Support Gifted and Talented Education at Carnegie

Dear Carnegie Parents & Friends:

We hope that the first semester of the 2007/2008 school year has been a challenging and positive experience for our students.  We have again endured our annual nightmares: plotting bus routes and ordering books and materials for a growing student body.  But with the pain comes great news.  Not only has the Texas Business and Education Coalition (TBEC) chosen us as one of its 2007 Honor Roll Schools, the TEA has again given CVHS an Exemplary rating!

As the only Vanguard high school in HISD, or in Texas for that matter, our students are allowed the unique opportunity of a low student-teacher ratio which, in turn, allows our teachers more academic flexibility in the structure of their classes.  This is a definite benefit for our students.  However, since we’re a small campus, we are housed in an older facility that was not originally designed for high school students.  Thus, the PTO has decided that we would like to dedicate this year’s GATE Campaign towards campus improvements and beautification. 

In the first phase of our planning, we sent out a survey to all of the students and faculty asking for suggestions to improve the campus facilities.  Those results were tallied and showed there was a overwhelming desire to improve the landscaping (while leaving the courtyard open), a strong desire for a stage (temporary for now), a water feature of some sort, and more shaded seating in the courtyard.  In addition, the PTO and faculty also see a need for more parking, better bus lanes and more traffic control at our exit gate.

HISD’s Facilities Team has been on campus to evaluate our needs and are in the process of making recommendations to the district as to what needs to be improved or replaced.  In addition to working with HISD’s Facilities Team, we will also bring in a Landscape Architect to help us plan how we can enhance the property we are on and make it a more creative environment. 

This is where you come in.  We hope that you will consider making a donation to Carnegie in your end of year giving plans.  If your employer participates in a matching grant program, please send us the appropriate forms and we will be happy to complete and submit them.  For those who might be interested in making your donations via credit card ($100 minimum) or appreciated securities ($1,000 minimum), please contact Lynae Novominsky (lynaenovo@yahoo.com) for further instructions. 

Please consider this investment in your child’s future. No gift is too small and all gifts will upgrade the environment on our campus for years to come.   Download PDF of the GATE Donation Form.

Sincerely,

Angela DeSilva 
CVHS PTO, President

Lynae Novominsky
CVHS PTO, Treasurer