Dearborn PTSA

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Safest plastics for food and beverages PDF Print E-mail

The Conscious Consumer 

By Lori Bongiorno Posted Mon Nov 3, 2008 10:28pm PST 

Some plastics are safer to eat and drink from than others. Here's a quick guide to help you make informed choices. If you want to dig deeper, take a look at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Smart Plastics Guide (PDF).  

It's worth avoiding the following plastics when you can. You can identify a plastic by looking at the recycling code number that appears inside a triangle at the bottom of many containers.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) can leach phthalates, known male reproductive toxicants. It can be identified by code 3. One way to avoid it in the kitchen is by choosing plastic wrap made from polyethylene rather than PVC. If a box is not labeled, find a brand that is or call the manufacturer. 

Polystyrene is used in Styrofoam products. It may leach styrene (a neurotoxin) when it comes into contact with hot, acidic, or fatty foods. It's marked with recycling code 6. 

Polycarbonate can leach bisphenol-A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor associated with a long list of health concerns. Baby bottles, "sippy" cups, 5-gallon water jugs, and reusable beverage bottles are typically made out of this plastic. Products may be marked with recycling code 7 (also includes any plastic that doesn't fit into the 1 to 6 recycling code categories) and/or the letters "PC."

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October, 2008 Meeting PDF Print E-mail

Dearborn PTSA Council
Oct. 29, 2008 Meeting Minutes

(these minutes are propsed and subject to approval at the November meeting)

Meeting was called to order by Colette Dunsmore at 9:18am.
Minutes from the September meeting were approved with corrections.
Treasurer's report was approved.

Connie Lyon mentioned that each unit needs to make sure their remittance form is in and that they all need to be in good standings for the awards at Founders' Day. Nominations need to be turned in by December for DSA awards.

Mr. Brian Whiston, Superintendent, discussed high school reviews and that there were surveys mailed to high school students and their parents. Mr. Whiston also spoke again about the Five Year Plan.  
Note to reference: board meetings are different this year, the first one is the standard meeting and the second one is like a study session.

Dale Werth- Green Schools

Dale spoke on the criterias for being a green school. He is trying to get every school in the district to become a green school so that our district will be the only one with 100% participation. When you become a green school they will send you a flag and a certificate. There are ways that the PTA units can support these programs.

Jason Marion spoke about a new fundraiser idea with Bear Claw Coffee.  

Founders' Day- Roxanne McDonald
Founders' Day is on Feb. 27th 5:30 to 6:00 is Mix and mingle
We will start promptly at 6:00pm and we will have to move quickly. Please make sure you are in good standing by Dec. 31, 2008. Please RSVP with payment for members who will be attending to Lisa Joachim by Feb. 2, 2009. Your DSA awards need to be submitted by Dec. 19, 2008.

We are still looking for someone to take the Reflections chair position for council. The theme for this year is Wow! Colette is telling other PTA units in the district to set their deadline for Dec 1, 2008.

Debbie Malyn spoke on the Recreation Center bringing back open gym nights. There is a meeting on Nov 11, 2008 at 7:00pm at the Performing Arts Center. Debbie also spoke on Relay for Life. The Relay is May 2-3 from 10 am to 10 am. Assembly options are available for Mini Relays. More information will be coming in the months ahead. 

Mary Petlichkoff said if anyone has any concerns or comments about traffic issues at the school to contact her.  

Ernie Oz spoke on the strategic plan. Meetings are coming up on November 18th and 19th at the Administrative Services Center. Ernie encouraged everyone to participate. 

Thomas Trimble mentioned that we went ahead and sent out the voter’s guide. Four out of Five running for School Board answered the questionnaire.  

Colette mentioned that the Education Foundation is having a pizza night on Nov 5th and that Mardi Gras is Feb. 24, 2009. Roxanne mentioned that Cub Scout Pack 1112 is having a clothing drive and that other Cub Scout troops will be doing Can Do.

Helena Thornton is doing a proposal for later start times for the high schools. There is research on the PTSA website. We need people to join Helena. In like anything you, do you have to give a proposal and a solution. Anything the district will do will start with a study group. Ernie Oz made a motion for someone to make a resolution and submit it to the superintendent. Motion was approved by the members present. 

Meeting was adjourned at 11:05 am

Respectfully submitted by
Brenda Kaleto
Dearborn PTSA Council Secretary

 
Creative School Design PDF Print E-mail

Lessons from the Mall: A School with a Commercial Aesthetic

Turn your school into a marketplace of ideas.

by Randall Fielding
Annalise Gehling

Check out the full article with pictures and links to related subjects:  Redesign

Space Age: Just as malls use large common areas to evoke a sense of "Main Street," Apple Valley High School, in Apple Valley, Minnesota -- with its tall windows, soaring ceilings, and open plan -- gives students the kind of organized freedom that may lift their sights. Credit: Courtesy of

DesignShare

Seeing Is Relieving: In the way a successful mall design energizes the customer, a mix of colors, textures, wall art, lighting, even indoor plants, keeps boredom at bay at Apple Valley High School. Credit: Courtesy of DesignShare

What Goes Round: In the relaxed, inviting style of a mall food court, round tables and comfortable chairs create an atmosphere of collaborative study at Apple Valley without the old-school regimentation of desks in rows and harsh fluorescent tube lights. Credit: Courtesy of DesignShare 

Any educator walking through a well-designed mall will see kids of secondary school age who are far more actively engaged with their surroundings than when they're in school. 

A large part of the appeal of a mall is that there is no obligation to do anything other than hang out, see friends, eat, window shop, and enjoy the show. In most American towns, malls have replaced the town squares and main streets, places where teenagers congregated in the Back to the Future era.

And clearly, buying a T-shirt at the Gap is easier, and more immediately gratifying, than grappling with the theory of quantum mechanics or the rigors of iambic pentameter. But there are lessons to be learned from the modern shopping scene. In design terms, some of the calculations of mall planning can be replicated in schools, whether for new construction or renovations, with significant results.

Decoding the Design

Malls are machines for making money; they are intended to entice and captivate. The arrangement of goods in display windows and spilling out of shop fronts, carefully lit for maximum allure, is a specially calibrated invitation to invite us into that shop. The eye-catching signs proclaiming "Sale!" or "Bargain!" generate more interest. The mere presence of so many stores side by side means we're guaranteed to find something we like, somewhere, sooner rather than later. The mall is like one big, craftily designed signal to come in and hang around.

Typical high schools rarely entice and captivate. Students are there by decree, so no invitation is deemed necessary. Classroom furniture is usually standard issue and rarely comfortable, though teachers often do what they can to make their classrooms more appealing. And outside the classroom, there's rarely any furniture at all. Walking into a school can't be the same as walking into Abercrombie & Fitch. The store shouts, "Buy!" and the school says (hopefully) "Learn." But if a school is simply a place students want to get out of as soon as possible, it has to be considered a design failure. 

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