Friends of CAHS PTA
April 1, 2008
Held at Shepard Branch Columbus Met. Library
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President Penny Winkle with 20 members in attendance. Those present introduced themselves to the group.
Principal's Report: Mrs. Sherry Powell reported that the graduation date had been restored to June 6, 2008 at 5:30 pm and will be held in St. John Arena on the OSU campus.
The scheduling process for next year will begin soon. Students will be talking with parents to make class selections. AP applications will be out next week.
The Welcome Center will probably leave. The staff is considering the possibility of a 9th grade wing.
Mrs. Elder is retiring. Mrs. Sensibaugh and Mrs. Roth are leaving for other positions. We will probably have another Chinese teacher as well as a ½ time Chinese teacher which we will share with Fifth Ave. Elementary.
CAHS will be featured in professional journals in June.
The target number for the new freshman class is 180
The end of year awards event will be held in the courtyard on May 28th.
April 5th Event: Over 70 people are planning to attend. It will begin at noon in the cafeteria. Current CAHS parents are to bring desserts. Sandwiches, chips and drink will be provided. Tables will be set with 'discussion placards' and current students will lead discussion at each table. We will sell memberships, bracelets, decals and t-shirts, and have sign-up for mentoring program and volunteer opportunities.
Ideas for welcoming new students in the fall: Greet new students on the first day, decorate their lockers. Members are encouraged to think of ideas.
Secretary's Report: The minutes were presented and approved (motions by Anne Hoke and Latricia Wilson).
Membership Report: Edna Reed reported that we now have 97 member. We are trying to encourage previous members who have not joined this year to join.
Treasurer's Report: Trish Geoghegan reported that the March statement is in draft form. We earned $184. at the February bake sale. We spent $375. on the Stratford scholarship and $471. on the Civil Rights Tour. The report was presented and filed for audit (motions by Beth Gerber and Johann Cozart).
Penny will get request forms out to the teachers. We have money to make purchases.
Activities Coordinator: Carolyn Rhodes thanked those who donated to the bake sale. The next bake sale will be April 18th.
Hospitality Report: Gail Sech was absent but it was noted that the next Staff Appreciation breakfast will be Friday, April 11th.
Grant Writing Report: Stephanie Ludwig reported that the Safety Club is writing their own grant for$2000. She will set up a time to meet with members after tonight's meeting.
Publicity Report: Gerry Brevoort reported that she is trying to get the Dispatch to cover the Civil Rights Tour. The tour and the Academic Team and National PTA grant have been recently covered in the Suburban News.
OLD BUSINESS:
T-Shirt Sale: The PTA will order ten extra shirts for future sale (5 large, 5 x-large).
Alumni Association: Kim Dillard reported that she will work with the librarian, Mrs. Robinson, to make a connection between the school website and the Alumni Association committee. Alumni could go to the school website to sign up to join the association. Kim will also talk to Mrs. Powell about putting a notice about the Alumni Association in the graduation program.
Nominating Committee: Anne Hoke told us that we still need a vice president. Jeff Sherman and Trish Geoghegan have agreed to share the treasurer's duties and Stephanie Ludwig has agreed to be the secretary.
We will vote next month on any by-law changes.
Civil Rights Tour: Anne Hoke reported that the tour was a great success for the students who participated. James McKenzie will share his experience, through the display boards he has created, at the April 5th event. Dr. Murray will help the students to prepare presentations to share.
Credit Recovery: Chuck Zalac will contact Mrs. Powell to set up a meeting with the school's committee.
Graduation Date: Penny will contact the Centennial PTA to thank them for their part in the effort to retain the original date and time.
Adopt-a-School: Anne Hoke reported that they are still working with Oakland Nursery.
NEW BUSINESS:
Friends of CAHS Author Series: Michelle Herman, Ph.D and Donald Pollock, authors, will present their experiences and their work at CAHS on May 1 at 6:30. Posters will be distributed to CCS high schools and other locations: J. Cozart – Centennial, A. Hoke – Eastmoor, Walnut Ridge, G. Brevoort – Ft. Hayes, Whetstone, H. Maynard – Marion-Franklin, P. Winkle – Linden McKinley, East, E. Reed – Northland, K. Dillard – M.L.K., C. Rhodes – Panera, T. Dodge – Cup-o-Joe, Starbucks, J. Lovett – Main Library
Block Scheduling: Beth Gerber and Julie Lovett will meet with Mrs. Powell on April 9th at 7:30 a.m. There was lots of discussion about the value of flexibility of scheduling to allow for students to be involved in the arts. It was felt that there could still be some form of block scheduling but also a modified form so that there would be time for students to participate in the arts. Many points of view were expressed. PTA is not taking a position at this time about block scheduling but members agreed it was good to evaluate and assess the block schedule at CAHS.
Internship: Many members expressed concern about the internship program. One member knows of a student who still does not have an internship and just spends Wednesdays at school. Other members said that there wasn’t enough information given to parents about internships so that they could help their students secure a meaningful internship. Many members were under the impression that the school arranged all internships.
Recycle Books: It was suggested that students could recycle books in the humanities rooms. Penny will talk to Mrs. Coblentz about this idea.
Summer Opportunities: Jeff Sherman and Bob Benzel discussed a Jazz Band at OSU. Partial scholarships are available at IknowICan.org. Penny told about a weeklong project available at OhioBusinessWeek.org. Money is available.
Respectfully submitted,
Edna Reed
