2010-03-15 School Committee Minutes

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March 15, 2010 Conclusion of successful winter season. First day of spring tryouts today Upcoming events - Sophomore Semi and Freshman Progressive Dinner Liaisons Reports Mr. Robinson reported that he attended METCO Lobby Day at the State House today. The Reading students accompanied by Ms. Castro and he met with Representative Jones. He thanked our students for participating and the event was well attended. Mr. Robinson commented on the recent production of The Elephant Man. He also reported that the School Committee budget was presented to the Finance Committee last week and that he and the Superintendent would be attending a meeting regarding The Race to the Top program on Thursday. Mr. Michaud reported that the Ad-Hoc Building Committee had its first meeting. They drafted agendas for upcoming meetings and organized as a committee voting Mr. Michaud the chairperson. The committee will meet twice a month and the goal of the committee is to look at the town-wide building needs. Mrs. Webb acknowledged Patrick O'Sullivan's role in The Elephant Man and congratulated him on a fine performance. She also attended the Health and Wellness Fair and thanked the organizers for providing this opportunity for our students. She also informed the committee that student representative Patrick O'Sullivan will be attending the MASC Day on the Hill. Mrs. Janowski informed the committee that she would be attending the upcoming MASC Subcommittee on Special Education meeting. 2. Superintendent's Report Dr. Doherty reported that the Coolidge Middle School Peer Leaders ran a coat drive and were very successful. They collected 478 coats which was the most in the area. Coolidge won this contest and will be the recipient of several prizes. He pointed out the new artwork from the high school. Last week there was an elementary technology in-service and this week the middle school teachers will have their technology in-service. He indicated that this in-service is teachers teaching teachers and a few years ago this would not be possible. Dr. Doherty attended the MASSCUE Conference in Worcester and was fortunate to participate in a panel discussion as part of the opening keynote session. The keynote speaker focused on methods to integrate 21St century skills into the classroom. The Superintendent shared that the Parker Middle School 7th graders finished 8th in the nation in their division at the Wordmasters Challenge. He congratulated the students and coaches. Dr. Doherty was sad to report that Hilda Gaffney, first Barrows principal, recently passed away.