In an effort to inform parents of the events taking place on campus, the PTA members met in the B-Building theatre on Dec 13 for their monthly meeting.

Among the different subjects discussed during the gathering, one topic had an interesting twist, which brought attention to various parent PTA members: a financial aid workshop. As parents and students alike are in a financial deficit, it was the career center advocate Mrs. Campos’s goal to provide the PTA members with as much information possible to help students achieve their dreams of attending universities without having to worry about the cost as much. Subjects discussed included the steps needed to receive scholarships, grants, and most importantly extra money for college.

Once the financial aid workshop came to an end, principal Tom Houts took the stage to unravel a bit of information over the different events that should take place later in the year. To begin, Houts proudly announced the varsity girl’s volleyball achievement as they attained the title of CIF champions for this year’s competition. Furthermore, he was proud to announce the newly built green house and garden, which has begun incorporating activities with both high school students and elementary level kids.

After principal Houts was done giving his report on overall school events, it was up to ASB officers Hiro Azuma, Blake Rangell, and Phil Kong to give the inquisitive parents a quick update on events that dealt specifically with the student body and the ASB assembly. First on their list was announcing their recent success with the winter food drive. According to the ASB members, a total of about 6000 cans were collected to be distributed for the holiday season. Along with their desire to help the needy during the winter, ASB members announced their traditional involvement in the annual door decorating competition among teachers and their fourth period students.

Once ASB was done giving their announcements, PTA president Martha Michael took on the responsibility of announcing her dues for the month of Nov. and Dec. Although her statement was terse, Michael proceeded to talking about the food orders that would be given to the needy during the holiday season. Though Michael didn’t obtain the minimum two volunteers needed for the event, she talked about what a blessing it was to give the food away to the needy the years before. After discussing the food distribution, the much anticipated topic of grad night came up. Many seniors have been wondering where exactly they would have grad night, and unfortunately, neither Michael nor Houts could grant a secure place or position of where it will be at the moment. Further information on grad night is promised to be given the next PTA meeting in Jan.

As the meeting came to a conclusion, vice principal Anthony Zegarra went up to say that it is an optimal decision for parents to keep attending the PTA meetings so their opinions can be heard about the many different activities going on at school. In doing so, Downey could be a better place for both students and staff by incorporating the ideas that parents have for their children’s schooling.