Febuary 2005 Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by Chairman Bette Hall. The treasurer’s report was given and we currently have a balance of $7706.27 which will quickly be reduced by a check for $4063.73 for grocery cards for the upcoming month. Debby Pattin reported that card sales have slowed down since the holidays and she encouraged people to remember to utilize this successful fundraiser.
Class reports were given. Robin Herring reported that so far the seniors have 99 students signed up for the grad night party. They have committed to 125 so they feel comfortable about reaching their goal. She also inquired about the possibility of CHSPO purchasing an insurance policy to cover this event. The grad night company has their own insurance but they encouraged an additional policy. Jeanne McDonald suggested that the insurance rep who handles our event insurance be contacted so that the class can obtain a bid for a one-night policy. Tammy Questi reported that the junior class hosted a very successful Father/Daughter Dance on January 29 and she thanked all of those who worked so hard on this event. She also mentioned that a junior class parent meeting would be held in the next month or so to discuss graduation night options and other upcoming events for seniors next year. Lisa Hollingsworth reported that the sophomore class had just sent out a “no-bake-bake sale” letter which solicited donations. They will also be operating an expresso booth at the upcoming garden show at St. Martin’s College. Tammy Yates-Rubino reported that the she had been contacted by the counseling department which inquired about the freshman parent need or desire to have a meeting which dealt with the student’s educational plan requirements. She and Laurie would be contacting parents about this.
Jeanne McDonald reported that the Mother/Son Palapalooza will be held on March 5 and she is looking for volunteers to staff the various stations. She sent a volunteer sign-up sheet around the room and encouraged everyone to participate. Ticket sales are going well and we expect to be sold out by next week. If it is a sell-out, we will have 400 people in attendance.
The next Father/Daughter Dance will be held on March 19. This event is jointly sponsored by CHSPO and CHS Foundation. Decorating will begin after school on March 18 and again, we will need many volunteers to make this a successful event.
Susan Perkins reported that her first “Speak Easy” class for teens will be held in March. Spots are still open for this course.
Bette announced that the library is in need of volunteers on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. If anyone can help at that time, it would be of great benefit to the library staff. Also, the Counseling Department has issued a call for volunteers to help both on call for special projects and also for three or four people to rotate working 1-2 hours per week on a regular basis. If you can offer assistance, please contact Sydni Weeks who is the counseling department secretary.
Teri Poff was next on the agenda. She spent considerable time telling us about a rather last-minute development regarding the scheduling of the WASL tests in April. Apparently, it has been mandated by the state that for security purposes, all WASL tests be administered at the same time on the same day throughout the state. That timeframe is 8 days in April from 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. This rule has created a huge mess with regard to class schedules for students not participating in the WASL. The bottom line to it all is that during the days in April that the WASL is being administered, the whole school will begin classes at 10 a.m. effectively putting us on “Schedule D” for 8 days. Teri asked for ideas that we might come up with to utilize the time effectively for those students who will not be testing. We suggested such things as a community project, PE make-ups, and college recruiting meetings. She viewed these suggestions as viable, maybe no all for this spring but certainly for future years.
Next, Bette announced that the deadline for spring financial grants was March 1 and she has so far received three proposals with the indication that two more are forthcoming. The three received thus far are (1) request from Dan Grimm for $1275 for first aid kits for all classrooms, (2) a request from Heather Stein for $500 for sight-reading books for the choir and (3) request from Dawn Cope for a scanner for multiple choice tests. The grant review committee will meet soon after March 1 to review the applications and then make a presentation at the March 15 meeting.
As we are seeing more financial requests, we are also seeing more fundraising opportunities. Bette was contacted by Bon-Macy’s about a fundraiser they are hosting on March 19 in celebration of the name change to Macy’s. Groups such as ours are being solicited to sell coupons for $5 which enables the holder to shop at all departments in the store on March 19 with a 20% discount. There are a few limited restrictions on purchases but it is an attractive program in that our group would get to keep the full $5 coupon fee and the holder gets a valuable 20% price reduction. After some discussion, Bette was instructed to pursue this activity.
Secondly, Bette reported on a fundraiser by Washington Mutual Savings Bank called the “Wamoola Program” which allows holders of debit cards to designate a specific school for which the use of their debit card can earn points. Each point is worth .05 and that money is donated to our school. Somehow, we have already been enrolled in the program so now it is important that we publicize the event and ask people to designate CHS as their debit card point recipient.
The next topic of discussion was the issue of officers and committee chairs for next year. She has appointed a nomination committee as required by the by-laws and she will also be sending an email to all CHSPO members which list the vacant positions and a brief description of the duties. Hopefully we can recruit some new faces.
State Your Concerns Time always brings interesting subject matter and this meeting was no different. One parent was concerned that the homework policy for illness had changed without her knowledge because when her daughter was recently ill she called for her assignments and was told that it was inconvenient to put in so many homework requests and could she please make her own arrangements with each teacher if she was going to be sick for another day. Teri assured us that the policy had not changed and whoever had left the voice mail with this erroneous information would be tracked down and corrected. The policy is that if a student is out more than one day due to illness, a parent or student should call the attendance office to request assignments.
The meeting ended on a very positive note in that one of our members, Tammy Corning, announced that she and her husband would like to donate the money for the first aid kits that have been requested by Mr. Grimm. She explained that she is a nurse and this is a project that is near and dear to her heart and that she would very much like to do this. How does one say “Thank You” for such a generous gesture? Many, many thanks to you, Tammy, and your husband, David, for such support of our school.
With that happy announcement, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. The next meeting will be held on March 15 at 7 p.m. in the library.