APRIL 2018

APRIL 2018

  • May 17 2018

Moon Area Band Parent Organization Meeting

April 12, 2018

Submitted by Laura Wall, MABPO Secretary

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:15pm.  The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

 

The minutes from the March 2018 meeting have been posted.  Motion to accept the minutes was made by Lynne VandenBosche and seconded by Ginny Kotok.

 

Treasurer’s Report, Vicki Hricz

Please check the website for a current balance on your student’s account.

 

Motion to accept the Treasurer’s report was made by Carla Collier and seconded by Shari Ruppel.

 

Band Director’s Comments, Mr. Nick Barthen

  1. We have lots of events coming up the next few weeks.

  2. Next week is the PMEA All State conference. We have band and orchestra students participate.

  3. May 5th - Pittsburgh Creators Project concert - proceeds will be split 50/50 with the organization and the HS music program

  4. May 7th - percussion ensemble concert/HS ensemble/8th grade/Vocality

  5. May 11th - Jazz Band concert with Ralph Lalama

  6. May 14 - Concert Band/Symphonic Band/8th grade band concert

  7. May 20 - Instrumental Music Banquet at The Fez, Aliquippa

  8. May 23rd - Orchestra concert - HS & 8th grade

  9. May 28 - Memorial Day Parade - Sewickley parade in the morning and then we are done for the day.

  10. June 3rd - Concert in the Park (Moon Park Amphitheatre)

  11. Summer dates and audition dates will be out on Skyward/website tomorrow.

  12. June 8th - Graduation - everyone plays

  13. Summer rehearsal dates and Fall performance dates are out already.

  14. Kennywood Parade - August 8th

  15. Winterguard placed 3rd in Scholastic Regional A at Championships

  16. Percussionist from PSO is coming to do a couple of master classes with our percussion students.

 

Strings Director Comments, Mrs. Megan Martz

Not present per recommendation from Mr. Balaski.

 

President’s Comments, Sherri Von Stein

  1. MIOSM Concert - Thank you to the volunteers who handled distribution of the tickets at the concert and also managed to sell a few Moon umbrellas.

  2. Umbrellas are always for sale. Please see Mrs. Von Stein to purchase them. Also thank you to Lynne VandenBosche for selling a few umbrellas at the Middle School.

  3. Thank you to the volunteers who formed the Scholarship Committee. Information was sent to all 46 Seniors. Please encourage your students to apply for the three $500 scholarships to be awarded at the banquet. Students should be careful to adhere to established deadlines and have all parts of the application postmarked no later than April 16.

  4. Instrumental Banquet - Invitations were mailed to all families. Please respond by the April 27 RSVP date. The banquet is for everyone. Graduating Seniors are complimentary courtesy of the MABPO.

  5. Memory Book Committee - Senior parents thank you for submitting photos of your students. Our hope is to honor all. All Seniors will get a memory book and video as a gift.

 

Committee Reports

 

Fundraising, Georganna Palmer

  1. Spring Fling winner is Tammy Yurkovich.

  2. Spaghetti Dinner - Students get money deposited to the student account for working shifts at the dinner. Eighth grade students who will be joining the HS band/orchestra are also welcome to sign-up for shifts. Additional volunteers are needed. Please see the “Sign-up Genius” online for needs. Ticket pre-sales numbers are down from last year. Please return tickets by Friday or you will be charged.

  3. Next fundraiser - J&J Hoagies - starts Tuesday, April 16th - delivery May 16th

  4. Aramark (Heather Park) - Next year the MABPO will be working at PNC Park. Please see Heather Park for more information.

 

Secretary, Laura Wall

Banquet invitations have been mailed out. Please return them no later than the due date of April 27.

Nominations Committee/MABPO Election for 2018-19 Board

  1. Presence of a quorum was verified by Mrs. Wall, MABPO Secretary. Of the 168 members in good standing there were 42 present as documented on the sign-in sheets.

  2. Mrs. Stathers reported the following proposed ballot: President - Andrea Ward, Secretary - Shea Corsetti, Treasurer - Vicki Hricz, VP Communications - Sarah Schmitz, VP Corporate Partnership - Mike Connors, VP Fundraising - Georganna Palmer, VP Publicity - Grace Cap, Co-VP Concessions - Ginny Kotok and Karren Wood.

  3. Following the absence of nominations from the floor the ballots were distributed to members in good standing.

  4. The nominations committee gathered ballots after members voted, tallied the votes, and then reported the results.

  5. Results of the election are as follows: President - Andrea Ward, Secretary - Shea Corsetti, Treasurer - Vicki Hricz, VP Communications - Sarah Schmitz, VP Corporate Partnership - Mike Connors, VP Fundraising - Georganna Palmer, VP Publicity - Grace Cap, Co-VP Concessions - Ginny Kotok and Karren Wood.

  6. The newly elected MABPO Board will take office starting July 1, 2018.

 

Calendar of Events

Please see calendar on website for a complete and current listing of important events.

 

Membership Composition of MABPO - Discussion

  1. Introduction to the topic by Mrs Von Stein

    1. Organization has done a great job of nurturing our kids but not done a great job of nurturing each other.

    2. A great volunteer makes their child’s interests their own.

    3. If we can’t volunteer we still need to stay informed and make an effort.

    4. Volunteers need to be nurtured by each other and the staff.

    5. No one likes to be taken for granted.

    6. Band parents wish orchestra parents were more involved with orchestra related tasks.

    7. Orchestra parents don’t feel the need to volunteer because they haven’t been asked or don’t feel wanted or everything appears to be handled.

    8. Band parents become stressed, weary, resentful and orchestra parents become resentful become defensive because they don’t realize there is a problem.

    9. Orchestra parents are willing to help but their interests don’t always tie in with what the marching band is doing.

    10. Marching band starts in June and runs to October. Winterguard runs December to April. Orchestra performs in school concerts and hosts orchestra events.

    11. There is a small overlap in services for both band/orchestra: formal wear, jacket orders, and the “nice to haves” that this organization does for Senior recognition.

    12. A meeting was held on Monday for a newly formed orchestra organization. At that meeting, we learned that there is a disconnect, alot of ill will directed at the band parents and at the band director, and that there is much confusion from the orchestra parents regarding procedures and fundraising. We learned that some orchestra parents weren’t aware there was an issue with needing volunteers, newsletter is useless to some, membership/communication forms are overlooked, orchestra prefers another method of communication. Some positive: one parent reads the newsletter because of wanting to know what is happening. One parent so passionate about what is going on that there has been lots of communication with Mrs Von Stein.

    13. Regardless of the outcome, changes need to be made to maximize our success. We need to make changes and shouldn’t just accept the status quo.

  2. Motion made by Mrs. Hricz to amendment the bylaws to remove the high school orchestra from the group represented by the MABPO. Motion was seconded by Grace Cap.

  3. Discussion by those in attendance:

    1. Has there been a financial analysis? Student accounts will be transferred to the new organization if formed.

    2. Parent of both band student and orchestra student noted that the orchestra student was not provided opportunity to play outside of school. Would like to see the two groups remain together because feels that they are stronger together.

    3. For cross-overs how will the student account be split? Parents will have the ability to have input as to where the money is allocated.

    4. Will there be separate fundraisers? Yes.

    5. If the groups split we need to have clearly defined separation so that each organization is completely responsible for its own fundraisers, formal wear, etc.

    6. Initially the MABPO represented the band and orchestra because Mr. Barthen was the instructor for both sets of students. This continued even after the addition of a string specialist to lead the orchestra.

    7. Is there a need for restructuring rather than separating the two groups? Proposal: 1 President, 1 VP Band, 1 VP Orchestra, 2 separate general funds. Starting up a new organization would be a huge undertaking.

    8. Discussion regarding the volunteer form that is distributed at the beginning of the year.

    9. Orchestra parent discussed perception that there is a gap in communication between the organization and the orchestra parents. Suggestion made to send the MABPO to concerts to introduce the organization to raise parent awareness of the group and to encourage volunteers.

    10. Emphasis was placed on the fact that the parent organization must take its lead from the staff. Staff must work with the organization to provide information that needs to be disseminated to the parents.

    11. There is a disconnect that this organization is a booster group to the high school music program and does not have a presence in the middle school.

    12. Must be understood that we have to follow a chain of command which runs from the organization to the director of bands to the high school principal.

    13. Parent noted very little communication from the high school orchestra director. Note was made that there were 2 or 3 Skyward messages in the last weeks which was more than the whole school year.

    14. Question was asked does the orchestra director want to remain in the organization? She is not in attendance to answer that question.

    15. Orchestra information is primarily communicated through Skyward emails from Mrs. Martz rather than her submitting information to the Communications VP for inclusion in the weekly newsletter.

    16. What is paid for from General Fund that is specific to orchestra: pay for storage for spaghetti dinner/pancake breakfast supplies, buses to special events like Cedar Point, small games of chance license for raffles, the UPS mailbox, Senior yard notes, banquet invitations, plaques for Senior students, two scholarships for Seniors, memory books, Senior gifts, and general fund helps offset part of the cost for park tickets. The 501(c)(3) being tax exempt in Florida also saved money for those who went on the Florida trip.

    17. Mr Barthen clarified that any money that is spent on activities have to be directed by him or Mrs Martz because these are educational groups. The directors are effectively the CEOs of the organization. It is different than the sports booster groups. He also stated that it is the prerogative of Mr Barthen or Mrs Martz to sever ties with the organization. He stated that Mrs Martz wrote in a recent email that she wants to sever ties with the MABPO.

  4. Motion was made to close the discussion by Sarah Schmitz and seconded by Kathy Hunter.

  5. A final vote to amend the MABPO bylaws will take place at the May meeting.

  6. A motion was made by Basil Masry to table any changes until a committee can be formed to evaluate and work out the issues. Motion did not receive a second. Motion failed.

 

Next meeting is scheduled for 5/17/18 @ 7pm preceded by a closed Executive Board meeting at 6pm.

 

With no further comments or questions, a motion to adjourn was made by Jason Corsetti and seconded by Andrea Ward.  The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.