Call to Order/Pledge of Allegiance: The meeting of the General Membership was called to order at 7:37 PM. Cary Sweeney, President, led the Pledge of Allegiance. (25 attendees). There were several parents we'd not seen at previous meetings, so introductions were made all around.

Program: Jean Fiske, from the Career Center, talked about "Preparing Your Student for College and Student Jobs". The dates for SMUHSD summer school are June 14 - July 23; the primary focus of the District's summer school program is remediation; due to funding, spaces are limited, and enrollment is on a first come, first serve basis. Applications will be available soon. CSM summer dates will be posted on their web site (http://gocsm.net/), tentative starting date is June 14; some classes are 6 weeks long, some are 8 weeks; some courses require approval from the student's high school counselor.

As of this meeting, there are only 3 postings on the Job Board. The Career Center hasn't heard much lately from employers, but generally gets a fair number of postings for summer and part-time jobs for students 16 years old and up, for which work permits are required (not needed for people over 18 years-old or graduated from high school). Step 1 for a student seeking employment is to get an application for a work permit at the Career Center; parental signature is required. Step 2 is to present the completed application to the prospective employer. The student must have at least a 2.0 GPA; there are certain restrictions on the types of jobs that students can hold, mostly for safety's sake. Permits automatically expire in the fall. Allow a couple days for processing.

Mrs. Fiske had much advice for students about getting into college, the first being, "Don't let up in twelfth grade; 'senioritis' is noticed [by admissions officers] and applications are downgraded as a result." Likewise, poor grades in early years not made up in [summer school] hurt. There are lots of theories about how to prep for standard tests, such as the SAT: Mrs. Fiske thinks the best approach is for students to do well in classes; be avid readers, be curious, and do their homework. There are lots of services available to assist students with prep for standard tests; they range from 1-day "quickie" seminars about successful test-taking strategies, to comprehensive review programs that run over several weeks, with practice tests, tutors, etc. Costs for these review programs range from about $1000 to $1200 or more.

Mrs. Fiske also discussed Financial Aid for college-bound students. No matter what college they're headed to, for need-based aid students and their parents need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ . You can complete one as "practice" in advance, without submitting to colleges. Always file a FAFSA form for each year the of student's college career, preferably online, even if you think you won't need it; schools keep the FAFSA form on file throughout the year. If your family's financial status changes during a given year, your student can re-apply for financial aid if their FAFSA is on file.

The other type of financial aid is merit-based; there are lots and lots of scholarships available. Seniors should check the Career Center web site weekly: http://www.hillsdalehigh.com/careercenter/scholarships.html . Right now is the prime scholarship season! There are also scholarships available now for freshman - juniors; most are essay contests; watch the Career Center bulletin board for notices on these (not currently posted on the web).

Mrs. Fiske distributed several handouts to the meeting attendees, including a college planning timetable, Career Center services flyer, a CSU "Plan for College" brochure, and more. If you didn't get these at the PTSO meeting, you or your student can pick them up in the Career Center. [If you haven't yet visited the HHS Career Center web site, check it out: http://www.hillsdalehigh.com/careercenter/index.html .]

Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the Jan 12, 2004 PTSO general meeting were read and approved by majority vote.

Treasurer's Report: Toni Johnson presented the financial statement for January 13, 2004 - February 9, 2004. The opening balance was $4252.25. Expenses reported included $178.80 for Courier cover printing, plus $56 for printing the Jan/Feb issue; total expenses $234.80 for the period. Interest income on our account amounted to $0.39; there were no deposits. The Budget to Actual balance remained in the black, with a net balance of $4017.84. The Treasurer's Report was approved by unanimous vote.

Toni announced that the Robotics Club, for which we'd approved a conditional release of $700 in January, did get a second team together for the Silicon Valley Robotics Competition (SVRC). The PTSO funds were offered as a "challenge grant", provided the club could raise the additional funds needed for their entrance fee and needed materials.

Principal's Report: Mr. Leydig's report was quite brief. He announced two additional SLC meetings had been scheduled for Middle School parents; one on February 17 at Abbott, another on February 25 at Bowditch. The annual Eighth Grade Night at Hillsdale is March 1. Mr. Leydig commented that the Mock Trial team competitions are really worth seeing; Hillsdale's team has been among the state's top ten over the last several years; and he urged those parents who've not seen such a competition to get out to one, soon.

President's Report: Gari attended the Parents Presidents Council meeting, the last one with Tom Mohr. New Superintendent Sam Johnson was there, too; Ethel Konopka, the Principal of Peninsula High School, will take over Sam's old job. Bob Arnold talked about the SMUHSD budget, which needs to be reduced by $1 million; cuts might be taken by capping health & welfare benefits; cutting back on administrative days, cell phones, and other expenses. Academics and sports programs will not be cut, and it's expected there will be no layoffs, pending passage of the Governor's proposed budget. August 23 , is the scheduled first day of school for the '04-'05 year.

Gari also reported on the HHS Robotics Club: They just reached the needed amount of $1900 for first team's early registration + $2300 for the second team ($4200 total). The club got contributions from Stanford University, Logitech, and other Silicon Valley organizations, along with parents'/kids' contributions. Thirty-five schools will compete in the local SVRC, then the winners will go on to the Northern CA competition. If they place in the top four of the Northern CA regional competition, they'll get scholarship to go on to Nationals. Gari said she might convince the club members to come to the April PTSO meeting to show off their creations.

Cary commented on the insurance situation: She said the PTSO is adequately covered, but any groups having events at which they're serving alcohol need to take out supplemental insurance. She also reported, the retirement party for Tom Mohr was great; there were about 650 - 700 attendees. The HHS PTSO donated to the gift, a commemorative plaque to be mounted on the bell tower at San Mateo High School.

Drama Boosters: There are three events coming up: H.I.T. is presenting an evening of improvisational theater, March 4,5, and 6; next, three 1-act plays directed by students will be performed March 12 and 13; and the Diary of Anne Frank plays in the Little Theater, April 30 - May 2.

Music Boosters: The HHS Chamber Singers sang at Tom Mohr's retirement party. Half of the orchestra went to a retreat last week.

Athletic Boosters: Janine Wrightson reported on the January 31 st Ultimate Tailgate Party. This fundraiser was hugely successful, in terms of fun; she didn't yet know how much money they'd made, but was expecting a preliminary figure at their next meeting, Feb. 10. Softball Coach John Taylor won $750.

Dance Boosters: (no report)

AKOTT: Liz Wiegand & Janine Wrightson announced the next meeting was scheduled for Feb. 24. They needed a PTSO rep, so Toni volunteered. Tickets were mailed out; all should have gotten them already, but there were some snags in the postal delivery. Some 200 donation letters were mailed out; donations are starting to come in. Some of the donations received thus far included: 5 nights in Mexico; 3 dinners-for-2 in SF; and 25 - 30 miscellaneous items, no baskets yet from the sports teams. AKOTT is March 27, 6 PM. There's a box in the office for donations. PTSO is responsible for setup (which starts @ noon) and cleanup; we'll need any/all help; we've done it many times, so it's very well organized.

Membership: We received dues tonight from Janet Froh for the Froh family (Charles, Janet and student Tim).

Hospitality : (no report)

New Business: Ryan Sweeney reported that this is Spirit Week, with a different theme for each day. The Valentine's Day Dance ("Be Mine to Knight") is Saturday night at CSM.

A volunteer is needed (desperately) to chair the Senior Day (night) Party; Cary said she will send out email to parents of seniors. The Junior/Senior Prom is April 24 at the Decathlon Club San Jose.

Old Business: Outstanding Service awards will be presented at our March 8 meeting.

We needed a nominating committee for next year's PTSO board: Chris Reynolds, Gari Patton, Cary Sweeney, Kaye Sharma, and Leslie Levy volunteered; Toni will be a backup. Cary will contact the rest of us for a Monday night meeting. Peggy Williams, our Parliamentarian, said there are no term limits for board members.

Closing: The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:30PM. The next meeting is Monday, March 8 at 7:30 PM

Respectfully submitted by,
Christina Reynolds
Recording Secretary