HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-11-05 School Council - Wood End Elementary MinutesWood End Elementary School
School Council Meeting
RECEIVED
TOWN CLERK
READING, MASS.
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE SCHOOL COUNCIL 1011 NOV 13 P I: 55'
November 5, 2012
A meeting of the Wood End School Council was held on Monday, November 5 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 PM. She introduced Maureen
Fennessy as co -chair and Mia Gaska, secretary, recorded the minutes. 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 voted on the acceptance of the Wood End School Improvement Plan for 2012-
2013. The new school improvement plan was approved.
Minutes
All members present reviewed the minutes from the previous meeting held on October 1,
2012. A motion was made to accept the minutes by Barbara Sheehan and Pooja Parsons
did second the motion. Minutes were approved.
New Business
Community Service/Future Fundraisers
The Community Service projects and Future Fundraiser Updates were reviewed.
• Soldier Drive: Stephanie Malone and Joanne King gave an update on the Soldier
Drive and the Veteran's Day assembly. Several parents of students have
volunteered to help with the collection of supplies. Students will host the
assembly.
• Anton's Coat Drive: The Coat Drive will run October until January and was set
up by the PTO. Julie Brearley is organizing the event.
• Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: This fundraiser will be run by the Pre -K and
Grade 1 students. The campaign will run from January 28 until February 15,
2013. Arrangements are being made to donate the prize of a pasta dinner to a
local group home in Reading.
• Reading Food Pantry: This collection drive will be run by the 4h grade
throughout the month of March, with the help of a Wood End parent, Monette
Verrier.
• Mission of Deeds: This collection will be run by the 2 "d grade during the month
of April under the guidance of Barbara Sheehan, a 2nd grade teacher. Barbara
shared of the selflessness of the person who established this organization.
• May: Ideas for the May Fundraiser, to be run by Grade 3, included service
around the Special Olympics, a Red Cross Blood Drive, Hurricane Sandy Relief,
Adopt -a- Family, and "Send a Kid to Camp ". Principal King is also going to
speak with the Grade 3 teachers to see if they have other suggestions.
Spirit Wear
Rosemary Murphy will no longer be responsible for ordering Spirit Wear. Mrs. Eliadis
and Mrs. Isbell have done some ordering for different events already this year. Mrs.
Brown and Mrs. Ferrante are looking into local vendors interested in creating some Wood
End Spirit Wear. The PTO is taking care of this activity.
Health, Wellness, and Safety Committee
Mrs. King shared that she currently has about 7 parents interested in joining the Health,
Wellness, and Safety Committee. As part of this committee, their conversations will
focus around Walk to School Wednesdays and the safety and importance surrounding this
event. A Safe Routes to School Chairperson would be identified once a committee was
officially set up. The school nurse, Lisa Suglia and the Cafeteria Manager, Charlene
McManus, would also be involved in promoting healthy food and exercise options. The
goal of the committee is to establish the safest and healthiest community for Wood End
students.
Wood End Handbook Updates
All members agreed that the handbook needs many updates including: K -5 Acceptable
Use Policy, clearly defined excused/unexcused absence policy, district restraint policy as
defined by the Massachusetts regulations, review of legal concerns, among other updates.
Principal King determined that the Wood End Handbook will be posted to the Wood End
Edline page when complete for parents to reference. Specific changes were noted and the
Handbook will continue to be reviewed at the January 7th School Council Meeting.
School Brochure
The School Council has agreed to address the creation of the school brochure at the next
meeting due to time constraints.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. The School Council will resume discussions at
their next meeting on January 7, 2013.
Respectfully submitted,
Mia Gaska
Recording Secretary, November 5, 2012