Dr. Underwood's Meeting Schedule regarding the Fiscal Year 2010 budget

Dr. Underwood is planning to meet individually with each school staff and community regarding the Fiscal Year 2010 budget. All meetings are open to the public, so feel free to attend whichever meeting best suits your schedule.

Let's stay informed as parents and make a united stand to support the standards of excellence that our children currently receive and so deserve at our schools. The schools operate on a shoestring budget right now and are facing significant budget cuts this year to the tune of $640K. The proposed 15% budget cut for next year will be devastating and will affect every single current and future child in the Goochland County School System! Please consider attending a meeting to hear more on how these budget cuts will impact YOUR child and the future of Goochland County!

The dates and times for these informal meetings are as follows:

Nov. 9 at the GHS PTA meeting at 7 p.m. (in the Auditorium)
Nov. 10 at Byrd Elementary at 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 12 at Goochland High at 1:20 p.m.
Nov. 16 at Goochland Middle at 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 17 at Goochland Elementary at 3:15 p.m.
Nov. 23 at Randolph Elementary at 3:30 p.m.

Please pass along these dates to fellow Goochland County residents.

Thanks,
Elizabeth Dowdy
GES PTA President

PLEASE SHOW UP WED., NOV. 4TH AT 7PM AT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISOR'S MEETING! YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY BEING THERE!!

The following is a public service announcement for Goochland Elementary School parents, compliments of the GES PTA:

Did you know that Goochland County Schools are facing a $2.9 million proposed budget cut for next year? While that may not seem like much to a larger school district, here in Goochland, a $2.9 million shortfall makes up 15% of the county's entire portion of the school budget!

All programs in the schools that are not mandated are at risk of being either scaled back dramatically or eliminated altogether. A 15% budget reduction will have direct impact on every singly student, in every single classroom! If the Board of Supervisors proceeds with its recommended $2.9 million cut to schools, we are faced with the possibility of:

Less teachers and staff
More students per class
Less extra-curricular activities
A reduction in Encore staff
Lack of professional development for teachers and staff
Limited funding for necessary supplies (when supplies are already limited)
Possible elimination of programs such as athletics, arts, gifted education and summer school
Dramatic changes in transportation
...just to name a few!

And once these positions, programs and services are gone, it will take an extremely long time to bring them back!

If you realize how the above implications will have a direct impact on your child's education, please make it known to your County Supervisor that you do not support this budget cut! A $2.9 million budget cut will rip apart what our school system has diligently built up over the past decade! Please let YOUR VOICE be heard to make it known that the school can not sustain this type of reduction in funding.

A Board of Supervisors meeting will be held tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. in the board room at the County Administration Building (the old high school at 522/6). Please show up if at all possible! You don't have to speak if you prefer not to, but just being there as a presence makes a HUGE difference!

In the mean time, please call, write or email your county Supervisor. See links provided below. We must make sure they know how parents feel about their proposed budget cuts. The School Board's budget must be finalized and sent to the Supervisors in January, but by then, it will be too late to speak up. Let your views be known right now!

If you have questions or need more information, visit the links below or call GCPS Central Office at 556-5316. Thank you for advocating for the children in Goochland County!

Best regards,
Elizabeth Dowdy
GES PTA President

Board of Supervisors Contact info

http://www.co.goochland.va.us/Departments/DepartmentsAF/BoardofSupervisors/tabid/59/Default.aspx

Board of Supervisors 2009 meeting schedule

http://www.co.goochland.va.us/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=6FwVOtePtRo%3d&tabid=59&mid=474

Agenda for BOS meeting on Wednesday, November 4, 2009

http://www.co.goochland.va.us/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=ShOGeSq65Cs%3d&tabid=59&mid=474

Goochland Gazette contact info

http://www.goochlandgazette.com/index.php/site/about/

Central Virginian contact info

http://www.thecentralvirginian.com/news/church.asp?idcategory=52

Standards of Quality for Schools

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/quality/index.shtml

Welcome to GES PTA! Back to School Night Follow-up

On behalf of this year's officers, thank you for joining the PTA this year! We are looking forward to a great year together as we diligently strive to improve communication and enhance services provided for parents and teachers. We welcome your input and encourage you to provide feedback or ask questions through this email address gesptavoice@aol.com or through the wooden suggestion box located at GES outside Nurse Rowe's office.

The results from Back to School Night voting are in! The audit that was conducted on last year's financials has been adopted and the proposed budget for this year has been approved. Thank you to the 51 individuals and families that cast a ballot. With efforts to closely watch our financial status, the budget will be reviewed mid-year and any recommendations for modification will be passed along to the general membership for voting.

Holding our PTA meeting via the PA system was well received and the feedback, so far, on providing ballots for voting has been positive. If you'd like to share your opinion, we'd love to hear from you, too!

Please consider helping GES earn 50% profit from sales during our Fall Fundraisers with Van Bourgondien and Gertrude Hawk. Information was sent home with students for beautiful flower bulbs and delicious holiday chocolates & wrapping paper. (The holiday paper is included on the last page of the Gertrude Hawk catalog!) Please keep in mind the October 22nd deadline for both fundraising opportunities. The money we raise will be used to support our teachers and provide needed supplies to the school!

Thank you to those who have signed up to serve on committees this year. Committee Chairs will be meeting next week so you can expect to hear from someone soon regarding how you can help out!

Look for more information soon on these upcoming PTA events:
Oct. 24th at 5pm in the Goochland High School parking lot ~ Trunk or Treat (Contact Valerie Whitby, Trunk or Treat Committee Chair, if you would like to help out before or during this fun event)
Nov. 11th from 3 - 9pm ~ Chuck E. Cheese Night
Nov. 12th from 5 - 5:30pm ~ Appreciation Dinner for GES teachers & staff during Conference Day
Nov. 19th at 7pm at GES ~ Free seminar: "How to Stretch Your Money in Today's Economy"
Catch the latest PTA news at the weblog: http://ges-sc-pta.blogspot.com

Kindest Regards,
Elizabeth Dowdy
GES PTA President

2009-2010 PTA Goals

2009-2010 PTA Goals

• Partner with local schools to create a weather station in the county by adopting a WeatherBug system.

• Theater IV Production for all GES students – The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf.

• Roll out the Kindergarten Lunch Partners program to all the grades this year. - (Volunteers help in cafeteria so teachers can enjoy a quiet, relaxing lunch from time to time!)
• Provide funding for SOL tutoring.
• Shower the teachers with an appreciation dinner on parent/teacher conference days.
• Hold “Parent’s Night Out” Evenings - Nov/Dec & February.
• Provide students opportunities to experience community service and the joy of giving to others.
• Supply umbrellas for classes in the Annex Building.
• Provide a seminar for parents & teachers on “How to Stretch your Money in Today’s Economy!”
• Enhance communications between parents, PTA, school & school board.
• Supply the school with a promethean smart board.
• Assess opportunities throughout the year for enhancing parent/teacher relations!

Back to School Night was a big success!

Back to School Night was a big success! We tried a new format with attempts to better manage the growing population at Goochland Elementary! Thank you to our super scoopers who did a great job dishing out the ice cream!

The new spirit wear was very popular among students, parents and teachers! Please check the fundraising committee page HERE for ordering information or contact the chairperson directly. Order forms will be sent through the school very soon for special ordering and more information on "Lion Pride in Bulldog Country" merchandise!

Holding our PTA meeting via the PA system was well received and the feedback on providing ballots for voting was very positive.

The results from voting are in! The audit that was conducted on last year's financials has been adopted and the proposed budget for this year has been approved. Thank you to the 51 individuals and families that cast their ballot last night. Your support of the PTA is greatly appreciated! The officers are looking forward to a great year together!

Thank you for all those who signed up so far for committees

Be sure to mark your calendars for
Back to School Night / Ice Cream Social on
Thursday, September 17 starting at 6pm.
This is an early dismissal day for the students and we welcome and encourage everyone to come out and meet the teachers, enjoy some ice cream and hear what is new this year with your Parent Teacher Association. Anyone interested in helping to plan the event or helping during the event, please contact any PTA Board member or click HERE to read more about the committee.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to GES/PTA 2009-2010!

We are sooooo excited that you have signed-up to participate in one of our committee(s) this year. Some of you have graciously signed-up for more than one. . . . way to go!

We at the PTA Executive Board are getting excited about this new year at GES. Your involvement means alot and we are looking forward to working with you to make this a successful year; for the school, for the teachers, for you guys and especially for our KIDS!

We so much appreciate your willingness to help out this year and we realize that you are sacrificing time that you could be doing something else, but you have decided to help make a difference in your child's school. So we say. . . .

THANK YOU! ! !

I will be sending out another official "Welcome" e-mail after our Back To School Night on Thursday, Sept. 17 that will include new volunteers that also sign-up to help out. But I wanted to let you know that we recognized that you have offered to participate in one way or another and to let you know that you are appreciated.

btw: If anyone out there would like to help out during our Back To School Night (that is if you haven't signed-up for it already), it's one of our most popular events and we need all the help we can get. Just contact me via this e-mail if you can help.

Looking forward to working with you this year!

God Bless,

Lisa Hobbs
GES/PTA Vice President
556-3056 (h), 873-8034 (c)