Minutes of the School Commission Meeting

St. Michael Catholic School

Minutes of the School Commission Meeting

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Members Present: Melissa Magee, Tom Zenner, Annette Boatwright, Debbie Pfeifer, Susan Greteman, Steve Winter, Tim Taylor, Claude Perrier, Stephanie Berno, Diana Hayes, Nadine Petrosewicz, Fred Leos, Melissa Polasek, Steve Parsons and Msgr. Rossi

Members Absent: Mace Meeks

Guests: Carolyn Garofalo, Jill ditto, Carole Day, Renee Humphrey, Martha Charbonnet, Kathy Hubbard, Ruth Saladino, Christie Vaclavik, and Madeline Walker

The meeting was called to order by Melissa Magee at 11:30am and Msgr. Rossi gave the opening prayer. On motion by Claude Perrier and second by Tim Taylor, the minutes of the Planning Committee on September 11, 2008 were approved with the following corrections. Third paragraphchange (1) What is our vision (2) What are our needs…… Additional advertising besides advertising on the NCEA website provided by the Catholic Schools Office. Msgr. Rossi informed the Commission that a questionnaire….

Administrator’s Report: Steve Parsons reported on the many improvements going on at the school. Two new positions, Middle School Dean and Director of Communications and PR, have been filled by Nadine Petrosewicz and Amanda Webb, respectively. New SMART Boards and Active Boards are already being used in classrooms. St. Michael school has contracted with WITS (Writers in the Schools) for a 26-week program, but the start date is still being worked out. Teachers are submitting lesson plans weekly and are meeting with their teams to begin the process of Curriculum Mapping. A typing curriculum has been implemented in the Elementary Computer classes. St.MichaelSchool has received a grant from UST for a monthly Science enhancement program.

Mr. Parsons also reported that students returned to school in record numbers after Hurricane Ike. On the first day back to school, 96% of the students were back in school, with only one teacher out, and by the end of the week, 99% of the students were back in school. The Archdiocese has determined that schools that missed fewer than eleven days will not be required to make them up.

Ms. Petrosewicz gave an update on Middle School. There will be two mock high school exams administered to the 8th grade in October and January and two Saturday workshops to review for the exam. Middle School plans to establish honors and regular classes in the core curriculum subjects.

Ms. Polasek reported that the school has been dealing with telephone and computer issues. The telephone issues are being handled by the Church. The computer problems are a result of low bandwidth and the school is currently working to increase its bandwidth in order to increase the speed of our system.

The finance Committee reported that the parish has made an investment of $200,000 toward the school with $17,500 investment to be used for financial assistance for parish and school children. Currently, the school is almost at capacity with 471 students with openings in PK and K.

Msgr. Rossi gave an overview of a new master plan for our parish/school facilities, which includes the construction of a new school. Depending on financing, the new school would be either in the first or second phase of construction. The new school building would not interfere with the present operations of the school.

Stephanie Berno reported the Fund Drive’s goal this year is $350,000. Many of the Fund Drive dates have changed due to the interruption by Hurricane Ike. The kick-off party for the volunteers will be held at the Hotze’s home with catering donated by Palazzo’s Trattoria. The Fund Drive kick-off has been rescheduled for the weekend of November 1-2. The deadline for the Fund Drive remains January 31.

Melissa Polasek and Steve Winter reported Amanda Webb has started a weekly email newsletter, entitled “Paw Prints”, to keep parents informed. Paw Prints replaces the monthly PLUS newsletter previously sent home with students. Amanda is considering a monthly expanded version of this newsletterin the future. On line admissions and online Fund Drive pledges are areas being considered.

Tom Zenner reported that the school began the year with $680,000 thanks to the efforts of those involved with the Fund Drive and the Spring Event last year. To date, the school has appropriated $450,000 on Curriculum, Communication and Technology and Plant Facilities.

Susan Greteman reported that the Communications Committee is looking at ways to provide a more positive atmosphere in the school and efficient and effective ways to respond to parent inquiries. The discussions have included ideas for bulletin boards, banners, weekly email blasts with updated information.

The School Commission approved a motion to change the Constitution and by-Laws with regard to School Commission member term limits. The change limits a member’s office term to two years with consecutive terms. The Pastor may appoint a member to an additional two-year term, upon consultation with the chairperson to a total of three terms. No member may serve more than three consecutive two-year terms.

The School Commission agreed that any member of the faculty or administration may have access to the minutes of the meeting and are welcome to attend the meetings should their schedule allow. The commission discussed the possibility of applying to become a Blue Ribbon School since a lot of the work has already been completed for the accreditation process last year. Mr. Parsons suggested it be tabled until next year for the new administrator.

It was suggested that the school obtain certified/licensed teachers for classroom substitutes instead of using parents. Parents could be used in situations where certified substitute teachers could not be obtained.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:00pm.