HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-20 School Council - Reading Memorial High MinutesReading Memorial High School Student Council Minutes
October 20, 2011
I. Introductions
II. Review of School Council Mission: The Principal went over handout reviewing the vision and
legal responsibilities of the School Council
III. Selected Co- chair— Lynna Williams (community member) volunteered for this position
IV. Reviewed Opening of School and School Improvement Plan
A. Opening of School: Overall parent, students and teachers are pleased with the opening
of school so far.
B. New initiatives:
- New courses and some new activities added this year such as hiking, philosophy,
figure skating and ski and snowboarding clubs. Great staff willing to volunteer their
time.
- 4`" quarter senior internship: This year is the pilot year and will have 10 -15 students
participating in an internship during the 4`" quarter. AP students can participate but
will need a modified internship to allow them to complete AP classes and prepare
for the exams. Suggestion was made to possibly look at colleges as there are a lot of
wonderful opportunities for kids with research, etc. Students will need to do a
presentation at the end of the internship to receive credit. Another suggestion was
made for presentation to be given to juniors to increase interest in the program..
- Seniors doing independent studies in classes not offered at the high school
- Students have the option of taking an online course. One student took an online
writing class last year and this year is very pleased with her international business
on -line course.
- Travel Study project: a teacher took students to Ireland and they did a yearlong
project to learn more about their travels and experiences. School maybe exploring
the option of students traveling on their own, keeping a photographic journal,
picking a topic to research and presenting their research to the school committee
and faculty.
- Behavioral health is a focus this year. Looking at student engagement and getting
students involved in topic they want to learn. Behavioral health is one of the
categories for the school goals and will be talked about later.
C. Challenges:
- Schedule — last year a committee looked at possibly changing the schedule to try
and reduce stress of the students and faculty. Committee decided to stay with the
same schedule while they continued their research. Current schedule continues to
raise concerns when one class is dropped due to the rotating schedule there are
gaps. Positive aspect of current schedule is it allows students to take more classes.
V. School Improvement Plan (copy of plan handed out to group)
A. There are 4 district goals and 3 school goals focusing on advance learning by integrating
21" century skills with standards based curriculum, support behavioral health of
students and cultivate partnerships with families and community. Group discussed each
smart goal and the strategies and action steps.
- Last year faculty spent time creating projects in every class that relate to curriculum.
Projects used school wide rubrics. Faculty used early release times to coordinate.
Faculty pleased they had time to work together to talk about student work. Parents
were very pleased with teachers sharing projects with parents on line. Parents
enjoyed their child's work but also the work of other students in the class. Students
pleased with increase of technology — blogs, streaming, etc.
For goals 1 & 3 — juniors will be working on real world problem solving projects.
Juniors will participate in the pilot year.
Writing is a focus across curriculums. Last summer there was a committee to
discuss and develop a common assessment for all types of writing activities.
Expanded co- teaching opportunities: quick solution for large class sizes, helps with
one on one attention, all students benefit not just special education students, there
are less referrals and more students succeeding in classes. Currently there are co-
teachers in all subjects.
Math resource Center is open during the school day. Teachers are available (this is
considered their duty). It is a support center similar to tutoring.
Looking into the need for a 0 lunch due to increase in number of students
attending high school. Students would like to eat outside. Group discussed options
such as eliminating staff cafeteria, building a loft within cafeteria, moving some
tables out and creating a wall of thin table with bar stools.
Anti- bullying Curriculum discussed —the curriculum is covered in advisory and
decisions classes. Currently there are 1.5 psychologists (mostly do testing not
counseling) with 4 full time guidance counselors and 1 director that has a small
caseload.
Homeroom — school is looking into the purpose of homeroom and advisory. Do the
benefits outweigh the disadvantages? Students had different opinions on their likes
and dislikes for homeroom and advisory. Council discussed alternatives to both.
VI. Closing: next meeting Tuesday, November gcn