School Family Council
December 12, 2011
In attendance: Kathy Rivetti, Melanie Carter, Amanda Kowalik, Justin Holbrook, Carolyn Cole, Dan Pontious, Jessica Reighard, Maiju Lehmijcki-Gardner, Craig Bedford, Darlene Furno, Heidi Mozoki, Joanne Huey, Craig Williams, Debbie Claiborne, Dan Hellerbach, Whit Tantleff, Kate Phelan, Umekca Horsey
Mrs. Kowalik opened the meeting with introductions.
Mrs. Cole reviewed the State of the school. Our school is moving in time with the district for benchmarks. We are far ahead of the district. Tomorrow every middle school student will be a part of a holiday performance. Annual elementary holiday program on the 22nd. Last month kindergarten had their family feast. Student government had an induction ceremony with Roland Park Country and Council women Middleton. NAL is undefeated with two new coaches.
Upcoming budget-members of the SFC, engagement team, advisory team and budget team will work together to put dates together. Need assistance with our partnerships and handed out a partnership priorities paper. Mrs. Cole distributed a roster of the staff that work in the building. We don't know when the budget will come out. Asked SFC to start thinking of their priorities to keep the school moving in the right direction.
Achievement committee: Science Night withTowson and the Army research lab. Mooney wants to brainstorm ways to improve science scores. Wireless - working withthesmall number of students who are far below proficient. Special Ed are focusing on 8th grade as the teachers have collaborative planning. Jan 4 is next meeting.
Ms. Goff will be taking over for Mrs McGinness as attendance chair. Attendance is consistent with last year this time. 1% of students are chronically absent, which is extremely low. Incentives such as bulletin boards have been completed.
Mr. Hellerbach gave the climate/PBIS committee report. This month’s meeting will be via email. We are gathering data on suspensions and other related information. There is a concern as to whether some teachers are distributing more tickets, or whether the middle school students have just been holding them for larger prizes. Ms Smith will meet with the middle school SGA reps to clarify. The numbers of suspensions and referrals are relatively small for the size of our school.
Mr. Pontious gave the engagement report. The meeting was scheduled for last week and there was an informal discussion about partnerships and how they can help make up for gaps in the budget. Mr. Pontious asked if there was already a plan in place for budget planning. Ms. Horsey commented that the planning for School Performance Plans should begin in January, and budget planning will follow. Ms Cole mentioned that the committees should be working and preparing information to contribute to the plan.
Dr Gardner presented for the ad hoc wellness committee. The committee has had two meetings so far. Two co chairs and several members have joined the committee. The committee is using the program provided by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. They have identified several priorities for the committee, which were provided in a written report. The committee will co-host the next PTA general meeting, which will include wellness topics, on 1/11. Dr. Beilenson has spoken to City Schools and they have discussed how we could serve as a pilot and assist other schools on similar issues.
Ms Huey gave the PTA update. Elementary movie night was two weeks ago, and they hope to have a spring outdoor movie festival. This Friday will be the holiday cookie exchange. There will be a post holiday teacher appreciation lunch on Jan 13. Middle school babysitters will be available for free for the general meeting on Jan 11. The PTA hopes to establish a hospitality committee to welcome families that come in during the year. The PTA plans to change the Goldenrod to quarterly, since so much is communicated via email and the website currently. The PTA plans to use the bulletin board near the elementary office for the wish list for teachers, to make it more visible.
Mr Pontious and Mr Hellerbach shared some successes of Classroom Parent. Ms Cole mentioned that the 8th graders had a successful trip to Philadelphia, and another group will visit the Goddard space center. High school applications are due 12/22. Mrs Kowalik mentioned that we turned in an application for a statewide excellence in gifted and talented education.