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Home My WebLink About2023-06-06 School Council - Wood End Elementary Minutes - DraftI �u Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Date: 2023-06-06 Building: School - Wood End Address: 85 Sunset Rock Lane Purpose: Regular Meeting for 2022-2023 Attendees: Members - Present: DECEIVED TiOWNx CLERK _gyp!flr,, �a MA. M JUN 12 n14 7:32 Time: 3:15-4:15pm Location: Virtual (Zoom) Session: Open Session Version: Draft Lindsay Baker, Mia Gaska, Nicole Schwartz, Christine St. Hilaire, and Lindsey Tainsh Members - Not Present: Maureen Habeeb, Caitlin Koehler, Kevin Sexton Others Present: Elena Raffa Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Lindsay Baker Topics of Discussion: The fourth meeting of the Wood End Elementary School Council for 2022-23 school year was held via Zoom on June 6, 2023. Call to Order: A quorum of members being present, and the meeting having been duly convened for Wood End Elementary School by Principal, Nicole Schwartz called the meeting to order at 3:19 p.m. and proceeded with business. Public Comment: Christine St. Hilaire shared gratitude for a good first MCAS experience for her third grade student and appreciation for the support shown by the entire school during the testing process. Review and Acceptance of Minutes: The vote to accept the April 2023 meeting minutes will carry over to the fall meeting to ensure review by a greater majority of members. Vote: Deferred Old Business: Review of PTO dates: In conversation with the PTO, it has been decided to continue on with the tradition of a family pizza picnic at the start of the school year and to encourage class Ice pop celebrations at the end of the year, rather than adding an additional pizza picnic or an additional Ice cream party for the entire community. Page I 1 im—Pb Town of Reading Meeting Minutes New Business: Curriculum Implementation: Illustrative Math Curriculum - First grade teacher Elena Raffa joined the school council meeting to represent the experience of Wood End K-2 teachers' adoption and Implementation of the new Illustrative Math curriculum. Ms Raffa shared that she has found the curriculum to be very engaging, with a hands-on format that the kids really enjoy. It has changed the way they talk about math and it Is clear that they are becoming more confident in their math knowledge. The curriculum includes diverse hands-on manipulatives which naturally leads the learning to be more child -led than teacher directed. They are learning collaboration through a lot of partner work and integration of skills are reinforced by ending each lesson with a center activity that ties the skill to the standard. She has observed that the students are learning math facts without thinking they're learning them. The curriculum has many components so it has taken the K - 2 teachers a little time to get used to it, but they are all valuable to the learning process. The skills taught repeat as the curriculum progresses, which helps the instructor and the children alike. Finally, Ms Raffa noted that she has noticed a change in kids' energy about math: they are more enthusiastic with this curriculum. Mrs Schwartz invited the grade 3-5 teachers present to reflect on their second year teaching the Illustrative Math curriculum. Grade four teacher Lindsey Tainsh commented that the mental math skills her students are learning from Illustrative Math are exceptional. Grade three teacher Mia Gaska noted that the continuity of using the same curriculum throughout all elementary grades is already proving to be very helpful. For example, many of the games and manipulatives used as the curriculum progresses from year to year are the same, providing a hands-on foundation for advancing the concepts and standards. Arc Core English/Language Arts Curriculum - Mrs Talnsh spoke about the first year implementing the ARC Core ELA curriculum in grades 3-5, and in particular In her fourth grade class. She noted that starting the curriculum was challenging at first. She highlighted many positive and helpful aspects of the Implementation experience: centering the curriculum goals between the grades (3-5), the availability and support of a trained ARC Core curriculum coach, and town -wide grade level meetings for planning. Regarding the curriculum specifically, Mrs Tainsh has found the topics have been very engaging for the students. They particularly enjoyed units dedicated to animal research, non-fiction, and historical fiction. Further, it has been helpful for students to have a dedicated copy of the working text throughout. The curriculum has a high focus on vocab, so vocab skills have noticeably increased. Students have begun to take the initiative to learn the higher level vocabulary with an engaging and always -visible vocabulary wall in the classroom. Additionally, the graphic organizers used for organizing their writing is consistent throughout the curriculum which has allowed the students to become very confident and comfortable using it. Mrs Gaska shared that ARC Core also has an online component for teachers called "School Pace." It is a deep and powerful site, and the grade 3 - 5 teachers are still learning its capabilities after the first year of access. A highlight of the online offering is the ability to log students' work and have it available for their subsequent teachers to access and review their previous progress and challenges, helping to create continuity in the ELA learning experience. Principal Schwartz noted that when the K-2 version of the curriculum is introduced next year, the K-2 teachers will also receive a similar coaching experience. In response to a question from parent council member Christine St. Hilaire about what else would be helpful for K-2 teachers when they begin to implement ARC Core next year, Mrs Gaska noted that the most beneficial thing has been to sit with the grade level teachers district wide and do the planning. Principal Schwartz noted that the grade 3-5 teachers had an additional planning period this year on a rotating basis to work on planning within the new curriculum for the first year. The K - 2 teachers will receive this same accommodation in their first year of using the curriculum. Page 1 2 Town of Reading Meeting Minutes School Council Member Needed: Principal Schwartz reminded the council that an additional parent/guardian representative council member is still needed for the 2023-2024 school year. In addition to broadcasting the opening in school wide communications, she asked the council members to connect any interested community members to her and she will connect with the Pio about this as well. Fifth Grade Celebration: Fifth Graders will celebrate their time at Wood End with their supporters on June 13th and will take part in a moving on ceremony. 2023-2024 Class Placement Information: Principal Schwartz shared that during the week of June 12th the Wood End community will be informed which teachers will be teaching each grade in the coming school year. Individual student class placements will be shared with students' families/guardians in August. All of this information will be shared on a district -set time table. Field Day T-shirts: Parent council member Lindsay Baker introduced a question regarding the annual school field day and class t -shirts. This year some classes had special t -shirts made by Room Parents and others did not. This led to some confusion and financial decision conflict for room parents of other classes whether they should make t -shirts too. Ultimately, the question is whether it is equitable for some classes to have t -shirts made while others do not. Some grades have twins split between classes, with one sibling receiving a t -shirt and the other not. Principal Schwartz will discuss the concern with the Wood End Leadership team and the PTO leadership to determine what is the best way to carry forward equitably. Potentially the Pio can provide class t -shirts for field day. Some room parents offered to provide plain t -shirts in the assigned class color for students who didn't have one, which is another potential way to ensure equity if room parents are given this direction. Adiournment There being no further business, the School Council adjourned at 3:54 p.m. The 2023-2024 school year meeting schedule will be sent to all council members in September 2023. Respectfully Submitted, Lindsay Baker, Recording Secretary Page 1 3