October 4, 2007 CVPO Meeting and Principal Coffee

CVPO Business

Minutes: The minutes of the 9/13/07 meeting were approved with a correction to the spelling of Dave Beran’s name and inclusion of a request by Cherie Stroud for volunteers to prepare a high quality brochure about CVHS.

Correspondence: The National Honor Society officers and supervisor sent a note thanking the CVPO for its support of NHS.

Treasurer’s Report: Debbie Cassidy presented the 2007-8 budget as approved last month. There were no disbursements this month. 244 memberships and about 40 donations resulted in $4,615.00 total income and available funds of $5,595.22.

Teacher Grant Requests: $2,500.00 was approved for the following grants:

Hallinan: $29.98 for 2 DVD’s: Twelfth Night and Angela’s Ashes

Mathews: $499 for Contemporary Literature books

Wake: $100.00 for Balance Training equipment

Bunkelman: $175 for Blood pressure cuffs

Math Dept: $515 for Smart Board

Library: $100 for supplies

World Language: $250 for conference fees for 5 teachers

Rosegold: $400 for campus cleanup project supplies

Canter: $430 for Foods and Nutrition class equipment

The following grants were not funded because they did not meet funding criteria or there were insufficient funds:

Yearbook scholarships for 7 students

Canter: Perishable food items

Hallinan: $360 for copies of the novel, “Three Cups of Tea” for NHS

Volunteer News: Nancy Pliskin, Career Center Director, is still looking for proctors for PSAT testing on Saturday, Oct. 20 from 8:15 a.m.-12:15 at CVHS. Contact nancy.pliskin@corvallis.k12.or.us.

Julie Gardner and Katherine Cleland have agreed to work with Cherie Stroud on a high quality brochure about CVHS.

Fundraising Activities: Katherine Cleland has prepared a brochure and an e-mail message explaining in detail how to participate in easy and scrip-like fundraising. These include escrip, Albertson’s preferred, Washington Mutual WaMuLa, Target, First Alternative Coop, Office Max Perks, and Cartridges for Schools. Please see the attachment for more information on how to participate .

There have been 6 new escrip registrations and many more would generate additional funds for the school. At www.escrip.com, CV supporters can register merchant, credit, and debit cards, and a percentage of on-line purchases will go to CVHS. Katherine will provide for registration of Safeway cards at conferencing in the cafeteria.

Nanette Armstrong is researching electronic recycling as fundraising and will report next month. Hold on to your old cell phones and ink jet cartridges.

Katherine will report next month on dates and menus for a Dream Dinners fundraising evening.

Conference Dinner: To show their support of the CVPO and appreciation of CV teachers, parents Susan McDonald and Kurt Black, and their business Kurt S. Black, DDS PC, will sponsor the dinner for teachers during fall conferencing. They have arranged for Evergreen Restaurant to cater the dinner.

Daryl Thaw will coordinate additional work for the dinner and asked for volunteers to prepare salads and desserts and to help with the clean up after the dinner. Thus far, she needs two more salads and one more dessert and one more person to help clean up. Please reply to Daryl at johnthaw@earthlink.net or 738-8921.

The conference dinner will be on Thursday, November 8^th from 6-7 p.m. in the staff dining room.

Principal Topics

Enrollment: Cherie Stroud reported that student enrollment is 1037, an increase of 13 students. The English language learners program has 27 students, the free and reduced lunch program has 196 students (19% of all students), the individual education program has 101 students (10%), and the talented and gifted program has 352 students (34%). Schools receive additional funds based on the numbers of students who participate in ELL, FRR, and TAG programs, but a much smaller proportion for TAG. Cherie is lobbying the district to increase the TAG allocation.

District Wellness Council: Carol Walsh, nutritionist and CV parent, spoke about the Wellness Council, where she is a member of the steering committee.

The school district has created a district wellness council to assist the superintendent in the implementation and future revisions of the Local Wellness/Nutrition Program. The council also will serve as a resource to school sites for implementing such policies.

Carol stressed that the council is not interested in mandating a sterile environment when it comes to food choices, but rather to encourage the CVHS community to think about health and wellness when conducting its activities, i.e. fundraising, meals, social events, physical activity, etc. with the idea in mind that “healthy kids learn better.”

One example is that this year the CVPO is served fruit and mini-muffins instead of cookies at the parent coffees.

Carol suggested that the CV community create a Health Team to self-assess the health of the community and to create a planning guide to promote better health. Contact carol.walsh@corvallis-clinic.com if interested in serving on the team.

For more information on the Council and health and fitness tips, see http://www.csd509j.net/district_information/departments_and_services/wellness/

Conferences and Progress Reports: Students earning a D or F in a course will have a progress report mailed home on Oct. 15. All students will receive progress reports in advisor that week.

Conferencing will be Nov. 8 and 9. Arena conferencing will be on the 8^th from noon-6 p.m. in the cafeteria. Conferencing by prearranged appointment will be on the 8^th from 7-8 p.m. and on the 9^th from 8 a.m.-noon. Watch for more information on how to make appointments.

Listserv Alignment and Content: A parent asked if the listserv could be used for announcements of college visits and scholarship deadlines. Nancy Pliskin, Career Center Director, urged parents to use the Counseling website, which is updated weekly and posts visit schedules and deadlines among other information pertaining to college. Much information pertaining to the college application process goes out to students through advisor. Also, the Raider News is a good source of information. Nancy urged parents of juniors to meet with their student and his/her advisor for assistance with college planning.

The Counseling web site is http://www.csd509j.net/cvhs/counseling/

The current Raider News site is http://www.csd509j.net/cvhs/raidernews/Raider%20News%20Oct%202007.pdf

Weighted grades: A parent asked why CV does not use weighted grades.

From Wikepedia.org: “Some high schools, to reflect the varying skill required for different level courses and to discourage students from selecting easy As, will give higher numerical grades for difficult courses, often referred to as a weighted GPA.”

Cherie replied that colleges don’t use weighted GPAs in the selection process and for that reason the district doesn’t use them either. Cherie encouraged parents who have strong feelings about this issue to contact her at cherie.stroud@corvallis.k12.or.us

Upcoming Events:

9^th Grade College Planning Night, Wednesday, Oct. 17, CV Library

CVPO/Principal Coffee: Thursday, Nov. 1 at 11:00 a.m. in the staff dining room

Conferences: Thursday, Nov. 8 and Friday, Nov. 9

CVHS Website: http://www.csd509j.net/cvhs/

Respectfully submitted,

Alex Vincent

October 10, 2007