President, Anne Hoke, called the meeting to order at the Columbus Alternative High School at 7:00 pm. In attendance were fifteen (15) members (constituting a quorum). Those present introduced themselves. Stephanie Ludwig was in attendance as Secretary.
Principal’s Report: Dr. Dixon announced that the school was publicized as a “Cool School” on Fox 28 TV, and written about in the Columbus Monthly magazine. Mr. Dodrill was a finalist as the International Educator of the Year award. A Design team has been formed consisting of teachers, administrators, and one parent, and will start meeting on March 16 to determine what programs CAHS will have next year and how they will be structured.
Secretary's Report: Stephanie Ludwig moved that the meeting minutes from February 3, 2009 be approved with corrections noted. The motion was seconded and passed.
Treasurer’s Report: Kim Dillard presented the P&L for the Chess Tournament concessions. The Chess Tournament P&L statement was approved. Kim presented January’s Balance Sheet and P&L Statement. Jeff made a motion to approve the January statements. The motion passed. The February Statements will be reviewed next month.
Activity Coordinator Report: The bake sale brought in $94.50. The next bake sale will be March 20th.
Hospitality Report: Michele Sherman said that the next Teacher Appreciation day will be March 27, 2009. Michelle asked those interested in baking to contact her.
Grant Writing Committee: The committee met and submitted a profile draft to the Columbus Foundation (a copy was circulated for review). If accepted, any donated money will be matched on a few select dates throughout the year. There was discussion regarding scheduling No-Phone-a-Thon donations around those dates next year so that they will be matched.
Publicity Committee: Gerry passed around an article about the In-the-Know team that was publicized in The Boosters newspaper and also on the Columbus Local News website. Gerry referenced the Columbus Monthly magazine article previously mentioned by Dr. Dixon. Gerry was asked to get publicity for the Community Volunteer Fair that would highlight CAHS’ program. There was a discussion about whether or not it would be prudent for CAHS to publicize our internship program at this time when we are still trying to increase the number and quality of internship opportunities for the students. After discussion, Dr. Dixon asked the PTA to wait until next year to publicize the CAHS internship program.
Old Business
Chess Tournament: Anne thanked Michele for her efforts. Jeff Sherman made a motion that we discuss the % of profit shared with the Chess Team next year before the tournament. The motion passed.
No Phone-a-thon: Anne reviewed the hand-out about what has been purchased (map, projector, Rugg’s book, DVD Waves II). Kim made a motion to pay for the shipping for those items. The motion passed. Toni purchased a “Property of CAHS PTA” stamp. The music and drama teacher decided that the music and drama donations approved last month by the PTA will be used for the Bye, Bye Birdie production. Jeff made a motion to approve an additional $162 for wood to build benches for the courtyard. The motion passed. Tracy made a motion to put a discussion regarding specific plans for the courtyard on the agenda next month. The motion passed. Steve Montague will be invited to discuss courtyard plans. Dr. Dixon said that the science projector no longer needed to be listed as a No-Phone-a-Thon request because the school will fund it. Gerry made a motion that Michele Sherman contact the teachers to notify the students that the PTA has money available for scholarships for trips. The motion passed.
Heritage Celebration: (Wed. April 22nd at 6 pm): The committee has met twice and discussed types of entertainment and would prefer to solicit talent within the school, however several people and groups outside of CAHS have volunteered to provide entertainment. Emails went out to CAHS language teachers to request assistance, and extra credit for students is being considered. The event will be a potluck, and Julia asked PTA parents to contribute and food and share heritage. Julia discussed specific ideas for the event, and asked to have announcements made prior to the event. Gerry made a motion to spend $250 of the remaining National PTA award for the event. The motion passed.
Incoming freshmen luncheon & handout (Sat. April 25th at noon): Freshmen will schedule classes before the luncheon. Chaunte Banks, President of the Senior Class, will attend with other students to talk to incoming students. Anne asked parents to bring their students to the event and participate as well.
Nominating committee: The committee will meet this month next week and nominations will be made next month. Please tell Anne, Jeff or Gerry if you are interested in holding an office next year.
School Dance: The dance will be May 9th 8:00-11:00pm. Toni asked for suggestions for a DJ. Mr. Qualls said that the Student Senate would like to make a contribution, and would like it to be noted that they are assisting to make up for problems with the music at the Winter formal and the DJ’s failure to follow the suggested list of music provided by the students.
Internship update: Julia said that Ms. Norton made a presentation during the Parent/Teacher conferences regarding internships. Students were also included in the presentation. Penny Winkle located an additional internship opportunity with the Columbus Police Department.
Robotics Team update: Mr. Qualls asked to elaborate at the next meeting about last month’s Dublin Coffman robotics booster club meeting with interested CAHS staff and parents. The robot was fabricated at the school this year. The team won five matches on the first day of the competition ranking in 6th place by the end of the day, was seated 7th in the finals, and placed 11th in the region overall. The Columbus City Schools contributed about $15,000 to CAHS for the robotics program. Mr. Qualls expects the team to grow to about 30-35 students next year, and he will be back as an advisor.
Martin Luther King Trip: Anne had difficulty finding support for the trip this year and was therefore not able to meet the deadline to sign up for it.
Meals on Wheels Update: Toni announced that she needs volunteers for next month.
Pass it On: Gerry would like to get more book donations before Spring Break.
New Business
Unused PTA gifts: Video conferencing equipment purchased by the PTA last year that was never used was found in a closet at the school. Mr. Qualls will look at it to determine if it can be used with the school’s existing equipment. Otherwise, the PTA will need to determine what to do with the unused equipment.
T-shirt sale: Mary Ellen Sinclair made a motion to sell t-shirts at the Freshman Welcome Luncheon for delivery in the Fall, and to purchase any necessary to meet the minimum amount if orders do not total 35 t-shirts. The motion passed.
Public Announcement System Repair: Anne proposed that the PTA send a letter to request that repairs be made to link the public announcement system in the freshman wing and in the annex to the rest of the school. A suggestion was made to send a letter to Chuck Holar and Brian Fox as a first effort by the PTA to find a solution. Anne asked us to review a draft of a letter she prepared.
Spring celebration (Sunday, May 17 – Park of the Roses Shelter House): Please put it on your calendar.
Year book ad sponsored by PTA: Kim made a motion to pay for a half page advertisement in the school’s yearbook this year. The motion passed.
Educator of the Year: There was discussion about who makes the selection on behalf of the school. Gerry will check to see if the teachers have historically made that decision.
There was no further discussion and the meeting adjourned at 9:00pm. The next PTA meeting will be April 7, 2009, 7:00 p.m. at the Shephard library.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephanie Ludwig,
CAHS PTA Secretary
