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Board - Committee
Town of Reading
Meeting Minutes
Commission - Council:
School Council -Wood End Elementary
Date: 2016-10-03 Time: 3:15 PM
Building: School - Wood End Location: Conference Room
Address: 85 Sunset Rock Lane
Purpose: Monthly Meeting for September 2016-2017 School Year
Attendees: Members - Present:
0 RECEIVED
READING MASS.
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Joanne King, Caitlin Koehler, Lynda Michel, Melissa Murphy, Elena Raffa
Members - Not Present:
Megan Doyle and Andrea Freeman
Others Present:
Lisa Federici
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Melissa Murphy
Topics of Discussion:
The first monthly meeting of the Wood End Elementary School Comrnttee was held in the
Conference Room of the Wood End Elementary School on October 3, 2016.
Call to order.
A quorum of members being present and the meeting having been duly convened at Wood
End School by the Wood End Principal, Joanne King had called the meeting to order at 3:15
and proceeded with business.
Caitlin Koehler was elected Co-chair for the 2016-2017 year.
Melissa Murphy was elected Secretary for the 2016-2017 year.
Public Comment:
Lisa Federici joined the members to talk about a situation that happened on Friday,
September 30, 2016. Below is an excerpt from Ms. Federici's email regarding the incident.
"On Friday, my mother went to pick up rrry children via placard. She has a placard sign and
the children knew that she was corring to get them. When she pulled up to get them she
was told that they had already been picked up. My mother was confused, and expressed
that to the staff person, as she knew I was working and that she was supposed to get
them My mother was pointed in the direction for her to pull out of line and leave. There is
another family at Wood End with a similar last name but different spelling. It was those
children who had been picked up and mine were still waiting. I realize that my children were
safe at the school. I understand the breakdown that happened and have requested new
placards for both my family and others who may be impacted.”
Ms. Federici also reported difficulty in reaching the school. Mrs. King confirmed Ms. Federici
was calling the wrong number and provided the correct contact information for the school.
Members discussed how we could make placard safer and rrore sea Mess for families that
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have similar last names. Mrs. King agreed the best route would be to give those families
new placard cards (i.e. Murphy 1 and Murphy 2) and she would review dismissal and safety
procedures with all staff.
Review Open Meeting Guidelines and Conflict of Interest Law:
The information was provided to all members, sign off sheets were completed and sent to
Laura Gemma, Town Cleric.
Review of Committee Responsibilities:
We reviewed and discussed a draft of the School Improvement Plan. Mrs. King will finish
this and send to all members prior to our next meeting for review. The School Improvement
Plan does need to be approved by School Council and is then submitted to the School
Con mttee.
Mrs. King will begin to work on the school building budget in the coming months. It is made
difficult without knowing if the override will be approved. If the override is not approved,
the operating budget per pupil expenditure will be reduced along with Items that may be
needed for new curriculum and materials, as well as staffing.
Council members reviewed revisions made to the Parent Handbook which included changes
in the homework guidelines. Reading and fact fluency are priorities regarding homework.
Mrs. King would like to work with the members to research and create appropriate
hornework guidelines for elementary students.
Review and Acceptance of Minutes:
Members reviewed draft minutes from the June 6, 2016 meeting.
There being no discussion, Mrs. King moved that the minutes from the June meeting be
accepted as drafted. Mrs. Koehler seconded the motion. The members then voted
unanimously to approve the minutes.
Vote: Minutes Accepted 5-0-0
Now Business:
Mrs. King is going to reach out to the teachers to get the names of the room parents and
follow up with Mrs. Koehler. The PTO has created a volunteer position to work directly with
room parents to coordinate information and activities.
Weather Bug is going to be used more this year. Stephanie Malone, Keri DiNapoli and
Marianne Nihan are interested in being trained to learn more about the system and the
accompanying website which provides many standards-based resources and lessons.
Teachers in grades 3-5 are also implementing the new science curriculum, Know Atom to
align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
Mrs. Koehler had some feedback from the first PTO meeting. Parents felt good about Mrs.
King's Information regarding recess. Students are not losing recess time, but in fact have
gained additional time, K-5. Students have 120 minutes of recess time per week, spread out
over 5 days and according to teacher's schedules. Mrs. King agreed on the importance of
keeping communication open with parents on any new changes and hopes to provide more
Information on the school's new webpage (still under construction).
Adjournment
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There being no further business, the School Council adjourned at 4:15 with plans to
reconvene on Monday, November 7, 2016 at 3:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Melissa Murphy
Recording Secretary
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