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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-05-04 School Council - Wood End Elementary MinutesN OFR Town of Reading Meeting Minutes S39.1NcoPP0 Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Council -Wood End Elementary Date: 2015 -05 -04 Time: 3:15 Building: School - Wood End Address: 85 Sunset Rock Lane ACE IVED OWN CLERK AD1NG, MINSS. AY 2b A 8 :N Location: Conference Room Purpose: Monthly Meeting for March 2014 -2015 School Year Attendees: Members - Present: Joanne King,Debbie Hattery, Fred VanMagness, Keri DiNapoli, Lynda Michel Members - Not Present: All members present Others Present: Jenny LeBovidge (Birch Meadow WASH Committee Member) Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Lynda Michel Topics of Discussion: The seventh monthly meeting of the Wood End Elementary School was held in the Conference Room of the Wood End Elementary School on May 4, 2015. Call to order: A quorum of members being present and the meeting having been convened at Wood End School by Wood End Co- Chair, Joanne King, called the meeting to order at 3:15 and proceeded with business. Public comment: Meetings for the Wood End School Council are open to members of the public and are posted in accordance with the requirements of the state Open Meeting Law. Mrs. King regularly advises parents in the Wood End community of upcoming School Council meetings in her regular weekly newsletter which is posted on EdLine. Review and Acceptance of Minutes: Members reviewed draft minutes from the last meeting, which was held on April 6, 2015. There being no discussion, Mrs. King moved that the minutes be accepted as written. Fred VanMagness and Debbie Hattery seconded the motion. The members then voted unanimously to approve the minutes. Vote: Minutes Accepted 5 -0 -0 Fred VanMagness and Debbie Hattery approved minutes from April 6, 2015 Page I 1 Old Business: Mrs. King began the meeting asking for feedback about the parent information sessions, aka "Wildcat Discovery Expo" that was held at Wood End on Tuesday April 28, 2015. Feedback from the School Council Committee was mostly positive. They felt that the night was manageable, not too structured, flexible for parent and teacher schedules, positive atmosphere, allowed for student and community involvement. The School Council unanimously agreed that this event should be done again for the next Spring Open House with some minor adjustments. Some suggestions for improvement were: Have the information tables open one half hour before the classrooms so teachers could participate in the expo. Teachers felt bad about locking up their classroom so parents and teachers could attend the expo. • Improve the Leadership Team display table. Deb Hattery felt that there was no connection between Leadership Team and the students. She was under the impression that the staff at the table would be discussing the Core Values. There was little connection between the books on the table and the goal of this committee. The School Council also felt that there should be a schedule for the music and possibly move ensembles to another more visible location. It was too loud to have a conversation and parents were not aware when their child would be singing /playing an instrument which left a lot of people just standing around talking. This took away from the musicians. • Waiting on results from the survey that was created for feedback via Survey Monkey. These results will be analyzed at the next School Council Meeting. Mrs. King shared feedback she received from the Leadership Team. They liked the idea of the informational tables and the social media that parents were sending out via Twitter. They thought it was great to have the students involved. Their suggestions were to have the event for one hour and solicit more help to set up. Other Open House Feedback: • Mrs. King shared there were more younger families who participated in the Wildcat Expo than families with older children (i.e. Mrs. Raffa had 20/22 families show up vs. ten or eleven in classrooms from grades four and five). • Mrs. Hattery shared that art was a smaller piece of it and not the sole focus which allowed for the classrooms and academic work to be more of the focus. She truly enjoyed visiting her child's classroom. Other news: Mrs. King began the conversation about fundraising events. She mentioned that some of the dates are going to change as many events took place within a short period of time, which put a financial hardship on many families. More specifically, she mentioned the 5th grade basketball game and open house. She mentioned possibly having one event each month to have more balance. Mrs. King reminded the committee that we are still in need of two to three parents and two teachers for next year's School Council 2015 -16. She would like to have these new folks attend the June meeting. We currently have two potential parents, but no official commitments. Page 1 2 Kindergarten Screening: Wood End will be getting 22 new families to our school. The kindergarten model will be an integrated model with 9 half day and 13 full day students in each classroom. Wood End will have a total of 44 kindergarteners as of this date. In June, Mrs. King will set up a Welcome Session for the families to meet the teachers, plant in the garden and provide contact information so parents can begin to foster friendships for their children /child during the summer. New Business: The School Council would like to thank Jenny LeBovidge, Birch Meadow WASH Committee member, for taking the time to attend our School Council meeting. Mrs. LeBovidge was extremely informative. Mrs. King began by asking Mrs. LeBovidge how the WASH committee began and got parents involved. Jenny shared that she joined the WASH committee when her daughter was in first grade. There are about 7 parents and they meet on Thursday mornings. Eric Sprung, Birch Meadow School Principal, wants it to be an open group. Part of the committee includes principal, school nurse, and parents. The committee has created a flyer with all the information that has been distributed to Birch Meadow families. Other ways have been reaching out to parents with a vested interest, reaching out to friends or people who have brought concerns to the WASH committee. Students are not involved at this time. Mrs. LeBovidge informed the School Council that the WASH Committee not only addresses food concerns /issues, but also addresses issues related to physical and emotional safety. Mrs. LeBovidge informed the School Council that the WASH committee has: Hosted monthly "walk to school days" where parents /teachers are stationed along the way, stamping students hands for a prize when they arrive to school. • Worked on getting crosswalks installed near the school. Participated in morning drop off to make it faster and safer for students and families. Mrs. King asked where the ideas were generated. Mrs. LeBovidge stated that the committee brainstorms with Mr. Sprung's support. Sometimes, Mr. Sprung will come up with ideas and the committee assists with coming up with solutions /answers. Sometimes, school staff makes suggestions. One major event that the WASH committee hosted was a Health and Wellness Fair. The fair had six stations: yoga, sleep, cardio vascular, hand washing, sugar and drinks and bike safety. This event was held during the day and students and staff attended. Stations were set up so groups rotated through the stations informing students and staff of the different areas. This fair has received a lot of positive feedback and is a combination of school staff and outside people /vendors. An Edline blast /blurb was sent home to inform families of the fair. Another major piece the WASH committee worked on was the Food Policy at Birch Meadow. Food is not part of the curriculum. In lieu of food for celebrations, teachers /parents are Page 1 3 encouraged to send an individual snack or bring in a nonedible item (i.e. craft, game). A room parent hand book has been created, in coordination with PTO, to outline the no food policy. When food is part of a PTO event, the WASH committee coordinates with the PTO to ensure there are allergen friendly foods or ingredients are posted on Edline for parents to view prior to the event. Other areas that the WASH committee is involved with include: o Playground safety- during /after school hours o Ways to stay healthy -when students cannot get outside (lunch recess) Mrs. King shared some of the programs we have at Wood End that could relate to the WASH committee such as the salad bar for students and staff, BOKS programs for students before school, and a new partnership with the Children's Melanoma Prevention Foundation. Mrs. LeBovidge also mentioned that the WASH committee is looking at ways to address the social emotional support for young students. Some of the ways they are currently addressing this area is through the health fair and potential parent coffees with Sara Burd. Mrs. Hattery asked if the WASH committee was aligned with School Council or PTO, and Mrs. LeBovidge did explain that they are two separate groups at this time. Mrs. King wrapped up the conversation explaining that the district as a whole is trying to be more consistent, aligning all schools. Wood End is trying to establish a WASH Committee at Wood End and is currently looking for a liaison between PTO and School Council. Camp Bournedale Mrs. King moved the meeting along and informed the committee that Mike Martin from Camp Bournedale would be speaking to current fourth grade students tomorrow from 11:00 -12:00 and then tomorrow night he will be presenting to parents. In September, Barrows and JE students will be attending the overnight trip while students from Killiam, WE and Birch Meadow will be attending in October. Adjournment There being no further business, the School Council adjourned at 4:25 with plans to meet again on Monday June 8, 2015. Respectfully Submitted, Lynda Michel Recording Secretary Page 1 4