BSM Parent Association
General Board Meeting Minutes
Thursday, December 3, 2015
8:30 a.m.
Position
President
Vice President
Advisor
Secretary
Treasurer
Ways & Means
Ways & Means Asst
Social Programs
Social Programs Asst
Principal
Name
Dana Sohm
Maureen Grazzini
Sheila Jones
Sarah Winston
Joan Reynders
Sandra Smith
Leslie Wille
Connie Linder
Kristine Carlston*
Dr. Sue Skinner
Position
Hospitality
Hospitality Asst
Faith and Wellness
Faith and Wellness Asst
Jr. High Activities
Jr. High Activities
Student Faculty Rec
Student Faculty Rec Asst
Spirit Shop Rep
Name
Laurie Beise
Heidi Lindahl
Vicki Brink*
Kathleen Dempsey
Heather Scherer
Stephanie Matz*
Jane Steck
Stephanie Rigley
Lynette McLeod*
Attendance: * denotes absence
Call to Order: Dana called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m.
Opening Prayer: Dana Sohm read the opening prayer.
Mission Statement: The Board read the BSM PA Mission Statement.
Approval of Minutes: The November 2015 minutes were approved.
President’s Report: Dana Sohm
Printing Vendors
 Dana talked to Devin in Marketing about the use of printing vendors for our Parent
Association events, and whether we should be handling our own printing or whether
those requests should go through Marketing.
 It was agreed that printing requests should go through Marketing and they will solicit
bids from select vendors.
o This will provide us a central contact who already has the printer relationship.
o Devin will work on selecting a preferred vendor for printing materials.
 Dana forwarded Leslie’s printer contact to Devin for consideration.
 Devin is working on printing bids for the Father/Daughter and Mother/Son events.
 Dana will talk to Devin about maintaining the “central repository” for PA materials and
logos after the first of the year.
Outdoor PA Sign Board
 There have been some issues with the outdoor sign board tipping over and the
plexiglass falling out and breaking or blowing away.
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o The sign is not usually moved inside or closer to the building at night so it is
subjected to diverse weather conditions.
o We want early morning and evening drivers to see our messages, so it is difficult
to have the sign board moved around.
Dana purchased another frame at Target to replace the plexiglass since that appeared to
be the cheapest option. We need to replace both sides of the display.
Sandra purchased additional sand to see if that helps to stabilize the sign and keep it
from tipping over.
Vice President’s Report: Maureen Grazzini
PA Luncheon
 The luncheon is being catered by Jake’s, which is owned by a BSM parent.
 If you would like to contribute to the PA lunch, please give $20 to Maureen.
Knightly News
 Please send Knightly News requests to Maureen for each week that you would like them
to run.
 We had been planning to run everything two consecutive weeks unless otherwise
noted, but that is difficult to manage, so please just send the request to Maureen each
week.
Treasurer’s Report: Joan Reynders
Financial Update
 4 additional families have paid their PA dues.
 We have some additional revenue for cell phone recycling.
 Some new expenses include MailChimp fees and bussing fees for the retreat.
Faith & Wellness: Kathleen Dempsey
Just for Parents
 Videos for some of the events have been posted online.
 The last session had a good response and 6 or 7 dads attended.
Prayer Line
 A few memorials have been sent on behalf of the PA.
Prayer and Share
 Attendance this year has been low, so we have been looking at ways to make the
sessions more visible.
o The description in the Knightly News has been changed to make the sessions
more welcoming and casual.
o We will be handing out bookmarks to parents who attend school mass so that
they have the Prayer and Share dates readily available to them.
 Kathleen will attend next week’s mass to distribute bookmarks.
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o Kathleen will attend the Jr. High meeting to explain more about Prayer and Share
to the newer parents.
 The meetings are held from 9-10 a.m. in the Chapel.
 A personal invitation would be most helpful, so please invite your friends.
Catholic Schools Week
 Because of the time commitment involved in planning Catholic Schools Week, we have
added a Catholic Schools Week committee chair. Lisa Elsenbast will take on this role for
this year’s events.
 Parent’s Thank You – Tuesday, February 2
o Faith Formation would like to continue the tradition of doughnuts and coffee
during a morning drop-off.
o Caribou or Starbucks will usually donate coffee for this type of event.
o The Parent Association will purchase doughnuts.
o Students will do the actual handout in the morning.
 Staff/Faculty Appreciation Day – Friday, February 5
o School caters lunch, so the Parent Association will coordinate a dessert bar for
later in the afternoon.
o There are about 150 staff.
o The PA will setup a SUG to ask for volunteers to help with donations.
Book Read
 The Book Read has been moved to the week of March 14 this year.
Ways and Means: Sandra Smith
Knightsbridge
 The VIP option brought in about $2000, less the purchase of the bags.
 We grossed about $12000, but don’t have the numbers from the café and a few other
expenses yet.
 This will likely be a record year for the event!
Innisbrook
 We have a $950 profit so far this year.
Treasure Hunt Volunteers
 We will wait until later this winter to recruit more volunteers for Treasure Hunt. It
seems like people aren’t comfortable committing to an event so far out on the calendar.
 We will send out MailChimps in February.
 We will also send requests to the Call As Needed list in the spring, possibly March and
April.
 We may be able to use additional students as helpers in select areas.
Social Programs: Connie Linder
Mother/Son Night
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The event is scheduled for March 11 at Pinstripes, and we are expecting 400-425
attendees.
 Committee chairs are Teri Dewey Smogard and Mary Tucker.
 The committee is currently working on designing invitations.
 Registration will go live after the 1st of the year.
 There will be no laser tag this year, but we will be adding casino night games.
 There will be prizes given out for various activities.
Father/Daughter Dance
 The event is scheduled for February 20 at the Earle Brown Center, and we are expecting
500-535 attendees.
 Committee chairs are Maureen Segner and Karen Dorn.
 The theme will be “Boots and Bling”.
 The committee is currently working on designing invitations.
 This year, girls must be registered before they will be allowed to add their name to a
seating chart.
 We are trying to schedule a location for the 2017 event, but are having trouble finding
one on the available Saturday. Connie will be working with the committee chairs to
explore additional options.
Advisor’s Report: Sheila Jones
KFAS Auction Update
 Thank you for your support of the event.
 The event net about $235000.
 It was a fun evening and a great community building event!
 Thank you to the PA Board for the generous auction donation.
PA Board Recruiting Process
 Please review the job descriptions and send updates to Sheila before the Christmas
holiday.
 Sheila reviewed the Interest and Experience Questionnaire. This form will be used by
anyone wishing to join the PA and also by anyone wishing to nominate another
individual for the PA.
o The form will be available on the website.
o Nominations are due by February 19.
o Sheila will add checkboxes, with explanations, to the form so that a person can
indicate whether they prefer a Board or Committee position.
 Spread the word
o Sheila will post the recruiting information in a January Knightly News.
o We will send a MailChimp to parents in early February.
o Sheila will attend the Jr. High meeting in February.
 The Nominations Committee will evaluate the openings and the nominations and then
contact individuals for follow-up.
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Admissions: Ted Freese and Kathy Dillon
Admissions Progress
 School visits are up about 35% this year.
 Admissions is doing a lot of follow-up and the word is getting out there.
 We will continue recruiting into the spring, especially with the public schools.
Partnering with the Parent Association
 Please forward any print materials you receive from feeder schools to the BSM
Admissions department.
 Parent Neighborhood Gatherings
o For these events, we have found it is most effective to target specific students.
We are currently doing individual phone invitations.
o If you have any thoughts on specific students we may want to invite to a
neighborhood gathering, please forward those names to Admissions.
 Open Houses
o Admissions would like to recruit Parent Association volunteers to help at the
Open Houses.
o Our next Open House is scheduled for Thursday, January 7.
 We would like a parent in each group, along with the BSM student tour
guide. Volunteers would need to be available from about 6:30 – 8:30
p.m.
 We need about 4 parents to help at the front desk with checkin/registration. Volunteers would need to be available from about 5:30 –
7:15 p.m.
 Dana will coordinate volunteers for the January 7 event.
o It was suggested that the student tour guides may need some additional
coaching prior to the Open House. Possibly a “mock” tour led by the Admissions
staff as a practice for the students.
Administration: Dr. Skinner
Analyzing BSM Data
 99% of BSM students score at our goal range or higher on standardized test scores.
 College acceptance rates are strong.
 Our acceptance rates are up within regional colleges.
Call to Adjourn: Dana adjourned the meeting at 10:30 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Winston, Secretary
December 12, 2015
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