Present
Valsey Frietas, Robert Maeshiro, Yvonne Turro, Wayne Iseri, Lois Upton, Julie Aoyagi, Ann Marie Duca, Bryan Ferguson.

Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m.

Approval of Minutes
Yvonne moved and Robert seconded that the February 16, 2005 minutes be approved. Motion was carried unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report
Julie distributed the Ahuimanu Ohana Balance Sheet as of February 28, 2005.

President’s Report
Discussion of upcoming Ohana Board elections took place. Wayne is considering a run for President. Yvonne will be running for Vice-President. Robert will be campaigning vigorously to retain the position of Recording Secretary. Julie will also attempt to hold the Treasurer’s position. Valsey will be moving to workshops. Wayne mentioned that nomination forms for Ohana Board should be going out soon. Ann Marie suggested that the Ohana elections be mentioned in the April edition of Kani Kolea.

Yvonne mentioned that at other schools, she experienced a practice called “Wednesday Envelope.” It involved all correspondence between school and parents and vice-versa is done via the Wednesday Envelope. Each Wednesday the teacher would fill the students envelopes with tests, flyers, notices, memos, etc. that needed to be seen by parents. These would go home with the students. Parents would know to expect materials on Wednesdays from the school that needed their attention. Upon receiving and reviewing literature, the parents would sign and return the envelope to the teacher.

People are still needed for the Fun Fair and the Spring/Fall Fundraisers. Wayne suggested that the Ohana solicit parental input into the fundraising process so they can take ownership of the activity. Some parents have expressed displeasure as to the types of fundraisers that have taken place. These are the parents that we would like to hear from. All ideas from the Ahuimanu community are welcome.

Brian mentioned that we should take notice of the minimum profit guarantees that companies are offering.

Ohana needs to decide on the final five vendors by its May 2005 meeting. This will give the final vendors at least a month to prepare their presentations. Vendors are to present their fund raising programs at our June 2005 meeting. Parents should be encouraged to attend the presentations. Members are to anticipate a long meeting that night.

Vice President’s Report
Yvonne is still working on the PTSA membership application. She is also revising the Ohana By-Laws that need to be made in order to apply for PTSA membership. Our organization’s name needs to have the word “PTSA” or “PTA” in it. We will still be known as the “Ahuimanu Ohana,” but our official name will be “Ahuimanu Ohana PTA.”

Committee Reports:

a. Shirts
Valsey mentioned that monies from the tee-shirt sales continue to come in.

b. SCC
SCBM has officially changed to “SCC.”

Lois mentioned that SCC members learned a lot from the balloting process of the SCC elections. In retrospect, there is more that could have been done to improve the process. Office staff and teachers would be given more support from SCC member and volunteers.

85 ballots were received by the Friday, March 4, 2005 deadline. The results are: Brian Ferguson and Carla Trupp are the Parent Representatives, Lois Upton is the Parent/Community Representative, and Mary Yago is the Community Representative. Margie Almony and Patti Marshall are the Teacher Representatives, and Tamoko Kanehisa-Glenn and Sheila Pama are the Staff Representatives. The Student Representative will be the President of the Student Council.

Lois will be formulating Ahuimanu’s SCC by-laws following the Kapunahala Elementary School model.

Ahuimanu Cleanup Day is scheduled for April 9, 2005 9:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. Iolani School will be bringing at least 50 students to help with the effort. Ann Marie had suggested that Ohana members also choose a project to do at the cleanup. Options given were to put up a needed bulletin board or to paint the Kiln Room. Robert and Lois said they would be attempting to help that day.

c. Workshop
Valsey confirmed that Science Night would be held on Friday, April 15, 2005. UH Medical School, Emitt and A.Y. Entomologist from UH, Trixy from Key Project, The Kamehameha Schools, Windward Community College, and Future Flight Hawaii are some groups that be participating, entertaining and wowing the crowd.

d. Membership
None.

e. Student Council
Busy collecting pennies for the tsunami victims.

Flag assembly was last week.

f. PCNC
Ann Marie said that Kailani is busy planning a Parent’s University Workshop for the beginning of May. She is also planning a movie night to be held sometime during the ending of May.

She also praised Kailani for doing a good job coordinating and running Parent’s Sub Day. Ann Marie shared that her boss, Superintendent Mrs. Lea Albert came by and was very impressed with all the parents who helped. Mrs. Albert asked, “How many were paid substitutes?” Ann Marie said “None. They’re all volunteers.” Lea expressed surprise saying “Hold on to these parents and don’t let go of them. It’s wonderful to have such a successful turnout.”

Kailani will be coordinating “Jump Rope for Heart” campaign scheduled for May 10, 2005.

g. Fun Fair
Committee to present possible dates to Boys and Girls Scouts to avoid conflicts with their schedules.

h. Fall Fundraiser
None.

i. Spring Fund Raiser
Wog-a-Thon is scheduled for Friday, April 29, 2005. Purpose will be to promote upgrading and replacing aging computer equipment. Valsey stated that Cut-Master Spaz might be the deejay that day. Pledge dollar amounts will be done first. Kids will do laps later. Prizes were discussed. Class party and parent prizes will be on the agenda for discussion next meeting. Various ideas for refreshments that day were also discussed.

Wog-a-thon still needs people to warm up the children.

Wayne questioned raising the limits of the routes per child.

Brian will be looking into wrist bracelets as possible prizes. He may be able to get bracelets with school name and colors.

j. Playground
None.

k. Faculty
Ann Marie said teachers were working hard with the 3rd through 6th graders in preparation for the standard exams. They are busy doing weekly math and reading prompts.

The teachers are very pleased, but challenged by the new math texts. The students are enjoying the challenges of the math and reading prompts. Ann Marie is often approached by students blurting out challenging prompts for her to solve. This shows the children are really getting into it.

We are finishing the 3rd quarter. It seemed to have flown by so quickly. Teachers will have their last Professional Collaboration Day on May 6, 2005.

Discussion took place on the Student Planners.

l. Administration
HSAT’s to begin Tuesday, April 5, 2005. For the 3rd through 6th graders: 4 days of testing for reading, writing, and math.

Kindergarten registration is filling up fast. If you know of anyone who would like to have their child/children attend Ahuimanu, please inform them that children need to be registered as soon as possible. 20 Geographic Exceptions (GE’s) have been received. Most of these GE’s were for kindergarten.

The “Don’t Turn Right on Hui-Aeko Place” issue is still a problem. Some improvements have been made.

Safety Committee met. It was reported that the accident rates on campus has increased. Everyone is welcome to attend the Safety Committee meetings.

Castle Complex Curriculum Project: All schools are incorporating Ahuimanu Elementary School’s 5-R’s into their policy curriculums.

Summer school will be at Kaneohe Elementary School.

Poster Contest had many excellent entries.

Mokichi Okada Association (MOA) Japanese Garden Flower Society contest - Leslie Lechner was the winner.

Video Competition – Ahuimanu had made a tremendous showing finishing as finalist in all the three top categories of the competition.

Track meet went well. There was a lot of good camaraderie. Everyone was energized and enthusiastic.

m. Communications
James is working on a collage for the Marines. Marine Assembly to be held Wednesday, April 27, 2005.

Request for Funds
Ohana will be buying gift baskets for Secretary’s Day and Custodian Appreciation Day. Valsey will be presenting the gift baskets on behalf of the Ohana. Ann Marie suggested that both baskets be presented on the same day.

Request for funds of $400.00 was made for Faculty Appreciation Day to be held in May. Wayne moved and Lois seconded. Motion was passed unanimously.

New Business/Parental Concerns
Lois reported on her review of the “Read to Me” video. She doesn’t see it as a program applicable to Ahuimanu. Ann Marie suggested that it might be more applicable for use at the “Parent University.”

Adjournment/Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 at 6 p.m. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by:
Robert Maeshiro, Recording Secretary