PTA MEETING- January 6, 2009

President, Anne Hoke, called the meeting to order in Room 128 at Columbus Alternative High School at 7:00 pm. In attendance were twenty (20) members (constituting a quorum). Those present introduced themselves. Stephanie Ludwig was in attendance as Secretary.

Principal’s Report: Kaleidoscope is Wednesday, January 28th. School Fair is January 21st. There is no school on January 16th because it is a makeup day. There are some students working on a program for Black History month in February.

Secretary's Report: Stephanie Ludwig moved that the meeting minutes from December 2008 be approved. The motion was seconded and passed with revisions noted by Anne Hoke. Currently we have 99 members.

Treasurer’s Report: Kim Dillard presented October, November and December balance sheets and P&L statements. It was moved that we approve the financial statements. The motion passed.

Activity Coordinator Report: The Bake Sale was changed to January 30th because there’s no school on January 16th.

Hospitality Report: Michele Sherman said that the next Teacher Appreciation day will be January 23rd.

Fundraising Report: Anne Hoke said that roughly $2700 has been raised so far, and Kim Montague will send out one more request.

Grant Writing Committee: Toni said that the Grant Writing Committee should meet to discuss new opportunities suggested by Anne Hoke.

Publicity Committee: Gerry distributed an article printed in the local newspapers regarding the Chess Team. She will try to get something published about the In-the-Know Team, Kaleidoscope and the Mock Trial.

Old Business:

Alumni Panels: Anne said that alumni panel held on December 19th was good. Approximately 11 students who had graduated were in attendance and provided honest and varied advice to students. Anne recommended that the program be continued next year. Stephanie Ludwig moved that the PTA reimburse Anne for the $60 in gift cards that Anne purchased for the alumni students as a token of appreciation.

Alumni Association: One alumni suggested setting up a $5000 endowment for teacher requests for CAHS, and Anne asked for a volunteer to help set this up.

Internships: Julia Harrison said that the committee has not met, but will meet next week. Ninth and tenth graders will be doing community service and eleventh and twelfth graders will be doing internships. The committee is trying to identify organizations for community service and internships, including Habitat for Humanity.

Meals on Wheels: Toni Dodge had no report, but has dates for sign-up the first and second Sunday of the month and the second, fourth and fifth Saturday of the Month. Anyone interested should see Toni after the meeting or email Toni at tdodger@worldnet.att.net. A route takes about 2 hours to complete. Meals are picked up at 670 Harmon Avenue.

T-Shirts and Badges: T-shirts were all received and passed out the week before Winter Break.

Teacher Requests: Anne passed out a list of the teacher requests. Anne said that a stumbling block has been getting the items to the teachers, asked members to volunteer to coordinate with specific teachers. One suggestion was to buy gift cards. Dr. Dixon can get the tutoring OGT books, and said that she would review the list to determine which items the school can get.

Robotic Team Update: Mr. Qualls is meeting with the team tonight, and asked if the Robotics Team parents could be a committee of the PTA to raise money through the PTA. Anne suggested that we meet with the Dublin Robotics Team parents to see how Dublin Coffman High School handles this situation. Kim said that we should check with the Ohio PTA first to see if it is allowed. There was rigorous discussion regarding this.

Martin Luther King Trip: Anne said it’s being worked on. No other report.

Pass It On: Ms. Robinson said the announcement generated new students who picked up books, and said that the program is worthwhile and should continue to be evaluated.

New Business:

Chess Tournament: Michele Sherman requested that people sign-up to help at the concessions for the chess tournament on February 7th, 8:00am to 3:00pm, and also requested donations for food items.

School Dance: Toni Dodge suggested that we have the dance in April or May. There will be two security officers in attendance, and Dr. O will be contacted to see if he will be the D.J.

International Dinner: Julia Harrison explained the international event with Children’s Services, and suggested that we could do something similar at CAHS. Ms. McCord is interested in helping with this. Anne asked for other volunteers. Kim Dillard proposed that we use the PTA grant to fund the International Event. Gerry Brevoort moved that we pursue the International Dinner. The motion passed.

Kaleidoscope: Stephanie Ludwig, Jeff Sherman and Michele Sherman are putting together a brochure. Anne asked for up-beat volunteers to help work during Kaleidoscope.

May Celebration: The Whetstone Shelter House has been reserved for May 10th. This is Mother’s Day, so Anne will try to reschedule it.

Oakland Park Nursery: Anne asked for volunteers to help partner with Oakland Nursery. Anne said that it needs to start out simple. Kim Montague is working on the courtyard.

Payroll deductions: Anne said that we are working on getting the CAHS PTA to be a charitable contribution available for payroll deductions.

FAQs handout: Needs to be updated hopefully before Kaleidoscope. Mark & Judy Cohen and Mary Ellen Sinclair offered to review and update the handout.

There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 8:00pm. The next PTA meeting will be February 3, 2009, 7:00 p.m. at the Hilltop Library.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephanie Ludwig,
CAHS PTA Secretary