Friends of CAHS PTA minutes
March 4, 2008
Held at CAHS
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President Penny Winkle. Members introduced themselves.
Special Presentation: Representatives from AXA Equitable Foundation presented a $1,897. check to Penny Winkle and the Friends of CAHS PTA. This Family Night PTA Grant Award was one of three awarded in the state of Ohio. Thanks so much to Penny for applying for this grant which promotes student success.
Principal's Report: Mrs. Powell was absent. She left information about online grades. Parents can volunteer to participate in the pilot of the parent access. This access will be for your student's grades, assignments and attendance. It will also give you e-messages to communicate with your child's teachers. The pilot will be for the fourth nine weeks. The training will be prior to spring break and the date will be announced ASAP. All parents who were present (15) volunteered to participate.
MetLife Foundation-NASSP Breakthrough School project awarded $5,000 to CAHS (one of 10 schools out of 93 which were nominated nationwide). Schools must serve large numbers of students living in poverty and have demonstrated significant growth in student achievement over time. In addition, the principals of Breakthrough Schools attended the 2008 NASSP Convention in San Antonio, TX on February 22-24 to share best practices for improving student achievement.
Secretary's Report: The minutes were presented and approved (motions by Anne Hoke and Julia Harrison).
Membership Report: We currently have 95 members.
Treasurer's Report: The November-January financial report was presented and filed for audit (motions by Anne Hoke and Gail Sech). The February report is pending the receipt of the bank statement.
Activity Coordinator Report: Carolyn Rhodes was absent.
Hospitality Report: The next staff appreciation breakfast will be Friday, March 14.
Grant Writing Report: Anne Hoke reported that they have compiled a list of foundations that give grants to central Ohio schools. Also, Stephanie Ludwig is drafting a safety ignition grant in consultation with the safety club. She also requested volunteers to help with this committee. Jeff Sherman and Elaine Davis volunteered.
Publicity Report: An article will be submitted about Allie Moss and her award at the Mock Trial Competition.
NEW BUSINESS:
Pre-lottery Admissions: Thanks to Mrs. Webster for getting letters out to the pre-lottery students. There will be a luncheon at the school on Saturday, April 5th. We need current parents there to welcome the new students. Please let Penny know by April 1 if you can attend.
Adopt-a-school Procedure: Anne Hoke and Diane Nance have met with Oakland Nursery. They are interested in adopting CAHS. Kim Montague volunteered to act as liaison between Oakland Nursery and the school. The nursery says they would be willing to have students as interns, but want students who want to work.
Author Visit: Anne Hoke presented an opportunity to have Sharon Draper visit. She is a former Walnut Hills teacher who is a respected author of young adult fiction. The cost would be $3500.00 and it would be recommended that we buy a book for each student to read. Anne spoke with Mrs. Foley and it was discussed that this would be a Wednesday literature project for 9th graders.
More discussion followed that this was quite a bit of money to spend for only one grade level. Pat Enciso suggested that we work with OSU to get someone for much less expense. Penny will coordinate.
ReUse Books: We will investigate a process to promote reusing books from former students for incoming students. We discussed that books could be passed on.
Stratford Scholarship: A student was recommended by Kim Montague to receive a scholarship for the Stratford trip in the fall of 2008. Two years ago we asked the faculty to come up with a process for choosing a student to receive a scholarship. That has not happened and there has not been a formalized application process for the PTA scholarship. Because time is limited, it was suggested that Kim put forth the student she is recommending this year and that we ask the faculty again to come up with a process for the PTA Stratford scholarship. This was approved unanimously by those present.
Evaluation of Top Performing Schools: It was recommended that we send a copy of the report compiled by Anne Hoke (and others) to each of the Columbus School Board members. This was approved.
Yearbook Ad: We decided to put a one half page ad in the yearbook to congratulate the graduates. Gail Sech will design this ad.
Civil Rights Tour: Cole Henry, Marquis Taylor, Jim McKenzie, Jerry Hoke and Dr. Murray will participate in the Civil Rights Tour over spring break. We hope to promote this trip as an annual tradition. The students will give classroom presentations when they return. Gerry Brevoort will get a picture for publicity. Friends of the Arts for Community Enrichment (FACE), the Friends of CAHS, and an anonymous donor funded the trip for the CAHS students and teacher chaperone. Anne Hoke was recognized for the extensive work she did on this project.
OSU OMA Program Review: More than sixty people attended – from all over the area. Those who attended felt that it was a great success. Penny suggested that this be a series, focused on why education matters and what opportunities are available for CAHS students.
Family Night Grant Committee: Mark Hill and Kim Montague presented several ideas which include: (1) Student Workshop for summer reading (for 9th graders), (2) Time Management and Study Skills, (3) A Critical Look at HipHop Culture – to desensitize students, (4) the April 5th welcome event which will be a light luncheon.
T-Shirt Sale: We will extend the sale through April 7th so that incoming students can order shirts. An order form will be included with the invitation.
Teacher Requests: We will get request forms out to the staff. Mrs. Robinson, librarian, has already requested books. We unanimously approved a motion to give her $500.00 to purchase books.
Nominating Committee: Stephanie Ludwig has agreed to be secretary. We are still looking for a VP(s). We are considering multiple VPs. Trish Geoghegan and Jeff Sherman have agreed to be treasurers. Anne Hoke will be president. Please contact Anne Hoke or Jeff Sherman if you can contribute to CAHS by serving in a leadership role in PTA. Many committee leaders and members are needed.
Alumni Association: An ad was presented to put in the yearbook about the new Alumni Association. It was decided that it would reach more people if it were in the graduation program. Edna Reed will talk to Mrs. Powell about that. It was also brought up that we need more volunteers to work on this committee.
Credit Recovery: Chuck Zalac presented the ideas that the PTA committee have come up with. Our committee would like to share these ideas with the staff committee. Those present agreed with the recommendations of the Credit Recover committee. Penny will contact Mrs. Powell.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 1, at the Shephard Library on Nelson Road. We may want to carpool.
Respectfully submitted,
Edna Reed, secretary
