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Bylaw Committee

Updated: 10/4/2020

We are bringing this back to the forefront as mentioned prior. We were in transition in regards to updating the CHSPAB bylaws. We will plan on voting these changes in at the November meeting as to give everyone a chance again the review the draft. Click this link to review the proposed changes.

We want to acknowledge the hard work the volunteer bylaw committee has put in to revise the CHSPAB bylaws. Every year bylaws are to be looked at and minor changes can be made, however, every so often a good thorough review of all of the bylaws are needed to keep up with changes in how we operate and continue to best represent the group as a whole, in order to provide fairness to the students and the performing arts programs. Chip Darius, Karen Signorello, Mike Camilleri, John Pier and Lou Menendez have all met several times and worked very hard together on revising the language in our bylaws. A draft will be posted on the website soon for anyone to read. We thank all of them very much for putting in this effort and volunteering their time!

Updated: 2/22/2020
The bylaw committee has prepared a working draft made available for review. Voting the new bylaws will take place at the April CHSPAB meeting. Click here for the bylaws draft.

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WELCOME!

The Cromwell High School Performing Arts Boosters would like to welcome all parents of freshman students participating in the performing arts! We are a 501c3 non-profit fundraising organization of parents which provides support to the performing arts by way of volunteering time to help at events, providing scholarships, and by fundraising. You don’t have to do anything to become a member; if you have a student in the performing arts, you are automatically a member!

The 2020-2021 school year begins with many unanswered questions for the performing arts at CHS. The usual predictable events such as trips and performances are questionable at this time. We typically fundraise in order to support these events. We know for sure that we will provide scholarships this year for three graduating seniors, as well as gifts for all seniors. We hope to do much more beyond that!

So…where do we go from here? Well, we know our band and choir directors, Ray Sinclair and Karly Nelson, have tentative plans for an outdoor concert in October. This is not finalized, and we will know asap if it’s a go. There are also plans for the Drama Department to have a play in the fall. Again, logistics are being discussed for this. In addition, one of our biggest annual fundraisers is our Election Day Bake Sale. We may have the opportunity for concessions at these events and are exploring all of our fundraising options. One avenue we should consider is online fundraising throughout the year, similar to the Pampered Chef fundraiser we hosted last December. Fundraising in this manner is ideal considering the current situation, and we welcome ideas. 

The CHSPAB will also notify members through email and this website of events, booster meetings, etc. We encourage all to sign up for the email list (this is a 2-step process- make sure you “confirm” after you sign up). If you have any questions about the CHSPAB, please feel free to email any of the board members. If anyone is interested in a board position, please know elections will be held this fall. We are in the process of discussing the options for how our monthly meetings will occur to make sure everyone stays informed.

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End-of-year wrap up!

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!

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Mamma Mia!

WOW! We had great success with Mamma Mia concessions and “shout out” boxes, we took in $2033.58! The lobby looked amazing, a huge thank you to everyone involved! All of the decorators, volunteers, donated food items, and all parents who contributed! These students deserve it!

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PLEASE READ!

We’ve heard that members of the community expressing encouragement to the Board Of Education for increased funding for the performing arts can be very effective! Our Liason Steve Fortenbach has prepared an email to use as a starting guide-statements like this can be influential. Click here. Emails can be sent to Chairman Mike Camilleri.

Also, our bylaw committee has prepared a draft for review, this draft will be voted on in the April meeting. Click here to view the draft.

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Mamma Mia Help!

Please follow the link to the volunteer sign up page, and let’s get those slots filled!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

Once again we have volunteers to decorate our concessions table/bakers case. We will also be decorating our “shout out” boxes for the cast and crew. Be on the watch for posts and emails if help is needed with materials or supplies to borrow.

Side note: Ray and Karly are looking for a disco ball and white patio furniture for the show, contact them for details.

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2020 Here We Go!

Time to get planning for the year, we hope everyone had a great holiday and a happy new year! The main focus will be Mamma Mia concessions and shout out boxes. We will need volunteers all around, sign up sheets will/should be updates asap. Next meeting is on Thursday Jan 23rd, we would love to see as many parents as possible! Remember there’s always refreshments…and a raffle!

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Looking forward to 2020!

The CHSPAB would like to wish everyone the happiest of holidays and a great New Year! Thanks to all who attended the December meeting, once again we had great input and discussion from all. Look for the meeting agenda for the January meeting in a few weeks, the sign up sheets for Mama Mia will be updated after the new year, a lot of help from parents will be needed. We would also like to note we took in a total of $471.00 dollars in December from the concert concessions, and Pampered Chef fundraiser and a bank credit for opening a new account. Thank you for your continued support!

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Meeting Reminder!

A big thanks to all parents who helped with concessions for the the two winter concerts. The donations and decorations were very much appreciated! A shout out to Ray and Karly for two wonderful performances!

A reminder of the CHSPAB meeting on Thursday Dec 19th in the CHS Library, again we will try to keep it brief.

Our Pampered Chef fundraiser went very well, we should have final numbers on Thursday.

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Pampered Chef Fundraiser!

You’re invited to a Pampered Chef ONLINE fundraiser! November 21st-December 15th, and invite a friend or two! Get ready to learn recipes and tips to make meals that fuel your lifestyle with some of Pampered Chef’s best products, all while helping raise money for the CHS Music Boosters! Don’t miss out on the fun!

Click on the image below!