DAVIS SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Parent Teacher Association Meeting

Present: Renee Liston, Carla Lehn, Jane McLaughlin, Melinda Zimmerman, Tsui Chang, Lynda Yancher, Renuka Mannapperuma, Mike Cawley, Heidi Loper, Steve Legé, Lee Groen, Guy Michelier, Mary Velinsky, Kelly Wilkerson, Catherine Louie, Ann Devereux, Student Representative: Tanvir Kapoor

Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Renee Liston.

Welcome—Renee Liston

Renee welcomed everyone present.

Acceptance of October 7, 2003 Minutes

The minutes of the October 7, 2003 meeting were accepted by Renee Liston.

President's Report—Renee Liston

• Update on Beautification Project—In response to the DHS Honor Society suggestion for a service project, a campus walk-around was held. DHS administrators, PTA representatives, parents, and students from the Honor Society, Future Farmers of America and the DHS Garden Club identified areas of the DHS campus that could be cleaned up and made more attractive. A workday is scheduled for November 8. Participants will spend three hours on general spruce-up, including raking, weeding and pruning. Future workdays will be scheduled for planting and landscape improvements. Renee asked the PTA to contribute $50.00 for tarps for the Garden Club and $50.00 for refreshments for workday participants.

  A motion to approve the expenditure of up to $100.00 to support the Beautification Project was passed unanimously.

• Thank you to those who called re: Measure N—Renee thanked everyone who made calls to likely voters in support of the passage of Measure N.
  
• Meals for the Gohring family—Renee noted that the response to the PTA listserv e-mail request for volunteers to provide meals for the family of a recently deceased DJUSD teacher was wonderful. A website, www.axelrad.com, has been set up by family friends to schedule future assistance.
  
• Thank you to Deb Kimokeo—Renee thanked Deb Kimokeo, DHS Crisis Counselor, for her October 7 presentation for parents, “What Helps?” and noted that Deb will address the subject of “Coping with Depression: Children and Adults” at the next parent education presentation on December 2.
  
• Veery Maxwell's Davis Enterprise Article—Renee noted that DHS student Veery Maxwell has given permission to reprint her recent Davis Enterprise article on volunteering in the PTA Newsletter. Heidi Loper suggested that DHS student Midori Wong be contacted about reprinting her Enterprise article in the Newsletter as well. Renee will also contact Sally Ryen about reprinting the articles in the Hub.
  
• PTA website policy—Renee noted that a concern has arisen regarding the PTA website link to the Grad Night website that is sponsored by a local business. Credit is given to the business for designing the website and a link from the Grad Night site to the business is included. It was agreed that the PTA needs to have a consistent policy regarding links to the websites of booster clubs and parent support groups in order to reduce the risk of turning the PTA website into a hub for commercial endorsements. Tsui Chang, Guy Michelier, Jane McLaughlin and Mary Velinsky volunteered to serve on a committee to examine these issues and develop a policy. They will deliver a report at the December 2 meeting.
  

Treasurer’s Report—Carla Lehn

Carla distributed a Treasurer’s Report for October 5 through November 3, 2003. Income to date is above budget. Student Directory expense of $202.69 was for printing. Carla noted that income for the Student Planner continues to be passed on to the Associated Student Body.

Student Directory Update—Guy Michelier

—Guy reported that the Directories have been produced and distributed. Nine hundred Directories were printed by DJUSD Reprographics at $1.67 per Directory, with no extra charge for colored pages. Eight hundred forty-one Directories were mailed to families who ordered in advance. The PTA made approximately $3500 in profit from the sale of the Student Directories. Remaining Directories will be available in the DHS front office at $6.00 per Directory. An article in the Newsletter will inform families that in cases of financial hardship parents may contact the Counseling Office to request a Directory at no cost.

—Guy has found the binder of information on procedures for producing the Student Directory. He will be suggesting some improvements to the input form. Guy will provide a job description and request for 2004–2005 Student Directory volunteers to be printed in the Newsletter.

Student Representative Reports—Tanvir Kapoor

—There was good student participation in Homecoming float building for both classes.

—The juniors raised $350.00 at their Lamppost Pizza fundraiser in October.

—The sophomores will be sponsoring a Valentine's Day Dance on February 13, 2004.

—Tanvir reported that the Associated Student Body has formed committees for fundraising, school issues and community service. School-wide projects include a canned food drive ending this Friday, and serving holiday meals at the Senior Center on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

—Youth in Government job shadowing took place today.

—The Junior Prom will take place December 13 in the MPR. Bids will go on sale November 14 at $45/couple, $25 singles. All classes are welcome. The theme will be “Come Away with Me.”

Principal’s Report—Mike Cawley

—The first Student of the Month breakfast was held at the Senior Center on October 10 with twelve of the thirteen students and their parents attending. This monthly event is sponsored by the Sunrise Rotary Club to honor students nominated by the faculty of each DHS department. Students of the Month were recognized with plaques and an article in the Davis Enterprise. The next Student of the Month breakfast will be November 14.

—Mike has contacted a company regarding an electronic sign to replace the marquee at the corner of Oak Avenue and West 14th Street and is expecting to receive an outline of proposed options for installation and associated costs.

—The 2003 Academic Performance Index (API, based on STAR test results) for DHS was 819, up from 804, meeting the goal of 15 point growth. Statewide, the API goal is >800. There was improvement in the scores of all subgroups with more that 99% of students participating in STAR testing. There will be no cash awards from the state this year.

—Three DHS students won awards from the National Writing Competition.

—Mike received letters from two former DHS students now at college naming Scott Richardson and Elizabeth Blake as teachers who most inspired them.

Assistant Principals’ Report—Heidi Loper

—In response to the commonly asked question “What do Assistant Principals do?” Heidi described a “typical” day. Activities included meeting with students, parents and staff on a variety of issues related to discipline, programs, and other issues as well as observing classroom teachers for the evaluation process. (New teachers are evaluated twice a year for the first three years. Tenured teachers are evaluated every other year by observation or special projects.)

—The After School Tutoring Program will begin November 10. Enrollment is by invitation only. Participants must be at risk with low grades or failure to make progress toward graduation. The state provides special funding for 36 seated students. DHS can no longer cover costs for drop-ins. Forty students will be enrolled and will receive 2½ credits per quarter. Attendance is mandatory with three absences resulting in the student being dropped from the program and replaced with a student from the waiting list.

Counselors' Report—Courtenay Tessler

—Courtenay noted that seniors are in the middle of the college application “season.” Two lunchtime workshops on the application process were held in September. A final lunchtime workshop will held Thursday, November 6 in the Humanities building. The deadline for applying to the UCs and CSUs is November 30. Students are being encouraged to finalize their applications before Thanksgiving. The deadline for requesting letters of recommendation from teachers and counselors for private colleges is November 14.

—December is the last day to take the SAT and have it count for college entrance or the High Potential Program. Late registration is November 12. (The High Potential Program may not be offered next year. A decision will be made in the next two weeks.) Students with disabilities who need special accommodation in taking the SAT must submit the SSD disability form five weeks prior to the test date. If the student uses the Appeal Process, the postmark deadline is seven weeks prior to the test date.

—Report cards will be mailed early next week. Quarter grades do not appear on transcripts. Students have time to improve their semester grades that will be part of the permanent record.

—The once-a-year Student Success Workshop for D and F students and their parents and guardians will be held November 20.

—Student attendance is very important. If a student is out more than five days due to illness a doctor’s excuse is needed. A counselor should be contacted to request homework assignments. If a student will be absent on a trip for five to ten days, the student needs to meet with a counselor and complete forms for independent study prior to leaving.

Teacher Representative Report—Steve Legé

—Steve thanked the PTA Hospitality Committee for the Halloween treats. Teachers and staff appreciated the goodies and enjoyed the decorations.

—Teachers are busy keeping current with college recommendation letters.

Teacher Wish Lists—Lynda Yancher

—Lynda distributed the list of teacher requests. Discussion of the individual requests followed. Three requests were referred for additional research. It was recommended that the request by Nancy Coulson for $130 for a compact scale be doubled in order to enable the Science Department to purchase two instruments. The final teacher wish list requests considered were:

–Flatbed Scanner (L. Diem, Art Department) $215

–Equipment Cart (Penny Smith, P.E. Department) $262

–Compact Scales (2) (Nancy Coulson, Science Department) $260

–Classroom Set–Dictionaries and Thesauruses (Sarah O’Keefe, English Department) $250

–HUB Support (Sally Ryen, Journalism Department) $1,000

–3D Graphics Computer Program (Janet Meizel, Computer Department) $250

–Videos (2) (Linda Baker, Science Department) $250

–Boom Box w/ CD Player/Large Speakers (Betty Holoman, Foreign Languages Department) $150

–Snacks for After School Program (Rikki Davenport, Social Studies/Counseling) $250

–Model House Building Materials (Cliff Hilken, Technology/Drafting) $200

Total: $3,087

A motion to approve the expenditure of up to $3,087.00 to grant the teacher wish list requests was passed unanimously.

—Renee read thank you notes from Bev Ballard for $750.00 in support of the Friendship Day program and from Brett Stone for the approval of $250.00 for the classroom subscription to “Action” magazine.

Parent Representatives' Reports

• Curriculum & Instruction—Melinda Zimmerman reported that New Technology High will open in fall 2004 on the DHS campus. Enrollment of 204 students will be open to 10th and 11th graders. New Tech High will be a project-based school-within-a-school with technology being an integral part of the delivery system. Classes in social studies, English, mathematics, and science will comprise the academic program.

  Low teacher membership in the PTA was discussed. It was suggested that PTA membership forms be available at PTA sponsored activities, including Hospitality events.

  Transition Academy 10th grade English has been transitioned into American Literature classes.

• Superintendent's Parent Advisory—Kelly Wilkerson reported that she will alternate attending meetings with Peg Smith.
  
• GATE—Renee Liston reported for Cathy Louie. She distributed the Annual GATE Budget for 2003–2004.
  
• School Climate—Renee reported for Joanne Moylan-Aube. Interviews for the new paid district-level position relating to school climate have been completed. Of last year’s activities addressing school climate Spirit Day had the best attendance. Three activities will be explored this year: an intramural sports program, cultural events including food, music and film, and a new student welcome committee comprised of DHS faculty.

  The School Climate Committee has a budget of $1,000.00. A representative asked that the Committee fund the November Friendship Day. The cost of this monthly activity, a day-long communication/peer guidance event for students who aren’t ordinarily involved in school activities, is $500.00. The committee agreed after discussing the program, and possibilities of additional funding.

  This year full-time faculty and coaches have had six hours of diversity training. None is offered to staff or part-time employees. Joann will address this further with the PTA.

  The UCD Mentoring Program is working with African American students at DHS.

  The Drama Department, Key Club, and Random Acts of Kindness Club have expressed interest in playing an active role in school climate improvements.

  Saturday November 8 Is International Language Day on the DHS campus, with a variety of cultural events taking place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

• Site Council—Jane McLaughlin reported that the Council is soliciting teacher proposals relating to ESL and bilingual programs per last year’s WASC report. There is an unexpected carryover of funds from the last two years available. The deadline for requests is November 19.

No other parent representative reports were given.

Committee Reports

• Membership—Guy Michelier reported that to date, DHS PTA memberships are 224 individual, 788 family and 13 staff, comprising a total of 1,025 members.
  
• Volunteers—Renuka Mannapperuma reported that she gave two weeks notice to volunteer chaperones for the Homecoming dance. Five volunteers stated that they would attend and apparently only one or two showed up. She will be following up e-mails with phone calls in the future.
  
• Newsletter—The deadline for the December/January combined Newsletter is November 6.
  
• Publicity—Mary Velinsky reported that she will submit an article to the Davis Enterprise announcing the next parent education presentation “Coping with Depression: Parents and Adults”on December 2.
  
• Hospitality—Lynda Yancher reported that a pumpkin pie bake-off is planned for November 19.
  
• Listservers—Tsui Chang reported that she has set up listservers for Hospitality (173 members), Volunteers (127 members) and Library Volunteers (63 members).

No other committee reports were given.

Other Business

There was no other business.

Announcements

—Renee attended a luncheon given by Superintendent David Murphy for PTA Presidents.

—The new outdoor tables have been installed on the DHS campus.

The meeting was adjourned by Renee Liston at 10:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Ann Devereux, DHS PTA Secretary.