An independent, non-profit community based organization.

Next Regular Meeting Date

Folsom Educational Foundation – September 14, 2009

Members present:  Danyele Passalaqua, Kacey Storey, Andrea Derringer, Dina Abbamondi, MaryBeth Spiegel, Joanne Wiessner, Rita Howell, Peggy Ingemi, Jennifer Cirillo, Sue Chille, Denean Chiumento and Janet Worrell.

The meeting was called to order at 4:02 PM.

Joanne motioned to approve the minutes from the June 1, 2009 meeting and Janet seconded the motion.  The motion to approve the minutes was approved.

Treasurer’s Report:

MaryBeth reviewed the Foundation’s finances. MaryBeth will be working with Andrea this year to transition the Treasurer’s responsibilities and accounts over to her.  MaryBeth will meet with Hank LoCicero to review the accounts.  Please let her know if a check is needed.  To date, the balance in the TD Bank Checking account is $3,138.56. Folsom’s Jeans for Charity donated $400 to the Foundation in June and recent expenditures include:   FEF’s $50 award for Nicolette Norton, field trip buses ($646), NJ annual report ($25), Bagliani’s for Teacher’s luncheon ($216.12) and 6^th Grade Activity Fund ($2,000.)  The Money Market account has $26,429.48 available, and the Folsom Hunting and Fishing Scholarship account has a balance of $3,974.15. MaryBeth made a motion to thank Hank for his donation of time/expertise and his refusal for payment with a $50 gift certificate to dinner.  Kacey seconded the motion and it was approved.  Also, Peggy motioned to approve the financial report and Rita seconded the motion.  The financial report was approved.

Correspondence:

Several correspondence items and thank you cards were received by the Foundation.

• Nicolette Norton and Nico Porretta – Thank you to the Foundation from students who received awards at the 8th Graduation Ceremony in June 2009.
• ARC of Atlantic County - A letter was received asking for donations to the ARC’s programs and special events.  Danyele will share this with Folsom’s “Jeans for Charity.”

 Old Business:

Teacher’s Luncheon:

The Folsom BOE asked if the Foundation could pay for the National Teacher’s Day luncheon in May.  The Foundation agreed as teachers help with Foundation fundraisers and events.  The bill to Bagliani’s was paid during the summer.

Student Presentation:

The Folsom Educational Foundation partially sponsored Folsom student, Jake McBrearty, for a People-to-People project.  Jake went to London over the summer to participate in the program.  As part of the funding, Jake must present this opportunity to his classmates, the Foundation and possibly the BOE.  A suggested timeframe would be to present before October 1, 2009.

New Business:

Back to School:

Back to School Night will be September 24 at 7 PM.  It was suggested to update the photos and information on the Membership Board.  Dina and Jen will print out a few new photos from Comedy Night and Stokes trips.  This will be helpful for other parent programs being held in the building.  In addition, it was suggested to promote the Foundation in the front glass cases or on a bulletin board.

6^th Grade Stokes Trip:

The Foundation was contacted to help pay the deposit for this year’s Stokes Trip.  The Foundation paid $2,000, $50 per student the agreed upon amount of funding.  This was based on 40 students attending.  When I final student count is confirmed, the Foundation will pay the remainder.

GL Scrip:

Members are interested in holding this fundraiser this fall.  It was suggested to run the fundraiser from October 8 – 29^th with an intended delivery of gift cards the week of November 23^rd.  Dina will coordinate the advertising and order collection.  Jen, Denean, Danyele, MaryBeth and Kacey offered to help with the order processing and gift card sorting.  A question was raised whether this fundraiser needs to be approved by the Folsom Board of Education.  Danyele will check with administration.

Comedy Night:

Danyele mentioned possibly changing the date of Comedy Night for next year, pushing it back from January to February.  It was decided to keep the event in January, the weekend before the Superbowl.  Comedy Night is tentatively set for January 30, 2010.  A committee meeting will be held on Monday, October 5 at 4 PM in the Library.

Assembly:

Rita shared an assembly program on reading and magic as well as environmental topics.  Danyele shared information about “Flags Unfurled,” a patriotic assembly, and Keppel’s Magical Reading programs.  Rita will contact the companies to learn more about pricing.  Thank you all for keeping an eye out for educational and entertaining assemblies that would be appropriate for all grade-levels. The Foundation hopes to hold the assemblies this spring.

Other Business:

The next scheduled meeting will be on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 4:00 PM.
The remaining meetings are scheduled for March 1, 2010 and June 7, 2010.

Peggy presented a motion to adjourn and MaryBeth seconded the motion. The motion was approved. The meeting adjourned at 4:50 PM.

Next meeting topics:

• GL Scrip
• Comedy Night
• Assembly