President, Anne Hoke, called the meeting to order at the Hilltop Library at 7:00 pm. In attendance were sixteen (16) members (constituting a quorum). Those present introduced themselves. Stephanie Ludwig was in attendance as Secretary.
Principal’s Report: Kaleidoscope was cancelled due to the school closing and could not be rescheduled. Those chosen in the pre-lottery have been notified of their selection, and the deadline for the regular lottery has been extended until tomorrow. There are 90 remaining freshman slots open for freshmen next year. There will be an IB Presentation for sophomores during the Parent/Teacher conferences from 6pm-7pm in the auditorium, and a meeting for ninth grade students and parents to explain the internship program. School Fair is January 21st. There is no school on January 16th because it is a makeup day. Report cards were mailed out yesterday. Dr. Dixon announced that the school day will be officially extended next year. The class schedule for next year will be determined by a design team of teachers and parents. Dr. Dixon announced the new parent consultant, Andrea Russell Heyward.
Secretary's Report: Toni Dodge moved that the meeting minutes from January 6, 2009 be approved with minor corrections. The motion was seconded and passed.
Treasurer’s Report: Kim Dillard had no report.
Activity Coordinator Report: The Bake Sale was cancelled due to logistic complications. The next bake sale will be February 20th.
Hospitality Report: Michele Sherman said that the next Teacher Appreciation day will be February 27th. She has been selectively contacting parents to donate breakfast foods so that the same people do not have to bake every month.
Grant Writing Committee: Toni said that the Grant Writing Committee met on January 12th with Mr. Dodrill to discuss a possible grant for the IB Program. The committee will meet again this Saturday to continue the conversation. The committee has plans to meet on February 22nd to work on a profile for The Columbus Foundation. Jeff Sherman explained that the Columbus Foundation has a matching grant program, and the Friends of CAHS will be the first PTA to join.
Publicity Committee: Gerry did not have any new articles to share, but has contacted the media about the Mock Trial Team, the Chess Team being honored at a School Board meeting, Poetry Out Loud going to state contest, and is working on a final copy for In-the-Know. She indicated that she has been receiving very good cooperation from the teachers.
Old Business
Chess Tournament: Michele Sherman said that the Chess Tournament is from 7am to 4pm on February 7th. She is hoping to get some hot dogs donated from Skyline Chili and is still accepting volunteers and food donations from anyone who wants to help.
No-Phone-a-Thon: Anne discussed money received so far that was donated for specific purposes. Colleen Watson made a motion to approve the purchase of the “specific purpose” items:
$115.00 for a whiteboard (Mr. Rhoades)
$275.00 for assorted Asian books (Ms. Robinson)
$135.00 for music expenses to be determined by Mr. Fleming
$250.00 for drama department (Ms. Cordy)
$450.00 for biology class projector (Mr. Johnston)
$26.95 Rugg’s Recommendations on Colleges book (Ms. Webster)
$159.00 for Waves II DVD (Ms. Clark)
$200.00 for student fees for trips
$200.00 for courtyard refurbishment
$80.00 world map (Mr. Murray)
The motion passed. There is approximately $700 left in the general fund for donations. Steve Montague discussed his efforts regarding the refurbishment of the courtyard including a mural being made by the students. Steve will research the prices of benches, trash containers, etc. and present it at the next meeting. Dr. Dixon requested money for medals and refreshments for an honors ceremony near the end of the year. Toni and Stephanie offered to help Anne purchase the items on eBay.
Robotics Team Committee: Toni said that Dublin Coffman High School has a Robotics Boosters club which is willing to meet with CAHS parents at 6:30pm before their regular PTA meeting on February 17th to offer insight into fundraising efforts and their alliance with the Dublin Coffman PTA. Toni said that she had not heard of any parent of a Robotics student that was willing to attend. Mary Ellen Sinclair made a motion to table the discussion regarding the possibility of a Robotics Committee of the Friends of CAHS until after we see if any of the parents of the Robotics students are interested in the idea.
School Dance: Toni Dodge said that she needed to discuss possible dates with Dr. Dixon, and asked if anyone had contact information for Dr. O to see if he was interested in being the DJ.
International Dinner: Julia will set up a date for the committee to meet. She has emailed Ms. McCord and Carla will help.
Internship: There will be an Volunteer Fair in April. The next meeting to discuss the internships will be at 5:00pm on February 10th.
Oakland Park Nursery: Andrea Russell Heyward volunteered to coordinate with them and Steve Montague.
Robotics Team: Mr. Qualls and twenty students have been meeting every Saturday to get ready for a competition in February. Last year’s team mentors retrieved the items they lent to the Robotics team, but Mr. Qualls was given a $2,000 budgetary allowance by the School District to purchase supplies. There was a discussion regarding keeping items donated by the PTA in the school. Stephanie made a motion to maintain ownership of things purchased for the school by the PTA, and that we keep an inventory of the items. Toni amended the motion to mark the items. Both motions passed. It was suggested that we check our coverage for liability insurance.
Martin Luther King: Anne is looking for financial assistance to fund the Martin Luther King Civil Rights Tour. The cost is $450 per student. Last year we sent four students and one chaperone. Anne worked with Kate Webster last year to find interested students.
CAHS Brochure: Stephanie presented a PTA brochure that Jeff Sherman, Michelle Sherman and she created at the request of Dr. Dixon to pass out at Kaleidoscope. 600 brochures (300 color and 300 black & white) were printed. Some can be passed out during the Parent/Teacher conferences.
Meals on Wheels: Toni asked for volunteers. $300 should have been received so far from Meals-on-Wheels.
New Business
Nominating Committee: Anne opened the floor for nominations for the Nominating Committee. Andrea Russell nominated Gerry Brevoort. Michelle Sherman nominated Jeff Sherman. Jeff Sherman nominated Anne Hoke. All nominees were elected. Anne said that anyone interested in being an officer should contact Gerry, Jeff or Anne.
Celebration of Incoming Students: There was discussion regarding suggestions for better implementation of the program. That April 4th date was in conflict with the school’s play. Stephanie made a motion to move the date to March 21st. The motion passed. Dr. Dixon suggested that Kaleidoscope be in December next year, and the school might have a summer program to acclimate the freshmen.
Mentoring: Mary Ellen Sinclair will help develop the Parent Mentorship Program, and suggested a student ambassador program.
May Celebration: The date was changed to May 17th at the Whetstone Shelter House.
FAQs handout: Carla Wiltshire helped to revise the FAQs handout.
Freshman Wing: Anne said that a couple of parents had approached her about the Freshman wing. None of the freshman parents in the PTA had any bad experiences related to the separate wing, so this discussion was dismissed.
Parent Consultant Observations: Parent consultants will be observing the school classrooms and wanted to know how to get it on the school’s website. Stephanie said that she could put a link on the PTA’s website too.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 8:45pm. The next PTA meeting will be March 3, 2009, 7:00 p.m. at Columbus Alternative High School.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephanie Ludwig,
CAHS PTA Secretary
