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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-04-28 School Committee Minutes or F$ ;. 4_ k� Town of Reading Meeting Minutes 6"t9a INCORp P Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2015-04-28 Time: 7:00 PM Building: School - Memorial High Location: Superintendent Conference Room Address: 82 Oakland Road Purpose: Open Session Session: General Session Attendees: Members - Present: Linda Snow Dockser John Doherty, Superintendent Jeanne Borawski Craig Martin, Assistant Superintendent Chuck Robinson Carolyn Wilson, Director of Student Services Gary Nihan Elaine Webb Julie Joyce Members - Not Present: Martha Sybert, Director of Finance Others Present: Andrea Nastri, Student Representative Carl Gillies, Student Representative Cathy Giles, Killam Principal Kim Adamo, Killam Library/Media Specialist Al Sylvia, Reading Chronicle Nancy Docktor, Resident Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: John F. Doherty, Ed.D. Superintendent Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Vice - Chair Robinson called the School Committee to order at 7:06 p.m. Vice - Chair Robinson welcomed guests and reviewed the agenda. He welcomed Julie Joyce to the School Committee. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input(I) Vice - Chair Robinson called for public input. Nancy Docktor, resident asked why the school department does not vendor out behavioral health services. She also requested the number of employees that leave the district each year and requested a copy of the teacher survey results. Page I 1 Superintendent Doherty said that the teacher survey results are not available to the public at this time. He will be meeting with the District Leadership Team to discuss the results. Ms. Docktor congratulated new School Committee member Julie Joyce. B. New Business (out of order) Killam Presentation Principal Cathy Giles introduced her Library Media Specialist Kim Adamo who will be sharing some of the tech projects our students (K-5) have created all which incorporate 21st teaching and learning such as: • Creativity and Innovation • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving • Communication and Collaboration These projects are directly aligned with each grade levels technology and content specific standards and are exemplars of our "blended classroom" approach to instruction and demonstrate the high level of teacher collaboration at Killam. Mrs. Giles said there are amazing things happening in technology at the Killam School. Ms. Adamo began her presentation by sharing a broadcast of the Killam News. The Killam News is hosted by students and broadcast daily. Two students are chosen for each week to do the Killam News. Ms. Adamo shared that as the week progresses the students become more confident and comfortable on camera. This is a great way to support the speaking and listening standard of the common core. She chooses a technology standard that will be the focus of the lesson for the classes. Tonight she will share the technology projects created by students at each grade level. The grade 5 students created trailers for books they had read using the Imovie app. Their videos were shared at an Oscar themed book celebration called "Boscars". The students also created Animoto videos on biomes using the Britannica database. Grade 4 students created digital super heroes during the digital citizenship unit. The students were asked to solve a"problem" on the internet and create their super hero using a program called Heroize. The students imported text and graphics, formatted and sized their super hero. Using Chatterpics they were able import their voice describing the super heroes power and uploaded it to Imovies. Ms. Adamo pointed out that many of the apps she is using are free. As part of the ELA standard the grade 3 students used free templates available through the website "read, write and think" to create poems as part of the poetry unit. Students used the wordmover app to edit, format and change the backgrounds of their poems. The students created acrostic, diamante, haiku and free poetry during this unit. Page 12 The grade 2 students worked on a heritage research project during their Social Studies unit. They depicted an event in their life and created a travel poster using the Encyclopedia Britannica database, Time for Kids and National Geographic to do the research. Once again students used a free app called Piccollage to upload photos, format and size them and create the final poster. As part of the weather unit, Ms. Adamo had the grade 1 students create a weather forecast using the book"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatball" as the theme. The students read the book and were asked to connect the fiction story with non- fiction research on weather. They learned how weather reports are created. The students created their forecast by drawing and coloring their picture. The then photographed it and uploaded it to green screen. The students added their voice to the forecast which was filmed in front of green screen. Ms.Adamo pointed out that this age has not had a lot of experience with public speaking and this activity is a great way to introduce it to them. Kindergarten students had completed the Gingerbread study and were asked to create a gingerbread man. The students photographed their picture of the Gingerbread Man and uploaded it into Chatterpics and added their voice to tell their story. The School Committee asked clarifying questions and commended Ms. Adamo and the Killam community for using technology to meet the mission and vision of the district. Dr. Snow Dockser asked what the next steps were and is Killam looking to expand this initiative. Mrs. Giles shared that they are looking at the possibility of partnering with high school students to become mentors as part of the Field Seminar program, partnering with Endicott College and having parents play a role. Mr. Robinson thanked Ms. Adamo and Mrs. Giles for sharing tonight. Reorganization Vice-Chair Robinson turned the gavel over to Superintendent Doherty. Dr. Doherty then reviewed the procedure and policy and asked for nominations for Chair. Mr. Nihan nominated Mr. Robinson for Chair. Dr. Snow Dockser seconded the nomination. On a roll call vote the nomination passed 6-0. Mr. Robinson, Dr. Snow Dockser,Mrs. Borawski,Mrs. Webb, Mrs. Joyce and Mr.Nihan. Superintendent Doherty handed the gavel to new Chair Chuck Robinson. Chair Robinson asked for nominations for Vice Chair. Mrs. Webb nominated Mrs. Borawski for Vice- Chair. Mr. Nihan seconded the nomination. On a roll call vote the nomination passed 6-0. Mr. Page 13 Robinson,Dr. Snow Dockser,Mrs. Borawski,Mrs. Webb, Mrs. Joyce and Mr. Robinson. C. Reports Students Mr. Gillies reported that the Junior Prom was held just before vacation and everyone had a great time. There is a current fundraiser to support the Leukemia/Lymphoma Foundation and it is National Poetry Month. High school students are attending readings and presentations in the Library Media Center during English classes. Ms. Nastri reported that the senior countdown has started and the students are excited for the upcoming senior activities. RMHS Drama is presenting The Legend of Sleepy Hollow this weekend. The script was written by students who took several renditions and created their own version. Liaisons Dr. Snow Dockser reported that the HRAC is meeting on Thursday at 7 p.m. where they will be discussing a project they will be working with on with the Library and discussing the status of the Committee. She also reminded the community that the HRAC is looking for new members and encouraged interested parties to come to the meeting or contact members. Mr.Nihan commended the Superintendent on his presentation at the Blue Ribbon Conference. He has heard great feedback regarding the Conference. Mr. Robinson reported that Town Meeting went well. Director of Student Services Mrs. Wilson reported that there will be a SEPAC meeting on May 6th at the Coolidge Middle School. Superintendent Dr. Doherty updated the School Committee on the two administrative searches. The RMHS Assistant Principal announcement will be forthcoming. The Joshua Eaton Principal search is moving to the next phase. An email will be sent to Joshua Eaton families announcing the finalists. On Wednesday May 6 the candidates will participate in a site visit, spending the day at the school, meeting with students, staff, administrators and the community. He then reported on several events that occurred prior to vacation. The annual Artsfest was held along Main Street and in the Performing Arts Center. There were student work exhibits of all levels as well as student performances. The Annual Blue Ribbon Institute was held at the high school. This event had a great variety of offerings for the district staff and out of town participants. He Page 14 went onto thank Assistant Superintendent Martin for coordinating the program and his Administrative Assistant Lori Miller for doing a great job with the logistics of this event. The event ran incredibly smoothly. The Superintendent announced that there will be a series of Community Forums during the month of May and information will be sent out to the community in the next day or so. D. Continued Business III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) The following warrants were circulated and signed. Warrant S1542 4.9.15 $152,165.76 Warrant S1543 4.16.15 $360,029.30 Warrant S1544 4.23.15 $306,815.71 Warrant 51520 3.27.15 $1,470,420.33 Warrant S1521 4.10.15 $1,434,399.66 b. Bids and Donations ( A) Donations Coolidge Science Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan, to accept a donation in the amount of$3,000 from the Coolidge Science Olympiad organization to be used to support a coaching assistants. The motion carried 6-0. RMHS Library Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan, to accept a donation in the amount of$100 from Mr. Dean Koulouris to be used to purchase materials for the RMHS Schettini Library. The motion carried 6-0. Parker Band Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mrs. Joyce, to accept a donation in the amount of$500 from Mr. & Mrs. Krol to be used to support the Parker Middle School band. The motion carried 6-0. c. Minutes Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan, to approve the open session minutes as revised date April 6,2015. The motion carried 6-0. Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan,to approve the open session minutes as revised date April 17,2015. The motion carried 6-0. Page 15 d. Calendar Dr. Doherty reminded the Committee that on April 11th the State Representatives will be at our meeting starting at 6 p.m. and on May 18th Dorothy Presser, MASC, will be at the meeting to discuss the district governance project. IV.Information Dr. Snow Dockser reminded everyone of the REF Imagination celebration that is on Saturday night. She also said they were also holding the teacher tribute fundraiser. Mr. Robinson said that Town Meeting continues on Thursday night and the budget will be presented on Monday night. Mrs. Webb mentioned the Understanding Disabilities 30th Anniversary Celebration that will occur later in May. V. Future Business VI.Adjournment Mrs. Borawski moved, seconded by Mr.Nihan, to adjourn. The motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:07 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. J � F. Doherty, Ed.D. Page 16