Cindy Hricenak, Vice President, brought the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m..
Those in attendance were as follows: Officers-Vice President Cindy Hricenak, Treasurer Linda Hoy, Secretary Suzanne Kuijpers and Teacher Rep. Sue Stone. Parents: Roxanne Zuber, Georgiann Noll, Heidi Andreatti, Diane Mack, Jen Dunkelberger, Brenda Brassington, Regina Longenhagen, Kim Levan, Sue Griscavage and Juanita R. Helwig.
Patrolman Christopher R. Grow of the Ralpho Township Police Department, was our guest speaker for the evening. His topic for our meeting was " Talking To Your Children About Drugs".
He explained that Bullying and Cyber Bullying can eventually lead to drug abuse. He said that no one can really win the war on drugs but the police department hopes to put a dent in it.
He explained to the parents present that it is never too early to begin talking to your kids about drugs. Tell them that medicines are drugs and should only be taken when their parent is giving it to them. He told us to remind them that drugs are BAD even from an early age. Tell them that they should NEVER do drugs!! His advice was to talk to our kids as you would an adult-don't scream at them. Allow them to have open discussions with you on a regular basis about drugs. Use stories in the news as an opportunity for a teaching moment. Try to make them strong individuals so that they can stand up to peer pressure. Tell them to be strong and "JUST SAY NO". A structured home life is the best building block for your child's future.
He discussed robberies in our area that were also based on drug abuse. People will steal money or things they can sell to support their drug habit.
He also touched on how Bath Salts are being used and have the same effects as Cocaine or Meth. He said if you inhale a 1 inch line of bath salts, you may be awake for three days. Bath salts are legal right now, but will hopefully be illegal by the end of this month ( along with incense that is used as a drug). The incense is called Synthetic Cannibus and also is very dangerous . He told us about Huffing which is when butane from lighters is inhaled. This is commonly done by kids 11-15 years of age.
Officer Grow encouraged us to call him if we ever have any questions or need his help talking to our kids. He is willing to talk directly to the child or teen or discuss possible problems we may be having as parents. A resource he gave us for checking any suspicious pills we may come across is : www.drugs.com You can go on this website and describe the pill and it will identify it. We also received information about " TAKE BACK". You should not flush pills down the toilet or throw them in the garbage. You can take them to the police station during "TAKE BACK" and there will be no questions asked.
There was not a President's Report or Principal's Report as Karen Wojtowicz and Mr. Shirvinski were not present at the meeting.
Cindy Hricenak gave the Vice President's Report. She thanked Amy Snyder and Roxanne Zuber for all their hard work with Donuts With Dad event. The event was well attended and a great time was had by all ! Donations were taken at the event and $350.00 was raised for The Habitat For Humanity.
Linda Hoy gave the Treasurer's Report. Linda gave the ending balance of $24,536.62. The Class Fund balance is currently $6296.46. The individual class funds are as follows:
Kindergarten:$19.11
1st Grade: $1339.05
2nd Grade:$1366.74
3rd Grade: $1501.71
4th Grade: $2069.85
The Treasurer's Report was approved by a motion from Heidi Andreatti and a second from Jen Dunkelberger.
Suzanne Kuijpers gave the Secretary's Report which consisted of a review of the February Minutes. The Minutes were approved by a motion from Sue Griscavage and a second from Georgiann Noll.
Linda asked for volunteers to help out with the Gertrude Hawk Fundraiser. She said that help is needed to sort out the order forms and also to help with the pick up days. The pick up days are April 7th and 8th and you can email Linda if you are able to help out . She also asked for volunteers for Spring Picture Day and Spring Book Fair, as well as Reading Night. There were sign up forms available after the meeting .
Our next meeting will be April 5th at 6:30 p.m. in the elementary library. We hope you can join us then!!! Thanks to all who attended our March meeting and for all you do to support HART!!!
Cindy made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 which was approved by Diane Mack and a second from Roxanne Zuber.
