CLEARLAKE — Oak Hill Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) celebrated “Founders Day” with a tree-planting ceremony.
The group received its charter Feb. 17, 2006, but since the date fell on a Sunday this year, the PTSA celebrated Founders Day on Wednesday, Feb. 20.
“Who thinks they know what PTAs are all about?” asked outgoing President Kathleen Eberhardt, explaining that the PTA originated with Alice McLellan Birney in 1895. Originally called the Congress of Mothers, Birney organized regional and state branches throughout the United States.
Hannah Schoff later organized local groups of what was then called the Congress of Parents and Teachers. Eberhardt said that it was only within the last decade that PTA groups began forming that included students among charter members. Oak Hill Middle School and Lower Lake High School have both received charters for a PTSA.
Remy McCosker introduced the association at Oak Hill in 2005 and served as its first president. The group presented its charter to the Konocti Unified school board in April 2006. Incoming President Am? Bland recently had the charter framed and on Feb. 20, Eberhardt presented the charter to Oak Hill co-principal Kristyn Leigh Freeman. The framed charter is on display in the Oak Hill library media center.
Special guest Dianna MacDonald, 14th District PTA president; presented Oak Hill with a check for $530 from the California State PTA to continue its art docent program. Artwork by Fallon Diener, Rebecca Sires, Victoria Stahlman and Katelyn Meade-Malley are being presented to California legislators Patricia Wiggins and Patty Berg in an awareness-raising campaign to promote the importance of art education. California Alliance for Arts Education is co-sponsoring this campaign.
“Because of our active involvement incorporating arts into education, Oak Hill Middle School was the school selected to represent the entire politic district,” Eberhardt said in a recent correspondence. “I am very proud of our students and very pleased to share their art work.”
Eberhardt recently reported that one of the things Oak Hill PTSA looks forward to is beginning student leader lessons. Eberhardt introduced Oak Hill student Rachel Boyd from the leadership class. “You need to start raising your voice if you want something,” Boyd said to her fellow students.
The Founders Day celebration concluded with the planting of an Aristocrat flowering pear tree that had been donated by Highlands Nursery.
PTSA parent Shawn Bland and school board President Herb Gura helped transplant the tree into a temporary container. The tree will eventually be planted after campus remodeling plans have been finalized and a suitable site for the tree has been determined.
Contact Cynthia Parkhill at cparkhill@clearlakeobserver.com.
