HSA Meeting & State of the School Summary

A Note from Mark Adams, HSA 1st Vice President

Greetings,

I would like to take a moment and summarize the key points of Wednesday night’s meetings and the State of the School address for those of you who may have missed it.

Before I do so, I would like to commend the efforts and enthusiasm you have demonstrated getting “out of the gate” for the school year. The participation has been very evident and the events we are facilitating have been rewarding in many regards but most importantly the bond it fosters among the families in the school is meaningful.

Thank you for your help.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

Mark Adams, 1^st VP, HSA

Miscellaneous Business:

• Anyone who still has a KidStuff coupon book please return to the HSA as soon as possible, or if you prefer you may purchase for $25.
• On Friday, 12/28/12, doors opening at 5pm, the school is sponsoring a Pot-Luck & Pajama Movie Night. The movie will begin around 6:30pm, with the night ending around 8/8:30pm. Every family is welcome to join us in the All-Purpose Room for the movie that will be selected by the students.  The tables will be moved out of way for the kids to sit and stretch out on the floor. Please bring something comfortable to sit-on and, if possible, some kind of dish or beverage for the Pot-Luck.
• 1^st Quarter Assessments were sent home a few weeks ago. If there are any discrepancies, please contact the Chairperson for the event the error is associated with, so they can make the adjustments. The 2^nd VP is only tracking and issuing what has been reported to her. She can not make any adjustments to hours or dollars raised. Those adjustments need to come from the Committee Chairperson.
• Please, this can not be stressed enough, sign in for anything you volunteer for. All sign-in sheets are kept for the year. There have been concerns of hours not recorded. Of those concerns, some were because of not signing in for an event. You put in the effort for the event, please follow-up and make certain your name is recorded. We want you to receive the credit.
• The Christmas Bazaar and Trunk-or-Treat were both a tremendous success. Thank you for everyone who participated and joined us.
• Bingo has posted the schedule till February 2013 for the families. Please click on the following link to find the dates they are expecting you to attend. Bingo Volunteer Schedule
• Your attendance at the HSA meetings is very crucial to our continual improvement. We desire your feedback to learn what our shortcomings may be or from your perspective any opportunities that we can engage in.

State of the School presented by Mrs. Coppola (this is a summary, the full presentation will be made available shortly):

Enrollment: 2012 – 141 students, 2011 – 106 students with 11 parishes represented with the majority of the student body from Derby & Ansonia.

Costs to Educate: For the surrounding communities, it costs, on average, $11,000.00 to educate a student. The school’s costs, on average, are $5,000.00 per student. Much of the difference in costs is related to the additional administrative staff and functions the school has. This reason for this differential assists in keeping the tuition down for the school.

Subsidies: The St. Mary and St. Michael parishes, cumulative, contributed $20,000 this year in tuition subsidies for their respective parishioners.

Investments: The school has made significant investment in technology including IPads, laptops, and smart boards for all the classrooms.

Educational: Compared to the public schools, the students are receiving instruction in cursive handwriting and Geography. In the majority of the public schools these subject are not taught anymore. In addition, students receive Spanish, STEM program, and Algebra.

HSA 1^st Quarter Report (till October 31^st):

Purpose of the Report:

To gauge the progress of the Home-School Association against the data from last year and to track the trends for each quarter of this school year. Analyzing this data will assist in determining any adjustments we need to maximize our potential returns while continuing to enhance the relations of community spirit.

Obligations per family (Pre-K thru 8^th) per year:

1. Devote 10 volunteer hours to HSA events and
2. Devote 25 volunteer hours to Bingo and
3. Fundraise $200.00

Completing the aforementioned expectation will result in zero assessments. Completing a portion thereof results in a prorated assessment per the handbook.

Purpose of the Obligations:

1. To offset the operating expenses of the school,
2. To minimize the opportunities for tuition increases, and
3. To foster the growth of community spirit and enhance the educational and social experience for the students.

Finances:

The HSA reported a 35% increase in profits in comparison between the 1^st Quarter this year versus the 1^st Quarter last year. Increase in profits was largely in part due to the improvement in sales for Galaxy and Yankee Candle along with the additional revenue stream from the Stop & Shop A+ Rewards, Target, and the Smoke & Bones night. These are revenue streams that were not done during the 1^st Quarter of the previous year.

The community, as a whole, has earned 40% of the fundraising assessments during the first 25% of the school year.

The goal charged to the HSA by the school board is to raise $28,000 for the school operating expenses for this school year. The HSA community has raised $23,000.00 to date.  A sincere thank you to all the families who made this possible.

Participation:

Volunteer Hours:

The minimum volunteer hours, as a community in whole, is 25% complete with about 70% of the families taking an active participation in both volunteering and fundraising. These indicators surpassed our milestone expectations.

The bulk of these hours have been mainly focused around other activities outside Bingo. Bingo has had about 500 hours completed with 30% of those hours belonging to 7 families. Bingo is a viable profit center that needs to be staffed adequately. The HSA is asking for the families to participate in 2 Bingos per quarter (each Bingo average 3 to 4 hours) to keep the sustainability of this revenue stream.

In addition, there are 15% of the families showing zero participation in both volunteer hours and fundraising efforts.

The HSA will continue to monitor for each quarter for improvements and shortfalls, and implement any action needed as we proceed. We are hopeful to see improvements for the upcoming quarters, and we encourage all families to take part in the school events as much as they can.

Socials:

The Back-to-School Pancake Breakfast, Internet Safety Night, and Trunk-or-Treat have been a great success, with upcoming get-togethers the Movie Night and the Fathers’ Club.

Short Term Focus:

1. Continue to monitor at each quarter the participation of the families and assist with any that have circumstance inhibiting participation.
2. Continue with the dissemination of information through all our vehicles and promote the motivation to participate.
3. Engage in feedback from the community from their perspective where continual improvement can be made.

Long Term Focus:

1. Prepare the 2012-13 School Year events and start recruiting committee chairpersons.
2. Revisit the By-Laws, a committee is in the plans to begin making suggestions for improvements.