this an annual tradition

Julie (Class Parent Liasion):

• Teacher Appreciation Week: Week of May 3rd; Will send out some guidelines/suggestions to class parents

• Mothers Day/Fathers Day: Plan common projects by grade, buy supplies in bulk. Each class can still execute on their own along with class parent and based on teacher schedule as in previous years. Ask the class parents for each grade to come up with an idea and then I can coordinate buying the supplies.

  • Coordinate the execution of the projects with the teachers and class parents

  • 1 class parent per grade to brainstorm

Mrs. Murphy (BAS Principal):

• Thank you to the parents for continuing to show up for the meetings

• Thank you to the PTA for the Teacher appreciation tokens each month

• The assembly was very well attended by students, especially since some students had to log back on at home

  • Looking to stagger the next assemblies to alternate mornings and afternoons

• The annual Book Tournament kicked off this week

• The Second grade winter concert, led by Miss McDonald was a success. Students filmed themselves and uploaded videos to Flipgrid

• Guest leader for the Pledge of Allegiance in celebration of Girl Scout Week

  • Exploring ways to allow more students to lead the pledge for the remainder of the year

• PTA is funding the facelift of the library which hasn’t been updated in years. Mr Nick and Mr Mark will handle the painting which is expected to be done by September

• For Kindergarten parents- Emergency remote single session days will now be 1h40m for AM and PM students. Regular single session days stay the same

• End of the Year

  • As many in person events as possible. Must be outdoors, distanced, and follow all Covid protocols- these may include:

    • Kindergarten end of the year celebration

    • Second Grade moving up ceremony

    • Field Day- split into 2 days

    • Second Grade ice cream contest- happened with time slots

BAS Art Night will take place the week of March 15!

‘Dream Big Dream Catchers’

• Art Night Kits will be distributed on Monday, March 15, 2021

• Detailed instructions will be included with each kit (also below)

• Complete the project at home and bring in your Dream Catcher by Friday, March 19th.

• Write your name on the back of your project. All Dream Catchers will be displayed in the hallway.

• Don’t forget to show off your work for a chance to win a gift card to Vanilla Bean Creamery! *Submit a photo (include student name, grade, class) working on your project or of your dreamcatcher: https://tinyurl.com/BASArtNight2021

It’s BAS Book Fair Time- and this year we are Virtual!!!

Our BAS Scholastic Book Fair will run online from March 1 through March 14.  25% of the proceeds from purchases made through the link below will go directly back to our school!

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/bloomingdaleavenueschool

This year our wonderful teachers have created wish lists to help build their classroom libraries.  See the flyer link below for the wish lists (also listed below), AND if you purchase any of the titles listed, please be sure to add your name to the Google Doc to show that the specific title has been purchased!  Thank you as always for your support!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-ZA18uVwJKPMgTwLvonKX8nY_eRwcuXUqCOFPzNHQm8/edit?usp=sharing

Please contact Claire Cooper clairegcooper@gmail.com or Kate Ryan ryan.kate.t@gmail.com with any Book Fair related questions!

KINDERGARTEN

Ms. Bagniewski’s Wish List

We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by, Ryan T Higgins

 Not Quite Snow White by, Ashley Franklin

The Little Butterfly that Could by, Ross Burach

Can I be Your Dog by, Troy Cummings

Mrs. Ruszkowski’s Wish List

Elephant and Piggie: Waiting Is Not Easy by: Mo Williems

The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by: Mike Thaler

The Magic School Bus Presents Wild Weather by: Sean Callery

Not Quite Snow White by: Ashley Franklin

Meet a Firefighter by: AnnMarie Anderson 

The Story of Ruby Bridges by: Robert Coles 

FIRST GRADE

Mrs. Cruz’s Wish List

Look and Find Out Creepy and Crawly Predators  by Author Alice McGinty

 The Dodo: Little but Fierce by Author Joan Emerson

 Hibernation  by Author Tori Kosara

Petting Zoo By Gail Tuchman

Pets at the White House By Marge Kennedy

Families, Families, Families By Suzanne Lang

The Wish Tree By Kyo Maclear

Mrs. Ferraioli’s Wish List

The Couch Potato by: Jory John and Pete Oswald

Not Quite Snow White by: Ashley Franklin

I Promise by: Lebron James

The Little Butterfly that Could by: Ross Burach

Speak up by: Miranda Paul

Big Feeling by: Alexandra Penfold

Alma and How she got her Name by: Juana Martinez-Neal

Mrs. Toddings’ Wish List

Sloth Life by Joan Emerson

National Geographic-Wild Animals

Kittens 

Fangs by Jessica Lee Anderson

Big Feeling by: Alexandra Penfold

Speak up by: Miranda Paul

Mrs. Zabludovsky’s Wish List

The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright

Brave and the Fox by Nicola Davies 

Book Title: The Paperboy by Dav Pikey

Paddington by Michael Bond

One Little Bag by Henry Cole

Joey by Nic Bishop

Roy Digs Dirt by David Shannon

SECOND GRADE

Ms. Kloc’s Wish List:

The Little Butterfly that Could by Ross Burach

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold

 Junie B. Jones’s Second Boxed Set Ever! (5-8)

The Bad Guys Box Set #1-5 by Aaron Blabey

Dog Man: The Epic Collection by Dav Pilkey

Mrs. LoGiudice-Alfano’s Wish List

Hair Love by Matthew Cherry

I Will Dance by Nancy Bo Flood

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold

Brave and the Fox by Nicola Davies

When I Grow Up Misty Copeland by Lexi Ryals

Ms. Morreale’s Wish List

The Bad Guys Box Set #1-5 by Aaron Blabey

Dog Man: The Epic Collection by Dav Pilkey

The Never Girls Collection #1 by Kiki Thorpe

Bad Kitty Pack: Books 1-5 by Nick Bruel 

Branches Press Start 

Who Would Win? 

Mrs. Nudelman’s Wish List

Ada Twist, Scientist  by Andrea Beaty

Book Title: Junie B. Jones’s Second Boxed Set Ever! (5-8) by Barbara Park

Who Would Win? Ultimate Rumble Pack by Jerry Pallotta

There Was An Old Mermaid/There Was an Old Pirate (2 Pack)  by Lucille Collandro

Mrs. Oricchio’s Wish List

 Who Would Win: Ultimate Rumble Pack

Puppy Place #50 Spirit

Heroes of Black History: Who Was Set

I am Love: A Book of Compassion

Lotus Lane Value Pack

Narwhal’s Otter Friend

LLD

Mrs. Roberts’ Wish List

 I Am Enough by Grace Byers

 All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold

I Need a Hug by Aaron Blabey

This Month At BAS – March 2021

Join the BAS PTA!!!!! 🥨

Show your BAS support by joining our PTA today!

Please make sure to follow us on Facebook, visit our PTA website (baspta.com) and check your monthly email blasts to stay in the loop! Click  HERE  to join the BAS PTA! (Make sure to click “View Cart” to complete checkout and add payment information).

Other ways to join if you are having issues with Membership Hub:

https://forms.gle/y96FR1MNNg5E7ML68

General PTA Meeting – Wednesday 3/10 7:00 PM 

Link forthcoming.

VIRTUAL BOOK FAIR – 3/1 – 3/14 

The Scholastic Virtual Book Fair will take place from March 1st to March 14th. BAS gets 25% of the proceeds from purchases from March 1-14.

Teachers will be creating “Wish Lists” for their classes. Thank you for your support of this great fundraiser for our school! More information will be forthcoming.

Art Night – Thursday 3/18

Information will be available soon and will be sent out as soon as finishing details are finalized.

Spirit Day – Friday 3/19

Show your school spirit by wearing your BAS or Cranford gear! Remember to snap those pictures for our yearbook.

YEARBOOKS

See attached flyer to purchase your yearbook. Reminder 2nd grade students will receive their yearbook as a gift from the PTA (includes 2 customizable pages, any additional customized pages will be an additional charge).

Yearbook Pictures

Keep those yearbook pictures coming! Please send high-resolution photos (select actual size if you are sending from your phone) to basyearbook2021@gmail.com. Include the event/activity, student names, and class/teacher of the students pictured.  Any community events, sports, playdates, etc. including current BAS students whether at school or not will most likely be helpful. Thank you for your support!

Amazon Smile

If you use Amazon Smile (http://smile.amazon.com) for your Amazon purchases and select 146714 Bloomingdale Avenue Sch PTA, .5% of the purchase price on eligible products goes directly to the school! Perfect way to support BAS doing the shopping you’re already doing!

Box Top Collection

Parents simply download the Box Tops app and select our school by zip code. Then snap a picture of your grocery receipts and the fundraiser money loads right into our school’s account.

We NEED Your HELP!

We are looking for VOLUNTEERS for the following events:

By-Law Renewal Committee: 1 additional volunteer needed to help with the by-law renewal process. Small time commitment – review current by laws, and propose any changes. Ideally will be voted on at our March 10th PTA meeting.

Virtual Spring 5K – would like to plan virtual 5K for Spring but need at least 2 volunteers to help coordinate. Responsibilities would include: organizing and setting up a virtual site for registration, marketing the event, and coordinating T-Shirt ordering/distribution.

Additional Community Reminders

CHS Project Graduation St. Patrick’s Selfie Scavenger Hunt

CHS Project Graduation 2021 is sponsoring a great family-friendly activity for leprechauns of all ages! Try your luck at gathering as many points as possible to win one of several St. Patty’s themed prizes!

Included in registration is a personalized bag o’goodies along with a map to find Cranford’s Irish best such as decorated homes, bagpipers and Irish dancers…you may even spot a real life leprechaun! See attached flyer for more information on how to sign up!

A Special Thank You to…..

Courtney Byrne (February Staff Appreciation)

A Look Ahead – April Save the Dates

4/16 – Spirit Day

4/30 – Arbor Day/Ice Cream Social (TBD)

January PTA Meeting Minutes, 1/13 @ 7pm

Nicole (President): Welcome, Pledge

Recognitions: Benee Meade (Support Staff Holiday Gifts and December Staff Appreciation); Claire Henderson and addtl volunteers (Holiday Boutique); Kristin Ferrera/Benee Meade/Liz Jackson – Virtual STEAM night, Courtney Byrne (Halloween Candy Drive), Megan Scanielo (Cranford Family Cares Drive)

• Need to renew bylaws at or before our May 12th meeting

  • Needs to be done by May 16th to stay in good standing.

  • Should be straight forward, can’t change much.

  • Looking for 2-3 volunteers to be on the committee (just review current by-laws; propose any changes to board)

  • Goal to have bylaws reviewed and resubmitted within the month of February.

  • Will be voted on ideally at our March 10th PTA meeting.

• PJ and Book Drive benefiting CASA of Union County.

  • Collection 2/15-2/26 (bins at each of the entrances).

  • These are the 2 wks leading up to Dr. Seuss week as well as virtual Book Fair.

  • Collecting new pajamas and books for children ages 0-21 to support the fostered youth of Union County.

  • Flyer to follow.

• BAS Spiritwear sale, timing for Spring.

  • Will contact Cougar Headquarters and Think Design Print in town to partner.

  • Proposed merchandise – T-shirts, Sweatshirts, Sweatpants, and Car Magnets.

  • Looking for a volunteer to help coordinate.

• Teacher Appreciation On-Going:

  • Lawn Signs (huge hit!)

  • Monthly “Grab n Go’s/Surprises” for faculty lounge (Nov = individual packaged snacks and seltzer, flowers, Dec Hot Cocoa Bar)

  • Will continue each month through the balance of year (PTA board Member signed up for a month)

  • Published out teachers Amazon Wish List in the Dec PTA blast, will send out again.

  • Discussing additional ideas/initiatives for Spring, would like to plan something “big” like we did with the lawn signs for post spring break.

• Looking to send out a survey sometime this spring on how you would like to stay up to date on PTA information and event reminders for next year — Social Media (ie: Facebook), email blasts (monthly and addl as needed), PTA website; want to make sure we communicating the best way we can with all our families.

• Schedule Virtual Assembly – Mrs. Murphy reviewing possible options and we will be getting at least one on the calendar as soon as possible.

  • In discussion with St Huberts Animal Shelter to present to students how to care for animals (would be a 30 minute assembly) TBC

Nikki (Vice President): Update on events

• There will be no skate night (orig TBD on calendar for Feb). Exploring addl. virtual or socially distant options for Spring.

• Spring “Scavenger Hunt”?

• Potentially another Drive In movie if it opens back up

• Art Night on calendar for March (virtual, how do we keep it engaging)

• Virtual Book Fair scheduled for early March (our co-chairs Claire Cooper and Kate Ryan are planning and more info/details coming soon).

• We would like to plan a virtual 5K for Spring, but need volunteers. Traditionally partner with OAS, will reach back out to them for interest in Spring but will be a very pared down event previous years with no sponsors. Thinking just a great way to encourage our families to get out for some exercise after the long winter.

  • Plan to support businesses who have sponsored in the past.

Claire (Treasurer):

• 144 families have joined so far this year.We also have 19 teachers that have joined.  There are 202 families at BAS, so we have 72% participation (up 12% from the last PTA meeting in October.

• We have received $2,400 in dues (half is paid to national, which we still owe) and $710 in donations.

• Current balance of the account is $9,925.40

  • Pending items

    • Cash Deposit of $36 from Holiday Boutique and Teacher Signs

    • Check of -$114.52 to Benee for Support Staff Holiday Gifts

  • We made $340 from the Drive In Movie Night

  • We made $150 from the Holiday Boutique and we have a box of gifts to be used for next year.

  • We made $25 from the Teacher Appreciation Sign sale

  • We paid $213 for STEAM Night

  • We paid $671 for Support Staff Holiday Gifts

  • We paid $150 to sponsor the Souperhero Stroll

  • We spent $406 on November and December Staff Apprecation

  • We collected $900 from parents for support staff gifts for the year

• No concerns for the budget so far this year.If we do have some bigger expenses still on the budget that we should look into fundraising events in the spring to offset their costs

  • Backyard Bash – $2,200

  • Assemblies – $1,000

  • Afterschool Clubs – $1,000

  • 2nd Grade Show – $600

Benee (Recording Secretary):

• BAS PTA website is up to date and will continue to house any pertinent information, calendar and event updates and flyers.

• Feedback from parents as to any additional information that would be helpful to keep them up to speed in between email blasts

Courtney (Corresponding Secretary):

• Continuously updated by Mrs. Hardman with any needs for Congratulatory gifts, retirement gifts, etc.

• Great feedback from all who have received gifts.

Xiomara (Monthly Email Blast Coordinator):

• Will continue to send out monthly PTA emails (along with additional emails as needed for reminders or special events).

Julie (Class Parent Liaison):

• Food is allowed at class parties.

• Paper Valentines will be allowed, however items that are sent in will need to quarantine prior to the parties.

Additional General Topics:

• Murphy- Students have continued to do amazing during the school year.Parents are encouraged to reach out if they need anything

• Discussion about holding a truncated Variety Show for May

  • Bring up the topic at the next PTC meeting

  • Nicole will reach out to Variety Show Chairs to discuss

  • Explore using the outdoor stage in Union (via the Freeholders)

• Discussion about alternatives to the Backyard Bash

  • 1 class per day could do Bash related activities

  • Potential to create stations (ie. Science, art, field day) to keep it distanced and safe.

  • Requesting other ideas