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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-07 School Council - Wood End Elementary MinutesWood End Elementary School School Council Meeting RECEIVED TOWN CLttin READING, MASS-: MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE SCHOOL COUNCIL 2012 JUN 13 A II 55 ' June 7, 2012 A meeting of the Wood End School Council was held on Thursday, June 7, 2012 from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Wood End Elementary School, Reading, Massachusetts. Council Members Present: Richard Davidson, Sandy Emery, Debbie Hattery, Joanne King, Sally Mucica, and Maria Walsh. New members also present included Maureen Fennessy, Pooja Parsons, Stephanie Malone, and Mia Gaska. 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. School Improvement Plan Mr. Davidson presented the revised School Improvement Plan for Wood End for the 2012 -2013 school year. He noted that changes to the previous school plan were highlighted in bold and underlined, as follows: • State nutrition guidelines have changed and desserts such as ice cream and brownies will no longer be served. • Snow- shoeing will be included in the PE curriculum for Grades 4 and 5 as weather conditions permit. • Class size guidelines were discussed for Grade 1. With 23 -24 students in each class, the goal would be to provide more aide time, if possible, to support students. • A new PTO committee position will be added, New Family Network Coordinator. This person will become a point of contact to help new families feel comfortable. • Wood End at a Glance brochure will be updated and include community information (Reading Public Library). • Use the RTI model for math — tiered instruction could include "problem - solving Fridays," interim assessments based on standards not curriculum, data team meetings to look at current student performance. • Writing will be a focus within the district; Wood End will be using the Lucy Caulkins approach to Writer's Workshop. TELL Mass Survey Council members began to review results, which will be available online until July 15t. School staff and Council members are encouraged to go online to see the results for Wood End. Technology Committee Update Mr. Davidson presented an update to the four -year plan which has been developed for Wood End. The PTO has generously donated the funding for 32 laptops. The Town is providing $100,000 for the district to maintain technology. Playground Pal Update Mr. Davidson recognized and thanked Maria Walsh for organizing the program this year. She mentioned that students were excited to participate, recognized the important role they played in helping others, and enjoyed the organizational lunch meetings held in the conference room. Other Business Update given on the status of the basketball court installation. Maria Walsh will follow up on the funds available. The Town has agreed to install the court once the funds are made available. Minutes All members present reviewed the minutes from the previous meeting held on May 3, 2012. A motion was made to accept the minutes by Debbie Hattery and Maria Walsh did second the motion. Minutes were approved. Adjournment Mr. Davidson gave a warm and sincere "thank you" to all members for their involvement in the 2011 -2012 school year. The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. The School Council will resume discussions at their first meeting of the next school year. Respectfully submitted, Joanne King Recording Secretary, 6/7/2012 RECEIVED Wood End Elementary School TOWN CLERK School Council Meeting READING, MASS. MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE SCHOOL COUNCIL 1111 OCT -9 P 1: 44 June 7, 2012 A meeting of the Wood End School Council was held on Monday, October 1, 2012 from 3:15 until 4:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Wood End Elementary School, Reading, Massachusetts. Council Members Present: Joanne King, Sandy Emery, Maureen Fennessy, Pooja Parsons, Maria Walsh, Barbara Sheehan, Stephanie Malone, and Mia Gaska. Call to Order: Principal Joanne King called the meeting to order at 3:15 p.m. and Mia Gaska recorded the minutes and Maureen Fennessy volunteered as Co- chair. A quorum of Council Members was present, and the meeting having been duly convened, was ready to proceed with business. Start of the Year Business Members were reminded of key points in the Open Meeting Guide. All members read and signed the Conflict of Interest Law form and the Certificate of Receipt of Open Meeting Law Materials. Minutes All members present reviewed the minutes from the previous meeting held on June 7, 2012. A motion was made to accept the minutes by Maria Walsh and Sandy Emery did second the motion. Minutes were approved. School Improvement Plan Mrs. King presented the revised School Improvement Plan for Wood End for the 2012- 2013 school year. She will present this plan to the School Committee on October 22 "d Principal King noted that changes to the previous school plan are as follows: • Goal 1 focuses on increasing the academic success of all students in the areas of reading comprehension and writing, as measured by ELA MCAS, published pieces of work per student, and the Gates Reading Comprehension Assessment. • Goal 2 focuses on closing the achievement gap for high needs and special education subgroups in math and literacy. • Goal 3 focuses on fostering open communication with families and the community, measured by percent of families enrolled using Edline and percent of families participating in a pre /post survey on family and community participation. Technology Committee Update Mrs. King presented an update on the technology purchased over the summer. The PTO generously purchased 32 laptops that were installed in the Library /Media Center. There were an additional 25 laptops purchased with money received from a METCO grant and the school purchased two COWs to house these additional new laptops. Budget Update Principal King noted this will be discussed at each meeting. Some funds were reallocated for staff Professional Development and instructional resources for teachers. Building Work During the summer, the custodians worked closely with Mrs. King to clean and paint several areas of the school building including offices and classrooms. Construction debris and broken equipment / furniture were also removed. Teachers cleaned out classrooms and two dumpsters were filled. In addition, a paper shredding company hired by the district came and shredded 18 cases of materials no longer needed on file. Community Service Projects As part of the School Improvement Plan, a goal is to get students more involved in their community. Mrs. King shared that students will be participating in the annual Veterans' Day program on the first Friday in November, as well as the Soldier Drive to collect items to be sent overseas to the troops in time for the holidays. It was decided that each grade level will be responsible for one community service project with the goal that all students will be able to participate and the service be focused on local families. The projects are as follows: • November/December - Soldier Drive - Grade 5 • December /January — Anton 's Coat Drive — Grade 3 • February - Leukemia & Lymphoma Society — Pre -K and Grade 1 • March — Reading Food Pantry — Grade 4 • April — Mission of Deeds, Reading — Grade 2 Wood End Brochure and Handbook Both Wood End at a Glance and the Wood End Handbook will need to be updated. Mrs. King will send School Council members the current handbook and suggestions for changes will be discussed at next month's meeting. The changes to the parent handbook will include the Acceptable Use Policy, what constitutes excused/unexcused absences, the tardy policy, and the districts physical restraint policy. Spirit Wear It was shared that there are no remaining Wood End t -shirts or sweatshirts available, only water bottles and notepads. Mrs. King has received samples from several vendors, but it was suggested to keep the Wood End Spirit Wear order local. She will look into ordering from a vendor in Reading. Other Business Maria Walsh shared that there is about $2,500 in funds available for the basketball court project. Mrs. King was updated by the Public Works Department that they were aware of the project, but no date for installation has been decided. She will follow up to find out if there is a smaller scale project that could be done sooner. Adjournment Mrs. King shared her excitement to work with the School Council this year. The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. The School Council will resume discussions at their next meeting on November 1St Respectfully submitted, Mia Gaska Recording Secretary, October 1, 2012