Present
Yvonne Turro, Valzey Frietas, Robert Maeshiro, Julie Aoyagi, Anne Marie Duca, Lois Upton, Steve Jenkins, James Garrett, Cheryl Papaia, Kailani Fano, Carla Trupp, Nancy Cullen, Sharon Wisniewski, and Paul Vierling.

Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:20 p.m.

Approval of Minutes
Valzey moved and Julie seconded that the Oct. 19, 2005 minutes be approved. Motion was carried unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report
None

President’s Report
Yvonne welcomed our guests from the National and Hawaii State PTSA organizations. They were: Nancy Cullen, Sharon Wisniewski, and Paul Vierling. Nancy gave a brief discussion of the PTSA and it's various functions. Some of the benefits of being in the PTSA are that there is a wealth of information available to its members. An example is fundraising. They are very knowledgeable about fundraisers - what works and what doesn't. Other items provided are training, workshops and networking.

Sharon shared the resources available with the Hawaii PTSA website and its various databases with key word search capabilities. Another benefit mentioned is that by virtue of membership, the Ohana automatically becomes a 501-C3 non-profit organization.

Paul congratulated the Ohana for taking the steps in becoming a member. He recognized the board for the outstanding job being done in fundraising and the high level of parental involvement. He asked if there was anything that the PTSA could help the Ohana with. Yvonne shared that class size has become a problem and asked what could be done about it. Paul responded that now there is a structure available where lobbying efforts can be coordinated and more effectively promoted. He also went into a lengthy discussion of the many benefits that will be coming by way of shared resource management.

Anne Marie questioned the PTSA about the possibility of tapping into current monies since we have no Title 1 monies. Sharon said there is a current list of grant monies available.

Vice President’s Report
None

Committee Reports:

a. Shirts
None

b. SCC
Carla shared that the SCC is working on two surveys involving different forms. One is for parents, the other for teachers. The survey targets how to increase parental involvement. Progress is also ongoing on developing the school's Financial Plan.

Lois added the both she and Anne Marie attended a HASCD workshop. They learned how changes affecting schools are being addressed.

c. Workshop
Kailani is planning a literacy workshop in January. She shared that she attended a similar workshop up at Kamehameha Schools and how informative it was. She is also working with Patty Marshall on a February workshop to cover such topics as: cooking, science, or author night. Anne Marie mentioned that the last author night was awesome.

d. Membership
None

e. Student Council
Anne Marie reported that students had a wonderful Spirit Week. Some activities were: "Read All Day" Day and a Pumpkin Carving Contest. Student Council will be holding their Key Project Can Food drive this week.

f. PCNC
Kailani shared that they were several possibilities that could be planned for Christmas. It all depends on if we want to keep it low key or go big. Some ideas were to have a Christmas workshop type set-up, movie night, etc. She said that there are good movies out there like "Elf" that are appropriate for the holidays. Anne Marie suggested that we keep the gathering low key. A short movie, having the chorus sing and Mrs. Marshall reading a Christmas story would be a good start. Due to the difficulty of deciding upon a date to hold the event, that was left up to Anne Marie and Kailani to decide.

g. Fun Fair
Fun Fair results were distributed. One report showed monies earned by the different grade levels. Another showed revenues received from the different booths, games and rides. The Fun Fair results this year were overwhelming. Despite the gloomy impending weather and previous day's relentless downpour, the Fun Fair turned out to be a tremendous success.

h. Fall Fundraiser
Anne Marie reported that the Cookie Fundraiser did remarkably well. Everything ran so smoothly. Teresa stated that she'd love to be in charge again next year. She had such a terrific time and School Kine Cookies was such a joy to work with. They were so supportive and gave Ahuimanu a free bag whenever a sales limit was exceeded. Anne Marie shared that the free bags contributed to an additional $XX.XX of funds being raised.

i. Spring Fund Raiser
Yvonne said that Kahea is already busy at work laying the foundation for next years' Wog-A-Thon.


k. Faculty
Steve shared that the Christmas Tree Fundraiser went as well as could have been expected for its first year. But the 6th graders were able to raise approximately $500. It was certainly a learning experience and they are already developing ideas on how to improve the program for next year.

l. Administration
Anne Marie stated that progress on the Academic Plan is being made.

An Eagle Scout's project of anchoring picnic tables behind the café has been completed. Also about 30 Lions Club members showed up to make more benches around campus. They did a terrific job and the benches are beautiful.

She spoke briefly on student Kyle Wong's "Thank You" Award that appeared on a spot on Tiny Tadani's TV show on OC 16.

She also shared about the joint Police Dept and DEA's demonstration of its Drug Prevention Program. Three helicopters appeared out of nowhere one Ahuimanu morning with officers repelling from the helicopters. It seemed so realistic that the neighbors were out wondering if some escaped felon was loose in their neighborhood. The students were amazed and spellbound by the whole event.

Ahuimanu was recognized in Waikiki for having an "Adequate Yearly Progress." The Safety committee will be convening on the 1st Friday in December with the State's Safety expert. They will be focusing on the morning drop off in the parking lot and how it can be made safer. Evacuation plans are also being improved.

Grades will be done on laptops next year. Each teacher is being assigned a stand-alone computer, but the teachers prefer laptops.

The school conducted a facility inspection with the Fire Dept. Many concerns were addressable immediately preventing citations. It was determined that the fixtures in the cafeteria are outdated, old, and need to be replaced. The school is slated to have a complete paint job in 2007. The floor in the café boy's restroom needs to be repaired.

m. Communications
James shared that he was able to photograph the HPD/DEA demonstration.

Request for Funds
James requested a small-unspecified sum to develop the HPD/DEA pictures. Anne Marie added that the pictures should be displayed on the website.

New Business/Parental Concerns
None

Adjournment/Next Meeting
The next official meeting is Wednesday, , January 18, 2006 at 6 p.m. in the library. The meeting was adjourned at 8:03 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by:
Robert Maeshiro, Recording Secretary