We hope this letter finds you all healthy and enjoying the summer so far! 2020 has been an interesting year to say the least. We first want to say thank you to all of you for being such an involved and supportive group of parents this year. Even though our momentum was cut short, the CHS Performing Arts Boosters could not have accomplished so much without the participation of all of its members.
To recap some of this year’s successes, we parents should be proud that our group was able to honor three students with scholarships as discussed and voted on back in the winter. A big thank you to the three parent volunteers on our Scholarship Committee for the countless hours they put in and their efforts to determine the recipients through the established process. We were happy to award Allison Arling, Timothy Falt, and Rachel McAdams each a $500 scholarship. Congratulations to these students! We wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors! The CHSPAB group was also able to recognize all of the graduating seniors in the performing arts with a parting gift! Thank you to the volunteers who put these gifts together and delivered them to the seniors’ front doors. Many seniors and their parents reached out with sincere appreciation. Through the outstanding participation, volunteer hours and generosity of all parents, we raised enough money to easily provide these things and more.
Additionally, we had some outstanding fundraising events this year such as the Election Day Bake Sale and Mamma Mia Concessions. We also opened a new avenue of fundraising with the online Pampered Chef fundraiser. All of these events well exceeded our expectations! Other mentionable accomplishments this year include establishing ourselves as an official 501c3 non-profit organization, and implementing new ways to stay connected with all members through the new website and email distribution list, as well as using Remind, Facebook and other outlets and communication tools. The CHSPAB had such a successful 2019-2020 school year- imagine what we all could have done together if it had not been cut short!
At the time of school closing in March, there were some topics in transition. The CHSPAB bylaws were being revised and reviewed, new fundraising ideas were on the table, and there were thoughtful discussions at our meetings and with Ray and Karly as to the best use of our budget to benefit the students as a whole. It was so nice to see so much effort from our members put forth into making these decisions. These types of conversations will continue in the fall.
Although the landscape of the upcoming school year is uncertain, we plan on continuing to support the CHS Performing Arts for the 2020-2021 school year in whatever way possible. As of right now, nothing is very clear as to what the needs of the program may be. As we approach the start of the school year, we hope to gather more information. We will notify parents through email and the website as to how the boosters will host meetings and when we will hold elections for CHSPAB board positions that were unable to occur in June. One thing for sure is that this amazing group of parents will continue to lend a helping hand to the program. It may be in more unique and innovative ways than it has been in the past, but we are committed to making sure our students have a great experience with the performing arts!