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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-03-01 School Council - Wood End Elementary MinutesA�raJed 4 /5�aoia, RECEIVED Wood End Elementary School T 0'7H CLERK School Council Meeting RE•`:DG,G. t`i, ^,SS. MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE SCHOOL 2BtDlAKILl p b: 41 March 1, 2012 A meeting of the Wood End School Council was held on Thursday, March 1, 2012 from 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Wood End Elementary School, Reading, Massachusetts. Council Members Present: Richard Davidson, Debbie Hattery, Joanne King, Sally Mucica, Barbara Sheehan, Monette Verrier, and Maria Walsh. Council Members Absent: Sandy Emery Call to Order Principal Davidson called the meeting to order at 3:15 p.m. and Joanne King recorded the minutes. A quorum of Council Members was present, and the meeting, having been duly convened, was ready to proceed with business. Agenda, Minutes, and Introductory Business All members present reviewed the minutes from the previous meeting held on February 2, 2012. A motion was made to accept the minutes by Barbara Sheehan and Debbie Hattery did second the motion. Minutes were approved. Blue Ribbon Site Visit Wood End will host a site visit for the Blue Ribbon Conference on Thursday, April 12, 2012. Mr. Davidson stated that twelve 5th Grade students will be identified to serve as tour guides for guests visiting the school. A group of 5 -6 parents will also be needed to be part of group sharing their views about Wood End as a school and community. This group can meet with guests in the library media center to answer questions. In addition, a group of 5 -6 students in Grades 1 -5 will be present to share their views on the school and answer questions. Christina Erb, art teacher, will contact parents to help set up artwork on display for this event. Students will be encouraged to participate in the cleaning and setting up as well to enable them to take pride in their school. Other ideas will be discussed at the next staff meeting and this committee will review the status at the April School Council meeting. New Family Survey Results Debbie Hattery reviewed the results of the recent on -line survey sent out to new Wood End families. The survey was sent to 39 families and 19 responded. The results showed that 100% of those surveyed strongly agreed or agreed they felt welcomed and informed at the start of school. Comments also reflected a need to hold evening events in addition to daytime events for new families, due to conflicting work schedules. Other suggestions included a family picnic, an end -of- the -year pot luck dinner for all families and staff, posting FAQs on the Wood End Facebook page, and inviting new families to the first PTO meeting prior to the event. Update on Parent Focus Group The first meeting was held at the home of Monette Verrier on January 19th at 9:00 a.m., and discussion continued around parent concerns raised over food served in cafeteria, ice cream and desserts available to students on a daily basis, and the amount of work required of parents to complete the Grade 2 Native American projects. It was suggested that parents provide more input into this project so teachers can make the process easier for families. Another parent focus group meeting will be held during an evening time (still to be determined) and will be hosted by Debbie Hattery. Wood End Technology Committee Principal Davidson presented a proposal for a 4 -year Technology Plan for Wood End which was developed by the committee at their February 13`n meeting. It is based on the assumption that the school will be completely wireless by the summer. The proposal includes the following equipment: • Year 1 - A Smart board for the music specialist, eight laptops for a Lexia mini - lab, and a classroom set of "writers" for Grade 3. • Year 2 - Eight laptops to update the computer lab, 2 -3 laptops for each classroom in Grades 3 -5 and one additional laptop in Grades K -2, and a classroom set of "writers' for Grade 4. • Year 3 — A COW (Computers on Wheels) with 20 laptops and a classroom set of writers for Grade 5. • Year 4 — A second Smart board for the Library Media Center to be used in the computer lab Committee will continue to gather additional input from staff about needs, identify software, look for corporate partnerships, and research use of ipads. This proposal will be presented to the PTO at their next meeting on March 13th Digital Color Brochure Sandy Emery will present information at next meeting. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. The School Council will resume discussions at the next meeting on April 5, 2012. Respectfully submitted, Joanne King Recording Secretary, 3/1/2012