Due to inclement weather, this month’s meeting was held via Google Meet. The virtual meeting was called to order at 7:06pm. Attendees included: Dany Abdallah, Gigi Michalec, Siuyien Mathews, Jeff Kerr, Dotty Cronan, Nancy Keefe, Michael Sangalang, Katie Neal-Rizzo, Bebhinn O’Connell.
November meeting minutes were approved by all.
Fine Arts Director (Jeff Kerr) Update
A presentation will be made to the School Board Meeting on Wed evening regarding the achievements of the Marching Band and the students accepted to ACDA.
The Madrigal Banquet will be held on Fri. NHS admin attending, along with Theresa Stewart from School Board. Thoughts of asking the Knights of Columbus to accommodate Thurs night rehearsal to alleviate setup/breakdown on Wednesday for all involved. Knights of Columbus hold Bingo Thurs nights throughout the year and they have been unwilling to reschedule that in the past.
NHS winter concert will be held on 12/11, will be using GoFans for tickets. The following week will be the CMS Concerts, Tues (Choral, Wed (Orchestra) and Thur (Band.) Elementary concerts will be occurring in the mornings and filmed by NCM.
Madrigal and Celtic Strings elementary tour will be on Mon 12/22. Stopping for lunch at Conrad’s – sponsored by the PMA. Still figuring out the timing as procuring a bus (conflicts with middle school bus schedule) is difficult.
Jazz Classic logistics & financials are in the works with Steve Conant. $200 is the registration fee, wondering if this is financially reasonable compared to the cost of hosting, etc.
NYC Trip proposal is ongoing – logistics to get it in front of the school committee. May not happen until January due to agenda scheduling. Will cause a smaller window for decimating info out to parents & families.
Flyer for Winter concert needs to go out on social media, Jeff will make one, make sure QR code for GoFans will be on it.
We will use the Coakley for the Jazz Classic as a dry run for MAJE (Thur 2/12 – Jazz Classic, MAJE – 3/14). Norwood Rec Basketball will share bldg on the evening of 2/12 but has a separate entrance and should not conflict.
Winter concert: donations to PMA, tickets goes to Fine Arts
Ms. Hartnett needs more assistance as the choral program has greatly increased in numbers. There is no current point person (choral coordinator) for the chorus program. In the past, there were 3 positions (choral coordinator, Madrigal coordinator & Choral MICCA coordinator), currently only Bebhinn is holding the Madrigal position. Since COVID, a single parent volunteer has held all 3 positions per year and it is not tenable as it is a huge time commitment and a daunting task for anyone not familiar with all the details. Ideally, it should be a minimum of 3 people and co-coordinators are welcome. PMA has reached out for volunteers and haven’t gotten any feedback. Various people have been asked and most of them have reservations. Will continue to pursue this issue.
Treasurer Update: (Dany)
Summary of Nov 2025 expenses. Slight increase in balance from Oct. Funds were added from Madrigal Banquet tickets and Caroling fundraiser. Expenses include stipend checks from summer camp, Marching Band Classic registration (but offset by registration fees coming in), Marching Band end of season party balance and sweatshirts for the Celtic Strings.
Nov Budget approved
Ways & Means: (Dany)
Top Golf: sent several proposals for a fundraising event, we can set the price for tickets and need to set a date (perhaps sometime in Feb). If successful, we could schedule a 2nd fundraiser later in the year.
Discussion about additional fundraising: restaurant fundraising? Humble Pie is set for Easter. Mattress fundraiser?
Discussion about how much fundraising is necessary in general. We have a large amount in investments that we’d like to keep as a reserve. Preferably we should raise what we spend each year.
Other Business/Comments:
A spring FL trip may conflict with other spring break trips, ie. AP Sem/Research trip to Europe.
No elementary/middle school honors concert this year. Separate honors programs are in the works at the elementary and middle school level.
Table old marching uniform discussions until January. Also pictures of Seniors like the athletic pictures.
General discussion about elementary school tour logistics and Madrigal Banquet spending and planning.
Dany set up an account on Zeffy – it’s a website that serves nonprofit organizations as a fundraising platform. They don’t charge extra fees like Rallyup, etc. He is working on setting up an online store to sell our merchandise. General discussion about selling the old marching band uniforms on Zeffy.
Michael will send out an email about end of year giving and encourage parents to donate to the PMA. And include our presence at the CMS concerts with merchandise. General discussion about keeping merchandise at CMS during the concert dates and volunteer coverage.
Make a note – to catch people on Giving Tues next year for the end of the year giving plan.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:36pm.