The MVHS Parent Teacher Student Association held its monthly meeting in the student union during the evening on Wednesday, April 8. The meeting focused on continuing the ongoing discussion around grant funding and the selection process for next year’s student leadership team.

The first half of the meeting was set aside for an exchange of updates between the principal and parent representatives, including a discussion about tweaking the criteria for future PTSA grant approvals. These grants are typically used to support club activities and help make sure they have the materials they need to run their meetings and stay active throughout the year. Among the grants discussed in the meeting was funding for an upcoming AVID field trip, which led to a discussion about ensuring standardized application requirements for future grant requests.

In the second half of the meeting, student representatives took the lead, working together to decide who would take on student leadership roles within the PTSA next school year. Junior Courtney Masli, a student representative, notes that parental involvement in the PTSA is crucial due to the active role parents play in students’ lives. According to Masli, attending these meetings helps parent representatives stay more up to date on the various ways they can benefit their child.

“Parents just want to know more about the students because they obviously care about the students,” Masli said. “There have been a lot of events that highlight student wellness and also parent wellness as well. That’s one of the main goals that PTSA wants to accomplish.”

Masli says this month’s meeting was more geared towards picking candidates for next year and figuring out what grants PTSA is responsible for. For future meeting topics next year, she hopes that there is a more balanced mix between parent and principal communications as well as student wellness efforts.

“For future meetings, I hope to incorporate more of the student wellness part and have someone bring more clarity on the students’ behalf, especially in regard with all the bomb threats and whatnot,” Masli said. “It was discussed at a previous meeting, but I feel like the answer wasn’t as clear as I wanted it to be. That’s definitely a thing I want to bring up with at least the parents.”