September 1, 2009 Meeting Minutes

President, Stephanie Ludwig, called the meeting to order at the Columbus Alternative High School at 7 pm. In attendance were 33 people present (constituting a quorum). Those present introduced themselves.

Principal’s Report:
Dr. Dixon reported all students have received their schedules. The Open House is scheduled for September 15, from 7 – 9 pm. Internships will begin October 7 (Wednesdays) for 10 – 12 grades. Ms Bell has joined the staff as another administrator. This year’s senior class has 176 students, the largest class at CAHS. The junior class has 185 students. Ms. Search will give out passwords for the Parent ASIST to follow up on grades. Ms. Bell will cover the Robotics team.

President’s Report:
Stephanie Ludwig reported the Friends of CAHS officers met in August. The meeting covered the Leadership Training/Conference, PTA goals for the coming school year, including membership. The membership goal does not just mean numbers but also monthly attendance. National PTA wants to increase the numbers to continue to advocate for all children. Students are invited to attend. Stephanie offered to pay the senior class officer’s membership fee. She also encouraged notifying other family members know about joining the Friends of CAHS, to support the students and the school. Membership has it privileges. On the back of the membership card, there is a list of some of the resources available, including Borders and Met Life. The new parent consultant is Jeff Sherman.

Breakfast was available for parents on the first day. There were approximately 20 parents. Stephanie suggested we may want to reconsider this for next year.

Friends of CAHS is now on Facebook and Twitter. The Columbus School Board Meeting are held the first and third Tuesday of each month. Lemuel Harrison will attend and report back information as it relates to CAHS.

Secretary’s Report:
Tracy Taylor presented the meeting minutes from June 2, 2009. Mary Ellen moved to accept the minutes with corrections. The motion was seconded and passed.

Treasurer’s Report:
Toni Dodge reported the Friends of CAHS account balance and a check was received from Kroger’s for the May through July 2009. A check was also received from Meals on Wheels. Stephanie Ludwig informed everyone the Kroger’s program gives back to area schools when you register your card and designate a school for the cashback reward. See instructions to link your card on Friends of CAHS website.

Activity Coordinator’s Report: Carolyn Rhodes reported there bake sales are held the third Friday of every month. The next sale is September 18 in the morning and during lunch, beginning at 7 am and 11 am.

Alumni Committee Report:
Lemuel Harrison asked if anyone was interested in joining the committee. He is looking for alumni and alumni parents. They can sign up at the CAHS homepage under Resources. There is a directory by classes beginning in 1979. Friends of CAHS website http://cahspta.blogspot.com/ also has a link to the alumni page.

Audit Committee Report:
Jeff Sherman was not present to report however, committee member Trish Geoghagan reported there were not discrepancies for the previous year. Audit reports will be scheduled and submitted each quarter.

Fundraising Committee Report:
Trish Geoghagan would like to establish a due date for the letter to the teachers. Trish will then update the No-Phone-A-Thon letter for distribution by Dr. Dixon and Mr. Dodgal. No-Phone-A-Thon letters are sent to parents with a list of items teachers are in need of for the school year.

Grant Writing Committee:
Toni Dodge reported that Friends of CAHS is profiled on PowerPhilanthropy sponsored by the Columbus Foundation. CAHS is the first PTA on the site. Two categories were created Chinese program and Special Education. The committee is looking for volunteers. Toni can be contacted at tdodge@worldnet.att.net

Hospitality Committee Report:
Michele Sherman reported four staff breakfast and one staff lunch events have been scheduled. The first breakfast is scheduled for October 23. Breakfast items are needed before school starts. A sign-up sheet will be passed out at the next meeting.

Membership Committee Report:
Michele Sherman reported membership dues are $10 for the year. The PTA meets once a month. Your support is needed whether you attend monthly or not. The Ohio PTA and the National PTA advocate for all students and interested in increasing enrollees. Membership has it privileges. There is a new give-a-way program to current paid members. Each current member is entered into a raffle and at the end of the meeting a name is drawn and they are awarded a gift card from an area business or gas card.

Publicity Report:
School pictures were taken the first day of school.

Meals on Wheels (MOW) Coordinator:
Toni Dodge explained that MOW is a service organization. CAHS is paid $25 per route as a non-profit organization. The CAHS route is scheduled the first and second Sundays and the fifth Saturday of each, beginning at 11 am. Community service credits/hours are given.

Author Series Coordinator:
Michelle Herman is trying to schedule Joe Mackall author of “Plain Secrets: An Outsider Among the Amish”, for the last Wednesday of September, before internships begin in October.

Old Business

Gardening of School Grounds – This has been taken care of the Saturday before school started, by school staff.

PA System between office and 9th grade annex – The two systems have been merged together is working.

Update on T-Shirt Sale – An additional 20 shirts are needed to complete the order. There is a school spirit day where staff wear school colors (black/silver). Extras were requested to be available for the school Open House. A motion was made to order 35 shirts in assorted sizes to have at the Open house. The motion was passed.

Extra hour at CAHS in 2009-2010 –The teachers voted to extend the period/block rather than add a recitation period/block due to the scheduling difficulties of adding a recitation period. Difficulties arose from the two separate schedules (block for upperclassmen/period for freshmen). Dr. Dixon indicated that she would like to revamp the scheduling entirely next year and this was also a consideration by the teachers. The staff will vote to add a Middle Years International Baccalaureate Program (MYP IB) to CAHS.

NEW BUSINESS

Joining of CAHS Clubs to PTA – (School Programs) A few school organizations/clubs are interested in joining Friends of CAHS for support. Groups would join as committees and one member of that group would attend PTA meetings and vice-versa. A motion was made regarding a booster relationship: A parent, volunteer, or advisor must be a paid active member. The motion passed.

Open House – The school open house is planned for Tuesday, September 15. Memberships, cookies and punch will be available; Stephanie will send an email to solicit volunteers.

Possible Student Halloween Party – The students will be asked if there interest in a Student Halloween dance at school. To gather interest, students will be asked to complete a survey; What do they want to do; Ms. Bell will go to the Student Senate and the senior class officers. Possible held during club sign-up September 24. Dr. Dixon suggested hold on Halloween and give the students an opportunity to decide what they want. Toni Dodge will work with Ms. Crisette, Mr. Sherman, and Ms. Bell to start the survey with Student Senate members.

Gift Card Drawing – Our first give-a-way winner was Theresa MKanger.

June 2, 2009 PTA Meeting

President, Anne Hoke, called the meeting to order at the Columbus Alternative High School at 7:00 pm. In attendance were seventeen (17) members (constituting a quorum). Also in attendance were next year’s senior class officers: Marté Durham, Mariah Kerrin, Brooklyn Hill and Aolani Craddolph. Those present introduced themselves. Stephanie Ludwig was in attendance as Secretary.

Principal’s Report: There was no report.

Secretary's Report: Stephanie Ludwig presented the meeting minutes from May 6, 2009 and moved to accept the minutes as written. The motion was seconded and passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Kim Dillard reviewed the financial report for last month. Jeff made a motion to accept the financial statements. The motion was seconded and passed.

Activity Coordinator Report: The May bake sale was cancelled due to an abundance of activities in May.

Hospitality Report: The luncheon held for the teachers was a success.

Grant Writing Committee: Toni Dodge had no report. Anne asked for volunteers for this committee.

Publicity Committee: Gerry Brevoort said that the National Honor Society inductees were in the paper as well as the CAHS valedictorians.

Old Business
PTA Scholarships: Mary Ellen Sinclair announced those students selected by the PTA to receive money to attend the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario next Fall. Three students were sponsored in full by the PTA. An anonymous donor paid for a fourth recipient.
Honor Roll Assembly: Anne asked for volunteers to help with the Honor Roll Assemby. 182 students will be receiving awards, and the PTA usually donates and serves ice cream. Toni Dodge, Julia Harrison, Michele Sherman, and Mary Ellen Sinclair volunteered to help. The Senior class officers said that they would be there to help.

Committee Chair Volunteers: Michele Sherman volunteered to chair the membership committee. Stephanie Ludwig and Tracy Taylor offered to join the committee. Lemuel Harrison volunteered to chair the Alumni Committee.

Teacher Request for gym equipment: The lighting in the gym will be updated this summer, but the backboards will not be paid for. Break-away rims will not work on the current backboards, so if break-away rims are purchased, new backboards will also need to be purchased.

Garden Tending: Anne requested volunteers to do the gardening in the front of the school.
There were no volunteers.

T-Shirt Sales: Stephanie announced that very few t-shirts had been sold, and we would probably need to order about 20-25 extra to meet our minimum order. Toni made a motion to spend money on t-shirts to be sold later so that we could meet the minimum order. The motion was seconded and passed.

PA System Update: The PA system between the office and the ninth grade wing is now connected, and the annex is to be connected over the summer.

Cupcake Day: Gerry announced that Cupcake Day was a big success. We received about 1,000 cupcakes, had some left over for other events. She distributed a picture of the cupcakes.
Retrospective Handout: Anne distributed the new Retrospective Handout for the 2008-2009 school year.

Extra Hour at CAHS: There was a lengthy discussion regarding the extension of the blocks/periods rather than adding a recitation period to accommodate the extra hour in the school day. Jeff Sherman made a motion to authorize Anne to send Dr. Dixon a letter regarding the PTA’s request not to add time to the blocks/periods. The motion was seconded and passed. Jeff made a motion to reimburse (up to $60) any cost incurred by the senior class officers for copies to distribute questionnaires to the students .

Internship Update: Julia Harrison said that Dr. Dixon had plans for the internships and had planned to take responsibility for the program.

NEW BUSINESS
Chorale Boosters: Mary Ellen announced that the vocal music instructor, Mr. Flemming, wants the Chorale Boosters to join with the PTA.

CAHS Signage: Anne asked for a volunteer to update the sign in the front yard of the school. Kim Dillard volunteered.

Introduction of New Officers and Farewell to Old Officers: Anne introduced next years officers. Stephanie Ludwig presented Anne with a plaque to be attached to the first courtyard bench in honor of her quest to bring people together. She also presented Gerry Brevoort and Anne with giftcards.

There was no further discussion. The meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm and was followed by a cupcake farewell. The next PTA meeting will be September 1, 2009, 7:00 p.m. in Room 128 at CAHS.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephanie Ludwig,
Friends of CAHS PTA Secretary

May 5, 2009 Meeting Minutes

President, Anne Hoke, called the meeting to order at the Columbus Alternative High School at 7:00 pm. In attendance were seventeen (17) members (constituting a quorum). Those present introduced themselves. Stephanie Ludwig was in attendance as Secretary.

Principal’s Report: Mr. Dodrill said that they are evaluating the honor roll assembly to see how many t-shirts to order. Mr. Qualls asked the PTA to pay for half of the t-shirt expense which would be about $1000. Toni made a motion to pay for half of the t-shirt expense. The motion was seconded and passed. Mr. Dodrill is making announcements at lunchtime for the dance. Gerry moved to pay $50 to support the fees for Mr. Kaufman and a PTA member for the Teacher of the Year celebration on May 13th. The motion was seconded and passed. Mary Ellen volunteered to attend on behalf of the PTA.

Secretary's Report: Stephanie presented the meeting minutes from April 7, 2009. Toni moved to accept the minutes as written. The motion was seconded and passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Kim reviewed the financial reports, and made a motion to accept the financial statements. The motion was seconded and passed.

Activity Coordinator Report: The next bake sale is May 15th.

Hospitality Report: We will sponsor a teacher luncheon this time on May 21st. Food is needed by 11:00am. A sign-up list was circulated.

Grant Writing Committee: Anne discussed the new procedure to link Kroger cards with the PTA. Gerry suggested that a flier go out in the summer mailing. Tracy suggested fliers at the spring celebration.

Publicity Committee: Gerry said that there is a Poetry Slam video on the school’s website and on the American Community website. The Heritage Celebration information was in the newspapers. The National Honor Society students and the valedictorians will be in the newspapers. Michele Sherman said that Truman Hatch has art video being shown at Wexner center this Saturday.

Old Business

Election of Officers: No other candidates were nominated. Toni made a motion to elect the previously nominated slate: Stephanie Ludwig--President, Mary Ellen Sinclair--Vice President, Lemuel Harrison--Vice President, Tracy Taylor—Secretary and Toni Dodge—Treasurer. The motion was seconded and passed.

Dance Update: Toni announced that so far we’ve sold 6 tickets even though the PTA sells tickets 7:30 to 8:00 every morning and at the door. Mr. Qualls offered to have students go through classrooms first block to sell tickets. Gerry made a motion to cancel the event unless we sell 75 tickets by Thursday afternoon, and let students know. Tracy amended the motion to be 10% of the student body (70) by 2:30 pm. The amended motion passed. Jeff made motion to convert the dance to a parent dance since the cost of DJ to cancel is the same as his regular fee. This motion was not seconded. We will ask Diane to send out an email just about the dance. Tracy suggested starting text messages from the students. If the dance is not cancelled, the plans will be:
Pizza and beverages will be delivered. McDonald’s will provide a cooler. We plan to use both the courtyard and the cafeteria, and will be stringing lights for decoration. Three police officers will cost $377. Mr. Qualls recommended two police officers if less than 250 students attend. Janitors will come after the event to clean up. Dr. Dixon will attend.

PTA Scholarships: Dr. Fawcett drafted an application to apply for a scholarship to attend the Stratford Trip. The PTA voted to change the question on the application, and the due date was revised to be May 20. Mary Ellen and Julie L. volunteered to review the applications to select some winners. Mary Ellen moved that in the event that we have sufficient qualified applicants that we award an additional $500 in scholarships for a total not to exceed $1250. The motion passed. The Scholarship Award will be made by June 3rd.

Spring Celebration: Potluck on May 17th, 1-4 pm at the Whetstone Park of Roses Shelter House.
Teacher Requests: Mr. Qualls sent email to ask if the breakaway rims for the gym could be added to the maintenance request. Mr. Dodrill doesn’t think that the backboards will even support break-away rims, and estimated the cost to be up to $1000 per basket. Mary Ellen moved that we table the decision, and the motion passed. Mr. Qualls will send out another email to Mr. Pedigrew and check into costs.

Murray Request: Mr. Murray requested a reimbursement for $144 worth of books that he has already purchased and is evaluating for his AP class. The PTA decided to table this discussion.

PTA Equipment Found: No report

T-Shirt Sale: Stephanie said that we had only pre-sold 9 t-shirts. Mr. Qualls recommended that we ask Dr. Dixon to include mention of this in the opening mailing in the Fall. He also suggested that they go with report cards.

PA System: Mr. Dodrill said some work was done to fix the PA system, but the annex was not completed and is scheduled to be completed over the summer.

Heritage Celebration: Julia announced that seven acts performed, and there was a good turn-out. A PA system would have helped, and she suggested this for next year.

Freshmen Luncheon: It was announced that the event was successful. Anne, Stephanie, Mr. Dodrill, and Dr. Dixon spoke.

Internship: Advisors are continuing to collect submissions this week and next. Mrs. Banks might go to the Freshman classrooms with Mrs. Norton to make announcements. If the students don’t turn in their internship paper, it will bump them down in the scheduling.

NEW BUSINESS

Author Series: Anne asked for volunteer to make posters for the next Author Series and Joe Mackall on May 27th. Stephanie volunteered to make posters.

Additional Freshman Orientation: There is one more additional Freshman orientation on May 27th for a small group of 40 students. Michele and Jeff Sherman volunteered to help out.

Cupcake Day: Cupcakes will be passed out 11-1pm on May 27th by Michele and Anne. Gerry will be accepting cupcakes in the morning.

Committee Chairs: Membership, Alumni and Community Outreach chairmen are still needed. Anne asked for volunteers.

Extra Hour at CAHS: Mr. Qualls announced that the teachers had decided to extend the blocks rather than add a recitation period next year. School will start at 7:30am.

Mentorship: Anne asked for suggestions regarding the Mentorship Program. Mary Ellen suggested that we just use the resource list provided at the Freshman Luncheon and the Freshman Orientations.

Amy Tan: Anne announced that Michelle Herman could get tickets to see Amy Tan speak, and asked that you email Michelle if you would like free tickets.

There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm. The next PTA meeting will be June 2, 2009, 7:00 p.m. in Room 128 at CAHS.

Respectfully submitted,


Stephanie Ludwig, Friends of CAHS PTA Secretary