Guest: Tanya Williams, Marymount PA Head

Carmen Knoepffler, President: Welcomed the parents to the new year, introduced Executive Board members, gave overview of JSA, reviewed the contents of the JSA folder handout. Sarah Barish-Straus is the new Students Committee Chairperson.  JSA provides opportunities for upper school students from member schools to gather and meet on community service projects and cultural events.  JSA parent reps organize and provide support for these events, while student reps participate, liaise between JSA and their schools, and publicize the events to their schoolmates. (See folder inserts handed out at the meeting)

Evianne Cowing, Treasurer, financial update: The current bank balance is $9757, which includes the dues from Dalton.  Last year JSA received $1,315 from student fundraising and $5,000 from MasterCard for Voices.  Each school is encouraged to fundraise $250.  Expenses last year totaled about $7,200:  the largest items were insurance at $1300 and publication of Voices at $3550.  Service Saturday cost roughly $800, Holiday Carnival cost $600.  A full budget will be presented next time.

Monique Pettit, Corresponding Secretary: All contact information, changes and updates should be sent to Monique so that she can maintain the master contact list.  A copy of the roster will be emailed to JSA Parent Reps as updates are made.  Our website, www.jointschoolsny.org, should be visited for JSA news, updates, last minute information on events.  The students are also encouraged to post non-JSA events on this site.

Community Services Events:
 Diane Discenza, Community Services Coordinator:  Most of our community service events are 3-4 hours, the students receive a certificate awarding community service credit, and a list is sent to the participants’ schools for their files.  The schools’ community service directors will also receive copies of flyers and information on our events.  JSA parent reps organize the events and student reps are responsible for advertising it within their schools. 
Evianne Cowing, Safe Haven/Westside Crime Prevention:Stores that agree to join Safe Haven (Upper East Side) or Westside Crime Prevention provide a safe harbor and a phone call for kids who feel threatened on the streets.  A window sticker is displayed to indicate their participation. Volunteers are needed to periodically update and sign up new stores.  This year, the focus will be for Westside Crime Prevention, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 25, 12-4pm, at Columbia Grammar, as the east side Safe Haven project was mostly completed last year. Students are given instructions, snacks, and are then sent out in pairs to sign up stores. 
Sabina Wu, Holiday Carnival, scheduled for Saturday Nov. 8, 1-4pm, at Christ Church, is for the Mission Society kids.  Each school organizes and operates an activity booth.  Prizes are given out.  About 40 children from elementary to high school age attend.  JSA students will be asked to start planning their booths at tomorrow’s student rep meeting.  Chapin will chair this event, and parent volunteers will be needed to help with the prizes, food, and chaperoning. 
Diane Discenza: Service Saturday, February 7, at Columbia Grammar, the students gather to make hand-made gifts and crafts for people in need.  Previous charities include God’s Love We Deliver, Yorkville Common Pantry and The Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mt. Sinai.
Sarah Barish-Straus, Publicolor:  This organization helps to paint public schools.  Collegiate does this annually and will open up this event to JSA.  Last year, 6 seniors participated, and maybe up to 10 students could be accommodated.  To involve more students, JSA would have to seek larger projects.  This is hard to do because of competition from corporate mentors/underwriting.

Cultural Events:
Ritu Banga, Cultural Events Coordinator:
 Independent Voices:  Friday April 24, Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Center.  April is National Poetry Month.  Students’ poetry submissions, selected by the English teachers, are printed in an anthology, “Independent Voices”, and then read at the annual poetry reading held at Barnes & Noble, which has hosted this event for many years.  Each school is given 6 minutes to read, and then there is an open mike for anyone else wishing to read.  This is very popular, with generally 200-250 people attending, and JSA student alums returning to MC.  The anthologies are distributed free at the reading reception.  (B &N does not allow sales or solicitation for funds on their premises).  JSA, a 501(c) (3) organization, needs sponsorship for this event since printing is a significant cost.  Parent reps are asked to canvass their schools to see if anyone will donate the printing.  Colleen Pike Blair/Calhoun and Diane Gallagher/Spence will chair. Additional parent volunteers will be needed to chaperone at the reading.
Independent Visions:  JSA’s annual photography exhibition is held in a professional gallery and features about 150 works (10 per school), each 11” x 14”, selected with the assistance of art/photography teachers.  An evening reception is followed by open viewing the following day.  Marymount will chair the event, which will be held the Tamarind Art Gallery, 142 East 39th Street, courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. Charugundla, Marymount upper school parents. We would like to thank Peggy Engel, Marymount JSA parent rep for coordinating and getting us the gallery space. Date TBD: it will be a weekend mid-April to mid-May. Students receive a JSA certificate of participation.  2-3 parent volunteers are needed to chaperone the reception and viewing.

Other Bu siness:JSA website needs a new student willing to maintain it for 2009-10 since the current Spence student maintaining it is graduating this year.  Ideally s/he can start mid 2008-09 year, and be able to work with a faculty member or have a parent in the business who can act as back-up.  

Executive Board has many parents who will be “graduating”. Those who are interested in serving on the Board should contact a board member. New events: JSA is always interested in new community service activities.  However, any event that requires significant space usually requires long lead time planning due to the difficulty of obtaining it.  School venues are scheduled and filled way in advance. Such activities such as Safe Haven, which requires minimal space, or work for Yorkville Pantry, which has their own space, can be feasibly executed faster. Another issue is the non-profit’s ability to use many volunteers all at once, since as many as up to 80 students can turn out for an event.

***Next Meeting:   The Chapin School     100 East End Ave. (84th Street)
                  Joint Parent-Student Reps meeting:  Oct 30, 2008, 4:15 pm
                                 www.jointschoolsny.org